Preface
This is a true story portraying how Qingdao Jiahe Dadi Technology Trade Co. Ltd. (青岛嘉和大地科贸有限公司, www.zgqdjck.com) – a faux company in China, lure and scam legitimate foreign businesses, from a perspective of a third party.
Part of the names are intentionally replaced to protect the privacy of some parties.
Chronicle III: The Inception
[Masquerading Daemon]
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have now arrived at Qing Dao Interrrnational Airrrprot. *gibberish* apologize *gibberish* delay *gibberish* due to weather. Yourr underrstanding is much apprrrreciated.”
It was very foggy outside, hard to tell if it was caused by mist or haze. The ground was wet, hinting the cause of the flight delay was probably due to rain.
As they are walking out of the arrival hall, Nacel’s family was immediately greeted by a man of slightly plump figure, with short and slightly curled hair.
The man immediately identified himself as Liu Zhi Qiang (刘志强, International Affairs 国际部) and helped with the luggage while leading the family to the already-prepared transport.
“You must be tired, with all that lengthy flight,” he said in Mandarin with a typical Chinese accent, while loading the luggage to a China-manufactured MPV.
“No, no, it’s okay. Sorry to have kept you waiting,” Nacel’s Dad immediately apologized.
En route to the hotel, Liu and Dad had a conversation on the possible future collaborations between the companies, as well as other random topics like the weather and attractions in Qing Dao.
“The Qing Dao beer is originated by the Germans during their stay in Qing Dao. We have an annual beer festival here,” Liu said when the topic moved on to the famous Qing Dao liquor industry.
The entire trip from the airport to the beach hotel took almost an hour. Going through rural areas with many small factories, towards the more urban main city.
青岛东海大酒店 (lit. Qing Dao Dong Hai Grand Hotel) has a lobby that smelled of traditional Chinese herbs and dried fish, probably due to the exposed restaurant on the same floor.
The family performed the hotel check-in process, oddly, with their own credit card. As Liu explained, the hotel bills would be refunded by his company at a later date.
The hotel suite was spacious, with a fusion of western and antique Chinese decor, 2 bedrooms, a living area, a kitchen, but only one toilet.
There was another problem – there were not enough beds.
While the family is satisfied by calling an extra bed from room service, Liu insisted the family to rest in the room temporarily while he contacts the manager for a more suitable room.
Moments later, the family is relocated to a very similar room, but with just enough beds for everybody.
Liu sat down and talked with Dad for a moment while the others were unpacking and settling down.
Then he asked about the two units of iPhone 3GS.
“The phones are not for me. The wives of the supervisors requested for them.”
Nacel’s Sister hesitantly handed over the phones to Liu, while Dad expressed his intentions of giving them away as a gift.
“No, no. We don’t do business this way – there’s a difference between private and business matters. The receipt of the phones, along with the hotel bill will be submitted to the company and the costs will be deducted from the 5% rebate,” Liu firmly declined the offer.
“I will bring you to dinner later. At the mean time, please take plenty of rest,” Liu said before he left.
[Calm before the Storm]
It was a very foggy sunset in Qing Dao, Nacel was busy trying to snap a decent photo from the hotel room’s dirty stain-covered glass window.
The room’s phone rang and broke the silence, with Dad picking up the phone.
“Liu said he will let us rest, so he will not be joining us tonight. Tomorrow morning he will be bringing his superiors over for a small meet-up,” Dad announced after hanging up the phone.
“Such a considerate man,” he added.
With empty stomachs need to be filled, the family headed out and hired a cab for a place to dine.
After a few minutes of drive, the cab brought them to a crowded seafood restaurant, with a small mutton satay stall right in front of it.
The service was very poor and lengthy, some of the customers were upset and ended up ordering the waiters to cancel their orders.
Strangely enough, the ordered food showed up only moments after the cancellation request, baffling the customers.
It was not until a bill of over 1000 RMB is presented to Nacel’s Dad, that the family realized they were probably duped by the cab driver into dining in an overpriced “tourist restaurant”.
Worst of all, the food wasn’t that great. With that price tag, anybody could enjoy a five course meal multiple times in a decent restaurant at home.
Little do they know, this was just the beginning.
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