"President Mu wants to ask you which aspect you are interested in, or do you want to know about it on a larger scale?" Shuishui smiled. She looked at the guest, who pondered for a long time before he replied.
"It depends on what you are willing to show us." The foreigner was evidently a negotiator.
Shuishui looked at Uncle Mu, who let his secretary lead the way. "Let my secretary show them around first. Shuishui, I'll have to trouble you. Please go with them."
"No problem." Shuishui walked to the side. "Sir, let's take a tour of the company first. We'll discuss the company's profile and introduce its departments to you. What do you think?"
"Sure. I'd be happy to." The foreigner followed Shuishui's footsteps.
The secretary walked over to Shuishui's side and introduced Shuishui. Shuishui translated whatever the secretary said.
Mu Ziyu wanted to go with Shuishui, but it wasn't convenient. Even if Mu Zilin went, he wouldn't be able to help, so he could only stay behind and sit in the office. Uncle Mu drank his tea. "Shuishui is very reliable. Zilin, you will learn a lot from Shuishui. Look at how she talks, and then look at you."
"She's really good. She even participated in the debate competition and easily defeated her opponents," Mu Zilin said unhurriedly as he ate his snacks.
Uncle Mu shook his head. "I was worried that the client would look down on her because of her young age. It seems that Shuishui's communication skills are quite good. She made the guests smile."
An hour later, Shuishui brought the group back. They were laughing along the way. "It's my honor to be able to translate for you, and thank you for telling me about your customs. It's very interesting."
The group laughed. "We should be thanking you. You're such an interesting little translator."
"Uncle Mu, it's already past three o'clock. Why don't we let them try our afternoon tea?" Shuishui suggested. The guests could compare their tea back home to the tea that would be served to them.
"Of course." Uncle Mu brought them to the refreshment room on the second floor.
The room was filled with specialty teas and pastries from various places. Shuishui introduced the specialties to them.
They spoke casually and sincerely. The atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed. Although they were there to discuss business matters, the ambiance was very comfortable.
Uncle Mu had wanted to postpone the discussion until the next day, but the client wanted to discuss after dinner.
"Shuishui, how's your oral business English? Can you translate for me again tonight? The client is very satisfied with you. I think it will go much smoother if you help me by translating for me." Everyone noticed that Shuishui's presence and the her rapport with the guests greatly contributed to their good mood. The client even chatted with Shuishui.
Shuishui nodded. "Sure. If it's just translating, it shouldn't be too much of a problem." She would help Uncle Mu by taking advantage of the client's good mood.
Shuishui smiled faintly. "Uncle Mu, you can choose a lighter meal for dinner because they said they don't like spicy food. You can consider seafood."
Through her conversation with them, Shuishui learned that they were not very fond of spicy foods. Although she wanted them to try Chinese chili, she changed her mind when she heard the guest say that even sweet peppers were spicy for him. They clearly could not tolerate spicy food. They also mentioned that they often ate seafood along the coast. From this, Shuishui concluded that they would enjoy the local seafood, which was unique in its own way.
Father Mu nodded. "Not bad, Shuishui. It's a good thing you realized this."
Shuishui didn't deliberately ask about it. She said, "I simply understood their preferences from our conversations."
They booked a restaurant for dinner that night, but Mu Ziyu didn't go because he had a few affairs to settle. Mu Zilin accompanied his father to the office because he wanted to learn something, but he actually didn't learn anything. Entertaining clients was a high-profile concern, and there was no room for him to interject. He did not know what to say. He felt very bored listening to business concerns. Meanwhile, Shuishui had been talking to the client and translated for his father. She was so busy that she had no time to care about herself. She could not even chat with his father because she was busy talking with the client.
Shuishui had no time to rest. She basically had to translate for Uncle Mu and then explain to the client what Uncle Mu had said. The three foreigners were chatty. They liked to talk nonsense with her. She did not dislike it though. She found their stories interesting and thought that it was a good way to get to know more about their customs.
Shuishui listened to them as she ate. "The seafood here may not be as big as those you have back home, but they taste pretty good. It carries the taste of my country. The taste of seafood here cannot be replicated by other restaurants elsewhere," she told them.
The guests were very happy with the food. "Indeed, we have already been to several Chinese restaurants there, but the food tastes different from the dishes served and cooked here. This is more authentic, right?"
Uncle Mu would occasionally say a few words, but he couldn't keep up with the conversation because he couldn't really understand all of the words they said. He could only converse with basic English phrases such as "Was the food to your liking?" and "I hope you enjoy your stay here."
Shuishui tried her best to help Uncle Mu converse with his guests. She was their bridge.
After dinner, they accompanied their guests to the hotel. They asked for a small conference room where they can all discuss their concerns.
Everyone was well prepared. The contract and other required materials were laid out. A lawyer was also present. One of the three guests was a lawyer.
They started off by chatting casually and then eventually proceeding to the main topic. They took out the contracts and studied its contents.
Uncle Mu looked at Shuishui. "Shuishui, how is it? Can you understand it?"
"Yes. There aren't too many obscure words in this contract. I'll take a look first. If there are any problems, we can discuss it again." Shuishui reread the contract.
"Okay. Read it again." Uncle Mu relied on Shuishui. He didn't expect her to quickly request for copies of the contract and for it to be signed so quickly. He had thought that it would take a few days.
Shuishui studied the contract. She read every page without leaving anything out. Although it was in English, it was much easier to understand than the books she read in the past.
"Uncle Mu, the contract validity is ten years, but I remember that the project was only for five years," Shuishui said.
"Yes, only five years. It is renewed every year, and five years is the maximum time limit. Ten years is too long. It's impossible," Uncle Mu said firmly.
Shuishui marked it out and continued to read. Generally, there were no problems. The only problem was the validity stated in the contract. Shuishui discussed with them. "What is stated here as regards the period is a little different from what we expected."
The client had already thought of a countermeasure. "It's like this. In order to ensure the integrity of the partnership, since this project is not suitable for a short-term basis, we can increase the fee every year for the next five years. What do you think?"
Shuishui said to Uncle Mu, "Uncle, they may want a big cycle for mutual benefits. At the same time, they will also increase the fee by a fifth every year for the next five years."
"En, en, that's fine. Let them sign the contract. Words don't count." Mu Zilin's father was very serious. He never believed in verbal agreements. He only saw things in black and white.
Shuishui continued to talk to him. Then, under the witness of the lawyer, she added a few rules. The client made another request for amendment in the contract, to which Uncle Mu also agreed.
After a three-hour meeting, the contract was signed. Everyone shook hands, and the meeting was adjourned. However, the client informed them that they would stay for another two days. They were already Uncle Mu's partners, so they had to be treated graciously.
Shuishui sighed. It was finally over. They had been busy for the whole day.
The guests returned to their rooms to rest. They had not had a single moment of rest since they got off the plane.
Uncle Mu looked at Shuishui. "I really have to thank you for today. I didn't expect it to be completed so smoothly. We will just look for a translator tomorrow so we can take the guests out and tour them around."
"En, but logically speaking, if the translators you booked for today were unable to come, their agency should have arranged for a replacement." Shuishui was a little confused about this.
"Yes. I'm afraid that's a problem. But it's fine. With your help today, Shuishui, I got what I needed. It's already past eleven o'clock. It's late. I will send you back home. Tomorrow, I will pick you up and take you to eat delicious food." Uncle Mu was prepared to send Shuishui a gift. This child, he liked her more and more.
Shuishui expressed her willingness to help the Mu family. "It's fine, and I'm very happy that I can help. Besides, Zilin is a very good friend of mine."
Mu Zilin hooked his arm around Shuishui's shoulder. "Aiya, I'm so embarrassed by what you said. I'm so embarrassed."
Shuishui smiled coldly at Mu Zilin. She didn't know what to say.
Mu Zilin knew that Shuishui loved to eat, so he started to think of where to go. "Come tomorrow. Let's eat delicious food and rip off my dad. How about we go eat bird's nest soup?"
Mu Zilin continued to pester Shuishui. "Think about it tomorrow. It's getting late. I'll send you home first. You're rarely available. Let's play online games. I've already upgraded your account to Level 109. You're at the same level as me. We can explore the game together." Zilin had opened two accounts and used them at the same time, in spite of it being a boring game. Mu Qing wasn't as progressive in the game because it took her long to level up. She was still in Level 98, so Zilin had to wait for her. Shuishui's account was extremely lucky. Zilin had opened many hidden quests using her account. Her attribute points were generally 50 points higher than theirs. Her account also received rare items, but they could not be given to other players as they were bound to her account's character. Zilin even wondered why he didn't have such luck when he had invested so much money into it.
Shuishui wasn't interested in playing and tried to look for an excuse. "Uh, I don't really know how to play."
"It's okay. I'll help you. Update your account. I'll guide you." Mu Zilin was in a good mood. Shuishui simply didn't say anything.