"Let's go to the guesthouse first! I know this world of pleasure attracts you, but we are here for serious business." Secretary Lu said seriously.
Lu Qingyang whispered to Zhou Fang: "We still don't want to cause trouble, let's go back first."
Zhou Fang nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, I'll listen to Secretary Lu."
He subconsciously took a step away from the swimsuit model poster, as if it were some kind of monstrous beast.
Seeing that the two men had "surrendered", Officer Lu's expression eased a little, but he still remained highly vigilant, and "escorted" Lu Qingyang and Zhou Fang almost every step of the way, as if he were escorting important prisoners.
In the mainland, it is a guesthouse, but here in Hong Kong, it is a high-end hotel.
What surprised Zhou Fang even more was the elevator!
A doorman wearing a red uniform with gold edges and white gloves politely opened the shiny metal gate for them and made a "please" gesture.
It was obviously the first time for Secretary Lu to sit in an elevator. He had a stern face and tried hard to maintain the dignity of a cadre, but his body stiffened slightly when he stepped into the elevator.
The slight feeling of weightlessness when the elevator started almost made Zhou Fang scream out in surprise. He held on to the handrail beside him tightly, watching the doorman skillfully press the number "3". The metal door slowly closed, isolating the glittering world outside, leaving only the slight sound of the machine running in the narrow space.
"Third floor, here we are," the doorman said in Mandarin with a Chinese accent, and opened the gate again.
The corridor is also covered with thick carpet, the walls are covered with beige wallpaper with dark patterns, and there are soft wall lamps above the head.
Quiet, clean and spotless.
The scene in the room made Zhou Fang gasp.
The two single beds, covered with snow-white sheets and looking extremely soft, each have their own bedside table and small table lamp.
There is a large solid wooden wardrobe with a full-length dressing mirror embedded in the door, a large desk with an upholstered chair, and even a porcelain vase with plastic flowers and an ashtray on the desk.
The most eye-catching thing is a TV placed against the wall.
Zhou Fang was stunned as he watched the TV.
“Such a high-end TV?”
Lu Qingyang turned on the switch, and a sound came from the TV, which shocked Zhou Fang.
“It’s actually colorful.”
He looked at all the strange things in the room, touching them here and there, and was so excited that he couldn't rest in peace.
Lu Qingyang felt that this room alone was enough to excite him for a while.
He opened the curtains, looked at everything outside, and thought silently in his heart that this was the beginning of everything new.
The next morning, Lu Qingyang and Zhou Fang followed the inspection team's bus to a large, modern office building in Kwun Tong, Kowloon.
This is an exchange venue arranged by the Hong Kong government's Industry Department. The delegation will hold preliminary discussions with several European textile machinery suppliers who are interested in investing in the Mainland.
The venue was decorated in a solemn and Western style. The long conference table was covered with dark green velvet and placed with mineral water and high-heeled glasses.
The members of the inspection team were dressed in neat Mao suits or cadre uniforms and looked serious.
Secretary Lu arranged Lu Qingyang and Zhou Fang to sit in the "observer" position at the back of the conference room, near the door, and emphasized again in a low voice: "Listen carefully, learn attentively, watch more and talk less! Especially don't interrupt!"
Zhou Fang nodded obediently, but his eyes were firmly attracted by the few blond, blue-eyed, high-nosed and deep-eyed foreigners sitting across the conference table.
This was the first time he saw a living foreigner so close!
They wore well-tailored suits and ties, their hair was neatly combed, and their words and actions were filled with a kind of confidence and...superiority that Zhou Fang could not understand?
One of them was a foreigner with gray hair and gold-rimmed glasses, who was saying something in a rhythmic tone.
Sitting next to him was a young female translator wearing a suit and skirt and looking nervous.
The talks began.
The head of the inspection team, Mr. Li, spoke first, and his speech was translated by the translator Xiao Zhang.
Xiao Zhang's English level is considered pretty good in China, but he obviously has a hard time dealing with the highly professional textile machinery terminology and the fast, slightly fluent English of foreign businessmen.
The initial greetings and basic introductions went smoothly.
But when the topic gets into specific equipment performance, technical parameters and cooperation models, problems begin to emerge.
Mr. Hans, the German representative, took out a thick technical document, pointed to a chart on one page, and spoke faster:
“This integrated system features fully automated doffing and auto-coning, significantly reducing labor intensity and minimizing yarn breakage during transfer, which is crucial for maintaining yarn hairiness index within your specified tolerance…”
(This integrated system features fully automatic doffing and automatic winding, which significantly reduces labor intensity and minimizes yarn breakage during transfer, which is crucial to keeping the yarn hairiness index within your required tolerances...)
Translator Xiao Zhang's forehead began to sweat as she tried hard to capture the key words:
"This system has automatic doffing? And automatic winding? To reduce the fatigue of workers and the yarn breaking easily? This is very important to keep the small hairs on the yarn within the specified range?"
Several technically savvy cadres from the delegation frowned, apparently confused by the vague translation of “the small hairs on the yarn”.
Mr. Hans also noticed the difficulty in translation. He slowed down his speech and tried to use simpler words:
“The machine… reduces workers’ hard work… and keeps the yarn… smooth? Less fuzzy hair? Important for quality!”
(Machines…reduce the hard work of workers…keep the yarn…smooth? Less fuzzy? Very important for quality!)
Xiao Zhang was even more panicked: "The machines make the workers work so hard... The yarn... is smooth? Less hair...? Good quality!"
She translated haltingly, and the key technical terms "automatic winding" and "hair index" were completely lost in accuracy.
The atmosphere of the talks became somewhat stagnant.
Team leader Li tried to ask: "Excuse me, what is the energy consumption ratio of your equipment? And can the number of workers for 10,000 ingots be reduced further?"
Xiao Zhang translated it: “How much… electricity does it eat? And… workers for ten thousand spindles… can less?”
“Eat electricity?”
Mr. Hans and several foreign businessmen nearby looked at each other, obviously surprised by this straightforward translation, and then burst into suppressed laughter.
Although Head Li and other members of the inspection team could understand English, they also felt a little unhappy from the expressions and laughter of the foreign businessmen, and their faces looked a little ugly.
Secretary Lu was rubbing his hands in anxiety at the back, but there was nothing he could do.
The meeting place fell into an awkward silence.
The communication barrier of technical details is like a wall, standing between the two parties.
The members of the expedition communicated in low voices, with anxiety;
The foreign business representatives shrugged helplessly and spread their hands, indicating that communication was difficult.
At this moment, Lu Qingyang, who was sitting in the corner, knew that he could wait no longer.
He took a deep breath, and under the astonished gazes of Secretary Lu and Zhou Fang, he slowly raised his hand:
"Captain Li, Mr. Hans, I'm sorry to bother you. If you allow me, maybe I can help translate the questions about the Energy Efficiency Ratio and the Labor Force per 10,000 Spindles?"
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on the young man sitting in the corner.
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