The Kashima Hotel in downtown Shanghai is the city's most upscale Japanese-style hotel, where only high-ranking officials and dignitaries have the opportunity to drink and make merry.
In one of the largest restaurants, a lavish banquet was laid out on the tables, while in the performance hall opposite, several Japanese geishas, dressed in exquisite kimonos, danced the traditional cherry blossom dance to music.
The group of Japanese businessmen sitting on tatami mats at the dining table, facing the beautiful dance, all looked distressed and had no interest in watching.
Only Hirao Daichi, seated in the central seat, watched the geisha's dance with a smug smile on his face.
When the song ended, Hirao Daichi laughed heartily, clapping and cheering, but the people around him were not in the mood to join in, and only a few joined in.
This scene immediately dampened Hirao Daichi's spirits. He waved for the geisha and the accompanying musicians to leave, and the room fell silent.
Hirao Daichi's face darkened. He raised his hand, poured a cup of sake into his mouth, and then slammed the cup down on the table with a loud thud.
This immediately startled everyone, who hurriedly looked at Hirao Daichi.
"Gentlemen, I invited you all here today for a joyous gathering, but it seems you don't appreciate my good intentions!" Hirao Daichi said coldly, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at the crowd.
This time, Hirao Daichi was acting on the orders of Chairman Fujiwara Tomohito. He summoned all the Japanese merchants currently engaged in smuggling in Shanghai to this place. His purpose was naturally to have a complete showdown with them and make them obey the arrangements of the Fujiwara Company and hand over all their goods and distribution channels.
Faced with Hirao Daichi's tyrannical power, the heads of these chambers of commerce dared not refuse the invitation and all came to the banquet.
A few days ago, the Imagawa and Yasuda Chambers of Commerce refused Hirao Daichi's offer, and on the very day, the ruthless military police stormed into their homes. As a result, the chambers of commerce were shut down, and the men were arrested and taken to the military police headquarters. In the end, they were turned into several corpses and thrown out. It can be said that their families were destroyed and their property was completely swallowed up by the Fujiwara Company. It was simply too brutal!
The Fujiwara Company has already swallowed up several chambers of commerce through such violent means, and now it has turned its attention to others, which makes everyone tremble with fear.
Hirao Daichi's face was even more unpleasant at this moment, and the hostility in his eyes frightened everyone into silence.
Hirao Daichi was furious to see everyone pretending to be dead and stupid. He glared at them fiercely, and after a long while, he finally managed a kind smile and said again, "You all know why I invited you here. Our Fujiwara Company has always taken it upon itself to revitalize the overseas commerce of our Great Japanese Empire and aims to cooperate with each other. We are willing to unite with our business colleagues to develop and expand our business together."
The current business environment in Shanghai is very favorable to us. The entire Shanghai area has a population of nearly 20 million, all under the rule of the Empire. We Japanese occupy favorable resources and advantages, which can be said to be the best period of development in many years.
Of course, such a great opportunity needs to be seized by someone. Fortunately, you all have. We share the same goals and have common interests.
He paused, his expression darkening, before continuing, "But now, some people lack a sense of the bigger picture. They don't understand that unity and cooperation are the only way forward for the Japanese business community. They always engage in underhanded tactics and schemes. Our chairman is deeply worried about this and often laments that Japanese businessmen lack self-respect and are unfit for great responsibilities. That's why I've decided to stand up, raise my voice, and call on everyone to unite and form a large group. From now on, we will share common interests, advance and retreat together, and maximize the interests of the Japanese people. What do you all think?"
Hirao Daichi's speech was eloquent and impassioned, but his greedy nature was fully exposed. Everyone knew his intentions and was naturally unwilling, but dared not confront him directly and could only respond with silence.
Hirao Daichi was getting impatient. He looked at a gray-haired man not far in front of him and said coldly, "Uemura-kun, I know that you just received a batch of medicines. Our Fujiwara Company is willing to buy them at twice the cost price. What do you think?"
When Uemura Nozomi heard Hirao Daichi call his name, he trembled involuntarily. His face turned ashen, and his lips twitched, but he didn't know how to answer.
Hirao Daichi's face grew increasingly cold. These bastards, just as the chairman said, still refused to submit under such pressure. No wonder he was reprimanded by the chairman; he had been too lenient with them before.
"It seems Uemura-kun has tacitly agreed. Very well, then it's settled! We'll send someone to receive this batch of medicine immediately. Also, give me the list of buyers for the bulk shipments..."
"No, no, Hirao-kun, you can't do this! If you do, I'll lose everything!"
Before Hirao Daichi could finish speaking, Uemura Nozomi, who was already terrified, cried out in alarm.
“Hirao-kun, you know how much effort and trouble we went through to transport these medicines to Shanghai, and how much it cost to bribe officials and deal with people along the way. If our medicines don't make a three-fold profit, we're essentially losing money! You can't just take them away like this…”
Hirao Daichi slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "Uemura, are you disagreeing?"
A fierce glint flashed in Hirao Daichi's eyes. It seemed he was about to take further action against some of the die-hards. These bastards were willing to risk their lives for money, and they dared to try and stop the tide of events. They were utterly absurd.
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