Chapter 63: The Arrival of the European Distributor

Chapter 63: The Arrival of the European Distributor

Time flew, and June arrived quickly. On a Sunday, under Elena's notification and company, Yang Wendong went to Kai Tak Airport to receive the British trader who had flown in from Thailand.

In this era, flying was still a luxury. Most people, even for long-distance travel, still preferred to take ships — not only because it was cheaper, but also because it was considered much safer.

After waiting for about an hour, Elena finally met up with her friend and introduced him to Yang Wendong. "Mr. Yang, this is my friend, Mr. Smith."

"Mr. Smith, nice to meet you," Yang Wendong greeted politely in English.

His English wasn't particularly good, but he could handle basic phrases. After all, he had a bit of a foundation from his previous life.

Over the past month or two, after earning a bit of money, he had begun taking time to study English again. Any improvement was better than none. In Hong Kong at this time, speaking English was a huge advantage — whether for doing local business or engaging in foreign trade, it was essential.

Smith was a bald, British man around fifty, with a proper gentleman's demeanor. After Elena introduced them, he shook Yang's hand and said, "Hello, Mister Yang. I'm very pleased to meet you. Elena speaks very highly of you — she says you're a brilliant inventor."

"It's an honor to receive such praise," Yang replied with a smile.

When doing business with Chinese people, modesty was often the key. But when dealing with Westerners, showing competence and confidence was more important. One didn't need to boast, but they shouldn't downplay themselves either.

Smith continued, "No need to call me 'Mister.' Just call me George."

"Alright, George. You can call me Eric," Yang responded.

He had already been working on his English and knew he'd need it more and more for business and socializing. So, naturally, he had picked an English name — the same one he used in his past life: Eric.

Elena spoke in English, "Let's go, George. Eric has already booked your hotel."

"Haha, thank you," Smith said with a laugh. "Eric, if this deal doesn't work out, I'll pay you back for the hotel."

Yang smiled. "Then I hope you won't have to pay me anything."

"Same here." Smith chuckled.

They took a taxi from the airport to Hanoi Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Although Hong Kong Island was the city's economic core at the time and Kowloon lagged far behind, Hanoi Road was one of the rare commercial hotspots in Tsim Sha Tsui. The area had a few hotels, many restaurants, and various entertainment venues.

After settling into the hotel, they didn't jump straight into business. George had requested a bit of sightseeing first.

The client had spoken — of course Yang and Elena were happy to accompany him.

The three of them walked along Hanoi Road and soon found themselves in a nearby snack street.

"I really love these Hong Kong street snacks," Smith said with a grin. "So many different flavors — they're far tastier than British food."

"I agree," Elena added. "The one thing Hong Kong does better than Britain is definitely the food."

"What would you two like? I'll pay," Yang said. Luckily, British English tended to be simple and direct, which made it easier for him to understand and follow along.

"Sure, let's check out the grilled skewers over there," Elena suggested with a smile.

The three of them arrived at a barbecue stall. Following the others' suggestions, Yang ordered over twenty skewers.

"What's that?" Smith asked, pointing to something beside the vendor's table.

It was a glue board, with a good number of flies stuck to it.

Elena glanced at it, then looked at Yang and smiled. "George, this is one of Eric's products. It's a fly-catching board designed to attract and trap flies. Sort of like…"

Yang listened carefully. He knew Elena was helping introduce his product.

He had asked Elena to join them today partly for this reason — to act as his interpreter. It was much easier for her to communicate with another native English speaker, and luckily, being the weekend, she had time.

"Ah, I see." George nodded with curiosity and then looked at Yang with impressed eyes. "A very clever invention. It sounds simple, but coming up with something like that is quite brilliant."

"This is one of my proudest achievements," Yang said. "But although I invented it, I don't have the means to distribute it globally. That's why I need someone like you — someone with the right resources — to help bring this product to the world."

Elena translated for him again.

After listening, George nodded. "In the UK, I do have the ability to promote a product like this. As for mainland Europe, not directly, but I have several partners in the business world. They might be able to help."

Elena translated again, and Yang responded, "Europe is too far a reach for me right now. My idea is simple — I supply you with the flypaper and mousetrap glue boards, and you can sell them however you want over there."

Everyone knew that using multiple layers of distributors would cut into profit. But for a startup factory like Yang's, it was unrealistic to expect a wide international network from the beginning. Distribution itself was a kind of asset — a valuable, often confidential resource that took years of effort to build.

Many major corporate mergers in history had been driven not by the pursuit of technology, but by access to established distribution channels. In fact, distribution was often more important than the product itself.

Given his current circumstances, Yang had no way to communicate directly with distributors in dozens of European countries. It made far more sense to find one master distributor and let them handle it.

"Exclusive rights?" George asked.

"Not for now," Yang replied. "But if your sales numbers are strong, we can talk about it."

Granting distribution rights was easy — they were essentially unlimited. But exclusive rights were a different story. Without clear proof that George had the ability to scale the product, Yang wouldn't grant that kind of access.

Besides, exclusive deals usually came with a minimum purchase guarantee — and Yang wasn't in a position to demand that yet.

Better to keep the partnership loose for now and adjust later. A vague promise cost nothing.

"Alright. What about pricing?" George asked next.

Yang smiled. "That's something we can discuss back at the hotel. For now, let's enjoy the food."

Pricing was not something to finalize on a snack street.

"Yes, of course. Apologies — let's eat first." George nodded agreeably.

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