Chapter 280: The Confidence from Han Xiaorui

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: The Confidence from Han Xiaorui

Yang Jianguo was fuming, his eyes burning with rage.

"Damn it! I refuse. If I back down this time, more people will come and try to kidnap my family in the future," Yang Jianguo said, refusing outright. "Village Chief Liu, I know you mean well, but I’d rather shut down the farm. I’m going to stand my ground to the very end."

Village Chief Liu scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. "Jianguo, I understand how you feel. But the people up top sent me to mediate. They said the other side is holding up our equipment exports."

"We’re still a bit behind, and we need to learn from other countries. A little impatience can ruin a great plan. We can’t jeopardize the bigger picture over personal matters."

"Besides, you might be willing to shut down the Jinshan Bay Ornamental Fish Farm, but Xiao Rui might not be. It makes so much money! But if we don’t give in, this will be very difficult to resolve."

Yang Jianguo stomped his foot in frustration. "We were bullied by foreigners in the past, and we’re still being fucking bullied by them now! When will our Hua Country ever be able to stand up for itself?"

Village Chief Liu sighed, a hint of melancholy in his tone. "Jianguo, we swallow our pride now so that our children won’t have to in the future—so they’ll have the confidence and strength to confront foreign powers."

"But right now, our country is in the middle of reform and opening up precisely to break our isolation and pursue progress. We have to learn critical technologies as quickly as possible to develop our nation."

Yang Jianguo’s face was red. "Xiao Rui called me about this earlier. The exhibition she’s at is still going on."

"She’s so busy and so far away. I don’t want to bother her with this stuff."

"Uncle Liu, tell them this: we’ll discuss everything after Xiao Rui gets back. I, for one, am not backing down."

"That’s my daughter, my only daughter! If it weren’t for Dahuang, the police, and the villagers finding her in time, she might have never come back."

"Those are Japanese devils! They’re the ones who came to our Hua Country to burn, kill, and pillage—they stopped at nothing! To me, they’re not people. They’re goddamn beasts!"

Village Chief Liu had lived through that era. He knew better than anyone.

He gritted his teeth. "I’m just passing on the message, anyway. It’s good you’re not caving! It’ll teach those Little Japan a lesson."

"Our Hua Country might be poor right now, but we are independent. They’re welcome to make money off us—after all, we need their technology."

"But if they try any more of their crooked schemes to hurt our people, we absolutely can’t let them get away with it! If we continue to let them bully us whenever they want, wouldn’t that mean all those people who died in Hua Country’s War of Resistance Against Japan died in vain?"

Yang Jianguo nodded. "That’s exactly what I was thinking!"

Just then, the phone rang.

Yang Jianguo picked up the phone. When he heard Han Xiaorui’s voice, he immediately asked, "How’s the exhibition going?"

Han Xiaorui said with a laugh, "The exhibition was a huge success! We found a ton of clients!"

"The exhibition is over now. We’re taking a special chartered train tomorrow afternoon, and we’re bringing the clients who are coming to inspect the farm back with us."

Yang Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

’The more clients we have, the more leverage we have! Those officials who want us to bow down and suck up to the foreigners will have to think twice about our importance.’

"You’ve worked hard, Xiao Rui!" Yang Jianguo said with a smile. He decided to wait until she returned to discuss how to handle this matter.

Han Xiaorui asked, "Has anyone been pressuring you about the Yamamoto Ichiro incident?"

Yang Jianguo answered, "They have! They didn’t just talk to me directly, they even had Village Chief Liu come and persuade me to ’consider the bigger picture.’"

"But those devils kidnapped my daughter! If I can’t even protect my own child or get justice for her, then what’s the point of working so hard?"

In saying this, Yang Jianguo was indirectly making his position clear: he would not back down.

He would maintain this stance even if the final outcome was not to his satisfaction.

Han Xiaorui chuckled. "Of course we can’t give in! As our breeding techniques improve, there will be more and more people who get jealous."

"Those little devils couldn’t figure it out on their own, so they resorted to crooked methods to steal our techniques. We absolutely can’t let them get used to it. We need to make them think twice before trying anything again."

"This time they kidnapped Minmin. Next time, it could be Pingping and An’an. How could we ever have a moment’s peace?"

Hearing Han Xiaorui’s words, Yang Jianguo felt a sense of relief. "Thank you, Xiao Rui!"

Han Xiaorui shook her head. "You don’t have to thank me. The farm, Minmin... they’re my concern, too."

"I have no intention of giving in. I already suspected this would happen. They’ll try to use the technology transfer as leverage against us."

"I’ve already made a deal with Kuno Hiroo. I’ll provide him with more of our valuable new varieties of ornamental fish, and in return, he will resolve the technology transfer issue for us."

"That way, neither we, nor the officials and relevant departments above us, will have to compromise with Yamamoto Yoshihiko!"

Yang Jianguo was stunned. "Xiao Rui, can it really be resolved that smoothly?"

Han Xiaorui nodded. "Of course. I’m calling you now to set your mind at ease!"

"So just relax, eat well, sleep well, and keep a good eye on our ornamental fish farm! That place is a gold mine for us."

Yang Jianguo quickly replied, "That’s fantastic! You’ve worked so hard, Xiao Rui!"

Han Xiaorui laughed. "It’s no trouble at all. It’s what I should do! Just like you said earlier, isn’t the whole reason we work so hard to build this business to give our families a better life?"

"If we can’t even protect our own family, what’s the point of working so hard?"

Yang Jianguo was touched. "Exactly!"

’He’d been bracing himself for the higher-ups to come and lecture him again, telling him over and over to consider the bigger picture and sacrifice his personal interests.’

’If it were just a matter of money or something else, Yang Jianguo would have been willing to make concessions for the good of the country.’

’But his daughter was his entire world. He could endure injustice himself, but he refused to let his daughter suffer.’

’Anyone who hurt his daughter had to pay the price. That was true even if they were the Little Japan.’

’If he couldn’t punish Yamamoto Ichiro through legal channels, he would resort to violence himself.’

’As a former reconnaissance scout, it would be a simple matter for him to kill a man.’

Yang Jianguo hung up the phone and turned to Village Chief Liu. "Uncle Liu, I’m sure you heard all that. We don’t have to give in!"

Village Chief Liu smiled and nodded, his spirits clearly lifted. "That’s the way it should be! If the higher-ups weren’t putting pressure on me, I never would have brought this up with you in the first place!"

Yang Jianguo smiled. "Uncle Liu, I know. It’s just because we’re too poor and our technology is lagging, so they have us by the throat."

Seeing that Yang Jianguo was no longer angry, Village Chief Liu relaxed. "Alright then, I’ll communicate this to the higher-ups. Just try not to be too confrontational with them."

"Even if the Japanese guy spends a few years in prison here, he’ll just go back home when he’s done. We’re the ones who have to keep living peacefully in Jinshan Bay."

Yang Jianguo knew Village Chief Liu meant well. "Uncle Liu, I get it. I know how to handle it."

Tonight, Yang Jianguo would finally be able to get a peaceful night’s sleep.