Persona: Devil Summoner

Chapter 201 Why Can’t I Control My Hands?

About forty-five minutes later, Jiang Tianwei was sulking in the food corner with a large armful of well-packaged men's clothing. At this moment, he had turned into Heshen in the emoticon package. He really wanted to slap his hands and curse, "Why can't I control my hands?"

I originally didn't plan to buy these clothes. After all, Jiang Tianwei is not the kind of person who cares much about clothes. He needs to wear school uniforms on weekdays, and occasionally when he goes out on holidays, he also has some clothes to make do with. From a frugal point of view, there is no need to buy new clothes.

But I can’t resist the eloquence of these salesmen...How many ordinary people can work as salesmen in a place like Junes?

Each of them is a master of psychology and knows well how to persuade customers to spend. If Jiang Tianwei went to the store to buy things every day, he might be able to hone his eloquence. However, because he did not buy things on weekdays, he lacked practical experience. As a result, his sales were severely reduced by the store clerk.

He could only comfort himself and think of it as buying himself a few new skins. Thinking about how some skins had no effect at all, were very expensive, and only lasted for a week or at most a month in some games, Jiang Tianwei felt that at least the clothes he bought were much more cost-effective.

"Hey, you three, what would you like to eat at Junes today?"

Just as Jiang Tianwei was reflecting on himself, a slightly frivolous voice in the sunshine rang in his ears. It was a man with short flowing light orange hair, who looked like he had just graduated. He did not have the charm of a seasoned man, but his face was full of the vigor and enthusiasm that only young people have.

He was wearing Junes' uniform, with a badge on his chest that had his name on it: Hanamura Yosuke.

Even if one judges with the picky mind of a man looking at his own kind, Hanamura Yosuke is still a handsome man with a decent appearance. His clean uniform and energetic look make him as lovable as a large dog.

Jiang Tianwei finally understood why there were so many women sitting on this floor which was supposed to be a food floor. Just when Yang Jie greeted him, he could hear the heavy breathing of many women around him.

"Any recommendations?"

Jiang Tianwei looked at the menu and then put it down.

Although he didn't have difficulty making choices, looking at the dazzling array of products on the list, he always had an urge to get a piece of everything.

"Oh, then, do you have any food restrictions? - No? Then how about trying the secret menu that our restaurant is currently testing? We are currently offering a tasting event, and if you order a set meal, you will not only receive a small cake for free, but also enjoy a 50% discount!"

As Hanamura Yosuke spoke, he skillfully turned to the back of the menu. Seeing how fluently he spoke, one could tell how many times he had said the same thing.

Since he had already found it, Jiang Tianwei was of course very curious to see what this so-called secret menu was...

"Crystal shrimp dumplings, four-happiness meatballs, and xiaolongbao?"

Jiang Tianwei read out one familiar name after another. Upon closer inspection, there were also shredded pork with fish flavor, Kung Pao chicken, boiled pork slices... These things that can be called home-cooked dishes in China are extremely rare in Japan.

Could this be another hidden Chinese restaurant?

Jiang Tianwei turned around and looked at the menu in front of him. It was not like that at all. The menu here can be roughly divided into two types, one is for dine-in and the other is for take-out. Jiang Tianwei looked carefully at the pictures of the Chinese delicacies just mentioned and always felt that they were a bit strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange.

After thinking it over, he finally said, "Then give us some..."

As a pure Chinese, he is of course more familiar with his country's cuisine. The two girls next to him have never eaten Chinese food before and also want to try it.

People in every country have a mysterious fondness for foreign food. It's just like people from other countries except Americans always think that foreign things like KFC and McDonald's are very fashionable, but in fact, in the eyes of Americans, these are just choices that they are tired of.

Soon, several dishes were served on the table. Jiang Tianwei took a bite with a try-it attitude...

(The shrimp dumpling skin was too mushy, a fail. The xiaolongbao had no oil at all, a fail. The four-happiness meatballs were obviously cooked like hamburger meat, and the fried meatballs were not fried thoroughly, a fail. The boiled pork slices were put in sweet and spicy sauce instead of local chili peppers?! Failure among failures! The chicken in the Kung Pao Chicken was too old and had no taste... Fish-flavored shredded pork... Tsk, do the Japanese understand fish-flavor as caviar?).

With every bite, Jiang Tianwei complained in his heart. The more he looked at the food, the angrier he got. His brows were furrowed into a hard lump. If there were any fans of Stephen Chow nearby, they would probably suspect that he would be making the mixed noodles himself the next second.

He had worked in a Chinese restaurant that catered to Japanese people before, and he knew the unspoken rules and the deep waters, but even so, eating such strange Chinese food still made him feel mixed emotions. The company he worked for before only had a sign that said Chinese food, but the food they made was not unrelated to Chinese food, but it was completely unrelated.

It's like if you point to a giraffe and tell people: This is a dog. People will just think you are being humorous. But if you point to a wolf and tell people this is a husky, people will definitely start to doubt whether you have a brain problem or are too ignorant...

It was because the Chinese food served was something that seemed to be true but was not, that made this Chinese student feel angry.

As if noticing the darker expression on his face, Hanamura Yosuke became embarrassed and asked tentatively: "Why, not to your liking?"

"Isn't that a sure thing?"

Jiang Tianwei pointed to his chest and said to him in fluent Chinese: "I am Chinese.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn't notice that. Oops... How embarrassing."

Hanamura Yosuke's face became more and more embarrassed and he kept scratching his head.

Jiang Tianwei sighed, knowing that this was not his problem. He was just a shop assistant, how could he decide the menu? This must be the intention of the upper management.

Recently, countries around the world have noticed China as a huge customer. As a big country with a population of more than one billion, China can make a lot of money by selling anything as long as it can open up the market.

Jiang Tianwei is most familiar with: Back then, very few foreign-made video games had Chinese versions. It was hard to find one out of a hundred. But now, basically five or six out of ten games support Chinese. If you count those fake Chinese works that are translated by machines, there are even more.

There is only one possibility for these games to be released in Chinese, and that is to sell their games to Chinese people!

I'm afraid the current Chinese food craze is the same thing.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tianwei glanced at the crumpled feedback form in Yang Jie's hand. A quick glance showed that it was a questionnaire survey on the plastic Chinese food. Jiang Tianwei sighed, "We won't do the questionnaire. Just find the person in charge and I'll tell him my dissatisfaction in person."

"Ah, this... I, I understand..."

When Yosuke heard that he was going to call the person in charge, he felt unlucky: he used to work at the Junice store in the countryside, and he was even the son of the local store manager, so no one in Junice would do anything to him. But now, one reason was to broaden his horizons, one was because he had to go to the main store for induction training, and one was because he happened to receive an invitation from a good friend back then, so he came to the Tokyo main store without hesitation...

As a result, as soon as I arrived, I encountered the confrontation between Junes and Okumura Foods.

One is a long-established department store that is actively expanding its food business. The other is a long-established food manufacturer that is actively expanding its business beyond food. No one knows what kind of grudges these two stores have, but in short, both stores regard each other as their number one rival.

At present, the Cosmos Burger launched by Okumura Foods has a considerable advantage. In order to deal with the Cosmos Burger, Junis thought of using the world-renowned Chinese cuisine to deal with it. The person who proposed this plan was the head of the department where Yosuke currently worked.

Gritting his teeth, Yosuke ran to ask the person in charge. In less than five minutes, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes came to the table quickly. He was wearing a straight black suit, glasses, and a thick layer of hair wax. His slicked-back hair seemed to be stuck on his head like a helmet, protecting his proud self-esteem.

When Jiang Tianwei saw this person, he looked so familiar...

"【Hello, sir, I am the person in charge of this menu, Liu Haofei.】"

The other party introduced himself in fluent and authentic Chinese. The more Jiang Tianwei looked at him, the more familiar he felt. When he heard him say his last name was Liu, suddenly everything became clear!

(Isn’t this Master Liu’s son, whom I met once before?!)

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 202 Walls Have Eyes and Ears

Jiang Tianwei never thought that one day he would meet Master Liu's son in this way.

I don't know how I should feel about him.

No matter what, Master Liu took such good care of him and treated him like his own grandson. Jiang Tianwei must have some respect for this "son" whom he had never met.

But on the other hand, leaving an elderly widower who doesn't speak Japanese alone in an apartment, since Jiang Tianwei moved in, he hasn't seen many people come to visit him. It's always Master Liu who cooks by himself, listening to the radio with a tune that has changed and plays old tapes that have begun to lose magnetism...

China has always respected filial piety for thousands of years. This son is so indifferent, no matter how you look at it, he is not filial. This makes Jiang Tianwei always feel hostile to this son who lacks humanity.

The last time we met was at the doorstep of Master Liu's home. Master Liu had just broken his leg and was about to move back to his own shabby house. As his biological son, how could you be so cold-hearted as to leave the old man here and go back yourself?

Thinking of this, Jiang Tianwei originally just wanted to give the other party some serious advice, but now, he frowned, wondering whether he should complain on behalf of Master Liu.

"【I've eaten your Chinese food. The taste is really not authentic.】".

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. But this is due to the difference in diet between China and Japan. Our chefs are all Japanese and have never cooked Chinese food. Please understand. Also, it is precisely because we need to make repeated trials and errors that we hold tasting events.】”

There is nothing wrong with what he said, but Jiang Tianwei still wanted to complain: "[So, you guys are cooking Chinese food, but you don't even hire a Chinese chef?]"

“[We do have our own difficulties.]”

He was not making excuses, it was the truth. As we all know, only places that serve Chinese food need Chinese cooks. Of course, there are the most cooks who are proficient in Chinese food in China. Others, even if they go overseas, are either chefs in prosperous shops in Chinatown or guests of honor in financially strong restaurants. It highlights that a rare commodity is in high demand, and generally speaking, the salary of such cooks is not low.

For places like Junes, they are not specialized in catering, so they are not the first choice for chefs. Secondly, with the current economic situation in Japan becoming more and more inward-looking, every store is trying every means to lower prices, reduce costs, and increase profits. It is really hard. Why do these chefs who studied abroad give up their jobs as chefs in star-rated hotels and have to work in department stores like Junes? It is unrealistic.

But, even if you have a thousand reasons, if the customer doesn't like the food, then it's not good. Jiang Tianwei also commented on the Chinese dishes he had eaten so far. As the saying goes, long illness makes a good doctor. After eating a lot of delicious food, your tongue will naturally become picky.

Manager Liu nodded repeatedly after listening, but Jiang Tianwei noticed that although he had a pen and paper in his hand, he had no intention of taking notes. It was obvious that this was just a formality of respect and he had no intention of making any changes.

Well, what else can he say? This store is run by someone else, and he has nothing to do with it. At worst, he can just stop coming here.

(However, I never expected that Master Liu’s son would be a manager at Junice. That’s fine, but his cooking skills are so bad…)

Thinking of this, Jiang Tianwei suddenly seemed to understand why his son had to bring his father to Japan... Actually, if you think about it carefully, this is actually quite unreasonable. You have to bring a native Chinese old man to a foreign country like Japan. He can't speak, and he can't even find someone to chat with...

If so, it is understandable that Manager Liu wanted him to guide his store in preparing authentic Chinese flavors. However, whether using his father as a tool to make money is in line with moral principles is a matter of opinion.

(If you have time, go ask Master Liu.)

Jiang Tianwei made up his mind. Seeing that Manager Liu didn't recognize him, he said a lot of nagging words. Seeing that he kept nodding and bowing, his anger subsided a lot and he didn't make things difficult for him.

After listening to Jiang Tianwei, Manager Liu left with a sullen face. Jiang Tianwei continued to eat the food on the table... Yes, although he found a lot of faults, he still had to feed his stomach! Man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. He will be hungry if he doesn't eat for a meal!

"Senior, what were you talking about just now?"

Yoshizawa Sumire asked curiously.

Obviously, Chinese is not a compulsory course for Japanese high school students. Sumire Yoshizawa just listened to the two of them talking a lot in the room, and there were no subtitles for her to see, so she was completely confused.

"Well, I was just grumbling to him. It's nothing serious."

"Well, do you need help venting your anger?"

Sakurano Ei suddenly interrupted and asked. She was holding a pair of knife and fork in her hands and was treating the four-happiness meatballs as if they were steak.

Jiang Tianwei didn't understand what she meant for a moment, and said casually: "Well, I'm not really angry. It's just that the taste is not authentic. This kind of thing is very common."

Ying Ying responded and continued to cut the four-joy meatballs into small cubes. Manager Liu had no idea that just now, he was almost entangled by the underworld and was beaten up...

After having a good meal and a good drink, Jiang Tianwei looked at the two girls. Neither of them wanted to end the party. After careful consideration, he thought that girls would be embarrassed in such an occasion, so he, an old man, would have to bear the embarrassment. So he took the initiative to ask if it was about time and everyone should end the party.

One of the two girls was polite and serious, so she naturally wouldn't object to what her senior said. The other one was taciturn and didn't like to talk much. It seemed that she had little interest in shopping, so when she heard her teacher say that it was time to end, she naturally didn't say much.

Just like that, several people dispersed together...

Originally, the story should have ended here...

At the entrance of Junis, Ying Ying watched Jiang Tianwei walk towards the station. Seeing him walk away, the punk-style girl hurried back. In the corner of Junis's lobby, a kind-looking old man in casual clothes was waiting respectfully.

His strong muscles can be clearly seen from under his loose clothes. As we all know, the older people get, the lower their body functions become. Considering this old man's age, it is really unusual for him to have such a body of muscles. It shows how strong this man was when he was young.

"Master, they're gone."

She spoke to him as if she was reporting, her expressionless eyes showing only a hint of joy and excitement until this moment, just like a baby bird looking forward to the return of an adult bird.

This old man is naturally Sakurano Ying's old housekeeper, who has watched her grow up since she was a child. He is naturally very caring towards her. In the underworld, if you want someone to grow up without any distortion, then there is only one possibility, that is, someone is carrying the burden for her.

The old man saw the expectation in her eyes, nodded, and said, "I think I can score about 65 points."

"Only 65 points? I thought I could get at least or points. It's so hard to be a man..."

Sakurano Ei sighed and shook his head.

The old butler could only remain silent.

At this time, it is useless to say anything. After all, the waters of the Sakurano family are deep and turbid...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 203 Insert Chapter Sakurano's Secret

Japan is currently the only country in the world that allows the underworld to be legal.

In any work of any country, there will always be some mention of the country's unique culture, such as Japanese shrine maidens, bushido, ninjas, etc. Although the gangster theme is not as popular as the previous ones, it is definitely not uncommon.

At the end of the last century, gangster movies with the theme of chivalry were the hottest subject of the time. However, with the development of modern entertainment industry, gangster movies have gradually declined.

As if there is some special connection, the decline of gangster movies coincided with the decline of the Japanese gangsters.

As we all know, in modern society, you can live without a strong body, but you cannot live without a good brain.

You can make money by using your brain much faster than by doing your hands. If you pick any joint-stock company, the richest person in the entire company is definitely not the one who made his fortune by moving bricks, but the one who made his fortune by using his brain.

Unfortunately, most gangsters are strong but simple-minded. The thinking mode of gangsters is still very simple. To sum it up in one sentence: never talk nonsense when you can take action.

This has led to the situation that in an increasingly cunning business battlefield and increasingly electronic industrial environments, these gangsters are becoming less and less adaptable to the current environment. Not only can they not make money, but they are also often viewed with tinted glasses by ordinary people. Their lives are truly miserable.

Although some underworld groups have successfully reorganized and transformed by relying on the support of powerful forces, such as the Kawahara Group, they are a typical example of successful transformation. Relying on the support of popular congressmen, they have cleared themselves in one breath and are able to take on both the black and white sides, which is extremely enviable.

And some gangs...are not so successful...

For example, the Sakurano Group, which is run by Sakurano Ei's father.

If I had to use one word to describe the Sakurano Group, it would be [Showa].

This organization seemed like something out of a movie, with a serious, rigid and authoritative leader, and a group of subordinates who were not very smart but strong and loyal.

The place where they live is not an industrial high-rise building, but a classic Japanese courtyard, which has everything from rockery to duckweed and koi trees. The regular tapping sound of the water dispenser is the essence of the elegant and lonely Japanese style.

However, as I said before, in this era, if you still follow the old path of the previous era, you will definitely not be able to go far. It's like you have to swipe the online game point card on the ATM, you can't withdraw money no matter how hard you try.

No matter how inspiring the chivalrous spirit is, it cannot fill one's stomach. No matter which country the chivalrous hero is from, he will inevitably spend some money when traveling around the world.

The economic level of the Sakurano Group is getting worse and worse, so naturally these "big brothers" are gradually becoming dissatisfied. The current head of the Sakurano Group is also seeing this and is anxious. At present, the Sakurano Group has not disbanded because of the prestige of him as the leader. However, if one day the resentment of the members exceeds the prestige of the leader... that would be terrible.

He also thought about trying to keep up with the times, but he had fought hard to become the leader. How could he put down his weapons and learn computers? That would be too difficult... So, he could only pin his hopes on the next generation.