Wang Yiyuan said in confusion, but it is less than 4:30 now. According to the old saying, it is the time when the sunset is extremely good. Mr. Xiao, you said that there are no people in the ceramic factories here. Is it true or not?

Mr. Xiao ordered a little girl in the store to prepare tea sets and make tea for Wang Yiyuan and others.

He said, let’s make a pot of tea first and relax. When you arrive in Tangshan, don’t rush to start your work. The pace here is generally slow and you can’t hurry. Anyway, no matter how anxious you are, it’s useless.

Wang Yiyuan smiled and said, "Haha, the three of us were just talking about the difference between southerners and northerners." It seems that Mr. Xiao should have a deep understanding of this aspect."

The tea set was sent over, and the little girl glanced at Mr. Xiao. Mr. Xiao smiled and said, "The weather is getting hot now, let's drink green tea?" Wang Yiyuan was polite and expressed his gratitude."

The water boiled, and the little girl took out the tea leaves from the bamboo tube, soaked them in the teapot and walked away. Mr. Xiao personally poured tea for the three of them.

Mr. Xiao smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, you just said that I have a deep understanding of northerners, but I can't say. To be honest, I haven't been here for a long time, and it's only been a little over three years to go to Tangshan."

He said that in the past three years, he has made friends in Tangshan who make ceramics, and has dealt with various characters or even done business, so he has more knowledge of them. The overall impression that Tangshan people here give me is quite different from the people in the south.

Wang Yiyuan said, it’s true. I only came here for a day and felt this way. Many places are different from our south, especially when doing business. It seems that they are still in the same state when planning the economy many years ago.

Mr. Xiao smiled and said, "You just saw a lot of people gathered in front of the supermarket to play cards. Have you played chess? A group of people are noisy?"

Some, Wang Yiyuan took a sip of tea and said, "So many strong middle-aged men are bored when they have nothing to do. We are still wondering why we don't find a job and make money well. Nothing is better than making a fool of ourselves?"

Mr. Xiao said, when I first came to Tangshan, it was not long after the New Year. At that time, I often saw many people standing on the streets, but I didn’t understand, so I asked them, “What are you doing? The locals replied, “Be basking in the sun.” Haha, I was thinking at the time, why are there so many idle people? It’s incredible.

Several people couldn't help laughing.

Mr. Xiao said again, in another hour, you will go to the streets at around 5:30, and the storefront selling ceramics here will be basically empty. If there are any, it will be a very small number, or you may be out of town like me.

Li Guanglin asked, if it is the case, how can people here make money and live?

Mr. Xiao smiled and said, then you don’t know much about Tangshan. Tangshan is the largest economic city in Hebei Province, and this is not a casual brag. Tangshan is a century-old industrial city with an industrial development mileage of more than 100 years, so its industry is very strong and has a very good foundation. Tangshan’s pillar industries are mainly concentrated in energy, building materials, steel, chemical and equipment manufacturing industries.

After drinking the tea, the little girl brought the tea leaves and brewed a pot again.

Mr. Xiao continued, your representative of the energy industry is Kailuan Coal Mine, while the representative of the building materials industry is Huida Ceramics Group, the representative of the steel industry is Tangshan Iron and Steel Group Company, the representative of the equipment manufacturing industry, Tangshan Locomotive and Vehicle Factory, Tangshan Metallurgical Mining Machinery Group and other companies. These are all well-known domestic first-tier enterprises.

Wang Yiyuan smiled and said, I knew these things very early. I remember that when I was a child, I mentioned the glorious revolutionary history of Kailuan Coal Mine in the textbook.

After a smile, Mr. Xiao said that with such a strong foundation, the economic income of the people will naturally rise, and the rivers will be filled with water.

He said, but if you don’t even mention the money you make, it’s harder to make. So, many people actually look down on it, or are reluctant to do this business.

Wang Yiyuan felt a little strange and asked, isn’t ceramics also known as a business card in Tangshan? I heard that there are more than 100,000 people in the ceramic industry?

Mr. Xiao said, "What you said is correct." But that is the old almanac of the past. The 1980s and the early 1990s were the most glorious time when Tangshan ceramics were.

As he spoke, he returned to his original views on the people of Tangshan and northerners.

Mr. Xiao said, in my summary, the most important characteristics of the locals in Tangshan are two: one is that they are generally lazy and the other is procrastination. These two points are particularly applicable to the men here, which are commonly known as the so-called men. In the future, you will have a deep understanding of them if you deal with them more.

Wang Yiyuan nodded and said, "I don't have much dealing with you now, and I haven't met you yet."

Mr. Xiao smiled and said that when talking about business, they were not as straightforward as the southerners, with clear ideas. Northerners were procrastinating and fearful, but they seemed particularly arrogant and showed off their abilities, thinking that they were omnipotent and unwilling to do small businesses, but they were actually unable to do big businesses.

He said, for example, our southern bosses are generally low-key, while northern bosses are particularly fond of pomp. In the south, they may not be able to see who is the boss and who is not the boss. Many southern bosses do not like to be arrogant, and they cannot see how different they are from others in the crowd. In the north bosses, among a group of people, you can see who is the boss at once, because they are always more ostentatious, and they are particularly unique in their clothes, behavior, and words.

Li Guanglin smiled and said, it seems that Mr. Xiao must have studied northerners. I'm afraid some people have suffered losses in this regard, right?

Mr. Xiao said, when I first came to Tangshan, I was not as deep as I know it now. Of course, I was just coming out. I didn’t know the depth of the water and the water was shallow. I was determined to achieve results and responded to customers’ requests and shipped the goods out. Well, it’s been more than three years now, and some accounts have not yet been returned?

Also, I will give you a piece of advice. You must sign a contract and make a proofing. You must sign and confirm the proofing. Mr. Xiao said, otherwise, many things that cannot be explained in the future will not be very meaningful when arguing with each other. Who should be responsible must be distinguished first.

Wang Yiyuan thought about it and said, if they really wanted to be like Mr. Xiao, you said, it would be useless to sign the contract, right? I guess they might not take the contract seriously at all.

It’s better to have it than not. If there is something at that time, at least there can be a statement and basis. Mr. Xiao said that the second advice is to never listen to their promises, especially what they say at the table.

Li Guanglin interrupted, saying that southerners do not like drinking because they are afraid of delaying time. Northerners do not get their guests drunk because they are not sincere, and they are not afraid of spending time.

Wang Yiyuan smiled and said, Mr. Xiao, I really benefited from these reminders. Otherwise, I will treat you tonight, so let’s find a place to chat?

Mr. Xiao waved his hand and said, "It won't work tonight. I still have something to do. I will go to the logistics company over the hill to pick up the goods later. Next time, we will definitely have a good drink."

He said, to be honest, there are not many people from other places in the entire street of the ceramic-making Gangyao Road. There are only one Fujianese who makes kiln tools, and the other Jiangsuese who makes electric furnace wires. The three of us often meet. Next time we have the chance, we will get together.

After a while of greeting, Wang Yiyuan and the others said goodbye to Mr. Xiao. Wang Yiyuan took out the map from the bag he was carrying and looked at it. He found that it was actually not far from the hotel they stayed in, so the three of them decided to take a taxi back to the hotel.
Chapter completed!