PCJ – Chapter 347 Going Abroad

“Flower!” Zhao Jinyuan called out as he found Zhang Jiaohua, who was playing with mud in the garden. Seeing Zhang Jiaohua, who usually acted like a small adult, now playing with mud balls felt a bit strange.

“What are you doing?” Zhang Jiaohua turned around, his face covered in dirt.

“If you keep messing around like this, Liu Qiaoye will definitely pull your ear later,” Zhao Jinyuan laughed.

“My mom wouldn’t dare pull my ear. She says doing it often will make it hard for me to find a wife, just like you, Uncle Zhao,” Zhang Jiaohua grinned.

“That last part is definitely your addition. I’m not afraid of my wife. It’s your dad who is!” Zhao Jinyuan almost forgot why he came to find Zhang Jiaohua.

“Oh right, I came to find you for something,” Zhao Jinyuan slapped his forehead. “I have two friends who’ve come, and they’ll be working at our tea factory from now on. These two are really talented. One specializes in tea processing, and the other in tea tasting. They’re amazing. We need to make sure they stay.”

“Do they like wild game?” Zhang Jiaohua immediately guessed what Zhao Jinyuan was hinting at.

“Of course! Once they taste the delicious food from Meizi’ao, they won’t want to leave. So, how about it? Shall we find a way to make them stay?” Zhao Jinyuan tried to get Zhang Jiaohua to take the bait.

“Uncle Zhao, I’m sure you just want to eat wild game. Your friends didn’t come all this way for the food. If they don’t want to stay, no matter how good the food is, they’ll still leave,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly caught on, washed his hands in the water, and ignored Zhao Jinyuan.

Zhao Jinyuan was left speechless, realizing he couldn’t outsmart this clever kid.

“Okay, okay, Uncle Zhao was wrong. I shouldn’t have tricked you. Those two uncles do want to stay and work. I just want to throw a feast with good food and wine to celebrate with them,” Zhao Jinyuan quickly admitted.

Zhang Jiaohua suddenly turned around, a smile forming on his face.

Seeing that smile, Zhao Jinyuan knew something was up.

Sure enough, Zhang Jiaohua soon said, “Only if you agree to one condition.”

“No way! Whatever you want me to do is definitely difficult,” Zhao Jinyuan refused immediately.

“Then forget it. We still have plenty of cured meat at home. You can just have that. Oh, we also have chicken and duck. My parents will definitely give you some,” Zhang Jiaohua replied calmly and started to leave.

Now, Zhao Jinyuan was curious. What condition could Zhang Jiaohua have this time?

“Wait, don’t go! You haven’t even told me what you want yet.”

Zhang Jiaohua turned back, a sly grin on his face. “What’s the point of telling you if you won’t agree?”

“Just tell me. Maybe I’ll agree,” Zhao Jinyuan said, unable to guess the boy’s motive.

Zhang Jiaohua remained quiet, and Little Fat Monkey, a mischievous monkey, jumped down from a tree, made a funny face at Zhao Jinyuan, and followed Zhang Jiaohua.

“Alright, alright, I’ll agree!” Zhao Jinyuan finally gave in.

Zhang Jiaohua immediately turned back, smiling triumphantly, “When you go to the World Food Tasting Expo, you have to take me with you.”

“Huh?” Zhao Jinyuan quickly shook his head. “That’s not possible. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t take you. I’m not your legal guardian, so I can’t take you abroad.”

“You can’t fool me. I asked Uncle Luo, and he said it’s fine,” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t easily tricked.

“Well, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check. But even if you want to go abroad, your parents have to agree first,” Zhao Jinyuan tried to block him with this excuse.

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t fazed. “I’ll handle that.”

Convincing his parents wouldn’t be easy. At such a young age, going abroad could be risky, and his parents would naturally be worried.

“Jiaohua, you’re too young to go abroad. Don’t you know how chaotic it is out there? The news shows wars happening all the time,” Liu Qiaoye objected.

“Mom, not every country is at war. If they were, how would they host a food expo?” Zhang Jiaohua countered, having seen a globe at school.

“Your Uncle Zhao and his team are going to promote our tea. What would you do there?” Liu Qiaoye asked, puzzled.

“I’d go to broaden my horizons! You’ve spent your whole life in Meizi’ao, so you only see what’s in this small valley. After just one trip to Guangdong, your perspective changed, didn’t it?” Zhang Jiaohua reasoned.

Zhang Youping nodded in agreement, “He’s got a point.”

“What point? Why does a little kid need such a broad perspective? Can’t he wait until he’s older and goes abroad for university? After all, now that we have a factory, we can afford to send him when the time comes. Jiaohua, this time, let’s stay home, study hard, and we’ll go abroad when you’re older, alright?” Liu Qiaoye was reluctant to let her young son go so far away.

“No, I want to go now! My teacher says, ‘Traveling a thousand miles is as good as reading ten thousand books.’ That means going out and seeing the world is as good as reading a thousand books,” Zhang Jiaohua insisted.

“Whoever said that must’ve been stretching the meaning a bit,” thought Zhao Jinyuan, surprised by the interpretation.

Still, with Zhang Jiaohua having caught wild game and brought homemade wine, Zhao Jinyuan didn’t want to argue, afraid the boy would take his culinary creations back.

Shen Jinmao chuckled and said, “Chairman Mao once said, ‘The knowledge gained from books is superficial compared to personal experience.’ Jiaohua’s explanation does make sense. Besides, he created the bamboo-tube black tea, which is a key selling point for us. Whether people are surprised or skeptical, it’ll draw attention to our product, making our international exhibition even more successful.”

The plan had been for only Zhao Jinyuan and Shen Jinmao to attend the expo, but now with Zhang Jiaohua eager to go, things were becoming complicated.

“But Jiaohua is so mischievous. I’m worried he’ll cause trouble abroad,” Liu Qiaoye expressed her concern.

“Jiaohua is a sensible kid. All kids his age are mischievous, but he’s better behaved than most. Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on him. He knows how to act when the situation calls for it,” Zhao Jinyuan reassured her.

Zhang Youping nodded in agreement, “Last time he went to the provincial exhibition, didn’t he behave well? Let him go.”

“Yes, at the tea expo, I was amazed by his behavior,” Zhao Jinyuan remembered fondly.

In the end, Liu Qiaoye agreed. “Alright, Jiaohua, you can go. But you must promise to listen to your Uncle Zhao while you’re there.”

“Great!” Zhang Jiaohua cheered, jumping up with excitement at the thought of flying on a plane. In reality, his main reason for wanting to go abroad was to experience flying. Watching eagles soar freely from the mountaintop had made him yearn to fly himself. He conveniently ignored the rest of what his mother said.

Taking Zhang Jiaohua abroad required more preparation, given his young age. They needed to gather documents to apply for his visa. However, as the creator of the bamboo-tube black tea, his inclusion in the delegation faced no opposition.

As the day of departure approached, Liu Qiaoye grew more anxious, reluctant to let her child fly so far away. She packed a suitcase full of supplies for him.

“Try not to bring too much unnecessary stuff. We need to make room for more tea. Our goal isn’t just to win awards, but to sell our products abroad. Tea is a key export for our country, and we hope to establish stable international sales channels. Our bamboo-tube black tea, with its limited production, is perfect for high-end markets, even auctions,” Zhao Jinyuan had done thorough research to promote the Meizi’ao Tea Factory’s products abroad.

In the end, Zhang Jiaohua chose only a few items of clothing and cleared out the rest. “Mom, instead of bringing all this stuff, let’s just bring more tea. We can sell it there and buy whatever we need.”

“Exactly, more tea,” Zhao Jinyuan laughed.

Meizi’ao Tea Factory was the only private company from China invited to the international food-tasting expo, mainly due to the potential of its bamboo-tube black tea to win top honors. The factory had three exhibition slots, initially reserved for Zhao Jinyuan and Shen Jinmao, but with Zhang Jiaohua insisting on joining, the third slot was granted to him.

“Jiaohua, no matter what people say, don’t pay them any attention,” Zhao Jinyuan still worried about others questioning how a child could have created the bamboo-tube black tea.

“Got it. Mom told me to listen to you,” Zhang Jiaohua promised, not intending to stir up trouble. Otherwise, he knew he’d face consequences when they returned home.