booktalesy Chapter 244 Craig's Trip to the Capital
Chapter 244 Craig's Trip to the Capital
Chapter 244 Craig's Trip to the Capital
On a midsummer afternoon, the asphalt road surface of Fuwai Street in Xicheng District of the capital was slightly hot from the scorching sun. Just past the 1 p.m. rush hour, the traffic and pedestrian flow on the street were gradually returning to normal.
A gleaming Chrysler slowly drove into view, its body gleaming with a calm metallic sheen in the sunlight, and finally came to a steady stop in front of a minimalist office building.
The car door opened, and the first person to get off was a middle-aged man in a dark gray suit.
The next second, the back door was opened, and first a round belly poked out from under the door. Then, a fat man in loose casual clothes slowly got out of the car.
As soon as he stood up, he subconsciously rubbed his stomach, looking at the office building in front of him with a puzzled expression.
"Mr. Craig, this is the place you're looking for."
Craig narrowed his eyes, his azure pupils filled with distrust. He pointed to the ordinary-looking building in front of him. "Are you sure?"
This is supposed to be the best Chinese garden design firm in the world? You must be joking.
The building in front of him was completely different from the traditional Chinese architecture with flying eaves, brackets, and winding paths he had seen in documentaries; it was clearly just an ordinary office building that could be found anywhere.
Since it's the best Chinese garden design firm, shouldn't it also be operating in the kind of Chinese-style architecture that he's familiar with?
Craig, who was originally in Taiwan taking care of an orphan and a widow, went directly north to the mainland and came to the capital after a phone call from Ernst.
Fortunately, he was a foreign businessman, and after landing, he quickly contacted the unit responsible for him through connections. He never expected that the final destination would be such an ordinary office building. Craig's sense of disappointment was instantly overwhelming.
"I guarantee that the world's best Chinese garden designers are gathered here. You will never find another organization that can compare to it," the other party assured, patting his chest.
Craig subconsciously touched his nose; the dry weather in BJ made his nasal cavity itchy, and he couldn't help but want to sneeze.
He muttered to himself, "I don't know what Ernst was thinking. Why did he have to find the best Chinese garden design firm? Aren't there many Chinese-style buildings on Taiwan? Why go through all this trouble to come here?"
"What did you say?" The other person didn't hear clearly and leaned forward.
"It's alright." Craig waved his hand, though he was a little worried. But since he was already there, he couldn't just turn around and leave.
"Since you're so sure, then go in and take a look." He changed the subject, narrowing his eyes and glancing sideways at the other person, his tone carrying a hint of warning. "But let me make this clear: if the design here doesn't satisfy me, I won't pay a single penny, understand?"
During his time in Taiwan, he kept seeing negative reports about mainland China, which made him feel uneasy.
He wasn't worried about his own safety, given his status as a foreign businessman, but he was afraid of being set up, wasting money and failing to get things done, which would be a huge loss.
"Don't worry, I absolutely guarantee that. I definitely won't let you down." Director Chen nodded quickly and gestured for them to come in. "Please come in, Mr. Li is already waiting."
The two walked into the office building one after the other. The air conditioning in the lobby blew a cool breeze, instantly dispelling the heat outside.
After walking down the corridor, the two arrived at a spacious conference room. They had barely sat down for two minutes when the door opened again, and a man in a white shirt strode in, a warm smile on his face. He reached out his hand from afar, saying, "Director Chen, what a rare guest! What brings you here?"
The visitor was Li Changjun, the general manager of Sino-Foreign Landscape Design Company. Upon hearing that Director Chen had arrived, he immediately put down his work and rushed over.
"Mr. Li, I've brought you business, haven't I?" Director Chen smiled and shook hands with him, then gestured to Craig sitting next to him.
Li Changjun's gaze immediately fell on Craig, and his eyes lit up instantly.
"A foreign guest? Maybe it's a big order," he thought, and hurriedly called out to the door, "Xiao Wang, quickly make some tea. Take out the best tea from my drawer and let our distinguished guest have a taste."
"Meat?"
Just then, Craig suddenly uttered a single word, not loud, but enough to instantly silence the entire conference room.
Director Chen and Li Changjun looked at each other, their smiles freezing on their faces. They were both thinking, "Why does this foreign guest start swearing as soon as he opens his mouth?"
Director Chen hesitated for a few seconds, then stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Craig, what—what do you want to say? Is there something you're dissatisfied with?"
Craig frowned and shook his head. "Didn't you just say tea? No, no, I want cola."
During his time in Taiwan, he didn't learn any other Chinese characters, but he became very familiar with the word "tea".
He just really didn't like drinking tea, always feeling that it was bitter and astringent, and that iced cola was much more refreshing. So when he heard about tea, he immediately got anxious.
Director Chen then realized what was happening and quickly translated it for Li Changjun.
After listening, Li Changjun muttered to himself, "A wild boar can't eat fine chaff," but he still forced a smile and instructed Xiao Wang, "Xiao Wang, go and buy a few bottles of iced cola."
"Okay, Mr. Li," Xiao Wang said, turning and leaving.
After the secretary left, everyone sat down again.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Changjun leaned closer to Director Chen and asked in a low voice, "Director Chen, what country is this Mr. Craig from? Where is he planning to build this garden?"
"Build a garden?" Director Chen was taken aback for a moment, then slapped his forehead and said regretfully, "Oh dear, my bad, my bad, I forgot to tell you the specifics."
He cleared his throat. "This Mr. Craig is American. He's not here to build any garden; he wants to build a Chinese garden-style house in the United States."
"Are you kidding me?"
Li Changjun jumped up from his chair, his voice suddenly rising eight octaves, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.
What kind of place is this? It's a Chinese and foreign landscape design company that takes on projects ranging from municipal parks to large-scale museum-style architectural complexes.
Designing a house?
Did you get the wrong door?
Although Craig couldn't understand Chinese, he sensed something was wrong from Li Changjun's sudden change in expression and excited tone.
His heart skipped a beat. Was he really going to sell me?
The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt, and his palms started sweating. But he tried to remain calm and straightened his back before asking, "What happened to him?"
Seeing this, Director Chen quickly forced a smile at Craig and explained in English, "It's alright, it's alright, he's just—"
There was a small nail on the chair, and I accidentally poked myself in the butt, so I reacted a bit strongly.
Craig actually believed it, and even stood up and bent down to carefully check his chair, making sure there were no nails before sitting back down with peace of mind.
While Craig was inspecting the chair, Director Chen secretly glared at Li Changjun and warned him in a low voice, "Li Changjun, watch your image."
Li Changjun glanced at Craig and reluctantly sat down. Although his expression was calm, he didn't smile much.
"Director Chen, let's be frank. We are a professional landscape design firm, not a building design company."
I thought it was a big order that would earn me foreign exchange, but it turned out to be a residential design project. How much money could that possibly make?
A house costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and the design fee is at most twenty or thirty thousand dollars, which doesn't even cover the cost.
The designer has to fly to the United States to communicate and coordinate on-site. The round-trip airfare, accommodation, and travel expenses might even cost them money. This is not a worthwhile deal.
"Who told you it was a house?" After saying that, Director Chen felt that Li Changjun had no problem with it. After all, the other party wanted to design a residence. However, he still emphasized that it was a Chinese-style garden residence.
In Li Changjun's view, what is Chinese-style garden residence but a courtyard house?
Does that thing even need a professional design? Just find a blueprint for a traditional courtyard house and build it accordingly. There are tons of companies on the market that are better at this than theirs.
Their company's strength lies in designing large-scale garden complexes, such as municipal parks and resort garden planning. Asking them to design a courtyard house is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; it not only fails to leverage their strengths but is also not a good fit.
"Well, Director Chen," Li Changjun pondered how to politely decline the order. He scratched his head, a troubled look on his face. "You see, the company has a lot of projects on hand lately, and the designers are all extremely busy. We are really short-staffed and simply can't spare anyone to do this residential design."
As he spoke, he gave Craig a stiff smile and continued, "You see, it's not good to keep the foreign guests waiting like this. Why don't you contact other organizations? I know several residential design companies that are very experienced. I can recommend a few to you, and I guarantee they're reliable."
Seeing that Director Chen didn't speak, Li Changjun added, "If all else fails, I have several sets of blueprints for traditional Chinese residential buildings here. Selling them a blueprint would save a lot of trouble, and they could start construction as soon as they get it. What do you think?"
Director Chen frowned even more deeply, and his tone became serious. "Li Changjun, what do you mean? Are you trying to avoid taking this business?"
He paused, then emphasized, "Let me tell you, this is a deal that can earn you foreign exchange. If you miss out on this opportunity, can you take the responsibility?"
Li Changjun curled his lip in disdain, thinking to himself, "It's just a small order of tens of thousands of dollars, what's the big deal?"
Can they even take responsibility? That's an exaggeration.
He even began to suspect that Director Chen had received bribes from Craig to recommend this deal so enthusiastically and to make a big deal out of it.
"It's not that I'm not taking the job, it's just that we really don't have enough manpower," Li Changjun said, shrugging with an expression that said, "I'm helpless too."
"Director Chen, please be understanding and find another unit instead, so as not to delay the foreign guests' affairs."
Director Chen's face instantly darkened. He stopped calling him "General Manager Li" and addressed him by his name, "Li Changjun, what are you trying to do? This is a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. If it gets delayed because of you, can you bear the consequences?"
"Hundreds of millions—how much?"
Li Changjun suddenly stood up from his chair, his voice trembling, his eyes wide like saucers, staring intently at Director Chen, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
Hundreds of millions of dollars? Did he hear that right? A house costing hundreds of millions of dollars?
Craig, who was standing next to Li Changjun, was startled by Li Changjun's sudden action. He looked at Li Changjun, then at Director Chen, and asked in confusion, "How about you ask him to change his chair?"
Why sit on a chair if there are nails on it that will poke your butt?
Director Chen suppressed a laugh and turned to Craig to explain, "It's nothing, he just likes the feeling of getting nails stuck in his butt, you don't need to worry about him."
Upon hearing this, Craig's face showed a shocked expression. He secretly sized up Li Changjun, wondering if he was really that abnormal.
Li Changjun had no time to care what Craig thought. He swallowed hard and quickly walked to Director Chen's side. "Director Chen, you—you just said how many US dollars? Hundreds of millions of US dollars? Did I mishear you, or did you misspoke?"
"That's right, it's a huge deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars," Director Chen nodded, speaking with certainty.
Upon hearing this, Li Changjun's eyes widened in disbelief. He snapped out of his daze, whirled around, and yelled at the door, "Damn it! Where the hell is Xiao Wang? He's been taking forever to buy a Coke! Doesn't he know the foreign guests are waiting?"
"Hurry up and find someone to urge them on. If you delay our important guests, you'll see how I deal with you."
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