Pregnant and Pampered: The Heiress in a Military Compound

As the workers put it—"As long as they’re willing to buy our products, what’s a tablecloth? We’ll make them and give them away for free!"

Their thinking was simplistic, but Xie Changning thought otherwise.

Their countries had their own textile factories. They could collaborate with them later; there was no need to give things away for free.

Xie Changning told them that freebies should only be small items.

For example, things like towels or wooden pen holders should only be given out once a certain purchase threshold was met.

They couldn’t just be given away for nothing.

After Xie Changning’s coaching, everyone finally abandoned the idea of giving away gifts.

Xie Changning knew they all meant well and wanted to increase revenue, but you couldn’t let those foreigners take too much advantage. Give them an inch, and they’d take a mile!

After the booths were set up, the foreign partners began to trickle in.

They ambled along, stopping at different booths to look at the products.

After two Guangzhou Trade Fairs, the light industry manufacturers had basically figured out foreign aesthetics. The buyers didn’t like things with distinctly Chinese features.

They preferred simple designs, ideally with no patterns at all.

Even a cute design was acceptable, as long as the pattern wasn’t too complex, which would cause them to lose interest.

As a result, everyone’s aesthetic was more or less uniform this time, focusing on simple and elegant designs.

A foreign partner browsed from one booth to another before finally arriving at the one for Xie Changning’s wood products factory.

Xie Changning’s booth featured various sets of tables and chairs, including some with European-style carvings, modern dining tables in a simple white, and white rattan chairs.

Paired with simple Chinese textiles, the display looked exceptionally beautiful.

For a while, they couldn’t take their eyes off the display.

Seeing someone lingering in front of the booth, a worker immediately handed the potential foreign partner a product brochure, opening it to the table of contents so he could easily find pages that interested him.

The foreign partner was surprised; he hadn’t expected Xie Changning’s factory to be so thoroughly prepared.

He was quite interested in the brochure itself. The font and illustrations were beautiful, and most importantly, the product images were artistically presented without being distorted. It was very well done.

"Hello, I’d like to ask about the price of this table and chair set," said a business partner from the United Kingdom.

As Xie Changning approached, she heard him asking for the price.

Xie Changning stepped forward to speak with him.

"Hello, are you interested in this European-style table and chair set?" Xie Changning asked politely, patiently inquiring about his specific needs.

The man confirmed he was very interested in the set.

He noted that both its design and style were simpler than typical European furniture, and the color palette was beautiful. He believed it would be a huge hit with female customers back home.

"This set costs 110 US Dollars..."

Xie Changning informed him of the price, adding that it was a high-end product and he would need to sell it for over 170 back home.

The partner from the United Kingdom asked Xie Changning, "May I touch the set?"

"Of course."

The partner from the United Kingdom stepped forward, felt the material of the furniture, and examined the carvings. He could tell at a glance that they were the work of an exceptionally skilled carpenter.

"If I place an order, can you guarantee that all the sets will be of this same quality?"

"Absolutely! Our factories in China do business with integrity. You can rest assured when it comes to quality!" Xie Changning added that if he was still concerned, they could write the quality guarantee into the contract.

Xie Changning’s confidence managed to dispel the British partner’s doubts.

He had never worked with Xie Changning before; this was their first time, which was why he had to ask.

He had never done business in China before, and he was surprised to find that Chinese goods were just as his other partners had described: exquisite and inexpensive.

"Alright then. I’ll take five thousand sets of this one, and two thousand each of these two..." The partner from the United Kingdom was decisive.

Seeing Xie Changning’s composure, he started rattling off his order.

With barely any back-and-forth, Xie Changning closed the deal.

Believe it or not, less than half an hour after the fair opened, Xie Changning had closed a deal worth nearly a million US Dollars. It was a spectacular start!

Xie Changning was thrilled. She praised her factory’s workers, complimenting them on a job well done.

The praise motivated the workers, and they tackled their tasks with even more vigor!

As Xie Changning’s orders piled up, the smile on Xie Changyi’s face grew. Over the past two days, people had been constantly approaching Xie Changyi to try and get close to her, hoping to secure a spot at the experience-sharing session.

However, the details of the session hadn’t been finalized, so Xie Changyi had no authority to invite anyone.

Therefore, all they could do was make small talk with her.

And that small talk inevitably turned to Xie Changning.

Everyone knew Xie Changning was Xie Changyi’s younger sister, which made them all curious.

"Look at your family! You work at the Foreign Trade Bureau and are one of the youngest directors at the municipal level. And your sister! So young, and she’s already the head of three factories!"

"Sometimes we wonder, how on earth did your parents raise you? How did you both turn out so well?"

"Yeah, just watching my kid do homework every day is enough to drive me mad!"

"Tell me about it! Same here!"

Everyone was fascinated by Xie Changyi and Xie Changning’s parents and wanted to know their secret.

The corner of Xie Changyi’s mouth twitched. She cleared her throat. "My parents were pretty hands-off with us. My own story is no secret, and my sister... she grew up living with our uncle."

The word "parents" only represented pain in Xie Changning’s life. There was certainly nothing instructive to learn from them.

"Director Xie, you must be joking. How could that be?"

"Director Xie, you’re not being entirely honest!"

Xie Changyi sighed, looking helplessly at the people around her. "I’m not being dishonest. My younger sister really didn’t grow up at home. My parents... they’re aerospace researchers. They weren’t around."

Hearing this, everyone finally understood the Xie parents’ situation.

People in their line of work were destined to live in obscurity, their whereabouts a secret.

They would never appear in public.

The only time they would surface would be when their experiments succeeded, and it was time for them to retire...

Nowadays, all the traitors were investigating the movements of such experts, so they would never appear in public. That meant what Xie Changyi said about Xie Changning growing up at their uncle’s house... it had to be true.

"Our apologies, Director Xie. We didn’t know."

"It’s alright."

"Well, I see how it is now. Excellence is hereditary. I give up..."

-

「Far away, in a certain desert.」

An elderly couple lay prone in the yellow sand, staring into the distance. The wife turned to the man beside her. "Old Xie, once this mission is complete, can we finally go home and see our daughters?"