Chapter 91: Departing at Once to Meet the Cartoonist

"Why do you look so pleased?" Li Qing could not help taking a second glance.

"Oh, never mind all that. His way of thinking is different from ours. Come here quickly—I have good news for you."

Gao Ran had already lost her patience and was eager to tell her about her meeting with Ding Yan. She was curious to see what expression Li Qing would wear.

The result left her somewhat helpless, because Li Qing showed no reaction at all.

"Oh, it’s just some middle-aged man on the verge of forty," Li Qing said carelessly. "In this little island country, there’s no shortage of that type. When I first came here, I even had a couple of them following me around."

"What? How come I never heard about that? What happened after that?"

"Nothing happened at all. I took them down with one kick!" Li Qing said with a roguish grin. "Stalking me? They must have been tired of living."

The two girls whispered loudly on one side, while Zhang Tianfeng sat on the other, lost in thought.

Mitsubishi, Yamazaki Mazak, and Honda were all in trouble, but it was not something his current strength could influence.

If only the stock market of the little island country had not crashed. Unfortunately, this nation had only just emerged from its economic bubble, and virtual assets were of little use.

All he could do was go with the flow, find a suitable point of leverage within it, and use it to profit for himself.

In that case, powerful corporations were not prey he could afford to touch. Smaller firms with some scale, but not much strength, were his real targets.

At that thought, Zhang Tianfeng quickly rushed to the table and dug a heap of magazines out of his suitcase, piling them all on the table.

The commotion drew the girls’ attention. Li Qing asked in a low voice, "What’s your man doing?"

"Probably figuring out how to make money," Gao Ran said proudly. "He’s like that—he never lets any chance to earn money slip by."

"Making money in the little island country? Perfect, my little stash is almost empty. Count me in."

Without waiting for Gao Ran’s agreement, Li Qing ran over to Zhang Tianfeng’s side, bent down, and whispered, "Handsome, take me along when you strike it rich?"

Li Qing was wearing a local kimono, and in this hot summer weather she wore very little.

When she bent at the waist, the lovely scenery about burst free.

Zhang Tianfeng recoiled slightly. "Why are you so close to me? What are you trying to do?"

"Oh, you’re shy now?" Li Qing covered her mouth and laughed. "Ranran and I grew up together. We even agreed when we were little that if either of us ever had a boyfriend, we’d share him."

"I don’t have a boyfriend now, so I’ll lend him to you for the time being. Is that okay?"

"Get lost, you’re starting to flirt again!" Gao Ran warned. "Talk properly. He’s very upright."

"All right, all right, I’m not joking anymore. I’m short of money, and I heard you’re very good at making money. Count me in, okay?" Li Qing sat down opposite Zhang Tianfeng and said, "Whether you want me to invest money or connections, you can choose. As long as I can do it."

"Connections, then."

As he spoke, Zhang Tianfeng placed the notebook on the table and pointed to the first line. "Can you get me inside these factories to have a look around?"

Recorded in the notebook were all the small factories he had just copied down.

These factories were not well funded, which suited Zhang Tianfeng perfectly. They also fit his purpose of training talent and cutting maintenance costs.

"I only know one of these machine-tool factories."

As she spoke, Li Qing pointed to Okamoto.

Back home, most people associated this brand with ultra-thin and other rubber products.

In truth, the company’s machine-tool factories had also developed fairly well. But in this chaotic era, even the top ten major enterprises were forced to sever a limb to survive; for a small company like this, things were even worse.

"Good. Next, I need you to do two things."

Zhang Tianfeng closed the notebook and said, "First, help me figure out the internal situation of Okamoto’s machine-tool factory, including its debts, market share, and a whole range of other matters."

"Second, we need to stage a performance. I want to see how good your acting skills are."

"Just those two things?" Li Qing’s composure was a little beyond Zhang Tianfeng’s expectations. It seemed he had still underestimated the power of her family in this place.

"Just those two. Can you do it?" Zhang Tianfeng asked.

"The intelligence you want will take at least a night. As for the performance, how do you want to stage it? A bed scene or a lover’s scene?"

Zhang Tianfeng could not help looking at Gao Ran with a wry expression.

He had never imagined that such a quiet girl would have a sister this fierce.

Only people with matching interests could become close. Could Gao Ran be the same...?

Yes, women’s disguises were always formidable.

"In a little while, that Ding Yan will come looking for you. Are you planning to reject him, or just brush him off?"

"You described him so frighteningly, how could I dare brush him off? I’ll definitely reject him~"

Speak of the devil.

A few seconds after the words fell, there came a knock at the door.

Zhang Tianfeng opened it, and for a moment he almost failed to recognize the man outside. Was this really Ding Yan? He had changed into a suit, put on a tie, even wore a pair of sunglasses, and his hair was combed perfectly into place.

"Brother, are you going to a banquet?"

"Little brother, you guessed right. I saved a young fellow from the Summit Alliance, and once he heard I was in town, he insisted I come to a banquet."

Ding Yan smiled helplessly. "Sorry, little brother. I can’t keep you company tonight."

"Tomorrow night, though, you can do whatever you want. Even going to a pleasure house is fine—I’ll cover for you!"

A pleasure house could be forgotten. These days, Zhang Tianfeng did not even know many of the better-known women in this place.

"Go on and get busy, brother. Don’t worry about me."

"All right, then. You play first—I’m off."

He poked his head in to greet the two girls, then hurried away.

"This guy doesn’t seem as wild as you made him sound. He didn’t react at all when he saw me."

"He’s a dangerous man. Don’t underestimate him."

After Zhang Tianfeng sat down, he asked, "The evening plans are gone. How should we arrange things?"

Gao Ran suggested, "How about we go out to eat? We haven’t tried the local food here in the little island country yet."

"While Qinqing helps you gather the information you need, we can also take a little trip. How about that?"

Li Qing clapped her hands. "That works. Didn’t you say you wanted to meet those manga artists? The place where Akira Toriyama lives happens to be on the way to Mount Fuji. We can stop there and have some fun too."

"Fine, you decide. Then let’s rest early tonight and set out first thing tomorrow morning."

"What are you waiting for tomorrow? If we go tomorrow, the flowers will be cold by then. Let’s leave tonight. You drive, and I’ll tell Ranran some ghost stories from this little island country."

Li Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "Don’t say I didn’t create an opportunity for you to make your move."

What on earth was all this?

Faced with such a fierce woman, Zhang Tianfeng could only respond with a bitter smile.