National Tide 1980

In addition to his own investment turning smoothly, Ning Weimin was no longer confused about how to deal with the harsh conditions of Japan's Pierre Cardon Co., Ltd., and finally found his backbone.

And his understanding of ideas came entirely from the unexpected inspiration he received at a drinking party.

Many people know that there is a special phenomenon in the Japanese workplace.

That is, Japanese men do not rush home in a hurry every time they finish work for the day, thinking about having dinner with their wives and children.

Instead, they will continue socializing, going out in twos and threes to drink on the streets, or partying in izakayas.

This phenomenon is called "drinking party" (drinking party).

There are profound reasons behind the existence of this phenomenon.

One is because participating in this kind of entertainment is also part of the job and is regarded as a symbol of interpersonal skills.

Drinking together after get off work makes it easier to get closer to colleagues and leaders.

The advantage of this is that it is more conducive to handling work matters and more likely to get promotion and salary increases.

The second is related to the traditional concept and living conditions of Japan, where men are the masters of the house and the men are the masters of the house.

In Japan, men are responsible for working to support the family, and most women are stay-at-home wives.

If the husband comes home too early after get off work every day, he will be considered not to be reused by the company.

Therefore, many Japanese men, even if they don’t have any social activities to deal with after get off work, will not go home too early, otherwise they will be looked down upon by their wives.

Third, drinking and socializing after get off work is also a way to relax from work pressure.

Because the Japanese workplace is very hierarchical, work pressure is relatively high.

Japanese people are usually very reserved and rigid. Faced with the pressure they are under at work, having a few drinks after get off work is also a way to relax from stress.

Of course, not all white-collar workers working in the company are like this.

No rule or custom will ever apply to everyone.

Often introverted straight men, shy people, and honest people who are not good at expressing themselves will be ostracized by this drinking culture.

Just like Director Taniguchi, he is too old to even be a department head. He is a low-key person, so naturally he cannot gain the respect of other colleagues in the company.

If he drinks with his colleagues and superiors, he will often be made fun of and the butt of jokes.

On the contrary, this situation will make him more depressed and stressed. For him, it is simply a matter of spending money to buy his suffering.

After a tiring day, why not go back to your home and lie on the sofa to relax your body? Wouldn’t it be nice?

So he himself began to find reasons to refuse such invitations.

This is why Mrs. Taniguchi feels more and more that he is useless and does not seek to make progress.

If you don’t even drink with your boss and colleagues, will you still have a chance for promotion?

As for Kagawa Rinko, her situation is far worse than that of Director Taniguchi.

Because gender equality in the Japanese workplace is a real thing, as a woman, she is naturally excluded from drinking.

You must know that in Japan today, it has just begun that women can enter companies and become white-collar workers.

For a female employee like her, it is taken for granted that she will resign after getting married, and her future is naturally very limited.

To put it bluntly, for a junk stock in the workplace, no one is willing to invest time and energy in her.

Unless there is another purpose, such people are often perverts who use their power to engage in sexual harassment and unspoken rules.

In addition, there is a bad culture in the Japanese workplace.

Men can say all kinds of dirty jokes in front of women without restraint.

At company events, people didn’t take it seriously when sexual topics were brought up for fun.

Therefore, Kagawa Rinko herself was very wary of getting along with male colleagues after get off work.

The only time I couldn't resist the boss's invitation was because I couldn't avoid being pushed by the section chief to serve as a bartender next to the company's senior executives.

The profound meaning contained in it is simply chilling.

Otherwise, how could she punch her section chief in the head?

But then again, although this bad situation has always existed, it was completely different when Director Taniguchi and Rinko Kagawa met Ning Weimin.

It was precisely the gentleness and hospitality unique to the Chinese nation in Ning Weimin that allowed them to truly appreciate the fun of this drinking party.

Let them have a positive feeling about this kind of drinking activity where several people sit together, can communicate sincerely, and open their hearts.

In the first period of time, in order to repay the two for their help and to get along with them and get to know them as quickly as possible, Ning Weimin made many guests.

And when everyone drinks together, he never puts on airs, insisting that hierarchical relationships disappear at the wine table and everyone gets along as equals.

Moreover, he is also good at mobilizing the atmosphere, taking the lead in speaking freely and using humorous words to start the conversation.

At the same time, he also encouraged the other party to speak and fully respected the personal opinions of Taniguchi and Kagawa.

Obviously this idea is different from Japanese values, but it naturally won the favor of Taniguchi and Kagawa.

So much so that even after the president returned and ordered them to be recalled to the company, Taniguchi and Kagawa were still willing to keep in touch with Ning Weimin.

A few people will meet together almost every three or two days, and everyone still drinks and chats about trivial matters in life like friends.

Although neither Taniguchi nor Kagawa realized it, in fact, under Ning Weimin's push, a triangular alliance had been substantially formed.

Ning Weimin can use this to keep track of the internal trends of the Japanese branch from their mouths.

Taniguchi and Kagawa can also complain, bad-mouth their bosses, and share their troubles at work.

And when you talk about your troubles, it doesn’t just end there.

Not only can we gain understanding and comfort from others, but the combined experience and wisdom of the three people can often provide the best solution, which makes this matter more positive and practical.

Of course, in view of the special relationship between Japan pilcaton Co., Ltd. and China pilcaton company, and the current situation in which the two companies are undergoing difficult negotiations.

No matter how innocent Taniguchi and Kagawa are, they know that their gatherings need to be avoided during this special time period.

In order not to be bumped into by their colleagues in the company and cause unnecessary trouble, suspicion and gossip, the three of them chose the meeting place in the Ebisu area, one stop away from Hiroo Station, where the company is located.

Ebisu is said to be the Japanese god of wealth and business, ranking first among the Seven Gods of Luck, and his image is like a sea bream in his arms.

So speaking of it, this place in Tokyo with this name is also a very auspicious area.

Basically, it is equivalent to the Zhao Gongkou originally dedicated to Marshal Zhao Gong of the Black Tiger Mysterious Altar in the capital. It has an extremely flattering meaning.

Although the Ebisu area has not yet been fully commercially developed in this year.

The location of Yebisu Garden Plaza, a landmark building that will often appear in movies and TV dramas in the future, is currently only the old factory building and factory dormitory area of ​​SAPPORO Beer Company.

However, the street of local shops, mainly Ebisu Market at the west exit of the station, is still crowded with many unique traditional shops, and business is very prosperous.

Coupled with the many new commercial outlets that have just appeared at the east entrance of the station, the area has begun to take shape as a prosperous shopping and commercial district.

In particular, there are many long-established restaurants selling popular dishes such as ramen and dumplings, making it a fierce battleground for well-known ramen shops and dumpling shops to compete for business.

As soon as it was time for dinner, there was an endless stream of visitors from all over the place, making it very lively.

On the evening of October 16, Ning Weimin came to a dumpling shop in Ebisu during off-duty hours to meet with Director Taniguchi and Rinko Kagawa.

The restaurant where they arranged to meet was called "Dumpling Paradise".

Although it has not yet reached the real peak hour, the number of customers in the store has begun to increase, and more than half of the thirty or so seats are occupied.

As soon as Ning Weimin entered the door, he found that the bar on the right was crowded with the most people. At least a dozen people were sitting side by side with elbows touching each other.

This is also a unique feature of Japanese small restaurants. Many people do not want to dine at the seats with tables and chairs, but prefer to eat and drink in front of the bar in the open kitchen.

"Ningsang, we are here!" Kagawa Rinko, who recognized him, called out.

Ning Weimin immediately looked towards the back of the bar.

Behind seven or eight heads, the smiling faces of Kagawa Rinko and Director Taniguchi were revealed.

However, more people in the store were looking at Rinko Kagawa.

If not for anything else, it was because the word "Ningsang" was not pronounced correctly when it came out of Kagawa Rinko's mouth. It was too similar to the Japanese word "brother".

And their looks don't really have much in common, so they naturally seem to have an ambiguous relationship.

Even Kagawa Rinko herself realized this.

So under the spotlight, she blushed, feeling guilty as if she had done something wrong, and hurriedly sat down again.

However, Ning Weimin was refreshed by the call "brother", and he was so happy when he saw Rinko Kagawa's shy reaction.

He extended his hand to greet her affectionately and walked over.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm late. Are you in a hurry?"

Kagawa Rinko smiled awkwardly and complained a bit through gritted teeth.

"Is it really funny? Please don't be so happy, okay? It's all your fault. Why do you have such a misunderstood last name? Forget it, I'll just call you Deputy Minister."

As soon as Director Taniguchi saw Ning Weimin, he immediately stood up respectfully. The middle-aged man's solemnity made him much more restrained than Kagawa.

"Deputy Minister, you are indeed here. I was still wondering if something happened to you and you were too busy to come over!"

Ning Weimin bowed slightly to respond.

"I'm worrying you guys. I walked here because the weather was good, so it's a little later than expected."

Taniguchi's seat sits at the very back of the bar, the middle seat is reserved for Ning Weimin, and the front seat is Xiangchuan.

This seating order is not arbitrary, but is determined by the relationship between upper and lower classes.

You know, no matter any table, the upper seat will be at the innermost and middle position, while the lower seat will be closest to the entrance and exit.

This is because there are often people coming in and out at the entrance and it is impossible to relax, so people with high levels will not be allowed to sit near the entrance.

Ning Weimin was not polite and sat down in the seat between the two of them.

Then facing the clerk who came from the bar and asked what he wanted, he ordered without looking at the menu. Like Taniguchi and Kagawa who came first, he ordered a draft beer.

This is because Japanese people are accustomed to ordering something to drink before ordering food, and almost all restaurants have beer on their menu.

The beer is produced the fastest, and the alcohol concentration of the beer is not high, so it is very suitable as the first drink at a drinking party!

Then Ning Weimin studied the menu carefully and asked the clerk for barbecued pork fried rice as a staple food, as well as hot spring eggs, chili, and edamame for drinks.

When the cold beer was quickly served, under the leadership of Ning Weimin, the three of them raised their glasses together and said "Cheers!"

The drinking party really begins, and everyone starts talking.

"Deputy Minister, don't you still like fried dumplings? The dumplings here are really good. You can choose the fillings without garlic or without leeks. Do you want to give them a try?"

"Thank you, Director, next time. This time I can just eat fried rice. The fried rice here seems to be rich in ingredients." Ning Weimin was very euphemistic about how to express his true preferences. In this regard, Chinese people are different from Japanese people. habits are very similar.

"Ning...Vice Minister, it's strange that you don't eat dumplings when you come to a dumpling shop. If I had known you didn't like fried dumplings so much, you might as well go to an izakaya..."

Xiangchuan really understood what he meant, but his words were completely unnecessary, no different from Yang Xiu of the Three Kingdoms.

"I mean, Xiangchuan, it's strange that you suddenly changed your title back. It's full of a sense of distance. Otherwise, just call me Weimin. Don't worry, even if the pronunciation is not correct, I won't laugh at you. As for frying The dumpling issue is actually nothing. It really doesn’t matter what you eat. What’s important is that everyone can chat together and relax, right?”

Ning Weimin could only use ridicule and interruption to respond to this straight woman who was not very understanding of the world.

The following sentence was also very smooth and resonated with Taniguchi.

"Yes, Miss Kagawa, the deputy minister is right. Being able to get together and openly tell our own troubles is a fate worth cherishing. Every time we get together, it makes me feel as if I have been liberated from the loneliness of being exiled. Come out. Oh, by the way, thanks to the deputy minister, my family has been very happy recently. My wife asked me to make a special trip to express my gratitude to the deputy minister..."

"Hey? I obviously didn't do anything? Where do you start talking about this, Taniguchi-san?"

The sudden thank you made Ning Weimin a little confused. He didn't know what Taniguchi was doing.

However, Taniguchi's subsequent answer made both Ning Weimin and Xiangchuan laugh.

"You are so humble. It's the Chinese dish you taught me orally, scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Do you remember, we talked about Chinese food at the last party, and you recommended it to me. I'll let my wife try it when I get back. Oh, oh, as expected, it’s easy to make and delicious. It’s so delicious. Not only is my wife satisfied, but even my daughter also likes it. These days, this dish is a must for dinner at our house. That’s why my son heard about it , I also ran home from college for dinner yesterday just to taste this authentic Chinese cuisine. Thanks to you, my family is much more harmonious now."