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

Chapter 9 He's a smart man
"Knock, knock, knock." A crisp knocking sound rang out, and the maid Lawrence pushed open the door and said, "Sir, Mr. Matthias, the representative elected by the French Concession Trading Company, has arrived."

"Besides him, there's another Chinese man. He said his name is Lin Xueli. Would you like to meet him?"

"Madier, that troublesome guy again."

Pi Shaona put down the report in his hand and said, "Lawrence, please ask Lin Xueli to sit down for a while."

"Bring Mr. Matthieu up here. I think he's still concerned about the Japanese seizure of the merchants' goods."

“Yes, sir.” Lawrence gave an elegant bow and turned to leave the room.

"Wait a minute." Before he had gone far, Pi Shaona stood up, frowned, and sighed, "Let's call them up together."

Lawrence didn't know why Pissoner kept changing his mind, but he was just a butler and would never question his boss's decisions.

"Yes, sir, I'll go and call them up right away."

Pi Shaona nodded, folded the report, and put it into the pile of documents on his desk.

Just as they finished doing all this, they heard footsteps approaching. Before the person appeared, an angry voice rang out: "Mr. Pi Shaona, I need you to give a reasonable explanation."

"Is the French Concession still the territory of our great French people? How can your council of directors allow the Japanese to infringe upon our rights without doing anything about it?"

Pi Shaona was displeased, but quickly put on a smiling face to hide his dissatisfaction.

“Mr. Mathieu, please don’t worry. As far as I know, Mr. Morrison has already begun negotiations with the Japanese.”

"I believe he will have good news soon."

Matthias walked into the study and said irritably, "When you negotiate with the Japanese, are you suggesting that the Municipal Council is willing to accept the Japanese conditions and allow the Gendarmerie Command to enter the French Concession to search for anti-Japanese elements who damage the image of the Japanese?"

“Mr. Pisona, if you think this condition is useful, I think you might as well find a pig to sit in your seat.”

"Because apart from pigs, I believe any rational person with a brain knows very well what the Japanese's purpose was in seizing our supplies under false pretenses."

"This tiny country, which even needs to import scrap steel and oil, would they just stand by and watch us ship after ship of supplies arrive and trade with the Chinese right under their noses?"

"The Japanese arrogantly boasted that they would take over China in three months, but now their troops are still fighting against the Chinese troops,"

"They are using our supplies to support their army."

"Do you really think that sacrificing a few so-called anti-Japanese elements will lead to reconciliation with the Japanese?"

Pissonne's face turned red from being scolded by Matthias, but he dared not rebuke him.

Madier's backer was none other than Mr. Donaldson, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Municipal Council.

Pi Shaona is just a director, while that person is the vice president who is far superior to them. If they offend him, they may not be able to keep their positions.

“Mr. Mathieu, please don’t be in a hurry,” Pisson tried to soften his tone.

"I know that merchants in the French Concession have suffered losses recently due to the actions of the Japanese."

“I can find a way to make up for their losses.”

Madier glanced at the other man and sneered, "How are you going to make amends? Are you planning to have Mr. Medif open the Municipal Council's treasury and give every merchant a sum of money?"

“If you really intend to do that, I’ll definitely give it my full support.” Pisson chuckled. “Mr. Mathieu, you’re joking. I don’t have that much authority to order Mr. Medif around.”

"To be frank with you, I received news from Guangzhou that the French Concession Municipal Council plans to completely shut down the sea transport routes after the New Year,"

"At that time, not only Guangzhou, but also Shanghai will be affected."

"Therefore, I suggest you work with the Chamber of Commerce to plan ahead and stockpile goods during this period."

"Shut down the sea transport routes?" Madier's expression instantly turned extremely serious.

“Mr. Pisona, do you know what closing the sea lanes means? Our merchants all depend on sea transport for their livelihood.”

"If it closes down, many small businesses will face bankruptcy. Has your Municipal Council considered the interests of the merchants?"

“Mr. Mathieu, the Municipal Council has certainly considered the interests of the merchants,” Pisson said seriously. “However, you should also consider the face of the nation.”

"We will not compromise with the Japanese, even if their power is sufficient to blockade China's waters."

"The Municipal Council is communicating with the local authorities, hoping to open up a new route in Vietnam, from Fangchenggang to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, which leads directly to China, but this will take time."

"I'm telling you this now so you can prepare as soon as possible and stockpile supplies while you still can."

“As soon as shipping stops, there will be a widespread shortage of goods in Shanghai. I can guarantee that the goods you have will at least triple in profit.”

“Alright, thanks for the news.” Madier didn’t dwell on it for long, and stood up, saying, “I’ll go back and discuss it with them first. I hope your information is correct.”

Pisona cautioned, "Not many people know about this, Mr. Mathieu. Remember, never let this slip out."

"What? You want to teach me how to do things?" Before Pissonna could finish speaking, Madier said coldly, "Mr. Pissonna, I think you can do your own job well. I don't need you to teach me how to do it. Goodbye."

Having been rebuffed, Pi Shaona's face turned somewhat unpleasant. He took a deep breath and turned to Lin Xueli beside him, saying in broken Chinese, "Mr. Lin, I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

"Please sit down. You came to see me in such a hurry, it must be good news."

Lin Xueli only heard them arguing loudly, but he didn't really know what they were arguing about.

Clearing his throat, Lin Xueli said respectfully, "Mr. Pi Shaona, you are indeed right. The recent unusual behavior of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce is indeed related to my cousin."

"However, to be honest, I am no match for my cousin."

"He deduced the whole story from just a few words he exchanged with me."

"I even suspect that this guy has the ability to read people's minds."

“Heh, interesting, Mr. Lin. Tell me about your conversation.” Pi Shaona smiled and said, “I’m very interested to know how he figured out the problem.”

Lin Xueli recalled and recounted all the contents of their conversation.

After listening, Pi Shaona's expression immediately turned serious. After pondering for a while, Pi Shaona slowly said, "Very intelligent, indeed a remarkable person."

"Mr. Lin, do you think it's possible for us to invite him to join us?"

(End of this chapter)