Chapter 179
The Canton Fair mainly deals in export business, but occasionally it also imports some products from middlemen.
Ye Manzhi had heard a few days ago that the sundry goods group had signed a large export order for ceramics and curtains with an Italian middleman, and had also purchased linen and embroidery thread from him.
The two sides have give and take, which can maintain the relationship with major customers.
Miller was one of the largest middlemen in West Germany, a country whose manufacturing industry seemed quite advanced.
Ye Manzhi then came up with the idea of purchasing a concentrated juice production line.
She thought Miller might become a big client.
Therefore, she spent a lot of money this time. After asking Ivanov and Miller to sit at the small round table, she brought a can of braised pork elbow, a can of stir-fried shredded pork, and two bottles of beer to entertain the customers.
The stir-fried shredded vegetables were produced by the Nanjing Cannery, while the braised pork elbows were produced by their Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory.
Ye Manzhi only brought three cans of pork elbows when she came to Guangzhou this time, all of which were produced before last year's fire.
The cans are well sealed and have a long shelf life, so they should still be edible.
"I heard that people in West Germany really like eating pork knuckles. Mr. Ivanov and Mr. Miller, I'd like to invite you to try our canned braised pork knuckles."
Ivanov picked up the can and examined it carefully. "I don't think I've seen this kind of product on the shelf before," he said in confusion.
Ye Manzhi laughed and said, "This kind of canned food is custom-made for our big customers."
In the years following the Great Leap Forward, the factory canned many of its specialty dishes, and braised pork elbow was one of them.
However, braised pork elbows are expensive and not popular, and due to the shortage of supplies in recent years, this canned food has gradually been discontinued.
She poured beer for the three of them, clinked glasses with them, and then asked with a smile, "Mr. Miller, what kind of fruit juice concentrate are you planning to buy?"
"Orange juice, tangerine juice, strawberry juice and tomato juice from concentrate."
Ye Manzhi paused for a moment, then smiled calmly, "Our country is rich in oranges, tangerines, and strawberries, and we have a considerable area for tomato cultivation. If we can bring in a production line, we'll have no problem providing you with these concentrated juices."
Ivanov relayed her words to Miller, and the two chattered in English for a long time.
Not knowing what they were discussing, Ye Manzhi felt a little regretful. He should have invited Yu Youfang to negotiate together.
She waited silently for a moment, then heard Ivanov say, "Mr. Miller needs to contact someone back home to find a manufacturer for a concentrated juice production line. But, Ye, West Germany's manufacturing industry has already entered the automation stage. His quote for you might not be low, and he might even take a commission."
Ye Manzhi smiled and nodded, saying, "Mr. Miller is a middleman, so it's normal for him to take a cut."
As a middleman, you must make money on both ends.
She didn't expect anyone to work for free.
It would be even better if we could get the world's most advanced production line.
The domestic manufacturing industry still has a blank in this area. The more advanced the equipment he can get, the easier it will be to convince his superiors to allow them to introduce this production line.
As long as Miller is willing to cooperate in this barter manner, everything else can be discussed.
Ye Manzhi ate and drank with the client for another hour.
After seeing the guests off, Wei Lin, who had previously served Miller, came over and asked, "Xiao Ye, is that West German customer here to buy concentrated juice?"
"Yes, he seems to have been wandering around for several days."
Wei Lin said speechlessly, "We don't have any source of concentrated juice. It's a complete waste of time for you to talk to him for so long."
Ye Manzhi didn't mention the production line. He laughed and said, "I'm free anyway, so I'll see if he has any other purchasing intentions."
She had something on her mind, so after the museum closed that day, she asked Yu Youfang to take a stroll to the Pearl River.
The exhibition hall is not far from the Pearl River. In recent days, the two of them always go to the shore after get off work and buy fruits and seafood porridge from the peddler's boat.
One dollar plus four ounces of food coupons could allow the two of them to share a large bowl of seafood porridge.
They received travel allowances when they came to Guangzhou on a business trip, and this little luxury meal after get off work was the time they looked forward to most every day.
Ye Manzhi sat on a small stool and relayed her conversation with Miller to Yu Gong.
Yu Youfang frowned when she heard this and said, "Even if we really introduce this production line, it may not make any money for our factory."
"Yes, when I heard he wanted to buy concentrated orange and tangerine juice, I felt a little worried. We can grow tomatoes and strawberries on a large scale in Binjiang, so producing tomato and strawberry juice is not a problem, but oranges and tangerines are not suitable for cultivation."
There is a saying that goes, "Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines."
Oranges are suitable for growing south of the Huai River, but they don’t taste the same north of the Huai River.
The same goes for oranges. Neither of these two fruits is suitable for large-scale cultivation in Binjiang.
Yu Youfang stirred her bowl of porridge and said, "Orange flavor and orange soda are the mainstream in both the domestic and international markets. Mr. Miller must be mainly purchasing orange juice and orange juice. If we put the production line in Binjiang, we will have to transport oranges from the production area."
The Binjiang factory doesn't mind the effort, but now the whole country is on the same page, and the superiors will definitely give priority to enterprises that own the raw material production areas.
They really have no advantage in terms of raw material supply.
Therefore, even if Ye Manzhi negotiated for this production line, it would only be a favor to others.
Seeing that she agreed with him, Ye Manzhi said dejectedly, "How about I report this to the team leader? Have her send someone to talk to Miller. Anyway, I don't speak English or German, so communicating with Miller is quite difficult."
In fact, whether this kind of cooperation is feasible and how much foreign exchange is needed to purchase equipment should be reported to superiors.
But she had been keeping this matter to herself and not telling Gu Songqiu today, because she wanted to discuss it with her own people first and try to keep this production line in the Binjiang factory.
Gu Songqiu is the leader of the head office. Once she finds out about this, Binjiang Factory will no longer have the final say on the matter.
Yu Youfang comforted her, saying, "It's good to import equipment, but we also have to see if this business is suitable for our factory. If we can't supply raw materials, there will be endless trouble in the future."
The two discussed it and finally decided to report the matter and ask the leader to send someone to contact Miller.
No matter where the equipment is given to, as long as it can be introduced into the country, it will be beneficial to the country.
After eating the seafood porridge, they strolled along the river bank for more than an hour. It was almost nine o'clock when they returned to the hotel.
After taking a bath, Ye Manzhi lay on the bed thinking about her Dr. Wu and her little cub.
The kid must be having fun on the island now, but I don’t know what Wu Zhengrong is doing.
Since both mother and daughter were not at home, Dr. Wu returned to his happy bachelor life.
She thought about her family, and her thoughts unconsciously drifted to work.
After struggling for a while, she turned over and asked Yu Youfang in the next bed, "Mr. Yu, don't you think we need to report such a big thing as the production equipment to our superiors? Besides the head of the food reception team, we should also mention it to the head of our provincial trade delegation, right?"
Yu Youfang asked with a smile, "Are you still not giving up?"
"Hey, with a brand new production line right in front of us, who can give up so easily?"
Ye Manzhi knew very well how difficult it was to build a set of production equipment.
Despite her many efforts throughout the past year, she had not been able to buy new equipment for the canning plant.
It’s all because of lack of money.
Now that there is an opportunity to barter and exchange products for equipment, she will definitely actively pursue it!
Yu Youfang didn't expect her to be so tenacious, so she supported her, "Then let's talk to the team leader tomorrow, just in case the leader has a solution."
Ye Manzhi couldn't wait until tomorrow, so she immediately sat up from the bed, changed her clothes and went to knock on the leader's door.
The head of the trading delegation is Deputy Director Duan of the Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau.
It was already quite late, and Ye Manzhi was a young female comrade, so he did not invite her in.
The two walked out of the hotel and started chatting on the street.
After listening to her introduction, Team Leader Duan asked, "Did Mr. Miller tell us what payment method we'll use? Will it be all deductions from the purchase price, or a combination of purchase price and foreign exchange?"
"We haven't reached that stage yet. He's just a middleman. He needs to contact the West German manufacturer first to finalize product specifications and pricing." Ye Manzhi shared her concerns with him. "We in Binjiang don't have an advantage in raw material supply. I'm worried that once we secure the equipment, it will be allocated to companies in other provinces."
As the deputy director of the Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau, Captain Duan naturally hopes to keep this production line in the province.
Although the whole country is like a chessboard, cadres from all over the country will inevitably have local-centered thinking.
Introducing one more production line will not only enrich their export list, but also solve a lot of surplus labor.
He wandered on the side of the road with his hands behind his back, and for the time being he had no particularly good solution.
Raw material supply is their shortcoming. Even if they get the equipment back, transporting the raw materials will be a big problem.
"Please give me some time to think about this," Commander Duan warned. "The West German merchant hasn't replied yet, so there's no need to report this to the conference. Once he has definite information, we can discuss it. But you still need to have a good conversation with the West German merchant."
Ye Manzhi nodded in agreement.
She was on high alert here, but Mr. Miller didn't show up for several days.
It was already the second half of the Canton Fair, and she and Yu Youfang still had to help their own factory receive orders, so they had no time to pay attention to the production line that might not make any money.
*
On Sunday, Liangyu from my eldest sister-in-law's family came to the Canton Fair with his younger brother Liangchen.
"Liangyu, why did you two come back from the island so early?"
The chubby boy who helped her and Wu Zhengrong take photos a few years ago has grown into a tall and fat young boy.
Next to him was a small creature about the same size as a taxi.
"My mom doesn't want us to play on the island anymore and wants us to come back to school." Liangyu carried his brother to a chair and told him to sit still and not move. "Aunt, Youyan is doing well with my grandma. You don't have to worry."
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "She's with her grandparents, so I have nothing to worry about. No one will be watching her this time, so she can finally have fun."
She was mainly more at ease with Youyan's great-grandfather and great-grandmother.
After hearing her words, Fatty No. 2, who was sitting on the chair, mumbled something in vernacular, which Ye Manzhi didn't understand.
"What did Liangchen say?" She looked at Liangyu.
Liangyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Youyan was very well behaved on the island. He didn't run wild. My grandma took him to kindergarten a few days ago."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Her mother-in-law's job as kindergarten principal is really not in vain.
Accountant Wu also went to kindergarten in the south.
"Why is she allowed to go to kindergarten?" Ye Manyi still wanted to ask the reason.
"My great-grandfather went to the beach to bask in the sun and got a bit of heatstroke. He and my great-grandmother wanted to rest. So my grandmother took Youyan to kindergarten. She goes to kindergarten during the day, and we take her out to play in the afternoon when the sun is not shining."
His younger brother was also going to kindergarten, but because he couldn't speak Mandarin, the teachers and other children couldn't understand what he was saying, so he escaped.
However, as soon as my great-grandfather suffered from heatstroke, his mother urged them to come back to school.
Liangchen only had one day more freedom than Youyan.
Ye Manzhi felt a little amused by her daughter's situation. She asked about the old couple's condition. After hearing that they were all fine, she asked her two nephews, "Liangyu, Liangchen, what would you like to eat? Your aunt is treating you today."
Liangyu was already a middle school student and knew that things at the Canton Fair were not cheap. He shook his head to indicate that he had eaten before coming here.
His parents were both on duty today, so he brought his younger brother to the Canton Fair to visit his aunt and to take a look at the toy exhibition area.
But Liangchen is a few months younger than Youyan, and is at the age when he is greedy. He nodded to indicate that he wanted to eat delicious food.
It was a rare opportunity for Ye Manzhi to entertain her husband's children, so she generously bought two bags of children's biscuits, two bags of beef jerky, two packs of milk candy, and two bottles of fruit juice soda for the two of them to share.
Liang Chen said thank you very politely. After opening the children's biscuits, he gave one to Ye Manzhi first, then to his brother, and then to the aunt next to him. The aunt hesitated for a moment, stretched out her palm to take the biscuit, and said thank you to him.
Ye Manzhi glanced at the female comrade and then looked away.
Today is the weekend and there are many people visiting the Canton Fair. The small round tables in the middle of the hall are all full.
This comrade shared a table with them.
However, I don’t know if it’s a habit developed at home or in kindergarten, but Liangchen has to be given food when he eats.
After the first cookie was eaten, he started the second round of distribution.
"One for my aunt, one for my brother, one for my aunt, and one for me."
He distributed four rounds in total. When the fifth round was about to begin, Ye Manzhi waved her hand and said, "Liangchen, Auntie doesn't want to eat anymore. You and brother can eat."
The woman next to him said embarrassedly, "Little friend, I won't eat either."
Ye Manzhi smiled at her kindly. "This is our children's nutritional biscuits from Binjiang. The recipe only contains flour, milk powder, eggs, sugar, salt and vitamins. Children love it. Some hospitals even prescribe our biscuits for malnourished children..."
Liangchen couldn't speak Mandarin, but he understood, so he nodded and said, "The cookies are delicious."
It wasn't enough for him to just say it once, Liangyu translated it for his brother again.
An adult and two children introduced the nutritional value and popularity of this biscuit to others.
Maybe her sales pitch worked, or maybe the other party felt a little guilty after eating the child's food.
People actually placed an order with her!
The amount was not high, just £370 in total.
However, with the fan's order in front of her, Ye Manzhi was not picky about the size of the order and happily signed the contract with the other party.
Factory Manager Xiao Ye, who successfully signed the contract, still remembered the contribution of the little tool man. When the two nephews left, she bought four more packs of biscuits for them to take home and eat slowly.
After seeing the two children off, as the museum was about to close, Ye Manzhi met Mr. Miller, whom she had not heard from for several days.
Yu Youfang helped Miller translate.
The general meaning is that Miller couldn't make overseas calls and couldn't contact the manufacturer for the time being, but he met a fellow East German at the Canton Fair who was also engaged in manufacturing.
According to this fellow villager, the price of a concentrated juice production line in East Germany is about 12,000 to 15,000 pounds.
If the Chinese side can accept this offer, he can contact the East German manufacturer to purchase after he returns.
Of course, his agency fee is not cheap, it is 8%.
In other words, he would get a commission of about one thousand pounds for one set of equipment.
Ye Manzhi felt that the quotation was too expensive. After adding the commission, one imported production line was equivalent to three domestic canning production lines.
Miller earned far more than just the 8% commission. A middleman has to make money on both ends. Ye Manzhi suspected that he could make at least three thousand pounds from it.
But Miller was the largest middleman in West Germany and had been attending the Canton Fair for many years. There were two great advantages to having him represent the company.
On the one hand, China can use the payment for goods to offset the entire equipment payment without consuming the country's foreign exchange reserves, and can easily obtain import licenses from the foreign trade department.
On the other hand, Western countries imposed a technological blockade on the socialist camp, and some advanced equipment was difficult to import from them. If Miller could contact manufacturers in East Germany, he could avoid a lot of procedural troubles.
The benefits are obvious, but the price is too high.
When Ye Manzhi was hesitant, Captain Duan made the decision without hesitation: "Talk to him! Talk to him! It's just concentrated juice, right? Give it to him!"
"..." Ye Manzhi reminded, "Our raw material supply is a problem. We may not be able to deliver enough concentrated juice within the specified time limit."
According to Miller, they have to pay off all equipment costs within eighteen months after the concentrated juice goes into production.
"I've contacted comrades in a southern province," said Duan complacently. "They still have import quotas this year. They have a food factory there that's planning to install a new jam production line and has just replaced two sets of old equipment. If we're willing to give them this concentrated juice production line, they can give us the two sets of old equipment."
The team leader refused to say which food factory it was, and Ye Manzhi did not ask.
Her eyes sparkled as she asked, "Captain, are those two sets of old equipment still usable?"
"Of course it can be used, but the production capacity is insufficient. They produce a lot of fruits and vegetables over there, and the old equipment can't keep up with production needs. But our fruit planting area in Binjiang is not large, so this old equipment is perfect for us!"
Ye Manzhi quickly recalled the jam products at the Canton Fair.
Strawberry jam, apple jam and pineapple jam are all popular.
If these two sets of equipment are introduced to Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory, they will be able to produce strawberry jam and apple jam!
The supply of these two raw materials is still no problem.
Ye Manzhi confirmed with him: "Captain, after these two sets of equipment arrive in our province, they will definitely be allocated to our Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory, right?"
Captain Duan nodded slightly: "Go ahead and talk without worry."
Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is a provincial unit and is also considered a star enterprise on the province's foreign trade export front.
Dozens of products and specifications are exported every year.
If conditions permit, the province also wants to make the Binjiang factory bigger and stronger.
With the leader's approval, Ye Manzhi felt relieved.
She had to have a good talk with Mr. Miller and try her best to get more benefits for the sister unit. After all, they were going to get two sets of equipment for free.
Although it is old equipment, it is given to them for free. They only need to pay the shipping fee, so why be picky!
She asked Mr. Miller to come out and negotiate with the other party together with Yu Youfang.
They don't understand anything about the equipment, and nothing has been done yet.
Ye Manzhi only made two requests.
One is that the equipment must be the most advanced automated production line. Don’t fool us with semi-automatic equipment.
Another thing is that no matter what the final transaction amount is, if the Chinese side can pay the full amount within one year after the official production, the total amount will be discounted by 10% on the original basis.
"No, no, no, 10% is not enough," Miller shook his head. "The best discount is 4%."
"Then let's make it 8%. We can't give in any further."
The two sides haggled over the preferential rate for more than an hour and finally settled on 6%, which is equivalent to paying less than half a year's loan interest.
If the delivery can be made six months earlier, China can save about 18,000 yuan.
Further details will be revealed after Miller contacts the manufacturer.
*
Ye Manzhi negotiated with Miller for more than a week for the two free sets of jam production equipment.
She felt that if she continued talking for a few more days, she would be able to learn to speak English.
After Miller's departure, the Canton Fair is coming to an end.
After the conference, all members of the trade delegation will have three and a half days of vacation and can travel around Guangzhou.
Ye Manzhi planned to ask for leave from the team leader, go to the island to reunite with the whole family, and rescue her daughter from the kindergarten.
Her mind has drifted to the upcoming holidays, but the last few days of the Canton Fair are actually the peak trading period of the year, so they cannot slack off yet.
Many customers who have been waiting and watching will come to sign orders in the next few days.
Ye Manzhi signed three big orders in the morning, but unfortunately they had nothing to do with his own food factory.
She could only comfort herself that the whole country was in a good situation and the Binjiang factory could also take advantage of some orders signed by others.
After lunch, while taking a break at the small round table area, Ye Manzhi met the female customer who had purchased children's biscuits from her last time.
"Ms. Li, haven't you signed for the seasoning you wanted to buy yet?"
"No, let me take a look."
Li Qiong waited from the opening to the closing, hoping to buy at a low price in the last few days of the conference.
The current price is not even the lowest, so she wants to wait until the last day.
"Don't you run a grocery store in England?" Ye Manzhi asked curiously as she opened a bottle of soda for her. "How could a grocery store need so many seasonings? Your store must be very large!"
"My shop is in Chinatown, and many Chinese people come to my shop to buy Chinese seasonings." Li Qiong thanked her for the soda and said with a smile, "And I also run a Chinese restaurant, so there's a huge demand for seasonings."
"Wow, you opened a restaurant in the UK? You're amazing!" Ye Manzhi gave her a thumbs-up. "This is the first time I've met a restaurant owner overseas! Are the chefs in your Chinese restaurant Chinese or foreigners?"
“There are Chinese and foreigners.”
Ye Manzhi grinned in disdain: "Can foreign chefs cook our Chinese food?"
Li Qiong smiled and said, "Foreign chefs can make some simple dishes, such as egg fried rice, but we still need our own people to prepare banquet dishes."
Ye Manzhi thought that fried rice with egg was considered a dish, so the taste of the international friends wouldn’t be very good!
"Can the chef in your restaurant make dishes like braised pork elbow, braised pig's trotter, and four-happiness meatballs?"
Li Qiong shook her head: "We mainly serve southern cuisine, which is relatively light in flavor."
"Braised pork elbow and four-happiness meatballs seem to be popular in both the north and south, right? I see a lot of southerners also like to eat braised pork elbow."
Ye Manzhi stood up and walked to the display shelf to pick out several canned foods, then went back to the office to get a can of braised pork elbow.
Place several cans of food on the round table one by one and show them to her.
"Ms. Li, I think you shouldn't just focus on the price of the seasonings. Why not consider our canned goods? Braised pork elbow, four-joy meatballs, braised pig's trotter, stir-fried three-shredded vegetables, chicken slices in lotus sauce, glutinous rice chicken, and sardines in tomato sauce—these are all banquet dishes, and the taste is just as good as freshly made ones. If your restaurant chef can't make them, you can use these canned banquet dishes to cater to the different tastes of guests from both the north and the south."
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