I'm back in 1990

Chapter 17: The Miser's Treat

At 6:30 p.m., on his way home, Zeng Jiahua kept looking at the contract over and over, his face beaming with an undisguised smile.

After a busy day, Huang Xiaochuan sat in his seat and pretended to doze off. This damn van didn't even have air conditioning. It was hotter inside than outside in the evening. By the time he got home, he was sure to get heat rash on his back and butt. Huang Xiaochuan couldn't help but complain to himself.

Although Huang Xiaochuan secured the deal by leveraging the "rebirth" feature, the entire delivery cycle, whether it would be CIF or FOB, and the initial payment after signing the contract (30% or 40%) all needed to be negotiated item by item. His uncle, Zeng Jiahua, knew nothing about these matters, so Huang Xiaochuan had to personally take charge.

Huang Xiaochuan mustered all his energy and argued with Eric point by point. When his throat felt like it was about to burst, he finally settled on the details of the contract. The hotel's business department then printed out the contract, which had to be in both Chinese and English. Finally, Huang Xiaochuan had to carefully review both versions of the contract again to prevent any legal loopholes.

It was already past 5 p.m. when the contract was officially signed. Zeng Jiahua, representing the flange factory, signed and stamped the contract, and Eric, representing Jiadao Company, signed and confirmed the contract.

Both parties agreed that after the flange factory and the foreign trade company signed the agency agreement, Jiadao Company would deposit US$230 million into the designated Huaxia Bank and open a letter of credit in accordance with the relevant regulations of Huaxia Bank. After Zeng Jiahua signed the export agency contract with the foreign trade company, he would pay the first payment to the designated account, which would be 40% of the total price of the goods. Another 55% would be paid before the goods were delivered at the port, and the remaining 5% would be paid after the goods arrived at the port.

The whole process has come to a temporary end here. The next step is to deal with domestic foreign trade companies, but Zeng Jiahua took the initiative to take on this task.

His exact words were: "I'm not good at foreign trade, but I'm good at dealing with domestic matters. It's just a matter of negotiating agency quotas with foreign trading companies. I've already signed contracts with the foreign businesses. I'm feeding them ready-made meals. Why would they refuse?"

Since his uncle Zeng Jiahua had volunteered, Huang Xiaochuan was happy to let go; he had been busy for so long and deserved a break.

That evening, Zeng Jiahua invited a group of friends who were also factory directors of township enterprises in the town, and also invited Huang Xiaochuan to accompany them. They had a meal at a restaurant in the town.

Knowing his uncle's temperament well, Huang Xiaochuan knew that his uncle would definitely brag about this—a $230 million contract! He would definitely show it off to the fullest!

Sure enough, after a few rounds of drinks, Zeng Jiahua, slightly tipsy, began to boast.

"Do you know why I'm treating you to this old wine today?"

"I don't know! Ah Hua, why did you suddenly decide to treat us to drinks today? You're usually the one paying for our meals, it's rare to see you treat us like this!"

"Exactly! Ah Hua, that miserly guy, has finally plucked some feathers today. There must be good news!"

"Ah Hua, are you looking for a son-in-law? This young man is quite clever. Is he your new son-in-law? Is he the eldest or the second eldest?" Someone attributed the reason to Huang Xiaochuan, who was accompanying Zeng Jiahua.

"Ah Hua, looks like you'll be inviting us to your wedding soon, right?"

The crowd began to stir, and Zeng Jiahua quickly clarified, "Don't talk nonsense. This is my nephew, my own flesh and blood. My daughter is still young; there's no rush to find her a husband!"

"Oh? It's my nephew?"

At this moment, Huang Xiaochuan, being very perceptive, greeted everyone: "Hello, uncles and elders."

Then someone teased Zeng Jiahua about Huang Xiaochuan's appearance: "Ahua, people always say that a nephew looks like his maternal uncle. How come your nephew is so handsome, but your maternal uncle is so ugly? If you hadn't said it yourself, who would believe it?"

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed.

Zeng Jiahua's face darkened. Damn it, why did you have to bring up that sore spot? I'll make you drink until you're dead, you skinny girl.

"Ah Hua, did you invite us to this old-fashioned dinner just to show off your handsome nephew?"

"Ahua, my daughter is about the same age as your nephew. How about we let them get to know each other and become friends?"

Zeng Jiahua said with a disdainful look, "I know my nephew is good-looking, you don't need to remind me. It's not unusual for a nephew to be better than his uncle. Aqing, you bastard, isn't it a bit too early for your daughter to be thinking about dating while she's still in high school? Besides, my nephew is about to go to a prestigious university in Shanghai. His studies should be his priority. We can talk about dating later."

Then he boasted, "I'm treating you all to this feast today because I have some good news. To tell you the truth, I've closed a big deal today, and the contract is already signed."

"How big of a contract is it? But I bet it can't be small, otherwise you stingy Ah Hua wouldn't be so generous as to treat us to some drinks."

Zeng Jiahua said casually, "Let me tell you about it. It's an export business deal, a $230 million order. How about that? Impressive, right?"

His words startled everyone present, giving them a great shock.

"Ahua, did you drink too much?"

"Exactly! You got dizzy after just one sip of that strong liquor?"

Those present, of course, didn't believe it. What a joke! A township enterprise doing foreign trade? And $230 million at that? Who would believe that?

Feeling confident, Zeng Jiahua said calmly, "Whether you believe it or not, I'm going to town tomorrow to report this to the Party Secretary and the Mayor."

"Ah Hua, you're not bragging, are you? What really happened? Tell us!" Seeing that Zeng Jiahua was going to meet the Party Secretary and the Mayor tomorrow, everyone was starting to believe that it was true.

Seeing that everyone was beginning to believe him, Zeng Jiahua stopped keeping them in suspense and recounted the whole story like a storyteller, mainly explaining that he had undertaken most of the important work in this foreign trade process, and that his nephew Huang Xiaochuan had assisted him, and so on.

Huang Xiaochuan also nodded in agreement at each plot point, earnestly playing the role of the straight man. He had to make his uncle look good in front of outsiders, right?

The meal was a great success, and Zeng Jiahua was extremely pleased with the various expressions and actions of envy, jealousy, and resentment shown by the people present. Some even said they wanted to learn from Zeng Jiahua how to deal with foreigners.

Zeng Jiahua, who was so drunk he was completely out of his mind, patted his chest and agreed to everything. After the dinner ended and the guests left, Huang Xiaochuan escorted his uncle Zeng Jiahua home.

After handing his drunken uncle over to his aunt, Huang Xiaochuan took a shower in the courtyard, changed into dry clothes, and then went to the storeroom to find his fishing rod and gear and tidied them up. It had been a long time since he'd fished, and tomorrow Huang Xiaochuan planned to go fishing in the river east of town; he'd seen many fish in the crystal-clear water whenever he walked by these past few days.

After finishing packing up the fishing gear, I washed my hands and tiptoed back to my room to sleep. It was getting late, and Grandma was already asleep.