While many might remember Wednesday, 7th September 2022 as being uneventful, this was actually a special day for Hayden and Jay. It was the day of their big grown up adventure in Xiamen. It was a day of discovery, maturing, and of course a few childish squabbles that this notorious pair are known for.
The day began with Auntie Maggie and Auntie Winnie deciding to reward Hayden and Jay for being such good boys for a whole week! As a special treat, Uncle Jamal was going to take them out for a day trip to Xiamen.
“I hope we’re going to the seaside”, said Hayden enthusiastically. “I want to make sand castles and find turtles”.
“The beach is b-o-r-i-n-g! I want to go to the zoo and see the animals”, said Jay, who really didn’t enjoy the seaside because he couldn’t swim. “I want to feed the elephants and the monkeys and the giraffes and the hippopotamooses and all the other things”.
“You just want to feed the trolls”, muttered Hayden.
“Now now, trolls aren’t real, Hayden”, said Uncle Jamal. Jay gave a little smirk at this. “Regardless, you’re both wrong”, continued Uncle Jamal. “We’re going to do some grown up things and I need you both to be on your best behaviour because we have lots of people to meet, lots of hands to shake and right at the end you’re going to have to sign a very important piece of paper, so make sure you can remember how to write your names!”.
Hayden and Jay exchanged looks of excitement mixed with concern. Uncle Jamal had never trusted them to do grown up stuff before. Would it be scary? Would it be boring? Their imaginings were interrupted when Jamal finally revealed where they were going: CIFIT!
CIFIT and ID Badges
Uncle Jamal explained that CIFIT is a big international conference that facilitates international investments in China. It’s an event that has been running for 22 years and most of those years has included a delegation from AMCHAM South China.
“I’ve got you both some ID badges”, said uncle Jamal. “CIFIT isn’t open to any old vagabond! It is invitation-only and you have to be serious about business investment in China. Now, put on your ID badges and we’ll start by meeting Uncle Harley from AMCHAM South China. He’s got some press interviews lined up, so take your dress off Jay, and try on that nice suit I got you”.
Uncle Harley Seyedin at Hyatt Hotel
Dr Harley Seyedin, President of AMCHAM South China, was hosting a press conference to introduce the AMCHAM South China delegation to CIFIT. Before the press conference started, he had some interviews with China Daily and Xiamen television.
Uncle Harley introduced the journalists to Jay, and on the promise of getting candy and cakes from Uncle Jamal if Jay behaved himself and didn’t say any naughty words on camera, Jay said a few words about why Hayden and himself were attending CIFIT.
Jay made Uncle Jamal very happy by saying nothing but nice words to the reporters. It was then time to talk to a larger gathering of journalists in the next room where Uncle Harley and his team introduced their delegation.
Once again, a tired and now slightly grumpy Jay (it was fast approaching nap time) had to stand up and talk more about the purpose for Hayden and Jay to be attending CIFIT. A scornful glare from Uncle Jamal stopped Jay from starting off with his favourite song, Old MacDonald’s Farm. This was disappointing for Hayden, who had finally mastered the sounds of all the animals in the song, especially the turtle.
Onwards to Hotel Nikko
It was long past nap time, but Uncle Jamal told Hayden and Jay there was much more to do today. They still had lots of people to meet, and lots of hands to shake, plus an important piece of paper that needed to be scribbled on later.
But first things first. Hayden and Jay had to go and sit in a big room with lots and lots of important people. They had to sit up straight (no fidgeting!) and absolutely no silly behaviour.
Of course, Hayden was caught fidgeting twice, so uncle Jamal told him off sternly and made him stand at the back of the room, facing the corner as punishment.
After this, a very bored Hayden and Jay wanted to go and play. So uncle Jamal told them we could go and watch some TV.
Telly Time
Hayden laughed when he saw Jay up on the big telly screen. Jay was talking about the Nine Rivers Distillery project and explaining why Longyan was chosen as the location for the project. Uncle Jamal poked a finger at Hayden and told him to behave and stop making turtle noises.
“Why is he the one on the big telly?!” shouted Hayden, disturbing almost everyone in the room, including all the very important people who were dressed very smart and sitting at the front of the room. “Jay has a face for radio!”.
With Praying Mantis-style kung fu speed and accuracy, Uncle Jamal clipped Hayden around the ear and dragged him to the back of the room to stand in the corner again.
Time To Scribble!
With all the journalists lined up, it was time for Jay to get up on the stage and make his scribble on a very important document.
Jay got on the stage with some other people – this year everything was all hi-tech and electronic. Instead of paper-based agreements, it was touch screen kiosks and electronic signatures. It felt almost like a competition show on the telly at home.
Jay took a picture of everyone in front of him with a not-so-subtle effort with his mobile phone.
One scribble later, and it was all done.
Some of the really special people were then invited to a big dinner where there was lots of yummy food and cakes and orange juice. There was wine and brandy for the grown ups but Uncle Jamal wouldn’t let Hayden or Jay drink any of that.
Shortly after that, having had such a long and busy day, both Hayden and Jay started to get tired. So, Uncle Jamal put them both back in the car to drive them all the way home.
The End
If you made it this far, then watch out for our update next week, where we’ll tell you the grown up version of the events of Wednesday 7th September. What really happened and why… but for those of you that just can’t wait that long, HERE’S A LINK to the official press release about yesterday.
Would You Like To Read More?
If you enjoyed reading this, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
Follow Us
If you have enjoyed reading this and want to learn more about Nine Rivers Distillery, then use the QR Code below to follow our WeChat Official Account.
Alternatively, if you prefer Linked In then you can CLICK HERE to follow us. Daniel Liang
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
