Ye Kun stared blankly when ’Katou Takasuke’ was led into the office by a security guard. He had a feeling he’d met this person before, but this feeling quickly disappeared when ’Katou Takasuke’ greeted him in Japanese.
A person could use makeup to change the way he looked but he could not change his height and body shape, as well as his aura. However, ordinary people rarely noticed all these and Ye Kun was obviously not a trained agent; he trusted his own eyes more than a fleeting feeling of having met someone before.
“Katou, Darling, your Chinese is very good. You don’t need to speak in Japanese,” said Ye Xiaoqi with a giggle. “Chairman Ye doesn’t understand Japanese, and there is no Japanese interpreter here.”
“I do apologise.” Xia Lei bowed to Ye Kun. “It is my habit. I hope Mr Ye forgives me.”
“No, no, it’s all right, nothing to apologise about. Please, take a seat, Mr Katou. Let’s sit and talk.” Ye Kun invited Xia Lei to sit but said to Ye Xiaoqi, “Xiaoqi, make a cup of tea for Mr Katou.”
Ye Xiaoqi was unhappy with Ye Kun ordering her to do this sort of humble work in front of Katou Takasuke and she rolled her eyes at him, but still went to make tea.
Ye Kun looked Xia Lei up and down, then cut straight to the chase. “I hear you are in the arms dealing business, Mr Katou?”
Xia Lei spoke evenly, “Not just arms dealing. I also deal in oil and diamonds. The price of oil, however, has recently taken a dive and is not as profitable anymore. The Middle East is in chaos and needs a large amount of firepower. I’ve moved my business focus to arms dealing.”
“True, the war in the Middle East has raged for thousands of years. You are a smart businessman, Mr Katou. It is also smart to come here. We, Hanwu Weapons, are the biggest light weapons manufacturers in China. Our company supplies the Chinese military with the best weapons, and our company can also supply your client with the best. Additionally, our prices are much more competitive than Europe, America and Russia.” Ye Kun observed the changes in Katou Takasuke’s expression as he spoke.
Xia Lei was calm. “Since you’ve said it, Mr Ye, I’ll be blunt too. I’ve come to China to make a purchase order of USD 200,000,000. The main aim is to purchase assault rifles and grenades. I also have instructions to purchase some XL2500 sniper rifles. My plan is to go to Thunder Horse Military Factory to have a look around. They are the only ones producing the XL2500 sniper rifles, and if they also have excellent assault rifles, I would just make my entire order with them.”
“There is no need to go to Thunder Horse Military Factory,” said Ye Kun. “It’s just a small military factory and their production capacity is limited. Some South American buyers wanted to purchase their XL2500 sniper rifles – Venezuela, for example. Their first shipment of XL2500 sniper rifles were for just five guns. Think about it – how long are you going to wait to get your order of XL2500 sniper rifles?”
“But that is the world’s best sniper rifle. It is normal that it would be limited like this. My client is willing to wait longer,” said Xia Lei.
Ye Xiaoqi placed a cup of tea in front of Xia Lei and sat ostentatiously next to him. This was her showing her stance, that she was on his side and had the standing to negotiate with Ye Kun.
Ye Kun frowned. “Mr Katou, you don’t know this but Thunder Horse Military Factory signed an agreement with the Equipment Department. They actually have no power to decide on which international clients they can sell to and have to get the approval of the Equipment Department. All the XL2500 sniper rifles which Thunder Horse produces goes to the Equipment Department and it’s up to them to decide where those guns go.”
“Eh? There’s something like this?” Xia Lei pretended to be surprised. He glanced at Ye Xiaoqi, looking as if he was asking for her opinion.
Ye Xiaoqi nodded. “Chairman Ye is right. China is very strict in her gun control, and even manufacturers cannot made the decision to sell to anyone they’d like. They are required to get the approval of the Equipment Department before they can sell to overseas clients. We Hanwu Weapons are under this restriction too.”
“Ye Xiaoqi.” Ye Kun glared at her. “Go do your own work.”
“I...” Ye Xiaoqi was unhappy but she could not go against Ye Kun outright. She had spoken up about Hanwu Weapons’ situation because she wanted to protect the rights of ’Katou Takasuke’ but she did not want to anger Ye Kun any further.
Xia Lei held Ye Xiaoqi’s hand gently. “Mr Ye, Xiaoqi is my girlfriend. She is just thinking of me by giving me her opinion while I talk business with you. I like having her with me, so please let her stay.”
“It is office hours now. She has her job to do,” said Ye Kun.
Xia Lei held a hand up. “If you must have her leave, then there is no need for me to stay either. Since the situation is the same, I can just go to Thunder Horse Military Factory. I think Mr Xia of Thunder Horse Military Factory will have his own connections to get the Equipment Department’s approval.”
Ye Xiaoqi’s chest swelled at this show of support from her boyfriend, and a small challenging smile appeared in the corners of her lips. It was no wonder – she’d found a billionaire and could jump ship to Katou Takasuke’s company at any time to be a boss-wife. Would she still need to be a secretary pouring tea for Ye Kun?
Ye Kun was uncomfortable but he put a smile on his face. “You’re so lucky, Xiaoqi. You’ve found such a good man as Mr Katou. All right, you can stay here with him. Let’s continue our talk, Mr Katou.”
“Yes.” Xia Lei was polite.
“I’ll be frank with you, Mr Katou. I have connections and I can get you a one-time shipment of 50 XL2500 sniper rifles. If you place your order with us, you’ll be able to get all that you want and not have to wait long for it either.”
“That’s great if that’s the case. I’m willing to place an order with Hanwu Weapons, but I want to see your assault rifles,” said Xia Lei. “The main aim of this purchase is to get assault rifles after all.”
Ye Kun laughed. “It just so happens that our company has come up with a new assault rifle design. It is very advanced.”
“Is that right? Great. I’d like to see your assault rifle.” Xia Lei put on an interested face.
“You can see the sample in seven days,” said Ye Kun.
“Why do I have to wait for seven days?”
“Because it is just too advanced and our company’s top secret,” said Ye Kun.
Xia Lei made a disappointed face. “I see. All right, I’ll come back in seven days.”
“Mr Katou, when can we sign the deal?” asked Ye Kun probingly.
Xia Lei laughed. “Mr Ye, I haven’t even seen what your gun looks like and you want me to sign a deal? I’m no greenhorn in the arms dealing market.”
“We are China’s largest light weapons manufacturer. Are you afraid that we would scam you? Rest assured, Mr Katou. Work with us and you will not lose out,” said Ye Kun.
Xia Lei glanced at Ye Xiaoqi.
Ye Xiaoqi shook her head.
Ye Kun cursed silently but said, “How about this, Mr Katou? I cannot let you see the gun now but I can show you the design plans. You are an experienced man, so you will see how advanced our design is if you look at the drawings.”
Xia Lei looked interested. “Okay, let me take a look at them. I am experienced in this field and I can tell what’s good and bad about a gun from the drawings.”
Ye Kun walked to a corner and opened a safe. He took out a stack of drawings.
The drawings were what Ye Xiaoqi had taken from Wu Bin and brought back to Hanwu Weapons.
Ye Kun handed the drawings to Xia Lei.
Xia Lei flipped through the drawings and said excitedly. “My goodness! Who designed this assault rifle? He’s a genius! I daresay that this will be the world’s most advanced assault rifle once it’s produced!”
Ye Kun took the drawings from Xia Lei’s hands before he could finish looking through them. He spoke proudly, “Mr Katou, I’ll be honest with you. You’ve come at a very fortunate time. The price of this assault rifle will surely rise later. If you make an order after the weapons exhibition, it’ll be hard to say if you would get such a good price. Whether we sell to you is not a given either. Additionally, we must fulfil the needs of our own military first.”
Xia Lei looked hesitant.
One had to admit that this Ye Kun was good at talking business.
“Consider it, Mr Katou. This is your chance – don’t blame me if you miss it,” said Ye Kun.
Xia Lei thought for a bit. “Mr Ye, I can place an order with Hanwu Weapons but because I haven’t seen the sample gun I cannot just believe in the name of Hanwu Weapons and make an order. How about this – I put down a deposit of 5,000,000 and we sign the deal.”
“In Chinese yuan or American dollars?”
“Chinese yuan, of course.”
Ye Kun shook his head. “That won’t do. You’re placing an order of USD 200,000,000 but only putting down a deposit of RMB 5,000,000? According to the current exchange rate you’re only putting down a deposit of around USD 80,000. This is much too low. How about you put down a deposit of USD 10,000,000, and provide all materials and documentation required for the production?”
“USD 5,000,000, and not more. This is too much risk for me,” said Xia Lei.
Ye Xiaoqi cut in to say, “Chairman Ye, Katou has already given in a little, so you should too. This benefits both parties. Besides, Katou hasn’t even seen the sample gun and he’s giving you USD 5,000,000. Isn’t he being sincere enough?”
“Hehehe...” Ye Kun pointed at Ye Xiaoqi and said with a laugh, “All right, I have no objections on Xiaoqi’s account. When will you be able to deliver the relevant materials and documentation to me, Mr Katou? Oh, and the deposit. When can it be transferred?”
Xia Lei patted his briefcase. “I have it all prepared. We can sign now and make the transfer.”
“Haha! Let’s talk about our contact now, then.” Ye Kun was happy.
Xia Lei smiled too. He smiled naturally and in quite a friendly way. However, his smile hid a blade – a very sharp blade.
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