National Tide 1980.

Several consecutive years of losses in operation led to strong disagreements between the two parties involved in the amusement park partnership.

Seeing that the bustling year of 1990 had come to nothing, at the beginning of 1991, the Chinese company had to warn the Japanese side that they must resolve the problems that caused the losses as soon as possible and ensure that they could improve their operations and turn a profit in the shortest possible time.

Furthermore, the Chinese company proposed that from now on, in addition to being responsible for labor relations, the Chinese side should also send personnel to participate in the management of the amusement park's finances.

Going forward, all cash flows related to the operation of the amusement park will require the approval and supervision of Chinese financial personnel.

However, Japan certainly wouldn't agree to this.

Not only did they reject China's demands, but they also put forward several unreasonable demands that were entirely in their favor, citing the massive economic changes taking place in Japan.

First, given that the Japanese headquarters is currently demanding that all overseas branches tighten their financial belts, the Japanese side needs to follow the headquarters' instructions and withdraw 2.6 billion yen from the account originally used by the Jingcheng Amusement Park to maintain daily operations, and instead inject funds into the Japanese headquarters.

Secondly, the Japanese side claimed, based on their years of experience operating amusement parks in Japan, that in order for amusement parks to thrive and increase revenue, in addition to extending their operating hours, they must also continuously add new amusement facilities at a rate of one to two per year.

Therefore, this year, they plan to open the amusement park to nighttime hours and plan to import laser water screen movies from the United States to be repeatedly shown in the fountain square every night, requiring the district government to guarantee the supply of electricity at night.

In addition, they plan to build a unique double-decker carousel on the lake in the amusement park to attract tourists.

Therefore, although they withdrew a lot of funds, it was imperative for them to purchase these equipment and carry out large-scale construction, and they hoped that the Chinese side could find a way to make up for the funding gap.

Third, they also believe that turning a profit is by no means a short-term goal, and a reasonable timeframe should be set at two years. They hope that the Chinese side will not make unrealistic expectations.

Regarding the Chinese personnel's request to participate in the supervision of the amusement park's finances, the Japanese side also believes that it is completely unnecessary. They say that artificially creating obstacles will affect the efficiency of normal financial operations.

In short, these bastards are ruthless scoundrels who not only take all the benefits but also treat others like fools.

After receiving the initial written reply from the Japanese side, the head of the Chinese company even thought that it must be because the translator they hired had limited ability and failed to accurately understand the Japanese side's meaning, which led to such an absurd misunderstanding.

Logically speaking, Japan is already in a very wrong position. Not only did they fail to fulfill their initial promises and refuse to take responsibility for the losses, but now they are even demanding that China increase its investment. How is that possible?

Isn't this just trying to take all the benefits and treat China like a slave?

Unexpectedly, during the subsequent discussions, the Chinese side discovered that the Japanese side's demands were actually genuine.

Although the Chinese representative clearly expressed their doubts and dissatisfaction to the Japanese representative, the Japanese side gave a lengthy and unreasonable explanation that was enough to make anyone furious.

Because the other party had already given up on pretending, their words conveyed only one meaning—you have no experience in operating amusement parks, no necessary equipment, and your government wants to create a modern amusement park that can serve as a political achievement to show off to the public and the media.

So whatever conditions we offer, you must accept them unconditionally, otherwise we might as well part ways.

We can withdraw completely and return the amusement park to you.

To put it bluntly, this is blatant extortion.

The Chinese official was furious.

The War of Resistance Against Japan had ended many years ago, and he never imagined that there would still be Japanese devils daring to make such unreasonable, greedy and shameless demands on the land of Beijing.

The key issue is that he was at a loss. The Japanese side was clearly being unreasonable, so he could only report the situation to the district government.

Upon hearing that Japanese companies dared to engage in such blatant extortion, leaders at all levels of the district government were furious. Many wished they could immediately terminate the cooperation and drive away these Japanese parasites.

However, a troubling problem has arisen, causing many to shake their heads and preventing the district government from making a firm decision.

So, the people have been kicked out. How are we going to clean up the mess that's left behind?

As the superior unit and competent authority, the district government leadership team certainly could not act arbitrarily. They were well aware that the Japanese held the dominant position in this project, as they lacked both funding, technology, and management experience.

So, with no other option, everyone had to suppress their anger for the time being.

This time, the district government decided to take the lead and send a special representative to negotiate with the Japanese side to see if both sides could compromise and find a relatively reasonable way to resolve their differences.

However, the results were clearly not ideal, and the situation is not optimistic.

According to Zuo Zongtang, the Japanese fear power but do not cherish virtue; the strong are bound to be bandits, and the weak are bound to be subservient. This is a national gene ingrained in the bones of the Japanese.

When the Japanese believe they can manipulate the ward government at will, no matter how sincere or humiliating the ward government is, they will only see it as a sign of weakness and incompetence from their opponent. Instead, they will grit their teeth even more and do things even more ruthlessly.

Just like this time, they actually made a show of bravado to the district government officials, saying that the Beijing Amusement Park was losing so much money that they had long since given up on running it.

Their conditions cannot be compromised in the slightest, and they will absolutely not agree to China's demands.

If China insists on its own way, it is asking the impossible, and they would rather transfer their shares to China and terminate the cooperation.

This is hardly a discussion.
This is clearly a blatant ultimatum.

The Japanese pretended to be ignorant, and then turned the tables on China, forcing it into a corner with no way to retreat, leaving it with no room for maneuver.

Therefore, on the eve of the Spring Festival of 1991, there was no festive atmosphere of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new year in the office building of Chongwen District Government. The air was so heavy that it seemed to be frozen.

The usual pleasantries in the corridors had vanished, and an eerie tranquility permeated each office. Occasionally, a few suppressed arguments would escape, only to be quickly swallowed up by the stagnant silence.

The north wind outside the window swirled with the remaining snow, howling and pounding against the glass, making the building seem even more deathly silent. Even the bright red of the New Year calendar hanging on the wall seemed to have faded, exuding an indescribable sense of oppression.

In fact, even the distribution of welfare benefits before the Lunar New Year has become very perfunctory this year.

There was no fanfare or jubilation; everyone tacitly accepted their gifts and left quietly, afraid of making a fuss and disturbing the leaders who held closed-door meetings every day to discuss countermeasures.

Who in a government agency isn't a shrewd and calculating person?

Nobody wants to attract the attention of their superiors at a time like this.

Even the usually loud union chairman spoke in a deliberately low voice, as if he wanted to shrink into a shadow and remain invisible. However, this does not mean that everyone is truly indifferent to this matter.

On the contrary, everyone in the office building, even the janitors who served tea and water, was listening intently, trying their best to find out what was happening in the office building's conference room.

Ultimately, everyone's attention is driven by their own ulterior motives.

Or perhaps they were worried that a fire at the city gate would affect innocent bystanders, and were planning in advance how to distance themselves from the situation.

Secondly, as a common sentiment among Chinese people, even the most selfish person would not want to see the district government helpless against the Japanese and forced to compromise.

Everyone was hoping that the higher-ups could come up with a good solution to extinguish the arrogance of the Japanese and prevent them from actually succeeding.

…………

On the afternoon of February 11, 1991, the atmosphere in the conference room of the Chongwen District Government office building was as tense as a string about to snap.

In addition to the district's leadership team and relevant personnel from Huaxia Jingcheng Longtan Tourism Development Company, attendees also included colleagues from relevant units such as the Parks and Forestry Bureau, Tourism Bureau, and Service Bureau.

There is only one theme to this meeting.

That is, how should we deal with the problem of the Jingcheng Amusement Park's continuous losses and operating deficits, and how should we respond to the Japanese's feigned ignorance and attempts to extort money?

"...As you all know from the latest feedback, someone touched the tiger's butt, and after doing so, they refused to pay."

In the conference room, even the top leader, Secretary Zhao Ziming, uttered such words, showing that his anger was almost uncontrollable and he was about to explode.

"In this matter, the Japanese are not only unreasonable, forcing us to agree to their insatiable conditions, but now they are even threatening to withdraw their shares, seemingly willing to turn the Beijing Amusement Park into a mess and dump it on us. This is no different from extortion and thuggery. Now, we are giving everyone a final update before the end of the year, hoping to fully discuss all viewpoints and questions, reach a consensus, and see if we can find a way to deal with the Japanese."

As soon as Secretary Zhao finished speaking, the meeting room became so quiet that you could hear the scratching of pens on paper, and even the howling north wind outside the window seemed to have been silenced by the stagnant air pressure.

District Chief Zhang, the second-in-command, glanced around at the attendees and added, “Of course, we absolutely cannot agree to the unreasonable demands of the Japanese. This is a non-negotiable bottom line. If we compromise, not only will we be unable to explain ourselves to the city and the people, but we will also be sending the wrong message to all foreign businesses—that the district government can be blackmailed and extorted. This will inevitably lead to a vicious domino effect, and we will face endless reciprocation of the same behavior.”

At this point, Secretary Zhao continued, “Comrades, this is not alarmist talk, it’s the truth. If we back down on this matter, we won’t be able to get past our own conscience. Even if the higher-ups don’t hold us accountable, can we just pretend it never happened? We’ll probably live with shame for the rest of our lives.”

The leader has said everything he needed to say, and his attitude is quite clear.

That means we must stand firm to the end this time, and absolutely not tolerate or condone the evildoers' bad habits.

Everyone naturally agrees with this.

Nobody is masochistic and wants to be bullied by foreigners, especially by the Japanese.

But the key issue lies in how to confront it directly, and the resulting chain of consequences and follow-up work.

It was clear that no one had a concrete plan, so for a moment, no one spoke.

Especially the few people responsible for this matter, although they are extremely eager to resolve it, are at a loss as to how.

Therefore, everyone's face showed the same emotion—anger mixed with anxiety, and anxiety mixed with a hint of helplessness.

For example, the deputy district head Xu, who was in charge of commerce and sat to the left of the district head, had a cigarette between his fingers that was half-burned, with ash falling down, but he was completely unaware of it, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.

Cao Jian, the general manager of Longtan Tourism Development Company, had a flushed face and his lips moved several times, as if he had a bellyful of grievances to pour out, but he swallowed the words back down.

In addition, there was a young section chief in the tourism bureau who was also full of vigor. He gripped the pen in his hand so tightly that it turned white, and several times he wanted to stand up and slam the table, but the deputy director next to him quietly tugged at his clothes and stopped him.

As for the representative sent by the Parks and Gardens Bureau, she was a woman, and her behavior was even more appalling.

She seemed to have never experienced such a tense situation before, and just kept her head down and waited silently, not daring to look up at anyone.

However, Zhou, the deputy district head in charge of construction, was more willing to speak freely because he was not directly involved in the matter.

"If you ask me, we should just start preparing the materials and sue them in court. After all, those Japanese signed a contract with us, but they didn't fulfill it, so they're in the wrong. I don't believe that with so many visitors to the amusement park, they can lose money under these circumstances. Besides, this is our territory. If we sue them in court, we'll win every time. We can't possibly lose."

His attempt to spark discussion was very successful, and many people present responded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, sue them and make the Japanese pay back all the profits they owe us."

"Yes, the Japanese always talk about business rules, so let's deal with them using business rules."

"That's right, I remember there was a compensation clause in the contract. Let's look it up again and see exactly what the Japanese side failed to do, so we can have the law enforcement officers punish them severely..."

Secretary Zhao and District Chief Zhang also seemed quite satisfied.

Secretary Zhao nodded with satisfaction, while District Chief Zhang immediately appointed his men.

"Xiao Cao, you're the Chinese manager of the joint venture. What's your opinion? Will District Chief Zhou's suggestion make the Japanese back down?"

Therefore, Cao Jian, the general manager of Longtan Tourism Development Company, had no choice but to speak up.

"Secretary, I have considered taking legal action, but the key to a lawsuit is collecting evidence. With solid evidence, we have a better chance of winning. However, the problem is that the amusement park's finances are entirely controlled by the Japanese; we don't have a single one of our people involved. We don't have access to the actual accounting books. If the Japanese try to fool us with the books, I'm afraid the court won't be able to distinguish right from wrong. After all, they own the equipment and everything; they can just fill in a number and say it's for hiring technicians from Japan or for repairs to replace parts, and we won't be able to find fault with them..."

"What the hell is this?!"

Secretary Zhao immediately cursed, "Just because they have advanced technology and modern amusement equipment, they think they can bully people like this?"

"Old Secretary, please don't get angry."

District Chief Zhang quickly offered a word of comfort, then looked at Cao Jian and asked, "Xiao Cao, think carefully, can we find a way to get hold of the Japanese's real accounts? After all, many of their financial staff are locals from Beijing, and you were the ones who recruited them in the first place. They can't all be a monolithic entity, can they?" (End of Chapter)