Chapter 177
Binjiang is a long way from Guangzhou, so the provincial trade delegation has to set off a week in advance.
Before officially setting off, all members of the group will undergo a three-day training on foreign affairs etiquette and discipline.
Ye Manzhi and Yu Youfang found two empty seats in the front row of the conference room. Seeing the serious-looking director of the motor factory, they cheerfully asked, "Director Gao, are you still going to the Canton Fair in person to solicit business?"
"Our superiors asked us to send people to the Canton Fair. What else can we do if we don't go?" Director Gao said with a sullen face. "I've dedicated my life to revolution, and now I have to do business with those big-nosed capitalists!"
Ye Manzhi and Yu Youfang: "::::::"
People like Director Gao really need to receive some pre-departure training.
However, Ye Manzhi could understand Director Gao's attitude.
Her husband, Old Ye, is the same. He never looks happy when capitalism is mentioned.
Ye Manzhi comforted him, "Think about it from another perspective. The foreign exchange we earn from the capitalists can support the international revolution and bring back more supplies. If you perform well at the Canton Fair, you can also promote the superiority of our socialism."
Director Gao glanced at her and said, "The training hasn't even started yet, and Director Xiaoye has already taught you a lesson."
"Haha, I hosted a foreign guest a few years ago and received training at the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office. Those words were spoken by my supervisor at the time."
They were about to leave for Guangzhou, and Ye Manzhi was as happy as a bird about to be released from its cage, chattering to Director Gao.
However, when the training officially started and she listened to the team leader's explanation, she was no longer happy.
"Aren't the members of our provincial trading delegation always together?" she whispered to Yu Youfang beside her.
Yu Youfang was also confused. "This is my first time attending an export trade fair, but I heard that the trade fairs in the first two years were all based on ports."
Binjiang is a Class A port, so the provincial trading delegation is a unit.
The two of them were sitting in the first row, and their whispers were easily heard by the group leader.
The delegation leader glanced at the two and said, "Some of you are attending an export trade fair for the first time, so you may not be familiar with some of the details. Let me briefly explain them to you."
The two of them quickly stopped talking and sat up straight.
"In the past few years, each port accepted orders independently, leading to competition and price cuts among ports. This not only disrupts negotiations but also lowers transaction prices, harming our national interests. Therefore, in recent trade fairs, we must be unified in our external relations, consider the overall situation, and unite the national trade front to maximize overall interests!"
In order to prevent the trading groups at each port from only considering the interests of their own region, after arriving in Guangzhou, the staff from all ports across the country will be mixed.
For example, people from a textile factory go to the textile trading reception group, and people from a bicycle factory go to the sundry goods trading reception group.
At that time, it will be led by major state-owned professional companies.
So, no matter which port you come from, as long as you sign the bill, it belongs to the country.
After the Canton Fair ends, production tasks will be uniformly allocated based on the production and transportation conditions of each province.
In other words, even if Ye Manzhi worked hard to sign a large order during her trip to Guangzhou, it would not go into the pocket of Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory.
We still have to wait for unified allocation from our superiors!
Ye Manzhi: “…”
a bolt from the blue!
She went to Guangzhou this time just to get more export orders for her company.
With the export mission, it was no longer possible for Zhu Kehai to teach people at any time.
However, according to the delegation leader, once they arrive at the Canton Fair they can only act as foreign trade traders and contribute to the country's trade work.
Yu Youfang didn't go to Guangzhou to sign a contract. She just wanted to take the opportunity to go out and relax. It didn't matter which group she joined, so after leaving the meeting room, she turned around to comfort Ye Manyi.
"Director Ye, please be more open-minded. This is the same situation across the country. Once we get to Guangzhou, we'll just do our best. The number of orders we can get will be determined by our superiors. Just be a trader."
Ye Manzhi sighed and nodded. In that case, he would just consider this trip to Guangzhou as a chance to see the world.
She did her job well and helped the food trading group get more orders.
Ye Manzhi followed the crowd out of the Foreign Trade Bureau's office building. When she saw Director Gao's back, she began to feel confused again.
If they are only to be used as foreign trade traders, then the province should select more people who can speak foreign languages and have foreign trade experience, right?
What’s the point of bringing these factory managers to the trade fair?
Especially people like Director Gao, who are reluctant to do business with capitalism and cannot speak foreign languages.
Can he be a good trader?
She wanted to ask the leader, but stopped just as she took a step forward.
If it can be told to everyone publicly, then can't the team leader just say it directly at the training session?
*
With a lot of doubts in his mind, Ye Manzhi boarded the train to Guangzhou with the provincial trading delegation.
The last time she went to Guangzhou was eight years ago, when the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was not yet in operation.
She and Wu Zhengrong traveled from Binjiang to Beijing, from Beijing to Hankou, and then transferred from Hankou to Guangzhou.
It took four or five days to reach the destination.
Now that the Beijing-Guangzhou line is fully open to traffic, connecting the north and the south, the provincial trade delegation only needs to change trains once in Beijing to reach Guangzhou.
For trading groups like them carrying bulk goods, it is both convenient and time-saving.
Ye Manyi sighed at the rapid changes in the motherland, and regretted that she could not bring Yan out to see the beautiful rivers and mountains of the motherland. After the conductor announced the arrival of the station, she got off the train with full of expectations.
In April, Guangzhou was already in bloom with spring flowers, and the train station was bustling with people.
The Provincial Office in Guangzhou prepared three large trucks for the trade delegation. Everyone climbed onto the carriages with a banner hanging on it that read "Wishing the 17th Export Commodities Fair a complete success" and headed to the hotel assigned by the conference.
After Ye Manzhi and Yu Youfang put down their luggage in the room, they were informed by the leader of the food group that they had to report to the conference food trading group in the afternoon.
"Director Chen, shall we start working as soon as we arrive at the station?" Ye Manzhi asked.
"It opens the day after tomorrow, so of course we have to hurry!"
Director Chen gave them two maps of Guangzhou, told them the gathering time, and then ran to other rooms to make notifications.
The group had a simple lunch and then went to the Export Commodities Exhibition Hall to register.
The group office is on the second floor. After reporting your name and unit to the group leader, each person can receive a price list of export commodities, which records the names, specifications, manufacturers, and prices in US dollars and British pounds of all commodities.
Ye Manzhi quickly flipped through the price list from beginning to end. All the products she brought this time were listed on the price list.
However, if you look closely, you will find that the prices of most similar products are the same.
For example, the 198-gram round can of luncheon meat produced by Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is priced exactly the same as the same-sized luncheon meat from Shanghai Meilin, Guangzhou Zhujiang, and Fuzhou Narcissus!
With the same price, foreign businessmen don’t have to be picky.
After placing an order, the China National Food Import and Export Corporation will arrange production at the corresponding port based on the distance of the customer's country.
Ye Manzhi stared at the price list and thought that the prices of all commodities were unified across the country, which would indeed make it easier to regulate.
However, it is hard to say how many orders their Binjiang factory can get.
The major importers of canned food are Hong Kong Island, Southeast Asia and European countries.
Judging from the geographical location, they will most likely have to wait until other factories have run out of orders before it is their turn.
She put the price list away and prepared to go to the food display hall with Yu Youfang to display their own samples.
I'll study this price list carefully tonight.
As the two were arranging the display shelves, team leader Gu Songqiu came over and asked, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Ye, do you speak foreign languages?"
After everyone joins the team, there is no longer any factory director, manager, or chief engineer. All the team leaders are team members.
Those who are older than her are called Lao X, and those who are younger than her are called Xiao X.
Yu Youfang is a veteran college student who can speak English.
Ye Manzhi only spoke Russian, but now that Sino-Soviet relations had broken down, Soviet businessmen would probably not receive invitations to the conference, so her Russian was completely useless.
Gu Songqiu said, "We're going to hold an opening reception at the Yangcheng Hotel tomorrow night. Many businesspeople will be in attendance, and our food reception team will need to send someone to contact some of our regular customers. Since you can speak foreign languages, why don't you go to the reception together tomorrow and help entertain the customers?"
"Team Leader, I only speak Russian. Is that okay?"
"It doesn't matter. There are quite a lot of customers who can speak Russian. You'll see when you go there tomorrow."
Ye Manzhi thought, even the Soviets couldn’t receive invitations to attend the conference, so where did so many clients who could speak Russian come from?
She had some doubts in her heart, but the next evening, she still wore a dress and square-heeled leather shoes and walked into the cocktail party at the Yangcheng Hotel with everyone.
There were more than 2,500 guests at the event, and there were more than a dozen rows of long banquet tables. Ye Manyi had seen many grand occasions over the years, but this was the first time she had seen such a grand reception as the Canton Fair!
It’s amazing that I can dine with so many foreigners at once!
The banquet hall was brightly lit, with Chinese and foreign guests gathered together.
After listening to the speeches of the director of the trading delegation and the mayor of Guangzhou, Ye Manzhi imagined this grand scene as all the employees in the factory eating in the cafeteria at the same time. It took him a while to calm down before the unfamiliar and shocking feeling subsided.
Naturally took on the task of reception today.
At this moment, she finally understood what the team leader meant.
Just as Chinese people are spread all over the world, there are also many Soviet people living abroad.
Sitting on her left was a French businessman of Ukrainian descent, and opposite her sat a British businessman of Russian descent. Both of them ran large foreign companies in the local area and were regular customers of the Canton Fair.
Hearing that she was the deputy director of the food factory, the two foreign businessmen asked her about the price of canned food this year.
"A 340-gram can of luncheon meat is 7.3 pounds per box, and a 198-gram can of luncheon meat is the same price as last year..." Ye Manzhi quoted them a few prices and said with a smile, "The Canton Fair has opened. You can go to the food display area to find out the market price."
Ivanov from the UK also asked about the prices of canned pork and canned herring.
Ye Manzhi answered all the questions patiently. It was a rare opportunity for her to eat Western food. While answering the customer's questions, she did not forget to cut the steak with a knife and fork.
"What's the price of canned yellow peaches and canned strawberries this year?" Ivanov asked again.
Ye Manzhi paused while cutting the steak, as if trying to recall something, put down the knife and fork, then picked up the wine glass and took a sip of the sour red wine.
After quickly weighing the options in her mind, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ivanov, I can't remember the price of canned fruit. Please come to the trade fair when you have time. I'll help you find some."
She quickly changed the topic to Guangzhou's attractions and the customs and cultures of various countries.
Because she often drinks with Wu Zhengrong, her alcohol tolerance has improved a lot over the years. No matter who takes the initiative to raise a glass at a banquet, she will join in.
After a cocktail party, he successfully gained the friendship of two Soviet-born businessmen.
Yes, it is that easy to establish friendship with the Soviets.
At the table, just drink.
Wine is far less potent than soju, but when she walked out of the banquet hall, she was able to help the slightly tipsy Yu Youfang back to the hotel without blushing or panting.
"Mr. Yu, has our factory ever exported canned peaches and strawberries to the UK?"
Yu Youfang's mind went blank for a moment, then she shook her head and said, "I don't think we've received any orders for canned fruit from the UK, but we have received orders for canned meat."
Ye Manzhi had no memory of ever having any orders for canned fruit from the UK.
The next day when she went to the trade fair to officially start work, she asked about the canneries in Fuzhou and Tianjin.
Everyone said that they had never received any orders from the UK, let alone the UK, and there were very few orders from the whole of Europe.
"They are carnivores and we import a lot of canned meat every year, but they don't like canned fruit. Our factory has only exported a small amount of canned pineapples and oranges to Europe."
Ye Manzhi thought to himself that Europeans don’t dislike eating fruits. Their annual consumption of canned fruits and vegetables is also considerable.
*
The Canton Fair lasts for a month, and many customers only look but do not buy in the early stages of the exhibition.
So, on the first day of the conference, the traders from the food group spent the entire day in the display area, explaining things to the merchants until they were dry-mouthed, but they only signed three orders.
And these three orders are all from old customers.
We have been cooperating for many years, and the fluctuation of food prices is not big. Old customers come to the exhibition area to take a look and sign the order when they see that it is almost ready.
The two Soviet big brothers who had gained Ye Manzhi's friendship also came to the exhibition area and walked around for a long time, asking Ye Manzhi to help them introduce the prices one by one. In the end, they left without buying anything.
Yu Youfang and Ye Manzhi didn't sign a single order today. When the shop was about to close, Yu Youfang went to the team office. When she came back, she said to Ye Manzhi, "Those three orders—one for canned mushrooms, one for crispy candies, and one for canned eight-treasure rice—all had designated manufacturers."
"Isn't it said that the whole country is united as one?" Ye Manzhi asked doubtfully, "Can we still specify the manufacturer?"
"It's based on customer experience. If they've been buying from that brand for a long time, they're used to that kind of product, so we have to supply them according to their requirements."
Ye Manzhi looked at her, and both of them had a look of "so that's it" in their eyes.
No wonder the provincial trading delegation brought these factory directors and managers to the Canton Fair to work as traders!
If we can convince customers to purchase products from our factory, the head office will have nothing to say.
Others couldn't find any fault with it.
Hope rose in Ye Manzhi's heart again, and he decided to work hard tomorrow to get a few more big orders for their food factory!
However, the gap between ideal and reality is wider than the Amazon River.
She stayed in the exhibition area for another two days and only signed an order for a fan for the food factory.
The total amount was only 420 pounds, and it was signed with a foreign company in Malaysia.
Vermicelli is priced low, with a box of vermicelli costing only 1.2 pounds, which is less than the price of 4 cans of luncheon meat.
Her order of 420 pounds was nothing compared to other people's orders of 5,000 or even tens of thousands.
Yu Youfang smiled and comforted her: "No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat. Besides, more than 300 boxes of vermicelli are not a small amount. Our factory has never exported vermicelli before, so this can be considered a first."
The grain replica workshop of their factory only produces three products: noodles, vermicelli, and rice noodles.
The so-called grain replicas are products that are processed from grain.
These two products are mainly supplied to the domestic market and have never received any export tasks.
This time, Ye Manzhi added all the products in the factory that had some export potential to the product list.
She tried her best to find a date, but she didn't expect that she would actually get it!
Ye Manzhi didn't take this unexpected order seriously. Her sales focus was still on the factory's star products - various canned foods.
However, for some reason, there was not a single canned food order. When it was almost time to get off work, Yu Youfang actually signed an order from a fan.
This order was smaller than the previous one, totaling £300.
Ye Manzhi and Yu Youfang both found it quite strange. They didn't expect that fans would be so popular abroad.
In fact, neither of them tried very hard to sell the products. The customers just looked at the products, asked about the prices, and signed the contracts if they thought they were suitable.
And that’s not all. When Ye Manzhi went to the exhibition hall to promote his products the next day, he received another fan order worth 900 pounds!
Once again and twice, the three fan orders immediately attracted the attention of team leader Gu Songqiu.
She called them aside and gently reminded them, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Ye, I understand your urgency to develop your business, but our Canton Fair emphasizes a national strategy. Traders should try not to specify product manufacturers for their clients."
Yu Ye and the other person looked at each other.
Does the team leader think that they are specifically bringing customers to the factory?
Yu Youfang said, "Team Leader, we didn't try to sell our Binjiang brand fans to the customer. They took the initiative to ask for Binjiang brand. When I signed the order last night, Liu Xun was right next to me. When Director Ye signed the order today, several comrades were also there."
If they negotiate with customers one-on-one, they can promote the products of the Binjiang factory.
But in the first few days after the opening, customers were reluctant to place orders and everyone was quite idle. There were only two or three people around one customer.
Even if they want to get orders for their own food factory, they cannot blatantly violate the conference rules.
Gu Songqiu did not doubt her explanation. This kind of lie could be exposed by asking anyone to verify it. There was no need for them to lie.
But she felt even more confused.
In the past few days, only three fan orders were signed in the entire exhibition hall, and all three were from Binjiang Factory.
“Is your factory’s formula different from other factories?”
Ye Manzhi shook his head: "No, just an ordinary fan from our local area."
She had a guess in her mind, but she decided not to say anything until it was confirmed.
Yu Youfang and Ye Manzhi are from Binjiang Factory. If they are the only two who signed the fans' orders, it is very likely that they were promoting it privately to the customers.
However, not long after the two were interviewed, a trader in Beijing also signed a £300 fan order.
It’s still Binjiang brand.
The four orders totalled £1,920.
It’s nothing compared to the total price of other product orders, but it’s a lot for fans.
After signing four contracts in a row, the leader of the local products group came to the food group.
"Let me see, what's going on with the Binjiang brand fans? I heard your orders are pouring in like snowflakes!"
Vermicelli and rice noodles should actually be placed in the local product category.
However, Binjiang brand vermicelli and noodles are packaged, and most of the Binjiang factory's products are placed in the food group, so these two packaged local products are placed here.
The export volume of vermicelli in previous years was not very large, and the local product group leader didn't say anything after learning about their arrangements.
Who would have thought that Binjiang brand fans would become so popular all of a sudden!
Seeing him flipping through the vermicelli packaging, Yu Youfang explained, "I asked the Singaporean customer who just signed the contract, and he said he chose our vermicelli because it's plastic-wrapped, which is more hygienic, and it's shorter, with instructions for consumption written on the packaging."
"Is it really because of this?"
"As the customer just mentioned, we haven't inquired with other customers yet."
The local produce team leader stared at the packaging for a while, nodded, and said, "This packaging does look quite realistic. How did you come up with the idea of providing instructions for the fans?"
"This was the idea of our Factory Director Ye."
Ye Manzhi said modestly: "I was also inspired by other factories."
The last time she visited Shanghai Yimin Factory No. 2, she discovered that they would write product introductions on the specialty cans.
Lilies and bayberries are both rare in the north.
Therefore, people leave a space on the can to introduce the characteristics, taste and nutritional value of lily and bayberry.
Ye Manzhi is the deputy director of operations. She believes that this method can play a positive role in product sales. After returning to Binjiang, she asked each workshop to conduct self-inspection and self-correction.
All products that can go beyond Binjiang must have a product introduction on the packaging, and some products also have instructions for consumption.
There are only three products in the grain replica workshop, and the most confusing one is actually vermicelli.
Some areas in the south seem to have no habit of eating vermicelli, and some consumers don't know how to eat it. Ye Manzhi asked the workshop director to write a method for eating vermicelli.
Since the fans have already written one, let the fans write one too.
Therefore, the instructions for eating vermicelli are included on the packaging.
As for why their fans are shorter than others, it's just a coincidence.
During the Chinese New Year, the three of them ate pork hotpot at home. Yes, since they couldn’t buy mutton, they could only eat pork hotpot.
She put some vermicelli and rice noodles into the hot pot, but the rice noodles were too long after soaking, so she cut them several times with scissors.
So, after work, when she met the director of the grain replica workshop, she asked him why it took so long for fans to make it?
Can you make it shorter?
She was both an ordinary consumer and the deputy factory manager. After hearing her words, the workshop director immediately organized people to produce a kind of short vermicelli.
Ye Manzhi glanced at the display shelf and saw this was the one in front of him.
It seems that the needs of consumers all over the world are similar.
After listening to her explanation, the local products team leader said three good words in a row.
"The Binjiang factory is on the right track. It's not that vermicelli is unpopular, but that we're selling it incorrectly. I need to tell the head office that all vermicelli exported from now on should come with packaging and instructions like the Binjiang factory does!"
Ye Manzhi was praised highly and chatted with the two team leaders for a while, and then everyone returned to their work.
She took the opportunity to go to the restroom, and when she returned to the display area, she saw her new friend who had come to the food group again.
"Mr. Ivanov, you've been looking at it for three days, why don't you place an order?"
Ivanov laughed and said, “You know, I usually wait until the last few days of the trade fair before placing an order.”
In the last few days, in order to clear inventory, the conference will collectively reduce the prices of many products, including canned fruits.
"I suggest you don't wait any longer," Ye Manzhi said mysteriously, speaking Russian rapidly. "If you wait any longer, the price of our canned fruit might go up!"
Ivanov made a funny expression, as if to say, "What a joke!" and shook his head repeatedly.
"I'm telling the truth," Ye Manzhi whispered. "Yesterday, a British client signed a contract for canned beans and mushrooms totaling 30,000 pounds. Have you heard about this?"
"Well, Smith is a regular customer at the Canton Fair. He's been importing canned beans and mushrooms from here for the past few years."
"However, the UK has an import quota for canned fruits and vegetables from my country, and the annual import quota is only around 50,000 pounds. Mr. Smith is arguably the largest canned goods dealer in the UK. He comes to the Canton Fair twice a year, importing 30,000 pounds in the first half of the year and 20,000 pounds in the second half. His company alone uses up the entire annual quota. Other British dealers only import canned meat from my country, but not canned fruit."
Ye Manzhi smiled and looked at the Russian-British man in front of her.
"Even though you knew the quota would be exhausted, you still insisted on investigating the price of canned fruit. Does this mean that the British authorities have increased the import quota for our canned fruits and vegetables? Usually, the import quota is increased only when there is a poor harvest in your country or other European countries, or when canned fruit production capacity is insufficient."
Ivanov: “…”
Ye Manzhi said nonsense, "Mr. Ivanov, the local canned fruit production capacity in Europe is insufficient. We have noticed this situation and will probably raise the price of canned fruit soon. You'd better sign the order as soon as possible."
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