Chapter 1683: Poison in the Bread

"Are you just going to sit there like this?"

Returning from the restroom, Gu Li, passing by Li Xuewu's seat, feigned a joke and teased, "Chat a bit, when else would you have such an opportunity?"

He deliberately pointed at Li Xuewu, reminding him, "Learn more from our Vice Factory Director Wang; your business capability and level are just too average."

Li Xuewu glanced at him sideways, secretly warning him not to spout nonsense, or he would bear the consequences himself.

Gu Li, however, was not afraid of him, raising his eyebrows and emphasizing, "As the two big shots of the Beijing automotive industry, you must have a lot to talk about."

After saying this, he smiled and nodded at Wang Youhan, not daring to meet Li Xuewu's gaze again, and turned to slip away.

He was too malicious, fearing that the three of them sitting there wouldn't be awkward enough, so he insisted on piercing this layer of window paper and saying it so loudly.

Without needing to stand up and look, Li Xuewu already felt the observation and suppressed laughter from those around him.

The Red Steel Group first "crossed the river by feeling the stones" with Beijing Auto, and later achieved a reversal and overtake; this matter was frequently mentioned by the domestic automotive industry system.

People no longer liked the story plots of aristocratic scions crushing others with dominance; they preferred the surprises of grassroots counterattacks.

Therefore, even though the Red Steel Group's automotive industry was already leading the way in the field, and even within the industrial system, it was still hard to hide its grassroots history.

This was a fact that couldn't be shaken off in a short time, because the development history of Red Star Auto was simply too short—so short that Beijing Auto hadn't even reacted before they achieved a corner-cutting overtake.

"Do you want to change seats?"

Gao Yaqin, with a smile at the corners of her mouth, looked at the two of them and asked, "Should I make room for you?"

"No, no—"

Wang Youhan clearly didn't want to have too much contact or communication with Li Xuewu; if the seats hadn't been fixed, he would have changed them long ago.

Perhaps feeling he had refused too quickly, he endured the awkwardness and explained, "I like sitting on the edge."

"Actually, Vice Factory Director Gu is right." Gao Yaqin said with a different tone, "We are all in Beijing; more communication is as it should be."

She glanced at Wang Youhan before asking Li Xuewu, "Don't you think so, Secretary-General?"

"Mm, everything you say is right," Li Xuewu said indifferently, "A thousand cups of wine are too few when meeting a bosom friend, after all."

He really knew how to talk, saying half and leaving half, leaving the rest to be understood intuitively.

Wang Youhan was countered by him, his complexion looking somewhat strange, but he dared not flare up while everyone was secretly observing.

"I'm not against communication, actually."

He wasn't a pushover either; he couldn't retreat twice in a row, so this time he chose to take the initiative.

Li Xuewu looked at him across Gao Yaqin and asked, "Then let's chat about the automotive industry? It takes four hours to fly to Tokyo; it's just the right time to pass the journey."

Wang Youhan hadn't expected him to really climb up the pole like a snake, clinging like a leech; who would want to chat with him?

But words spoken were like a battle challenge sent out; where was it so easy to take back? He could only bite the bullet and say, "Sure, I'm fine with that."

"Then let's talk about Beijing Auto's 212?"

Li Xuewu was truly malicious, picking at someone's scars right in front of their face, and wanting to take a leak on them too.

It was truly like a panda ordering takeout—the bamboo shoots were all at home!

"I forgot to pay attention at the end of last year; how are the 212 sales?"

He looked at Wang Youhan very seriously and asked, "How many points did it grow year-on-year?"

Terms like year-on-year and month-on-month were applied starting from the Red Steel Group, especially with the perfection of statistical tables; Li Xuewu was very creative.

A tacit fact in the Beijing industrial circle was that half of the Red Steel Group's world was created by Li Xuewu.

Of course, no one went around saying this, but facts were facts; it wasn't apparent before because Li Xuewu's rank wasn't high enough.

Now it was different; he had the qualifications to sit at the table, and the achievements accumulated before instantly reached maximum effect when matched with his rank.

There were Red Steel Group team members pondering how to squeeze others out, but no one pondered how to get rid of Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu couldn't be gotten rid of, because if he were, Red Steel's framework would at least fall apart by a third, and the loss of morale and prestige would be even greater.

Therefore, targeting him could only mean suppression, or having the preparation for a one-hit kill; otherwise, everyone would steer clear of him.

Wang Youhan also understood this point, so when Li Xuewu became serious, his nerves instantly tightened.

This was no idle chat; on this plane, not to mention the leaders sitting at the very front, just these enterprise heads alone—

How many pairs of eyes were watching? If he fell behind in the conversation with Li Xuewu, that would be his personal complete defeat.

Of course, it would also be a complete defeat for Beijing Auto against the Red Steel Group.

Although the leaders also understood that Beijing Auto and the Red Steel Group were two completely different types of enterprises and shouldn't be compared horizontally.

Beijing Auto focused on the development of the automotive industry, digging deep and creating around all-around automotive R&D, manufacturing, and other fields.

They had their own parts production supporting enterprises, and also their own complete vehicle manufacturing enterprises; they were a large car company capable of completely independent production.

Wang Youhan didn't deny that the Red Steel Group had grown into a large comprehensive group-type enterprise.

However, this definition also determined that there were conceptual differences between the Red Steel Group and Beijing Auto in the field of automotive manufacturing.

The Red Steel Group didn't just have the automotive industry as a business; it could even be said that the automotive industry was merely a branch of its entire industrial system.

Red Star Auto followed the path of cooperative operation and joint production; the parts system, except for some core parts produced independently, was all procured through orders.

At the R&D level, the Red Steel Group possessed the largest scientific research institution among national enterprises, and also the one with the most complete equipment and facilities.

Like the Red Steel Group, this scientific research institution didn't just do automotive engineering; it had other industrial projects.

The Red Steel Group's research institute didn't necessarily use its own strength entirely for automotive R&D; it was possible to invite experts from all over the country to assist.

It was even more likely to recruit high-level engineering personnel from abroad to participate in the project.

In the Beijing industrial circle, there were already people saying that a batch of very talented foreign experts had arrived at the Red Steel Group's research institute.

And the number of such experts was quietly increasing; the Red Steel Group even carved out an area exclusively for foreign experts to live and reside.

Beijing Auto, of course, also had its own scientific research strength, and they possessed the support of the national team.

However, the division of the system made their new models slow to land; even when Red Star Auto announced new models and upgrades one after another, they could only silently buy Red Star cars back to dismantle and study.

Starting from the year before last, their mood when dismantling cars became increasingly heavy, because Red Star Auto was moving from catching up to surpassing, and had even achieved comprehensive surpassing.

Wang Youhan, as a senior executive of Beijing Auto, firmly believed that the 212 car was the best car in the country, and also the best car of this era.

However, facing the Red Steel Group's step-by-step pressure, they had to make changes—comprehensive reform.

The Red Steel Group possessed the most advanced management model and production technology in the country, so Beijing Auto would learn from abroad and introduce more advanced management and technology.

The Red Steel Group possessed the best production equipment and technical workers in the country, so Beijing Auto would buy equipment from abroad and entrust the training of workers.

The Red Steel Group possessed the most extensive sales network and after-sales service in the country; Beijing Auto had already decided to cooperate with the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives to develop automotive sales and after-sales service outlets in all major cities across the country.

It could be said that if it weren't for the sudden emergence of the Red Steel Group, Beijing Auto wouldn't have made such changes even in another twenty years.

Previously, the heads of Beijing Auto were quite confident when facing the heads of automotive manufacturing enterprises across the country.

But starting from last year, the ace product 212 encountered Waterloo, facing market encirclement from Red Star Auto and other car companies, and this confidence vanished completely.

Why did Wang Youhan have an opinion about Li Xuewu?

It was very simple, and very direct; he knew that Li Xuewu had single-handedly planned this encirclement and suppression against the 212.

He had once fed back to the leaders above, but the leaders didn't believe what he said, even saying he was alarmist and creating contradictions.

Wang Youhan only emphasized the facts: it was Red Star Auto that first made an Hongxing Lingyang jeep; it was clearly a backward product, but after changing the shell, it insisted on competing with them.

At that time, they naturally looked down on it, but who let the Red Steel Group have its own metallurgy and steel rolling industry, completely capable of playing with automotive manufacturing?

Competing was one thing, but this competition lasted for three years; in three years, the Red Star Hongxing Lingyang completely climbed and stepped on the 212 to gradually appear in the vision of automotive units across the country.

With the addition of unscrupulous price wars and messy marketing tactics, the Hongxing Lingyang car really succeeded.

If it could be said that the success of the Hongxing Lingyang jeep had half the credit of the 212 jeep, then if Li Xuewu had any conscience at all, he wouldn't do anything else, right?

No, Li Xuewu didn't have a shred of conscience!

The Red Steel Group Research Institute's Automotive Engineering Research Institute completely cracked the production parameters of the Beijing Auto 212 and sold them to automotive manufacturing plants across the country.

In this era without patent protection, Beijing Auto couldn't demand that automotive manufacturing enterprises across the country not imitate them.

However, previously they had some production and technical barriers, capable of occupying an absolute advantage, and didn't care about those imitated cars.

And in this era, the country lacked cars and encouraged provinces to imitate this kind of car; they also tacitly agreed, and even supported parts.

Just after the Red Steel Group broke this tacit understanding, enterprises across the country capable of producing 212 cars appeared like bamboo shoots after rain.

Even some bicycle manufacturing plants in county towns started buying parts to assemble 212 cars, because this technology and craftsmanship were completely open.

He represented Beijing Auto to find leaders to reason, but the leaders believed that against the background of national industrial development, they should be more magnanimous.

What did that mean?

It meant that the automotive industry's development was weak and needed more seeds to break through the soil and take root and sprout; anyway, their cars couldn't be sold out either.

Was that really the case?

Just look at the data:

Beijing Auto 212 was born in '66, producing 322 units that year.

In '67, Beijing Auto adjusted while producing; the output was 534 units.

In '68 and '69, the 212 car began to be officially finalized and exerted full force; under the condition of unfamiliar parts production craftsmanship, the output was 711 and 1262 units respectively.

In '71, which was last year, their production capacity exploded, producing a total of 8200 cars for the year; it could be called the leader of the national automotive industry.

Beijing Auto internally estimated that this year, their production capacity could be increased to between 【number】 and 【number】 units.

A leap every year, a step every year.

Just when they were imagining the future, Red Star Auto swung three clubs over, completely beating them silly.

First was the Red Star Hongxing Lingyang upgrade; the third-generation Hongxing Lingyang, whether from technology or configuration, comprehensively surpassed the 212 in the civilian market field.

And in the military market, Red Star Auto started launching the "Tantu" modular lightweight gasoline/diesel jeep from last year; its performance and professional degree completely crushed the 212, and it couldn't even be compared horizontally anymore.

When the Tantu car first showed its face in the North, their leaders were so anxious that sweat was about to come down.

After getting the two cars at that time through some means, they invested expert strength to dismantle and analyze them.

The first time they got the analysis report, all the factory leaders were silent; initially, they shouted "the wolf is coming," but they didn't believe it; now a fierce tiger had come.

Some leaders pointed out the fatal flaw of the Tantu modular jeep: it wasn't suitable for daily administrative military functions.

Although they knew in their hearts that this flaw wasn't worth mentioning in front of the Tantu's dominance, because this wasn't something the Tantu, born for the battlefield, should consider.

And the result?

Within half a year, the Tantu was launched; launched in the same version was a sister version, the "Cruiser" jeep serving commanders.

Besides making changes in performance, comfort was greatly improved, and it even provided installation racks for electronic equipment and weapon equipment.

More importantly, the Red Steel Group combined with the Light Weapons Institute to create a bulletproof and explosion-proof system; the car body was bulletproof, and the chassis was explosion-proof.

How could this compare to the 212? They hadn't even considered this demand; it was completely for comprehensive consideration.

Back then, the country needed a car with relatively strong comprehensive performance, so there was the 212, which was excellent in all aspects.

And Red Star Auto didn't take the usual path, specializing in single or targeted system cars; the effect of being stronger than the 212 was highlighted.

Also, Red Star Auto was blooming everywhere; the development of motorcycles and sedans completely squeezed the market that should have belonged to jeeps.

Under this big environment, it would be strange if the 212 didn't have inventory.

Front, back, left, right—it was all targeted competitors arranged by Li Xuewu; how could they break the situation?

Sticking to conventions couldn't solve the problem anymore; sooner or later, they would be forced to death by Red Star Auto.

Also, the Red Steel Group created an automotive parts supply chain, forcing them to actively lower manufacturing costs and reduce sales prices.

Li Xuewu asked him how many cars Beijing Auto sold last year; how should he answer? He couldn't say 8200 units, right?

"We don't touch the retail market."

Wang Youhan felt awkward in his heart, but still emphasized, "We only have output in our hands; at most, we know some allocation distribution amounts."

Besides metallurgy and steel rolling, other industries of the Red Steel Group were all third-industry, so they had to look at sales data.

But Beijing Auto wasn't; in the planned economy era, there was no market retail; output equaled allocation distribution amount, and also equaled the actual quantity put into use.

That is to say, a certain city applied for 212 cars in the first year, and might only be allocated and issued for use according to demand in the third year.

They first reported the application, paid the money, then waited for Beijing Auto to produce, and then distributed the cars; that was roughly the process.

There must be a more complex process in the middle, but generally, it could be understood this way: only with a plan could there be production.

Red Star Auto wasn't; except for the first year when the Hongxing Lingyang car was launched and the Red Steel Group did a pre-sale, later it was all spot sales.

No need to file an application report, no need to wait for allocation; just go to the sales company in the province or city and ask; if there was one, pay and buy; if not, no need to pay in advance.

After achieving exports to East Germany, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, Red Star Auto's production capacity was completely released, and the total annual production capacity had exceeded 350,000 units.

This included motorcycles, sedans, jeeps, buses, special vehicles, etc.; the channels included both export and domestic sales.

Domestic sales maintained a steady growth trend, while exports surged.

This kind of cheap and easy-to-use car was very popular in developing countries because of its unique styling and complete configuration; young groups in some developed countries also liked it very much.

For example, the Gemini; the Sanhe Stock Company acted as an agent for the North American market, selling 10,000 units last year.

You have to know that in this era, for a car produced in the mainland to be sold to North America and sell 10,000 units—how difficult that was.

The Gemini was fuel-efficient and easy to park, and its appearance was very compact; high school students with conditions at home could completely afford it.

Office workers and young women also liked it very much, driving this car with a fashionable feeling.

Now Beijing Auto's output could no longer completely represent the actual quantity put into use, but Red Star Auto's output could represent sales volume.

The spot cars in the hands of the sales branches belonging to the Red Steel Group in the country could basically only maintain half a month of sales.

That is to say, inventory was mainly affected by transportation conditions, and sales volume was maintained at a high level.

As for exports, needless to say, money arrived and goods left the port; they were all agency dealers, and there was no risk of inventory backlog.

The Southeast Asian market represented by the Santa Ya Group was almost in a state of short supply.

With the existence of Red Star Auto, which was cheap and good, the automotive industry development of many countries had been impacted.

The White Elephant had already targetedly restricted the import of Red Star cars, but the Santa Ya Group had a deep background and was still coordinating and delaying.

Using Red Star Auto to compare with Beijing Auto, Wang Youhan didn't have this confidence; even Li Xuewu's question made him feel very angry.

Asking what he already knew, humph—

Yes, what else was there to ask? Li Xuewu used only one question to kill the topic, and also offended Wang Youhan to death.

Of course, it also made those peers watching the fun retract their necks, silently examining themselves: what was their factory's sales volume last year?

Data mastered by Li Xuewu showed that in '70, 80% of the 212 models in the country were produced by Beijing Auto.

Last year, this proportion dropped to 59%.

This was still because Beijing Auto's production capacity exploded to maintain the data; if it were them, would they have the ability to resist Red Star Auto's attack?

If even Beijing Auto couldn't compare, then what qualifications did they have to laugh at Beijing Auto, and even less qualifications to look at Li Xuewu with mocking eyes.

Around 2:30 PM, the plane slowly descended, and before 3:00 PM, it officially landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport.

Readers who have been to Tokyo in later generations might know that international flights are generally at Narita Airport, but at this time, Narita Airport had just started land acquisition and construction, and hadn't been built or opened to navigation; official opening to navigation would be in 1978.

At this point in time, whether domestic flights or international flights, they all took off and landed at Haneda Airport.

To welcome the industrial and trade delegation, the organizing party and the inviting party arranged a very eye-catching and enthusiastic welcome ceremony at the airport.

Li Xuewu really felt sorry for Ma Baosen, because right at the welcome ceremony site, the Japanese side really put up a banner saying "Welcome the Industrial and Trade Delegation to Japan."

ようこそいらっしゃい！

(Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome)

As Li Xuewu walked off the plane with the team, what kept ringing in his ears was this sentence; he was also sighing that it turned out the hypocrisy of the whole world was the same.

"This is Mr. Miyazawa Kiichi, Minister of International Trade and Industry," the master of ceremonies responsible for coordinating the meeting and handshakes between the two sides respectfully introduced, "This is Mr. Li Xuewu, Secretary-General of the Red Steel Group Board of Directors."

The Management Committee couldn't be translated here, and the proper noun couldn't be translated either; it could only be equivalent translation.

The Red Steel Group's management organization was the Management Committee, so the management structure benchmarking international group-type enterprises should be the Board of Directors.

Li Xuewu waited for the other party to take the initiative to reach out before catching the other party's hand for a light shake, then immediately let go.

They had already heard the secretaries' reminders on the plane about this person's background; he was the main promoter of this delegation invitation.

Li Xuewu had no impression of Japanese politics; except for those famous ones in the 80s and 90s of later generations, he didn't know anyone.

If he knew, he would know that this person in front of him would become Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc., in the future.

But he knew this Miyazawa Kiichi's successor—Tanaka Kakuei.

However, even if he could remember these names, it would be useless; in this small place of Japan, changing management was like playing.

Wasn't there a guy in later generations who was still elected Prime Minister after resigning? Resigned in the morning, re-elected in the afternoon.

This kind of situation wasn't an isolated event in Japanese politics; it happened from time to time.

The kind where you finish singing and I take the stage.

The other party, of course, attached great importance to this event, otherwise he wouldn't be standing here shaking hands with all of them.

Actually, according to normal social interaction, he only needed to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the leaders; he didn't need to care about these accompanying personnel.

But from here, one could see the prowess of the Japanese elite class in this era; they weren't even willing to give up these accompanying personnel.

With the etiquette in place, they, who came off the plane, had a very good phenomenon towards Japan.

Even if they all remembered the hatred of 20 years ago in their hearts, at this moment, they were representing the industrial and trade circles to communicate and cooperate.

The name of the Red Steel Group was still very loud, and should have been noticed by the other party.

Or rather, when shaking hands with Old Li and Gao Yaqin earlier, the other party already had an impression, so when shaking hands with Li Xuewu, he added another sentence.

"Welcome, welcome Red Steel Group."

Wang Mr., walking behind Li Xuewu, rolled his eyes, secretly muttering that the little devils also looked at people to serve dishes.

Beijing Auto's Wang Youhan received treatment equivalent to Li Xuewu, because Beijing Auto was also a key point of this economic exchange.

Li Xuewu only used a few sentences on the plane to find out Wang Youhan's bottom line; Beijing Auto was really prepared this time.

Because there were many people and the scene was very tense, Li Xuewu only had time to say a "thank you" before continuing to walk forward.

The Minister of International Trade and Industry personally coming to the airport to welcome them was enough to prove the importance Japan attached to this economic and trade visit.

Because of the weather, it was a bit cloudy at this time, fearing rain, so after the welcome ceremony ended, everyone got on the buses waiting on this side.

The leaders, of course, took cars; under the guidance of the lead car, a particularly large motorcade came out of the airport and headed straight for downtown Tokyo.

Different from the reception procedures in the country, the bus didn't have closed curtains, letting everyone observe the high-rise buildings outside the car window.

Don't know if it was intentional, but the route arranged by the organizing party happened to be able to see almost all the landmark buildings in Tokyo in this era.

Li Xuewu sat with Gao Yaqin this time; in front was Old Li; the three of them, like everyone else's gaze, all looked out the window.

The crowd walking on the street wore clothes clearly different from the country; miniskirts, jeans, and casual suits were very popular.

Old Li also had a few clothes from Hong Kong, but compared to here, it was absolutely the existence of a country bumpkin.

It was thanks to him wearing the high-end black-and-white suit unified by the Red Steel Group, otherwise it would be even more devalued here.

The last time they visited East Germany with the delegation, the high-end suits they had made were still there, and wearing them had a very business-like atmosphere.

Comparing again with the casual suits worn by the accompanying team, their slim-fit style looked absolutely eye-catching.

The Red Steel Group had its own clothing industry, and cooperating with Beijing Textile, the clothing factory gradually had some improvement.

To say that making such clothes wasn't difficult, but the difficulty lay in sales.

The mainland market temporarily didn't have the need for suit styles, and it wasn't an absolutely popular style in exports.

Therefore, only the cadres and accompanying personnel of the Red Steel Group wore out their spirit; no wonder they would be remembered as soon as they got off the plane.

Another point, all three of them had the logo unique to the Red Steel Group on their chests—a round gold badge, very classy.

Li Xuewu glanced at Gao Yaqin and Old Li; Gao Yaqin often went to Hong Kong, so she had resistance to this kind of prosperity.

But Old Li couldn't; looking straight at the handsome men and beautiful women on the street, especially the young girls in ultra-short skirts, that was truly a beautiful landscape.

The motorcade passed through Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro; thanks to not going towards Ginza and Akihabara, otherwise they would really be blocked there and couldn't get out.

The streets couldn't be counted as very wide, but they were absolutely much more spacious than the country at this time.

There were very many private cars on the road, and it was also very congested; that is, there was advance traffic control, otherwise their motorcade would be unable to move an inch.

As the motorcade passed, Japanese citizens on both sides of the street stopped to look from time to time; after seeing the slogans on the car body and the attire of those in the car, they whispered in surprise.

Tokyo at this time was prosperous, crowded, and full of vitality, but the atmosphere was tense; Li Xuewu saw that the number of police officers for traffic control was obviously very large.

The team leader had already explained in advance that because of issues like Narita Airport land acquisition, Tokyo's security situation was worrying.

But even under this kind of reminder, the content everyone saw was still construction sites everywhere, high-rise buildings rising from the ground; office workers in suits and leather shoes, trains crowded to the point of being impassable; the streets had both Western-style cafes and traditional izakayas; smog occasionally shrouded the sky.

The motorcade arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel, 2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, at 4:30 PM; the industrial and trade delegation would stay here.

The staff of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry responsible for reception on the bus introduced that the Plaza Hotel had just been built and hadn't officially opened for business yet.

Strictly speaking, the hotel's official opening time was set for June 5th, which was the beginning of next month.

The number of people in this delegation was large, which could also be considered a service drill and quality inspection for the Plaza Hotel.

"Have to say, it's much stronger than your International Hotel."

Gu Li leaned over to Li Xuewu's side and whispered, "Look at the momentum and service, it's different."

"Mm, the environment is different."

Li Xuewu nodded, focusing on observing the on-site service situation and the interior decoration details of the hotel.

It was indeed a hotel benchmarking the modernization of a big city, with little Japanese style, focusing on modern simplicity, and having a very strong business nature.

From equipment and facilities to service quality, by comparison, the Red Star International Hotel indeed needed to learn and improve.

However, to talk about hardware, using the Plaza Hotel that had just been built to compare with the International Hotel from 40 years ago—that wasn't being a man.

If it really were to be compared with the new International Hotel that the Red Steel Group was also about to build and operate, the Plaza Hotel might not necessarily be much better.

The Plaza Hotel was the first super-high-rise building in Shinjuku, and also currently the tallest building in Tokyo, with 47 floors above ground and 179 meters high.

Think about it, in a country where earthquakes occur frequently, building a 179-meter-high building—how high-level technology this must require.

The Red Steel Group's International Hotel was only a little over a hundred; if talking about the gap in this aspect, then there were indeed many.

The rooms were allocated long ago, and everyone had a process list and the contact phones and units that needed to be used in their hands.

Li Xuewu just looked at it simply in his hand; Huang Yang Zongfang, Vice President of the International Business Department, had already arrived here half a month in advance to make preparations.

Different from when in East Germany, the Red Steel Group's team came from Hong Kong, and activities here in Japan were more convenient.

They didn't stay at the Plaza Hotel because they couldn't get in; they rented an office building near the Plaza Hotel.

What Li Xuewu had to do now was to connect with the team that had arrived here in advance, and officially connect and take over the management work.

"The room isn't small, huh?"

Gao Yaqin only turned around in her room once before coming to Li Xuewu's room opposite.

Li Xuewu nodded and replied, "Looks better than our International Hotel, right."

"That's for sure; people always want to show off."

Gao Yaqin didn't care, found coffee from the tea cabinet and made it herself, asking, "What time to contact Huang Yang Zongfang?"

"I'll call her right now."

Li Xuewu picked up the phone on the desk and called according to the method communicated in advance.

"Moshi, moshi?"

"It's me, Li Xuewu."

Li Xuewu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth listening to the response on the other side; moshi your sister.

But this was Japan; when in Rome, do as the Romans do; it could only be done this way.

They came to Japan for business, after all; naturally, they had to prioritize the other party's communication method.

What if it was a call from the Japanese side about to reach cooperation, and the first sentence heard was Chinese—would there be some surprise?

Not professional, and not prepared enough.

Don't look at this piece of land, but it was very strict about the details of doing things, and even lived too cautiously.

"Mm, good, let's do that."

Li Xuewu finished the call, looked at Gao Yaqin who was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee, and said, "They'll be here in a while; they should have to go through security."

"We might not be very free."

Gao Yaqin shook her head slightly, turned back to look at the scenery outside the window; looking down from the 30th floor of the building, the Tokyo landscape was in full view.

Looking further into the distance, one could even see the sea.

"Freedom is relative." Li Xuewu took off his suit jacket, threw it on the back of the sofa, and walked over to make a cup of tea for himself.

Ma Baosen didn't come, so he had to take care of all actions himself.

Gao Yaqin wouldn't serve him; the two were now of equal rank.

"Doing things here still needs to be cautious; you saw it when you came—it's not peaceful here."

He walked to the sofa and sat down, continuing, "Japan's economic development is very good now; it can be said to be rapid."

"But the background of economic take-off must have sacrificed the interests of some ordinary people; after the contradictions accumulate and erupt, it becomes very intense."

Li Xuewu took a light sip of hot tea; the tea leaves here were average; don't know if it was because it absorbed the taste here, but it didn't taste good.

He put down the teacup and continued to emphasize, "I checked Japan's total production value last year; guess how much it is?"

Gao Yaqin raised her eyebrows and didn't speak, but also had enough curiosity.

"Two hundred billion, US dollars, two thousand dollars per capita."

Li Xuewu shook his head with emotion, saying, "They have a population of one hundred million now; they are properly the world's second-largest economy."

"I really didn't check this, just checked their industrial structure." Gao Yaqin frowned and explained, "Now they are doing heavy industry plus export processing, which is the same set as ours."

Just as she was speaking, Li Huai De walked in, waved his hand to signal them to sit, not needing to mind him. "You continue."

"Where is Liu Bin?" Gao Yaqin asked, "Still letting you make tea yourself?"

"I let him go do something." Li Huai De nodded, really making a cup of tea himself at the door and bringing it over.

"You continue chatting, I'm listening."

He sat on the sofa, raised his chin, signaling the two to continue.

"We were talking about Japan's current situation." Gao Yaqin first explained, then looked at Li Xuewu and continued, "Actually, speaking of which, Japan's current export economy is a competitor to ours."

"Their main pillars are steel, automobiles, electronics, and shipbuilding."

She spread her hands and said, "Isn't this our current production and business scope?"

She was, of course, right, because this was mainly referenced by Li Xuewu when designing the future strategy for the Red Steel Group.

Actually, this couldn't be blamed on him, because the domestic economy had a trend of learning and imitating Japan; those in later generations all knew that the problems that occurred in the Japanese economy all appeared domestically.

"They are also learning that set of ours."

Li Xuewu folded his right leg and looked at Gao Yaqin, saying, "Now they are implementing the three systems of lifetime employment, seniority sequence, and enterprise internal unions."

"Hehe—" Li Huai De couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, asking, "Is there a difference from ours?"

"Yes, the difference from ours is shrinking, because we have also started to implement the bonus system, but there is a big gap with most domestic enterprises."

Li Xuewu saw him speaking, then turned to look at him and explained, "If you understand specifically, you will find that they are stealing our advantages."

"There is no absolutely excellent system in this world." Li Huai De shook his head, saying, "The advantages they learned are very likely to be disadvantages."

Li Xuewu heard him say this, looked at Gao Yaqin, and didn't expect Old Li to dare to speak after coming to Japan.

Was this something he could say?

"It is indeed prosperous, but there are hidden dangers behind the prosperity."

Li Huai De just held the teacup and said, "Economic development is very domineering; it won't stop and wait for cultural development."

"If economic development deviates from correct guidance and management, what problems will appear?"

"Turmoil." Li Xuewu gave the correct answer, but this wasn't a question he thought Li Huai De could ask.

If there were no accidents, it must be that someone had talked to Old Li, and he was learning and selling it here.

Because based on his understanding of Old Li, the other party absolutely didn't understand Japan, and even less understood the Japanese economy.

It could be said that Old Li didn't understand economics.

"Director Han told me when I came; he said that Japan is currently in a contradictory stage, and there is also trade competition with the United States."

Li Huai De explained, "Mainly textiles, steel, and color TVs; exports to the US surged, causing US pressure and restrictions."

"Aren't they negotiating?"

Gao Yaqin picked up the coffee and asked, "Is there a result yet?"

"This result isn't hard to guess; it's almost a situation of steady loss."

Li Xuewu shook his head amusedly, saying, "The dispute over Okinawa involved 380 million, and they have to bear the subsequent expenses."

"Now we don't see it; it must have been covered up by them."

"So they need our economy?"

Gao Yaqin asked in surprise, "Inviting us over so urgently, and proposing such good cooperation conditions, just for balance?"

"There must be consideration in this aspect."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "You might not know, just when we set off, people had already come from the south, saying they were representatives of America."

"When?" Gao Yaqin looked at him in surprise, then looked at Old Li.

Old Li, however, wasn't surprised, enough to prove that this news was true.

"Is it about to ease relations?"

Gao Yaqin thought for a while, as if she had grasped the key point of the problem, and continued to ask, "Could it be that we have other actions?"

"It depends on the subsequent development."

Li Xuewu sighed and said, "The big era is about to arrive; it doesn't speak any reason; whoever grasps the opportunity can survive."

"They are also gambling, also fighting; gambling that we can save them, or rather balance this trade relationship."

Li Xuewu thought for a while and continued, "Think about it, and you'll know why there are such good conditions; there must be a reason."

"Mm, so we must be wary of the poison in the bread." ===== CHAPTER 1684 =====