Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Kikuchi sat at the main table, holding a wine glass, talking to Feng Delin beside him.

Feng Delin was indifferent, occasionally letting out a hum, without even lifting his eyelids. Kikuchi wasn't annoyed; his smile remained humble, his gaze sweeping across the crowd as if searching for someone.

Seeing Wang Yongjiang and Gu Cheng walk in one after the other, Kikuchi's eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up to greet them: "Min Gong, Commander Gu, please have a seat! Kikuchi has a lot to discuss with you two—"

As he spoke, he put on a show of eagerness, pulling out chairs for the two of them and adding a rather "sincere" smile, "Now that Chairman Li has taken office, the business community in Jinzhou will surely become even more prosperous. Kikuchi is still thinking that future cooperation between Chinese and Japanese businesses should have a direction."

However, Wang Yongjiang remained extremely indifferent to the olive branch extended by the Japanese: "Mr. Kikuchi, I no longer concern myself with the major or minor affairs of Jinzhou—you should talk to Chairman Li and Liu Chen about the Chamber of Commerce."

The Japanese man's facial expression was noticeably stiff, but the Japanese businessman who came with him was clearly much more impolite: "Mr. Wang, we are here today to confirm some things: when Chairman Lu was in charge, we had a pleasant cooperation with the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce."

Now that a new president has taken office, we insist that we should continue with the previous cooperation methods... after all, we haven't been late with our membership fees, and the terms have been consistently being signed.

Another Japanese businessman smiled and kept saying things like "cooperation between Chinese and Japanese businesses" and "common prosperity."

Wang Yongjiang kept sneering as they spoke. In fact, Gu Cheng could tell that if he hadn't been so well-mannered as a "scholar," he would have obviously sworn at this point.

"Continue with the old cooperation methods?" He repeated those words. "Mr. Kikuchi, I think it's not up to outsiders to dictate how trade develops in Jinzhou."

Although he suppressed his voice in his retort, the surrounding businessmen still heard it.

The once lively scene suddenly fell silent. The merchants looked at each other in bewilderment, and some began to whisper among themselves.

Gu Cheng observed the changing expressions of the two Japanese men and smiled, saying, "The Chamber of Commerce has its own rules, and Jinzhou has its own rules. If you're doing legitimate business, I, as the garrison commander, will naturally welcome you; but if you're disrupting trade or engaging in bullying and monopolistic practices, you'd better give up on that idea as soon as possible."

After he finished speaking, Wang Yongjiang, who was standing next to him, showed a slightly approving smile, and then called to Wang Yuyou beside him, "Alright, I'm not feeling well, I should go back."

He then looked at Gu Cheng and said, "Jingchuan, I heard from Chief of Staff Zhang that you have some matters to attend to at your brigade headquarters. Why don't you also leave the table?"

Gu Cheng nodded, stood up, and gave Zhang Tingshu, Ji Jinchun, and the others a wink. They all stood up and followed Wang Yongjiang toward the door.

Kikuchi clearly wanted to say something, but Wang Yongjiang had already walked away without looking back.

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes were on the Japanese men, some with sympathy, some with schadenfreude, and some with a sense of satisfaction.

Kikuchi stood still, catching his breath, but turned his angry gaze toward his companion beside him.

Mo Dehui quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Mr. Kikuchi, Lord Min has just recovered from his illness and is therefore unable to accompany me... Come, come, please sit down. I am quite interested in the 'cooperation' you mentioned earlier. Could you elaborate?"

Kikuchi snapped out of his daze, a smile returning to his face, but his gaze remained fixed on the doorway.

Feng Delin sat to the side, watching all of this unfold. He slightly pursed his lips, picked up his wine glass, and slowly sipped his drink without saying a word.

Feng Yong leaned closer and whispered, "Father, Lord Min's temper..."

Feng Delin snorted and replied in a low voice, "I think Wang Xiucai did a good job... Why be so polite to the Japanese? If you're too polite, they'll think you're easy to bully."

At the entrance, a group of people walked out of the Chamber of Commerce gate.

Zhang Tingshu caught up, glanced back at Juchi who was still forcing a smile in the courtyard, and lowered his voice to say to Gu Cheng, "Jingchuan, are we just leaving like this? Li Mao is still inside. Isn't it a bit unfair to leave him alone?"

Gu Cheng said calmly, "Tianqi stayed. With him here, Li Mao won't make any mistakes. Besides, today is Li Mao's inauguration day. If he can't even handle this kind of situation, he shouldn't be the chairman."

Zhang Tingshu thought for a moment and then stopped asking.

Ji Jinchun stood to the side and glanced into the courtyard: "Those Japanese devils are really shameless. Min Gong made things so clear, yet they still refuse to leave."

Gu Cheng didn't reply and walked towards the car parked by the roadside.

Wang Yongjiang was already waiting in the car.

He sat in the back seat, leaning against the backrest, with his eyes closed, his face even paler than before.

"Yu'er, I have a few words to say to Jingchuan."

He gave the instructions in a deep voice.

Wang Yuyou was slightly taken aback. She glanced at her father, then at Gu Cheng standing outside the car, and softly replied, "Pushing open the door to get out of the car."

After exchanging glances with her, Gu Cheng watched her walk a few steps before opening the car door and sitting down next to Wang Yongjiang.

"Jingchuan, what do you think of what happened today?"

Gu Cheng didn't answer immediately. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, but didn't light it. He just twirled it between his fingers a couple of times and then put it back.

"Kikuchi didn't come today to offer congratulations; he came to sound us out."

His eyes were calm, but his tone was clearly worried. "The two Japanese businessmen's statement about 'continuing the old cooperation methods' was not just empty talk—they wanted to test whether the rules of the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce had changed after Li Mao took office."

"The membership fees aren't overdue, and the terms have been continuously signed. These words sound like reasonable arguments, but they're actually trying to force us to take a stand. If you don't respond, they'll keep going; if you do, they'll have something to say next."

Wang Yongjiang opened his eyes, glanced at him sideways, and said with a mixture of relief and helplessness, "You do see things clearly."

Gu Cheng shook his head: "It's not that I understand, it's that they're being too obvious. When Lu Shoulian was in charge, whatever the Japanese said went, and the Chamber of Commerce was their backyard. Now that there's a new person, they're not used to it and want to see if they can keep the new chairman under their thumb as well."

Wang Yongjiang snorted: "They can't touch him. Li Mao is timid, but he's obedient. He wouldn't dare to play tricks on you, much less flirt with the Japanese. That's the smart thing about choosing him."

Gu Cheng nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Min Gong, I don't know if you've heard, but before that woman was captured, the Japanese gave the Marshal a pair of vases—and today, Kikuchi's congratulatory gift is also a vase."

Seeing that Wang Yongjiang didn't intend to interrupt, he continued, "The Japanese never give gifts for nothing. Giving the Marshal a vase was a test of his attitude towards the Japanese."

Sending vases to the Chamber of Commerce is a test of its new rules. The fact that these two events happened simultaneously suggests that someone is orchestrating everything behind the scenes.