Su Xiaotian watched the men's awkward demeanor and found it very strange.
They hadn't been drinking today, so why were they acting as if they were drunk?
Hesitating to speak, this was not how a group of men should behave.
"It's like this, Xiaotian, I have something I want to discuss with you."
Finally, Director Li spoke. Thinking about discussing meeting Chi Ge with Su Xiaotian, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Who was Chi Ge? Was he someone one could just meet?
However, Director Ma insisted on meeting him, so he could only help convey the message.
He was the most familiar with these places and Su Xiaotian.
Although this familiarity was only a slight working relationship, it was still better than others.
Only he could speak about this.
Su Xiaotian was speechless; what was coming had finally arrived!
Never mind, take things as they come, it was fine.
Director Li should also be a sensible person, and wouldn't make unreasonable requests, right?
"Director Li, please go ahead. Are you looking to book a table for another day? I'll definitely reserve it for you!"
Su Xiaotian feigned ignorance, acting as if she had guessed correctly.
Director Li looked at Su Xiaotian's innocent and oblivious appearance and felt that what he had to say was too difficult for the young girl, making him too embarrassed to speak.
He looked at Director Hu.
Director Hu understood Director Li's glance and knew what he meant.
Fortunately, after this meal, he had already decided that from now on, the factory would entertain guests at Yiming Pavilion.
"Comrade Su Xiaotian, the food at your place is delicious, I like it very much."
Ahem, how could he not like it?
Seeing how uninhibited they were while eating, he wondered if the young girl was laughing at them.
Su Xiaotian secretly smiled; calling her "comrade" indicated that their intentions were not simple.
"It's good that you like it! It's Yiming Pavilion's honor, please come more often, Director Hu."
"Comrade Su Xiaotian, I was thinking, from now on, our electronics factory will entertain guests at your place. What do you think?"
Director Hu was also a straightforward person, and since he had decided to say it, he naturally stated his intention clearly.
"However, as you know, the factory has its own rules. If we book your place, we won't be able to settle the bills for every meal directly, but rather on a monthly basis. Can you accept that?"
For a small business, could it withstand a month's delay?
Don't let them go bankrupt from eating!
Su Xiaotian smiled, thanked Director Hu first, and then said, "As long as Director Hu can guarantee monthly settlements, it's fine. But as you can see, this is a small business. If it exceeds a month, we really can't bear it!"
Su Xiaotian deliberately spoke a bit pitifully, fearing that the electronics factory would only eat and not pay, which would cause Yiming Pavilion to lose a lot of money.
Director Hu quickly nodded, "If it's possible, I'll arrange for someone to sign a contract later, and we'll settle the bills on the first of every month."
Su Xiaotian immediately smiled, "For this matter, you can arrange for someone to discuss it with my grandfather!"
Director Hu...
This little girl is truly a clever one.
She only suggested discussing it with her grandfather after everything was settled!
Director Ma watched them discuss trivial matters and became anxious.
He cast a blaming glance at Director Hu and Director Li.
What was wrong with these two? Why were they talking about patronizing Yiming Pavilion?
They should have discussed the main purpose of today first!
Unable to bear Director Ma's gaze any longer, Director Li cleared his throat and spoke.
"Xiaotian, besides this matter, we have a small favor to ask of you. Are you able to help?"
Hearing Director Li say this, Su Xiaotian knew that pretending to be ignorant wouldn't work anymore, so she nodded solemnly.
"Whatever it is, just tell me. If I can help, I will, but I'm just a child, so I might not be able to help you with major matters."
As long as it wasn't a scheme against her, Su Xiaotian didn't object to helping.
People do not live in isolation but in a world of human relationships.
Helping each other gradually forms a network, which in turn forms a society.
Su Xiaotian did not consider herself detached from the world, so she still hoped to have her own connections in the capital.
Maintaining a good relationship with the electronics factory was also a very important step in this regard.
"This is Director Ma, the deputy director of Qili Silk Factory. Their factory is currently negotiating a business deal with a German company."
At this point, Su Xiaotian had a good idea of what was happening; they were looking for a translator.
She had also been learning German recently. Although not as proficient as French, she had achieved some success.
"This is a good thing! I've heard that many foreigners like our country's silk very much. Silk can create a lot of foreign exchange for our country!"
Su Xiaotian's words were not baseless.
Compared to the electronics factory, the silk factory could potentially create more foreign exchange for the country.
As for the electronics factory, even though it was an emerging industry, its development abroad was better than domestically. It required many components and was a factory that spent foreign exchange.
No wonder Director Ma appeared so arrogant, with a much grander air than Director Hu; it was for this reason.
Director Li smiled, "I didn't expect you, a child, to know these things."
"Director Li, I am very smart and love to learn, and I know many things!" Su Xiaotian accepted Director Li's praise without reservation, and praised herself as well.
Director Ma frowned. Did this little girl know what subtlety was, or what modesty was?
"Xiaotian, although our silk factory can generate foreign exchange for the country, there has been a small problem with this negotiation. The translator for the silk factory has some circumstances and cannot be present to translate. I heard you are a disciple of Old Chi, so we hope you can help introduce Old Chi."
Hearing that it was because of this matter, Su Xiaotian immediately smiled.
Introduce?
This was clearly an attempt to beg Grandpa Chi to come out and be their translator.
This was quite a high demand!
Although Su Xiaotian thought this in her heart, she did not show too much dissatisfaction on her face.
Seeing that Su Xiaotian was not angry but instead smiled, Director Li felt much more relieved.
It was good that the young girl was not angry.
As Chi Ge's disciple, it was natural for her to have some temper.
He wasn't afraid of Su Xiaotian getting angry, but rather worried about angering Chi Ge.
But as long as Su Xiaotian wasn't angry, it was fine.
If he were Chi Ge, at such an old age, taking a young girl as a disciple would surely mean doting on her immensely.
Perhaps, if the young girl said something, the matter would be settled.
But just as Director Li was having beautiful thoughts, Su Xiaotian spoke.
"Director Li, I should help with this matter, but Grandpa Chi is old. Since arriving in the capital, he has been resting at home and does not go out easily."
Director Li naturally knew this information, and Director Hu and Director Ma also knew it.
But Director Ma felt that these were not issues.
As a citizen of the country, shouldn't one stand up when the country needs them?
Just because he was old, should he not serve the country? There was no such logic.
As he was about to speak, he heard Su Xiaotian speak again, "If your disciplinary committee wishes to meet him, it's not impossible. I can introduce you."
Su Xiaotian's words gave everyone hope.
However, Su Xiaotian continued.
"But asking Grandpa Chi to be the translator, especially during the negotiations, is probably not feasible. After all, the old man is not in good health."
Su Xiaotian was sure that given Chi Ge's health, he wouldn't be able to endure a negotiation, which involved a battle of wits and strategies.
Su Xiaotian's words were polite, but her refusal was absolute.
Director Hu and the others' expressions immediately fell.
Especially Director Ma, his face was extremely sour!
But what could they say?
Chi Ge was indeed old.
He had also spent several years in the northwest under harsh conditions, which had injured his health. The young girl's words were likely true.
Director Li quickly put on a smile and said, "Xiaotian, could you help introduce us? We just want to meet Old Chi and see if he has anyone to recommend. Is that feasible?"
He felt this was also a way; if Old Chi could recommend someone, it would be more assured to find them.
Su Xiaotian asked instead of answering, "Are you looking for someone who understands German as a translator, or is your ultimate goal to meet Grandpa Chi?"
She felt that her German proficiency was quite good, and if she took on this translation task, she could earn a lot of money.
Since buying the second apartment, Su Xiaotian felt more and more that she was a poor person, extremely poor!
Everyone was surprised by Su Xiaotian's question and looked at each other.
For a moment, they didn't know how to answer.
"Is this question difficult to answer?" Su Xiaotian maintained her signature smile.
This time, it was Director Ma who answered Su Xiaotian.
"Young lady, our ultimate goal is to find someone who understands German as a translator. But now, there are quite a few people who understand Russian, but very few who understand German."
This was the most polite thing Director Ma could say.
Su Xiaotian nodded in understanding.
Indeed, it was scarce.
At this time, people who understood foreign languages were truly rare.
"Can I recommend myself!" Su Xiaotian said without any modesty.
Recommend herself?
Everyone was clearly surprised that Su Xiaotian would say such a thing.
Director Ma scrutinized Su Xiaotian up and down for a long time, his eyes clearly showing disbelief.
How old was this young girl?
She was said to understand French, which was already quite good.
How could she possibly understand German as well?
Had she ever heard German?
With just one glance, Su Xiaotian knew that Director Ma did not believe her, so she smiled and spoke a few sentences in German.
Having dealt with Germans for many years, Director Ma himself was not fluent in German, but he could understand simple sentences.
And what Su Xiaotian had just said was a greeting, and it sounded very fluent.
Director Ma's expression changed slightly. Did this young girl really understand German?
"Xiaotian, what are you saying?"
Director Li could understand a word or two of French, but he was completely ignorant of German.
"Director Li, I just said a sentence in German. Director Ma should have understood it, right?" Su Xiaotian said.
Director Ma nodded.
Of course, he understood it. This young girl spoke German with perfect pronunciation, and anyone who understood German could understand it.
"Your German pronunciation is good, very accurate," Director Ma said to Su Xiaotian with great regret.
Accurate pronunciation was one of the most important qualities of a translator.
However, they didn't want a simple translator; they wanted a translator who understood professional terms. Such a requirement was very high, and there were not many people in the capital who understood it.
Su Xiaotian observed Director Li's changing expressions and then asked with a smile, "Director Ma seems to have a low opinion of me?"
Director Ma's gaze towards Su Xiaotian became more scrutinizing.
His look seemed to say directly, "Don't you have any sense of propriety, young lady?"
Did she think that being able to greet someone in German meant she could do the translation work?
"Young lady, your German pronunciation is very good. However, when we negotiate contracts, there will be many professional terms involved. Simply understanding is not enough!"
His attitude was perfunctory, clearly looking down on Su Xiaotian.
Since he had the opportunity to find the renowned scholar Chi Ge, he naturally wouldn't compromise.
Director Ma saw Su Xiaotian still looking at him and added, "Not only do you need to understand silk processing, but you also need to understand economic and legal terminology."
His attitude became even more dismissive, but Su Xiaotian wanted to earn money, so she decided to try harder.
Su Xiaotian nodded, "Don't worry, I have some understanding."
She believed that the perfect German she learned with the system would be enough to handle a negotiation, and even if there were unforeseen circumstances on-site, wasn't there still the system?
The problem now was that she believed in herself, but Director Ma clearly didn't.
As expected, Director Ma snorted and shook his head directly.
"You are too young!"
At this age, children couldn't even speak Chinese properly, so how could they have extensive knowledge and understand professional translation?
How could Chi Ge accept such a disciple?
It seemed that Chi Ge was also just so-so, at least he had poor judgment of people!
Director Ma didn't believe it, but Director Li did.
From the documents Su Xiaotian had translated for their factory, her professional knowledge reserve was definitely sufficient.
He had never considered whether a child who was already excellent in French might also understand German.
In any case, in his opinion, since she was a disciple of Mr. Chi Ge, it was not unacceptable for her to know multiple languages.
Anyone who was valued and accepted as a disciple by someone like Chi Ge would not be an ordinary person.
He believed that Su Xiaotian definitely had something different from ordinary people.
"Director Ma, why don't you let this child Xiaotian try?" Director Li said with a faint smile.
Opportunities should always be given to children; his view was that it was good to help and build good karma.
"You've already tested her. Her German should be acceptable," Director Hu chimed in immediately, seeing Director Li's firm stance.
Seeing that both people from the electronics factory were supporting Su Xiaotian, Director Ma thought for a moment and spoke.
"Trying is not a problem, but in such an occasion, if there is a mistake, it will harm the country's interests. Young lady, have you thought about it?"
When he said this, his intention was very clear: he hoped Su Xiaotian would withdraw herself.
He didn't want to offend the people from the electronics factory, nor did he want to use Su Xiaotian, so he could only force Su Xiaotian to withdraw herself.
While speaking, Director Ma kept staring at Su Xiaotian, afraid that Su Xiaotian would not understand his meaning.
Su Xiaotian naturally understood Director Ma's meaning. She had originally wanted to take on this job and earn some money, but since Director Ma was so disdainful now, why should she try to please him?
She smiled.
"Since that's the case, I'd better not force myself."
Let's not have the negotiation fail and then blame the translator.
Director Li did not expect Su Xiaotian to withdraw so directly.
This was not the Su Xiaotian he knew.
In his understanding, Su Xiaotian should be a very persistent person.
This could be seen from the several translations she had done for the electronics factory.
However, Director Li didn't think too much about it, assuming that Su Xiaotian was genuinely not very familiar with the silk processing industry, which was why she refused.
"Young lady, since that's the case, please introduce Old Chi to us."
Director Ma said arrogantly, his demeanor clearly indicating that he was willing to give her an opportunity to flatter him, and she should seize it!
Seeing Director Ma's attitude, Su Xiaotian was instantly speechless.
You despise me and ask for my help at the same time. Who gave you the nerve?
Besides, don't you think that Old Chi is also a national-level talent? Is he someone you can meet just because you want to?
"This matter, I still need to discuss it with Grandpa Chi before I can decide. After all, if you could find out that Grandpa Chi understands German, you should have also found out that Grandpa Chi has not seen guests for a long time."
This was also true, but the fundamental reason was that Chi Ge had been deeply hurt and did not want to interact with unrelated people, which was why he had been living in seclusion since arriving in the capital.
When Su Xiaotian said this, she had a bright smile, and even Director Li didn't find anything wrong with her words.
But Director Ma became noticeably more angry. He felt that he was being looked down upon.
He was, after all, the director of the silk factory. How could this little girl act as if she didn't take him seriously at all?
Who gave her the confidence?
Chi Ge?
[Author's Note]
Here is a large chapter. I am still working overtime on the weekend. It will be a month of continuous overtime soon, which is very tiring!