When will I have a long tassel?

With the inspiration gained from Qimudeng, Short asked Baboka to contact Factory 82, claiming to renegotiate the issue of precision milling machine sales. Factory 82 responded quickly, saying that Minister Han from the purchasing department had said that he would be waiting for the visit of German friends in the office at any time.

This reply from Factory 82 made Short feel a little uncomfortable. He has never been to China, let alone visited Factory 82, but Merc, the sales representative who came with him this time, has been to Factory 82. According to Meuse, every time he came from Germany and asked to meet with people from Factory 82, people from Factory 82 would make a special trip to the capital to meet with him, or at least accompany him to Hongbei Province, where Factory 82 is located. Zhoushui City.

But this time, Factory 82 claimed that Minister Han would be waiting for their visit in the office. In other words, if they wanted to see Minister Han, they had to go to Zhoushui themselves. Minister Han would not condescend to come to the capital to meet them. of.

"Perhaps this is just a negotiation tactic of theirs?" Meuse looked at the swarthy face of his immediate boss and cautiously explained.

"Baboka, have you been to Factory 82 these few times, and have they treated you this way?" Short asked Baboka.

Baboka said: "You didn't tell me, I really didn't pay attention. In the past, when I went to Factory 82, if I had said hello in advance, they would usually send someone to the capital to pick me up, or send a car to Baidu, the provincial capital of Hongbei. Liu Liu went to pick me up. But these few times, they said that the factory had heavy production tasks and could not send anyone. They just asked me to take a car to Zhoushui by myself, and they went to Zhoushui Railway Station to pick me up.

"Situations like this have happened occasionally in the past. Sometimes I go to other places for after-sales service and stop by when passing by Zhoushui, so they won't greet me too deliberately."

"This is different." Short shook his head. "After all, you are only a staff member in the Asia-Pacific region, and I came from Germany, and I am also the sales director of PATEO. They should have considered it for neglecting me like this. .”

"So, Mr. Short, what should we do?" Mercer asked.

Short said: "We don't care about these details. Baboka, you go buy a train ticket, and we will take the train to Zhoushui. By the way, you contact Factory 82 again and ask them if they can arrange a car Pick us up at the train station. I think they will agree to this request."

"What if they don't agree?" Mercer asked.

Short said: "If they don't even take care of this courtesy, then it is really possible that they are not willing to continue to cooperate with us. On the other hand, if they agree to send a car to the train station, it means that they are not willing to cooperate with us. The indifference is just a tactic, they are not willing to break up with us yet."

"I hope that's true." Meuse shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know whether he was dissatisfied with Short's speculation or to show his disdain for Factory 82.

Baboka called again, and the other party did not disappoint Short. He promised to send the best car in the factory to pick them up at the train station. At the same time, he would also prepare luxurious rooms for them in the guest house in advance. He would definitely not let Germany The friend feels wronged.

The distance between Beijing and Zhoushui is not far, but in the era before high-speed rail, Short and his party still spent four hours on the train before arriving in Zhoushui. The train from Beijing to Zhoushui is a slow train that must stop at every station. It is very crowded. Most of the people on the train are farmers along the way. They are not very particular about personal hygiene. It smells of cigarettes, sweat, and foot odor. The smell of the chive box made Short's head hurt.

After rushing off the train as if he was on the run, Short panted desperately like a drowning fish for a while before he felt his lungs seemed to feel refreshed. At this time, Baboka led two people in factory 82 work clothes to the front of him.

"It's Mr. Short, it must be. You've had a hard journey." The man in front of him greeted Short politely, speaking slightly stiff German. Baboka was introducing Short to the side, saying that this person was the production director of Factory 82, named Yao Xiyuan. As for the young man following Yao Xiyuan, he was a technician with high German proficiency in Factory 82 named Zhang Ning. Zhang Ning would serve as their translator while Short and his party were in Zhoushui.

"Mr. Yao, nice to meet you." Short shook hands with Yao Xiyuan and replied politely. In his opinion, the other party greeted him directly in German, which was a sign of goodwill and made him feel a lot better.

I have to say that Shorter has become a little nervous these days. Every little thing can remind him of the troubled world.

Factory 82 sent two cars. Yao Xiyuan accompanied Short and Merc in one car, while Zhang Ning accompanied Baboka in another car.

The car was a very ordinary Santana 2000. Yao Xiyuan even apologized to Short for this, saying that Factory 82 was very poor. Apart from one Audi, the best remaining car in the factory was the Santana 2000. And that Audi was actually quite miserable. It was already ten years old, and the feeling of sitting in it was not even as good as the Sang 2000.

"Don't worry about these details." Short told Yao Xiyuan what he said to Merc and others. In fact, it is precisely because he cares too much about details that he feels that everything others say is emphasizing details, and these details are meaningful.

"Mr. Yao, Mr. Short came to China this time specifically to discuss the matter of precision milling machines with Factory 82. I would like to know, what are your current considerations on this matter?" Meuse started talking. Brought to the point.

Before that, Meuse had been in charge of contacting Factory 82 and was very familiar with Yao Xiyuan. It was of course the most appropriate for him to say this. When he said these words, he didn't think about how to say it more implicitly, because when he communicated with Factory 82 in the past, he was used to being direct, but the people in Factory 82 would think over and over again when talking to him, for fear of saying something wrong. The words were not well spoken, which made him mind.

After hearing Merce's words, Yao Xiyuan, who had just been diligently introducing Zhou Shui's customs and customs to Short, suddenly became speechless, and the look on his face also changed a bit, as if he was unhappy. After a moment of silence, he said: "Mr. Short, Mr. Meuse, I'm sorry, the matter of precision milling machines is no longer under my control. You should go and talk to Minister Han of the purchasing department."

"Of course, we must have an interview with Minister Han." Meuse said, "But before that, Mr. Yao, can you tell us what your current plans are?"

Yao Xiyuan shook his head coldly and said, "I'm sorry I can't answer this matter."

"What, is there any inconvenience?" Merce asked.

Yao Xiyuan thought for a moment and said: "Mr. Meuse, you should know that your previous actions have made us very passive. Our original purchasing director, the Mr. Liu you know, was fired because of this incident." He was transferred, and I am not in a position to reveal the specific details. The Minister Han you are going to see was transferred from outside our system with some special missions. He alone has the final say regarding machine tool procurement. , we have absolutely no right to speak.”

"But as the director of production, you at least have the right to make suggestions, right?" Mercer asked without giving up.

Yao Xiyuan said bitterly: "I don't have any right to make suggestions. It's good that I can protect myself now. They sent me to the station to pick you up just because I understand German. Apart from this, I have no other value." "

When he said this, there was already a hint of desolation in his tone, which Shorter and Merce could hear even across the language barrier.

Short asked: "Mr. Yao, according to your statement, only Minister Han has the authority to decide on the purchase of machine tools from Botai Company. You, or even your factory director, no longer have this power. That's right." ?"

Yao Xiyuan nodded and moved his mouth, as if he wanted to explain something, but he didn't say it. Naturally, this little move of his could not escape Short's insightful eyes.

Factory 82 is located on the outskirts of Zhoushui City. It is a relatively long drive from the train station to Factory 82. But because Merce talked about the milling machine, Yao Xiyuan's conversation seemed to be killed all of a sudden. He didn't say anything else during the rest of the journey, and everyone arrived at Factory 82 in silence.

According to the prior arrangement, the two cars drove directly to the downstairs of the guest house of Factory 82. Yao Xiyuan took Short and others into the guest house to go through the accommodation procedures, said a few more polite words, and then left, leaving only Zhang Ning, who served as the translator, to stay in the lobby downstairs.

After briefly washing up in their respective rooms, the three Botai people gathered in Short's room and began to discuss the meeting with Han Weichang. Short frowned and said to Barboka: "Baboka, you said you had met with Minister Han. Please tell me in detail what kind of person this Minister Han is."

"I can't see through him." Baboka said bluntly. "He is a very cunning businessman. I can't see through his true face at all."

"Is he arrogant?"

"No, on the contrary, he was very polite."

"So, have you ever talked to him about selling milling machines?"

"I asked tentatively, but he didn't let out a single word."

"What did he say?"

"How to say..." Baboka fell into deep thought, "He said a lot of things at that time, but I can't remember a word now. It seems..., it seems like he didn't reveal anything."

"Hell, is he from the intelligence community? I can't think of anyone else who could do this," Short said.

"So, Mr. Short, do you need me to talk to him first?" Baboka asked.

Short shook his head and said: "No need, Baboka, I think the Chinese officials transferred this man to Factory 82 just to negotiate with me. Before meeting me, he didn't say anything." I can tell. God bless, I hope he will be more cheerful after seeing me. I don’t want to guess Eastern riddles.”