Chapter 814: They Are Not Generous

After Li Ye and the others returned to Tokyo, Mitsubishi arranged a simple dinner and sent a department head and a section chief to host them.

“To our friendship, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“To our cooperation, cheers!”

“.”

Li Ye had a strong alcohol tolerance, but he didn’t finish a single glass that evening, because from the department head named Iguchi, he sensed something deeply unsettling.

Though the man’s face was always plastered with smiles, to Li Ye’s razor-sharp perception, beneath that false facade lay nothing but mockery.

His expressions and gestures appeared humble and gentle, but when his acting slipped, strong arrogance, contempt, and aggression flashed through.

For instance, Liu Muhan seized the opportunity of the banquet to tentatively ask whether the $5 million technology transfer price could be negotiated, since the Light Vehicle Company had acquired Isuzu’s technology for $4 million, while Mitsubishi’s micro-truck was clearly outdated and less technologically advanced than Isuzu’s.

But Iguchi immediately reacted with surprise: “Isn’t this a gift given to you by our superiors? Five million is merely symbolic.”

When Liu Muhan inquired whether the gasoline engine technology on the micro-truck could be transferred, the man replied with a sly tone that such a level of cooperation required both sides to demonstrate sufficient sincerity.

Liu Muhan found a moment alone with Li Ye and sighed: “Big nephew, it’s not that your aunt isn’t trying to help, but you saw it—they want too much. We can’t decide for ourselves.”

“Mm, I know. Japanese, right? Expected.”

Li Ye nodded, understanding.

Over the past few years, Japan’s series of technology transfers and low-interest loans to the mainland were all bundled and pushed by higher authorities; people at Li Ye and Liu Muhan’s level had little influence.

If Li Ye wanted to import a complete set of advanced technology, it would have to enter the mainland through a joint venture, producing “Mitsubishi-branded” cars, with all equipment and parts tied to Mitsubishi’s designated suppliers—the mainland having no say.

This “market-for-technology” cooperation had both sides calculating their own gains; in the end, it was hard to say who truly profited.

But given Japanese nature, the chance of them losing out was slim.

The Japanese are always polite, but they never relinquish their own interests; instead, they find ways to slip your benefits into their own pockets.

For example, there’s a folksy poem written by a certain beacon nation targeting the Japanese.

【The Japanese greet everyone with: “Please,”】

【They understand etiquette best.】

【They creep into a neighbor’s garden, smiling: “Forgive me…”】

【They bow deeply, with a friendly smile, letting their hungry families in to remove their shoes.】

【Then they bow again: “So sorry—your garden now belongs to us.”】

Li Ye exhaled and smiled at Liu Muhan: “Forget it. Can’t we eat pork with hair on if we lose Zhang the butcher?”

There are other carmakers besides Mitsubishi. Go back and discuss with Xiao Yu—see what suitable tech we can import from other countries.”

But Liu Muhan shook her head: “Then don’t blame me for saying this upfront—we’ve contacted American, European, and Japanese automakers plenty over the past two years.”

Those brands on the brink of collapse were generous, but their tech was clearly outdated or on the wrong path.”

As for giants like GM, Mercedes, BMW, Toyota—they won’t even consider transferring tech, and even joint ventures come with endless harsh conditions; negotiations go nowhere.”

“.”

Li Ye froze—he realized the reality he faced wasn’t nearly as rosy as he’d imagined.

Importing outdated tech, like the diesel engine used in Factory One, wasn’t hard—but that mid-to-low-speed diesel was designed for European tractors and couldn’t handle the mainland’s improving road conditions.

Renowned automakers like Toyota and GM refused to easily transfer their most advanced engine tech to developing nations.

The principle that a student shouldn’t be allowed to surpass his master wasn’t known only to the Chinese.

And Li Ye didn’t know that decades later, only Mitsubishi would establish a joint venture in the mainland, supplying engines to non-Mitsubishi brands, helping the mainland’s first domestic automakers get off the ground.

Those two Mitsubishi engine plants in the mainland would become their steady cash flow sources.

But why did Mitsubishi do this back then?

Because Japan’s economic bubble burst, and they were suffering the most—so they allowed the mainland automakers to use engine tech that was already ten years behind.

This was infuriating, yet no other foreign automaker was willing to give you an engine at all.

So in the beginning, domestic automakers couldn’t produce good engines themselves—and had zero choice.

The mainland’s “copycat” path was brutal: after importing Isuzu engines, Chaoyang Engine once reverse-engineered and improved them, producing a four-cylinder diesel later hailed as a star product—but its technical specs were drastically watered down.

Seeing Li Ye lost in thought, Liu Muhan sighed softly: “My father told me: when circumstances overpower you, either act like Xiang Yu and overturn the table, or emulate Gou Jian and sleep on firewood and taste gall. Compared to other automakers, Mitsubishi is still generous.”

Li Ye looked at Liu Muhan and said: “I must correct you seriously—the Japanese aren’t generous to us. They’re courting us now because they want to challenge the beacon nation’s authority. Otherwise, they’d wish us dead.”

Liu Muhan stuck out her tongue and hurriedly said: “I’m wrong, I’m wrong—I get it, I just used the wrong word. Big nephew, you’re starting to sound just like my dad.”

Yes! Liu Zhengqing had a “life-or-death bond” with the Japanese—how could he think like today’s youth?

The Japanese were quietly infiltrating others’ minds with their powerful economy and technological edge, hoping to replace their evil image from decades ago with a “civilized, advanced” facade.

At the end of the dinner, Iguchi bowed to each of Li Ye and the others in turn, presenting each with a gift—a Casio watch.

This gesture led several people to praise the Japanese for their generosity on the way back to the hotel.

Li Ye stared out the window in silence. Just before reaching the hotel, he spotted a Chinese restaurant.

“Stop. Stop the car.”

Li Ye told the driver to pull over, then said to Liu Muhan: “I’m not full. I’m going in for a bite—I’ll walk back myself.”

Liu Muhan immediately got out: “I’m not full either. I’ll come with you. Xiao Wu, take everyone back first!”

“.”

Everyone watched Liu Muhan follow Li Ye into the restaurant, and couldn’t help swallowing hard.

They weren’t full either.

In 1987, everyone had just come out of the era of “no grease”—everyone had huge appetites.

But the generous Japanese had tiny appetites—even smaller than southerners in the mainland—so the dinner they prepared was nowhere near enough.