National Tide 1980.

In order to provide his wife and children with fresh air, Ning Weimin has basically quit smoking and only smokes cigars occasionally.

On the other hand, Liu Yang's smoking addiction became more and more serious because life in Tokyo was difficult and he needed physical anesthesia.

Seeing that Ning Weimin refused the cigarette he handed to him, Liu Yang didn't hesitate and lit it himself.

It was not until he took a puff and exhaled a long stream of smoke that he had the mind to continue the conversation.

"You're right. You asked the right person. Do you still remember the musical genius who came to Tokyo on the same plane as us?"

"You mean the one who worked as a music director at the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe? His last name seems to be... Chen..."

"Yes, that's him. His name is Chen Song. He lives in the same dormitory with me now."

"Oh, really? What a coincidence? I remember you didn't know each other before you came to Japan, right?"

"Of course, we were chatting on the plane that time. It was the first time for you, me, and him to meet. After we arrived in Tokyo, we all went our separate ways. But it was a coincidence that half a year ago, we both needed to find a new house to live in, and we bumped into each other by accident. In the end, we decided to live together to save money. You should know how troublesome it is to rent a house in Tokyo. Especially for Chinese people, there are not many houses we can afford to rent, and people don't trust you, so you can't do without a deposit or a gift money."

"So how is Chen Song doing now? He doesn't study anymore and is concentrating on working."

"He didn't study anymore, but he persisted longer than me, wasting nearly a year and a half. So he lost more than me. Now he has two part-time jobs. He works in a bakery under the subway station at 5 a.m. every day, gets off work at 10 a.m., and then works as a cleaner in a hotel at 11 p.m., working until about 4 a.m. He is different from me. He lives a life of hiding during the day and working at night. Basically, he sleeps during the day and works at night. It's a pity that the Japanese are so cruel that they are only willing to pay less than the minimum hourly wage to poor foreign students like us. Even if he works like this, he only makes 6,000 yen a day, which is not as much as I make working at the construction site in a day."

"This is not good. Staying up late like this goes against your biological clock. Over time, your body will break down."

"Hey, man, do you think he doesn't know? The thing that international students in Tokyo fear the most is getting sick. Getting sick means total bankruptcy. But there's nothing we can do. Although Chen Song looks strong, he has asthma and his body is not as good as mine. He can't do the kind of physical work that I do. So what else can he do if not this? He has to make money to live..."

Liu Yang's words once again shut Ning Weimin's mouth. He knew that he had just said something stupid.

I especially noticed the young fellow in front of me. Due to long-term physical labor, he had changed from a delicate and fair-skinned scholar into a dark and strong man. He felt quite embarrassed, thinking "Why not eat meat porridge?"

Liu Yang soon noticed this, so in order to ease the atmosphere, he quickly added some other information about Chen Song.

"In fact, Chen Song had a pretty good job before. He played the piano for a western restaurant. He had this skill and the boss treated him well. At that time, his salary was 2,000 yen per hour. He played for four hours every night, and he also got a meal and transportation. With an income of about 10,000 yen a day, he lived a very comfortable life. When he first came to Tokyo, he relied on this job to support his studies. It's a pity that this kid didn't understand the ways of the world. He was too happy to show off and too proud of himself. He actually told everything to his classmates. As expected, one of his classmates pretended to visit him in the store, but he was able to chat with the boss by speaking fluent Japanese. Then, he persuaded the boss to let him play a few songs on stage. In less than a month, the boss fired Chen Song because he disliked his Japanese. So, it was Chen Song's fault that he was too naive, didn't understand the dangers of the world, and regarded everyone around him as a good person. But he forgot that this is Japan, a complex capitalist world, where competition is needed everywhere, and there is competition between you and me..."

It’s just that Liu Yang would have been better off not saying this.

Because of the situation he revealed, Ning Weimin felt even more uneasy in his heart, and he couldn't help but worry about the living conditions of these fellow countrymen in Beijing.

"Liu Yang, this is not competition, this is just cannibalism."

Ning Weimin sighed solemnly and asked, "Where is Chen Song, the classmate who plotted against him, from? Isn't he from Beijing?"

"That's not the case. He's from Hong Kong. Perhaps that's why Chen Song was careless. Who would have thought that a Hong Kong person who is obviously much richer than us mainlanders would do such a despicable thing for a job?"

This answer was better than Ning Weimin expected, which made him feel relieved, but he still said it sarcastically.

"Isn't this normal? How did Hong Kong City become so prosperous? Wasn't it because it was a British colony and benefited from the isolation of the mainland from the outside world? Although this is due to historical reasons, it shows that many people in Hong Kong City have the gene to be disloyal and serve as compradors for foreigners. How can they be the same as us? So you can't be too honest in the future. You can't have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others..."

However, what Ning Weimin said made Liu Yang laugh.

"Oh, I didn't realize you have such a strong sense of justice, and you speak so honestly. But you seem to have forgotten that you are also a foreign-funded enterprise. Based on your situation. I am really a little uncomfortable listening to you say these words again."

After he reminded him, Ning Weimin realized that he seemed to have trapped himself in it, and he couldn't help but smile.

"How can I be the same as them? I am in Cao's camp but my heart is with Han. Even if I become a capitalist in the end, I will be a red capitalist who works for the country and the people..."

"Yes, yes, yes. You must have infiltrated the enemy, just like in the movie 'The Man Who Deals with the Devil'."

Liu Yang chimed in, joking, "To be honest, it's a good thing to have someone like you who is doing well in Japan. It can at least give us Beijingers some encouragement. Otherwise, if we return home one day, we won't know what to brag about. Should we brag about how we work like slaves for the Japanese? Fortunately, there are people like you. Even if there are not many, it is at least an encouragement to us fellow countrymen in Japan. Hey, do you know? In Tokyo, besides you, there are a few other Beijingers who are doing well."

Ning Weimin was happy to hear such news.

"tell me the story."

"Do you remember Li Xiaojiang and Wang Yan? They came here on the same plane as us."

Ning Weimin didn't have a very deep impression of these two names. After thinking for a while, he finally remembered that they seemed to be the two self-employed individuals, a man and a woman, on the same plane.

"I remember now. They were the two who ran the clothing stall in Xidan. How come you are also in touch with them?"

"No, no, they've already made it, so why would they mingle with us? But what they did was so outrageous that it's not only known among our fellow Beijingers, but almost all the mainland Chinese students in Tokyo know about them. I heard they were even interviewed by a Japanese newspaper recently. They're real celebrities now."

All of a sudden, Ning Weimin's curiosity was aroused even more.

"The more you talk, the more amazing it becomes. So what did they do? Can you please stop keeping us in suspense?"

"Haha, they are selling Zhang Guang 101."

"Zhang Guang 101?"

"Yes, it's for hair loss treatment. It's advertised in domestic newspapers all the time."

Ning Weimin was stunned, then he remembered that this thing was a kind of hair growth water in China. It suddenly became popular in recent years, and its effects were reported to be miraculous in domestic newspapers.

"You didn't expect that. In fact, no one expected that the Japanese have a lot of work pressure, and many young people start to lose their hair early. The Japanese demand for this stuff is much greater than ours. Li Xiaojiang and Wang Yan are really good at vision. They actually became the Japanese agent of Zhang Guang 101 and made a fortune by selling this hair growth spirit. Do you know how much this bottle of stuff, which costs more than ten yuan in China, sells for in Japan?"

"how much is it?"

"Forty thousand yen! Equivalent to more than one thousand RMB!"

Seeing Ning Weimin's shocked expression, Liu Yang, with his eyes shining, said in an almost worshipful tone, "Do you think they can do it? I heard that they have already opened a company with branches in many cities in Japan. They have also hired many salesmen. It's a pity that I didn't get in touch with them. If I had gotten in touch with them, I would have wanted to try and sell hair growth water with them. Besides, this stuff is hard to buy even in our country. Otherwise, if I had asked my family to send me a few bottles to sell, I wouldn't even have to work. Just selling this would be enough to make a living."

But to be honest, the reason why Ning Weimin was so surprised was not because of the huge profits, which were almost as much as selling powder.

It was because a sudden flash of inspiration came to his mind, and he remembered the rumors about the "Four Lis of the Capital" that he had heard in his previous life.

The so-called "Four Lis of Beijing" actually refers to the four most famous tycoons in Beijing in the 1990s. The reason is that these four people are all named Li, which makes them popular among the people of Beijing. Among these four people, the most famous one is Li Chengru, who abandoned his wife and children.

After all, this guy later went into the film and television industry, and he boasted about himself like a loudspeaker every day. The people of Beijing knew all the little things about him.

Another person Ning Weimin remembers clearly is Li Chunping.

This guy's experience is quite legendary. It is said that he married an old lady who was once a Hollywood superstar overseas and inherited a huge fortune.

Although it is not known whether these things are true or not, this person did make a lot of charitable donations.

His little things became a snack for common people to drink. When they had free time, a few words of his words were enough to make them drink two taels of liquor.

As for the other two people, Ning Weimin didn't know that much.

Because the person who said it at the time didn't know much and just mentioned it briefly, so he didn't have such a deep impression of it.

Among them, he still remembered that one of them made a fortune by reselling hair growth water to Japan, and later returned to China and bought the first Ferrari in mainland China.

And the current incident... doesn't that fit the bill? After all this fuss, it turns out it was this Li Xiaojiang.

That’s right, it’s a wonderful feeling to inadvertently become a bystander of history and suddenly discover that the life of a legendary figure has already intersected with your own.

So whether he was surprised or dazed, it wasn't surprising that he reacted like this, right?

But then again, Ning Weimin can fully experience the magical magic interwoven by fate and time.

But Liu Yang's status was different from his, so he couldn't keep up with him and chat endlessly.

In fact, Liu Yang had already noticed that his Japanese boss had finished the coffee in his hand and was getting impatient while waiting beside him, frequently looking at the watch on his wrist.

And he still has to rely on others for his food. Even if he is reluctant, he has to end the conversation quickly and go back to work, otherwise he will suffer the consequences.

"Well, man, we've almost finished talking. How about we stop here today? I have to get back to work."

Liu Yang, who originally wanted to smoke another cigarette, no longer had such an idea and said goodbye.

After he said this, Ning Weimin came to his senses and noticed the Japanese boss's impatience.

The only difference was that when the Japanese saw that Ning Weimin noticed his gaze, instead of showing any dissatisfaction, he immediately smiled and bowed respectfully.

This was the difference in status. Liu Yang could only envy her. He finally realized the huge gap between them. So he couldn't help but stand straight, not daring to relax.

"Well, I'll just call you Ning Sang, after all, you're a client..."

Ning Weimin did not express his opinion, but just asked him, "You and Chen Song live together now, right? Where do you live?"

"We are currently living in Kita-Senju, Adachi Ward."

"How much is the rent?"

"Forty thousand yen a month. We'll split it."

"How's your Japanese level going?"

"I'm only N3, so I have no problem communicating in daily life and at work. Chen Song's Japanese level is higher than mine..."

"What's going on? Didn't you just say that he lost his job because his Japanese proficiency was not high enough..."

"Hey, you have to think about it the other way around. He worked so hard because he suffered a lot in this regard."

"Okay, now we all have things to do, so I won't say any more nonsense. I have a job for you. You need to be able to speak Japanese and understand the other party's address and some of the requirements for transportation. You can start working right away. Although the income is not high, based on daily wages, you may only get 5,000 yen. But it is not heavy physical labor, just answering customer calls. And I will provide food and accommodation, insurance, and social security pension. Look at this place, I won't hide it from you, this is where I will open a scrap company. If I want to open a business here in the future, there may be some warehouse management and cleaning work. If you don't mind..."

Unexpectedly, before he could finish, Liu Yang couldn't help but shout, "Yes, yes, of course. What are you dissatisfied with? This is a formal job. Are you sure you want to hire us according to the salary of formal employees? And provide us with accommodation?"

"Of course, we are all from the same hometown. It is only natural that we should take care of each other. It is fate that we can meet again today. So, go back and discuss it with Chen Song. If you are willing, call me and I will arrange it for you."

As he spoke, Ning Weimin took out a business card and handed it to Liu Yang. Without saying anything else, he just nodded, turned around and left to find the Japanese boss.

And that’s not all, because just when Liu Yang was in a daze, the Japanese boss who was accompanying Ning Weimin said a few words to him, then suddenly walked towards Liu Yang, patted Liu Yang on the shoulder, and spoke in a more friendly tone than ever before.

"You, don't go up for a while. Just work downstairs and push the sand, okay?"

Liu Yang suddenly realized that this was a sign of care for him.

So he widened his eyes and looked at Ning Weimin. After getting a response from his eyes, he nodded hurriedly to the Japanese boss.

The Japanese man laughed, then pulled him to talk to the foreman in charge here.

So a Malaysian worker was unlucky and was transferred by the foreman to do high-altitude demolition work.

He felt so wronged, it was completely an unprovoked disaster, and he couldn't understand the reason at all, so he started to protest.

However, the Japanese would not reason with him. The Japanese foreman not only cursed at him, but also slapped him in the face immediately.

Now Malaysian workers have no choice but to shut up and accept their treatment unconditionally.

With five red marks on his face and full of grievance, he climbed up the channel steel silently.

This scene was also deeply engraved in the hearts of Ning Weimin and Liu Yang who were about to part.

They looked at each other one last time.

The four words "the weak harm each other" appeared in their hearts again at the same time. The complex feelings in it are probably only understood by them. (End of this chapter)