Chapter Fifteen Dust Settles

  When Minister Jin used the county committee's office phone to report to Old Chairman Han, the old chairman burst out laughing: "Minister Jin, didn't you send a fax yesterday saying everything was settled? You're also leaving loose ends? Rarely, rarely, haha..."

  Minister Jin was filled with remorse and respectfully recounted the events that had transpired at Mount Yan. He then said, "I'm deeply sorry for disappointing your expectations. Please give me two more days, I will conduct a thorough investigation into all matters related to China's Radio and Television Administration, and I will make up for my mistakes and minimize the losses."

  The old chairman sighed: "Minister Jin, you need to reflect on yourself."

  "Yes, yes." Minister Jin replied repeatedly. Upon hearing the old chairman's tone of disappointment, it was as if a fire had been lit in his heart. He said resolutely: "Chairman, please be assured that I will not disappoint you again. I will think of every possible way to maintain the original intention letter."

  On the other end of the phone, the old chairman was silent for a long time. Minister Jin stood upright and didn't dare to speak either.

  After a while, the old chairman's hoarse and powerful voice sounded: "Director Jin, I'm disappointed in you not because you didn't prepare well for the negotiation, nor because you left a tail for the first time when doing things. It's because you fundamentally don't understand the direction of this trip to the mainland. In your heart, it's always been the inertia thinking of an enterprise. Are those local officials your opponents? Your mortal enemies on the negotiating table? I'm very disappointed in Director Jin!"

  Jin Yuan didn't dare utter a word, let alone respond.

  "You don't need to investigate the SARFT's intelligence, Minister Li of the Ministry of Culture has mentioned it to me before. This institution is very strict in reviewing foreign TV shows. Our country's Ministry of Culture has encountered several setbacks. This time our TV series was broadcast on local city and county TV stations, with little impact. If mainland local leaders open one eye and close the other, I estimate SARFT won't interfere too much. However, if local cadres have strong resistance emotions and repeatedly reflect upwards, Minister Jin wonders whether SARFT will intervene?"

  The old chairman may have felt the tone was too severe, sighed, and relaxed his tone: "Minister Jin has always been my most trusted arm, but this time we went to the mainland to make friends and open up the market, not to compete with local administrative officials. Does Minister Jin understand what I mean?"

  Minister Jin nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes"

  "Director Jin, the local bureaucrats on the mainland are a very complex group. There's a Chinese saying that goes 'County officials are not as good as current managers', which describes the power of local bureaucrats. Director Jin should approach this group with a friendly attitude and make friends to gain the greatest benefit for Daxing Electronics. As for the loan, it doesn't require Daxing Electronics to spend a single penny, so Director Jin doesn't need to be stingy. I will communicate with the government."

  Minister Jin nodded slightly in response to the old chairman's words.

  At this time, the old chairman laughed again: "Director Jin, that young man with the surname Tang you mentioned is very interesting! Haha, a county-level official in his 20s? Rare, rare, the mainland's seniority system is even more serious than South Korea's, especially in official circles. You have to be careful next time. I really want to see the person who can make our Great Star Electronics' most capable minister lose face, haha."

  ……

  The conference room was still the same people, but the atmosphere had changed. Minister Jin moved his seat to face Tang Yi, and Pu's translator secretly made an "OK" gesture to Tang Yi, almost choking him with a mouthful of tea water. He thought to himself, this little flower girl, is she defecting at the last minute? But she was quite cute, so he just smiled encouragingly at her, and the little girl smiled happily and lowered her head.

  As expected, just a few minutes after the negotiations resumed, Minister Jin said to Tang Yi: "Your request has been approved by our board of directors."

  Tang Yide's translation implies that he had already expected it, and his expression was extremely calm, only smiling and saying: "Really? That's something to be congratulated."

  Tang Yi's reaction was calm, but the other leaders of the county committee were in an uproar. One hundred billion won at that time was approximately ten million US dollars, not a large sum, but considering the prices at that time, with some additional loans from the government, building a new city district would not be a problem. Of course, what they called a "new city district" in the county seat was just one or two blocks, a tiny area.

  Minister Jin didn't get the excited information from Tang Yi's face, feeling a bit disappointed, and thought of ending the negotiation as soon as possible: "Mr. Tang, shall we sign a letter of intent?"

  Tang Yi smiled and nodded, saying: "I will work with our historians to carefully study the history of Han Chengzi's hermitage and make every effort to verify its exact location."

  Minister Jin nodded in satisfaction, just about to extend his hand and say "pleased to cooperate", but then heard Tang Yi laugh and say: "However, I still have reservations about the broadcast of your TV series." Minister Jin's movements froze, involuntarily turning to look at Tang Yi, but couldn't decipher the meaning behind Tang Yi's enigmatic smile.

  "Minister Kim, this is the information about Swan Lake, I have translated it into Korean, you can take a look. My plan is for us to provide the land resources, Dae Sung Electronics will invest and establish a tourist entertainment area." Tang Yi said as he handed over a thick stack of documents to Park translator, who then passed them on to Minister Kim, also helping Tang Yi with translation.

  Minister Jin finally understood that Tang Yidai had made progress inch by inch and put forward new conditions for himself. Although he was usually calm, he couldn't help but feel angry, and without considering the diplomatic courtesy of the negotiation, he said coldly: "Mr. Tang, does your meaning imply that if our side doesn't invest, you will still obstruct our cooperation with Yanqing?"

  Tang Yi didn't confirm or deny, and said with a smile: "This morning we were discussing your side providing interest-free loans and our side assisting in the repair of the road. We didn't discuss cultural exchange, why is Minister Jin so indignant?"

  Minister Jin grunted, but upon careful recollection, it wasn't that during the negotiations this morning, the young man opposite him only mentioned finding a historian to determine the location after they provided the loan, and didn't mention anything about TV dramas. Although it was a clever move, it couldn't be considered going back on his word.

  But then Tang Yi smiled and said, "As for cultural exchange, it's what we're discussing now. Your side invests in helping us build a park, and in return, we'll have a more relaxed attitude towards importing your TV dramas. Of course, the specific issues of profit sharing from the park can be discussed again, and we definitely won't let your side suffer losses."

  Minister Jin took a deep breath, slowly calming down and thinking carefully. He realized he had made another mistake by hastily agreeing to the terms without considering that this was a negotiating table. He adjusted his mindset and approached the conversation with sincerity, but didn't expect the other party to still treat him as an opponent in negotiation, taking advantage of his easy agreement to raise the price.

  Minister Jin couldn't help but let out a wry smile in his heart, he had never been so constrained before. The old chairman had instructed him to approach these bureaucrats with an open mind and a willingness to make friends, but the young man opposite him seemed even more cunning than a businessman, pressing him at every step. He was getting himself into a mess by trying to juggle too many things at once.

  Minister Jin sighed, flipped through the documents in his hand, and looked at the photos of Swan Lake. The lake's surface was a brilliant blue, with lush green grass and a few swans playing in the shallow water. The scenery was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.

  After a moment's consideration, Minister Jin stretched out his hand to Tang Yi: "I agree to your terms. Can we cooperate happily this time?" A smile was squeezed out of his face, leaving the Korean representatives in astonishment, thinking that robots could also smile.

  Tang Yi didn't expect him to agree so readily, and was still waiting for the other party to haggle over the price. Looking at Director Jin's outstretched hand, he was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stood up with a smile and shook hands: "A pleasant cooperation!" In his heart, he sighed, this Director Jin is quite a character, people lift the sedan chair and the sedan chair lifts people, since the other party has readily agreed to his terms, he naturally had to give face too, and couldn't ask for more.

  In a short while, Minister Jin had composed himself and smiled at Tang Yi: "I'll have to trouble you again in the future, Mr. Tang."

  Tang Yixiao smiled and said "mutual benefit", and hurriedly asked Secretary Tao for instructions. Secretary Tao was already overjoyed, and seeing Tang Yi's humble attitude, he had successfully negotiated such a large investment deal without forgetting to respectfully ask for his opinion. Although it was just a matter of face, Secretary Tao was in a great mood, but he didn't have time to think about why this foolish kid suddenly became so sensible.

  Minister Jin, although impatient, also shook hands one by one with the heads of the Yanshan delegation who participated in the negotiations. When the Korean delegation withdrew to report to the chairman, a burst of cheers erupted in the conference room. Regardless of their intentions, the joy at this moment was genuine and heartfelt. After all, obtaining such a large investment, the Yanshan team were all beneficiaries.

  Tang Yi watched them cheer, smiled slightly, and was quite satisfied with this negotiation. It laid the foundation for Yan Shan's development. As for South Korea wanting to expand its influence in the three northeastern provinces, Tang Yi just laughed it off. Even if the Korean drama craze that Koreans would rave about a decade later had any real impact on the Chinese people? The Chinese who loved watching Korean dramas only liked the fairy-tale-like romance and warm family relationships. They liked love and family, which had nothing to do with liking South Korea. Besides, most Korean dramas followed the same pattern, and after watching too many, they became dull and tasteless.

  Park translator walked out of the conference room and sneaked a glance back, only to see the young secretary smiling at her. When she turned around, he even made a "V" gesture with his hand. Park translator's face flushed red as she smiled and hastily left the door. The young secretary's gesture was forever etched in her mind, and many times in the middle of the night, she would foolishly think back to today's scene and shed silly tears.

  Sometimes, the things that can't be obtained are more mysterious and worth cherishing. In this vast world, no matter how small a person is, there will always be a corner in their heart that others cannot touch, where they store their most beautiful memories.