Chapter 9: Coca-Cola VS Iced Tea

  "So far, I still can't confirm whether it was Coca-Cola that created the original accumulation of wealth for the Liu family or if Mr. Liu Shuangxi helped us expand, extend and solidify our market."

  As written in the memoirs of Roberto Goizueta, former CEO of Coca-Cola.

  Divider line entering the main text...

  Liu Dongfang and his grandson went out for a while, but soon came back, bringing with them a foreigner. In this era, even in the capital city, blue-eyed and high-nosed foreigners were rarely seen.

  "Wenhua, get some iced tea here, this person is a bit heat-stroked. Guoli, you go get a towel and some cold water to wipe his face."

  "Oh, thank you. I feel much better." The foreigner, after the Liu family's flurry of activity, became much more lucid and asked, "May I ask where I am?"

  "Hello, my friend. You are now in Beijing, in our home." The foreigner was still a bit confused and spoke slowly, but Liu Guoqing could understand him, so he quickly replied in his poor English.

  "Thank you so much, my name is Martin, I'm an American. If it weren't for your help just now, I would have doubted that I was going to die. Also, sir, can you speak Chinese? Although I don't speak it, I can more or less understand it. To be honest, your English makes me feel even more complicated."

  Watching the foreigner Martin, Liu Guoping retreated in defeat...

  "Mr. Martin, hello! I wonder how you were rescued by my father? What brings you to China? Is there anything we can help you with?" Seeing a foreigner, Liu Guoli also plucked up the courage to speak a few words of English, even though she knew this foreigner could understand Chinese, but opportunities to communicate with foreigners are really rare these days.

  "Oh, pretty little girl, thank you very much to your family especially your father. I came to Hua Xia to sell our products, a kind of the most famous beverage in the world, which was also sold in Hua Xia 30 years ago. Today my translator was supposed to take me for a stroll around the capital city, but unfortunately we got separated this afternoon. I have to say, little girl, your English pronunciation is much more standard than that gentleman's just now, though you still need a bit of adjustment on grammar."

  Liu Guoli retreats in defeat...

  "Grandpa Martin, you must have gone to the Forbidden City, right? We're in Lingjing Hutong. Just now, I was outside with my grandpa and saw you walking unsteadily, almost falling over. We asked you questions but you didn't respond, so we had no choice but to bring you back to our home. So, where do you live now? Do you have an address or a phone number for your friends?" Liu Shuangxi finally couldn't bear her dad and aunt anymore and stepped forward to ask Martin.

  "Yes, I did go to the Forbidden City. It's one of the greatest buildings I've ever seen." Martin was so excited to meet someone who could communicate with him normally, he had been asking many people for a long time and nobody knew what he was saying, "China is really amazing, little friend. If I didn't see your black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin, I would have thought you were an American kid. Listening to you speak feels so familiar. I'm staying at the Beijing Restaurant, here's a phone number 856xxxx, it belongs to my best Chinese friend. Can you help me contact him?"

  "Okay, I'll get Grandpa to help you make a call to contact your friend." Liu Shuangxi turned around and said to Liu Dongfang: "Grandpa, this is Martin's phone number 856xxxx, let's help him contact them."

  "Hmm, okay, huh? This phone number seems to be from Lao Tong's side. Wait a minute, I'll contact Lao Tong about this. This guy is really something, he can even lose his own guest." With that, Liu Dongfang turned around and made the call.

  "Uncle Martin, is your friend surnamed Tong? He's a very good friend of our family." From Uncle Martin's words just now, Liu Shuangxi had already guessed what this person did.

  "Yes, we were already very good friends when we were in the US. I met him 5 years ago when he just arrived in the US and our interactions have been great all these years. By the way, is there any more of that drink you gave me earlier? It tasted really good." Martin was no longer in a hurry after hearing that his old friend could be found.

  "Of course, this is our family's homemade herbal tea. If you like it, drink more." Liu Shuangxi was quite confident in his family's product, which was made according to the recipe of Wang Laoji that he remembered, with ingredients such as licorice root, chrysanthemum, tangerine peel; combined with sesame seeds, perilla leaves, goldenrod, and rhizome of rehmannia glutinosa, plus some added patchouli and carbonized motherwort. Although the proportions might be slightly different from those in his past life, the flavor was still quite good.

  "Grandpa Martin, how do you think our iced tea compares with your Coca-Cola?"

  "Ah, how did you know I'm from Coca-Cola? You're a mysterious little guy. Did Liu Shuangxi tell you about me before?" Martin was still quite surprised by Liu Shuangxi's guess, and he had been quite unfamiliar with this mystical Eastern country for so long.

  "Haha, Grandpa Martin, I had your drink a while ago, and just now you mentioned that you sell drinks, so I took a guess."

  "Oh, I see. To be honest, the thing I drank earlier, you call it Liang Cha, right? It feels really great. How to say... it's like drinking a Coca-Cola on a hot summer day, it feels so refreshing! Oh yeah, it's a very refreshing feeling. I wish they could freeze it, that would be even better." Looks like Old Martin has a pretty good impression of Huaxia Liang Cha.

  Hehe, but we don't have a refrigerator for the time being. However, Mr. Martin, do you plan to sell Coca-Cola in China now? It seems that this medicine-like taste might not be suitable for most Chinese people. Just like in my family, among the dozens of bottles sent by Uncle Tong, only I and my aunt would drink it. As for when Coca-Cola will enter the Chinese market, Liu Shuangxi had never paid much attention to it before, but he remembered that there were many twists and turns in between. So he couldn't help but remind this foreigner, and at the same time, a bold idea emerged in his mind.

  "Little friend, actually your question was also asked by Mr. Tong recently. How to say it, our current plan is to set up a production factory in China, but the customer base for now is still targeting foreign consumers. You know that foreigners who come to China for tourism, especially Europeans and Americans, have grown up drinking Coca-Cola and are completely used to this beverage. Young people don't care where they go, they just want to drink it. I think wherever there are tourists, there should be our Coca-Cola."

  Regarding Liu Shuangxi's confusion, Old Martin explained patiently, "I also know what you mean by that medicinal taste, actually this is the Chinese flavor! The formula for Coca-Cola contains cassia oil from China, if there was no cassia oil, Coca-Cola wouldn't have this flavor."

  "But, Grandpa Martin, I still think the herbal tea made at my home is better. After drinking this beverage, there's a feeling similar to drinking tea, no, more like after drinking coffee, where for a period of time you feel very stimulated and excited." Liu Shuangxi was practically saying it outright.

  "Ah, little friend, you guessed it right, Coca-Cola does contain caffeine, but you should know that tea leaves have several times more caffeine than Coke, and coffee has dozens of times more. Our product's main ingredient is a kind of Coca-co plant, which is purely natural and can be safely consumed." Martin hurriedly explained.

  "That's right, it would be great if there was a Coke without caffeine. I'm not too fond of it now." Liu Shuangxi said innocently, because he remembered that the Diet Coke he had drunk in his previous life was caffeine-free (launched in the US in '83), and here he gave Martin a little hint in advance.

  "Oh! Shuang Xi, you're too clever! We've never had this idea before. If we can do it as you said, I believe our market will expand a lot more in the future. Hehe, don't know how to thank you enough!"

  "Mr. Martin, if you think what I said makes sense, then I suggest that your product temporarily suspend its listing in Huaxia, and if you really want to say thank you, consider giving me the agency rights in the future." Liu Shuangxi boldly expressed her own thoughts, also wanting to see Old Martin's attitude.

  "We indeed hope to resume production and sales in Hua Xia as soon as possible, but due to some factors, we are also very concerned. I will carefully consider your suggestions, however, regarding the agency rights issue, considering you're still so young and your family environment, it seems there are some difficulties after all, since the company will examine qualifications and charge a certain agency fee." Martin heard Liu Shuangxi's request and felt somewhat hesitant.

  "Hehe, I don't think this is a problem. As for the money, Uncle Martin doesn't need to worry about it. The specific personnel can be discussed later. At that time, I will also consider cooperating with your company using my Liang Cha formula. Grandfather, you just tasted it earlier, and apart from the taste, my Liang Cha has many functions such as clearing heart fire, relieving heat toxin, moistening dryness, removing intestinal and stomach fire, dispelling stagnation, and regulating liver and stomach. Simply put, didn't that feeling of almost getting heatstroke earlier get much better?"

  "Ah, now that you mention it, I feel much better. I think our product definitely doesn't have this effect. Shuang Xi, are you really willing to share the formula for this cooling tea with us and collaborate?" Having savored Wang Lao Ji's old Martini, he naturally spotted the business opportunity in this, and at this moment his two big blue eyes sparkled brightly, not showing any of the weakness from earlier.

  "Mr. Martin, we've finally found you! Oh, you have no idea how anxious we were." Just then, Tong Guangzhi arrived at the Liu residence after receiving a call from Liu Dongfang, temporarily interrupting the conversation between Martin and Liu Shuangxi.

  "Tong, nice to see you, I'm doing great now. Your friends have been very enthusiastic towards me, thank you." Martin looked at his old friend with a flustered expression, recalling how he had gotten himself lost after wandering around, and replied with a hint of embarrassment.

  "Alright, alright, since we're all friends, Old Tung hasn't had dinner yet, let's just eat together at my place." Liu Dongfang was quite happy to see his old friend and said to his daughter-in-law and daughter, "Wenhua, Guoli, hurry up and prepare some food, something light would be best, Mr. Ma isn't suitable for eating greasy food right now."

  Well, Mr. Martin directly became Mr. Ma, actually at that time wanted to do something oily, really was a while can't get it done.

  Note 1: Here, Lao Jiu sets Wang Lao Ji's herbal tea product as a cooperative partner with Coca-Cola. Firstly, it makes our product more convenient to go abroad, and secondly, it obtains the agency right of Coca-Cola for the protagonist, which can also be seen as Lao Jiu's dissatisfaction with the product's attitude towards charity and public welfare.