Nouvel An chinois

Chapitre 8

"Is Xiuqing in trouble?" Xiaoju looked at Jianrou hesitantly. "He seems a little distracted."

“The company is in a bit of trouble because the cases from the last few incidents haven’t been solved, and the company’s business has been affected to some extent.” Jian Rou paused for a moment, “But President Luo will definitely be able to resolve it, Xiao Ju, don’t worry. He’s going to meet with a few clients later to discuss cooperation, and I’ll go prepare a quote for him.”

“I can’t help him either, Jianrou, you have to help Xiuqing.” Xiaoju looked at Jianrou earnestly.

"Don't worry, I will do my best, and I will also try my best to deal with Howard." Jian Rou looked at Xiao Ju firmly.

Jian Rou readily agreed, which calmed Xiao Ju down a bit. However, she still seemed uneasy. Why was that?

fourteen

Negotiations were far from going well; in fact, they were more than just unsuccessful. Clients either refused to meet with them at all or evaded the issue entirely, refusing to discuss any cooperation whatsoever. Bad news travels fast, and the company's alleged "haunting" incidents were enough to make these businessmen, who even consulted the almanac before going out, keep their distance from Licheng Trading Company.

The company had just purchased ships, but there were no follow-up orders, and the high daily interest payments and worker wages were costing them dearly. If she couldn't find a way out of this predicament, Luo Xiuqing would have no choice but to resign.

Someone knocked on the door, and Li Tongtian pushed it open and came in.

"Mr. Luo, President Howard requests your presence." Li Tongtian seemed a little different today.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Seeing that Li Tongtian wasn't leaving, Luo Xiuqing asked, "Is there anything else?"

"The president wants you to come immediately, I'll wait for you." Li Tongtian was really different today; normally, if Luo Xiuqing had said this to him, he would have left long ago.

It seemed Howard had given some new instructions, and they were likely detrimental to her, Luo Xiuqing thought to herself. That's how realistic the world is; if someone senses you're about to be in trouble, some people will immediately jump out to intervene. Luo Xiuqing stopped arguing with Li Tongtian and immediately got up.

"Luo, come, come, this is ice wine that the consul gave me. Please try it." Howard held a wine glass and suggested to Luo Xiuqing as she entered. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Luo Xiuqing took the wine glass, took a small sip, and a refreshing sweetness and fragrance filled her mouth. "This wine is really special."

"Yes, it's made from a late-ripening grape. When the grapes ripen, the local temperature has already dropped below zero, and the grapes are already frozen solid when they are picked."

"That's why it's so sweet, and not bitter at all," Luo Xiuqing couldn't help but praise.

"Luo, do you know where this wine is produced?"

"It's said to be in northern Germany?"

"Young man, you have insight. It does indeed originate in northern Germany, near the Austrian border. However, the ice wine from there has a slightly spicy flavor. The wine you're drinking today is from Canada. Luo, what can you learn from this?"

“You mean,” Luo Xiuqing paused, the taste of the ice wine stimulating his senses, “that our business also needs to learn to innovate?”

“Not bad,” Howard said, raising his wine glass slightly as he walked around the desk, picked up a document, and handed it to Luo Xiuqing.

Luo Xiuqing picked up the document and quickly scanned it. "You mean, we also want to develop domestic shipping?"

"Yes, there's a good opportunity right now, Li, could you explain it to me?"

Li Tongtian, who had been waiting for a long time, smiled broadly and said, "Mr. Luo, I have an old friend who does cotton cloth business in Shanghai, and it's very profitable. He wants to transport cheap fabrics from Shanghai to Tianjin to sell, and then bring back local products from Tianjin, Hebei, and even the Northeast. The ships won't make an empty trip. And the quantities are huge."

"But Tianjin is a city with a light textile industry, and it doesn't lack cotton fabric at all. Is this feasible?"

“You don’t need to worry,” Li Tongtian said, as if he had expected Luo Xiuqing to ask this question. “My friend’s cotton cloth is only 60% of the price of Tianjin cotton cloth, so there’s no need to worry about sales.”

"Oh? The quality... This business is too easy to do, I'm afraid..." Luo Xiuqing has never believed in free lunches.

"Well, Luo, the cotton sample has already been inspected and there are no problems. Besides, we're bartering, so we don't need to tie up capital. I think we can give it a try," Howard said confidently.

Seeing that Howard had made up his mind and was only asking her to come and inform him, Luo Xiuqing knew that further protests would be ineffective.

"Luo, I think we should leave this matter to Li Quanquan. You haven't been feeling well lately, so you should take care of yourself and get some rest."

Upon hearing Howard's words, Li Tongtian puffed out his chest even more.

"Alright, President, but I insist that every batch of goods must be inspected before being put into storage."

“Li, you can go now,” Howard said to Li Tongtian. “Luo and I have some other things to discuss.”

Upon hearing the order, Li Tongtian wisely withdrew.

“Luo, I admire your responsible attitude towards the company. But this is China after all, and you need to integrate well with these Chinese people.” Howard picked up the bottle and poured Luo Xiuqing another glass.

"I understand, Mr. President, but there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"There might be a free lunch here, this is China. Remember, we are businessmen, and making a profit is our ultimate goal."

"President, perhaps I'm being too conservative. But I believe that even when taking risks, there should be limits."

“Luo, the predicament we are facing now has no bottom line. I don’t want to argue with you anymore; the decision has been made. You need to communicate properly with Li Tongtian. After all, the person I trust is you, not those Chinese people.”

"President, I respect your decision and will do my best to protect the company's interests. Also, I am Chinese."

"Luo, I think you're too stressed. Take a couple of days off." Howard didn't want to discuss this with Luo Xiuqing anymore.

During dinner time, Luo Xiuqing and her family of four ate their meal quietly.

Xiaoju kept adding food to Luo Xiuqing's plate, and seeing her husband's worried expression, she couldn't help but feel depressed as well. Her husband was nominally given two days off because the CEO had shown him concern, but he wasn't happy at all.

"Xiuqing, there's a performance by the Russian Ballet tomorrow night, let's all go see it." Jiaming said, looking at the news in the newspaper.

"You take Xiaoju and Jianrou with you, I want to rest for a bit." Luo Xiuqing forced a smile.

"Xiuqing, then I'll stay home with you," Xiaoju quickly said.

"Sigh, don't think too much about it. Things will work themselves out." Jiaming knew exactly how Luo Xiuqing felt. He just hoped that something could distract her and ease her worries.

“Jiaming, I just feel that things are too strange, as if they are aimed at me. I don’t care about this position, I just hope that no more people will die. I would rather not do this job.”

"Stop making unnecessary connections. Since you're on holiday, just rest. It's decided, we'll go see a show tomorrow." Jiaming knew Luo Xiuqing's deduction was correct. He also had some doubts, but needed further confirmation. He didn't want to burden Luo Xiuqing further before the facts were clear.

"I'm going to a follow-up appointment with Xiaoju tomorrow. You guys wait at the theater, we'll meet there." Jian Rou didn't respond to Luo Xiuqing's words.

"A follow-up appointment? Xiaoju, are you not feeling well?" Luo Xiuqing finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"No, I'm going to get some rest and recuperation. Xiuqing, you don't need to worry." Xiaoju suddenly stammered a little.

"Yes, I see that my sister looks much better lately." Jiaming examined Xiaoju.

“And she’s getting prettier and prettier,” Jian Rou said affectionately, holding Xiao Ju’s hand. “Many people say we look alike. Mr. Luo, don’t you think so?”

"Hmm," Luo Xiuqing replied absentmindedly, as if she were chewing on a piece of paraffin wax. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow is the day the goods arrive at the port. I wonder if everything will go smoothly.

fifteen

The next morning, Luo Xiuqing was woken up by the phone on her bedside table; the goods had arrived safely.

Although Luo Xiuqing wasn't very optimistic about the business, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Because of his insistence, the goods inspection proceeded immediately. Old Wu, as the person in charge of the inspection, pounded his chest and assured Luo Xiuqing that he would provide the most truthful inspection results.

Seeing her husband finally breathe a sigh of relief, Xiaoju's tense heart also relaxed a little. Perhaps because she had worried for so long, Xiaoju suddenly felt dizzy. Since taking Dr. Yu's medicine, her body had become much stronger, and she didn't know why she suddenly felt so weak.

After watching her husband leave, Xiaoju dialed Fengxi's number. The phone rang but no one answered. Xiaoju then realized that today was not a day off, and Fengxi should be at work at the school.

"Xiaoju, what are you doing?" Jian Rou came downstairs, seemingly preparing to go out.

"I haven't been to work in a long time, and I really miss school," Xiaoju said sincerely.

"Then get well soon so you can go back."

"Jian Rou, are you going out?"

"I'm so bored staying at home all day. I want to go out for a walk; the fresh air outside is so tempting." Jian Rou made a fascinated expression. "Xiao Ju, you should go out for a walk too. Fresh air is a free health doctor."

"I really want to see a doctor."

"Hehe, it seems you haven't found a companion. How about I go with you? What you've said has piqued my curiosity. Where can you find such miraculous medical skills?"

"You don't mind?"

"Oh dear, my good sister, don't delay any longer. What will you do if you get tanned by the midday sun?" Jian Rou seemed genuinely worried.

Xiaoju really liked Jianrou. She wished she could be like her, this quirky and clever girl.

Although Feng Xi was not with them, the family driver was good at remembering routes and they arrived at Doctor Yu's house without much effort.

Xiaotong answered the door again, skipping and hopping as she led the way. The air was filled with the sweet scent of hibiscus, a fragrance that stirred a strange emotion in every nerve ending. The spring's flow had increased, likely due to the recent rains; the moss along the irrigation ditch was much more vibrant. Everything heralded the approaching summer.

Jian Rou walked and looked around, getting along quite well with Xiao Tong. In less than ten minutes, Xiao Tong was reluctant to leave this interesting older sister Rou.