When Cheng Guodong first made his fortune, many foreigners came knocking, wanting to collaborate and import ingredients from him.
Of course, the price they offered was certainly higher than what the locals gave.
But he was never tempted.
Call him stubborn or indifferent to wealth if you will, but at the time, he had a simple thought: Why should the good ingredients be exported to you, and our own people only get what's left?
Are we Hua Country just a backup warehouse for foreigners? Why should we be!
His resolute rejection irritated those foreigners because he was frank and unskilled at diplomacy, offending them. After this incident, they caused him some trouble.
The businesses he had partnerships with suddenly canceled their orders, leaving him to watch as the good fruits and vegetables rotted away.
Lately, the foreigners came back, oozing arrogance, implying between the lines that if he didn't sell to them, he couldn't sell to anyone.
