In the conference room of a hotel in Siping, the negotiation was entering a critical stage. Wu Youping, the Mayor of Siping, dressed in a sharp western suit, said seriously to the French merchants, "If you gentlemen intend to purchase Siping's grain for next year, you must pay the deposit according to our rules."

The French merchants looked at each other, but none answered voluntarily. The negotiation was deadlocked for a moment. It was evident that this group of French merchants who came to Siping still had concerns.

It was Wu Youping who broke the silence first. "Gentlemen, the European War is currently raging, and the heroic French army is fighting bloody battles on the battlefield. Siping is right here; it can't run away or be lost."

The expressions of the French merchants changed slightly. One of them finally spoke, "Mr. Mayor, how much deposit do you want?"

"40%," Wu Youping answered decisively.

Seeing Wu Youping's firm attitude, the French merchant bit his lip lightly and fell silent again. Seeing the negotiation fall into a stalemate once more, Zhao Tianlin suggested everyone take a break.

In the small lounge on the Siping negotiation side, Wu Youping asked, "Mr. Zhao, if you were in the French merchant's position, would you accept such a deposit?"

"I would accept it," Zhao Tianlin answered decisively.

At this moment, a light knock came from the door. Zhao Tianlin buttoned his jacket and pushed the door open to leave.

The accommodation serving as a hotel was converted from a courtyard house (*Siheyuan*). At the entrance of the restroom, two French merchants walked out and ran into Zhao Tianlin face-to-face. The merchant who had spoken during the negotiation immediately asked, "Mr. Zhao, if it were 30%, we could accept it."

Zhao Tianlin shook his head. As a member of the negotiation team, he had to remain consistent with the team's will. Even if he felt the French merchants were wavering and perhaps a small concession could clinch the deal, he couldn't do it.

Zhao Tianlin said sincerely, "Apologies, gentlemen. The 40% requirement is already our bottom line; we will not retreat."

After speaking, Zhao Tianlin ignored the French merchants and walked straight into the restroom.

When the negotiation restarted, the French merchants began to question whether Siping's state-run farms could produce a sufficient amount of grain.

Listening to the merchants' worries, Wu Youping smiled confidently.

At this time, Siping was about to enter early winter, but in such freezing weather, the construction of the water diversion canal was still ongoing. Not only that, for more than two months, work on the state-run farms hadn't stopped for a single day. The entire Siping was doing its utmost for next year's agricultural production.

After the merchants finished expressing their doubts about Siping's grain output for next year, Wu Youping answered calmly, "How much grain can you gentlemen buy? Thirty thousand tons? Fifty thousand tons? Or one hundred thousand tons? What we are discussing is not the grain you gentlemen can buy, but the rules of Siping's grain trade. I ask you gentlemen to view this as futures trading. For futures grain traded this month, you only need to pay a 20% margin. But what you are booking is next year's grain; a 40% deposit is a very reasonable price. I can guarantee you now that for all merchants who come to us to buy grain futures, the deposit will be at least 40%."

"Mr. Mayor will ask for a higher deposit from other merchants?" The French merchant was somewhat surprised.

"If the other party wants tens of thousands of tons of grain, the deposit will inevitably be higher. This is the rule of futures." Wu Youping spoke with a matter-of-fact tone about the knowledge he had only learned half a month ago.

The French merchants knew about futures much earlier than Wu Youping. They exchanged a few words in low voices again. The one who spoke before said, "If we reserve 3,000 tons of soybeans, may I ask what currency will be used for payment?"

"Francs," Wu Youping replied.

Hearing that they didn't need to pay in Pounds Sterling, the French merchants exchanged glances. That merchant nodded. "Deal. Then 3,000 tons of soybeans."

Zhao Tianlin on the side breathed a sigh of relief instantly. When he was President of the National Beiyang University, Zhao Tianlin had purchased equipment and materials from abroad many times. He knew that when negotiations reached this stage, they were basically complete. It was just that back then, Zhao Tianlin was the buyer and needed to haggle in various ways.

Wu Youping also felt much more relaxed. The core reason a rule could become a rule was that someone accepted it. Now that someone had accepted the 40% deposit schedule, this rule was considered established.

Since the other party was willing to accept Siping's rules, Wu Youping started the next round.

"Gentlemen, our recent work in Siping is to expand production as soon as possible to provide more supplies for the Allied Powers in this war. To this end, we have communicated over many rounds, and presumably, you are all clear about our needs."

The French merchants nodded. Since business had already started, they naturally didn't mind carrying it deeper.

Wu Youping laughed. "To expand production, we will have to trouble you all with some commodities we need to purchase."

Immediately, Wu Youping took out several lists and handed them to the French merchants.

One of the French merchants read the fastest. After browsing the list, he began to confirm details: "Mr. Mayor, when you purchase commodities, will they also be priced in Francs?"

"Yes."

"Can the advance payment be used to offset the account?"

"We have already established the Siping Bank. These settlement tasks will be completed through the bank."

The French merchant nodded. "I want to order four thousand tons of soybeans. Furthermore, regarding the French architectural designer required in the list, I can be responsible for inviting one directly from France."

Hearing this, Zhao Tianlin immediately said, "If that's the case, please ask the designer to bring a letter of recommendation."

The merchants turned to Zhao Tianlin. "Mr. Zhao, I understand what you mean."

A letter of recommendation was an important proof of credit in Europe and America. This was, of course, not just a letter; the letter would also have a signature and seal. If someone forged it, experienced personnel would find out. And once found out, the forger would at the very least suffer complete "social death" in high society while compensating for losses, and that was only if a big shot helped them. Otherwise, a lawsuit was inevitable.

Once the act of destroying credit became widespread, it would destroy the credit of the entire upper society, greatly increasing the transaction costs of the upper class. Therefore, to maintain order, high society could not ignore such destructive behavior, let alone fuel it or help a tyrant do evil.

At the dinner after the negotiation, the French merchants finally asked about their curiosity regarding inviting a French designer to Siping.

Wu Youping replied readily, "In the future Siping, there will be many friends from France. Before they come, we want to find a French designer to design a hotel for them. We have a saying in China: *Guests feel at home*. We hope every French friend who comes to Siping can feel like they have returned to their hometown."

The French merchants looked puzzled, but they felt sincerity in Wu Youping's words. At the same time, they also clearly perceived that the "French friends" Wu Youping spoke of were definitely not just merchant groups like them.

After a moment of silence, the French merchant who asked questions earlier was frank: "If Mr. Mayor trusts me, I am willing to send a telegram back to France right now. A building needs to be designed first; during this process, we can slowly wait for the letter of recommendation. What do you think?"

Wu Youping nodded in agreement, then raised his wine glass to look at everyone, saying with overflowing enthusiasm, "Gentlemen, let us toast to the victory of France!"

The French merchants raised their glasses one after another. "Toast to the victory of France!"