Chapter 821: Scrounging a Meal with Righteous Confidence

On Sunday, Li Ye had intended to continue scrounging a meal at his mother Han Chunmei's place. After all, although Han Chunmei complained that waiting on her son was a hassle, she simultaneously cherished the tranquil time spent with Li Ye.

However, as luck would have it, right after waking up in the early morning, Li Ye received a call from Han Chunmei. She said that the financial team over at the Lighthouse had determined on Friday that the Lighthouse stock market was likely to accelerate its decline, so she had flown to the Lighthouse to rendezvous with Pei Bosi and the others.

With Han Chunmei gone, Li Ye, left at the hotel, couldn't easily act alone. He didn't understand Japanese and couldn't visit any of the renowned spots on his own, so he had no choice but to follow the group and head out to the streets of Tokyo to "see something fresh."

Before the internet became widespread in the year 2000, travelers from the mainland couldn't grasp much knowledge about local attractions. After arriving in a new city, many people would treat "strolling the streets" as "sightseeing."

Everyone would walk a few laps along the main roads, seeing what differences there were compared to the city they lived in. If they happened to discover some interesting customs or oddities, they could brag about it to their neighbors and friends for a long time after returning.

"Let me tell you, the women in the Black Province have such fiery tempers. I stepped on her foot on the bus, and just as I was thinking about flirting with her, she didn't say a word before greeting my relatives of several generations..."

"I just got back from Shanghai. At the entrance of the Bund Hotel, I saw so many girls in high heels and short skirts—leather ones, too—and they were so short, tsk tsk... It's just disgusting to see them hanging off the arms of foreigners."

So, as Li Ye followed Guo Donglun and the others along the bustling streets of Tokyo, he kept hearing "tsk tsk" sounds from the others.

"How come these Japanese girls all have pigeon-toed legs? Aren't they afraid of the cold? Bare legs in mid-autumn?"

"Look at this car, polished until it shines. I'll take a picture later and show it to the driver team at our unit when we get back, so they can see the gap."

"This building is really tall... and there are so many traffic lights on this road."

Li Ye followed listlessly behind, though he didn't mock his companions.

To say that coming from the mainland of the eighties to the Tokyo of the eighties—the difference was probably even more shocking than arriving in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen from the Great Liang Mountains in later generations.

However, Professor Zhao and Driver Xiao Zheng in the crowd were focused on different targets than the others.

They were interested in the cars on the road, not only looking at the car exteriors but also listening to the engine sounds.

"Li Ye, look at that Mitsubishi light truck. It should be the next-generation product for our introduction project. The engine sound is quieter, and the sheet metal on the body is clearly tighter and more refined."

"The gap! This is the gap."

When they reached a small wavy slope, the two of them simply stopped walking. They stood by the roadside watching the cars speeding past, observing the changes in the chassis suspension as the vehicles passed over the uneven road surface.

Liu Muhan and the others in front noticed that Professor Zhao, Li Ye, and Xiao Zheng had stopped: "Hey, Professor Zhao, why aren't you walking anymore?"

"We'll watch here for a while; you all go ahead!"

"How can that be? We have to act as a group."

Guo Donglun and the others stood helplessly in place, smelling car exhaust for twenty minutes, listening to Professor Zhao and Xiao Zheng's "tsk tsk" sounds, and watching the two of them shake their heads and sigh repeatedly. They all felt that these two were just a pair of idiots.

But Li Ye knew that in the entire team, only these two were technical talents obsessed with mechanical technology.

"Hello, excuse me, are you all from the mainland?"

Just as everyone was boredly watching cars by the roadside, a woman suddenly walked over and asked Li Ye and the others.

She spoke in a very authentic Beijing accent, which immediately stirred the enthusiasm of several people.

"Hey, are you also from the mainland? A Beijinger?"

"Yes, yes! So you're a Beijinger too! I haven't heard my hometown dialect in a year or two; hearing it now is truly incredibly heartwarming."

"Hahaha, we feel it's heartwarming too! Never expected to run into a Beijinger in Tokyo. Not easy, not easy at all."

"It really isn't easy! I saw you all from far away, and as soon as I saw you, I felt like you were fellow countrymen. Sir, what is your surname?"

"My surname is Guo."

"Is that so? My surname is Guo too! I used to be from the East City. Which generation and which era are you from..."

"I am the twenty-third generation, of the 'Jin' generation."

"Oh, then I can't call you 'Big Brother'! I have to call you 'Uncle.' I am the twenty-fourth generation, of the 'Qun' generation. My name is Guo Qunfang."

"Well, well! We really are one family."

After Guo Donglun established the seniority with the woman surnamed Guo, they became quite warm with each other.

In a foreign land where one is unfamiliar with the place, meeting an old acquaintance is such a fortunate event.

According to Guo Qunfang, she came to Japan two years ago when the craze for going abroad had just started. She worked and studied here, and after graduating, she used her savings from working to open a department store, specializing in selling all kinds of electrical appliances and small commodities.

But Li Ye squinted his eyes and looked Guo Qunfang up and down, guessing what kind of scheme she was running.

Li Ye walked to Liu Muhan's side, quietly tugged at her arm, and gave her a look.

But Liu Muhan was not Wen Leyu; she couldn't reach the level of tacit understanding with Li Ye, and for a moment, she was still somewhat suspicious.

【Sigh, so you are also a socialist giant baby.】

After Liu Muhan started working, she had always been engaged in state-assigned tasks and had never dealt with overseas Chinese from the lower classes, so she lacked the necessary vigilance.

Of course, in the overseas of 1987, there were still many truly kind and enthusiastic overseas Chinese, which was also one of the reasons for Liu Muhan's carelessness.

Just at this moment, the woman surnamed Guo enthusiastically invited everyone: "You all must be tired from walking around for half the day! My department store is not far ahead. Let me treat everyone to lunch!"

"How can that be? Too much trouble, too much trouble."

"It's no trouble, not trouble at all," Guo Qunfang laughed brightly. "My business has been okay these past two years, and I've made some money, but I just miss home.

Today, being able to meet so many people from my hometown, I must fulfill the duties of a host. When you leave after eating, I'll give the uncle a video recorder to take back, and also give everyone a small electrical appliance."

"Oh my, oh my, this... you are too polite, too polite."

Several people were still declining with their mouths, but their hearts were already very tempted. One guy who was greedy for cheap goods had actually started walking, preparing to follow Guo Qunfang.

But Li Ye sneered and asked: "Hello, may I ask, do you have an invoice?"

Guo Qunfang was stunned and asked uncomprehendingly: "What invoice?"

Li Ye said: "The invoice for the video recorder and the small electrical appliances."

Guo Qunfang's face froze, then she smiled and said: "The gifts I'm giving the uncle, why would I need an invoice? You're afraid of the customs inspection when you return to the country, right! Hey, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain limit, you don't need a receipt as proof."

Li Ye slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice: "I'm not afraid of customs inspection; I'm afraid of the Japanese police questioning us. What if they suspect we stole them?"

"What are you saying, Li Ye? She sees fellow countrymen and kindly invites us to sit for a while; what kind of nonsense are you talking?"

"Oh my, Sister Guo, don't mind him. This young colleague of ours just doesn't say things nicely."

Guo Donglun was furious, blowing his beard and staring at Li Ye, while another colleague was already apologizing to the other party, begging for forgiveness.

But Liu Muhan realized it by now. She immediately stood out and said with a smile: "I'm really sorry, Ms. Guo. We came out in a hurry today and didn't bring much money, so we won't patronize your department store. You leave us an address, and we'll come to visit another day."

But Guo Qunfang turned and left, cursing as she walked.

"A dog biting Lu Dongbin—not recognizing a good heart. My good intentions were treated as donkey lungs by you people. You deserve to be poor for a lifetime."

"..."

Guo Donglun watched his "big niece" leave angrily, then turned to look at Li Ye, his eyes seemingly ready to burst into flames.

"I say, Deputy Factory Director Li, what exactly do you mean? Could it be that just because you can earn extra money and become a rich person, everyone else is a bad person who cheats people out of their money?"

Li Ye glanced at Guo Donglun and pursed his lips at Guo Qunfang, who was walking into the alley: "Do you think she looks like a small merchant running a department store?"

Guo Donglun sneered: "I don't think she looks like a small merchant; she's a big merchant. She wants to give us a video recorder right away—unlike some people who only spend the money they earn themselves..."

"Then it's not too late for you to chase after her now."

Li Ye coldly interrupted Guo Donglun and then said to the others: "I don't know if you all observed carefully just now, but that Guo Qunfang's hair hasn't been washed for at least three days.

This is very abnormal in Japan. A boss running a department store shouldn't come out to greet guests without washing her hair for three days."

"..."

Everyone was stunned and started to recall, then felt that the Guo Qunfang from just now indeed didn't seem as "clean" as other Japanese people.

Guo Donglun was stunned and argued again: "She isn't Japanese; she's our compatriot. Living habits are different. Is it strange for our mainland girls not to wash their hair for three days?"

Li Ye didn't even look at Guo Donglun and said again: "Then did you notice her shirt and shoes? There are oil stains on her shirt collar, and the heels of her shoes are worn down on one side.

Let's go to Ikebukuro ahead and stroll around. There are many Chinese restaurants and shops there. Let's see those Chinese bosses; which one of them looks as shabby as her?"

"..."

By this time, everyone already believed Li Ye, especially Ma Zhao and Lu Zhizhang.

Just now, the two of them had actually believed that Guo Qunfang. After all, this was an era without the internet, and everyone's view of overseas compatriots was very warm.

"Let's go, let's go! Let's go stroll around Ikebukuro today. It's said there are many of our Chinese compatriots there, as well as Chinese restaurants. Let's eat Chinese food for lunch today!"

In the end, it was Liu Muhan who broke the awkwardness of the scene, leading everyone to stroll toward Ikebukuro not far away.

It's just that the meal at noon today would definitely require an over-budget report.

However, when Li Ye and the others arrived at Ikebukuro, they coincidentally ran into Department Chief Inoue of the Mitsubishi Company.

Department Chief Inoue was bringing a few colleagues and seven or eight white guests out of a sedan, about to enter a large Chinese restaurant for a meal.

Everyone was immediately furious.

"Didn't Mitsubishi say they were resting on Sunday? Why are they bringing Lighthouse people out for a meal? What's going on? We are guests, and the Lighthouse people are guests too; why do they... It's really infuriating."

"Why be angry? Isn't this just the right time to have someone treat us to a meal?"

Ma Zhao smiled, stepped forward, and walked quickly toward Inoue and his group. Liu Muhan, the translator, couldn't even keep up.

"Hello, Mr. Inoue, are you working overtime on a Sunday? Oh my, who are these people? Are they your guests too?"

Li Ye: "..."

Liu Muhan: "..."

【You scrounged this meal with a bit too much righteous confidence, didn't you?】 ===== CHAPTER 822 =====