Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 2 I Don't Want to Hear Reasons
The meeting room on the third floor of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce.

The conference room was decorated in a relatively simple style, with the only eye-catching feature being the round table in the middle that could easily accommodate a dozen or twenty people.

The round table was a deep red color, clearly carved from precious mahogany. However, this was the Osaka Chamber of Commerce's meeting room, and mere mahogany seemed to be nothing special to them.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, it is the peak season for the sale of all kinds of goods. However, this year is different from previous years, with the Osaka Chamber of Commerce experiencing a sharp decline in sales in China.

The entire market seems to be intentionally or unintentionally boycotting Japanese products, with even fast-moving consumer goods such as matches, canned goods, and cotton fabric experiencing a severe sales decline.

At the head of the round table, Tanaka Ichiro, director of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce's Dragon Country Business Division, looked at the latest submitted transaction report, his face so gloomy it seemed like it was about to drip water.

The dozen or so chamber of commerce elites below were so frightened by Director Tanaka's murderous expression that they didn't dare to breathe.

"Inoue-kun, I'd like to know what explanation your sales department has for the decline in performance." Director Tanaka's voice rang out slowly, his tone as calm as ever, but anyone could hear the anger within it.
“Director Tanaka, I can explain this.” Inoue Ryoichi quickly stood up and said, “Director Tanaka, this is not our fault. The Empire has launched a military operation against China, and now all Chinese people are very hostile to us.”

"The Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, led by Yu Qiaqing, has publicly stated that it will not sell any of the supplies we provided."

“He says he won’t sell, so he won’t sell!” Tanaka Ichiro said angrily. “Shanghai is such a big market. Even without these merchants, you can still cooperate with department stores.”

Inoue Ryoichi said with a bitter face, "Director Tanaka, we have already thought of a solution."

"We've tried all the department stores in Shanghai, including Longhua Department Store, Songshan Department Store, and even Watanabe-owned Hezi Department Store."

"Currently, only Watanabe-kun can help with some sales; we can't get into other places at all."

“Director Tanaka, I think we should adjust our prices. Compared with other trading companies in other countries, we don’t have any price advantage at all.”

"As the Chinese often say, merchants have always pursued profit, and these trading companies will not give up until they have tasted the sweetness of success."

"Nonsense. With war raging everywhere, supplies are needed in every region. The sugar, grain, oil, canned goods, and cotton gauze we have are all in high demand."

"Even if I agree to lower the price, headquarters won't agree."

"If the higher-ups really hold us accountable, who will take the blame?"

“It’s alright, I agree to lower the price by twelve percent.” Just as Tanaka Ichiro finished speaking, a cheerful voice rang out from the doorway.

Chen Yang pushed open the conference room door and walked straight in.

Tanaka Ichiro's expression changed, and he said angrily, "Who are you? How dare you barge into the Osaka Chamber of Commerce's territory?"

"Help! Help!"

"Stop yelling." Chen Yang scratched his ear and walked directly to Tanaka Ichiro, saying, "Director Tanaka, if I remember correctly, you should have received a telegram from the mainland three days ago."

"A telegram from the mainland." Tanaka Ichiro frowned slightly, seemingly thinking about something, and looked at Chen Yang suspiciously, asking, "Who are you?"

Chen Yang reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to the other person.

Tanaka Ichiro respectfully took the paper from Chen Yang's hand, unfolded it, glanced at it, and suddenly his expression changed. In front of everyone in the conference room, he bowed to Chen Yang at a 45-degree angle.

"Assistant Chen, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you. I thought you wouldn't arrive in Shanghai for at least two days. I didn't expect you to have already set off as soon as the telegram was sent."

Assistant Chen? Everyone in the conference room looked at each other in surprise, wondering when Assistant Chen had come from the Osaka Chamber of Commerce.

“Director Tanaka, I didn’t come here to disrupt your meeting. However, if you were truly capable, the board wouldn’t have made me rush to China day and night to clean up this mess for you.” Chen Yang’s words were utterly disrespectful to Tanaka Ichiro, yet Tanaka Ichiro dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.

"Gentlemen, starting today, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce will sell its goods at a reduced price according to a certain percentage. We must recover most of our funds before the Chinese New Year ends."

"Who are the heads of the sales department and the finance department here?"

"I'll give you ten minutes to hand over your sales and financial data for the past six months."

"I'll be waiting for you in Director Tanaka's office."

"Director Tanaka, please." Before Tanaka Ichiro could speak, Chen Yang had already stood up and made an inviting gesture.

"Everyone, do as Assistant Chen says."

"Assistant Chen, this way please." Tanaka Ichiro smiled like a lapdog and hurriedly led the way.

Those attending the meeting were completely bewildered. This Assistant Chen was clearly Chinese, so why did Director Tanaka seem so afraid of him?

Who exactly is this person?

Third floor, office.

Standing by the window, gazing into the distance, Chen Yang suddenly asked, "Tanaka-kun, do you know what the locals think of you?"

"This..." Director Tanaka stammered, unable to answer. Judging from his dejected appearance, he clearly understood that the local community's evaluation of him would not be very good.

“My teacher said you are good at maintaining the status quo but lack ambition. If you were placed in a relatively stable environment, you might be an excellent manager.”

"But if something unexpected happens, like in China, and war suddenly breaks out, your performance will be just as he predicted."

Chen Yang turned around and said, word by word, "Utterly useless."

"I'm sorry, Assistant Chen, I've disappointed Mr. Fujiwara." Tanaka Ichiro bowed deeply, his voice filled with trepidation.

Chen Yang walked behind his desk and sat down, saying, "The teacher wants you to clear out the inventory in the supply warehouse as soon as possible to recover funds. There's a very large plan behind this, which requires a lot of financial support."

"Director Tanaka, there are still six days until the Spring Festival. I hope you can get rid of half of the stock of supplies within six days. I will take care of the other half."

"Do you have any questions?"

Do you know how much it cost to dispose of half the goods in the Osaka Chamber of Commerce warehouse in six days?
After a moment's thought, Tanaka Ichiro braced himself and said, "Assistant Chen, I don't know if you are aware of the current inventory figures in the Osaka Chamber of Commerce's supply warehouse."

"However, I think your proposal is quite difficult to implement."

"Now, major chambers of commerce and non-governmental organizations in Shanghai are boycotting goods produced by the Empire."

"Even with price reductions, I feel it would still be very difficult to clear half of the inventory in just six days."

“Difficulty is no excuse.” Chen Yang walked to Tanaka Ichiro’s side, kindly brushed the dust off Tanaka Ichiro’s shoulders, and said slowly, “Six days. You only have six days.”

"Next time I come here, I hope to see a sales order that I'm satisfied with. If not, Director Tanaka, you should write your resignation letter and put it on your desk."

(End of this chapter)