Reborn in 1979: I Raised a Fortune with Four Daughters

Chapter 14 Redesigning Firework Packaging

The two finished their meal while they were talking.

After cleaning up their dishes, the two walked out of the cafeteria.

"Come on, stay at my place tonight. All the workers here are locals, so there are no dormitories in the factory."

Zheng Ziqi said.

"Alright, then I'll have to bother Director Zheng. I didn't bring anything with me anyway, so I'll just watch the fireworks first and go back before I go to sleep."

Zhao Yuan said.

"Okay, let's go to the office first, and then set off all our fireworks when it gets dark."

Zheng Ziqi said.

The two walked side by side toward the office.

"Director Zheng, please give me a copy of all the outer packaging of the products you want to export. I'll translate them all while it's still early."

As soon as he sat down in the office, Zhao Yuan hurriedly spoke to Zheng Ziqi.

"So fast."

Zheng Ziqi looked at Zhao Yuan.

"Okay, I'll have someone bring it over."

Zheng Ziqi quickly added.

"Wang Fugui, send over one set of each of the remaining firework packages."

Zheng Ziqi called out to the room opposite. Then Zheng Ziqi walked to the small table next to him and made Zhao Yuan a cup of fennel tea in an enamel mug.

A moment later, Wang Fugui came over with a stack of colorful wrapping paper.

Zhao Yuan took the wrapping paper, sat down at his desk, picked up his pen, and started making corrections directly on the wrapping paper. This task was indeed too easy for Zhao Yuan.

The translation of more than a dozen wrapping papers was completed in less than an hour.

"Director Zheng, please arrange for someone to go to the printing factory to make some samples. Each sheet of paper should have a color illustration of the product's effect. Print a few of each type first, and bring them with you when you go to Huacheng this time."

As Zhao Yuan handed the translated packaging paper to Zheng Ziqi, he spoke.

Zheng Ziqi took the wrapping paper from Zhao Yuan and began to examine it one by one.

Looking at Zhao Yuan's work efficiency, Zheng Ziqi couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really fast, and your handwriting is beautiful. You're exactly the person I've been looking for."

Zhao Yuan replied with a smile, "I just want to help you solve the problem as soon as possible. I hope that my joining can bring you more orders, and I can also get more commission to improve my family's life, achieving a win-win situation."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ziqi felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"Win-win, for win-win."

Zheng Ziqi said with a smile.

Whether it's possible or not, we'll find out when we meet real foreigners.

Zhao Yuan said confidently.

Although Zhao Yuan knew it was a bit boastful to say this at this moment, he needed to project confidence to convince others. And he was indeed describing the truth. In his past life, he had no problem participating in all-English exchange meetings. Moreover, he fully understood the mindset of these foreigners.

Ring ring ring.

Zheng Ziqi was admiring Zhao Yuan's quickly completed translation when the office phone suddenly rang.

Zheng Ziqi picked up the phone: "Hello, this is Zheng Ziqi from Xiongxiong Fireworks Factory. Who is this?"

"I am Yang Xilai. Ziqi, have you found a translator?"

A deep, resonant male voice came through the phone.

"Hello, County Chief Yang. A comrade named Zhaoyuan has just arrived here. I've read his translated articles, and they're very good. Have you found someone like him there as well?"

Zheng Ziqi said.

Zheng Ziqi was a distant relative of County Chief Yang and had been asking County Chief Yang for help in finding a translator.

"I just got a top student here. He said he graduated from Guanghai University. Would you like to give him a try?"

County Chief Yang said.

"You can give it a try."

Zheng Ziqi glanced at Zhao Yuan, then replied.

“Okay, he’ll come tomorrow, and I’ll come with him.”

After he finished speaking, the sound of the phone being hung up came from the other end.

Zheng Ziqi explained to Zhao Yuan after hanging up the phone:

"It's County Chief Yang. I've been asking him to help me find a translator for over half a year now, and I can't refuse. This time, County Chief Yang personally delivered it, so he must be someone with powerful connections that we can't afford to offend."

"It's okay. Competition drives progress. We need more than one translator; other factories need translators too. Besides, we can learn from each other and complement each other."

Zhao Yuan answered with a smile.

"That's really impressive. He's very confident, just like a young person should be."

Zheng Ziqi gave a thumbs up and said.

Zhao Yuan is very confident in his translation and spoken English skills. Most of the top students nowadays are recommended, and those who study abroad are even rarer. Therefore, his English is mostly theoretical, and his spoken English is really hard to describe.

"Director Zheng, could you please give me another copy of the packaging paper I just translated? I'll take it back and study it. Also, could you please provide a list of the ex-factory prices for all the products?"

Zhao Yuan said.

"Sure, I'll have Wang Fugui prepare a copy for you."

Zheng Ziqi said.

Soon Wang Fugui brought over a stack of wrapping paper and a price list.

Zheng Ziqi took the documents, glanced through them, and then handed them to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan also checked and found that there was no price list for foreign trade sales.

"We are still missing a price list for foreign trade exports."

As Zhao Yuan took the documents and put them into his military green satchel, he said...

"Oh, yes, that's something we just came up with recently, and we haven't used it yet."

As Zheng Ziqi spoke, he sat down at his desk and opened a drawer to rummage through it.

After searching for a while, I found a piece of paper that read: Fireworks Export Price List.

Zheng Ziqi handed the form to Zhao Yuan.

"This is your final price list, right? Is it marked in yuan or rice/knife?"

Zhao Yuan said.

"Yes, it's marked in rice dollars."

Zheng Ziqi said.

Zhao Yuan took the price list, scanned it, and was secretly pleased; the prices were indeed marked low. At that time, the Chinese were unaware of the economic situation in the United States. From a Chinese perspective, the prices seemed very high, but from an American perspective, the goods were incredibly cheap.

Zhao Yuan quickly put the price list into his bag.

The two chatted about various things at the factory as darkness slowly fell outside the window.

"Let's go try out the fireworks."

Zheng Ziqi stood up and said to Zhao Yuan.

"Wang Fugui, are you ready with the fireworks?"

Zheng Ziqi walked to the door and spoke to Wang Fugui in the opposite room.

"Everything's ready. Let's go, let's go together."

Wang Fugui said. Then he called a middle-aged man from the same room and they walked towards the door together.

"This is Li Sanfu from our factory. He's usually in charge of setting off fireworks."

Zheng Ziqi said to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan nodded to the two men, and they all walked out together.

After leaving the factory area, we walked through a field and came to an open space.

Li Sanfu put down the box in his hand, took out fireworks from the box, and began to test them one by one.

Night had fallen, and fireworks burst across the sky, releasing beautiful aerial blossoms that illuminated the faces of the four. Zhao Yuan watched quietly, the light of the fireworks sparkling in his eyes. Compared to the fireworks he had seen in his previous life, the fireworks of today were incredibly simple, but times had changed, and there was still much to be developed.

In no time, all of the dozen or so fireworks in the factory had been set off.

"what do you think?"

Zheng Ziqi asked.

"I think it's a bit too simplistic. If it's for export, we could enrich the content a bit more."

Zhao Yuan answered truthfully.

"How abundant is it? Our factory should be considered the most abundant."

Zheng Ziqi said.

"Do you have any small fireworks? You mean the kind of fireworks little kids play with, like sparklers or something."

Zhao Yuan asked.

"Yes, but those small fireworks aren't our main export products. We're afraid they won't sell well."

Zheng Ziqi said.

"Could you give me a little bit of each tomorrow if it's convenient? I'll take it home and try it out. If there's any outer packaging, please include the price as well so I can take it home and study it. Is that okay?"

Zhao Yuan asked.

"Sure, Wang Fugui, prepare some fireworks for little kids, like sparklers and firecrackers, for Brother Zhao to take back. Also, give him a price list and a copy of the packaging."

Zheng Ziqi said.

"Yes, Director Zheng."

Wang Fugui replied.

After the fireworks were finished, Zhao Yuan followed Zheng Ziqi home.