Canton Fair (Part 2)
Alexander, the first foreign businessman from the Bald Eagle who wanted to sign the contract, magically pulled a business card from his pocket: "Tao, this is the business card of the general manager of the advertising company. If you want to change careers, this place will suit you. There are many Chinese working in their company, and there is absolutely no racial discrimination."
It's not entirely true that there's nothing there, but the atmosphere of the survival of the fittest is stronger there, and Alexander believes that with Peach's abilities, she can thrive there.
Mark, who was also one of the signatories, immediately chimed in: "Tao, there are companies like this in John's Country too. You're welcome to come. I'll have someone send you your business card later."
Upon hearing this, the foreign businessman from Gaul immediately squeezed out an opportunity to join the business card giveaway.
Wang Shuitao accepted the business card from Alexander and told the other two that she was looking forward to it before seeing them off.
She picked up her enamel mug and took a sip of water; her mouth was dry after talking so much.
Then he went to the booth of the Wuzhou Sugar Industry Research Institute and asked, "Where is Meng Songying?"
"Mr. Meng left home very early and should be in the industrial products exhibition area."
Wang Shuitao hesitated for a moment, then instead of rushing over, she went to find Zhou Suzhi, the person in charge of the food section of the exhibition.
"Manager Zhou," she greeted him.
On the first day of the event, Zhou Suzhi was extremely busy. The venue was fully prepared before it opened, but a bunch of problems suddenly appeared.
A factory had finished its work a long time ago, and after asking several times, they said everything was ready and there would be no problem. But just before opening, they suddenly jumped out and said the display board was loose and the opening would be delayed. When asked how long it would take, Zhou Suzhi thought it would be an hour or two or half a day, but she said it would be three days later. After being yelled at by her, she changed her mind and said it would start in the afternoon.
Zhou Suzhi angrily blacklisted their factory, thinking, "They're so careless, don't come back next time."
Then the power supply also failed. The tea business was a major exporter, and suddenly several stalls lost power. After checking for a long time, it turned out that the sockets had poor contact. Zhou Suzhi watched them push the plugs in one by one, her forehead veins bulging, before leaving.
Another person said they just wanted a small booth; their client had already been contacted by phone, it was just a matter of signing a contract, and they were there to help boost the exhibition's sales. Only one rich kid showed up, sitting there with his legs crossed and shaking, when suddenly he came running over with a long face, saying his client had skipped out on the bill.
She asked what to do. Zhou Suzhi, holding her breath, retorted, "What can we do? This is an exhibition! There are customers everywhere, why don't you go and attract some customers!"
The person said that nothing was prepared at the booth; the brochures and price lists were just hastily drawn up in half an hour last night.
Zhou Suzhi roared again: "Then hurry up and go back to do it!"
There were no alternatives; all we could do was hold our noses and whip them from behind to urge them to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Other problems arose, such as the exhibitors being late or taking leave, resulting in insufficient staff at the booth; or staff members being clueless when communicating with customers, making mistakes in product pricing, interpreting policies incorrectly, etc. As long as there were factories eagerly waiting for their services, they were immediately replaced.
We must achieve good results at this exhibition.
The selection of factories for the exhibition started well in advance, and it was repeatedly emphasized right before the opening that sufficient time must be allowed for the transportation of exhibits. As a result, in addition to the issue of exhibits arriving late, some did not arrive until after the exhibition had opened.
Alternatively, exhibits may be damaged during transportation or placement. After all, some items are fragile and can be damaged by a slight bump. Other equipment parts may be too small and could be lost due to vibrations during transport. Or, there may be a lack of spatial imagination, leading to the discovery that the provided dimensions are simply insufficient to accommodate the exhibits and prevent them from being displayed as planned.
Anyway, there are a whole host of problems; if you can think of them, they might happen.
In addition, there is the issue of contact between the two parties.
Those who had never dealt with foreign businessmen before, but whose products were of excellent quality, lacked confidence and were unprepared, and were unable to handle the surge in inquiries, causing some foreign businessmen to wait too long. Zhou Suzhi had to find people to help them, but where could such talents who could both meet the factory's needs for introducing products and communicate with foreign businessmen be found? She could only do her best.
There were also conflicts between exhibitors, and conflicts between foreign businessmen. Exhibitors and foreign businessmen couldn't communicate by phone, but they persevered and overcame the difficulties by arguing using internationally recognized hand gestures.
Zhou Suzhi resented that they had such perseverance but didn't use it for the right thing!
There were also complaints about the toilets not being cleaned in a timely manner.
Zhou Suzhi was experienced and knew that this situation would last for a whole month. She wished she could split herself into two, no, eight, no, eight hundred people to barely get through it.
She also has an excellent memory, and Wang Shuitao was the last one to be added, so even in the midst of the chaos, she could still remember that this was the factory manager of the Pearl Sugar Factory.
She handed her work to her assistant, telling him to get back to his tasks, and asked, "Director Wang, is there a problem?"
At the same time, I prayed in my heart: Please don't have any problems, please don't have any problems, I'm really too busy!
Wang Shuitao held a stack of papers in her hand—a thick collection of contracts—and handed it to Zhou Suzhi: "Manager Zhou, you know the situation at the Pearl Sugar Factory. It's just a small factory in a county town, and it's undergoing reforms. Currently, it's under the jurisdiction of the County Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, just waiting for someone to have a change of heart and buy it. The situation is not good. But this is the contract our factory signed today. Please take a look."
With good news, Zhou Suzhi's tired face regained its luster. She didn't look closely at the other factory's contract, but flipped through it casually and knew it was genuine, as long as it had an official seal: "Director Wang is really capable. No wonder two big sugar factories strongly recommended your factory. I was blind to your talent."
She thought Wang Shuitao was there to humiliate her, but as long as she achieved results, so be it. She'd done plenty of things that were met with disdain, and as long as she could earn some nice foreign exchange, that was fine.
Seeing that she had misunderstood, Wang Shuitao quickly explained, "Manager Zhou, that's not what I meant. I meant that our country has its own advantages in the food industry, and perhaps also in the handicraft industry. I secured these contracts by using the slogan of 'purely natural and pollution-free,' but I think other factories can also have that advantage, especially small factories. They don't have the advantage of large-scale production to reduce costs, but they are all located in small, beautiful places, right?"
Zhou Suzhi's eyes lit up. This was a good idea. Since foreigners liked this approach, let's use it. If we don't catch mice, what will the cat eat?
It's just a small factory... you don't see many of them at trade shows.
The handicrafts exhibition area has quite a few inheritors of traditional crafts, such as Suzhou embroidery. At the exhibitions a couple of years ago, a single double-sided embroidery piece sold for 100,000 pieces.
Those aren't mass-produced products from an assembly line, but they don't fit into the category of small factories either.
Zhou Suzhi looked at Wang Shuitao and asked for advice: "Director Wang, you are a capable person. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them."
Wang Shuitao pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, what I mean is that we can establish a green chamber of commerce. All members must undergo qualification review, and those whose products do not meet the standards cannot join. Currently, we will mainly focus on foreign exchange. What do you think, Manager Zhou?"
Zhou Suzhi grabbed Wang Shuitao and said, "Come with me!"
She knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Zhou Suzhi led Wang Shuitao inside: "Secretary-General Li, this is Wang Shuitao, the factory manager of the Pearl Sugar Factory. She just secured a total of eighteen orders. She has a suggestion that I think is quite feasible. I wonder if you have time?"
This exhibition is very important, and today is the first day, which is why Secretary-General Li is here to oversee things; otherwise, it wouldn't be so convenient.
The old man took off his reading glasses and looked at Wang Shuitao, somewhat surprised to find that she was a rather young girl.
Wang Shuitao was a little excited, her palms were sweaty: "Hello, Secretary-General Li."
This was the first time she had ever met someone of this caliber. It felt like she had returned to the first grade of elementary school when she first saw her homeroom teacher on the podium. Even though he was smiling at her, she still felt uneasy.
Li Qiming knew Zhou Suzhi well; she wasn't someone who spoke without reason and was quite composed. So he gently asked the two of them to sit down, then brought over two cups, brewed two cups of tea, and placed them in front of them.
"You've all worked hard, have a cup of tea to refresh yourself."
"It's not hard work at all."
Wang Shuitao took a small sip as if it were a precious treasure, but was burned and immediately calmed down.
Then they started talking about the preparations from the previous few days, mentioning that they had found a foreign businessman they had worked with before to help them act as an inside agent, and that they had given some money to the residents on the top floor of the apartment building to help them plant flags. They then went on to talk at length about finding pain points and advantages to sell white sugar and brown sugar.
Finally, regarding the proposal to establish a chamber of commerce, we should take it seriously and proceed accordingly.
Li Qiming listened quietly without making a sound, but it was clear that he was listening very attentively. He was thinking about establishing a chamber of commerce.
Chamber of Commerce, industry association, or regional association.
It existed in ancient times, when it was also called a guild or trade association. Its earliest prototype can be traced back to the Sui and Tang dynasties. At that time, commerce and handicrafts flourished, and "trades" emerged that gathered together according to their industries. For example, Chang'an had a brocade weaving guild and a gold and silver guild.
During the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, these guilds flourished even more, with a significant increase in the number of guilds. In Bianjing alone during the Northern Song Dynasty, there were more than 160 guilds. Consequently, industry regulations also came into being.
This is just an industry association. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants, Anhui merchants, and Guangdong merchants emerged. These merchant groups were spread across all walks of life, integrating resources and helping each other through their guild halls.
If a chamber of commerce were established, its influence would be enormous. It would be a huge network of relationships, and could even determine the direction of an industry.
Li Qiming asked, "If we follow Comrade Wang's suggestion, would it be more convenient and faster for these large factories to participate directly?"
Wang Shuitao could certainly understand this situation.
but……
"Secretary-General Li, the reason for establishing this Green Chamber of Commerce is twofold. First, I want to promote our country. Since we are currently lagging behind in technology, our country needs a different image. Green mountains and clear waters are a good choice, and perhaps we can also develop the tourism industry."
Handicrafts, on the other hand, serve as a form of cultural promotion. When selling them, one always needs to highlight their selling points, such as how they were a favorite of one of our emperors. Now that the feudal era is over, those emperors enjoyed so much wealth from the people during their lifetimes; it would be good if they could earn even a penny of foreign exchange from it. Moreover, it would greatly benefit the tourism industry.
As for large factories, my opinion is that small factories are better. Our pearl sugar factory is a small factory, and to be honest, these days are more difficult than before. We're a little better off, though, because we have orders from Sweden to support us, and other things..."
She choked up and couldn't continue.
“I know that life has to go on, but big factories have other advantages. They have good machines, production lines, and can reduce costs and sell more at lower prices. But what do small factories have? Small factories are doomed if they engage in price wars, but they are also doomed if they don’t. I was thinking that if there was another way to go, I would give it a try.”
When she got emotional, Wang Shuitao's eyes welled up with tears.
She saw the workers' anxiety and listlessness. Times must move forward, and growing pains are inevitable, but it would be good if the pain could be alleviated a little.
Sighing inwardly, Li Qiming's expression softened considerably. He was a good factory director, always thinking of the people.
but……
"Comrade Wang, I understand your feelings, but you must understand that this chamber of commerce cannot be established with only small factories."
Or rather, it's useless for a chamber of commerce to be established if it only consists of small factories.
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