Fang Lang and John sat cross-legged behind a low table. A Japanese girl in a kimono knelt down beside them very naturally and served them food and water.
To be honest, being served by two Japanese girls in kimonos gave Fang Lang great satisfaction.
Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoi, who followed the two into the room, saw the two people who had already begun to enjoy the service of the beauties, and exchanged glances calmly.
Relatively speaking, the younger Kodama Yoshio was obviously not as cunning as the cunning Shigemitsu Aoki. When he saw that the two men seemed to just treat him as a sucker to pay the bill, his face looked very unhappy.
But after noticing his expression, Shigemitsu Aoi shook his head slightly and said to John and Fang Lang in a flattering way:
"The two generals are really young and promising, and they are full of vigor and vitality. I wonder if you are satisfied with the service of the girls. Do you need us to call a few more girls in?"
Fang Lang acted unrestrained, with his hands inserted into his kimono on both sides to keep warm, but he was actually observing the expressions of the two people the whole time, so the interaction between them did not escape his eyes. After hearing what Shigemitsu Aoki said, he pretended that he heard nothing and did not respond.
John, however, seemed to have just realized that there was no girl accompanying the two of them. He looked directly at Kodama Yoshio and said:
"Hey! Why is Mr. Kodama so polite today? Why don't you arrange a girl for yourself and Mr. Shigemitsu?"
...
...
After hearing what John said, Kodama Yoshio cursed in his heart. He had prepared four girls, and originally planned to have one for each of them, but you two bastards just hugged the four girls left and right and took them all away. Now you pretend to be good people and turn around to ask me why you didn't arrange a girl for you.
Of course, I can only think about these in my mind, and I still managed to force a flattering smile on my face and said:
"Colonel Clark blamed me for not hosting him well. I will make new arrangements now."
After saying that, he raised his hands and clapped his palms twice.
Soon, someone knocked on the wooden sliding door, and then a mama-san dressed in a kimono who looked somewhat charming pushed open the wooden sliding door, knelt outside the door, bowed, and asked inside:
"Welcome to our guests. I am Rika Suzuki. Please take care of me!"
Kodama Yoshio waved his hand impatiently and said to the woman:
"Arrange four more girls to come in and notify the kitchen staff that they can start serving the dishes."
The woman didn't even raise her head when she heard this, but knelt down again and bowed respectfully.
"Hey! Arrange it for the guests right away!"
After saying that, he gently closed the door. Soon, four girls wearing the same kimono knocked on the door and sat down next to Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoi very naturally.
It was unknown whether John did it intentionally or unintentionally, but the topic of the following time always revolved around romance. Fang Lang noticed that Kodama Yoshio obviously wanted to communicate something with John, but every time he brought up the topic, John always calmly changed the topic to other places. Obviously, he realized that Kodama Yoshio had other intentions.
Fang Lang naturally watched coldly on this matter, as if it had nothing to do with him and he was just immersed in his own gentle pleasure.
Meanwhile, Shigemitsu Aoki on the side seemed very indifferent, as if what Kodama Yoshio wanted to discuss with John had nothing to do with him. However, from the inquiring glances that the other party cast at him and John from time to time, Fang Lang discovered that the other party was not as indifferent as he appeared.
It's just that he is older and more cunning, and his performance is not as obvious as Kodama Yoshio. This is not to say that Kodama Yoshio is not cunning. In fact, Kodama Yoshio has shown that he is very powerful. However, with Fang Lang's keen perception, his disguise is easier to be discovered.
Under normal circumstances, Fang Lang would of course find a way to set up a series of obstacles for these two guys, making it more difficult for them to achieve their goals. But now Fang Lang resisted the urge to kill them directly. The purpose of sitting at the same table with them and pretending to be friendly was to further understand their intentions and to spy on more intelligence about them. Of course, he couldn't let this banquet become a simple eating, drinking and having fun activity.
But he couldn't ask the two directly, or let John listen to what they wanted to do. This would probably make the two Japanese wary and make them give up on achieving their goals with John.
With this in mind, he began to quietly look for a topic that had little to do with the two people, but which they could easily make.
"Hey! John, are you familiar with the boss here?"
John was slightly stunned by Fang Lang's sudden question. He looked at Fang Lang with some confusion and asked:
"It's pretty familiar, right? What's wrong?"
It's no wonder that he was a little confused. After all, before coming here, he had actually told Fang Lang about the relationship between this place and Kodama Yoshio. Now at this time, it was obviously a bit strange for Fang Lang to raise this question.
"Nothing. Just before entering the room, I saw some Chinese porcelain in the hall outside. I'm quite interested in these things. I wonder if they are real Chinese antiques. If they are, I would like to ask the owner here to buy them. Is that okay?"
Fang Lang's words instantly brightened the eyes of Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoki, and the two exchanged glances quickly.
John suddenly realized it, glanced at Kodama Yoshio beside him, and then slowly said:
"this……"
Before he could finish his words, Kodama Yoshio at the side spoke first:
“General Fang, for such a small matter, Colonel Clark doesn’t even need to take action. I can do it for you directly.
You are right, those porcelains outside are indeed antique Chinese porcelains, but they are not fine products. If you are interested in this kind of things, I can look for them for you.
We guarantee that you will find authentic Chinese porcelain from the imperial kilns, and every piece is a top quality product.”
When Fang Lang saw that the other party couldn't wait to respond, he knew that the other party had fallen into a trap. After all, it was too easy for them to find antique Chinese porcelain in Japan.
But if he came forward to help Fang Lang solve this matter, he would be able to open up the situation in front of John. This is the principle of "if you want to take something, you must first give it."
After hearing what Kodama Yoshio said, Fang Lang immediately showed interest.
"Oh! Mr. Kodama seems to be very knowledgeable about Chinese antiques?"
"No, no! I just happen to know some people who are very knowledgeable in this area."
It was of course difficult for him to explain. In order to plunder more wealth from China, he recruited many professionals to classify and manage these things.
"So, Mr. Kodama has a channel to purchase a large number of Chinese antiques?"
Fang Lang originally just wanted to start a conversation, but after hearing what Kodama Yoshio said, his heart immediately moved. He knew that the Japanese had robbed many antiques from his hometown, and until his rebirth, he could still see news that the Japanese had not returned the antiques.
Now there is an opportunity to transfer some antiques from Japan to Brazil, which is a good idea! It is better to keep them in the hands of Chinese people than in the hands of Japanese people!
So he directly expressed his idea of purchasing Chinese antiques on a large scale.
Kodama Yoshio obviously did not expect that Fang Lang would ask for a large-scale purchase. If it was just one or two fine Chinese antiques, it would be fine for him to give them to Fang Lang, but if it was a large-scale purchase, he was a little hesitant.
After all, he also likes these things very much. But now that the conversation has come to this point, he can't deny his ability, so he can only bite the bullet and say:
"It's not a channel for purchasing a large number of Chinese antiques. The main thing is that I know a lot of collectors who collect Chinese antiques. They have a lot of precious Chinese antiques. If you are interested, Mr. Fang, I can help you make some connections."
At this moment, Fang Lang was almost certain that Kodama Yoshio must have a lot of treasures in his hands. After all, John had told him that this guy was responsible for plundering wealth in his hometown and transferring the wealth.
After hearing what the other party said, he did not expose it directly, but smiled excitedly and said:
"Haha... this is really great. I was worried that I couldn't find enough Chinese antiques to decorate my home in Brazil! Now with Mr. Kodama's help, my wish will surely be fulfilled soon.
If I have the chance, I would like to build a private museum of Chinese cultural relics at home. Since Mr. Kodama is capable of finding so many precious antiques, I will leave this matter to Mr. Kodama. Mr. Kodama should not let me down, right? "
Fang Lang casually assigned the matter to Kodama Yoshio with just a few words, not giving the other party any chance to refuse.
When Kodama Yoshio heard Fang Lang's words, he instantly felt unwell. How could this be asking him for help? It was clearly forcing him to complete this task!
He obviously couldn't accept this kind of thing, so he waved his hands and said:
"General Fang, please don't worry. These antiques are not mine, and I can't make the decision for those collectors. I can only help General Fang to find a seller who has rare Chinese antiques for you.
As for whether the deal can be successfully concluded, it depends on the results of the discussion between the two parties."
How could Fang Lang give the other party a chance to escape easily at this moment? The smile on his face disappeared instantly. He looked at the other party sharply with a sneer on his lips.
"So, Mr. Kodama is not going to give face to me, Fang?"
Fang Lang's attitude changed too quickly. His face was full of joy and the bright sunshine was instantly covered by dark clouds. The two Japanese girls sitting next to Fang Lang immediately felt a cold breath emanating from Fang Lang, which made them shiver uncontrollably. They were silent and did not dare to move.
Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoki also instantly felt the change in Fang Lang's attitude, and both of them stared at him. But both of them were once high-ranking figures with real power, and they were not afraid of Fang Lang's threat at all.
As the former head of an intelligence agency, Kodama Yoshio felt an unprecedented humiliation. Having once been a powerful figure in China, how could he take a Chinese person seriously? So what if the other party was a Brazilian rear admiral!
In the eyes of the Japanese, Brazil is just a small South American country that is not very respectable and is not much different from ordinary European and American colonies. The reason they gave face to Fang Lang today was just for the sake of John, a US Army colonel.
To be specific, in their eyes, the value of Fang Lang, the Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral, is far less than that of John, the American Navy Captain.
Now, his empire, which was living a good life, was threatened by a naval officer of a small colonial country. In his view, it was a great shame and humiliation.
But considering that the other party was the one being treated to a banquet by Colonel John Clark, he suppressed his anger and replied stiffly:
"General Fang has misunderstood. It's not that I don't give General Fang face. It's just that these things are not my personal property. I have no right to decide where they belong."
John, who was standing by, had just been watching the conversation between the two and thought that Fang Lang just wanted to buy some antiques. Unexpectedly, things took an earth-shaking turn. The two parties, who had just been on good terms, suddenly became hostile. He almost couldn't react and thought that Fang Lang was deliberately trying to cause trouble for Kodama Yoshio.
But given the relationship between him and Fang Lang, he had to stand on Fang Lang's side. So, after a brief thought, he spoke directly:
"Mr. Kodama, as far as I know, you have quite a few Chinese antiques in your hands. Since General Fang likes them, I think you should transfer these useless items to General Fang for my sake!"
John's statement greatly surprised Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoi. They did not expect that John would actually help Fang Lang to force a sale, which made their faces instantly turn ugly.
The room, which had just been bustling with cheers and conversation, suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The Japanese girls in charge of serving felt the tense atmosphere and were so frightened that they dared not move.
Fang Lang didn't care how ugly Kodama Yoshio and Shigemitsu Aoki's expressions were. After hearing John's words, a smile appeared on his face unconsciously. He picked up the wine glass on the table and raised it to John who was sitting opposite him.
Colonel John Clark, a member of the Japanese occupation army, naturally didn't care about the attitudes of the two Japanese. Even if Kodama Yoshio was a partner of the CIA, so what! If he annoyed him, the worst that could happen was to kill him and replace him with someone who obeyed him.
As for whether Fang Lang was afraid of the two Japanese, he was even less worried because Fang Lang's real influential identity in the United States was not the Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral, but the owner of the Global Group, and the huge connections and influence that the Global Group had in the American consortium.
You have to know that the United States is a capitalist country, not a bureaucratic country. Capitalists are the masters of the country. The current Japanese Supreme Emperor MacArthur is very powerful in Japan and dares to challenge the US president, but if he offends Fang Lang, Fang Lang can just let the United States exert its influence on the consortium.
A large number of congressmen will soon come out to impeach MacArthur, and it will only take a few minutes to get him out of office. Of course, not many people know Fang Lang's identity, and John only knows about it because his father works under Fang Lang.
So, when he saw Fang Lang raising his glass to him, he raised his glass without hesitation, gestured to Fang Lang for a toast, and drank it all in one gulp, not caring about the ugly faces of the two former Japanese officials who were so gloomy that they were about to burst into water.
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