Chapter 195: Production Issues
Xie Changning didn’t know what Jerry was planning, but since he was set on going to China, she didn’t stop him.
In the end, Jerry boarded the plane with them.
With Jerry along for the journey, the group’s flight experience was much better. The foreign flight attendants weren’t very friendly to the Chinese passengers. However, when Jerry noticed their poor attitude, he became equally unfriendly toward them.
Not wanting Jerry to make things difficult, they had to suppress their irritation and fulfill the requests of Xie Changning and the others in a pleasant manner.
’So Jerry wasn’t completely useless after all,’ Xie Changning thought.
As a result, her gaze toward Jerry softened considerably.
Sensing Xie Changning’s gaze, Jerry flashed her a proud smile, his expression seeming to say, ’See? I’m your most treasured friend, aren’t I?!’
Whenever she saw that expression, Xie Changning would look away, refusing to let Jerry get spoiled by the attention.
The Jerry of today was a far cry from the Jerry of the past.
The Jerry who once feared Xie Changning had long vanished over the course of their interactions. He knew she wasn’t one to resort to violence without reason. If she did, it had to be because his own countrymen had done something completely out of line!
Just like what happened with him...
Ever since being "educated" by Xie Changning, Jerry had started to do some self-reflection.
He decided he should learn from Xie Changning, not his friends. Compared to her, he felt his friends all reeked of a foolish materialism, lacking Xie Changning’s cultured intellect.
’I have to stick with Xie Changning for the long haul!’
’I’m sure that if I stick with Xie Changning, my father will one day entrust the family business to me! Not to that illegitimate son of his!’
The flight took more than ten hours, with everyone drifting in and out of sleep. Finally, an announcement in Chinese prompted them to slowly open their eyes, grab their luggage, and disembark.
Stepping onto their native soil again, the technicians all felt an overwhelming sense of, ’Ah, I finally made it back alive.’
As soon as they got off the plane, they saw Xie Changyi in the distance, trailing behind an unfamiliar official, there to welcome them back to the country.
This was Beijing, so the unfamiliar official naturally held a post in the capital.
Xie Changning watched as Xie Changyi, upon seeing them emerge, whispered something to the official in front of him. The official then strode over to Xie Changning and addressed her.
"Comrade Xie Changning, and to all the comrades who traveled across the ocean for the competition, welcome to your triumphant return!"
As soon as the official finished speaking, people holding bouquets from behind came forward and began placing them into the hands of the technicians from the competition.
Everyone was overjoyed.
Only one person wasn’t so happy—Jerry, who had come along with them. ’I should get flowers too!’ he thought.
’After all, I am a friend from the United States, here in China to do business in good faith!’
When Xie Changning turned, she saw Jerry standing awkwardly to the side. She handed her own bouquet to him. "Here," she said. "Welcome to China, my friend, Jerry."
Xie Changning’s gesture caught everyone’s attention.
They finally realized that this foreigner who had arrived on the plane had come back with Xie Changning.
’Someone who came back with Xie Changning? That’s great! Anyone with her is a Little Golden Pig, ready to drop gold coins!’
’We have to treat him well!’
Feeling the officials’ intense gazes on him, Jerry took a frightened step back and asked Xie Changning, "Xie, why are your friends looking at me like that?"
’It’s like I’m some prize pig ready for slaughter!’
’So scary!’
"These gentlemen are my superiors," Xie Changning explained. "Their expressions are just their way of telling you how very welcome you are." ’No one could turn away a Little Golden Pig.’
’He’s a foreign friend bringing foreign investment right to their doorstep. Of course they’re going to be enthusiastic, right?’
With Xie Changning’s explanation, Jerry finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I almost thought they were going to eat me," he said.
’Truly frightening.’
Xie Changning just smiled and shook her head.
Xie Changning turned to the officials and explained that Jerry was her agent in the United States. She added that he was likely here to discuss the distribution rights for the cellular phones and pagers.
Upon learning that he had indeed come to do business with foreign currency, the officials nodded in understanding.
"Let’s not just stand around here. We’ve already booked a restaurant. Let’s go get something to eat!"
At the mention of food, the technicians were so happy they nearly burst into tears.
More than two months!
Two whole months!
They hadn’t been living like human beings!
The officials noticed the technicians’ expressions and frowned slightly, not quite understanding why they would react this way.
’Did something unpleasant happen to them abroad?’
Sensing the officials’ stares, Xie Changning explained with a sigh, "We have Chinese stomachs. We couldn’t get used to the food in the United States."
The officials finally understood. So they were crying tears of joy at the prospect of eating Chinese food...
Many of the officials had never been abroad, so naturally, they had no idea that food from the United States couldn’t possibly compare to Chinese cuisine.
Xie Changning didn’t elaborate further. Instead, she let the speed at which they ate show the officials just how starved they had been abroad.
Xie Changyi watched his now-gaunt sister from the side, his eyes filled with distress. "Next time, you should bring some non-perishables from home," he said. "It looks like you’ve all just escaped a famine..."
As for Jerry, he was also devouring his food like a storm. Unable to use chopsticks, his fork was moving in a blur.
’This is amazing!’
’This Chinese food is even better than the last time I was in China!’
Jerry’s reaction greatly pleased the officials. ’It seems everyone loves Chinese food, no matter what country they’re from!’ they thought.
After eating and drinking their fill, Xie Changning and the others patted their full bellies and let out satisfied burps.
Xie Changyi poured water for Xie Changning.
"Now that you’ve had your fill, how about you tell us about the patents and the cellular phones?" one of the officials asked. Their visit today wasn’t just to welcome the team home; it was to follow up on the cellular phones and pagers.
In China, pagers were completely nonexistent!
This was precisely why the nation had to back Xie Changning!
The advent of pagers and cellular phones could propel the nation’s telecommunications development forward by many years!
They had to pay close attention!
With pagers and cellular phones, every industry would become much more efficient. They would be an especially great help to the police and the military!
"Of course..."
Inside the restaurant, Xie Changning gave the officials an overview of the pros and cons of pagers and cellular phones.
After hearing her out, the officials all agreed that the disadvantages could be overcome with time. The immediate priority was to mass-produce these two communication devices and put them into use.
"Comrade Xie Changning, how long would it take to produce ten thousand units of each of these two products?"
"Sirs, if you want to put them into use, we first need to solve the issue of the signal source."
Xie Changning went on to explain to the officials why cellular phones had issues like limited range.
After Xie Changning finished her explanation, the officials asked her a single question: "The problem with the signal source—can you solve it?"