2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 78 Weekend Time
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Qingqing got up to stretch her body and realized that she was sitting next to Boss Tan.

Looking at Tan Jincheng, who was still working diligently, Gu Qingqing was taken aback: "Huh? When did I sit here?"

It seems that because I asked a few questions and the computer kept moving around, I found it a bit troublesome and moved the computer over.

Gu Qingqing scrutinized Tan Jincheng's profile. It's said that men are most charming when they're serious, and Boss Tan certainly fits that description now.

First impressions are very important for both men and women. Tan Jincheng is good-looking and has a steady demeanor, which may not be that important in the business world.

However, for a student like Gu Qingqing, Tan Jincheng's external qualities make it relatively easier to gain her trust and affection.

Seemingly sensing Gu Qingqing's gaze, Tan Jincheng turned his head and glanced at Gu Qingqing, saying, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Ah, no, no, I'm just resting for a while. I've been sitting for too long." Gu Qingqing lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly after being discovered.

It seems like it's been quite a while. Tan Jincheng looked around and saw that there were already quite a few people in Starbucks. He checked the time and it was already past 11 a.m.

"Let's go have lunch first, then we'll get back to work. Today will be a bit tough, this is quite urgent."

Today is the 26th, and these designs need to be finalized before the end of the month. The Spring Canton Fair is held from April 15th to May 5th every year, and it is divided into heavy industry and light industry. The light industry category will be held later, but it still needs to be set up in advance.

Therefore, the workload in March was quite heavy. Not only did we have to prepare exhibition materials, but we also had to secure an order from James, who is currently Jinpeng Trading's most stable customer base.

Every month, we place an order with Jinpeng Trading. The quantity may fluctuate. This year, due to the Spring Festival holiday in February, the March order includes orders from February, so the task is still very heavy.

Since returning from the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Tan Jincheng has been mainly concerned about this matter. Most of the garment workers in the small factory will not go out until after the Lantern Festival. Zhang Haiping is also very anxious. He tried to persuade them and promised that if the old workers arrived on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year or earlier, he would reimburse their round-trip travel expenses in full, and the payment would be made in the same month.

In addition, for every skilled worker a senior employee introduces to the factory, the introducer will receive a reward of 300 yuan after three months of service, and 600 yuan after six months.

Stimulated by reimbursement of travel expenses and bonuses, Zhang Haiping's factory achieved a 70% operating rate on the tenth day of the first lunar month. However, even this 70% operating rate was almost double the number of employees at full capacity last year.

There was no other reason than that during the time Tan Jincheng was home, Zhang Haiping was buying up second-hand flatbed wagons everywhere to expand production capacity. Apart from taking a four-day break for the Chinese New Year, Zhang Haiping was either buying flatbed wagons or on his way to buy them.

At its current scale, if fully staffed and operating at full capacity, Zhang Haiping's garment factory can produce up to 20 pieces of autumn and winter clothing per month, and even more for spring or summer wear.

Zhang Haiping's confidence in expanding production capacity on a large scale was not entirely due to Tan Jincheng's hype. Having worked in the industry for many years, he could sense the opportunities. During a gathering with his peers over the Chinese New Year, Zhang Haiping could tell that everyone's business was doing well this year.

Many of our peers have also expressed plans to expand production capacity. Since the industry has developed to this point, expanding production capacity is inevitable. It's better to go all out and expand it once and for all, so as to avoid having to make up for it later and cause unnecessary trouble.

Originally, Tan Jincheng planned to invest in rebuilding a factory with Zhang Haiping. However, since Zhang Haiping had the courage and determination to solve the problem directly, it saved Tan Jincheng the trouble. After all, Zhang Haiping had a greater advantage than Tan Jincheng in terms of loans.

The restaurant for lunch was recommended by Gu Qingqing. There are many delicious foods near the university town, so it was definitely worth it.

One serving of stir-fried prawns, one serving of crab roe tofu, one serving of sweet and sour pork, and one serving of chicken broth with fresh tofu skin; the portions were just right, and the taste was also good.

Everything is freshly cooked, and apart from the slow service, there's nothing wrong with it.

"How was it? Not bad, right? If you come again next time, Mr. Tan, I'll take you to another place. That place is pretty good too. I've been there a few times with my classmates." "Okay, but don't secretly pay the bill next time. It makes me look like I'm living off a woman," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

This girl is quite interesting. She secretly paid the bill while she was in the restroom after ordering the food, saying that since she was the one who introduced the restaurant, she should pay for it herself.

College students are so naive; they don't even know about work meals.

Gu Qingqing covered her mouth and chuckled, "Okay, then let's agree on this first: you pay for one meal, and I'll pay for the other."

"Okay, whatever you say. How about this: you cover today's expenses; next time I come, it's on me, okay?"

“Okay, it’s settled then. How about we have milk tea instead of coffee this afternoon?” Gu Qingqing blinked and looked at Tan Jincheng.

Today's work is translation, which is relatively technical, so my daily wage is 300 yuan. The coffee in the morning can be considered as returning a favor, but if I buy coffee again in the afternoon, it will count as lunch, and I'll have worked for nothing today!
Tan Jincheng glanced at Gu Qingqing: "No problem, milk tea it is, I've never had milk tea before."

She's a very interesting girl; she has her own principles and is also quite shrewd.

"Really? Mr. Tan has never had milk tea before?" Gu Qingqing said in surprise.

"No, let's go." It's true I've never had milk tea in my life, so it's not exactly a lie.

"Then Mr. Tan must try it, it's very delicious."

A 5-yuan milk tea isn't particularly delicious, but walking into Starbucks with a cup of milk tea, setting up your laptop, and adopting a work-oriented posture still makes you quite conspicuous.

"How about we go somewhere else? It's really embarrassing with all these people staring at us," Gu Qingqing said softly as she sat down next to Tan Jincheng.

"Why bother changing it? The air conditioning is on full blast here. It's alright, they'll just glance at it and move on. The staff won't kick us out. Let's just stay here and try to finish as soon as possible."

"Oh, okay," Gu Qingqing said helplessly.

Tan Jincheng glanced at her but didn't say anything; she's still a bit too thin-skinned, unlike himself.

However, once the official work began, Gu Qingqing no longer cared about these things; Boss Tan was right, instead of focusing on these things, it was better to finish the work as soon as possible.

During the work, the two talked quietly from time to time without Gu Qingqing noticing. Compared to the morning when she was a little embarrassed to find herself sitting next to someone, Gu Qingqing was much more natural in the afternoon.

It wasn't until nearly six o'clock that Gu Qingqing finished the task assigned by Tan Jincheng. It was her first time doing formal translation, and she was still a bit rusty.

When Tan Jincheng said OK, Gu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't easy to earn 300 yuan. Moreover, what surprised her most after a day of interaction was Tan Jincheng's English proficiency.

How can someone who claims to have never attended university have such a high level of English, especially their fluent spoken English?

"Is there some story behind this Boss Tan?" Gu Qingqing couldn't help but wonder to herself.

(End of this chapter)