America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 576 I'm here to help you increase the value of your products

In the international conference room on the third floor of the Prince Hotel, Ding Haitao sat on the west side of the long table by the window. The leather chair beneath him had a delicate texture, but it did nothing to alleviate his inner unease.

He subconsciously adjusted his tie, his fingertips touching the silk fabric of his collar. The smooth touch cleared his muddled thoughts considerably.

Beyond the gleaming mahogany table, the conference room was now filled with nearly a hundred business representatives from all over the country.

They were all dressed in suits, with serious expressions. Some were talking in hushed tones, while others were resting with their eyes closed. Their brows showed a hint of shrewdness and anticipation.

Ding Haitao recognized many of them, including well-known private entrepreneurs from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, heads of state-owned enterprises with resources, and several familiar faces from his foreign trade colleagues.

Looking at these well-dressed people, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the ceiling of the conference room. The absurd and glaring images from last night, like an uncontrollable tide, kept crashing into his mind.

Business communication?

Unrestrained parties, alcohol, neon lights, and suggestive music; their usually dignified demeanor belies the disgusting and filthy nature of their unbridled behavior once they shed their pretenses.

But if I don't go to hell, who will?

"Old Ding, calm down, don't let people laugh at us." A steady voice rang in his ears, interrupting Ding Haitao's thoughts.

He turned his head to look at Chen Hongping beside him. At that moment, Chen Hongping was sitting upright in his chair, his back straight, his expression calm as if nothing had happened last night.

Ding Haitao cursed inwardly, "I never expected you to have such thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking like a gentleman, yet you're more skilled at playing games than anyone else."

Last night, Chen Hongping was far more unrestrained than most people present. His skill and composure clearly indicated that this was not the first time he had experienced such a scene.

Horse racing.

Rows and rows.

Hong Kong's horse racing scene is probably no different.

Thinking of this, Ding Haitao became even angrier. "I don't know how many times I've enjoyed this kind of service, and I've never seen you call me."

"Pah, that's inhuman."

However, thinking of his wife, Ding Haitao leaned closer and lowered his voice, "If Lu Hui finds out one day, you have to testify for me that I did all this for business, for orders, and for this family."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hongping turned his head and gave him a strange look, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and indifference. "Old Ding, you're overthinking it."

His voice was very low. "How could Lu Hui possibly know? This place is six or seven hundred kilometers away from Jinjiang, far from the reach of the emperor. Just this once, if I don't tell her and you don't tell her, how would she know you're here?"

Listening to Chen Hongping's nonchalant words, Ding Haitao felt a strange sense of resentment welling up inside him. It's said that the strongest bond between men is forged through shared experiences: fighting together, studying together, and even visiting brothels together.

They've been through thick and thin together, so you're not planning to play with me anymore, are you?

Just as I was about to say something, the heavy solid wood door of the conference room was pushed open again from the outside, and a dozen blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners walked in. They were the same foreigners who had been having the most fun last night.

Looking at their suits and serious expressions, Ding Haitao couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.

Given yesterday's scene, if he hadn't known beforehand and been told that these people were some kind of American social elites, he wouldn't have believed it for a hundred years.

If he hadn't personally experienced last night's indulgence, and someone had told him that these people were American social elites and business celebrities, he would have been a hundred times less credible.

This America is so damn outdated. Although I've never seen it, I can still remain calm.

These people, they shout and yell on TV shows, they don't show any restraint at all.

Compared to these individuals, Craig truly lives up to his reputation as a big boss; he's clearly seen it all.

However, now was not the time to think about such things. When his gaze shifted to the group of foreigners and the several distinguished men in Zhongshan suits who had walked in with them, he immediately composed himself.

He recognized the elderly man with graying hair and a kind face who was leading the group; he recognized him as Vice Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

The fact that a leader from the capital personally flew to Dongguan shows how important this cooperation is. Craig naturally took his seat at the head of the meeting room, and no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.

After all, it was someone else who made the connection, and he was the one who took the lead in organizing it.

At either end of the long table flanking the main seat sat members of the US delegation and representatives of the Chinese government, respectively. Further back on either side were Ding Haitao and other business representatives from all over the country.

The two were still doing alright; at least they could sit at the long table.

Didn't you see that all the chairs around the perimeter were already full of people, some even having to stand?

"Mr. Zhang, this is Jeff Coleman, Vice President of Purchasing at Flash Sale and also Director of Global Business Development at Flash Sale," Craig said slowly as he stood up. His manner of speaking now sounded quite professional, like that of a successful businessman.

"Mr. Coleman flew from Silicon Valley to China specifically to conduct on-site inspections of various Chinese products with export potential."

The businesspeople who are allowed into this conference room have all been screened through multiple rounds of selection, and most of them are even suppliers for flash sales.

Although they couldn't understand Craig's words, the translator they brought could.

After the translator finished speaking in a low voice, a series of suppressed gasps immediately filled the conference room.

"What did Craig say?" Ding Haitao couldn't help but turn his head and ask Chen Hongping beside him in a low voice.

Since starting business with Americans—a deal that almost went wrong because he couldn't understand English—Chen Hongping has been teaching himself English. Ding Haitao knows he hired a beautiful female college student as a private tutor, and now they're supposedly able to have simple, normal conversations.

"He said this Mr. Coleman is here specifically to inspect various exportable goods from China," Chen Hongping replied quickly, lowering his voice.

"What?" Ding Haitao's eyes lit up, his voice brimming with excitement. "Doesn't that mean we have the opportunity to export all our goods, except for controlled products, to the US market?"

What does it mean to be able to export?

In modern China, this statement is equivalent to everything; there are practically no products that cannot be exported.

However, due to various trade barriers, China's goods exports rely entirely on multinational giants.

Often, it's not about whether your product is good or not, or whether Americans like it or not, but rather how much these foreign companies buy, which determines how much you can sell.

He knew that Flashbuy's total purchases in China this year had approached 10 billion US dollars, a figure that far exceeded that of Walmart, China's largest importer in the past.

Otherwise, the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation would not have personally flown from the capital to this place, attaching such importance to this meeting and making contact with the other party.

What is the other party trying to do?

Are you planning to double your purchases next year? Otherwise, why would you send the vice president of purchasing to personally lead a team to conduct an inspection?

Judging from Minister Zhang's smile, he probably thought the same thing; his enthusiasm was practically a prelude to a Western-style cheek kiss. "Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome to Mr. Coleman and his team representing Flashbuy Company for their visit!" Vice Minister Zhang stood up, extended his hand, and shook hands firmly with Coleman. "Mr. Coleman, if you encounter any inconvenience or need our assistance during your stay in China, please feel free to contact me anytime."

"We will do our best to provide you with the best service and help you solve all your problems."

Coleman smiled broadly. "Mr. Zan, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard of you since I was in America, because you helped a lot with the shipping issues for our flash sale."

For several urgent orders placed through the flash sale, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation gave the green light to handle them through customs.

Many flash sale suppliers have even secured government support as a result.

This is why various suppliers now want to enter the flash sale supply chain system, as it can greatly help their foreign trade.

Normally, it takes about 20 days for goods to be shipped from China to the United States.

However, after several collaborations, the suppliers for Flash Sale received special treatment from customs.

This allows them to mix other export products into their flash sale items, greatly reducing transportation time and improving export competitiveness.

"Mr. Coleman, you're too kind." Vice Minister Zhang waved his hand with a smile. "It's our duty, it's what we should do. As one of China's most important business partners, ensuring the smooth supply of your goods and promoting trade between our two countries is our bounden duty."

After a few simple pleasantries, everyone took their seats.

After Vice Minister Zhang sat down, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. These Americans were rather unusual; unlike other American businesspeople, most of them placed their orders through the Canton Fair.

Although Flash Sale also participated in the Canton Fair and placed orders, the number was not significant.

They seem to prefer small-scale, batch purchases, sometimes more than ten times a year.

Almost every day, flash sale goods are shipped overseas.

However, that's their business, and Vice Minister Zhang has no right to interfere. The "small scale" he referred to is relative to the purchase volume of the flash sale itself.

Compared to other buyers, these are huge orders, each starting at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Thinking of this, Vice Minister Zhang looked at Coleman again, his tone tinged with a mixture of probing and expectation, "Mr. Coleman, I wonder if your personal visit to China this time is because you have some urgent, large order to place?"

"If so, rest assured, no matter how large the order is, we will do our best to assist you, organize relevant companies to allocate resources, and ensure that the order is completed with high quality within the specified time."

He knew that Christmas was just around the corner, and the Christmas products he had purchased through flash sales had already been shipped out one after another.

However, given the purchasing style of flash sales, the inventory will probably be depleted once this batch of Christmas products is sold out.

Vice Minister Zhang thought that Coleman had come to stock up for sales after Christmas.

"No, I'm not here to buy products," Jeff Coleman shook his head. "Not here to purchase goods?" Deputy Minister Zhang's smile froze, clearly surprised, and even wondering if he had misheard the translator.

Not only Vice Minister Zhang, but all the business representatives present were stunned upon hearing the news.

Immediately afterwards, a suppressed murmur arose.

"They're not here to buy things? Then what are they doing flying all the way from the US?"

"Yeah, they made so many of us come all the way to Dongguan for a meeting, are they just messing with us?"

"You had such a networking dinner last night, and now you're saying you're not going to make any purchases? Are you having your annual meeting instead?"

"Could they have some other motive? Like wanting to discuss technological cooperation with us?"

"You're just a sock and underwear seller? Americans can't make underwear, can they?"

The discussion grew louder and louder. Although everyone tried to keep their voices down, the sheer number of people made the meeting room instantly noisy.

"Ahem." Finally, Vice Minister Zhang coughed lightly, and the murmurs subsided.

"So, what brings Mr. Coleman to China this time?" Vice Minister Zhang asked, voicing everyone's unspoken question.

Coleman didn't rush to answer. Instead, he picked up a porcelain ornament on the table, admired it for a few moments, and remarked, "Handmade porcelain can't compare to the fineness of machine-made pieces." "Good eye," Vice Minister Zhang praised, surprised that the other party had such discerning taste.

"However, that's precisely its charm—it's handmade," Jeff Coleman said seriously. "I think Chinese artisans underestimate the value of handmade goods, and I'm here to help you revalue them."