allonlinenovel Chapter 1128 No Room for Your Excuses
Chapter 1128 No Room for Your Excuses
Reiko stopped and calmly looked at the bowing Yamada Iwakuro, saying indifferently, "Director Yamada, I apologize for disturbing you."
"No disturbance! No disturbance!" Yamada Iwakurou quickly responded, his voice even more respectful, his bowing angle unchanged: "Ms. Sakurako, it is my honor that you could come in person, and it is also an honor for our South Manchuria Railway Tianjin Office!"
"Please! Please come into my office for a detailed discussion!" he said, carefully turning to the side while still bowing, extending his right hand in a "please" gesture.
His hands were trembling slightly, clearly indicating that he was somewhat nervous.
Lingzi nodded slightly and walked into the office.
Seeing this, Yamada Iwakuro quickly bent over and followed behind Reiko, walking very quietly so as not to disturb her.
His gaze remained fixed on Lingzi's heels, always mindful of maintaining a suitable distance from her—neither too far to appear disrespectful nor too close to seem offensive.
Upon entering the office, the first thing that catches the eye is a spacious and bright room.
The office was luxuriously and elegantly decorated, with a dark wood desk in the center of the room, adorned with exquisite writing implements and an old-fashioned telephone.
A huge map of the Manchurian Railway's operations hangs on the wall, along with several photos of Yamada Iwakuro with high-ranking officials of the railway.
The living area on one side of the room is furnished with a genuine leather sofa and a mahogany coffee table, on which sits an exquisite tea set.
"Miss Sakurako, please have a seat!" Yamada Iwakurou strode to the reception area and pulled out the chair in the center of the sofa before anyone else could do so, his movements gentle as if afraid of making the slightest noise.
He maintained a slight bow and respectfully invited Lingzi to sit down.
Lingzi walked to the sofa, sat down, took off her trench coat, and draped it over the armrest.
Upon seeing this, Yamada Iwakuro immediately stepped forward, wanting to take Reiko's trench coat, but hesitated, afraid that his touch might offend Reiko.
He hesitated for a moment, then stopped and called out to the door, "Secretary! Come in quickly!"
The office door was immediately pushed open, and a young female secretary walked in quickly. When she saw Lingzi there, she bowed and greeted her.
"Director!"
"Take Miss Sakura's trench coat and keep it safe. Hang it in the dressing room, and be careful not to wrinkle it!" Yamada Iwakuro ordered sternly, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.
He was afraid that his secretary might not do a good job and upset Lingzi.
"Hi!" the secretary replied quickly, carefully picked up Lingzi's trench coat, bowed, and left.
After dealing with the trench coat issue, Yamada Iwakuro returned to the reception area, still bowing, with a fawning smile on his face, and cautiously asked, "Miss Sakurako, would you like tea or coffee?"
We have Uji matcha freshly imported from Kyoto, and coffee imported from Brazil, both of the highest quality. Which would you prefer?
In Japanese society, women generally have a low social status, but this varies from person to person.
Fujita Sakurako is backed by the Takasaki family, a formidable clan that a mere director of the South Manchuria Railway Company cannot afford to be disrespectful to.
Let alone just serving her tea and water, he would be willing to brew it himself.
At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to please her as much as possible and make her happy.
He knew that Miss Sakura must have something important to discuss with him since she had come to him personally, and he had to be on his best behavior and not make any mistakes.
"No need." Reiko waved her hand, her tone indifferent, without any intention of pleasantries, and went straight to the point: "Director Yamada, I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Yamada Iwakuro quickly replied, immediately wiping the smile from his face and turning serious, bowing even lower: "Miss Sakurako, please give your orders! I will do anything I can, even at the cost of my life!"
His voice was full of respect, and his eyes were fixed on Lingzi, as if afraid of missing a single word she said.
Reiko picked up the water glass on the table, took a small sip, and said slowly, "Director Yamada, I'll get straight to the point."
Currently, our military police headquarters' morphine factory is experiencing problems with the supply of opium raw materials.
According to Shen Xilin, the amount of opium transported from Manchuria to Tianjin has been decreasing recently, which has seriously affected morphine production.
I don't want to bother our general with such a trivial matter, so I hope you can step in and coordinate to ensure that the opium raw materials can be transported to Tianjin on time and in full.
Upon hearing the words "morphine factory," Yamada Iwakuro's eyes flickered slightly, and his pupils behind his glasses contracted.
He was certainly aware of the existence of this morphine factory. It was a secret factory directly under the jurisdiction of the Military Police Headquarters, and the morphine it produced was mainly supplied to the Japanese troops at the front line. It was an "important material" for boosting morale and involved huge interests.
He had vaguely heard before that morphine factories were extremely profitable.
When Reiko mentioned that opium shipments had decreased, Yamada Iwakuro's heart skipped a beat.
He knew perfectly well what was going on; it wasn't an accident at all, but rather something deliberately done by some high-ranking officials at the South Manchuria Railway Company.
They had long coveted the enormous profits from morphine factories and wanted a piece of the pie.
However, the price of opium was personally set by Matsuoka Yosuke when he visited Takasaki Takuto in Tianjin last time. They dared not raise the price at will, so they thought of manipulating the transport volume and deliberately creating the illusion of a shortage of opium raw materials, and wanted to manipulate the transportation costs.
As the head of the Tianjin office, Yamada Iwakuro was vaguely aware of the matter, but he was merely an executor and had no say in it.
Although he knew the reason in his heart, Yamada Iwakuro dared not show it at all on the surface.
He looked up with feigned surprise, his face showing confusion and anxiety, and said urgently, "Oh? Is that so? Miss Sakura, please don't wrongly accuse our South Manchuria Railway!"
We have always strictly followed the agreement and delivered the opium to Tianjin on time and in full. How could there be a shortage?
There must be some misunderstanding here!
As he spoke, he kept rubbing his hands together, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He knew his explanation was weak, but he had to maintain the proper posture first and not admit it easily.
After all, this matter involved the higher-ups of the South Manchuria Railway Company, and he, a mere station chief, simply could not bear the responsibility.
"Director Yamada, I'm not here to argue with you about this."
Reiko's tone instantly turned serious, her eyes sharp as knives as she stared directly at Yamada Iwakuro: "Last month's opium shipments were 20% less than planned. This is an undeniable fact, and you cannot deny it."