Chapter 141 Arrogant and Rude Foreign Experts
Charlie seemed not to see Director Zhou's outstretched hand, his gaze passing over the director's shoulder as he casually surveyed the workshop environment.
Director Zhang coughed awkwardly, and Charlie seemed to snap out of his daze. He gave a perfunctory handshake and then let go, forcing a fake smile: "Oh, sorry, Director Zhou, I was just spacing out."
Several young workers around him immediately widened their eyes, but the experienced worker silenced them with a look.
Even the cadres and employees present were furious when they saw this scene, their faces turning red with anger. They were extremely indignant at Mr. Charlie's behavior of not taking Director Zhou seriously.
Factory Director Zhou's jaw muscles tightened and then quickly relaxed, a flash of anger crossing his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it, waving his hand dismissively and smiling.
"Mr. Charlie, you must be tired from your journey. Our factory's machine has suddenly broken down, and the production task is urgent. We'll have to trouble you again."
"No, no, Director Zhou, relax, there's no need to be in such a hurry now."
Charlie calmly took out a cigarette case from his suit pocket, popped one out, and put it in his mouth. Immediately, someone next to him came over to light it.
He exhaled a smoke ring before slowly saying, "Let's talk about the terms first."
Factory Director Zhou frowned slightly and said sincerely, "Mr. Charlie, you see, if this machine cannot be repaired in time, subsequent production cannot be carried out at all."
"You surely understand that keeping this machine idle like this is a huge waste of time for both you and us."
"How about this, let's fix the machine malfunction first, and then sit down calmly and discuss it properly. What do you think?"
Charlie interrupted him directly, his Chinese broken but aggressive: "Director Zhou, I understand you're anxious, but my time is precious."
“If you want the machine repaired, that’s fine, but there are four conditions: First, a private car to pick me up every day, in one of your Hongqi sedans; second, my lunch must be prepared according to the standard menu, with Finnish butter and Leningrad-made sausages; third, no one except designated personnel, including yourself, may enter the workshop during the repair period; fourth—” He paused deliberately, flicking his cigarette ash, “the repair fee is ten thousand US dollars, settled in foreign currency.”
He casually tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out with his shiny leather shoes.
Factory Director Zhou's face darkened completely.
This is clearly taking advantage of someone's misfortune!
The factory couldn't apply for a quota of 10,000 US dollars in foreign exchange even after six months.
Upon hearing these four unreasonable demands, Director Zhou flew into a rage, his heart filled with indignation: This was no act of helping out; it was clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for them, treating the Chinese people like monkeys! He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.
Several elderly workers nearby were equally furious, turning their heads away in anger, unwilling to look at the arrogant and unreasonable Mr. Charlie again. Their faces were full of resentment and helplessness.
During that period, China's industrial development was still in a backward stage, and many advanced technologies and equipment relied on external sources.
Faced with this situation, due to their technical shortcomings, they had to rely on others, so the factory director, Director Zhou, and the others could only suppress their anger and lower their voices.
But this is not cowardice, but rather a kind of forbearance for the sake of development, a firm belief that one day they will be able to get rid of this predicament.
However, the machinery factory is in a very difficult situation and urgently needs to produce products to give its partners an explanation.
If he couldn't complete the order on time, Factory Manager Zhou knew that being criticized was secondary; after all, as the factory manager, he should take responsibility.
But what he was really unwilling to accept was that the reputation of the machinery factory, which he had worked so hard to build, might be tarnished and damaged because of this incident.
That was the culmination of years of hard work by everyone in the factory, and it was related to the future development and reputation of the entire factory. This was something he absolutely did not want to see.
However, the demands made by Mr. Charlie, who came from abroad, were extremely unreasonable.
From providing private car pick-up and drop-off services and imported food meals, to restricting personnel from entering and leaving the workshop, and demanding exorbitant foreign exchange repair fees, every single one of these practices reveals greed.
If his demands are not met, it seems he is a bottomless black hole, only making more and more unreasonable demands and increasingly exploiting China's wealth.
However, the production of machinery was imminent, as it concerned the livelihoods of many workers and the future development of the machinery factory.
In order to save the machinery factory, Director Zhou was filled with helplessness. After weighing the options, it seemed that he had no choice but to agree to Mr. Charlie's request.
The young translator blushed and was about to speak when he was stopped by a look from Director Zhou. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and his voice was hoarse but steady: "We understand Mr. Charlie's conditions. The factory needs time to study them, and we will give you a reply as soon as possible."
Charlie shrugged, took the glass of water from his assistant, and took a sip. The contempt in his eyes was almost tangible—he was certain that these Chinese had no choice and had no right to bargain.
Xu Zhili held her younger brother Zhi'an's hand tightly and stood quietly behind the master craftsmen.
She whispered to an older worker beside her, who was wearing faded overalls with oil stains on his cuffs, "Master, is the factory facing some difficulties?"
The old master craftsman turned his head and saw a pretty young woman he didn't recognize, with a well-behaved baby in tow. He sighed and said in a low voice, "Alas, our factory's 'old problem'—the core machine tool that came from Russia years ago—has completely broken down!"
"Master Liu and his apprentices have been working on it for two days, but they still haven't figured out what's wrong. And now, a foreign expert has arrived, asking for an exorbitant price. The factory manager is in a real bind..."
In the center of the workshop, the negotiations between Factory Director Zhou and Charlie had clearly reached a stalemate.
Charlie was like a cold, hard stone, refusing to budge an inch.
Factory Director Zhou frowned deeply, and the sweat on the back of his neck soaked the collar of his Zhongshan suit. He knew all too well that this machine was related to the factory's production target for the next season.
Just then, Xu Zhili gently patted her younger brother's hand, entrusting him to the care of the old master who had spoken to her earlier. She then took a step forward, her voice clear yet firm: "Director Zhou, could I go and take a look at the machine? Perhaps... I can give it a try."
Factory Director Zhou turned around in surprise upon hearing the voice, and when he saw it was Xu Zhili, his face was filled with surprise and doubt: "Comrade Xu?"
“This…this is no joke. This is a precision, large-scale piece of equipment. It’s completely different from the watches and appliances you usually repair.”
He found it hard to reconcile the slender, quiet girl in front of him with that heavy, oil-stained steel behemoth.
Charlie, who was not far away, noticed the commotion. He had a cigarette in his mouth and glanced at the translator, asking, "What is that woman saying?"
The translator explained in a humble voice, "Mr. Charlie, the lady said she wanted to try repairing the machine."
Charlie snorted as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, and exclaimed exaggeratedly in broken Chinese, "Her? A machine repairman? Hahaha."
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