Chapter 48 (1/2)

Mature Ms Perfect

With the deposit in hand, materials were soon delivered; the equipment gifted by Shentu Tian-Yin also showed their great worth. Xia Lei led his employees at Thunder Horse Workshop in hard work and overtime and the job which should have taken 20 days took only two weeks.

In these two weeks, Xia Lei’s lip-reading capability had reached a high level. With the power of his left eye, he was able to read everyday conversations at a quick pace. This seemed to be the greatest gain he had for the two weeks, and the profits from the business took second place.

When he’d completed the order, Xia Lei called Chi Jing-Qiu and she quickly brought someone over to collect the goods as well as to pay the balance amount.

“Not bad. Consistent quality and a good speed.” Chi Jing-Qiu smiled happily, “Our collaboration has just begun. We will definitely be able to make a lot more money in the future.”

Xia Lei smiled, albeit in non-acceptance of her words. Chi Jing-Qiu had taken 8% by doing practically nothing in this bit of business while he slaved for two weeks. Expenses such as materials and manpower were provided by himself and the profit he had from this was not over 50,000. Furthermore, since Chi Jing-Qiu was totally in charge of the contract, she was sure to have pocketed more in secret and might have even made more money than him.

This was unfair and also highlighted the importance of connections and information in business to Xia Lei. If he wanted his business to grow and prosper, he needed to build his own network of contacts and information.

“We’ve made money; how about treating me to a drink?” Chi Jing-Qiu looked at Xia Lei with a big grin, her smile indicating more than just a drink.

“How about you stay here for a meal? I’ll get Big Sister Chen to fry up her signature stewed pork vermicelli,” said Xia Lei.

“Forget it.” Chi Jing-Qiu rejected the idea right away.

Just then, Chi Jing-Qiu’s mobile phone rang. She glanced at the CallerID and walked out of Thunder Horse Workshop to a distance she felt safe from Xia Lei’s ears, then stopped and accepted the call.

Xia Lei leaned on the doorframe and quietly watched Chi Jing-Qiu take her call. He could not hear her but he could see her mouth and read her lips in real time.

“Hello, Big Sister Liu! It’s been a long time! I’ve missed you, heehee… Yep, so it’s like this - my company is now in talks with Vientaine Group about a wind power plant project. The project’s worth one billion. The whole company’s busy with this project and there’s no way we can take on your order… How about this, I know a friend who can do the job… No problem, you don’t have to worry about quality. I just helped Beech Motors transport their completed purchase order. I can guarantee that the parts he processes are even better than the craftsmen at our company’s workshop… Yep, yep, okay...”

Chi Jing-Qiu smiled happily, completely unaware that Xia Lei was looking intently at her about ten metres away. He was catching the changes in her mouth and lip shapes, deciphering her words. He had also seen the number displayed on her phone screen. A faint smile appeared on Xia Lei’s face and he looked rather happy too.

Chi JIng-Qiu was still on the phone with ‘Big Sister Liu’. “You told us before that East Wind Heavy Industries would do customised kits for 320 per set. How about this, I’ll give you a discount - 310 will do… Of course, I will let my friend make a sample for you. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. But you have to send me a copy of the information… Yes, E-mail will do…”

After she finished the call, Chi Jing-Qiu waited till the E-mail arrived in her inbox before she walked back towards Xia Lei.

Xia Lei smiled and said, “Jing-Qiu, was that your husband? He’s checking to see if you’re skiving now.”

Chi Jing-Qiu giggled, “I can skive anytime but you can’t leave your post at work. What’s the point of you making this sort of joke at me?”

“The goods have been handed over and I offered to treat you to a meal but you turned it down. That’s it then, we’ll talk another time,” said Xia Lei.

“No, no,” Chi Jing-Qiu continued, “I don’t know if you’re lucky or I am but another bit of business came knocking.”

Xia Lei pretended to be surprised, “Oh? What business?”

“The client this time wants kits.” Chi Jing-Qiu held her phone in front of Xia Lei’s face but did not hand it to him. She moved close to him to look at the diagrams and information on the phone screen.

Xia Lei glanced at it and had a general grasp of what it was about right away. The materials and precision the client required for the kits were high but it was not the sort that was difficult to process.

“Can you do it?” asked Chi Jing-Qiu.

Xia Lei nodded, “I can. This isn’t complicated.”

Chi Jing-Qiu smiled, “Good that you can do it. Let me tell you - this is a big order. I’d already discussed the price with the client just now. I was able to get a good price after much haggling.”

“How much?” asked Xia Lei.

“260.” Chi Jing-Qiu said her price, then continued excitedly, “Lei, process a kit personally and I’ll bring it to the client. The client will be satisfied for sure and there’ll be no problems getting this contract.”

Xia Lei smiled and said, “Sure, come over tomorrow afternoon to collect it.”

“Okay, I’ll send the information to your computer right now,” said Chi Jing-Qiu.

A bitter smile appeared in the corners of Xia Lei’s lips as he watched Chi Jing-Qiu walk to his desk to fiddle with the computer. ‘Damn it. The client gave 310 and you swallowed 50. I still have to give you an 8% commission later. You’re eating from left and right - isn’t your appetite too big?’

Chi Jing-Qiu was done with the computer quickly and went back to Xia Lei’s side. “Done. I’ve saved the information on your desktop. Take another look at it, then process a kit.”

“Don’t worry. Why, are you still worried about my work?” said Xia Lei.