The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the window.

Qi Yun held a comb, ready to do his daughter's hair, while the little girl looked at him eagerly.

"Daddy, do you have to go out today?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun felt a wave of guilt, as he had indeed been out every day without spending quality time with his daughter.

He squatted down, gently holding Nuannuan's small hand: "Nuannuan, I'm sorry, Daddy has some things to deal with today. How about later I take you to play with Peng Sixin, okay?"

He thought the little girl would happily agree, but to his surprise, she pouted and said crisply, "I don't want to go, yesterday Sister Qing said she would take me to the park to play today."

Qi Yun was slightly startled and then smiled helplessly: "Alright, I'll take you to find Sister Qing in a bit."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Qi Yun opened the door to find Zhao Qing standing there with a cheerful smile.

"Brother Qi, I forgot to tell you last night, I plan to take Nuannuan to the park today, is that okay?"

"Of course, this little girl was just talking about you." Qi Yun said, stepping aside to let her in, "You haven't had breakfast yet, right? I just made some, let's eat together."

"Sure." Zhao Qing didn't hesitate and squatted down to pick up the little girl, walking together towards the dining table.

Qi Yun served two bowls of millet porridge and was about to continue doing his daughter's hair. The little girl, however, turned her head and mischievously stuck out her tongue: "I don't want daddy to do it, daddy doesn't do it nicely, I want Sister Qing to do my hair."

Zhao Qing couldn't help but laugh gently: "Alright, Nuannuan, let's eat first, and after the meal Sister Qing will do a pretty braid for you."

Qi Yun smiled helplessly: "Okay, then let Sister Qing do it for you later."

"Xiao Qing, wear more clothes when you go out; it's still quite cold outside." Qi Yun said, while quickly gulping down a few bites of steamed bun, "I have things to do today, so I can't go with you."

Zhao Qing nodded: "Alright, Brother Qi, you can focus on your work."

"Okay."

After breakfast, Qi Yun went straight out and waited at the entrance of the community.

Before long, Peng Ge's black Volkswagen Jetta parked by the roadside.

"Are there any urgent matters at the factory today?" Qi Yun asked after getting into the passenger seat.

Peng Ge shook his head: "Most of the workers have gone back home for the New Year and haven't returned yet, it will take a few days to resume work."

Qi Yun was relieved upon hearing this and then asked: "How about the thing I asked you to look into last night?"

"I found a reliable person to help contact, there's a factory in the neighboring city that happens to have a batch of overstocked cashmere carpets, they sent over a few sample pieces early this morning by the shuttle bus, we should head to the bus station to pick them up."

After Peng Ge finished speaking, he turned to look at Qi Yun and kindly reminded: "Although you handle things steadily, I still have to warn you, there are many fraudsters pretending to be foreign merchants now, don't let the sparrow peck your eye."

Qi Yun nodded with a smile: "Rest assured, the information is definitely reliable, besides, there's still you, the old fox, here."

Peng Ge laughed heartily and drove towards the bus station.

After picking up the goods, Qi Yun took out his phone and called the Russian businessman.

"Hello."

"Hello, is this Mr. Mendeleyev?"

"Yes, who are you?"

Qi Yun originally thought it might be a bit difficult to communicate with the other party, but to his surprise, Mendeleyev spoke Chinese even better, with a strong Northeast accent.

"Mr. Mendeleyev, hello, my name is Qi Yun. I am in the carpet business, and my friend mentioned that you are interested in purchasing a batch of cashmere carpets. Would it be convenient for us to meet and chat?"

"Hmm? Certainly, when?"

"Are you available now?"

"Yes, I am staying at the Quanji Hotel in the New District, you can come directly to find me."

"Alright, I'll head over now, see you soon."

After hanging up the phone, Qi Yun turned to Peng Ge and said: "Let's go to Quanji Hotel."

Peng Ge nodded and started the car.

Twenty minutes later, the two appeared with a big bag in the hotel lobby's reception area.

Mendeleyev resembled the image of Russians on TV, tall and sturdy, even Qi Yun at six feet was half a head shorter standing next to him.

"Mr. Mendeleyev, hello." Qi Yun reached out his hand and greeted him politely.

Mendeleyev had a smile on his face, his small mustache appearing highly amusing.

"Hello, Mr. Qi."

After shaking hands, Qi Yun introduced Peng Fei: "This is my partner, Peng Fei."

"Hello, Mr. Peng."

Brother Peng also smiled and shook hands with Mendeleyev: "Mr. Mendeleyev, nice to meet you!"

"Haha, nice to meet you too! Please have a seat, let's talk about these carpets." Mendeleyev's hearty laughter echoed in the lobby.

After both parties sat down, seeing the other side so direct, Qi Yun also skipped the formalities, opened the bag on the table, and took out the cashmere carpet samples inside.

"Mr. Mendeleyev, are you satisfied with these cashmere carpets?"

Mendeleyev's gaze was immediately attracted. He leaned forward slightly, picked up two samples, stroked the surface of the carpet, and then leaned in closer to carefully observe the color patterns and craftsmanship.

"Hmm... the texture is nice, the quality of the cashmere looks high, and the craftsmanship is acceptable."

Mendeleyev nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes: "Better than the ones I saw yesterday at the market and those two factories."

Qi Yun was delighted to hear this.

Brother Peng also spoke at the right moment: "Mr. Mendeleyev, you have a keen eye. All our carpets use top-grade cashmere, and the production equipment is the latest model."

"What is the name of your factory? Are these cashmere carpets produced by your own factory?" Mendeleyev asked curiously.

Qi Yun and Brother Peng exchanged a glance and explained: "Haha, we run a clothing factory, and these cashmere carpets are produced by a friend's factory."

Mendeleyev nodded, showing an expression of understanding.

"Do you smoke?" He took out a cigarette from his pocket and politely offered one to both Qi Yun and Brother Peng without showing any contempt due to their status.

Compared to manufacturers, he prefers to get to know some 'brokers' as it can save him a lot of trouble.

Mendeleyev lit a cigarette, took a puff, and slowly said, "I am very satisfied with your goods. Let's discuss the prices now."

The issue of size and price was something Brother Peng had already understood from the factory, so he sat up slightly and began to introduce.

"We currently have two sizes in Kuche, the smaller size is 1.2 meters by 1.7 meters, and the larger size is 2 meters by 3 meters."

"For these cashmere blend carpets, the small size is 300 each, and the large size is 1100 each."

"For these pure cashmere carpets, the small size is 900 each, and the large size is 5000 each."

After the introduction, Brother Peng looked at Mendeleyev with a smile and continued: "Of course, if you are ordering a large quantity, I can offer a further discount."

Mendeleyev listened to Brother Peng's introduction, squinting slightly, calculating silently in his mind.

He took a deep drag from his cigarette, slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, and said, "I can see you're sincere, but I'm willing to buy a total of five million worth of goods this time, so I hope you can offer me a bit more discount on the price."

"Of course, we're talking about your RMB, not Rubles."

Qi Yun was slightly surprised to hear five million, but remained silent as he was not familiar with pricing, leaving it entirely to Brother Peng to negotiate.

Brother Peng calculated silently for a moment, cleared his throat, and said, "This is our first business deal, and since Mr. Mendeleyev is so straightforward, we can indeed offer another 3% discount."

Because this batch of goods was originally surplus stock from that factory, the price offered by them was relatively low.

The quote given to Mendeleyev just now was something he and Qi Yun had discussed on the way, and at that price, the deal would yield about a 15% profit margin.

Mendeleyev slowly shook his head, not quite satisfied, and, after pondering for a moment, said again: "5%! I don't only deal in carpets in Russia; we have many opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Upon hearing this, Brother Peng put on a troubled expression, did not immediately agree, and instead turned to Qi Yun for his opinion.

Qi Yun didn't speak but merely raised an eyebrow, meaning for him to decide.

Upon receiving his response, Brother Peng sighed and nodded: "Alright! We are willing to give up a bit more profit, and hope you think of us first if you have future needs."

Mendeleyev's face lit up with a satisfied smile upon hearing this, "Haha, happy cooperation! I'm glad to reach an agreement with you. I always enjoy working with straightforward people; we're friends from now on."

Brother Peng also nodded with a smile: "It's an honor to become friends with Mr. Mendeleyev."

"Ay, just call me Mendeleyev, or you can call me by my Chinese name Zhang Youcai."

Zhang Youcai?

Brother Peng and Qi Yun looked at each other, this name seemed carefully chosen but suited him well.

Qi Yun awkwardly cleared his throat and said with a smile: "Mendeleyev, when do you think we should sign the contract?"

"Haha, it seems you two are in a hurry. I have a prepared template in my room, let me go get it, and please wait a moment."

"Alright, go ahead."

After Mendeleyev walked away, Qi Yun turned to Brother Peng and said: "Can the factory deliver the goods first?"

"Hmm... wasn't expecting he would order five million worth of goods."

"...I can help you find an intermediary, use my factory to sign the contract with the other factory, it shouldn't be a problem." Brother Peng replied after thinking for a moment.

Qi Yun nodded: "Great, then you handle this follow-up, we'll split it half-half."

Brother Peng blew out a ring of smoke, shot him a sideways glance: "You called me to help out, and now it's become my affair?"

"The capable do more work. You happen to be free these days." Qi Yun laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "I still have to go to the countryside later, I'll leave after we sign the contract."

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