Chapter 223: No Profit, No Early Rise

Once the foreign business partners began to arrive, the translators took the initiative to find factories that needed help. This allowed Xie Changning to focus on her own booth, worry-free.

Previously, the other factories had been frantic because only Xie Changning could speak a foreign language.

But now that they saw available translators, they stopped waiting for Xie Changning and sought help from them instead.

The effect of having translators was significant.

Many factories secured orders right as the trade fair began.

After the last Spring Trade Fair, the foreign buyers knew that China’s factories would no longer fall for their tricks, nor would they engage in a frantic price war for the buyers to pick and choose.

As a result, the foreigners were placing orders much more quickly than before.

Since they were already turning a profit, many factories weren’t particularly ambitious about their total sales figures.

The translators from Lin Province were swamped. The moment they arrived on the floor, nearly every factory was asking for their help.

The translators were willing to help, but their priority was still Lin Province. They would only assist factories from other provinces when their services weren’t immediately needed by those from Lin.

This benefited many factories.

Seeing the translator shortage, the Guangzhou Trade Fair organizers also recruited a number of local interpreters to help out.

That was just enough to handle the rush.

While other booths were as chaotic as a battlefield, Xie Changning’s operated in an orderly fashion, methodically welcoming foreign partners. When visitors came to look, her workers would hand them a descriptive brochure.

The brochure was printed in eight different languages.

The foreign partners would instinctively flip to the section in their native language. The more they read, the more interested they became, and they would ultimately decide to work with Xie Changning.

During these discussions, Xie Changning would explain the products to them.

This gave them a thorough understanding of the products.

The effect of the brochures was gratifying. In just the first morning of the Guangzhou Trade Fair, Xie Changning’s sales had already reached tens of millions.

Practically every foreign partner who visited Xie Changning’s booth ended up placing an order.

Xie Changning’s printers and water heaters had been on the market for a while, so they weren’t novelties, but the current market demand for them was enormous.

Many companies were still purchasing these items, so the buyers at the fair would naturally want to import them as well.

Especially since Xie Changning’s printers had been upgraded with more convenient features without any price increase—how could they possibly resist importing them?

Xie Changning’s booth was hectic. Even with ten workers, they could barely keep up.

But everyone’s spirits were high.

’It’s good to be busy! Being busy means the factory’s revenue is high. Didn’t you see the manager take several foreigners to the Guangzhou Trade Fair office to sign contracts right before the lunch break?’

When the lunch break arrived, the workers quickly tidied everything up, returning all items to their proper places.

They swept the area to keep it neat and clean before covering the displays with a cloth.

Their manager had told them that no one needed to stay behind during the lunch break; they should all go eat and rest for a while before resuming.

After signing the contracts, Xie Changning brought Jerry over to where her team was eating.

"Everyone, let me make an introduction. This is Mr. Jerry, our agent in the United States. I’m sure he looks familiar—he’s visited our factory before."

At the mention of this, a vague memory surfaced in their minds.

Otherwise, they had some trouble telling foreigners apart and wouldn’t have recognized him.

Hearing Xie Changning’s introduction, everyone quickly rose to their feet to shake Jerry’s hand.

And this Jerry was different from the one they’d met before. While Xie Changning’s workers could only manage a "Hello!", Jerry could now reply with "Hello!" in Chinese.

Greeting each other in their respective native languages made a wonderful impression on both sides.

Having exchanged greetings, the workers, who had been tense around the foreigner, began to relax and were no longer as reserved.

Seeing this, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Xie Changning’s eyes.

’Jerry and the factory will be working together closely in the future. They can’t be this nervous all the time.’

"Xie, your workers are great!" Jerry praised in English, giving a big thumbs-up and waving it in front of them.

This was his way of showing his approval to the workers.

Good-natured, bashful smiles appeared on the workers’ faces.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

After the meal, Xie Changning didn’t leave immediately with her team. Instead, she chatted with Jerry for a while about the cellular phones.

"The production line is almost ready. We’re just waiting for the workers to arrive, and then we can start," Jerry explained, updating Xie Changning on their progress.

Xie Changning nodded. "Call me if you need anything. I’ll tell you everything I know."

"You can count on it," Jerry replied. "I’ll definitely be taking you up on that offer."

She was one of the lead developers of the cellular phone, so he certainly wouldn’t pretend to know something if he was confused.

Xie Changning smiled. After chatting a bit longer, the conversation turned to her plans after the Autumn Trade Fair.

Xie Changning explained her plans.

For example, establishing a new laboratory and developing a line of home appliances.

However, Xie Changning didn’t mention anything about cellular signals. Solving the signal problem was of great importance to China, and it was a matter that couldn’t be disclosed to other countries for the time being.

"You have to contact me when you have new products. I want to be your agent for those, too!"

Jerry was already reaping the benefits of their partnership.

Ever since becoming Xie Changning’s agent, his business had been booming, with his monthly income reaching new highs.

Thanks to Xie Changning, he could now strike out on his own.

He no longer had to answer to his father.

Of course, he hadn’t actually struck out on his own. He knew he still lacked the experience and needed more training. However, he wouldn’t tell his father that was the real reason.

He simply told his father that he *wanted* to start his own business.

Because he was now so valuable, his father didn’t want him to leave and did everything he could to keep him from leaving the company.

Now, he already owned five percent of the company’s shares.

At this thought, the smile on Jerry’s face grew even more radiant. In his eyes, Xie Changning was his personal God of Wealth.

Theirs was a mutually beneficial relationship.

After chatting a while longer, Xie Changning glanced at her watch. "Oh, my dear friend," she said to Jerry, "the afternoon session is about to start, so I can’t talk any longer. See you tonight! We’ll continue then!"

With that, she stood up and bid Jerry farewell.

Jerry nodded and also rose to say his goodbyes.

After Xie Changning and her team had left, Jerry’s assistant, who had been eating at a nearby table, approached.

"Sir, you have a phone call. It’s from a regional distributor who wants to start carrying the pagers..."

A glint appeared in Jerry’s eye, and a hint of smugness touched his lips. "Let’s go," he said. "Time to talk wholesale prices."

’This is great. Both he and Xie have a bright future ahead of them!’

(Xie Changning: You’re welcome. Your future was brought to you by me!)