Chapter 822: It

Department Chief Inoue had a moment of bewilderment when he saw Ma Zhao striding over.

But he was, after all, an old fox who had practiced for many years. He was only stunned for half a second before his face was piled with smiles, and he bowed deeply to Ma Zhao.

"Hello, Mr. Ma. I really didn't expect to meet you here. Are you here to eat Chinese food..."

"Of course. We are unfamiliar with Tokyo. For the past few days, we've been eating with your people. These two days, we had no choice but to find a restaurant from our hometown to eat."

"But you are bringing Lighthouse guests; shouldn't you be eating steak? Why are you here to eat Chinese food too?"

Department Chief Inoue's smile stiffened, and his sixty-degree bow bent even lower: "I am truly sorry. I have neglected you all. It is truly too rude of me..."

No matter how much Inoue looked down on mainlanders, Ma Zhao was the project introducer finalized by the higher-ups. If a small department chief like him dared to play double standards and was reported by a competitor, how would he end up?

After Watching Liu Muhan translated Department Chief Inoue's words, Ma Zhao said magnanimously: "Hey, what's rude or not rude about this? You are hosting two families of guests; isn't it normal to be too busy?"

"Hehe, indeed a bit busy. Many thanks for Mr. Ma's understanding. Please wait a moment, please wait a moment..."

Department Chief Inoue bowed repeatedly to Ma Zhao, then returned to the Lighthouse people to mutter for a while, and finally ran back.

"Mr. Ma, if you don't mind, you can dine with the Lighthouse guests today. Everyone is in the same industry; I think there will be some common topics to discuss."

"Oh, that would be great. I have to thank Department Chief Inoue for this. Thank you, thank you."

Ma Zhao magnanimously forgave Department Chief Inoue's rudeness and even gave him a five-star review in return.

Then everyone entered the restaurant together, chose a large room, introduced themselves, and awkwardly chatted while testing each other.

"This is Mr. Charles from the Lighthouse Mitsubishi factory. This is Mr. Ma from the China Beijing Light Automobile Company."

"Hello, hello~"

"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you~"

"What type of cars does your company produce? We produce light trucks and also produce advanced diesel engines."

At this moment, the mainlanders felt very novel looking at the Lighthouse people, and the Lighthouse people were also very interested in looking at the mainlanders. So, despite the language barrier, with the help of translators, they actually had a "friendly" conversation quite miraculously.

It was just that because Watching Liu Muhan's colleague, Xiao Hu, only understood Japanese, Li Ye was helplessly pulled up to help everyone translate along with Watching Liu Muhan.

But after translating for a while, he became the protagonist of the awkward chat.

Because among all the mainlanders at the scene, only Li Ye understood the development level of mainstream car manufacturers in the world today.

You couldn't possibly let Ma Zhao chat with Charles about the performance characteristics of the 130, could you?

"Mr. Li, can your China actually produce world-class cars now?"

"Of course. The West German Volkswagen company has entered the mainland for three years, and brand-new B-class sedans have already begun mass production. Moreover, the Audi company has also begun in-depth cooperation with us, and construction of the factory will begin at the latest next year."

"By the way, the Cherokee is also a project from your Lighthouse, right? It has also begun mass production."

"Has the Volkswagen company already entered China?"

Charles became serious after hearing Li Ye's words.

Nowadays, information exchange between the East and the West is very inconvenient; he didn't even know that the West Germans had already entered the mainland.

Charles certainly understood how large the Chinese market was. As long as this kind of news was polished and reported to the higher-ups, it would be a very good achievement.

"Ludwig, Ludwig?"

Charles turned his head to call out to a companion, then asked in a mumble: "Do you know about Volkswagen's investment situation in the Chinese mainland?"

Ludwig nodded slowly: "Yes, cooperation had already begun when I left the company three years ago. I once wrote a report to the company's senior management, but they didn't respond at all."

"Oh~, you are technical personnel; you shouldn't write this kind of report. Those old masters don't look at your reports at all."

Charles shook his head in regret, not knowing whether he was regretting that Ludwig had snatched his report or regretting that the company didn't value the Chinese market.

However, Li Ye became interested in that Ludwig.

Because this guy was clearly "not gregarious." Since entering the restaurant, he had been vaguely isolated by his other colleagues. If it weren't for Charles calling his name, no one would have noticed him.

So, during the rest of the meal, Li Ye chatted with Ludwig for a while and learned that the other party was a West German immigrant who had been in the United States for three years and had been engaged in the company's technical work.

It was just that the other party's mouth was very tight. When Li Ye wanted to ask some sensitive questions, the other party would play dumb, indicating that he didn't understand Li Ye's English.

【Damn, you have a thick Bavarian accent yourself, and you can't understand my London accent? Chatting with you Germans is really boring.】

After the dishes were served, the Lighthouse people at the scene basically stopped talking and gobbled up the Chinese food with slurping sounds.

It was just that Guo Donglun and the others had quite a few complaints: "What is this stuff? Neither sour nor sweet? Are they trying to fool us?"

"Exactly. They are using the banner of our Chinese food, but what they made is neither fish nor fowl. Isn't this smashing the signboard of our Chinese food?"

"..."

"Stop talking, everyone. They are treating us to a meal; don't be picky. Didn't you see that everyone else is eating with great relish?"

"..."

Actually, Guo Donglun and these people didn't understand. The Japanese people's grasp of the guests' psychology was very accurate. Looking at the diners in this restaurant, basically dominated by white Westerners, one knew why they had "improved" this kind of Chinese food flavor.

The differences in dietary culture between the East and the West are very large. Unless one lives in the other's country for a long time, it is difficult to completely change over in a short period.

In later generations, there were food bloggers who tried it overseas. Authentic Chinese food cannot instantly capture the stomachs of Westerners. After eating a few meals, they would still choose the rough eating method of mashed potatoes dipped in salt.

Only after living in the mainland for a long time and adapting to that side of the water and soil can one taste the difference in spiciness between Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine.

The flavor differences of Chinese food are too refined. Expecting a group of people who eat bread and jam as their main meal to become gourmets has a very high technical difficulty.

"Mr. Ma, we have a program later; please get in the car."

"There's a program? Forget it! Department Chief Inoue, don't be too polite."

"Not polite, not polite, it should be, it should be."

After finishing the meal, Department Chief Inoue wouldn't let Ma Zhao, Li Ye, and the others leave; he insisted on letting them experience his "sincerity."

Ma Zhao and the others had no objections. They were out for an inspection, after all! It was normal for the host to arrange some programs.

But when Department Chief Inoue pulled everyone to a street in Shibuya, Li Ye was dumbfounded.

【You little dwarf actually used this to test the cadres? You are truly poisonous!】

Li Ye hurriedly pulled Ma Zhao, who was in the front, and whispered in his ear: "Deputy Manager Ma, I heard that the hot spring bath inside doesn't separate men and women..."

Ma Zhao was immediately shocked: "What? Doesn't separate men and women? Then don't they wear clothes..."

Li Ye said helplessly: "I don't know. Why don't we go in and try?"

"Forget it! If someone catches a pigtail, you'll never be able to turn over for the rest of your life."

Ma Zhao hurriedly stopped everyone from entering and also asked Watching Liu Muhan to explain well to Inoue and the others, saying that they were too full, felt sleepy, and wanted to return to the hotel to sleep.

Department Chief Inoue pushed back repeatedly, but Ma Zhao was extremely persistent. In the end, he could only arrange a car to send Li Ye and the others back.

But when the car had just started, Li Ye hurriedly patted Ma Zhao's shoulder.

"Deputy Manager Ma, look over there quickly!"

"Where? Look at what? Hmm... Holy crap~"

At the entrance of a pleasure shop a few dozen meters away, two people were walking out with glowing faces.

It was actually Secretary Guo and Gu Jianqi, who had gone out to visit friends yesterday and hadn't returned to the team yet.

"Uncle Ma, should we stop?"

"No need, he saw us."

Ma Zhao looked out a few times, then turned his head back, but a few traces of mockery and sarcasm appeared on his face.

And Li Ye was also pondering in his heart: was this matter a personal hobby of Secretary Guo and the others, or was it deliberately arranged by someone to hold something against them? ===== CHAPTER 823 =====