Chapter 1334: I’m Being Watched
“…We are very interested in your company’s concept of ‘Future City’, especially the logistics drone. I have been following your drone logistics pilots in Xiangjiang and Wanghai and the drone hive is an ingenious design!” Full of excitement, Sumitomo Kenichi did not hesitate to give his praise, “There is also drone medical care! Currently, Sumitomo Group is investing heavily in logistics and medical care. Is Mr. Jiang interested?”
“If your company plans to introduce drone systems, then, of course, we welcome it.” Jiang Chen smiled.
“Great. If Mr. Jiang doesn’t have any special arrangements after the banquet, please allow me to take some of your time.” With a happy expression on his face, Sumitomo Kenichi looked at Jiang Chen and said sincerely, “I hope to discuss with you in detail.”
Jiang Chen was about to find an excuse to refuse the meeting, but he saw a hint of pleading in Sumitomo Kenichi’s eyes.
Jiang Chen thoughtfully examined the candlestick on the dining table while he pondered. He then changed his mind and raised his glass with a smile.
“Of course.”
The caution with EMP weapons, the NATO Coalition Force caught in the mess in Colombia, and the expectations for the collapse of the UA-Nippon-Korea alliance continued to escalate. Everyone was keeping a close eye on Celestial Trade’s next move to catch small details that could predict future trends.
In a sense, Jiang Chen participating in a state-level banquet held for him was already sending a certain signal to the rest of the world. As for the banquet itself, it was not so important.
Precisely because of this very reason, Jiang Chen clearly felt many people were observing him secretly at the banquet. Those eyes were mixed with a hint of confusion, but more so, they revealed: “obviously, this makes sense”.
It was not a secret that Nippon was seeking to join the Earth Defense Alliance in order to avoid high defense taxes and enhance the market competitiveness of its aerospace companies in the space race of the new century.
Based on the structure of the Earth Defense Alliance, new member states must be reviewed by the four primary member states by voting, and a one-vote veto system was implemented. On the premise of abandoning disputed territories and establishing a correct view of history, Nippon already gained the approval votes of Hua and Russia, and Frankberg’s abstention.
The only vote in question was Xin. However, now that Jiang Chen was sitting here, it showed that the vote at least won’t be an objection, and the possibility of Nippon entering the Earth Defense Alliance was quite high.
Jiang Chen was curious about how the UA media would react after tonight.
But he was certain that regardless of the outcome, it won’t be an optimistic view…
When the banquet was approaching its latter half, Jiang Chen won several additional deals for Future Group, with a total value of more than 100 billion Xin New dollars. The projects were drone systems, smart wearables, graphene materials, as well as space mining.
Of course, he only showed his intention to work together. As for the specifics of the agreement, it depended on the negotiations with Future Group’s subsidiaries.
Xia Shiyu would verify the outcome, and Jiang Chen rarely interfered with the specifics of the agreement.
“Speaking of which, I have a question that I don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask,” Kishida Fumio asked with a smile on his face.
“It depends on the question,” Jiang Chen responded with a respectable smile.
“I don’t intend to be offensive,” Kishida Fumio smiled, “It’s just that I heard that the relationship between Xin and the UA has been tense recently, and it has gradually escalated from the military level to the economic level. I don’t know if Future Group’s interests in the UA have been affected by this?”
“Of course there are influences, but they are all within a controllable range,” Jiang Chen shrugged, then said with a smile, “They can refuse to buy Future phones, but they cannot refuse to buy Phantom helmets, nor can they refuse to purchase the medical drones that makeup one-third of their healthcare system. No matter how unreasonable their tariffs on us may be, we don’t really mind. After all, it’s consumers in their country who pay the bills. Unless they can find a substitute, they have no choice.”
“Hahaha, Mr. Jiang can certainly read the situation, cheers.” Kishida Fumio, slightly intoxicated, raised his glass.
Jiang Chen also raised the glass slightly, but when he drank, he threw the liquor into the storage dimension…
In the melodious symphony, the banquet was approaching the end.
Since it was getting late, Jiang Chen was not interested in staying any longer. After exchanging goodbyes with Kishida and the others, he got up and headed to the door.
After he left New Otani Hotel, he walked toward the convoy at the entrance of the hotel. Unsurprisingly, Sumitomo Kenichi, who had previously hinted at something, also followed him.
It was unclear what kind of concerns Mr. Sumitomo had. After he was next to Jiang Chen, he didn’t say his intentions directly, nor did he even talk about the drones that he had mentioned earlier. He just chatted casually on some non-related topics. After Jiang Chen got into the car, he also opened the door on the other side and sat next to him.
The door closed.
Only until this moment, did Sumitomo Kenichi remove the mask on his face. His stiff smile slowly relaxed, he leaned on the seat, and let out a sigh of relief.
Jiang Chen took a long look at the eldest son of the Sumitomo Financial Group, and then he said with a comforting tone.
“Don’t worry about being overheard here, you can speak freely. But before you speak, I have to say something in advance. If you are going to talk to me about something boring, it’s better not to say it.”
“I’m being watched!” Sumitomo Kenichi hurriedly said.
Jiang Chen was slightly stunned, then he laughed.
“You got the wrong guy.”
For what reason would the eldest son of a large consortium be watched?
Apart from the power struggle within the consortium, Jiang Chen could not think of a better reason.
The relationship between Celestial Trade and Sumitomo Group could only be described as a friendly partnership. Jiang Chen only knew Sumitomo Kenichi as a partner, and he was not interested in participating in their internal power struggle.
To put it bluntly, no matter who the next owner of the Sumitomo Group is, it would have no impact on Celestial Trade’s Global Power Grid plan. The Sumitomo Group was not the only company capable of taking on this project in Nippon. The submarine power transmission cables were already built. If the Central Power Company was no longer a suitable partner, Celestial Trade could still work with Eastern Power and Western Power.
With many nuclear power and thermal power plants shut down, Nippon no longer had the final say in electricity.
“No! I didn’t find the wrong person!” Sumitomo Kenichi stared at Jiang Chen, and said in a pleading tone, “Please let me finish.”
Jiang Chen motioned for him to continue.
“You might think this is an internal struggle within our family, and I’m asking you for help, right? Am I such an idiot? Can those idiots beat me?” With a self-deprecating grin, Sumitomo Kenichi took a deep breath, sorted out the thoughts in his head, and stared at Jiang Chen with seriousness, “The CIB is targeting me…”