2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 94 Trip to Dongguan
What is the other side of a city? Is it the bright lights after nightfall, or the deafening music?
There is a folk legend that when night falls, the gate between the realms of Yin and Yang opens, and the city's twilight line seems to separate the two worlds.

Tan Jincheng's impression of Guancheng was that it was an industrial town, a place of factories and manufacturing workers in work clothes walking on the streets. He had never seen Guancheng under the cover of night like this.

The distance from Guangzhou to Dongguan is about 70 kilometers, which takes less than an hour and a half by car. This afternoon, Tan Jincheng took advantage of a break to rent a seven-seater SUV, and the group of five drove to Dongguan.

Besides Tan Jincheng and the other two, James also brought a staff member with him. The fact that he brought someone along for this kind of private activity suggests that he was a trusted confidant.

The place to play was arranged by Cheng Yongjun, who asked his business partner to contact them after they arrived. Tan Jincheng was not clear about the specifics at the time.

Tan Jincheng didn't know if James had ever been to Dongguan, but he was certain he hadn't, though he couldn't lose in terms of momentum.

"Tan, where are you taking me?" James asked from the passenger seat.

“Of course we went for drinks. I’m sure you’ll remember this night, James,” Tan Jincheng said, blinking.

We're all men, we all know what we need to know.

Along the way, for some reason, Tan Jincheng felt that there were an unusually large number of cars heading to Guancheng. Was this the effect of the Canton Fair? Boosting the surrounding economy?

About an hour and a half later, we arrived at the location Cheng Yongjun had mentioned. It looked like a hotel. As soon as the car stopped, a doorman came over to ask if we needed help parking. The service was truly excellent.

Tan Jincheng didn't bother with formalities. He handed the car keys to the doorman and glanced at the tall guy next to him. The guy was looking at the hotel with some curiosity, but it was just curiosity. He wasn't very surprised. It seemed that the old man had been out having fun quite a bit.

"Damn, looks like I'm going to have to spend a lot of money tonight. Oh well, I'll just consider it a reward for making money off him."

A short while later, a staff member in a suit walked towards Tan Jincheng. This should be the contact person Cheng Yongjun mentioned. Tan Jincheng had already spoken to him by phone when he was almost there.

As soon as they met, it was just as they had imagined. Without any further ado, the staff led Tan Jincheng and his group of five to their designated private room, quietly introducing the various services along the way, leaving Tan Jincheng speechless.

Perhaps because Tan Jincheng looked relatively young, or perhaps because someone had explained the situation to him beforehand, the staff member did not call Tan Jincheng "Boss Tan," but instead called him "Handsome Guy" repeatedly.

Boss Tan was briefly lost in the cheers of "handsome guy," and indeed, the reputation was well-deserved. Just hearing about it before even seeing him made him feel very excited.

"James, how about we follow Mr. Su's arrangements today? I guarantee you'll have a unique experience?" Tan Jincheng asked James in fluent English, pointing to the staff.

James shrugged noncommittally and said with a smirk, "You're the host, so I'll listen to you, just don't abandon me when you leave."

"Then it's settled. Mr. Su, please make the arrangements for us."

That's good. If we follow the staff's advice, we shouldn't need to drink much tonight. Tan Jincheng, who has a moderate alcohol tolerance, actually dislikes the drinking culture that involves getting people drunk at the dinner table.

After James and his companion left, Tan Jincheng said to Sun Yuming and Liu Wenbin, "You two go have some fun too. When you get back, keep your mouths shut and don't exaggerate when you tell Boss Zhang."

The two men chuckled. They were salesmen and had never been to Dongguan but had certainly heard of it. They were surprised to receive such perks; they had originally thought they would get completely drunk tonight.

"Thank you, boss. We're off then." "Okay, go ahead."

Consider it a company benefit, but it's tough on Lao Zhang; next time, next time for sure; but I probably won't be able to go home tonight, I have to tell Zhang Xupeng.

Silent all night.

The pleasures involved are hard to describe, but Tan Jincheng still held onto his bottom line. After all, he was a reborn person, and it would be somewhat low for him to die here for the first time.

The next morning, Tan Jincheng was full of energy and got up early to go to the restaurant. After waiting for a while, he saw James and the other three enter the restaurant looking dejected, but their expressions were very excited, so they must have been satisfied.

"Good morning, Mr. James and Mr. Howard. Have some breakfast to replenish your energy," Tan Jincheng said mischievously.

James and Howard exchanged a glance, then both burst into hearty laughter.
"Thank you for your kind hospitality, Lost Tan. I'd like to offer you this glass of milk," Howard said, picking up the glass of milk from the table.

James seemed genuinely hungry, showing off his breakfast, though he kept nodding in agreement.

Who says foreigners don't understand these things? They understand them very well!
From last night to this morning, Tan Jincheng did not mention anything about the order, nor did James and the other two, but I believe everyone understands the unspoken understanding.

But there's no doubt that James will still try to lower the price when necessary. Tan Jincheng was mentally prepared for this. A reasonable range is not unacceptable, but that's how business is. Even if you can predict the future, you still have to bow your head when the situation is weak.

After breakfast, the group didn't plan to linger any longer; business was more important.

Sun Yuming and Liu Wenbin led James and his companion to the parking lot, while Tan Jincheng went to pay the bill. Looking at the bill in his hand, he felt a pang of pain. Damn it, if every customer did this, how much gross profit would be lost?

This is probably an inevitable step in doing business. As business becomes more and more difficult in the future, these kinds of entertainment expenses will be indispensable if you want to retain regular customers. So no matter what, you still have to become stronger yourself.

At least, in the future, if I encounter something like this, I won't need to drive myself or pay the bills myself; I can just wave my hand and someone will take care of everything for me.

On the way back, those two idiots, whether they really didn't sleep well or were just pretending, actually fell asleep in the car. As for whether they were really asleep or just pretending, Tan Jincheng, who was driving, really couldn't tell.

It wasn't until they arrived at the convention center that James and Howard opened their eyes.

Before getting out of the car, James turned to look at Tan Jincheng, who was turning off the engine. Tan Jincheng noticed his gaze and turned to look at James with a smile.

"Tan, how about we find a place tonight to talk things out privately?"

"No problem, I'd be happy to, Mr. James."

That's it. It seems Americans aren't much different from Koreans. The Korean clients I dealt with in my previous life loved this approach; it always worked.

(End of this chapter)