SFS Chapter 93 Strawberry Tea Party
Chapter 93 Strawberry Tea Party
At 10 a.m., the sunlight pierced through the double-glazed windows and shone brightly on the smooth, mirror-like epoxy resin floor.
Several black Toyota Crown sedans, carrying the salty smell of the sea breeze, pulled up in front of the Saionji Biotechnology Center. The car doors opened, and leather shoes clicked crisply on the floor.
"Wow, is this the legendary 'Farm of the Future'? Seeing is believing!"
Iwamura, the chairman of the Okawara Agricultural Cooperative, walked at the front. He was in his sixties, somewhat overweight, wearing a slightly loose gray suit, and his thinning hair was combed slicked back. He tilted his head back, squinted at the huge steel dome above him, and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"It's just like a space station from a science fiction movie."
Section Chief Sato, who was following behind him, nodded in agreement, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused. As an official of the Hokkaido Agricultural Administration Bureau, he did not want to get involved in the struggle between the zaibatsu and the local bullies; he just wanted to get through this inspection formality as quickly as possible.
Professor Kijima, wearing a white coat, went up to greet her, holding a data tablet in his hand.
"Chairman Iwamura, Section Chief Sato, this way please." Kijima stepped aside to lead the way, his tone still calm, introducing them in a routine manner, "Currently, our area A uses a fully automated spectral analysis system that can monitor the growth status of every plant in real time..."
The group entered the greenhouse.
Iwamura ignored Kijima's dry explanations about "photosynthetic efficiency" and "nutrient solution ratio." His gaze greedily swept over the expensive equipment, and his finger scribbled heavily on the stainless steel cultivation rack.
There is no dust.
"This set of equipment must have cost a lot of money, right?" Iwamura interrupted Kijima and turned to ask.
"This single circulating water system cost approximately 150 million yuan," Kijima honestly replied.
"One hundred and fifty million..." Iwamura clicked his tongue, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling together, revealing a meaningful smile. "Capitalists in Tokyo are so generous. We farmers who toil in the mud would never see that much money in our entire lives."
He stopped looking at the thriving strawberries and instead, with his hands behind his back, strode towards the VIP reception room on the second floor, like a landlord inspecting his own territory.
……
The reception room has an excellent view; through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, you can see the entire interior of the greenhouse and the distant sea view.
Everyone took their seats.
"Sorry to bother you."
Amy walked in carrying a tray. She was wearing a neat uniform today, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. Although she was a little nervous and her fingertips were slightly cold, she tried her best to control her facial expression and placed the tea and fruit plate steadily on the table.
The fruit platter was filled with freshly picked "Amayo" strawberries, bright red and juicy, each one surprisingly large.
"Chairman Iwamura, Section Chief Sato, please have some tea."
Satsuki sat in the main seat.
Instead of wearing a sharp business suit today, she changed into a light pink dress and had a pearl hair clip in her hair, making her look like a rich girl who was still in middle school.
"This is... that strawberry that costs two thousand yen?"
Iwamura picked up a strawberry, held it up to his eyes and twirled it around, but didn't eat it right away.
"I think it will sell very well in Ginza. Ms. Saionji is truly a young and promising woman; we old folks are simply out of touch with the times."
"President, you flatter me." Satsuki gave a sweet smile, her voice clear and melodious. "I just thought it would be fun, so I asked Professor Kijima to try growing it. I didn't expect everyone to like it so much."
Iwamura took a bite of the strawberry, and juice spilled out.
"Yes, it is sweet."
He put down the half-eaten strawberry, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, leaned forward slightly, and the smile on his face faded a bit.
"However, Miss Saionji," Iwamura lowered his voice, "the items are good, but some things can't be solved by good things alone."
Satsuki blinked, looking completely bewildered.
"What's wrong? Don't you like the strawberries?"
"No, no, no, the strawberries are fine." Iwamura waved his hand. "What I mean is... recently a lot of farmers from the surrounding area have come to the agricultural cooperative to complain to me. They say that here... big trucks come and go every day, making too much noise, which has scared their chickens so much that they stop laying eggs."
Amy, standing to the side, nearly lost her composure upon hearing this. This area, stretching for kilometers, was all wasteland; where would any farmers come from? Where would any chickens come from?
Iwamura sighed, looking like he was in a difficult position.
"Although we had some cooperation in transportation before, and I tried my best to appease everyone, you know how people in the countryside can be very difficult to deal with once they start making a fuss. If the road is blocked by some random things, or the road surface is damaged and needs repair... there's nothing we can do about it."
See the picture poorly.
This is a blatant implication. The previous "toll" wasn't enough, and he wants to use the inspection as an opportunity to squeeze out another "road maintenance fee."
Section Chief Sato picked up his teacup, pretended to drink tea, and looked out the window as if he hadn't heard anything.
The reception room fell silent.
"Oh...I see..."
Satsuki was eating strawberries, completely ignoring what she was saying.
She reached out and picked up a strawberry from the plate.
"Amy, try this one." Satsuki handed the strawberry to Amy behind her, her tone full of a little girl's coquettishness. "I think this one is a bit darker in color than the previous one. Does that mean it's sweeter?"
Amy paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and took the strawberry.
"Is...is that so? Let me try it."
Iwamura, left standing to the side, frowned.
"Miss Saionji?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Satsuki turned her head, her face still bearing that innocent smile. "What did you just say, President Iwamura? That the chickens don't lay eggs?"
She wrinkled her nose, looking genuinely distressed.
"That's terrible. How about I ask Professor Kijima to examine those chickens? He's a professor at the University of Tokyo; he should know how to treat chickens, right?"
"Pfft." Amy quickly covered her mouth and turned around to pretend to cough.
Iwamura's lips twitched slightly.
"Ms. Saionji, I'm not joking." Iwamura's tone became more serious. "I mean, for the sake of long-term harmony, shouldn't the Saionji family show more... sincerity?"
"Sincerity?"
Satsuki tilted her head and pointed to the strawberries on the table.
"These strawberries are the best we can offer! You know, they're top-grade with a sugar content of 15! If they're not sweet enough..."
She suddenly turned her head and called out towards the door:
"Professor Kijima! Professor Kijima! The customer says these strawberries aren't sweet enough! How did you grow them? If this happens again, I'm going to cut off all your funding!"
Professor Kijima, who was outside the door, didn't come in, but he was probably also confused by this sudden "princess temper".
Iwamura and Sato looked at each other.
They prepared a whole host of arguments about local politics, the distribution of benefits, and industry unspoken rules, but it all came back to nothing.
This is a spoiled young lady, oblivious to the hardships of life. Talk to her about "unspoken rules"? She probably doesn't even know how to spell the word "rules."
Iwamura was getting impatient.
He realized that going around in circles with this little girl was a waste of time.
"Ms. Saionji." Iwamura sat up straight, his smile fading. "This is a major matter concerning regional development, and I think it's necessary to discuss it with your father. I wonder when Mr. Shuichi Saionji will be able to come to Hokkaido? There are some things I'd like to discuss with him in person regarding future in-depth cooperation."
The subtext is clear: Since you can't understand human language, let your parents come out.
Satsuki sighed.
She slumped into the chair, fiddling with the unfinished strawberry stem in her hand, her smile turning into one of helplessness and complaint.
"Father..."
Satsuki dragged out the tone.
"I'd like him to come too. But he's been very busy lately."
"Busy?" Iwamura scoffed. "Busyer than the business here?"
"Yes." Satsuki nodded, counting on her fingers, "Last week, Chairman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi called him to play golf, saying it was to discuss the Seibu Group's IPO. They played for three whole days. What's so interesting about hitting that little ball into the hole? Yesterday, the Vice Minister of International Trade and Industry invited him to dinner again, apparently about import quotas. Oh, and the president of Mitsui Bank calls every day, insisting that Father go to Tokyo to look at some new real estate developments..."
Satsuki became increasingly annoyed as she talked, and finally shrugged.
"So my father said that I'm in charge of everything in Hokkaido. He said that as long as I don't flatten the mountains, I can do whatever I want and spend as much money as I want. The main thing is for me to relax."
She raised her head, her eyes as clear as a spring.
"Chairman Iwamura, if you want to see your father, you'll probably have to go to Tokyo and make an appointment. Or, could I give you the secretariat's phone number?"
Iwamura's hand, holding the teacup, paused in mid-air, his fingers slowly rubbing the inside of the cup. His eyelids drooped slightly.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi. Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Mitsui Bank.
Sure enough.
Iwamura thought to himself. He had heard some rumors from the "farmers and foresters" members of parliament in Tokyo that the Saionji family had unfathomable roots in Tokyo and had not only revived their ancestral political legacy, but also gained increasing influence within the faction and had deep ties with the Seibu Group and the financial world.
In retrospect, the intelligence was not only accurate, but it even underestimated the relationship. To be able to play golf with Yoshiaki Tsutsumi for three days straight is no ordinary friendship.
It seems there's a reason why the message from Tokyo asked the Hokkaido Agricultural Cooperative to cooperate on agricultural matters.
He looked at the seemingly innocent and naive little girl in front of him.
If the Saionji family is truly determined to cause trouble here and uses the power of Tokyo's upper echelons to exert pressure, the agricultural cooperatives, while not afraid, will inevitably have to use their trump cards in the Diet, and it will also damage the cooperatives' political credibility within their own factions. It's not worthwhile to expend precious political resources to confront such a giant head-on for such a small "toll."
Even foolish.
Since the Saionji family had already given the transportation and procurement team enough face in the previous agreement, which meant they had acknowledged the agricultural cooperative's territory, there was no need to break off relations for the sake of such a small amount of profit.
As for the showmanship on the surface, who cares how the Saionji family criticizes their agricultural cooperative? No matter how fiercely ordinary people criticize them, it won't change the status of the agricultural cooperative.
"Hehehe..."
All the thinking happens in just a few seconds.
Iwamura suddenly laughed, his wrinkles smoothing out, and he instantly transformed into a kind and amiable elder.
He put down his teacup and didn't respond to the "appointment call".
"Oh dear, since your father is so busy, then I won't bother you any longer. The Saionji family is indeed a large and powerful family; it's truly admirable."
Iwamura picked up a strawberry and exclaimed loudly, as if the threats about "the chickens not laying eggs" had never happened.
"These strawberries...are truly sweet! So sweet! Miss Saionji has such discerning eyes! With you here, agriculture in our Ōkawara region will surely take off!"
This means that he has accepted the current distribution of benefits and will no longer test the limits.
Section Chief Sato, standing nearby, also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, this is truly the pride of Hokkaido!"
"Really?" Satsuki's smile widened, like a child who had been praised. "Then please spread the word when you get back. Amy, quickly pack the gift boxes for the two guests."
"Okay." Amy suppressed a laugh and quickly packed two boxes of premium strawberries.
……
A few minutes later.
A convoy of black cars drove away from the biotechnology center, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The reception room returned to silence.
Satsuki walked to the window, watched the convoy gradually disappear into the distance, picked up a strawberry, and took a small bite.
"Gone?"
Amy leaned closer and stared at Satsuki's face.
"Let's go." Satsuki turned around, looked at Amy's appearance, and chuckled. "Look at you, your hands were shaking just now."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to stop laughing..." Amy laughed too. "So Satsuki-chan can also turn into a clueless rich girl... I thought you'd always be that kind of person..."
Amy imitated Satsuki, performing in an exaggerated manner.
"You... kneel before me, and everything will be under your control~"
"Oh? In your eyes, am I a dictator?"
As Satsuki spoke, she picked up another strawberry.
"Now, I command you: Eat this strawberry."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Amy solemnly accepted it with both hands.
"However, Your Majesty, is that old man alright? He seems like the cunning old fox type."
Satsuki swallowed the strawberry in her mouth, her tone relaxed.
"He's a businessman and a politician. Once he's done the math and knows that arguing is more costly than cooperating, he'll be the most friendly person around."
She stretched and resumed her languid posture.
"Amy, come here."
She walked to the sink in the corner of the reception room.
"Did you shake hands with that old man just now?"
No, not at all.
"I shook it." Satsuki turned on the tap and squeezed out a full pump of hand sanitizer.
The white foam spreads in your hands, releasing a refreshing lemon scent.
Satsuki applied the foam to her hands, then carefully rubbed each finger and between each finger, her movements gentle and delicate, as if she were playing some kind of fun game.
"Even though it's acting, if it gets tainted with that kind of greed, it still needs to be washed clean."
Satsuki hummed an unknown tune, turning handwashing into an exaggerated ritual, with foam splashing onto the mirror.
Amy looked at the reflections of the two people in the mirror.
One was a tycoon's daughter who was skilled at strategizing and manipulating powerful figures, but at this moment she was playing with soap bubbles like a child with obsessive-compulsive disorder, with a mischievous smile on her face.
Although Satsuki is mature beyond her years most of the time, Amy has noticed that she sometimes acts very childishly as they spend more time together.
"puff……"
Amy couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What's wrong?"
Satsuki turned her head to look at Amy. A patch of white foam still clung to the edge of her cheek.
"It's nothing. I just think Satsuki-chan is pretty good like this."
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, bathing the two of them in its warmth and light, making the entire room bright and airy.