The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 121: No mercy, just take it as interest first (two in one)

The Japanese Embassy is on the other side of Liangmaqiao, which is almost the same place as the American Liaison Office in Beijing where I visited last time.

This area later became known as the embassy district, and the nearby Sanlitun became prosperous for this reason.

Jiang Hui and Chen Chenxing set out from Dongdan San Tiao Road at around eight o'clock and did not arrive at the Japanese Embassy until after nine o'clock.

Compared to the last time I went to the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing, the entrance of the Japanese Embassy seemed a little more lively.

Last month, the chief designer went to Japan for inspection, and the contacts between the two countries suddenly became more frequent.

The next ten years or so will be a period of relatively close relations between the two countries.

Jiang Hui felt that he must not be lenient when he came here today.

Anyway, they have been trying to fix it for a long time and still haven't fixed it, so I can only wait to be ripped off by you.

This period in Japan was considered to be the best period of economic development, and they really had no shortage of money.

He was even punished for threatening the interests of his "father".

"You guys are here to fix the car?"

After registering my information at the gate, five or six minutes later, a Japanese man in his thirties walked out quickly.

Westerners in later generations always found it difficult to distinguish between the Chinese and the Japanese, but the Chinese themselves could tell who was the Japanese at a glance.

The temperament is completely different.

"Yes, I have already made an appointment with you."

Chen Chenxing glanced at his master, then stood up and answered.

"You are so young, can you repair a car?"

The other party looked at Chen Chenxing and Jiang Hui with suspicion.

In many industries, young people give people a feeling that they are difficult to trust.

This is true for doctors, teachers, and mechanics alike.

"There are many older people out there who don't even know what a car engine is."

"Whether this can repair the car or not, what does age have to do with it?"

This is not the first time that the two have been suspected.

So neither Chen Chenxing nor Jiang Hui was angry.

At worst, I can just give you a higher quote later.

"The US Liaison Office in Beijing is right next to you. I believe you must have some contact with them, right?"

After Jiang Hui said this, the Japanese man immediately became sensitive.

After all, the situations in Japan and America are quite special.

"Have we contacted the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing? Does it have anything to do with repairing the car?"

"They had a Cadillac El Dorado that broke down before, and they asked many well-known mechanics in the capital area to fix it, but no one had the courage to even do it."

"Mr. Smith was almost forced to go to the United States to hire workers to come over for repairs."

"In the end, it was the two of us who helped fix the car."

After Jiang Hui said this, the expression on the Japanese man's face immediately changed again.

"Do you know Smith?"

Obviously, the people at the Japanese Embassy are quite familiar with the staff at the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing.

The Japanese in front of him must know Smith, or at least have heard of him.

To him, since the young man in front of him could tell the names of the staff members in the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing, it was obvious that what he said was true and reliable.

"When my master was in charge of repairing the Cadillac El Dorado, it was Mr. Smith who was responsible for receiving us."

"He also treated us to a sumptuous lunch there at noon."

Chen Chenxing interrupted and mentioned the lunch in a meaningful way.

"You guys wait a moment."

Although the Japanese man already believed that Jiang Hui and Chen Chenxing could repair the car, since the other party mentioned Smith, he was obviously ready to confirm it again.

He just picked up the phone in the gate booth and called the American Liaison Office in Beijing.

They didn't intend to hide it, not because they wanted to do things openly and honestly, but because they didn't take Jiang Hui and Chen Chenxing seriously at all.

It's like when you are reporting to your leader in the company, and he is leaning on the sofa like Ge You. It's not because he is careless, but because you are not worthy of him sitting properly.

Fortunately, Jiang Hui and Chen Chenxing were not so sensitive. If the other party wanted to confirm, they would confirm it.

It was a good opportunity to let the Japanese know that I received $1000 in cash for repairing the Cadillac.

The standards are there. The Japanese Embassy can't be more stingy than others, right?

"Okay, follow me in."

"My name is Kato Hiroyuki, and I'm an attaché at the embassy. You can call me Kato-san or Attaché Kato."

Hiroyuki Kato finished the call with Smith very quickly, which was much faster than Jiang Hui's usual phone calls.

I guess their phone lines are specially configured.

After confirming the situation, Kato Hiroyuki's expression obviously improved a lot, and he took the initiative to introduce himself to Jiang Hui and Chen Chenxing.

Although it may not be very pleasant, a simple self-introduction is definitely not missing.

After all, the car hasn't been repaired yet.

"We imported this car from Japan in 1974. At that time, it was the most advanced model in the world."

“After four years of use, its performance in all aspects is still not bad at all.”

"It's just that there were some problems some time ago. You can try driving it later and experience it first."

Kato Hiroyuki was also very cunning. He didn't even tell Jiang Hui and the others directly what was wrong with the car, but let them discover it themselves first.

If they can't even find the problem accurately, then Kato Hiroyuki will have to doubt whether Jiang Hui and his team can fix it.

Even though he had just confirmed the other party's technical level with Smith, he was still prepared to test it again.

Jiang Hui looked at the car in front of him, which was a fifth-generation Crown.

Toyota Motor launched the fifth-generation Crown in 1974, which will continue in production until next year before being remodeled.

A life cycle of five years is a common generational change arrangement for Japanese car companies.

Toyota has high expectations for the fifth-generation Crown and has made major innovations in its exterior design.

The combination of square lines and soft and sharp corners makes the car body look more slender and three-dimensional, revealing a hint of dominance in its calmness.

In terms of interior, large areas of leather wrapping and many high-end configurations, such as dual-piston brake calipers, electric seats, etc., further enhance the sense of luxury.

In terms of power, two V2.0 engine options are available: 2.6L and 6L. The 2.6L engine uses a new electronic fuel injection system, with the maximum output power increased to 140 horsepower and the maximum torque of 210 Nm.

It was matched with 3AT, 4AT and 5MT gearboxes, which was an outstanding performance at the time.

As for the 2.0L six-cylinder engine, there are two versions: electronic fuel injection version and carburetor version.

The maximum power of the electronic fuel injection version is 135 horsepower and the maximum torque is 175 Nm. The maximum power of the carbureted version is 115 horsepower and the maximum torque is 165 Nm.

Although this data cannot be compared with that of later generations, it is still very good.

The information about the fifth-generation Crown quickly flashed through his mind, and Jiang Hui felt more confident.

He was not afraid at all. He took the car keys from Kato Hiroyuki, started the Crown, and drove beside it for five or six minutes.

"Mr. Kato, this car is equipped with a 4AT gearbox that does not shift gears when the accelerator is pressed, the car engine fault light is on, and during my test drive, the engine even stalled abnormally once."

"This problem seems a bit serious."

"If it is not repaired quickly, the gearbox may need to be completely replaced and the engine overhauled in the future."

"The cost is not much different from buying a new car."

Jiang Hui put the crown back to its original place, came to Kato Hiroyuki with confidence, and told him the results he had confirmed.

"Is it serious?"

At this time, Kato Hiroyuki no longer had any intention of testing Jiang Hui.

Because the problem Jiang Hui just mentioned is exactly the same as the fault of this car.

Even Kato Hiroyuki originally thought that Jiang Hui might not be able to discover the problem of the gearbox not shifting gears when the accelerator was pressed, but he didn't expect that he had discovered it now.

That means he really has some skills.

The more this is the case, the more convincing Jiang Hui's words seem.

Hiroyuki Kato was also worried that the car would be completely scrapped by then.

Japan is not short of money, so a car is nothing.

However, it is still a bit troublesome to get the car from Japan to China, and he definitely doesn't want to go through the trouble.

The most important thing is that if his immediate superior, the third-class secretary, thinks that the vehicle was scrapped because he did not do his job well, then it would be a loss.

"It's a bit serious, but congratulations on meeting me today. Although these problems are troublesome, I have ways to solve them."

After Jiang Hui said this, Kato Hiroyuki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It would be good if it can be fixed!

"Then it will be your hard work today."

"Kato-san, before we repair the car, let's confirm the price first to avoid any disputes later."

Jiang Hui came here today to rip off the Japanese, but he didn't want to be ripped off by them instead.

As a full-time employee of the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant, even if he used his weekends to repair cars and earn extra money, if things got out of hand, there would definitely be problems.

If the Japanese default on their debt, Jiang Hui will basically be bullied and dare not make too much noise.

"I just called Smith. The price you quoted him before was $500. This time we are willing to pay for the repairs at $500."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Kato Hiroyuki's face, and then he quickly named the price of repairing the car.

In his opinion, the offer price of $500 was already a sky-high price.

This is higher than the annual salary of most Chinese people.

Originally, once he asked and told him the price, Jiang Hui would be very happy to agree.

But Jiang Hui's reaction was completely different from what he expected.

"I did quote Smith a price of $500, but I'm sure you know that the final cost of repairing the car was $1000."

"Smith is also my friend. It would be inappropriate if he knew that the price I paid for repairing your car was cheaper than his."

After hearing what Jiang Hui said, Kato Hiroyuki's face looked a little unhappy.

Japan is not short of money, but it does not want to donate the money to the Chinese.

The most important thing is that he really thinks the price of $1000 is too high.

However, he thought of some of the things Smith had said to him and did not dare to bargain, for fear that the more he bargained, the higher the cost of repairing the car would be.

"Master Jiang, as long as you can make sure the car is fixed, we can also pay the $1000 repair fee."

After saying this, Kato Hiroyuki felt bad all over.

His monthly salary converted into US dollars is just over 1000 US dollars.

Compared with the wages of Chinese people, this income is very good.

But now when he thought that Jiang Hui could earn $1000 just by repairing a car, he immediately felt unbalanced.

"Mr. Kato, $1000 is the cost of repairing the engine failure. Your fifth-generation Crown not only has problems with the engine, but also has serious problems with the gearbox."

"So your maintenance difficulty and workload are twice as much as that of the US Liaison Office in Beijing, and the maintenance costs are naturally doubled as well."

"Of course, since this is our first cooperation, I will give you a 1600% discount. I will only charge you $ for two questions."

Jiang Hui expressed his opinion in a relaxed tone, but Kato Hiroyuki's face suddenly turned darker.

Even though he knew from Smith that Jiang Hui was different from ordinary Chinese people, he did not expect him to be so different.

Chinese people are not all shy about negotiating prices, especially when it comes to cooperation with foreigners.

Why is the situation completely different when it comes to Jiang Hui?

"This imported car uses a lot of new technologies. My master is the only one in the capital who has the ability to repair such a car."

"You may think it's a bit expensive, but compared to hiring a mechanic from Japan to fix the car, this price is definitely a good deal."

Chen Chenxing repeated what Jiang Hui had said at the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing.

This also gives Kato Hiroyuki a reason to accept Jiang Hui's offer.

"More than a decade ago, a brand new Crown sold for just over 2,000 dollars in the United States. Your repair price is almost half the price of a new car."

Kato Hiroyuki was a little unwilling and still wanted to bargain.

"You're not wrong, but you also said that it was more than ten years ago."

"Since the 1970s, prices have skyrocketed in both the United States and Japan due to overly loose monetary policies and the rapid increase in food and energy prices."

"The U.S. CPI soared from less than 1965% in 2 to more than 70% in the 10s, and the prices of various commodities also rose sharply."

"The sales price of the fifth-generation Crown in the United States has now reached more than 10,000 US dollars per car, right?"

Thanks to the magazines sent by Austin, Jiang Hui has a clearer understanding of the international automobile market of that era.

It's not that easy for Kato Hiroyuki to fool me.

"Even if the car is only over $1600, your repair price of $ is very exaggerated."

"If it was a common problem, it wouldn't be that expensive, but now the problem is with the engine and gearbox, so the situation is naturally different."

"You are only repairing the engine and transmission, not replacing it."

"If I don't repair it, then you will have to replace the engine and gearbox in the future, and that price can probably buy a new car."

Jiang Hui and Kato Hiroyuki exchanged their views.

Compromise is impossible. Jiang Hui is determined to defeat Kato Hiroyuki today.

(End of this chapter)