Chapter 533 - Arrogance
On the second morning, Du Jing brought two middle-aged men to Arisuke Watanabe's hotel and prepared a Japanese-styled room in the restaurant.
One of the men wore a black jacket that Chinese officials liked to wear, while the other one wore a wrinkled and pale suit. Arisuke Watanabe instantly understood that the man with a jacket must have a high position, while the other one wearing an old suit must be his subordinate.
"The two of them are Xiling County's two famous agriculture entrepreneurs. This is Mr. Lei, and this is Mr. Wu! This is Mr. Arisuke Watanabe, an executive of the Fuji Group."
Wearing a smile on his lips, Arisuke Watanabe nodded his head at the two of them and pointed to the seats. "Please, have a seat. Let us talk while we eat!"
Arranging for the two of them to be seated, Du Jing opened up a bottle of Maotai and smiled. "Mr. Lei, you're familiar with Xiling County's investment situation, and you also have the support of everyone, so we need some of your opinions. Arisuke Watanabe is interested in investing in a small-scaled stone factory in Tiger Ditch Village with an initial investment of ¥1,000,000. What do you think about it?"
Arisuke Watanabe did not expect that Du Jing would speak in this manner, which he instantly understood that in China, those with power were practically local tyrants. As long as they nod their heads, he would be able to bring the remains of his mentor's father back to Japan.
"Naturally, it will also change based on the situation. If the scale grows bigger in the future, I can consider increasing my investment!" Arisuke Watanabe smiled.
A million could be considered a decent investment, and for Tiger Ditch Village, this was a handsome sum.
As Mr. Lei filled his cup with alcohol, he replied, "Mr. Watanabe, I would like to thank you for your generosity. I, myself, came from Tiger Ditch Village, and I can guarantee that there won't be a problem in this matter. We will definitely do our best to help. I will help you clear up the policies channel. To express my gratitude, I will finish this cup!"
Thereafter, he raised his neck and gulped down the entire cup. After drinking the alcohol, he knew that this bottle of Maotai must cost at least a thousand, and he practically just swallowed a few hundred down his throat.
However, Mr. Wu frowned his brows as he asked with a heavy accent, "I'm a little curious. Although there's a mountain in our Tiger Ditch Village, we don't have many sources for a stone factory. Why did you place your sight on us?"
Hearing his words, Mr. Lei's face immediately sank as he said, "Old Wu, how can you say those words?"
You have to praise to attract investment by heavily emphasising on your advantage, so how could you reveal your flaws? In his heart, Mr. Lei cursed Mr. Wu for being a fool. This sort of person can only stay in the village and rot!
However, Mr. Lei did not dare to offend Mr. Wu. After all, he originated from Tiger Ditch Village, and that was his foundation. Since Mr. Wu now had a factory in the village, his prestige was high, and everyone trusted him greatly.
Mr. Lei's scope was high. He wasn't eyeing that ¥1,000,000 investment. But if he felt that if they could attract a Japanese businessman like Arisuke Watanabe, it would be a long-term investment. As long as he could build a good relationship with a wealthy foreign businessman, it would be extremely beneficial to his future. By attracting Arisuke Watanabe's investment, he would be able to increase his position in the county and also make use of Arisuke Watanabe's investment to attract more foreign businessmen. Who knows, they might be able to attract more Japanese businessmen in the future, in which he would be able to obtain a decent share of the commission.
Generally speaking, Mr. Lei and Mr. Wu had a drastic difference in terms of their status, and they're usually not qualified to eat together to discuss business. But Du Jing heavily emphasised on inviting Mr. Wu of Tiger Ditch Village.
The reason was simple. The remains of the father of Arisuke Watanabe's mentor was buried in Tiger Ditch Village. So they would need the help of a local entrepreneur to retrieve the remains.
The county's officials' authority wouldn't reach so far, so Mr. Wu was a crucial figure.
As Arisuke Watanabe smiled, he explained in a friendly tone, "I'll not hide this matter from Mr. Lei and Mr. Wu. The reason why I'm investing in Tiger Ditch Village is to fulfill a wish of my elder."
"Oh? What wish are you talking about?" Mr. Lei's interest was piqued.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Arisuke Watanabe explained, "My mentor's father participated in a war against China many years ago and died in Tiger Ditch Village. So I invited the two of you over to see if you guys can return the remains of my mentor's father. I'm willing to give you guys twenty million yen, which is also ¥1,200,000! If you guys can get it done, I can even give it to you guys privately under my name!"
The meaning in Arisuke Watanabe's words was simple. As long as they helped him accomplish this matter, he would give them ¥1,200,000 as the fee for it, and it wouldn't be a problem even if he's giving it privately without any investment.
"So that's the case! Ms. Du, why didn't you talk about it earlier? I thought we're going to discuss a partnership!" Mr. Lei awkwardly smiled.
Waving her finger, Du Jing immediately explained, "Isn't this a partnership? With the money, Mr. Wu can use it for anything he wants, and this is beneficial for the entire village!"
Nodding his head, Mr. Lei turned to look at Mr. Wu and said with some difficulty, "Tiger Ditch Village is a protected revolutionary memorial ground. There are many remains buried in the back mountain, and there are also fellow Chinese aside from Japanese. When the soldiers from Japan were all eliminated back then… sorry, I worded my words wrongly. I meant that when the Japanese soldiers were all sacrificed, they were all buried in a hole with a total of forty-five sets of remains. So it won't be easy to determine the set of remains that you're looking for!"
"Since they're all my fellow countrymen, then I naturally have to bring all of them with me!" Arisuke Watanabe waved his hand.
Wearing an awkward smile, Mr. Lei replied, "This problem is a little troublesome, but it's not impossible. Mr. Wu, why don't you express your opinion about it?"
As Mr. Wu heavily bumped his glass on the table, he rejected, "Not possible! My ancestors and the murderers of my Tiger Ditch Village are all buried in the back mountain!"
Hearing those words, Arisuke Watanabe eyed Mr. Wu with unhappiness revealed on his face and inwardly cursed. He was talking to them nicely, but they actually didn't know what's good for them.
Glaring at Mr. Wu, Mr. Lei immediately explained, "Mr. Wu wasn't educated, and he has a rather frank character. Although our countries fought in a war in the past, it is already the past. As neighboring countries, there are many opportunities for us to cooperate. Isn't the main investor of the largest e-commerce store, Aibao, from Japan? Mr. Watanabe, please don't hold it against Mr. Wu!"
As Mr. Wu furiously rose on his seat, he said with emotional expressions, "Doggy Lei, you're also someone from Tiger Ditch Village. Don't you remember this hatred? Back then, your grandfather and uncle died in their hands, and my father was disabled because of saving yours!"
After that, Mr. Lei's face alternated between red and white as he felt extremely humiliated by how Mr. Wu embarrassed him in public.
Doggy Lei was his nickname when he was young, and he now possessed more wealth than Mr. Wu. The reason why he remained so patient today with his explanation was because of the people present.
Age-wise, he was older than Mr. Lei. But in terms of generation, he's a generation behind Mr. Wu.
"Mr. Wu, I'm only discussing with you guys because I would like to use diplomacy before violence. With ¥1,200,000, I believe that many people are willing to steal those remains. So if you're unwilling, then I can only resort to other ways."
"You motherfucker! You dare to threaten me?" Mr. Wu grew enraged as he started cursing out.
Letting out a sneer on his lips, Arisuke Watanabe spoke in Japanese, "These people are truly still the same, just as uncultured as they were back then."
Since Du Jing knew some Japanese, her face changed a little when she heard Arisuke Watanabe's words.
On the side, Mr. Lei still wanted to ease out the atmosphere with Arisuke Watanabe and immediately smiled. "Why don't we discuss it further at a later date?"
However, Mr. Wu waved his hand and roared, "Discuss your ass!"
Thereafter, he used his hands to grab and flip the table onto the ground.
Although Arisuke Watanabe managed to dodge in time, he was still stained by the soup, so he pointed at Mr. Wu in rage. "If I was present back then, I would've massacred everyone in Tiger Ditch Village. People like you guys deserve death!"
Hearing those words, Mr. Wu felt provoked. He thought of his crippled father and deceased relatives and charged at Arisuke Watanabe.
He wanted to teach Arisuke Watanabe a lesson. After all, this was China, so how could he be allowed to act so rampant here?
However, he did not manage to get close before he suffered a kick to his abdomen.
Arisuke Watanabe was versed in Karate, to which he lifted Mr. Wu into the air with his kick.
Picking up the bottle of Maotai with a cold expression, Arisuke Watanabe smashed it against Mr. Wu's head again and again until the latter no longer responded before he threw the bottle away and turned to Du Jing and Mr. Lei. "You guys have also seen it, I was just acting out in self-defense. He was the one that started it and tried to use violence against me."
At this moment, Mr. Lei felt his scalp going numb. He never expected that the situation would result in this manner. Arisuke Watanabe was a foreigner, and if this matter blew up and dragged Foreign Affairs into this matter, it's not something that someone of his status could handle.
Looking at Mr. Wu lying on the ground, he was dumbfounded and he was having a struggle in his heart. One side stands his fellow villager, while the other side stands an arrogant foreigner. If he made a mistake in this matter, then it would definitely affect his prospects.
As for Du Jing, her face had turned pale from this situation. She initially wanted to please Arisuke Watanabe to establish cooperation between their companies, and this was the reason why she invited the two entrepreneurs from Xiling County. But who expected that the situation would develop in this manner?
As for Mr. Wu, he was lying in a puddle of blood with bloodstains on his face with blood dripping down from his mouth. It seemed like he would die at any moment now.
Wiping his stained hands with a napkin from the table, Arisuke Watanabe looked at Du Jing and Mr. Lei, who were stunned and instructed, "Call for an ambulance. I'll pay for the medical fees, and I will also give him a sum of money as compensation that's sufficient for his entire life!"