Chapter 379 – Something’s wrong
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穷四 update:2022-08-22 14:03
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Feng Yu had contacted Australia’s Agriculture department! Even Zhang Ruiqiang was shocked.
That’s great. Insurance. This way, it would be easier for them to negotiate with the Russians. Although Australia was a bit further from China, there was not much difference from Russia. The farmers were still working overseas. They will still be returning home once a year. The farmers would accept this too. This was their trump card in their negotiations.
But as everybody was talking excitedly about this matter, one member of the negotiation team was calm.
At noon, Feng Yu ate his lunch at the City Government’s cafeteria. Although he was having lunch with Zhang Ruiqiang and the rest of the officials, there were only 4 dishes and 1 soup. Only one dish was a meat dish. According to Zhang Ruiqiang, it was just because Feng Yu was having lunch with them, they have additional dishes. Usually, they only have 2 dishes and 1 soup.
Feng Yu was speechless. You have only added 2 vegetable dishes for me? Wow… that’s generous! I must take this opportunity to make more money for myself. The City cannot keep getting all the benefits. Those farmers will also not be grateful to me.
After lunch, the Russian Officials walked into the meeting room. Every one of them was walking with their heads held high. They had a confident look.
Feng Yu was curious. No matter how useless Zhang Ruiqiang and his team were, there was no way for them to fail at this negotiation. The demands set by the Russian Officials were too harsh.
How did these Russian Officials come up with these conditions?
Huh? Why did those people that just came in kept looking at me? I am sitting in the translator seat. They should not be paying attention to a young translator.
They look like they were wary of me. Why are they so defensive against a translator?
Unless…… these people knew that Feng Yu will be the one that will be leading the negotiations.
But how would they know? Feng Yu was not arrogant enough to think that everyone knows who he was, even in Bing City. Let alone overseas. Feng Yu had only mentioned this matter to Kirilenko, and there was no reason Kirilenko would let them know about him. Where did these people get the news?
Feng Yu lowered his head and try not to let people notice him. Maybe he was overthinking. Perhaps these Russians were only curious about an unfamiliar face. After all, Feng Yu was still too young.
“Mr. Ivanov, we had discussed your terms and thinks that the terms were too harsh. We cannot accept it. If your side is willing to lower your demands, then we can carry on with our discussions.” The Agriculture Chief Lee said.
Feng Yu said at the back and translated everything Chief Lee said into Russian.
The Russian negotiation team consists of representatives of 3 regions. Ivanov was the representative of the biggest area and was also the leader of the team. The other two representatives were his deputies. All the decisions were made by the three of them. The rest of the team were there to serve them.
“Then what does Bing City wants? Which terms do you want to talk about?”
Chief Lee was surprised. Impossible. In the mornings, they refuse to back down. They refused to negotiate. How come they had a change of attitude and were willing to negotiate now?
What happened during the hours from the morning’s talks? Did this Feng Yu translate what I said correctly?
“Tell them that we will not purchase their farming equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, etc. Our farmers are free to compare prices in the market and purchase the items from wherever they want. They can even send these products to Russia from Bing City.” Chief Lee said an unspecific condition to test the other party’s attitude. This time, he asked the Professor from Longjiang university to translate.
The Professor was surprised and looked at Chief Lee. That young translator had been doing well. Fine. Since I had accepted this task, then I should translate.
Feng Yu does not mind. He was lazy to translate too. Damn. This Chief Lee had really treated him as a translator. Zhang Ruiqiang had said that he will be the one heading this negotiation. Which part of this Chief Lee does not understand?
You think you can handle the talks? Go ahead. If you are really that capable, why did the talks fail this morning? Since you think you are capable, carry on. I shall see how well you fare.
The talks carried on, and Chief Lee used all his tricks and skills. It was like he had returned to his youth. A debating champion. He had made the Russian team step back and had successfully let the Russians agree to allow the farmers to have the freedom of purchasing.
Chief Lee and the rest of his team were excited. Only Feng Yu was sighing in his heart. This bunch of useless idiots!
This was making them give in? Other than Russia cannot set the prices, what else have they give up? Giving you the freedom to purchase? If you consider the cost, it would be cheaper for the farmers to buy in Russia. The transportation charges from Bing City to Russia were additional costs to the farmers. Furthermore, the seeds from Bing City might not be suitable to be planted in Russia.
Don’t forget that the Russian are setting the annual minimum production of the fields. Just look at beetroots. Their beetroots have red leaves, and yours have green leaves. These are different species!
You had been talking for hours, and yet nothing was finalized. All of you still can feel proud? If Feng Yu were the other party, Bing City’s farmers would be finished.
For instance, the Russian officials can get their people to manipulate the market prices and priced those items slightly higher in the regions where Bing City’s farmers had leased lands. And then, the government can give subsidies to their local farmers in these regions. This way, their local farmers could still get cheaper pesticides, fertilizers, etc. But the cost of Bing City’s farmers will be higher.
What’s the most essential problem in this negotiation? It is the rental fees and land area. You have been talking for almost half a day on these useless conditions. Why are you not talking about the important stuff first?
The other party let you win on these unimportant terms now. Then when you are discussing the critical conditions and they demanded that you give in to them, will you give in?
Sure enough. Chief Lee realized that the Russian Officials had given in on many areas. But when they start talking about the rental rates and areas, they were firm and refuse to back down.
The Russian Officials now starts to say: We had given in to your demands just now. Shouldn’t Bing City’s Government step back a little? Russia and China have good diplomatic relationships. You should not let us be at a disadvantage. This would affect our countries’ ties.
Feng Yu was sneering in his heart. Chief Lee thinks that he was capable? Earlier he was talking so confidently. Why was he faltering now? What’s the use of getting Russia to agree to his earlier terms? How much can you save from that? The rental rates were the most crucial part of this negotiation, and it would affect the income of the farmers.
Huh? Something was not right. Why was that translator holding his teacup up whenever Chief Lee stops talking? Even though you are drinking your tea after Chief Lee finishes speaking, but you should not be doing it every time.
If one were to drink the tea like that translator, the teacup should be empty. Why was he still pretending to drink his tea?
Something is wrong with this translator!
Feng Yu thinks back to the time when the Russian Officials walked into the room. A frightening thought comes to his mind!