Among the crowd were two blond, blue-eyed foreigners, chattering nonstop in words no one could understand.
“Yellow-skinned pigs, fools, idiots. Your Huaguo will always be a poor and backward country, only fit to buy our discarded goods. Hahaha!”
The two foreigners mocked the people surrounding them without restraint.
A Chinese man in his thirties kept bowing and scraping to them, speaking halting English.
Nearby, several officials forced polite smiles, gesturing as they tried to communicate with the foreigners.
“Can you help fix the machines today?”
“They’ve been broken for days. We really can’t delay any longer. We’re suffering huge losses every day without them working.”
The foreigners remained arrogant, chatting among themselves and completely ignoring everyone else.
“Jack, these people are the most foolish I’ve ever seen. Look, they don’t even realize we’re insulting them—they’re still smiling and flattering us!”
“Haha… John, let’s drag this out a few more days. They won’t hesitate to pay more then. We’ll split whatever extra we get.”
John raised his eyebrows smugly at his companion, greed flashing in his eyes. With their technical advantage, these Chinese workers were completely at their mercy.
These people lacked advanced technology and didn’t understand English. Only the two of them could repair the broken production line.
They were confident this trip to China would bring them a huge profit.
“Good idea! John, we can deliberately point out more ‘issues’ and make extra demands. We might squeeze even more money out of them.”
The two foreigners talked openly, their speech so fast that it sounded like gibberish to everyone present.
Even the man who understood a little English couldn’t fully grasp what they were saying, let alone the others, who were completely lost.
Yet even without understanding, they treated the foreigners with excessive politeness—like servants serving masters.
The factory director, Ji, turned to the interpreter.
“Comrade Li Qiang, please tell them the machines really cannot wait any longer. Ask them to fix it today.”
These two had been here for three days already, eating and drinking like honored guests every day, yet still refusing to repair the machines.
The expensive imported equipment was sitting idle, and losses were piling up. Director Ji had developed blisters in his mouth from anxiety.
After Li Qiang translated, John waved his hand.
“Fine, we can fix it—but the fee is $200,000. The price you were given before only covered the equipment manufacturer’s cost, not our labor.”
Before Ji could react, a bad feeling already arose. After hearing the translation, he forced himself to stay calm.
He couldn’t lose his temper. One wrong move could cause international trouble.
John spoke slowly this time, and Li Qiang clearly understood: two hundred thousand dollars.
“How can you suddenly raise the price? We already agreed before you came! This is unreasonable!”
Ji’s expression darkened, but he still forced a smile. He had no choice but to endure.
Most people loved watching drama, and Wen Xi was no exception.
Damn it—this was exactly the kind of scene where foreigners exploited and bullied locals that she had only ever seen in novels.
Now it had happened to her in real life.
To be insulted and mocked so openly on her own soil by two outsiders—how could she tolerate it?
As a Chinese person with backbone, she absolutely could not accept such humiliation.
Before her transmigration, Wen Xi had worked in mechanical research and design at an institute. While she might not know every advanced machine in the world, she had a solid understanding.
In this era, even the most advanced foreign machines were still considered outdated in her eyes.
She stepped forward, her cold gaze fixed on John.
“Sir, not all Chinese people are unable to speak English. We are not as easy to bully as you think.”
A fluent stream of American English came from her lips, her pronunciation so accurate it matched the foreigners’ own accent.
Although speaking English might not be considered an advantage at this time, she could not stay silent.
She could not stand by while they insulted and deceived people without restraint.
At worst, she would die again—maybe she would return to her original world, or be reborn somewhere else.
Everyone around was stunned. Director Ji’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Comrade, you can speak English and understand them? Could you help us as an interpreter?”
Originally, a translator had been assigned, but he had accidentally broken his leg the day before while accompanying the foreigners.
Wen Xi nodded. She had spoken precisely because she intended to help.
“Comrades, they’re saying Chinese people are stupid and can’t even understand when they’re being insulted. They think we deserve to be poor and backward. They have no intention of repairing the machines—they’re only trying to extort more money.”
After her translation, everyone’s anger surged. They wanted nothing more than to beat the two foreigners senseless.
But thinking of the broken machines and the technological gap, they could only swallow their anger for now.
John and Jack also turned their attention to Wen Xi, shocked to find a Chinese woman who could speak English.
John said, “Since you understand English, tell them this: we will only repair the machines if the price is increased to $200,000. Otherwise, we will book flights and return immediately.”
He was certain the Chinese had no choice but to rely on them.
After Wen Xi translated, everyone felt a heavy pressure in their chests, their anger unable to find release. Being controlled by others was infuriating and helpless.
“They’re clearly doing this on purpose. The price was already agreed upon, and now they’re going back on it and raising it on the spot. Even if we had the money, we wouldn’t waste it like this.”
The country urgently needed foreign currency. Every cent had to be stretched thin.
Director Ji sighed. “We’re simply incapable, so we’re stuck being controlled. Comrade, please tell them $200,000 is too much—we don’t have it. Let them come to the factory office if they want to talk.”
Crowds were gathering outside the gate, and the two blond foreigners were already attracting attention.
After Wen Xi translated, John and Jack exchanged a glance and followed them to the office.
Wen Xi asked for the maintenance contract. It clearly listed all costs, including travel, accommodation, and labor fees.
“Gentlemen, we have a contract. Your price increase violates the agreement.”
“So what?” John’s expression was arrogant. “You can’t fix it without us. You have no choice but to beg us.”
Wen Xi’s lips curled slightly, but her eyes were cold.
“Since you’ve been here for several days and haven’t even looked at the machine, I have reason to suspect you don’t know how to repair it at all. If that’s the case, we will file a complaint against your company and expose your fraudulent behavior internationally.”
“You’re lying!”
“This is slander!”
Insulted as frauds, John and Jack stood up angrily, eyes wide with fury fixed on Wen Xi, as if they wanted to burn her alive.
Jack gritted his teeth and said, “We came all the way across the ocean—how could we not know how to fix it? This is malicious defamation!”