Sail across the sea

Chapter 319 He Bet Right

Everyone was very happy after the drink, except Gao Fan, of course.

Ning Mo was a simple-minded person who liked to entertain people. After chatting with a few people from Yanxiu Factory for a while, they started calling each other "brothers". Then he started drinking with Zhu Xiaosheng and Lu Ke.

Bob had some concerns in his mind and didn't drink much. He kept asking Tan Jianjun about the people and things at Yanxiu Fertilizer Factory.

Gao Fan occasionally interjected a few words, but mostly just listened. He could sense that the focus of Bob's conversation with Tan Jianjun was not to understand the situation of Yanxiu Factory, but to find out Tan Jianjun's background through this method.

Tan Jianjun was a bit clever, but in front of a Harvard elite like Bob, he was as naive as a kindergarten kid. In addition, he naturally had some fear and admiration for foreigners, and his limited IQ was suppressed, so he said a lot and revealed his true colors.

After drinking a lot, seeing that Ning Mo and the others were already a little drunk, Bob ended the conversation with Tan Jianjun and expressed his interest in them and that he would ask them for help in the future in a suitable way. Zhu Xiaosheng and Lu Ke just nodded randomly, but Tan Jianjun showed a happy expression, repeatedly expressed his loyalty, and used idioms such as "serving in front of and behind the horse", which might have come from his family background.

  After getting on the jeep and driving out of Yanxiu County and onto the road to Cangtang, Bob turned to Gao Fan and asked:

"Gao Fan, what do you think of this Tan Jianjun?"

Gao Fan did not answer directly, but asked back: "I see you are quite interested in him, why are you asking me?"

"Because you are my boss," said Bob.

"Hatch Group also has shares." Gao Fan replied meaningfully.

Bob smiled and said, "So, you agree that I should hire this Tan Jianjun?"

"How do you plan to use him?" Gao Fan asked back.

Bob said: "I can't stay in China forever. I still have to go back to get credits, otherwise Harvard will not give me a diploma. So, I need an assistant who can help me pass on some messages. I think Tan Jianjun is a suitable person."

"Isn't it just delivering a message? Just come to me." Ning Mo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and said.

"Do you understand English?" Gao Fan asked.

"Doesn't Old Bao speak Chinese?" Ning Mo said.

Bob explained: "When I return to the United States, I will not be the only one in contact with China."

"Is that so..." Ning Mo muttered, but didn't say anything more. In fact, he didn't want to compete with Tan Jianjun for the position of assistant. He accompanied Bob these days purely because of Gao Fan's instructions, and Bob's personality made him feel that he was quite speculative. Since Gao Fan and Bob both said that he didn't know English and was therefore not suitable for this position, he let it go.

Seeing Ning Mo no longer said anything, Bob turned his head to look at Gao Fan, but Gao Fan also cast a look at him. When their eyes met, both of them showed a knowing smile on their faces.

Whether or not he knew English was not the reason why Bob chose Tan Jianjun as his assistant. In fact, the few words of English that Tan Jianjun spoke were too simple, and it was completely unrealistic to expect him to communicate with Americans with these few words of English.

Gao Fan had previously arranged for Ning Mo to accompany Bob, in fact, to let Ning Mo be Bob's assistant. But Bob took a fancy to such an unknown Tan Jianjun, and the considerations behind this are very interesting.

Gao Fan had a bad opinion of Tan Jianjun because he felt that Tan Jianjun had a "spiritual foreigner" vibe. From Bob's perspective, this vibe was exactly what he needed.

Bob was sent by his family to come to China because he was optimistic about China's development potential. In order to get a share of China's development, the Hatch Group must find some agents. When Bob first contacted Gao Fan, he wanted to develop Gao Fan into an agent of the Hatch Group. But after the contact, Bob realized that Gao Fan was not an ordinary person. He could be a partner, but not an agent.

Ning Mo was assigned to Bob by Gao Fan as an assistant. Bob had reason to believe that Ning Mo was Gao Fan's confidant, and such a person could not be used as an agent. In the past few months, Bob had been hanging out with Ning Mo, often going out for drinks together. After the contact, he confirmed his guess that Ning Mo could not be bribed.

Tan Jianjun's situation is different from Ning Mo's. He doesn't know Gao Fan, so he doesn't have any loyalty to Gao Fan. This is a person who admires the Western lifestyle very much. Bob believes that as long as he can give Tan Jianjun enough benefits, Tan Jianjun will be loyal to him.

Simply put, the "spiritual foreigner" is trash to Gao Fan, but a treasure to Bob. The saying "someone's poisonous weed is my magical herb" refers to this situation.

Gao Fan suddenly realized this when Bob was talking to Tan Jianjun. He felt a little uncomfortable at first, but soon he calmed down. He and Bob were partners, and they also had their own interests. It was impossible for Bob to be completely defenseless against him.

For Bob, or for the Hatch Group, it is inevitable to bribe an agent like Tan Jianjun as their eyes, ears and voice in China.

After understanding this, Gao Fan didn't say anything. Just now, Ning Mo said foolishly that she could be Bob's assistant, and Gao Fan gave a negative answer first, also to avoid Bob's embarrassment.

When Gao Fan gave such an unreliable explanation, Bob knew that Gao Fan had guessed his intention. This is the interaction between smart people. They know each other's thoughts and there is no need to point it out.

"I think this Tan is quite smart." Bob switched the language to English and said to Gao Fan.

Gao Fan also switched to English and answered, "That's the case at the moment, but we need to observe further."

"That's for sure," Bob said. "I'd like to talk to him again in a few days. If possible, I'd like to hire him as my personal assistant and I'll pay his salary."

"and then?"

"I want to arrange for him to go to the United States for three months of further study, on the one hand to learn English, and on the other hand to familiarize himself with some of the affairs of the Hatch Group."

"It seems that he made the right bet."

“I hope he’s someone who will take advantage of his opportunities.”

"This is an internal matter of your Hatch Group. I have no opinion on it, but..."

"But what?"

"I have no objection to you hiring Tan Jianjun as your assistant. But I hope you won't let him get involved with those people from Penglaier."

"I understand... I apologize for that."

(End of this chapter)