Siheyuan: I have a multi-dimensional chat group!

At this point, they no longer cared that Hu Xiangjun was the only woman in the team.

After all, neither he nor Zhou Bangqiu stayed in single rooms this time!

Upon entering the room, Zhou Bangqiu and the others were all taken aback.

"There's a TV?" Zhou Bangqiu looked at the simple room with surprise. There was a TV set, placed directly opposite the three small beds.

You have to understand that televisions were incredibly precious items in Beijing.

Even Zhou Bangqiu's family didn't have a television.

In John Bull, this tiny private hotel even has televisions in the guest rooms!

"My God, this is too extravagant!" Zhou Bangqiu exclaimed to Xiao Shan. "No wonder we have to go through such strict screening when we come out!"

Xiao Shan smiled and nodded, then turned on the television.

Zhou Bangqiu couldn't understand what was being said on TV at all, but watching the black and white images was a kind of enjoyment for him.

After the three of them took turns going to the bathroom to wash up, they lay down on the bed.

"John Bull's development is indeed much better than ours!" After witnessing John Bull's prosperity, Zhou Bangqiu said with great emotion, "This is just a small port, but the streets are bustling with traffic. Our Beijing can't compare at all!"

Xiao Shan rested his head on his hand and said with great confidence, "We'll catch up gradually in the future!"

"Yes!" Zhou Bangqiu nodded, full of confidence, "We not only want to catch up with them, but also surpass them, and be even better than them!"

"Maybe when I get old, we'll all be able to live a life where everyone has their own car and every household has a television!"

"You'll definitely make it!" Xiao Shan said to Zhou Bang with a smile.

Hu Xiangjun stared intently at the television screen, trying hard to understand what the characters were saying.

Just then, the three heard the roar of an engine outside, followed by the noise of young men and women.

The three of them went out onto the balcony to take a look, full of curiosity.

Then they saw an old convertible sports car parked downstairs, its lights still on.

The young white man and woman got out of the car and were about to enter the hotel.

Zhou Bangqiu frowned as he watched the young men and women's intimate actions and the fashionable woman's revealing attire. "This is outrageous! If I were these girls' father, I'd break their legs!"

Xiao Shan's lips curled up slightly when he heard Zhou Bangqiu's complaints.

Given that the prevailing social atmosphere at that time was still relatively reserved, it was normal for Zhou Bangqiu to be resistant to such things.

As for Hu Xiangjun, she blushed slightly as she looked down at the sexy outfits worn by the women downstairs.

After all the men and women had entered the hotel, Xiao Shan and his two companions returned to their beds and began to rest.

"Go to sleep early, there's still a tough battle ahead!" Zhou Bangqiu lay on the bed, turning his head to look at Xiao Shan beside him. "Xiao Shan, I won't be able to help much then, it'll all depend on you!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Xiao Shan said with a smile.

Chapter 395, Director Xiao, if you don't come back soon, we'll all starve! (Please subscribe!)

The next day, everyone got up, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and headed to the train station to catch a train to Birmingham.

The group arrived at the train station and exclaimed in amazement at the escalator once again.

"You know, the people at John Bull are so lazy! They can't even bear to walk up the stairs themselves!" Zhang Changwei complained.

Zhou Bangqiu nodded seriously: "Well said! But to be fair, this design is really quite good."

"We'll have that in the future too!" Xiao Shan said with a smile, gesturing for everyone to get off the escalator.

Afterwards, he handed over his lightly packed luggage to everyone for safekeeping, and then took his visa to buy train tickets for everyone.

It takes about eight hours by train from this port city to Birmingham.

However, since everyone was short of money, and John Bull's prices were far higher than those in Beijing, Xiaoshan bought only hard-seat train tickets.

After receiving the ticket, Xiao Shan thought to himself that this was probably Zhou Bangqiu's first time experiencing a hard seat on a train since he became the Minister of Foreign Trade!

Holding their train tickets, everyone passed through security and boarded the train smoothly.

After the train started moving, a little girl with curly blonde hair walked up to Xiaoshan, looked him up and down with curiosity for a long time, and then asked, "Sir, where are you from?"

Xiao Shan smiled, bent down, and said to the little girl, "I come from China!"

The little girl's eyes widened upon hearing this: "I know that place! My mother loves your silk and tea!"

"Oh, that's our honor!" Xiao Shan said to the little girl with a smile.

He guessed that the little girl had probably never seen an Asian face before, which was why she was curious about them.

The little girl was as delicate and cute as a porcelain doll, and Xiao Shan was happy to talk to them.

Zhou Bangqiu and the others were also amazed by the little girl's exquisite cuteness. Zhou Bangqiu said directly to Xiao Shan, "This little girl looks exactly like the doll in my daughter's house! If I had a daughter like this, I would definitely spoil her rotten!"

Xiao Shan nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

A short while later, the little girl's parents came over, took her away, and apologized to Xiao Shan with a look of remorse.

After the little girl left, Xiao Shan and the others chatted and enjoyed the scenery outside the train window.

After the train arrived in Birmingham, Xiao Shan and his group did not go to the factory where they purchased the new machine tools immediately, but instead found a hotel to stay in first.

I plan to go to the factory the next day to find out more after I've rested well.

Although the hotels in Birmingham are more expensive than those in the harbor, both the decor and the furnishings in the rooms are much better.

The next day, Xiao Shan told everyone to stay in the hotel while he went to a nearby factory to inquire and find out the truth.

The main purpose is to inquire about the price of that new machine tool.

Xiao Shan was afraid that these John-like people would take advantage of their Asian appearance and ignorance, and deliberately quote high prices.

Zhou Bangqiu originally wanted to go out with Xiao Shan, but Xiao Shan refused.

After leaving the hotel, Xiao Shan asked a shop owner about the location of the factory.

Upon arriving near the factory, Xiao Shan directly approached a factory worker and hypnotized him with his divine sense, learning the price of the new machine tool from him.

The new machine tool is priced at £1012 per unit, but discounts are available for bulk purchases.

However, just to be on the safe side, Xiao Shan hypnotized two more workers.

The price of the machine tool they told us was the same as what the first worker had said.

By the time Xiao Shan returned to the hotel, it was already afternoon.

"Director Xiao, you're finally back!" Zhang Changwei exclaimed as if he had seen a savior when he saw Xiao Shan return. "Quickly take us out to eat! If you hadn't come back, we would have starved to death here!"

Xiao Shan then realized that, due to the language barrier, no one dared to go out even at noon.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it through and you all went hungry!" Xiao Shan apologized to everyone, feeling a little embarrassed.

Hearing Xiao Shan's apology, Zhou Bang smiled and said, "You went out on important business. It's one thing if we can't help, but it's another if you have to feed and drink us. We should be the ones feeling bad!"

"Alright, Minister, Director Xiao, let's go out and get something to eat first!" Zhang Changwei looked miserable, slumped on the bed, clearly starving. "If we don't go out and get something to eat soon, I'm really going to die here!"

"Okay, let's go get something to eat first!" Xiao Shan quickly said to everyone.

Xiaoshan took everyone to a fast food restaurant.

The main reason I come to fast food restaurants is that they not only serve food quickly, but they are also economical.

Xiao Shan took the menu and ordered hamburgers, fries, cola, and sandwiches for everyone.

Once the food was served, everyone devoured it in no time.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Bangqiu took out his money from his pocket and paid the bill.

But then they discovered that Xiao Shan had taken out a pound sterling and handed it to the waiter.

Watching the waiter leave, Zhou Bangqiu asked Xiao Shan curiously why he had to give the waiter extra money.

So Xiao Shan and Zhou Bangqiu explained John Bull's tipping culture to them.

"I've never seen anything like it before, having to tip for a meal!" Zhang Changwei exclaimed speechlessly after hearing Xiao Shan's explanation. "But the waiters' service was definitely impeccable!"

Xiao Shan laughed and said, "That's because we gave a tip! Otherwise, the waiters here might be even more rude than those in Beijing!"

After leading the group, who had eaten their fill, back to the inn, Xiao Shan began to report on the results of his inquiries that day.

After listening to Xiao Shan's report, Zhou Bang said with some concern, "We're only buying thirty new machine tools this time, so I doubt we'll get any discounts!"

"I don't know!" Xiao Shan shook his head. "I can only talk to the factory manager tomorrow and see if they can offer some discounts!"

"The final payment for this shipment is £10,000. I estimate I'll have to call back and ask the factory to wire us the money," Zhou Bangqiu said, touching the check he kept close to his body.

Li Huaide hadn't expected these remaining payments to be exchanged for thirty machine tools.

However, Li Huaide was worried that Zhou Bangqiu was taking too much money with him, and if something unexpected happened, the steel mill would lose everything.

Therefore, Zhou Bangqiu was only allowed to take the check to pay off a portion of the amount.

The remaining machine tools will be delivered to Qingdao Port, and the steel rolling mill will then make an international remittance to settle the remaining payment.

"We need to speed things up and complete the mission as soon as possible to return home!" Zhou Bangqiu sighed. "We didn't know beforehand that things were so expensive in John Bull. Our budget is only enough for three or four days of hotel stays! If we can't reach an agreement, we'll have to call the factory and ask them to send some funds in advance!"

Chapter 396, Negotiation: Xiao Shan Suffers a Setback! (Please Subscribe!)

Hearing Zhou Bangqiu's words, Xiao Shan frowned slightly: "Brother Zhou, I think negotiating the price will inevitably be a protracted battle, and since we haven't ordered a large quantity, it will be even more difficult to negotiate! I think we should call the factory in advance, otherwise we'll be sleeping on the streets!"

Zhou Bangqiu lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Xiaoshan, you're right. I'll call the factory right now."

At that time, telephones were very common in New York, but the telephones in the rooms could not make international calls.

If you want to make an international call, you'll have to pay extra at the front desk.

So Xiao Shan went to the front desk with Zhou Bangqiu to make a phone call.

After listening to Xiao Shan's situation, Li Huaide pondered for a moment and then said, "I'll have the finance department transfer the money to you later. You can just sign a check and withdraw the money from the company account!"

"As for the price of the new machine tool, I'll trouble you to put in the effort! Try to lower it as much as possible from the listed price!"

Zhou Bangqiu quickly assured Li Huaide, "Okay, Factory Director, don't worry, we will definitely do our best!"

After hanging up the phone, the receptionist accepted eight shillings from Xiao Shan and his group, which is equivalent to £0.4.

On the way back to his room, Zhou Bangqiu said to Xiao Shan with a pained expression, "It feels like we're burning through money every minute here!"

Xiao Shan smiled and nodded: "That's right, so we need to speed up the process of purchasing machine tools!"

The next day, Xiao Shan and the others put on their best clothes and went to the machine tool factory.

Upon arriving at the machine tool factory, Xiao Shan explained his purpose to the security guard at the gate.

The group was politely invited into the machine tool factory's reception room.

The machine tool factory's reception room was very large. Everyone sat down on the leather sofas, and immediately a blonde woman in a tight-fitting business suit served everyone coffee.

"Please wait a moment, our sales director will be here shortly," the blonde woman said to Xiao Shan with a slight smile.

Xiao Shan smiled and nodded, taking a sip of his coffee: "Thank you!"

After waiting in the reception room for about ten minutes, a white man with a full beard and wearing a sharp suit walked in.

The white man looked to be in his thirties or forties, and his gait and demeanor were quite capable.

When Xiao Shan saw him approaching, he quickly stood up from the sofa and extended a hand to him: "Hello, we are employees of the foreign trade department of Rabbit 49 City Steel Rolling Mill. We came here specifically to purchase machine tools! My name is Xiao Shan!"

"Hello, my name is Allen, and I am the sales director of this company!" Allen smiled and stepped forward to shake hands with Xiao Shan.

He then shook hands and greeted Zhou Bangqiu and the others behind him.

After exchanging greetings, Allen sat down opposite Xiao Shan and asked directly, "So, Mr. Xiao, how many machine tools do you plan to buy this time?"

"Thirty units!" Xiao Shan stated directly the number of machine tools they planned to purchase.

Upon hearing the number Xiao Shan announced, Allen's polite smile instantly froze on his face: "Mr. Xiao, I suggest you talk to my secretary!"

After saying that, Allen got up and prepared to leave.

"Mr. Allen!" Xiao Shan quickly stopped Allen, who was about to leave. "Although we ordered a relatively small number of machines, it doesn't mean that our future..."

Allen frowned and interrupted Xiao Shan: "Mr. Xiao, do you know how valuable my time is? According to the rules, I cannot discuss business with you involving less than one hundred machine tools!"

"I'll have my secretary come over; you can talk to her."

After saying that, Allen ignored Xiao Shan's attempts to stop him and strode away from the reception room.