Chapter 222: The Exhibition

They were kicking themselves.

Xie Changning could feel eyes on her from all directions, but she paid them no mind. Jerry, however, was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

’Could it be? Did they realize I approached Xie Changning ahead of time to get an inside track?’

The thought made Jerry panic a little. ’I hope this doesn’t cause any trouble for Xie Changning,’ he worried.

"It’s nothing," Xie Changning said. "They’re just envious that we can communicate so easily." She wasn’t entirely sure what was behind all the stares, but she could definitely see envy in some of their eyes.

’They’re probably just curious about our conversation.’

At times, Xie Changning found it quite remarkable. Not a single person here looked at her with prejudice. Even the factory manager who had previously disliked her wouldn’t stoop to attacking her with malicious, vulgar rumors.

’Everyone here has such integrity!’

As they talked, time seemed to pass more quickly. Before they knew it, their food was served.

They stopped talking and focused on their meal.

After the meal, Jerry patted his stomach in satisfaction. "Xie, you were right. The food here is best enjoyed slowly. I’m completely full now!"

Xie Changning nodded.

The two of them left the first floor and went back to their respective rooms.

After Jerry left, the managers from the other factories tentatively approached Xie Changning. "Manager Xie, you seem to know that foreign gentleman quite well?"

’I’m so jealous!’

’If you know a foreign businessman, you can probably secure a huge amount of business!’

Xie Changning nodded. "He’s my international agent."

"!!!"

They all knew Xie Changning had an agent overseas, but they had never seen the person before. They hadn’t expected her agent to be such a young man.

’Doesn’t that mean the top seller title at this Autumn Trade Fair will be in Xie Changning’s hands again?’

The very thought was enough to make them burn with jealousy!

Xie Changning could tell they were green with envy. Still, they were all good people. Jealousy aside, they still hoped for high overseas sales figures.

They knew full well they couldn’t achieve what Xie Changning had.

Without her, they’d likely fall into a vicious cycle of internal competition, frantically undercutting each other’s prices.

Now, their factories’ foreign trade operations were all profitable, and their superiors’ attitudes toward them had improved significantly. They no longer had to fret about applying for government subsidies.

They just had to apply for a certain amount of subsidy.

"Manager Xie, could you share some of your business secrets with us? This whole ’agent’ thing is completely new to us!"

"That’s right! We’re all sister factories here. We should help each other out!"

Everyone wanted to boost the economy.

Xie Changning tilted her head and thought for a moment before speaking. "Lin Province might be holding a seminar on foreign trade in the future. Of course, it’s just a plan for now. The director of the Foreign Trade Bureau has been submitting the proposal to our leadership for the past couple of days. We’ll have to wait and see if it gets approved."

’In reality, she knew as she said it that it would be approved.’

’Everyone was united right now, focused on one thing: boosting production and growing the economy.’

’It was the era of "let some get rich first to help others get rich later." The leadership wouldn’t be stingy about sharing knowledge. They might even organize a nationwide event, striving to lift the entire country’s economy.’

Xie Changning’s words put everyone’s minds at ease.

"Alright, alright. We’ll have our leadership keep an eye out for it as soon as we get back!"

"I’m going to call my boss right now!"

"We can’t miss this opportunity!"

Xie Changning had been the top seller at the last two Guangzhou Trade Fairs. There was so much to learn from her. They absolutely had to attend!

By the time Xie Changyi found out, practically everyone from the factories attending the Guangzhou Trade Fair had heard the news.

Xie Changyi: "..."

’She’s such a blabbermouth.’

Back in Lin Province, a high-ranking official was initially confused when he started receiving calls from his counterparts in other provinces. He thought they were just calling to check in, until they started asking when Lin Province was going to hold its foreign trade seminar. Only then did he realize they weren’t just making friendly inquiries.

’They must have heard about the foreign trade thing from the people at the Guangzhou Trade Fair.’

The senior official laughed heartily. "It’s just a proposal for now. I’m surprised you all heard about it so quickly!" He mentally added, ’I wonder which blabbermouth let it slip.’

They all knew it was just a proposal.

They were calling to pressure the senior official into making it a reality.

If he didn’t, they would have plenty to say about it.

Everyone involved was sharp, so the senior official didn’t beat around the bush. He confirmed they were indeed planning to hold it, they just hadn’t decided on the scale yet—large or small...

The senior official spent the entire morning exchanging pleasantries, and by the end of it, he had no choice but to officially commit to holding the foreign trade seminar.

’A seminar, hmm. It could be turned into a mutually beneficial procurement fair.’

’That would be good for Lin Province, too.’

And so, the senior official’s main task for the afternoon became holding a meeting with the other officials in Lin Province about the ’Foreign Trade Seminar’.

The outcome was positive; everyone agreed it was an excellent proposal.

-

While Lin Province was in meetings discussing the seminar, the Guangzhou Trade Fair in Shencheng City was kicking off early the next morning.

First thing in the morning, Xie Changning’s team was up and getting their materials ready.

The translators, dressed in black suits, put on their official Lin Province translator badges, ready for the day.

When Xie Changning came out, everyone was waiting for her. She gave a small smile to the group in the hallway. "Let’s go!"

This time, Xie Changning’s contingent was different from before.

At the past two Guangzhou Trade Fairs, Xie Changning’s workers had worn their standard factory uniforms. But this time was different. Just like on her trip abroad, they were all wearing short-sleeved shirts and carrying backpacks branded with the factory’s name.

They also had small promotional gifts.

Things like towels, handkerchiefs, and tea mugs bearing the Anong County Machinery Factory’s mark were ready to be given to foreign customers who placed orders.

Of course, the mark wasn’t the factory name itself, but a logo that Xie Changning had registered beforehand.

A small version was placed on each item, so it didn’t look gaudy.

The moment Xie Changning and her team entered the exhibition hall, all eyes were on them. They were so uniform!

Every single person was dressed identically.

The bags they carried, their supplies—everything was identical!

They looked like a single, cohesive unit!

Even the translators from Lin Province wore official staff badges, assigned to serve all the factories from their province.

What struck them as odd was why the translators were accompanying Xie Changning instead of arriving with the provincial officials.

In truth, it wasn’t that Xie Changning had insisted on bringing them. It was because the translators were unfamiliar with the venue and some of the product details.

So, Xie Changning had given them a crash course over the last couple of days.

As a result, they had just subconsciously followed her lead.

"The factories from Lin Province are easy to spot," Xie Changning explained. "All of our province’s factories have a green tag on their collars." She left their materials behind the booth for the workers to set up and then led the translators on a tour of the area.

This was so the translators could learn to identify the factories from Lin Province.

After a full tour with Xie Changning, the translators had a good general sense of where the Lin Province factories were located.