Chapter 180
Li Qiong works in the catering industry. Every year, she returns to China with several distributors from the UK to attend the Canton Fair.
Mainly purchasing seasonings, porcelain and cheap candy and snacks.
She had actually been to the food and local products display area several times, but rarely stopped in front of the canned goods shelf and never associated canned banquet dishes with her business.
"Ms. Li, it's very common to use canned banquet dishes in Chinese restaurants. However, the distributors in Europe are mostly of European descent, and the canned foods they purchase mostly cater to European tastes, such as luncheon meat, canned pork in its original juice, and canned steamed pork. They won't even look at other canned foods, so canned banquet dishes are rarely seen in the European market."
Li Qiong nodded, saying that compared with native British people, the Chinese market was too small.
And foreigners don't understand Chinese cuisine.
Ye Manzhi opened a can of lotus-flavored chicken slices and offered her a taste, continuing the conversation. "I've met with Southeast Asian distributors before. They come to the Canton Fair every year specifically to buy canned banquet dishes. Their purchases are even greater than luncheon meat!"
Li Qiong asked in surprise, "Why is this canned food so popular in Southeast Asia?"
"Of course. Otherwise, who would we sell all these canned banquet dishes to? I once worked with a client from Singapore who bought banquet dishes in bulk. He sold them not only to Chinese restaurants but also to shops. It's said that people there work very hard, and when they don't have time to cook after get off work, they buy these canned dishes to eat with steamed buns or bread."
When Ye Manzhi first heard the introduction from the Singaporean customer, she was very surprised.
This kind of canned banquet food has basically no market in the country.
The main reason is that it is too expensive, the unit price is not less than one yuan.
If a family eats from a can of food, each person can only take one piece with chopsticks. How can it be more economical than cooking by yourself?
If worst comes to worst, you can still eat in the cafeteria.
Li Qiong tasted a few pieces of chicken and nodded, saying, "There are a lot of Chinese people there, and this canned food really suits Chinese tastes."
"Yes."
Ye Manzhi hardened her heart and opened another can of braised pork elbow and another can of braised pork trotter for her to taste.
This Ms. Li seems to be the type who is always grateful for what she has received.
Anyway, the Canton Fair is about to end, and if she doesn't give the samples to the merchants, she will have to carry them back the same way.
"Ms. Li, the pork knuckles and trotters are served with the meat and juices intact. They're served in a Chinese restaurant, simply heated up and ready to go. The flavors of these two cans are incredibly authentic, prepared by the master chefs at Yanbinlou. Among all the major restaurants in Binjiang, Yanbinlou is ranked number one on the tenth floor. Ms. Li, let me be frank: the chefs at your Chinese restaurant may not be able to create the same flavors as ours."
Li Qiong picked up a piece of pork elbow and put it into her mouth. The skin was soft and the lean meat was chewy.
The taste is indeed delicious, but it is a bit too salty for a southerner like her.
Ye Manzhi also knew that the seasoning of her canned food was quite salty. Before anyone could complain, she said, "The seasoning of canned products is generally slightly saltier than the food we usually eat, just like luncheon meat, which is also very salty. After all, this is a dish, and it should be eaten with a staple food. If it's not salty, it won't taste good with the staple food."
Li Qiong took another bite, put down her chopsticks, and asked calmly, "How much does this canned food cost?"
"1350g of braised pork knuckle is £12 a box, 10 jars per box."
That's about £1.20 a can.
Li Qiong glanced at the shelf and said, "I remember the price of luncheon meat was 7.3 pounds per box, which is only 31 pence per can. Your price for pork elbow is too expensive."
Ye Manzhi said: "A can of pork elbow weighs as much as four cans of luncheon meat, and the average price per gram is actually about the same."
"But the elbow has bones."
Ye Manzhi laughed. "If that's the case, then luncheon meat also contains starch, haha. The pork elbow is a real, whole elbow, and the pork is a large piece. When we sold luncheon meat before, we gave the distributor 31 pence per can, but after returning to the UK, the price of luncheon meat is over 1 pound per can. The price of a braised pork elbow in your Chinese restaurant should not be less than 3 pounds, right?"
She wanted to open another box of Four Happiness Meatballs for the other party to try, but was stopped by Li Qiong.
"The taste and quality of the banquet dishes are indeed good, but my restaurant has been operating in the UK for many years and mainly serves local Chinese people. If people knew that our dishes used canned products, I'm worried that it would damage our reputation."
Ye Manzhi still opened the can of Four Joy Meatballs and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter if you don't place an order. The Canton Fair is about to end. You can help me eat a few cans so that I don't have to bring samples back to the factory."
"Your canned goods can be exported to Southeast Asia, so you should have a lot of orders, right?"
Ye Manzhi said stubbornly, "Of course, after this Canton Fair, our production tasks will be scheduled until the end of the year."
In fact, for this kind of banquet dishes, she only placed an order for one pig's trotter and one order for four-happiness meatballs.
The unsaleable pork elbows were not sold at all.
The main reason is that the unit price is too expensive and the weight is too heavy.
Banquet dishes are mainly aimed at customers in Hong Kong Island and Southeast Asia, who prefer small portions of dishes, and a box of canned food is a small dish.
Moreover, Chinese restaurants in Southeast Asia are not large in scale, and no one will buy dishes that are too expensive.
Li Qiong chatted with her for a long time, but did not place an order for the canned banquet dishes.
She still followed her original plan, keeping an eye on the seasoning market and preparing to buy at the bottom on the last day of the conference.
Ye Manzhi has been rejected by customers countless times in this month. Only a few of them can sign the contract, while the majority do not.
Although the deal didn't go through, she didn't feel disappointed.
I called over a few friends who had nothing to do, and we finished the canned meat on the table together.
However, when Ye Manzhi reviewed the several clients he had contacted that night, he still listed Ms. Li Qiong separately.
She met very few female businessmen, and even fewer Chinese women doing business in Europe.
Li Qiong deserves a separate page in her record.
Most of the Chinese living in Europe at this time had some family background.
Ms. Li is probably in her thirties. Judging from her temperament and conversation, she should have received higher education.
Such women run large-scale food stores and Chinese restaurants, travel across oceans alone to purchase goods, and in order to maintain the reputation of the restaurant, refuse to use canned products.
Ye Manzhi felt that Ms. Li must be very enterprising in her career.
The other party was unwilling to sign the contract with her because she didn't find the right approach.
So, on the closing day of the Canton Fair, when Ye Manzhi met Li Qiong again, he started talking to her again.
"Ms. Li, have you signed the order for the seasonings you want to purchase?" It was still the familiar opening line.
"Not yet. I'll come back and check this afternoon."
Ye Manzhi invited the other party to sit at the small round table that day.
"Ms. Li, besides your Chinese restaurant, there should be other Chinese restaurants in the UK, right?"
Li Qiong nodded and said, "There are several Chinese restaurants in Chinatown."
Ye Manzhi smiled and asked, "Ms. Li, there are quite a few Chinese people in the UK. You run a food store. Have you ever considered purchasing canned banquet dishes and selling them in your store, like the distributors in Southeast Asia?"
“…”
“That way, we can not only sell to Chinese consumers, but also distribute to other local Chinese restaurants.”
Li Qiong's expression changed slightly. She looked at her and asked, "Are you willing to give me the distribution rights for canned banquet dishes?"
"Why not?" Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "I've already applied to my superiors. If you can complete the purchase of 70,000 pounds of banquet dishes before next year's Spring Canton Fair, we can give you the exclusive distribution rights for canned banquet dishes in the UK for 3-5 years."
Other British distributors only focus on classic canned meats such as luncheon meat and pork in original sauce. Chinese dishes have little appeal to them, so canned banquet dishes have never entered the European market.
Li Qiong is of Chinese descent and runs a shop and a Chinese restaurant, serving Chinese customers.
Maybe it can help them make a breakthrough in the European market.
Ye Manzhi rashly invited Li Qiong to be their distributor, betting on her ambition.
If she could sell the canned banquet dishes well, she might make more money than her store and Chinese restaurant!
Li Qiong sat at the small round table and quickly weighed the feasibility of becoming a dealer.
After pondering for a long time, she came up with an idea and said to Ye Manzhi, "Director Ye, could you please introduce me to the types of banquet dishes available? I would like to try a few more flavors."
Ye Manzhi agreed enthusiastically, and when she went to get the canned food, she also invited the team leader Gu Songqiu.
When negotiating with new dealers, leaders need to be present to supervise.
*
On the last day of the Canton Fair, Ye Manzhi negotiated with a distributor and signed an order worth 31,000 pounds.
There are several canneries in China that can make banquet dishes. Except for braised pork elbows, braised pork trotters, and four-happiness meatballs, which are designated to be produced by the Binjiang factory, other dishes such as crispy glutinous rice duck, braised pork, white-roasted chicken, shredded chicken and shark fin soup, preserved vegetable pork, etc. do not have designated manufacturers.
The pork elbows, pig's trotters and four-happiness meatballs can be designated as from the Binjiang factory thanks to Ye Manzhi's great rendering.
In her words, Binjiang's Yanbinlou is amazing. The recipes of Yanbinlou's chef are very authentic. The dishes from other factories don't taste as good as those from Binjiang.
Li Qiong has tried the products of Binjiang factory and found them to be really good. She also comes from a good family and has often been to big restaurants.
Of course, we would not choose the second best when we have the best, so under Ye Manzhi's strong persuasion, we decided to purchase products from Binjiang Factory.
The three products totaled £9,300.
The order amounts cannot be compared with those of the previous square can luncheon meat orders, but these products are unpopular in the factory, and are even slow-selling products.
Finding export channels for them can not only clear inventory but also enrich the factory's export product variety.
With the European market, maybe we can turn banquet dishes into best-selling products!
Ye Manzhi accompanied Li Qiong to the gate of the exhibition hall. When she said goodbye to her, she left the address, zip code and phone number of the Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau to her in front of the team leader.
"Ms. Li, we will speed up production on your order as soon as we get back and try to ship it to you as soon as possible. If you need additional orders before the Autumn Canton Fair, you can contact our Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau directly. Once we see your order, we will definitely arrange production immediately."
Li Qiong put the note away and politely shook hands with the two men and said goodbye.
Watching the other person's retreating figure, Gu Songqiu smiled and said, "Xiao Ye, you've found a good opportunity. Li Qiong is able to run local shops and restaurants, so she actually has quite a few connections. If we can use her connections to open up the European canned banquet food market, the head office will have to credit you with this achievement."
Ye Manzhi didn't hesitate and asked with a smile, "Team Leader, can the head office give me a certificate of honor? I'll put it up on the wall when I get home!"
Gu Songqiu laughed: "That will have to wait until next year. If Li Qiong becomes the exclusive agent in the UK next year, I'll send you one."
The two chatted and laughed as they returned to the food department. Before parting, Gu Songqiu asked, "Xiao Ye, do you want to come work at the head office?"
Ye Manzhi's heartbeat suddenly accelerated and jumped for a few beats with joy.
However, the excitement came and went quickly, and soon her heartbeat gradually returned to calm.
She smiled and declined. "Team Leader, being able to go to the capital to serve the people is something we local comrades dream of. But I've only been at Binjiang Factory for a little over a year, and I have a lot to learn. I'd like to stay at the grassroots level for more training. If you had asked me two years later, I would have packed up and joined you without a second thought!"
She is only a section-level cadre now. If she is assigned to the Beijing Food Import and Export Corporation, she can only run errands for the leaders.
Life may not be better than being the deputy director of a food factory.
Besides, Chang Yue'e and Lao Ye are still in Binjiang, and she can't bear to leave her parents.
Gu Songqiu expressed his understanding that Ye Manzhi was already married and that family issues had to be considered when transferring jobs.
Besides, she was only a section chief in the head office, and the procedures for transferring cadres from the local area were rather complicated.
Since the other party refused, she didn't force it.
…
Ye Manzhi did not accept the olive branch, but when she attended the Canton Fair, she was noticed by the leaders in Beijing, which made her feel very proud.
She felt that she was no longer the same Ye Manyi. She was now the Ye Manyi who had been favored by Beijing leaders!
So, when she took the boat to the island and reunited with her family, her joy was doubled.
After meeting the old couple of the Wu family, she went to the kindergarten to pick up her daughter first.
"Mom, why did you come just now?"
When Wu Yuzhuo saw his mother at the classroom door, he stopped playing games and flew over like a young swallow.
"I see you're doing well in kindergarten."
"Not at all!"
When Wu Yuzhuo was taken to kindergarten by his grandmother, he was shocked!
Her grandmother said that she didn't have to go to school if she went out to play, but she didn't expect that after coming to the island, she would still have to go to kindergarten!
It’s completely different from what mom and grandma said!
"I think it's good. You've been out for over a month now. If you don't go to kindergarten, wouldn't you forget all the nursery rhymes and morning exercises you learned?"
The sun was scorching and the wind was strong at the seaside, and Ye Manzhi thought he would see a little black boy.
Seeing that her daughter was still fair and clean, she felt that Director Sun's arrangement was quite reasonable.
She greeted the teacher and then went to the principal's office to meet her mother-in-law.
Director Sun was receiving guests at the moment, so Ye Manzhi tactfully did not stay any longer and went out with her daughter.
"Mom, where are we going?"
Accountant Wu, who successfully escaped from the kindergarten, spoke in an excited tone.
"Have you ever swam in the sea?" Ye Manyi asked.
"Yes, my grandfather, grandmother, and aunt have all taken me there. My uncle has taken me there too!" Wu Yuzhuo secretly reported. "My great-grandfather wanted to go too, but he had a heat stroke, and my grandfather wouldn't let him go."
Ye Manzhi ignored the old men and continued to ask, "Have you ever eaten seafood at the beach?"
"No, we all go home for dinner."
"Come on, I'll take you out to see the world!"
The two went home and put their swimsuits on under their clothes.
Ye Manzhi rode a bicycle with her daughter and followed the route she remembered to find the beach she had visited before.
"Sister Sun, do you still remember me?" Ye Manyi stopped in front of a bungalow and talked to the woman at the door.
Sister Sun put down her fishing net and stared at her for a few seconds, confusion in her eyes.
Ye Manzhi whispered, "A few years ago, I bought a lot of dried seafood from your house!"
After she reminded her, Sister Sun immediately remembered, "Oh, you are that one..."
After so many years, the young couple is still their family's biggest customers.
"Haha, I'm Xiao Ye!"
"Oh, Xiaoye, why are you here? Come and sit down!" Sister Sun greeted the guest warmly.
Ye Manzhi said that she was here on a business trip and went straight to their home when she arrived on the island and introduced her to her daughter.
Wu Yuzhuo politely called out "Hello, Auntie," with curiosity in his big eyes.
Sister Sun touched the little girl's head, went into the house, took out a basket, and invited the mother and daughter to eat grilled fish fillets.
"Xiao Ye, what are your plans for your business trip? Can you have dinner at my house today?"
"I have three days off, big sister. I'll eat at your place during these three days." Ye Manzhi took out three two-yuan bills and stuffed them into her pocket. "I've run out of food coupons. Can I pay you six yuan first? I'll refund you when the time comes."
"I don't need so much money..." Sister Sun wanted to push the money back.
"My little girl has never eaten any seafood. Please prepare some delicious food for us." Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "I want to bring the elderly at home to taste your cooking tomorrow."
Seafood is not cheap nowadays. She has to pay one yuan plus four taels of food coupons to drink seafood porridge in Guangzhou.
When she heard that more people were coming, Sister Sun no longer refused and was thinking about making some good food for them.
"Our production team's fishing boat just returned today. If you two are free, you can go to the beach and take a look. If anyone asks, just say you are relatives of Sun Jinhua's family."
"OK."
Ye Manzhi took her daughter to the beach, where several children were squatting together digging in the sand, and there were many shells in the small bucket next to them.
Wu Yuzhuo, who dug sand every time he came to the beach, was immediately attracted by the scene and ran over to dig with others.
When she was digging by herself, she was just playing with the sand, but the children in the production team could dig out treasures from the sand.
She was like a little country bumpkin, squatting next to people and saying "Wow" non-stop.
A little boy was embarrassed by her "wow" and handed her a shovel and invited her to dig shells with him.
As the accountant of the children's group, Wu Yuzhuo has a talent for uniting children.
Not only did he dig shells with everyone, but he was also taken by some children to visit a fishing boat on the shore.
There were some fish that slipped through the net on the deck, and the adults didn't have time to pick them up, so they all became the children's.
Accountant Xiao Wu was given two shells, a small shrimp, and a dead fish of unknown origin.
She held the fruits of her labor in both hands, trotted all the way to the coconut tree, and showed them to her mother like a treasure.
Ye Manzhi gave her a sip of coconut water and praised her, "Baby, you've got a good catch. When Auntie Sun cooks later, ask her to cook what you caught so you can taste the fruits of your labor."
Accountant Xiao Wu said seriously: "I didn't fish it out, I picked it up!"
"Haha, okay, make these that you picked up."
Ye Manzhi took out her camera and took a photo of Accountant Xiao Wu and her work before the seafood was put into the pot.
Sister Sun is a down-to-earth person. After taking her money, she prepared a particularly sumptuous lunch.
There were not only fish, shrimp and oysters, but also some crabs and abalone.
Wu Yuzhuo ignored these delicious foods and ate the unknown little fish he had picked up first.
"It would be great if my dad could come on this business trip too." Accountant Wu said with regret after getting pricked by a crab shell. "Let my dad see the fish I caught, and he can help me open the crab."
"Didn't you say you picked up that fish?" Ye Manzhi fed her a piece of crab meat and complained, "Now it seems you caught it again."
However, she also missed Dr. Wu very much.
I haven't seen him for more than a month. I wonder how Wu Zhengrong is doing at home.
This longing reached its peak when she took her children swimming in the sea.
Usually when the three of them went out swimming, she and Wu Zhengrong took turns looking after the cub.
Now she was the only one swimming with her child in the sea, so she couldn't take her eyes off him for fear that Accountant Wu would be swept away by the waves.
Only when the cubs come ashore to dig sand can she splash around in the sea.
It completely fails to show her heroic figure crossing the river.
But overall, the quality of her three and a half days of vacation was still very high.
She has no interest in other attractions and brings her baby to the beach to swim and dig in the sand every day.
During the period, the old couple of the Wu family and Aunt Wu were also invited to Sister Sun's house to eat authentic seafood.
She was going back to Binjiang with the trade group. Before leaving, she pulled her daughter aside and asked, "Baby, are you going back with Mommy, or with Grandpa and Grandma?"
Accountant Wu answered thoughtfully, "I'm going back with my great-grandfather and great-grandmother."
She only needs to attend kindergarten half a day on the island and can play for the rest of the time.
But after returning to Binjiang, she has to go to kindergarten from morning to night!
She spends more time in kindergarten than her parents do at work!
Ye Manzhi respected her choice and kept the thoughtful accountant Xiao Wu to stay with a group of old men and women.
She followed the provincial trade delegation back to Binjiang.
*
The train arrives in Binjiang in the morning.
Ye Manzhi really wanted to go home to wash and change clothes, but they still had three boxes of samples left.
She and Yu Youfang had to take these samples back and store them in the warehouse first.
So the two of them carried their bags and went back to the factory, panting.
They have been gone for over a month, but there doesn't seem to be much change in the factory.
Seeing his factory director appear at the office door, Zhou Ruyi stood up excitedly: "Director, you're back?"
"Haha, I just got off the train." Ye Manzhi came in carrying her luggage, took out a bag of local Guangzhou candies from her bag and handed it to her, asking casually, "Ruyi, has everything been going well at the factory while I was away?"
Zhou Ruyi didn't expect that her boss would bring her a gift while on a business trip, so she quickly took the candy and expressed her gratitude.
"Director, most things are going on pretty normal here at our factory. Last week, a reporter came to interview us. He wanted to follow up on the implementation of the Angang Constitution and see if there were any new changes after its implementation throughout the factory. Director Niu personally met with the reporter."
Ye Manzhi nodded.
After Director Lao Niu changed his mind, the "Angang Constitution" has been fully implemented in the factory for three months, and now is the time to produce results.
She suspected that the reporter was invited by the Propaganda Department.
"Anything else?"
Zhou Ruyi nodded rapidly, closed the office door, quietly walked back, and whispered, "There's one more thing I need to report. There was a worker named Liao Jie in Canning Workshop 3. Do you remember him?"
"Yes, he's from the canning team. He's quite a young guy."
"Just the day before yesterday, Liao Jie beat up Deputy Director Zhu Kehai. Director Zhu's eyes were black and blue, and his nose was bleeding." Zhou Ruyi added, "Director Zhu has been hospitalized for the past two days."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Why didn’t you tell me such an important and exciting thing earlier!
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