As a direct descendant of a thousand-year-old noble family, Fujiwara no Hirofumi held a high position and great power, and what he cared about most was power and profit.

Having seen countless treasures of gold and silver in his life, he had a broad perspective and a high opinion of himself. Of course, he would not stoop so low as to rob his own clansmen of their property, as this would be extremely damaging to his reputation among the nobility.

In Japan, reputation is highly valued among the nobility. If a family has an outstanding member, they will invest time and money to cultivate him. For example, the five prominent regent families in Japanese history—the Konoe, Takatsukasa, Ichijo, Kujo, and Nijo—were all branches of the Fujiwara family. They were founded by outstanding collateral members of the Fujiwara family.

For example, Ito Hirobumi, one of the most famous politicians in modern Japanese history, was a branch of the Fujiwara family. His ancestors originated from a collateral branch of the Fujiwara clan and later moved to Ise Province, taking the meanings of "Ise" and "Fujiwara" to become Ito.

The Fujiwara clan still had many branches, such as the Saionji family, the Kazanin family, the Shijo family, the Hino family, and the Nakamikado family. The Fujiwara family wholeheartedly supported these branches, using them as powerful arms to control the court. It was precisely because of this style of doing things that the Fujiwara family was able to grow stronger and stronger, regency Japan for hundreds of years, and finally manage to retire unscathed, becoming a top noble family second only to the imperial family.

Therefore, Fujiwara Hirofumi never intended to get a share of Ning Zhiheng's business from the beginning. He was well aware of Ning Zhiheng's intentions, which were nothing more than offering money to gain his support and the protection of the main family. In fact, even if Ning Zhiheng did not do so, Fujiwara Hirofumi would still take care of his outstanding nephew, although the extent of such care was hard to say.

But he never expected that the amount on the bank draft from the Specie Bank would be so huge, a full five hundred thousand US dollars!

Even Fujiwara Hirofumi was taken aback by such a large sum of money. Now that there was such a huge benefit, it seemed he would have to give it his all.

He looked up at Ning Zhiheng, and after a long while, he spoke again: "Zhiren, what exactly are your thoughts? You can tell me in detail!"

Ning Zhiheng was overjoyed to see that his heavy hammer had indeed worked. Since ancient times, people have been driven by profit, and as long as there is profit, no one will bow down.

“Uncle, Zhiren has absolutely no ulterior motives. I have suffered from poverty since childhood, so I am inevitably a bit attached to money. Since coming to China, I have gone through many hardships to achieve what I have today, and I am already very satisfied. All I want is to expand the business in China. I want to expand the Fujiwara Company’s business to Central and Southern China, but it is really too difficult for me with my current abilities. So I wonder if the main family can give me some support!”

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Hirofumi frowned. He had thought Ning Zhiheng would make a request to return to China and enter politics, but it seemed that his nephew's vision was too narrow, and his focus was only on money. From Fujiwara Hirofumi's perspective, this was quite disappointing.

Ultimately, he didn't develop the right perspective on things from a young age and couldn't see the true nature of things. However, we can't blame this nephew, since environment shapes character, so we can't really blame him.

"Zhiren, I've said before that a businessman's opportunities are limited. You know that the most important reason you've achieved what you have is the support of your family and Uehara-kun. To be honest, Uehara-kun only takes good care of you because of the name Fujiwara. In the end, it's still power that's at play. So my advice is to go into politics."

Of course, I know it wasn't easy for you to build this empire from scratch, and it's understandable that you feel reluctant to give it up. However, you're still young, and everything can be taken slowly. How about this: if you really don't want to give up the current situation, then try to develop it further. I will certainly support you wholeheartedly. However, some work still needs to be done. I will try to arrange some work for you, gradually shifting your focus and transitioning you into a political career. What do you think?"

Ning Zhiheng was overjoyed upon hearing this. In the end, he had managed to win over Fujiwara Hirofumi. As long as he gained his approval, he would have an extra layer of protection in the Japanese-occupied territory, making things much easier.

As for returning to Japan to enter politics, forget it. Does he really want to go to Japan to become a member of parliament? Japan's national power seems to be at its zenith right now, unmatched in Asia, but in a few years it will take a sharp turn for the worse and become a defeated country. The status of the aristocracy will also be rapidly degraded, and its glory will be gone.

Besides, his identity was still fake. If something went wrong when he returned to Japan, he might not even be able to escape. Wouldn't that be courting death?

He quickly bowed and bowed, repeatedly replying, "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle. However, I believe that China's defeat is only a matter of years. Such a vast territory needs to be managed by someone. I still want to make a difference here and create something of a new situation. I don't necessarily have to go back to China to run the business."

Fujiwara Hirofumi agreed with Ning Zhiheng's words. The Japanese were extremely optimistic about the war situation with China. For decades, Japan's national power had grown stronger and far surpassed that of China. Japan had never lost a major war against China and had always ended up gaining huge benefits. This time would surely be the same.

In just two years, they occupied most of China's territory, including the most populous and fertile lands, driving the Chinese government to the remote western frontier where it could barely maintain its resistance.

The general consensus among high-ranking officials was that China's defeat was a foregone conclusion; the only question was how many years it would take.

Fujiwara Hirofumi believes that Ning Zhiheng already has some foundation in China, and even if he were to develop his career here, he might still succeed.

"Alright! Zhiren, your idea might make sense. I'll try my best to help you. Haha, maybe one day you really can start a branch family!"

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