National Tide 1980.

The boss from Hotan opened his mouth, about to ask, "What are you talking about?"

Then Zhao Chunshu waved to the people behind him.

Then Hetian's face turned pale instantly. He took two steps back and even bumped into the desk, causing the documents to scatter all over the floor.

For no other reason than the two people Zhao Chunshu brought, who actually carried in a large snakeskin bag from outside, which was obviously taken from the trunk of a car.

Considering Zhao Chunshu's identity and style of doing things, the scene at this moment is truly terrifying.

It should be noted that in Hotan's memory, Zhao Chunshu was an expert in this field. When he helped Hotan cover up his crimes, he practically dismantled the entire person.

So at this point, what other answers could Mr. Hetian possibly have in his mind?

He had only one thought—that the large bag must contain a dismembered corpse.

"Big brother! No, not here! It'll be hard to clean up the blood!"

Completely gripped by fear, Boss Hetian couldn't help but scream, bending over and struggling to control his spasms; he almost vomited up what was in his stomach.

But the person with the bag ignored him completely and continued to do as they pleased, ripping the zipper of the snakeskin bag all the way up with a "rip".

Hotan reflexively closed his eyes, not daring to look at it at all.

The problem was that he didn't smell the expected bloody odor; instead, he smelled a warm, pleasant aroma of wood, paper, and beeswax.

What I heard was the soft sound of things being placed on the table.

Wada opened his eyes abruptly, his gaze freezing instantly.

Oh, so he was completely wrong!

There was no blood in the bag at all; what they took out were all funeral supplies!
And it's not just any ordinary thing.

The brocade coffin and its bedding shimmered with a soft light, the porcelain of the urn was as delicate as mutton fat, and the urn itself was inlaid with jade in gold foil.

The carvings on the memorial tablets and Buddhist shrines are exquisite.

Even though it's a modern style made of paulownia wood, the exquisite carvings far surpass the things he usually sees.

Even the most common "ghost money" was different from what he knew.

It's not the kind of banknotes with denominations like 1 yen, 5 yen, or 1 yen that have portraits and patterns similar to real banknotes printed on them. Instead, it's a string of gold bars, silver ingots, and ancient copper coins made of shiny metallic paper.

Where did you get these things?

The professional skills of the funeral home owner began to take effect without them even realizing it.

Upon seeing something of value for his business, the owner of the Hotan restaurant suddenly forgot his fears.

He instinctively picked up the gold bars, silver ingots, and coins he had never seen before, examining and caressing them with utmost concentration.

"I'll answer your question later. Before that, give me a price quote. I want to know how much you buy these things for."

As Zhao Chunshu spoke, he picked up a set of coffin bedding and opened it to show Hotan the embroidered patterns on it.

"You should have this in your store, right? What's the cost price?"

Wada gave a hesitant price quote, "This is the basic adult version. I buy these bedding sets for about 5,000 yen each..."

As his fingertips traced the cranes embroidered in gold thread on the bedding, he couldn't help but add, "However, I don't have bedding with this gold thread pattern in my shop. The craftsmanship is too luxurious; it would increase the value of this bedding set by at least three thousand yen. It would be even better if used on adult folding sets with coffins, as they can be matched with the coffin body, making them more expensive. Wealthy people are willing to use this kind of higher-end bedding. My purchase price is about twenty-four thousand yen per set, and I can sell it to customers for thirty-five thousand yen. If bedding could have this kind of embroidery, I could sell it to customers for fifty thousand yen a set without any problem."

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Chunshu and his men suddenly burst into laughter, making Hotan feel extremely uncomfortable.

But before he could figure out what was going on, Zhao Chunshu continued to ask him questions.

How much do you pay for these urns in bulk?

“This is a ceramic item; it's the first time I've ever seen one like this. Generally speaking, the most basic ceramic items are around 3,000 yen, wooden ones are 2,500 yen, commemorative urns made with kintsugi (the art of repairing ashes) are around 20,000 yen, and the most expensive are high-end solid wood pieces with metal fittings, around 25,000 yen. As for this ceramic one, if I were to estimate its value, I'd say 3,500 yen. If it had a cherry blossom theme, that would be even better; I could probably add a little more. But this urn is extraordinary; it looks incredibly expensive, not something the average customer can afford, especially with the gemstones inlaid. I can't give an accurate estimate right now…”

After careful consideration, the Hotan boss said.

He dared not be perfunctory at all. Although he did not know the reason why Zhao Chunshu asked, he knew that he must not mislead Zhao Chunshu.

If the other party makes a wrong judgment and then makes some demands on him, wouldn't he be the one who suffers in the end?
"What about the shrine and memorial tablet?"

"The wholesale price of a Buddhist shrine is usually around 20,000 yen. Of course, the price will be higher if the carving is good. The most expensive Buddhist shrine I know is about 50,000 yen. The price of a memorial tablet depends on the wood, and it is roughly between 4,000 and 7,000 yen."

I must say, this Hotan boss is quite good at handling things.

Seeing that Zhao Chunshu seemed intent on asking about everything, after answering the questions once more, he didn't wait for Zhao Chunshu to ask any more questions and simply took the initiative to tell him the rest.

"An offering plate is between 800 and 2000 yen, and an incense burner is 2900 yen. Of course, the designs in my shop are much simpler than these, they're more common. The items here are better made, so the prices will probably be higher. As for the paper money, it depends on the quantity. In Japan now, paper money is used for paper money, a stack of banknotes is 500 yen, and a set of three denominations is 1200 yen. To be honest, this is the first time I've seen gold and silver ingots and ancient coins like these. I've only heard of this kind of antique money in Okinawa. Could this have been brought from Okinawa? It looks very pretty, and it should be more popular than paper money. As long as the price isn't too outrageous, I think there's room for a one-third price increase..."

As he spoke, he unexpectedly provoked laughter from Zhao Chunshu and the others.

Now the owner of Hotan was really embarrassed.

In his view, he was doing his best to answer Zhao Chunshu's questions, and he was very confident in his professional competence.

He believed he had a thorough understanding of the prices of various funeral items and different styles, and that he could offer very reasonable and professional prices.

He absolutely refused to believe that there was anything wrong with his answer and had no idea what the other person was laughing at him for.

He even felt a sense of humiliation and anger, and couldn't help but argue with Zhao Chunshu with resentment, "I'm not making this up. If you don't believe me, I can show you the supply order."

As a result, the more serious he became and the more he tried to prove his innocence, the more the other party laughed.

The laughter, which had almost subsided, intensified due to his reaction, and the other person could no longer stop laughing.

Honestly, Mr. Hetian is probably getting old; his mind is still completely absorbed in his professional role.

He didn't think carefully about why Zhao Chunshu was telling him these things, and he didn't realize how abnormal the situation was.

Of course, this may also be because Zhao Chunshu's gangster identity is too deeply ingrained in his mind.

He was so preoccupied with fear and worry that all he could think about was how to protect himself from getting into big trouble. He had no energy left to think about anything else, which is why he seemed mentally challenged and so slow-witted.

Fortunately, Zhao Chunshu was a very self-disciplined person. To avoid causing further embarrassment to Hotan, he set an example by stopping his laughter first and promptly restraining his two subordinates.

Then, in a very formal and serious tone, he expressed his desire to cooperate with Mr. Wada.

"Brother, the prices you mentioned earlier were too high. Actually, I came here today to supply you with goods. From now on, you won't need to use any other suppliers for anything I have. Of course, business is about mutual benefit. The prices I offer will definitely be much better than others. I promise you won't lose out. How about this: roughly speaking, my prices can be one-third cheaper than your previous quotes. What do you think?"

This is the real reason Zhao Chunshu came today.

To show goodwill, he then took out a cigarette and tossed one to Hetian, but at the same time added a condition.

"However, there's something I need to make clear to you beforehand. For the sake of our long-term business, I don't want others to know that the actual price I offer you is significantly lower than others. Therefore, when we sign the contract, we'll base it on your current price standard. In other words, the price I officially sell to you will be roughly the same as your current price. I'll return the discount to you in cash every month. Is that acceptable to you?"

Upon hearing this, the owner of the Hotan restaurant was completely stunned.

Without noticing, the cigarette he had just lit fell to the ground, and a spark burned his leather shoe.

"Brother...you mean you're going to supply me with goods? Then today...you didn't expect me to come and dispose of the corpses?"

Hetian hurriedly picked up the cigarette. At the same time, a sudden flash of inspiration seemed to strike him. He finally realized that Zhao Chunshu seemed to really want to do business with him.

Zhao Chunshu really couldn't hold back this time, and immediately slapped the table and burst into laughter, almost laughing until tears streamed down his face.

"What are you saying, Wada? You think I came here to have you help me dispose of a corpse? How could you think that? Your comedic skills are almost on par with those of a TV stand-up comedian!"

"Isn't that so? But... Brother, you're in such a hurry to meet here, and you want me to clear the place and get rid of everyone... I thought... I thought..."

The boss from Hotan stared blankly at Zhao Chunshu, and couldn't help but explain his reasoning one by one.

His reasoning was sound and his arguments seemed to make a lot of sense.

Zhao Chunshu, who had been all smiles, gradually found that his smile was fading, and his face stiffened as he became embarrassed.

He thought about it and realized that he couldn't really blame Hetian for the misunderstanding; he also needed to bear some responsibility.

"It seems you misunderstood. No wonder you sounded a little unhappy on the phone. It seems I didn't consider things carefully enough beforehand."

With a sigh and an apology, Zhao Chunshu's expression turned serious. He decided to tell everything he could.

After all, Zhao Chunshu had high hopes for Hotan, and for the sake of long-term cooperation, he felt it was necessary to clarify some things in order to truly establish a stable relationship.

“Wada, you don’t know this, but at the end of last year, I had already abandoned my past with the Yakuza and started doing legitimate business. In fact, not only did I leave the Inagawa-kai, but I also disbanded the gang and wanted to take these subordinates with me to do legitimate business. And what we’ve set our sights on is the funeral supplies business. After all, we are a small group of people with limited resources, we can’t do big business, and we don’t have any business experience, so we can only take advantage of the gaps in the social structure.”

"As for our goods, these are what we brought today. As you can see, the workmanship is better than that of the Japanese, and the price is lower. Moreover, they are neither stolen nor robbed; they are so cheap because they are imported from China. As you know, I am Chinese, so I have a long-term and stable supply of goods in China. I dare say that my supply is probably the cheapest source of goods in Japan right now. So if you are willing, we can all make a profit. And a lot of money."

"But that's precisely why I can't approach you openly. You should know what kind of people the Yakuza are. I won't lie to you, I'm currently surrounded by a lot of people. There are members of the Inagawa-kai and the police. If I'm not careful, they'll find out my secret sooner or later. It's not so bad if the police find out, but I'm afraid the Inagawa-kai will target this business. If that happens, I might even be kicked out. Do you understand?"

"Brother, you have to believe me. I would never harm you! You've already settled into a stable life. If I asked you to do something illegal, what kind of person would I be? Wouldn't that be ruining your family? I'm only asking you out to do legitimate business. Please don't get any ideas."

Zhao Chunshu's explanation completely relieved Hotan.

At this moment, however, he was overwhelmed with ecstasy.

Not only because he was certain he was 100% safe and that there were no more unexpected risks in his life.

Furthermore, the goods Zhao Chunshu brought were far superior to those he had sourced himself, and at such a low price.

"Brother, of course I believe you. I've never forgotten your kindness to me. You're a man of great loyalty and righteousness. I know that better than anyone. It's also my fault for being too timid; I scared myself half to death before I even understood what was going on. But, brother, I really have to say, I admire you even more today, not because of your loyalty, but because of your business acumen and your pragmatism. I never imagined someone like you would be interested in this line of work, let alone be able to secure such a good source of goods. This line of work may seem dirty and looked down upon, but it's definitely a very lucrative industry."

At this point, the Hotan boss had completely "come alive".

His face flushed, and he spoke ingratiating words, as if he had become a different person, no longer clumsy and tongue-tied.

He couldn't even wait to exchange a few more polite words with Zhao Chunshu before grabbing a coffin quilt and examining it from all angles, his face beaming with delight as he looked at it.

"Brother, can you really supply this stuff reliably? I need quite a lot. My morgue is full lately, and I'll probably need several thousand units every month from now on."

“No problem. Once we've finalized the design, the goods will definitely arrive next month. After all, we're the exclusive supplier, so we can accommodate any special requests you may have. I guarantee that I can get you anything you want. Even custom-made coffins and Buddha statues are no problem. And I can also guarantee that even if I have other clients in the future, I will always offer you the best price.”

These words made Wada stand up straight and bow deeply to Zhao Chunshu, just as he had done when he was Zhao's subordinate.

"Brother! Thank you for remembering me! I am so honored to see you again today."

His voice trembled as he said those words, sounding absolutely grateful and even more sincere than when he thanked Zhao Chunshu years ago.

This is not surprising.

It's worth noting that the funeral industry in Japan is currently thriving, and funeral homes in Wada are practically operating at full capacity.

If he could get such low-priced, high-quality goods from Zhao Chunshu, his Hemu Zhaichang would not only increase his profits significantly, but he could also make a name for himself in the industry and surpass his competitors.

Perhaps in a few years, his Hemu Funeral Parlor will become the largest private funeral home in Tokyo.

The thought of becoming Japan's biggest living devil is exhilarating.

Zhao Chunshu is now giving him not only kindness, but also immense wealth.

"I'll take this deal! Once I sell my current stock, I'll start using your goods next month, and we'll sign a contract!"

Hearing Hotan's latest pledge of loyalty, Zhao Chunshu felt reassured.

He patted Mr. Hetian on the shoulder, the calluses on his palm brushing against Mr. Hetian's suit, just as he had treated Mr. Hetian years ago.

"Great, that's wonderful. I knew you were a smart person. It's settled then, we'll be business partners from now on."

Moonlight streamed through the blinds and fell on their tightly clasped hands.

Looking at the funeral items on his desk, Wada seemed to see mountains of yen, and even his fingertips were filled with strength.

Half an hour later, the night wind blew through the backyard of the funeral home, and the shadow of the hearse quietly stopped in the corner.

As He Tian bowed and saw Zhao Chunshu off, he stood at the door, watching Zhao Chunshu's car disappear into the alley, feeling incredibly at ease.

As he turned around, he subconsciously touched the supply list and a business card in his pocket, both left to him by Zhao Chunshu.

To him, these few pieces of paper were now of immeasurable value, almost equivalent to checks with unlimited withdrawals. (End of Chapter)