Chapter 812: Food Famine Storm
"I went to the supermarket to buy rice yesterday. The previous notice said that I had to buy a specific amount of rice based on the number of people in my family. But after going to several supermarkets, I found out-of-stock labels on the shelves. They are starving people to death."
"According to the regulations issued by the island country, the rice in the supermarket is an emergency supply. This means that buyers must register with their real names. Under normal circumstances, the supply will always be sufficient, but recently there is no rice at all. I heard that the agricultural cooperative deliberately reduced the supply in order to deliberately raise the price of rice."
"That's right. It's been so long since the earthquake, and food production hasn't been restored yet. This is a lie!"
"Saeki Kosuke has made a fortune from the national crisis this time!"
The people of the island like to watch live TV on their mobile phones, and stations and coffee shops are full of the sound of people discussing.
Soon the TV cut to the supermarkets, and it was just as people said. The food shelves were empty, and the funniest thing was that even the drinking water was gone.
In fact, this kind of situation often happens in island countries. Frequent earthquakes have made local residents develop the habit of storing food at home. However, if someone were to label the president of the Agricultural Association as profiteering, the outcome of the situation would be completely different.
In a long-suppressed living environment, ordinary people often project their dissatisfaction with reality onto the powerful. When life difficulties and negative news about the powerful appear at the same time, the lower-class people will naturally make causal associations. They tend to attribute all the poverty and exhaustion they face to the improper profiteering of vested interests.
The public's anger snowballed. Young people who were already dissatisfied with the economy finally found an outlet to vent their anger. On online forums, all kinds of unconfirmed negative information were forwarded crazily, and some people even began to fabricate the secret history of the rise of Kosuke Saeki's family. The comments section became more and more extreme, filled with all kinds of disgusting insults.
Influenced by the news, more and more people began to head towards the Agricultural Cooperative headquarters.
Inside the meeting room of the Agricultural Cooperative headquarters.
Kosuke Saeki looked at the four people in front of him with a gloomy expression.
To be honest, the conditions offered by the other party were really tempting. It was equivalent to paying for the food out of their own pockets. They also promised to invest funds and technology in major grain factories in the future, and would not hold a large stake.
Those who originally stood on Kosuke Saeki's side were now somewhat shaken after hearing the price of ABCD.
Although these conditions were similar to the ones they had offered before, there was one difference.
That is, ABCD needs the Saeki family to sell the American company to them, which is the company that Saori had run before.
Naturally, the people in the Agricultural Cooperative would not object to this, because it was the Saeki family's property and had nothing to do with them.
Kosuke Saeki finally figured out that these guys didn't come here to negotiate today, but to sow discord.
If he didn't agree, he would be isolated by everyone. If he agreed, his previous investment would be wasted. His idea of using the American business as a bargaining chip in future negotiations would also be a lie.
"Well, it seems you are well prepared." Kosuke Saeki finally managed to say a word after a long time.
"That's right, you are trying to be clever on our territory. A simple investigation will make the whole thing clear. President Saeki, stop daydreaming. The agricultural market in America is not something that can be done just by wanting it." The only white woman among the four sneered.
As soon as she finished speaking, another fat man followed up: "You delayed for so long because you hoped that China could urgently send a batch of goods. Don't even think about it. There will be no containers in the major ports there now, hehe."
The fat man's words made Saeki Kosuke feel depressed.
Not long ago, he asked Chen Xi to find a way to transport the supplies as soon as possible. Now it seems like a fool's dream. ABCD must have played some tricks to prevent the ship from reaching the island country.
Damn, damn, these damn Americans.
Kosuke Saeki was furious.
"President, I think the conditions they offer are good."
"I think so too. You haven't spoken yet. Are you afraid to lose the Saeki family's business in America? There is an old Chinese saying that goes, 'sacrifice the small family to protect the big family.' I think it makes a lot of sense. As the leader of the agricultural cooperative, you should consider the overall situation, not the family's interests."
Seeing someone start to speak up, Saeki Kamji immediately said, "I think what they said is right. Although I am from the Saeki family, I don't want to favor the family. Compared with the future of the agricultural cooperative, what's wrong with sacrificing a little family interests? If I were the president, let alone the business in America, even part of the business in the island country can be abandoned."
Facing the pressure from everyone, Saeki Kousuke felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was useless to explain anything at this time, as the group of people in front of him were determined to cooperate with ABCD.
Just when the situation was tense, the door of the conference room was suddenly opened. The secretary staggered to Saeki Kosuke and whispered something in his ear.
After a few seconds, Kosuke Saeki frowned and walked quickly to the window.
The scene outside the window made one gasp. Thousands of protesters poured into the headquarters of the Agricultural Cooperative Association like a tide, and the human wall built by security personnel was retreating step by step.
Several senior executives of the farmers' association could not help but come to the window and look down. They were so shocked by the scene that their scalps tingled.
They knew there was a commotion outside and could faintly hear some shouting in the conference room, but they didn't expect it to be so chaotic.
Saeki Kamji winked at his confidant, who quietly opened the window. Suddenly, angry voices flooded into the conference room like a flood:
"Kousuke Saeki, step down, you damn bastard!"
"Everyone rush in."
"Give us back our food!"
"get out!"
These insults pierced Saeki Kosuke's ears like sharp knives, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Did you hear it? This is the voice of the people. Now you only have two choices. The first is to cooperate with ABCD. The second is to step down!" Saeki Kamajui said sarcastically.
"Haha, if I step down, will you take over?" Kosuke Saeki said sarcastically.
"I think Kamajiro has great prestige in the association and has done a good job over the years. He is also a member of your Saeki family, so it doesn't seem like there will be any big problems for him to take office."
"Yes, yes. If you are not the president, you should just agree. There is nothing wrong with cooperating with ABCD."
"How come you don't understand the situation? The president has said before that this is inviting a wolf into the house. How can Americans be so kind? You are already old, but you are still as naive as a child."
People in the association now have four ideas.
Some support Kamji Saeki to take office, while others want to cooperate with ABCD and have Saeki continue to serve as chairman.
Others see things clearly and are die-hard supporters of Kosuke Saeki. The last type is the indifferent attitude, which is also the largest number. They only care about how much income they can get.
At this time, in a car outside the headquarters building.
"Honey, what should we do now? If we let these people rush in, father will be in danger." Saori held Chen Xi's hand nervously, her body trembling slightly.
"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer." Chen Xi patted his girlfriend's hands gently, feeling a little nervous as well.
Today's scene was bigger than he had imagined. If someone mixed in the crowd and took out a homemade shotgun, the consequences would be absolutely disastrous.
Because in his previous life, Chen Xi had seen this kind of thing on the news.
At the critical moment, a van rushed over with its horn honking, and the people gathered at the door all moved out of the way.
The car braked suddenly and stopped at the gate.
Then the car door opened and a man climbed onto the roof holding a horn. Chen Xi looked closely and saw that it was Tian Zhongyou!
"Everyone calm down. According to the latest news, the ships carrying food have arrived at Yokohama Port, Kobe Port, Osaka Port, Nagoya Port, and Kitakyushu Port..."
Tian Zhongyou shouted into the loudspeaker in the Japanese language.
These five major ports correspond to Kanto, Kansai, Chubu, and northern Kyushu, and are all major ports for receiving Chinese grain.
"Who are you?" someone in the crowd shouted.
"My name is Tian Zhongyouzai, and I'm a detective!"
"Fuck you, why should we trust you?"
After the young man revealed his famous name, some people raised questions.
"It's already being reported on the news. If you don't believe me, just check your phones." Tian Zhongyou stepped on the roof of the car, and Saeki Shimizu in the car directly brought out the large screen that had been prepared long ago. Sure enough, the screen was playing the latest developments.
Not only that, major supermarkets are also starting to restock their stocks.
Seeing that no one had left, Tian Zhongyou raised the loudspeaker and shouted, "Everyone hurry up and grab the food. If you are late, you will miss it and need to wait until the next day to restock!"
This shout was more effective than any explanation in a thousand words, and the people who were surrounding the place began to leave one after another.
A small number of the troublemakers in the crowd did not leave. One of the men secretly checked his phone and then shouted, "Everyone, don't leave. This is a smokescreen from the Farmers' Association. Food will be in short supply again in a few days. According to my investigation, the materials and food in the supermarkets and those that should have been supplied to the restaurants have been bought up by someone. These people are from the Farmers' Association. Their purpose is to drive up prices! I have evidence here!"
After saying that, the man jumped directly into the van and shouted a website, which was a popular forum in the island country.
A large number of people who were originally preparing to leave gathered around again, wanting to see what the trick was.
"What's going on? What's the matter with the plane? Who is this person?" With Saori's translation, Chen Xi took out his cell phone and opened the forum.
The leaked documents above left him confused.
"Don't tell me these were all instructed by the chairman of the Agricultural Cooperative." Tian Zhongyou patted the man's shoulder from behind.
The man took the horn from his hand and said, "Wrong, this was not ordered by Kosuke Saeki, but by Kamji Saeki, the head of the Agricultural Cooperative Supervisory Committee..."
"What? Turns out they are friendly forces." Tian Zhongyou wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Inside the car, Saori looked at Chen Xi in confusion: "Did you arrange this?"
"No, I suddenly have a bad feeling..." Chen Xi looked outside the car and shook his head.
Inside the meeting room of the Agricultural Cooperative headquarters.
"Okay, Kosuke. You deliberately set a trap and waited for me here. What a good plan!" The horn downstairs had been heard by Saeki Kamji. He angrily grabbed Saeki Kosuke's collar and questioned him.
"Take your dirty claws away, I don't know what's going on at all." Kousuke Saeki was much stronger than Kamji Saeki. He easily pried the other's hands apart and pushed them away with one palm.
"Look at these things on the Internet, and you still say it wasn't you who did it?" Saeki Kamji shouted, pointing at the screen of his mobile phone.
"Then let me ask you, did you send anyone to the supermarket to buy food?"
Kousuke Saeki's words left Kamaharu Saeki speechless.
The reason why the supermarket was out of stock was indeed because he sent people to do it.
But this was done in order to force the emperor to abdicate, but now it has backfired on him.
Not only is there evidence of financial transactions online, there are also audio and video recordings. It is obvious that he was betrayed.
When he thought about the undercover agent of Saeki Kousuke around him, Saeki Kamji now looked at everyone with suspicion.
The people in the agricultural cooperative were like fence-sitters. When they saw that Saeki Kamajui's situation was hopeless, they all began to flatter Saeki Kousuke:
"I was wondering if there was something wrong here. The president had clearly arranged everything, so why was there no stock in the supermarket? It turns out it was done by someone on the inside."
"I just said that the president cannot be replaced, but you just didn't listen to me."
"Oh, it's time for the association to conduct a thorough investigation..."
Listening to these people's nonsense, Kosuke Saeki felt a little amused.
That's not what these guys just said!
downstairs.
Led by the man, the angry crowd began to attack the headquarters gate again.
Just as the crowd was getting agitated again and about to rush into the building, a sharp siren pierced the sky. Several police cars with red and blue warning lights flashing came rushing over and separated the agitated crowd.
Two low-profile black official cars followed and slowly stopped. Several investigators in formal attire quickly got out of the car. The middle-aged man in the lead held up his ID card and spoke in a steady and authoritative voice: "We are from the special investigation team. We will conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation of the issue of the agricultural cooperative's food supply."
He looked around and continued, "Please remain calm. We promise to announce the preliminary investigation results as soon as possible. Now please clear the passage and do not interfere with the execution of official duties."
As soon as he finished speaking, the security personnel immediately set up a cordon in front of the main entrance. The investigation team quickly entered the building, and within five minutes, the pale-faced Saeki Kamji appeared in the lobby under the escort of two police officers. In full view of the public, he lowered his head and was taken into the police car. Before leaving, he could still be seen trembling and wanting to say something, but in the end he was stuffed into the car in silence.
The demonstrators who witnessed all this fell into a brief silence, and then burst into discussions. Some shouted angrily and demanded a thorough investigation, while others hesitated and began to put down their protest signs.
When most people had left, Chen Xi got out of the car and entered the Farmers' Cooperative headquarters.
"President Saeki, please think about the conditions we offer today. The longer you delay, the price will not be the same." As soon as Chen Xi stepped into the headquarters building, he saw four white people shaking hands with Kosuke Saeki and saying goodbye.
"Huh?" Hearing this, Kosuke Saeki didn't react to what it meant for a moment.
Isn't it me who has the upper hand now? Why do you act like you have the upper hand?
After finishing speaking, the four white men looked at Chen Xi who walked in and subconsciously revealed a weird smile.
Chen Xi knew them; they were the guys who had come to his company for negotiations.
After everyone left, Kosuke Saeki took Chen Xi into the office.
"I almost got into trouble today. Where did you get those evidences on Saeki Kamaharu?" Saeki Kousuke wiped the sweat off his face and sat down.
"What? Isn't that your man?" Chen Xi looked at his father-in-law in confusion.
"What do you mean my man? Isn't he your man?" Kosuke Saeki and Chen Xi looked at each other.
Thinking of the four strange smiles of ABCD, Chen Xi felt more and more uneasy. (End of this chapter)