Manhattan Reborn 1978

Asia, island country.

Tokyo, Minato.

In a French restaurant hidden in a high-rise building, Sam Rogers sat at the dining table and raised his glass and smiled to Mr. Jeffrey Rand, Deputy Ambassador of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

"When I heard Mag's introduction to you, I thought you were just a collector who loved collecting all kinds of rare artworks."

"I didn't expect your knowledge of the history and culture of various Asian countries to be so amazing!"

"Hahaha~ Thank you." Jeffrey laughed heartily, looked at Sam carefully, nodded slightly, and changed the subject.

"Mag said that the idea of ​​establishing a study abroad counseling agency was proposed by your boss David?"

"That's right." Sam responded with a smile when he heard him bring up the matter.

"According to what I have learned in Tokyo these days, the island government has invested a lot in education in recent years, which has enabled the high school graduation rate of island youth to reach over 50%."

"In addition, the island government actively encourages major companies to sponsor students with good academic performance among their employees' children to study abroad, and encourages major domestic banks to issue student loans to these students who want to study abroad, so that they can return to work in their own country after completing their studies in other countries."

Sam deliberately paused while speaking, picked up the wine glass beside him, shook it gently, looked at Jeffrey with a smile for a few seconds, and then said.

"Government officials and corporate executives in island countries have a large number of children. They can afford to send their children abroad and are willing to invest in their children's education."

"So this time I came here not only to investigate the development prospects of the island country's study abroad market, but also to get familiar with the real attitudes of the island country's government, major companies, major banks and ordinary people in this regard."

"Mr. Rand, what do you think?"

"Me? My thoughts don't matter." Jeffrey looked at Sam and narrowed his eyes.

"The last time I met Mr. Coleman, I only had a brief meeting at the airport. I regret that we didn't have more time to communicate."

"However, since we are already sitting here, you should be very clear about my personal attitude towards this matter."

"I understand!" Sam smiled and raised his glass to him, his eyes sparkling.

"Establish a study abroad counseling agency, sign work agreements with students after returning from study abroad, and work with major companies to establish a high-end overseas talent reserve exchange platform company."

"Then, the platform company representatives will contact the major banks to establish a more efficient and convenient student loan application process for international students, and have them send professionals to the platform company to provide international students with foreign exchange cashing, overseas remittances and other cross-border business issues."

"These are the plans designated by your boss."

"Yes."

"Okay~ Leave everything you just said to me." Jeffrey answered directly without any hesitation.

Sam's face flashed with surprise, and he nodded with a smile: "I will discuss the remaining work with Mag when I return this time, and we will come up with a plan and let you know as soon as possible."

"OK~ Then I wish us a happy cooperation?"

"Happy cooperation!"

. . .

Dinner was over quickly.

Downstairs, on the street.

Mr. Jeffrey Rand, wearing a neat suit and the latest spring windbreaker, with his tall and strong figure and handsome and mature appearance, immediately attracted the attention of countless passers-by.

However, Mr. Rand was already accustomed to being "watched" by passers-by. After patiently waiting for Sam to send his family away, he invited him to walk along the road to the beach.

Sam felt a little puzzled. They had not yet finished discussing the matter, and he wondered what Mr. Rand wanted to do next.

But after walking for a while, he looked back and saw Mr. Edward Dyke following him. He felt a little relieved and simply followed Jeffrey Rand's example, looking around in a relaxed mood while walking forward.

About a quarter of an hour later.

At a crossroads where the sound of waves could be heard, Mr. Rand stopped and led Sam to a roadside shop.

Sam walked to the door of the store and looked up to see a small diamond-shaped flag hanging above it with the words "Yakitori" written on it.

At this time ~

Mr. Jeffrey Rand had already walked into the shop. When Edward Dyke saw this, he quickly caught up with Sam and explained to him in a low voice.

"This is a barbecue restaurant. He would come here occasionally to sit alone and have a few drinks."

"Is there anything special about it?" Sam looked inside the store, then around and asked curiously.

"Of course there is. You'll know if you go in and take a look yourself." Mr. Dyke smiled, an expression that all men understand, and smiled with his eyebrows raised.

"Oh." Sam immediately understood his hint, sighed a little helplessly, and walked into the store.

. . .

Ten minutes later, inside the Yakitori restaurant.

Jeffrey Rand and Sam sat in the corner, drinking cold beer while watching the proprietress and her daughter working diligently.

"Zi La~"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting!" A few skewers of grilled food on bamboo sticks were brought to Sam and his friend by a sweet-looking girl.

"Thank you." Mr. Rand smiled and thanked the girl politely, signaled to Sam not to be polite, picked up a string and started eating it.

"..." Sam tilted his head to take a look, then turned his gaze to the proprietress standing next to the barbecue grill. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He picked up a skewer and started eating it, imitating Mr. Rand's behavior.

"Hmm... What is this?"

“Chicken cartilage.”

"Chicken, and cartilage? Can it be grilled on skewers?"

"Hahaha~ It's not important. What do you think of it?"

"It? Not bad."

"What about her?"

"Which her? Oh..."

“They are all very good.”

"Haha~" Mr. Rand responded to Sam's perfunctory answer with a dry laugh.

Then, it raised the grilled chicken gristle skewers in its hand and said meaningfully: "I have never seen or eaten this before, so I don't quite understand the difference between hard bones and soft bones."

"It wasn't until I accidentally ate soft bones that could be easily crushed by teeth in this store that I finally understood~"

"There is no difference between soft bones and hard bones in this world. The only difference is whether your teeth are hard enough and whether your appetite is good enough."

“As long as our teeth are strong enough and our appetite is good enough, we will never go hungry no matter where we are and we will be the final winners!”

"Are there any tough guys here?" Sam asked jokingly.

"Yes, there are hard bones everywhere."

"But in my opinion, their hard bones have been broken, and only some guys with tougher mouths are left."

"So, what you need to worry about is not this side, but the other side of the sea."

"..." Sam stared at the crispy bone skewers and nodded thoughtfully.

Mr. Rand picked up the beer glass, tilted his head back and drank it directly, then wiped his mouth casually and said, "My father is a senator in Congress, and I am the deputy ambassador of the embassy. Neither of us is suitable to directly participate in any business."

"I understand." Sam came back to his senses instantly and nodded readily.

"You don't need to provide funds or make a public statement. You just need to appoint a few reliable partners. I will have someone communicate with them and get this deal done as soon as possible."

"Business?"

"Yes, business!"

“I like a business that makes money.”

"Me too."

"Hahaha~" Jeffrey and Sam smiled at each other, and clinked their glasses together in tacit understanding.

In the kitchen, the female boss who was busy grilling skewers suddenly heard a familiar laughter coming from behind her. She subconsciously looked back and couldn't help but smile.

. . .

Sam's extra meal at the Yakitori restaurant is over.

He walked out of the store alone and found Edward Dyke. He looked back at Mr. Rand, who was drinking beer comfortably, and asked softly.

"Where is the car parked?"

"Done?" Mr. Dyke followed Sam's gaze, smiled and curled his lips, and asked back.

"Ah."

"OK~ The car is parked over there, follow me."

"You didn't expect that this pampered young man who sits in the embassy office every day would actually like a foreign married woman who is older than him."

"..." Sam glanced at Mr. Dyke and didn't respond.

"Haha~" Mr. Dyke slowed down his pace with a smile on his face, deliberately moved closer to Sam and whispered.

"Jeffrey Rand's personal life can be said to be extremely bad, but his personal reputation in other aspects has always been good, and he always deliberately keeps a distance from others."

“This makes many people who know Mr. Land’s friends here feel like they can be called friends.”

"But what they don't know is that Jeffrey's way of doing things is completely in line with the tradition of the Rand family. He is not too close to anyone, nor too distant. He keeps a certain distance from others so that everyone will feel more comfortable."

"What about Mugg? Is he an exception?" Sam understood what Mr. Dyke meant, put his hands in his pockets and quickened his pace.

"He shouldn't be an exception." Mr. Dyke thought about it seriously and replied.

"Marg Ludwig, who served as a media spokesperson for President Nixon's advisory team."

"Ever since Nixon lost to Kennedy in the presidential candidate television debate in 1960, he has taken the media very seriously."

"Mag graduated from Johns Hopkins University. He was able to get the position of the president's mouthpiece because he had many friends in major media outlets. He would be the first to receive any news that was unfavorable to President Nixon."

"What about the Watergate scandal? Didn't he receive the information from his friends in advance?" Sam asked, as if he was deliberately looking for trouble.

"Haha~ that time, it was different." Mr. Dyke said, waving to the young man from the island country, Takimoto Kawa, who was standing in the distance, and explained in a low voice.

“Wherever there are people in the world, there will be some inexplicable competition.”

"You haven't worked in Washington before, and you don't know what people there will do to get the power and personal gain they want."

"If we look back now, their decision at that time will seem extremely stupid and ridiculous."

"But at the time, they all thought they had made the most correct decision, that they were right and everyone else was wrong, and that no one could interfere with my decision!"

"You mean Nixon?"

"No, I mean everyone involved in Watergate."

"Including Mag?"

"Yes."

"What about your CIA? Did it play a disgraceful role in it?"

"Haha~ I can't answer your question."

"Perhaps, when you truly enter the circle known as the upper class, you can try to find the answer yourself."

Sam held the car door with one hand and looked at Mr. Dyke. He frowned and was silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled: "You said in the morning that you were going to arrange the itinerary today?"