Takano Takayuki immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "That's wonderful, that's exactly what I was thinking too!"
So his men prepared exquisite food and wine, and Ning Zhiheng and Takano Takayuki raised their glasses in the elegant room, drinking and chatting.
After a few rounds of drinks, Ning Zhiheng asked, "Mr. Takano, when Mr. Kanda came to Shanghai last time, I originally wanted to ask him a lot of questions, but unfortunately he suffered from an eye disease and had to return to Japan in a hurry. We didn't have much time together. I wonder how Mr. Kanda's recovery is going after he returned to Japan?"
Upon hearing this, Takano Takayuki paused in his drink, his previously beaming smile turning somber as he said with a hint of helplessness, "After returning to Japan, my teacher's eyesight has been poor and the recovery has not been ideal. He is no longer creating new works."
Ning Zhiheng also looked regretful and said, "Mr. Kanda is a national treasure-level master. It's such a pity. By the way, I heard that besides you, Mr. Kanda has several other outstanding disciples, one of whom is named Ito Teppei, who is quite famous in the country."
Takano Takayuki looked at Ning Zhiheng with surprise upon hearing the name "Ito Teppei!" and said, "Indeed, Ito-kun was one of the first students to learn from our teacher. He has an outstanding talent in carving and is considered our senior brother. I didn't expect that you, Fujiwara-kun, would have heard of him even though you are far away overseas."
Ning Zhiheng smiled slightly. He Siming had done some research on these two sculptors before. Coincidentally, the main sculptor in charge of engraving the printing steel plates, Ito Teppei, was a disciple of Kanda Tamayama. So he quickly thought of Takano Takayuki and decided to befriend Ito Teppei through Takano Takayuki, which led to today's invitation to Takano Takayuki.
Ning Zhiheng smiled and, without beating around the bush, said directly, "Takano-kun, as you know, I love making friends with talented artists. Ito Teppei is quite famous in China, so of course I want to get to know him when I have the chance. His visit to Shanghai this time is a rare opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Takano Takayuki was taken aback, then asked in surprise, "You mean Ito-kun came to Shanghai? When did this happen? He didn't contact me at all!"
Teppei Ito's trip to China was dispatched by the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs with an important mission, so he naturally had to act in secrecy. Therefore, after entering Shanghai, he did not contact the outside world. It was only because the Special Higher Police was the intelligence agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs that He Siming was able to access this plan. Even other intelligence agencies were unaware of it, let alone Takano Takayuki.
Ning Zhiheng smiled nonchalantly, "Takano-kun, you don't know this, but your senior brother arrived in Shanghai four days ago. However, he has official business to attend to and may not be able to contact you for the time being."
Takano Takayuki nodded in realization, then looked on with some surprise. Although Ito Teppei was a sculptor of some renown, he was not considered a significant figure in the eyes of powerful figures like Fujiwara Tomohito. The fact that he was receiving so much attention must have a reason, but he naturally dared not ask any further questions.
So he asked, "Fujiwara-kun, would you like to meet my senior brother? If so, I would be happy to introduce him to you!"
“Great. He works at Yokohama Specie Bank now. You can invite him to the Mulan Academy. I’m very interested in him. We can have a chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other.”
"Understood, I will arrange it as soon as possible!" Takano Takayuki readily nodded and accepted the order.
When Ning Zhiheng finished dealing with this matter and returned to the Fujiwara Company, Yi Huaan knocked on the door and entered. He reported the message that Luo Xingchao had conveyed to Ning Zhiheng and finally said, "Muyu asked us to transfer those black market dealers as soon as possible. He was afraid that these people would not keep their mouths shut and would eventually implicate Muyu's group."
Ning Zhiheng immediately nodded in agreement. He had been worried that Li Zhiqun would find out about Cha Yutang's disappearance and rush back to Shanghai to investigate. Therefore, when dealing with Cha Yutang, he did not make a big fuss like he did with Yaozu, Lu Tianqiao, or even Luo Zidong. Instead, he executed him secretly and had Phillips suppress public opinion in an attempt to minimize the impact of the incident.
He knew very well that the operation was rushed and had many flaws. If a veteran like Li Zhiqun were to investigate, the Shanghai intelligence department's operation would be difficult to cover up.
However, things didn't go as planned. At this crucial moment, Luo Xingchao was preparing to take advantage of Wu Shicai's embezzlement of public funds to try to bring him down. But due to unforeseen circumstances, Li Zhiqun was sent back to Shanghai. Now it seems that things have indeed taken a turn for the worse.
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