"After seeing Atami with my own eyes, I realized that the slogan 'There isn't a single unemployed person left in all of Japan!' that Japan Yomiuri Shimbun proclaimed wasn't just arrogance." Song Tianyao raised his head, gazing at the falling maple leaves, and said with a sigh, "A skewer of squid balls costs twice as much as in a big city like Tokyo, yet tourists still line up to buy them. A hotel maid who helped us change clothes and shoes can earn a monthly salary of 8,000 yen. And it's been less than ten years since Japan surrendered."
Wei Meixian looked at Song Tianyao with confusion. As the translator who had been conscripted to Japan, she had no idea what business plans Song Tianyao had in Japan.
"Besides soaking in the Atami? Do you need me to make arrangements for you in advance?"
"The newspaper says that in four days, Atami- Hakone Town will be hosting a business seminar with several well-known financial experts and economists from Japan and the United States. I'd like to attend and learn about the differences in business management between the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong. I'm afraid Miss Wei will have a hard time translating," Song Tianyao said, gently stirring the surface of the hot spring water with his foot.
The man beside him, Nine-Tattooed Dragon, rested his chin on his hand, seemingly talking to himself. "Polite on the surface, but ruthless at heart, what kind of monster is Japan really?"
Song Tianyao lifted his feet out of the water and gave an answer, "The book I read said that if China is strong, Japan is a concubine; if China is weak, Japan is a thief. I think that's how the China person see Japan."
Chapter 432 Coward
Song Tianyao sat naked in the hot spring pool with his eyes closed. A young and beautiful maid stood beside him, gently ladling hot water over Song Tianyao head with a wooden spoon.
Although Nine-Tattooed Dragon often went to the countryside ponds in Hong Kong to help Sister Fen and Xiu'er catch eels, and would also bathe in the ponds when the weather was hot, he mostly avoided bathing in front of women. He was clearly not used to being naked in front of women. At this moment, he was covering his private parts with a towel, huddled in the corner of the hot spring pool, and secretly peeked at the Japan woman serving Song Tianyao. He felt a little regretful for refusing the female bath attendant earlier. If he hadn't refused, there would be a beautiful woman almost naked next to him helping him with the water.
After being scalded more than ten times with a wooden spoon, the maid stopped, put down the spoon, picked up a towel prepared by the pool, and dried Song Tianyao's hair and face. She politely said, "Sir, please rest for a while. I'll prepare some tea for you and continue to serve you later."
The maid, wrapped only in a small bath towel with most of her body exposed to the air, walked out of the hot spring pool to prepare tea for Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao leaned against the edge of the pool, glancing at Luo Zhuankun across from him, whose gaze revealed undisguised desire. He chuckled and said, "Your mind isn't on the hot springs, so why come all the way here in the middle of the night to soak with me? Why don't you go back to your room and find some women to have some fun?"
"I haven't been with a woman for over a year, and this trip to Japan with Mr. Song to escape some leisure time did indeed stir up some impulses." Luo Zhuankun gently patted the water's surface with both hands and said to Song Tianyao with a smile, "But I'm not that desperate. I've endured for over a year, so a little more restraint won't hurt."
Angie Perlis, Chu Xiaoxin, and even Lou Fengyun never expected that Song Tianyao would bring Luo Zhuankun, a Shanghai man with a wolf-like appearance, instead of Jiang Yongen, when he came to Japan this time.
Luo Zhuankun had previously managed several licensed securities companies for Song Tianyao, working with Jonathan Gore, whom Song Tianyao had hired, to stir up trouble in the stock market. Through methods such as long positions and short selling, they swindled a large sum of money from investors. He was definitely a capable assistant to Song Tianyao. However, in terms of intimacy, Angie Perlis felt that Luo Zhuankun was not as close as Jiang Yongen, and she was also unclear why Song Tianyao had brought Luo Zhuankun to Japan. If it was for an inspection, it would obviously be more appropriate to bring Jiang Yongen, who had a background as a professional secretary, along.
"One year in London, one year in New York. Go see for yourself what the real financial markets of the world are like, see how they differ from Shanghai Bund and Hong Kong. Actually, there's this guy named Billy Zai, I've been advising him to go to Wall Street and see for himself. If he'd listened to me, we might have become good friends. But that guy's got a screw loose, and he won't be around again. In the end, it'll have to be you." Song Tianyao wiped the moisture from his face with a towel and said calmly, "I'll give you two years and some money. Take your people and go to London and New York."
Luo Zhuankun's eyes sparkled. Hearing Song Tianyao mention what had moved him, he didn't even glance at the woman beside him anymore. "Is it possible to... just come back?"
"Of course not. We need to keep a low profile. Hong Kong is still under Britain. It's impossible to make big moves right away. After we return, we'll find a suitable opportunity to request more exchange membership licenses. We'll take it slowly, and we'll mix in sea sand. If they don't let us mix in, then we can push for it." Song Tianyao shook his head.
Luo Zhuankun then pressed further, "But what if the Britain agree to increase it?"
"If the Britain actually agree then, we'll see if you can outmaneuver the Foreign Devil within the rules." Song Tianyao said, glancing at Nine-Tattooed Dragon: "Hey, Scribe Hui dragged you to see a geisha performance, and you're in such a hurry to come back and soak in the hot springs with me? And your eyes are darting around like that, are you eyeing the Japan girl who's watering my hair?"
When Nine-Tattooed Dragon heard Song Tianyao mention the geisha performance, his expression twisted slightly. "I don't know what kind of nonsense it is. An old woman with flour smeared on her face, looking like a ghost, singing in a garish voice that gives people goosebumps."
"Hello, chick, wanna make some Franklin?" a drunken voice lewdly shouted in English from outside. "I like this chick! Come here, chick!"
Then came the somewhat anxious voices of Scribe Hui and Wei Meixian. Song Tianyao paused for a moment after hearing the male voice, then stood up from the pool, jumped out of the hot spring, and walked out with a towel around his waist. In the corridor outside the hot spring area, two black men in camouflage military uniforms were blocking Scribe Hui and Wei Meixian, who had just finished watching the geisha performance and were preparing to change clothes and soak in the hot spring.