Chapter 6 Chapter Six

National Highway No. 1 from Kyoto to Otsu is very congested.At 7:30 in the morning, the vicinity of Yamashina was crowded with trucks, but most of the vehicles were going to the city of Kyoto, and few were going outside the city. Around 8 o'clock, the taxi that Mioka took turned left at Hamaotsu and passed near Mitsui Temple.Going straight along this road is Sakamoto.There is still a white morning mist on the halfway up Mount Hiei. God for good.Ajika opened the left window to enjoy the cool breeze blowing from Lake Biwa.There are many small hotels and hotels in this area, and there are several white boats floating on the lake.

The car made another left turn before entering Sakamoto Town.There is a sign at the corner, which says "Entrance of Lake West Country Club".The road dedicated to the club is built on the slope at the eastern foot of Hiei Mountain, and it twists and turns.The road was two lanes wide and looked pale against the dark cedar groves on either side. In front of Mioka's taxi, two other black chartered cars were speeding.In fact, Mioka had seen the two cars when he was in Hamaotsu, but they kept a distance of about 200 meters between them.There are not many cars going to Sakamoto. After starting from Kyoto, driving all the way along the road, only those cars going to the club are left.At that time, Mioka believed that it was a car going to the club, and seeing them turn into the club's dedicated road one after another, he became even more convinced.

The morning meeting time is approaching, and they should also be going to the Nanyuan Club Golf Club.However, Ajika was too far away from them, so he couldn't see clearly who was sitting in the chartered car.There is only one person sitting in the two chartered cars, which is very extravagant, maybe it is a high-ranking government official-according to the usual practice, Jushi will provide a chartered car for every high-ranking official present. The uphill mountain road was winding and uneven, and the chartered car in front disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.After the taxi turned the corner, I saw two chartered cars, but they disappeared into the jungle after a while.

Ajika wondered how long it would be until he reached the country club.This is simply a winding mountain road!The fir forests on both sides are getting denser, and the grass under the trees is also extremely lush.The morning sun shines on the treetops, but under the trees is a dusk scene.There is also a stream in the woods with a small bridge over it.Along the way, Ajika didn't see a single pedestrian—walking into such a dense forest alone, he would definitely lose his way. "Driver, haven't you arrived at the stadium yet?" Mioka asked. "I'll be there in a minute, there's still three minutes left."

Turning the last corner, the white building of the country club appeared on the high front.The club cut down some cedar trees to make a flat viewing platform.The building of the whole club looks like a chocolate box, very fashionable.The first two chartered cars also stopped in front of the entrance. "Oh, there is also a car coming from behind." The driver looked at the rearview mirror and said. Wei Gang looked back, and sure enough it was another chartered car.He could only see the driver, but not the passengers inside. I looked at my watch—twenty past eight.As expected, members of the Nanyuan Club arrived one after another.

He was about to register at the reception desk in the lobby, but he found three tables covered with white cloth in front of the registration window, just like the reception desk at the entrance of the hotel banquet venue.A man in his thirties and two women in their mid-twenties stood behind a table.On the white cloth was a sign with the words "Nanyuanhui Reception Office". "Good morning." The middle-section man with fair skin bowed his head to greet, and at the same time he did not forget to confirm Ajika's appearance with sharp eyes. Mioka took out invitations from his pocket and put them into the box on the table - there were already quite a few invitations inside.The man confirmed the list of participants spread out on the table, and made a mark in front of Mioka's name with a red pencil.The young woman immediately handed over a badge in the shape of a red rose.

Ajika didn't know the men and women at the reception. "The dressing room is here, please." The woman in a white skirt suit took the initiative to lead Mioka. Although the club hall is large, it is a bit dark.The sunlight coming in through the windows in the distance creates a backlighting effect, turning everyone who walks in front of me into shadows.Outside the window, the blue of the sky and the green of the forest each occupy half. "Is Master Jushi here?" Ajika asked the woman who turned her back. "It's already here." After all, Jushi Tangming is the host of the club, so he must have come earlier.The ball will start at nine o'clock.It is estimated that Jushi is either in the cafeteria or in the reception room of the office at the moment.

"Have all the attendees arrived?" "Basically they are here." Although her words were polite, they did not carry any emotional color.Speaking of which, how is Miyoko Sawada doing?She needs to coordinate the Nanyuan Club's office with one hand, so she will naturally be there.She is also Jushi's secretary, so she must be with Jushi, right?Thinking of this, Ajika couldn't help but be concerned about the whereabouts of Miyoko Sawada.If he could meet her, he might be able to find out the identities of the officials attending the meeting. "Where is Miss Zetian?"

"Ah? Ms. Sawada?" The woman turned her head to look at Wei Gang, frowning, showing a very surprised expression. "Miss Sawada Miyoko from Nanyuanhui." "I do not know her." "Ah..." Miokamoto wanted to ask: "Then who are you?" But he swallowed the sentence back.Jushi Tangming is a mysterious figure, God knows what other organizations he has under his command.This young woman is definitely not a fuel-efficient lamp. The woman handed over the key of the cabinet for visitors to Mioka, explained the relevant matters to the person in charge, and said, "Everyone waits in the lobby or cafeteria after changing clothes." Then she left the changing room.

Mioka took out the sweatshirt, sweatpants, shoes and hat from the suitcase, and stuffed the changed suit into the closet.Obesity made his movements slow.While he was changing, another four or five men entered with handbags.They looked at the number on the key and found their locker.Most of the men are middle-aged in their forties or fifties, some are fat and some are thin, some are bald, some have gray hair, and there is a young man in his thirties with black hair.They didn't seem to know each other, they didn't talk at all, they just changed clothes on their own.With such a cold attitude, Ajika decided that they were all high-ranking officials. As for whether they were high-ranking officials of the Tokyo Provincial Department or the local government, he couldn't judge.Anyway, after the ball will start, Jushi will introduce them one by one.Mioka nodded and left the locker room.

Ajika walked past the reception desk where the keys were collected, and walked towards the lobby, only to meet a tall man at the front of the stairs—the sunlight illuminated Naruse Keiichi's sharp-edged side face. "Oh, it's Mr. Mioka, good morning." Keiichi Naruse, construction executive of the Daito Group, spoke first. After all, it was a head-on encounter, and Ajika couldn't hide even if he wanted to.Anyway, we will meet after we start playing. Since we don't want to talk nonsense with him, we might as well say hello here first. "It's early too, don't you come here all right?" Mioka stopped and replied. "Haven't you seen him since that day?" Naruse smiled, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth that were particularly conspicuous in a dim place.Naruse is much taller than Mioka, and Mioka always needs to look up at him when he talks, which makes him very unhappy. The "that day" in Naruse's mouth is the day when he went to the Shenbang Building in the rain together with Takeo Nakahara of Gongrong Construction.What Naruse did that day and what he did after Naruse left, as well as the corpse on the roof, all left a heavy haze in Mioka's heart.Was Naruse's words intentional or unintentional?Ajika couldn't judge either, but from Naruse's sharp eyes, he didn't see any special meaning. "Yes," Ajika replied casually, "Did you also arrive in Kyoto last night?" "No, I live in Osaka. Although it is more convenient to live in Kyoto, I have to go to Osaka for something," Naruse replied, "You stayed in Kyoto for one night, right?" Miokamoto wanted to ask Naruse if Jushi lived in Osaka last night, but he still didn't ask, so he changed the question: "It seems that Jushi teacher has come, you saw him ?" "Not yet, I just arrived." "Oh, yeah. See you later." Ajika was about to leave, but Naruse poked his elbow and kept him. "Mr. Mioka, I haven't seen Mr. Koshi, but I have seen Mr. Sueyoshi, that is Yusuke Sueyoshi from Koto Construction." "What? Where did you meet?" "He's standing there at the reception. He nodded to me when he saw me. Did you ask him to come here?" Naruse had a smile on his face, but his eyes were fixed on Mioka. "Sueyoshi has chased him here," Ajika replied without thinking, "I can't believe it! I didn't ask him to come here!" He said while looking in the direction of the reception, but unfortunately he couldn't see the reception from this angle. table. "Isn't it you?" "Of course not me!" "Oh, I know he has been pestering you to introduce him to the club, so when I saw him, I thought you had sent him." One more member means one more competitor.In particular, Sue Kichi has grown from a small local construction company to today's scale by relying on his unreasonable temper. Many people are wary of him. Last night, after Ajika heard that Nakahara of Kyosei Construction had seen Sueyoshi in the restaurant of K Hotel, a sense of ominous premonition arose in his heart.Sure enough, Sueyoshi Yusuke appeared in the country club again.This stubbornness not only made Wei Gang shudder, but also made him angry. Both Nakahara's protest and Naruse's report were based on the misunderstanding that "Sueyoshi was called by Mioka".This is all the result of Sueji talking to himself and disregarding the positions of others.Sukichi simply underestimated him.Wei Gang decided that the next time he saw him, he would not only reject his membership request, but also call him bloody. Agitated, Mioka quickened his pace and walked towards the reception.If it weren't for the impulsiveness at this moment, Ajika probably wouldn't have the courage to scold Suekichi. Seeing that Sueyoshi was not at the reception, Mioka went to the lobby again.Four or five men and women sat on the sofa in the lobby chatting and watching TV.The reception desk will give every member of the Nanyuan Club a badge to pin on their chest, but no one in the lobby has a badge.Thinking about it, the club started in less than half an hour, and the members didn't have time to spend in the lobby. Mioka went to the cafeteria again.The cafeteria provides coffee and iced drinks, and many members will rest here before the club starts. The thirty tables in the cafeteria were almost full.Some are five people sharing a table, while others are three people.Some pinned red rose badges to hat ribbons, others pinned them to shirt pockets. Mioka did not sit down, but stood at the entrance of the cafeteria and looked around.One side of the cafeteria faces the fairway. Opposite the floor-to-ceiling windows are verdant lawns, rolling mounds, pine trees with beautiful shapes like potted plants, and endless forests. You can also glimpse a corner of Lake Biwa shining in the sun.Small figures move slowly on the fairway. But Mioka didn't care to look at the scenery outside the window, but scanned the faces at the table.Of course, this is a cafeteria after all, and non-members can also come in to eat. Many colleagues who knew Mioka also smiled and raised their hands.Ajika also responded with a pretentious attitude.Finally, his sight swept to the head covered with white hair.Although the person turned his back to Mioka, the white hair, the outfit, and the figure from the back—it was definitely Sueyoshi Yusuke. Ajika brazenly walked towards Sueyoshi's back. Suddenly, Mioka's feet froze— He found that the person who was talking face-to-face with Sueji was not Jushi Tangming? Ajika was stunned, unable to move.The white-haired man seemed to sense someone behind him, and looked back, "Oh, it's Mr. Mioka." Suekichi didn't intend to get up at all, he just pulled out a chair and leaned over. He is wearing a white sports shirt.The red rose emblem on the chest is proudly in full bloom. Mioka didn't know what to say.Seeing this, Sueyoshi whispered to Jushi next to him, "Mr. Ajika from Sunstar Construction." Jushi Tangming slowly turned his head and said, "Weigaoka, come here, sit down." "How did it become like this?" When playing, Ajika was full of this question and the humiliation brought by the question. Anyone can misunderstand. But is such a huge misunderstanding really possible? The scene just now told Mioka that Sueyoshi Yusuke had a direct connection with Koshidoaki.Sueji is like Jushi's little follower.Mioka couldn't believe his eyes.He blushed with shame, thinking that this time his majesty was gone in front of Nakahara and Naruse Takaichi.Both Nakahara and Naruse thought that Sueyoshi's introduction to the club was Mioka, so Nakahara came to the room to protest last night. Sueyoshi Yusuke in the cafeteria was all smiles, but he was not polite to Mioka.Although Ajika did not do him any favors, he had been asking Ajika to introduce him to the club before, why didn't he even have a word of explanation?Not only that, but he also put on a proud expression, as if to say: "Huh, without your introduction, I still joined the club on my own!" Suekichi's oily face shone with confidence, and his nose seemed to be straight. Woke up. While welcoming the honored guest, Jushi Tangming said a few words to Sue Kichi.It seems that the friendship between the two is no longer a day or two. The guests invited by Jushi are either high-ranking government officials or members of the Nanyuan Club.A total of five senior officials were present.Mioka knew the positions and names of three of them.These three golf clubs who often participate in the Nanyuan Club are senior bureaucrats of the Ministry of Finance, and they are all in their fifties.The remaining two are new faces.The members of the Nanyuan Club are naturally people from various construction companies. Jushi Tangming usually does not introduce distinguished guests to members immediately, nor does it formally introduce them in public, and naturally there is no link of exchanging business cards.When the ball is halfway through, Jushi will introduce the members to the officials lightly.Members are very reassured about this - this "relief" means a lot. Jushi Tang Ming entertained the guests with thoughtful etiquette, and the guests respected Jushi very much.A member of the Nanyuan Association saw officials talking with Jushi, and once lamented that they treated Jushi as "treating a loving father".Indeed, apart from etiquette, there is also a touch of intimacy between senior bureaucrats and Jushi—one can see that they have indeed had a friendship of more than 30 years. However, the most shocking thing about Mioka is that Yusuke Sueyoshi seems to have won the trust of Doaki Goose, and Goze has always brought him by his side.Even the grouping of the game surprised Mioka: the three senior officials were the distinguished guests of Jushi, so he would naturally put them into his own group, and the remaining two guests went to other groups, and that group Here, there is Yusuke Sueyoshi.Sueyoshi who had just joined the club - he should have already joined the club - was able to be grouped with the officials, which annoyed Mioka, although Mioka didn't know who the two officials were or what their names were.Afterwards, Jushi will of course introduce the official to everyone in his "personal capacity".One of the officials was forty-three or four-year-old, with dark skin, thick eyebrows, and a strong build.All in all, it is unprecedented in the history of Nanyuanhui to pair Sueji, who is participating in the event for the first time, with officials. However, Wei Gang had to be placed in a group with the top management of the other three construction companies, including Zhong Yuanzai.Needless to say, groups with distinguished guests are highly valued.Everyone's handicap is similar, and the organizer can adjust the grouping at will.Ajika felt even more humiliated when he thought that the result of the grouping was huge. "Why did it become like this? Such a prudent momentum..." Mioka's handicap is 12, and it takes about 40 to 44 shots for the half-way.If the condition is good, it will be more than 30 strokes, and if the condition is not good, it will even be more than 45 strokes. However, from the tee box on the 1st hole, he fell into a passive state. Hole 1 is 526 yards PAR5.As long as he does not hit the teeing area incorrectly, Mioka is still very sure of winning. His worst score before was 1 over par. It's terrible. It really is a matter of mentality.Mioka thought to himself, we must calm down, and we must not let others see that I am panicking.However, his partner Takeo Nakahara kept staring at him.His hat covered the tops of his eyes, except for a large nose that stood out. Nakahara has always wanted to talk to Ajika about Sueyoshi.Obviously, he too was hit.However, after all, there were two colleagues who were not familiar with him, so it was inconvenient to speak.Even if he didn't speak, he kept asking Mioka with his eyes.Mioka shook his head, as if to say: "I don't know either!" Nakahara still suspected that Sueyoshi was introduced by Mioka. Under the strong sunlight, the green lawn was particularly eye-catching, and beads of sweat were already oozing from Mioka's thick neck. The four people in the first group have already started playing the No. 1 hole.Then came the second group, then the third group where Mioka was, and the fourth group was Jushi and the three senior officials. In the second group was Sue Kichi.The sun's rays are reflected in the swung club.A small white golf ball is flying in the vast blue sky.Caddies stare at the ball to see where it lands. "Oh..." Among the four people waiting, two sighed.Sueji's first shot hit the fairway around 230 yards.The burly man in that group shook his head, as if to say, "I can't beat him..." The tall Naruse Keiichi was also in that group.The distance shot by the other three is indeed not as far as Sueji. Seeing Sueyoshi Yusuke's performance so well, Mioka couldn't help feeling anxious.Those in the front group walk slowly down the fairway.Sueyoshi was chatting and laughing with the burly official. Ajika won the right to strike first in boxing games.After taking a deep breath, he walked to the batting position.However, his heart was still full of uneasiness, and his swing posture lost his usual rhythm.From the back swing to the delivery, his posture was completely out of order, and he hit a shaved ball that only rolled 100 yards or so before hitting the rough.In the past few years, he has never made such a big mistake. He felt that the blood all over his body was flowing backwards, and his face was sweating.He could hit the ball out of the rough with an iron, but he wanted to hit more distance, so he chose a 3-wood.This time he miscalculated again and finally hit the ball in the fairway. "The chin was raised too high, and I didn't look at the ball." A team member whispered.Hearing this, Ajika became even more anxious.His ball fell far behind the rest of the team. The third shot was not satisfactory, but it still couldn't make up the gap opened by the first two shots. The ball was still 150 yards away from the green. 5on2 push, double bokeh. Mioka and the others walked down the slope.The two colleagues walked in front, and Ajika and Nakahara were separated from them by a certain distance.Mioka is too fat, and his movements are always a beat slower than others.Caddies wheeled carts full of clubs along quickly.He wore a helmet and had his handkerchief wrapped around his face to keep him from getting sunburned. "Mr. Mioka, what happened to Sukina?" Nakahara lowered his voice and asked. "I didn't do it, I don't know anything!" Wei Gang shook his head desperately, and replied hastily. "how do I say this?" "It's the teacher! It was Sueji who directly negotiated with the teacher, no, it's not a negotiation, but consensual mutual consent! The only possibility is that..." "But...then our order isn't all messed up..." "It's the teacher's decision. There's nothing we can do about it. The teacher's order is the imperial decree, and we can only listen to it." Zhong Yuan looked dissatisfied and said no more.I don't know if it was because he was approaching the teeing area and he was afraid of being heard by the other two, or because he was overwhelmed by "the word of great momentum is the imperial decree". Walking to the next tee area, Sueji and the others are near the No. 2 hole under the slope. The 2nd hole is 160 yards PAR3.Sueyoshi won the first shot on the 1st hole with par.He strikes again and again, 1on, and the ball is only three meters away from the red flag marking the entrance of the hole. He must be very proud of himself.Neither the strong senior official, the tall Naruse nor the other official hit the green with a single shot. Both were 2on. Mioka's performance after the 2nd hole was disastrous.After halfway through, he himself felt unbearable to look back. Instead of staring at the ball, he couldn't help but stare at Sueji from the previous group. Hole 2 needs to turn over a ditch, but Mioka's ball fell into the ditch, OB.The third shot started from the beginning, and finally hit the ditch.Mioka couldn't believe that after playing golf for so many years, he could still hit OB.If the ball can fly 100 yards, it can easily cross that ditch.Therefore, on the 2nd hole, Mioka's results were also very dismal: 4on2 putts, three bogeys. The 3rd and 4th holes finally ended with bogey.The best batting game on weekdays has become so tricky.The most terrible thing is that today's Ajika can't hit the long-distance ball at all. Hole 5, 420 yards PAR4.Ajika made another major mistake.The second shot missed the green, but hit the bunker in front of the green. The third shot landed 20cm behind the ball. As a result, the ball only moved forward and stayed in the bunker.On weekdays, his sand wedge is still pretty good, but today he is completely out of shape.The sixth shot managed to hit the ball out of the bunker, but he was too concerned about the existence of Moji, and the rhythm of his swing was completely out of order.Seeing that the score was exhausted, Wei Gang began to break the can, and it took him a full 56 strokes halfway. People in the fourth group - Jushi and the other three executives always followed behind Weigang "waiting", which also formed great psychological pressure on him.Ajika made mistakes all the time and wasted a lot of time, allowing the group behind to catch up.They stood on the hill and watched Wei Gang finish his fight. The group of executives seemed to be saying to Jushi: "The one who played very badly, seems to be the Mioka from Sunstar Construction that I met before?" Ju Shi gestured and said, "That's right, that's Wei Gang, I don't know what happened to him today, how could he play so badly." At half past eleven, halfway through the game, Mioka returned to the club hall.The first two groups have returned to the cafeteria, only the fourth group and the last fifth group where the giant is still on the fairway. The cafeteria has prepared lunch for twenty people, and it will only start after everyone arrives at twelve o'clock.During the meal, Jushi will introduce the VIPs and members personally - this is the practice of the golf club. Jushi prohibits members from inquiring about the positions of officials and discussing business-related topics.All in all, just met by chance.The members are also satisfied with this, and this "accidental party" is also of great significance to the officials.This proves that Jushi Tangming is the link between officials and construction companies.Judging from the atmosphere of the club, the high dues did go into the pockets of the officials—maybe not in cash, but in an untraceable way, handed over to them by Jushi at an appropriate time. More than a dozen people waited for Jushi and officials to arrive in the chat room.Some of them sat on chairs, while others paced back and forth.They need to use seemingly ordinary dialogue to find out the other party's business situation. Only then did Mioka realize that Sueyoshi was not in the room.He is in the second group and should have finished playing ten minutes ago.The robust official in his group and another middle-aged official whose name and position are unknown are all there, and Naruse Keiichi is still standing beside him smiling and nodding.They seemed to be chatting about golf. Naruse met eyes with Mioka who was in the distance, and he bowed to the official, said "Excuse me", and winked at Mioka with those big eyes.Ajika also stood up, and walked together with Naruse to the terrace where Lake Biwa could be seen beyond the forest. "It's really weird, Sueyoshi actually came to participate." Naruse muttered while looking at Lake Biwa in the distance.Ajika also echoed, "That's right..." At this time, Wei Gang noticed another "strange thing". "Why didn't Miyoko Sawada come? She used to participate as the teacher's secretary..." In previous Nanyuan Club golf clubs, Miyoko Sawada would be responsible for entertaining guests and helping the teacher with various chores.Wei Gang wanted to take the opportunity to ask Naruse about Sawada's news. "Perhaps it's because there are important matters that cannot be separated from Tokyo. After all, she has won the trust of the teacher, and the teacher can trust her to handle things." Naruse did not answer.The sharp and thin cheeks showed tension and seriousness.He put his hands behind his back, moved his heels, and then stood still again, taking a long breath, as if he wanted to exhale all the way to the lake in the distance. "Mr. Mioka, you must have read it in the newspaper, right? On June 10, the day the three of us went to see the teacher in the Shenbang Building, a corpse was found in the mechanical room on the roof..." Mioka's heavy body almost lost his balance.The incident that he had managed to forget was instantly revived under Naruse's meaningful words. "Ah, I saw it in the newspaper. What a coincidence. In this world, when and where will happen, no one can say. But the body was discovered after we left, right?" Mioka said. Said calmly. "That being said, but..." Naruse said halfway through, as if he suddenly changed his mind, and his whole tone changed, "But the man who died seems to have a lot of background, he advertised that he had a huge loan on hand, Defrauded several million and then escaped, and there are two previous convictions for fraud, such a person dares to call himself the director of the Senate support club..." "do you know him?" "No, I also read it from the newspaper. His background is really... Besides, it happened on the day we went to the building, and the victim is so mysterious, so the impression will naturally be deeper." At this time, four men came out from the entrance of the club hall.Ajika and Naruse looked back and found that the person who came was not a huge force. Why haven't Jushi and the others come back?What are they doing?Could it be that they are waiting for the fifth group to finish playing and go back to the cafeteria for dinner together? Naruse breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "But..." Mioka understood that this "but" turned the topic back to the unfinished sentence just now. "I said, Mr. Mioka, I heard a strange thing—right at the place where the body was found." "Strange thing? What strange thing?" Wei Gang didn't know what he wanted to say, and his heart twitched. "Didn't you read the follow-up report in the newspaper?" Naruse asked rhetorically. "Oh, I've been on a business trip here for the past few days, and I haven't read any newspapers in Tokyo for four days, and the local newspapers haven't reported this news." Mioka regretted it as soon as he said "four days".Fortunately, Naruse didn't notice, and didn't ask Ajika where he went on a business trip for those three days.Ajika hurriedly asked Naruse what was going on. "The evening paper the day before yesterday said that a flower was found in the mechanical room on the roof of the Shenbang Building where the body was found. Of course, when the police investigated the body at the scene, the flower was not there. The next day they returned to the scene to investigate carefully When the time comes, the flower appears inexplicably..." "Flower? What kind of flower?" "Gerbera." Naruse's answer turned Ajika's terrifying guess into reality. "..." "The police found it when they went to the scene for the second time. The flower stem was broken in half. Some people thought that the flower was there at the beginning, but the police missed it, but the police insisted that the flower appeared later. In other words, someone put flowers on the roof or threw them on the roof before the investigation started the next day. The report also said that the police did not know why someone would do this.” "..." "Mr. Mioka, do you still remember? When we went to the teacher's office that day, there was a gerbera flower on Miyoko Sawada's desk... Anyway, I saw it, did you see it?" "Ah, there seems to be such a thing..." Mioka swallowed his saliva and said. Near the lunch time, Jushi Tangming and the officials in the fourth and fifth groups returned to the hall from the fairway, and all the members of the Nanyuan Club finally arrived.Before he knew it, Sueyoshi Yusuke also returned to the hall, and sat on the table next to Jushi. Although it is "lunch", this is the cafeteria of the golf club after all, there will not be any luxurious dishes, only ordinary set meals.However, today's ball club is organized by Jushi Tangming, and senior officials from the provincial government are also present. In the hearts of the members, this will definitely be a solemn luncheon. Sueyoshi Yusuke's white head shone by the bright window, his cheeks became more rosy, and there was a smile on his face - in Mioka's view, it was a "shameless" smile. Sueji, how did you join the club?Mioka really wanted to go to Sueyoshi and ask what happened.Since you joined the club, why didn't you tell me?You stalked me before, but you didn't say a word when you succeeded. What do you mean?Thanks to you, both Nakahara of Gongrong Construction and Naruse of Daito Group Construction are now suspecting that I am your introducer. However, Ajika did not approach Sueyoshi, but kept staring at Sueyoshi's white head.After the lunch meeting, he must confront Sueji face to face.Suddenly, Jushi Tangming stood up and began to give a speech. He thanked the club's visitors and members, and then signaled Sueyoshi next to him to stand up. "...Then I would like to introduce a new member of the Nanyuan Club. He is Yusuke Sueyoshi, the president of Koto Construction Co., Ltd., whose head office is located in Tokyo. I am the person who introduced you. Please take care of me. he." After everyone applauded, Sueyoshi bowed his head and said: "Hello everyone, I am Sueyoshi Yusuke from Koto Construction. Thanks to the kindness of the teacher, I am finally honored to be a member of Nanyuanhui today. I will definitely follow the example of my predecessors in the future. Please support me a lot." .” He said a few polite words in a serious manner, bowed his head several times to Jushi and the senior officials around him, and then returned to his seat. Now the matter finally came to light: it turned out that Sueyoshi's introducer was Jushi Tangming himself!In order to enter the Nanyuan Club, there must be a member's introduction, and the approval of the president, Ju Shi, is required.This is different from ordinary goodwill groups—membership does not require the unanimous consent of all members, and it is completely dictatorial by Jushi. After all, the purpose of the Nanyuan Club is not goodwill, but to establish a good relationship with government agencies in order to receive more orders for public utilities.Jushi is the medium that connects officials and members.However, construction companies do not have direct contact with officials, but have indirect contact through Jushi, that is, "construction company-Jushi-officials". Every member needs to pay a high membership fee, but they don't know which official has received exactly how much.This ingenious and complex method ensures that senior officials will not be involved in scandals because of "taking bribes".Because members and officials have no personal contact at all, they are like strangers, they just met each other at a certain golf course, at most they just greeted each other and talked a few words... However, the secrets of the Nanyuanhui are far more than that.Once you join the club, you will find that it is a mysterious organization full of mysteries.This is one of the reasons why membership is so difficult.Of course, there is another reason: the more members there are, the fewer projects each member will receive. Ajika was very surprised: even he himself was hesitant to introduce Sueyoshi to join the club, but Jushi actually acted as Sueyoshi's introducer himself.Sueji is indeed good at stalking, but will Jushi really be moved by such an offensive? Jushi's speech just now solved the mystery of Sueji's introducer, but how he joined the club is still a question. Everyone started to enjoy lunch, but Mioka had no appetite at all.He played golf all morning, although he had a lot of exercise, and he only ate a piece of toast at the hotel before going out this morning.However, Ajika always felt that his heart was in a panic, and the food was hard to swallow. His half-time grades were so poor, it's no wonder he lacked energy.Of course, this is also the result of Sueji Yusuke's sudden appearance hitting him.Not only that, but there was another haze in Mioka's heart - that is what Naruse said in the conversation room just now.The day before yesterday, a Tokyo newspaper reported that a gerbera flower whose stem had been folded in half appeared on the roof of the Shenbang Building.On that day, Miyoko Sawada also had a gerbera flower on her desk. At 4:30 p.m. on June 10, when Wei Gang entered the Dongming Institute of Economics, the gerbera flowers were still in the vase.On the night of the 9th, three men disguised as employees moved the body of Yanagihara Kosuke to the mechanical room on the roof.So when Mioka saw the gerbera, it had nothing to do with the incident.Even if a petal was stuck to his trousers, the police would not suspect him.But such a report appeared the day before yesterday—the situation was completely different. Ajika secretly prayed that the gerbera at the scene was not the one in the office. He slipped into the empty room alone that day, although it was not his intention, but it was the truth.Wei Gang has not told anyone about this matter, and it is precisely because of this that the police may suspect it.Worst of all, he got a suspicious phone call... He was careless for a while, letting others hear his voice. That phone call should have been made by someone related to Jushi Tangming.After answering the phone, Ajika left the office in a hurry—maybe the other party would become suspicious and send someone to investigate.That's why he didn't tell others about the "invasion" of the office.So far, there is no need to say any more. However, there was one person who knew that Ajika had a flower petal stuck to his trouser leg. That is Yusuke Sueyoshi.He reminded Weigang in the coffee shop on the ground floor of the building. At that time, Weigang thought he had seen through that he had sneaked into the office, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Ajika secretly prayed that Sueyoshi would forget about this trivial matter. But if Sueyoshi also saw that report... “我看见了！味冈专务的裤管上黏了一片扶郎花的花瓣！就是六月十日下午五点左右……”要是末吉只是想起了这件事也就罢了。他会不会向巨势堂明打小报告呢？要是警方知道了这件事呢？警方很重视现场发现的这朵花。 这时，俱乐部的服务生突然问道：“请问是味冈先生吗？” “唔……是……是啊……” “有您的电话。” “电话？”他还以为是总公司打给他的。 他将餐巾放在桌上，向周围人示意之后站起。大部分人都已吃完了。 味冈跟着服务生走出食堂，走下几级台阶，又走过谈话室。 “电话在哪儿？”味冈问道。 “不好意思，在事务所里。” 服务生一着急，竟用京都话回答了味冈的问题。 这时，一名站在谈话室眺望琵琶湖风景的中年男子，回头望向服务生与味冈。味冈察觉到了附近有人，但并没有发现那人看的正是自己。 离大门很近的事务所里有四五个员工。房间中间有个柜台，将房间分为内外两部分。电话就放在柜台上。 味冈举起搁在桌上的听筒：“喂喂，我是味冈。” “啊，味冈先生吗？”对方是个女的，但并非公司交换台员工的声音。味冈心中一紧。 “我是刈野温泉的金弥。喂喂，能听出来吗？” “……哦……我知道。”他赶忙将听筒紧贴耳边，生怕高亢的女声被事务所的员工听了去。 “对不起呀，电话都打到高尔夫球场来了。”金弥说道。 “没事……”其实，味冈并没想到金弥会从刈野打电话到高尔夫球场。 “您明天真的会来温泉吗？” “呃……我的确是这么想的……” “光想有什么用啊，嘴上说的都靠不住，我决定自己过去找您啦。” “啊？”味冈吓得差点松开听筒。 “您是一个人住在京都的酒店里吧？”金弥尖声问道。 “呃……是啊……” “没有带女伴儿来吧？” "No……" “那我过去也不会有问题吧？” 味冈生怕那些正在登记账簿、誊写票据的员工竖起耳朵偷听，吓得心惊胆战。“应该……没问题吧……” “喂喂，您旁边有人吗？” “嗯……电话在事务所呢。” “啊，这样啊，”金弥压低嗓门，“味冈先生，我也不确定您到底会不会来温泉，我就决定自己去京都找您，总比去东京找您好吧？” “呃……话是这么说……可……” “没事，您不用来刈野了，我想早些见到您，有话对您说，就是您问的那个山下"的事情。 " “山下”就是潜伏在刈野温泉的柳原孝助，这一点应该没错。正巧味冈也想打听打听柳原的事情。 “我查到了好多山下的事情。” “是吗？”味冈的声音终于有了底气。 “而且人家想您了嘛，呵呵，”金弥在电话那头含羞笑道，“您就让我去吧？” 味冈也想听听金弥口中的“山下”，而且他又回忆起了金弥的身体……今晚要是独自入睡，那也太凄凉了。听到金弥的声音，味冈不禁想道。“那……就这么着吧。” “哎呀，人家好高兴。”金弥大喊道，仿佛在电话那头举起了双手。 “不过……你要来我住的酒店吗？” “别担心嘛，我也知道那样不方便，我会住别家酒店的。” "..." “等我到了京都，就给您的房间打电话，到时候再决定去哪儿吧。” "it is good." “我大概六点多到京都车站。那个时候您应该已经从高尔夫球场回去了吧？” “应该是的。” “那就到时候再说，说定了哦！” "okay." “好冷淡的口气呀……算了，谁让身边有人呢。”金弥叹了口气，挂断了电话。 员工看着味冈肥硕的背影，送来饱含冷笑的视线。这时，走过谈话室时注意到味冈的男子，忽然凑近味冈，开口问道：“不好意思。” 这位绅士身材高大，体格健壮，皮肤晒得黝黑，一双大眼睛含着笑意。他双手放在胸前，一副殷勤的样子。 味冈停下脚步。 七三开的白发，高高的额头，淡淡的眉毛，略显浮肿的眼睛，高挺的鼻梁两旁印着深深的法令纹，一直延伸到厚重双唇的两端。味冈并不认识他，可他刚才路过谈话室的时候，味冈感受到了他的视线。 “我能问您一个问题吗？”男子缓缓说道，肿肿的眼角聚满皱纹。 “请……”味冈礼貌地回答道。他察觉到对方并非日本人。 “我是中国人，姓李，在Singapore（新加坡）开了家business-house（商行）。” Mioka nodded.他的日语说得很慢，但Singapore和business-house都是纯正的英语发音，看来他果然是个“华侨”。 “哦，那请问您有什么问题？” 李先生低头致谢。日本人也许会加一句“不好意思打扰了”，可他直接弯腰问道：“刚才我见到您的高尔夫球友了，其中一位是不是巨势先生？” “没错，的确是巨势先生。” 味冈话音刚落，李先生便直起身，挺起胸膛说：“啊，果然是巨势先生啊！”他扬起淡淡的眉毛。 “您认识他吗？” “三十多年前认识的。” “三十多年前？莫非是二战的时候？” “是的，就是打仗的时候……这么多年过去了，他可真是一点儿都没变。”从事务所看不到食堂的情况，可李先生说话的时候却一脸怀念，仿佛他能看见巨势站在自己身边一样。 “莫非二战的时候您和巨势先生曾一起……” “是的，我们都在马来。” “什么？马来？”味冈情不自禁地反问道。不过他立刻想起，二战期间巨势的确在日本军队的占领地区任职过。 “当时巨势先生是马来的Civil Administrator（司政官），而我是被吉隆坡的日本军政部征用了，一直当着Civil Administrator的司机。” “哦？”味冈重新审视李先生那张斯文大方的半老面容。 他早就知道巨势堂明曾经是马来的司政官，可没想到自己眼前这位华侨，就是日军在当地征用的司机。 “那您二位岂不是好久不见了吗？巨势先生见到您肯定也会很高兴的，他就在旁边的食堂里，您怎么不去找他呢？”味冈在惊讶之余，赶忙建议道。 “不，还是算了吧……”李先生好像并没有那个意思。 "Why?" “我并不是巨势先生一个人的专属司机，第一任司政官上任的时候，我就是司政官的专职司机了。”看来巨势是第二或第三任司政官。 “……况且司机也不止我一个，我认识巨势先生，但巨势先生肯定不认识我……” 也就是说他和巨势的关系不是特别亲密，没必要与他相认。他只是想向巨势的高尔夫球友确认一下，那究竟是不是巨势罢了。 他的日语之所以如此流利，也是因为他是日军征用的军政部司机，平时一直在日本人堆里工作的缘故吧。新加坡上了年纪的华侨有一大半都会说日语。 “不好意思占用您的时间了。能不能再问您两个问题？”李先生客气地问道。 “请说。”下午的比赛马上就要开始了，味冈有些着急，可他又无法轻易结束这段对话。 “巨势先生的球友里有几个我认识的人。一位是野见山先生，还有一位是柏尾先生吧？” 味冈目瞪口呆。“没错，一点儿没错。” 野见山正夫为大藏省××局长，而柏尾丰次郎则是大藏省的××部长。野见山和柏尾可不是什么随处可见的大姓，李先生居然能说对他们两人的名字，看来他的确认识他们。 “您是怎么认识野见山先生和柏尾先生的啊？”味冈问道。 听见味冈肯定自己的记忆，李先生搓起双手，一脸兴奋。 “就是在吉隆坡的军政部。野见山先生与柏尾先生当时还是年轻的陆军少尉，一放假就会离开驻留部队，到巨势先生的官邸做客，巨势先生还经常带他们去日本料理店、中餐厅和法国餐厅呢。当时就是我开车载他们去的，所以记得特别清楚。” 马来的司政官，能享受中校或少校的待遇。味冈早有耳闻，巨势在内务省担任课长的时候去过日军殖民地，没想到他竟是当地的司政官。想必李先生所言不虚。当时巨势应该是三十多岁，不可能当上将官待遇的司政长官。 “野见山先生与柏尾先生好像是学徒动员"的士官吧。”李先生说道。味冈不清楚野见山局长与柏尾部长究竟是不是学徒动员过去的，但从两人的年纪来看，这个可能性很大。军政部的司机能从日本军人和留在当地的日本人嘴里打听到不少消息。多亏了李先生的话，让味冈明白了巨势堂明与野见山、柏尾之间的联系。 “野见山先生与柏尾先生是Tokyo University（东京大学）毕业的吧？”他说的“Tokyo University”，自然就是东京帝国大学。这两位都是东大法学院毕业的。 "yes." “吉泽先生、渥美先生、仓田先生、大谷先生……嗯……还有河边先生、中西先生这两位年轻的陆军士官也经常去巨势先生的官邸，巨势先生还经常在料理店设宴招待他们呢。” 味冈再次瞪大双眼。吉泽、大谷、中西是退休了的大藏省官员，曾经担任过局长。大谷与中西则是国会议员。河边……一定是曾任建设省局长的河边良造。渥美与仓田倒是没听说过，估计也是某个省厅的高级官僚。 “……他们都是从Tokyo University学徒动员来的。” "I see." “学徒动员来的年轻士官有很多，可巨势先生只欢迎Tokyo University的学生。其他城市的官立大学，或是私立大学的学生都没有受过他的款待。” 欢迎——也就是说学徒动员的士官虽多，巨势堂明只关照那些东京帝国大学的学生。味冈心中响起一阵轰鸣。他激动得半天说不出一句话来。 这时，共荣建设的中原从食堂快步走来。比赛马上就要开始了，他是来找味冈的。见味冈正在与别人谈话，他立刻站住不动了。 李先生也看到了这一幕，赶忙道歉道：“您忙吧，打扰您这么久真是不好意思。” “没事没事，您的话让我受益匪浅啊……请问您最近一直在日本吗？”要是在，味冈还想接着问问他住在哪儿。 “不，两天后我就会离开日本。今天是受一位京都的朋友所邀，才来这儿打球的。他正好是这边的会员。下午我还要回京都去。打扰了，祝您玩得开心。”李先生友好地伸出右手，“那我就告辞了，再见。” 味冈与中原并肩赶往通往球道的出口。路上中原问起刚才那人是谁。味冈回答道：“哦，他是新加坡的企业家，说想在新加坡造一家酒店，问我大概需要多少建筑预算，一不小心就聊了这么久，真是不好意思。” 味冈站在后半程的10号洞前。440码，PAR4。他低头看着绿色草坪上的白色小球…… “我终于明白巨势和大藏省的关系为什么这么好了，不愧是巨势堂明！”他用力一挥…… “好球！”同伴大声喊道。这是今天味冈听到的第一句赞扬。 球在空中飞行的时候，刺眼的阳光使味冈看不清球前进的方向，不过等球落地后一看，发现它掉在球道正中央220码的位置上。 “他在马来当司政官的时候，特别关照了那些东大来的学生士官，这些潜力股买得好啊！这群东大毕业的人进了政界，定会大有作为。” 还剩220码。他取出4号铁杆。 “原来是这样……在马来的时候他就卖了个恩情给他们！既然和巨势在一组打球的野见山局长、柏尾部长是这样，想必他们的前辈大谷、中西、吉泽和河边也是如此！” 球往右边飞去，一头扎进了树林里。他也走进枝繁叶茂的树林中。 “连那个中国司机都认识这么多人，想必还有许多当年的东大学生士官当上了高级官僚，或是前任高级官僚。而且肯定是和大藏省有关的部门……究竟还有谁？”味冈歪了歪脑袋。中原和其他人还以为味冈是在慎重地调整方向。他成功将球救了回去。4on1推，博基。 “太好了！”同行们竟然会为了区区博基夸奖味冈，看来他们都很同情上午那惨不忍睹的成绩。 11号洞。135码，PAR3。味冈用7号铁杆开出一记好球，这也是他今天第一次1on，接着2推进洞，PAR。12号中洞也以博基完成。好不容易振作起来的味冈，满脑子都想着巨势堂明的过去。 一行人走在前往13号洞的下坡路上，这时中原凑了过来。 “前一组那个高高的官员，就是末吉的搭档，我终于搞清楚他是谁了。你离开食堂的时候，老师介绍说，他是J县的副知事大桥，专门负责建设方面的事务。” “啊，是这样……”原来他是建造观光道路的J县的最高负责人。 “巨势老师真是太厉害了，找人一找一个准。”中原感叹道。 “巨势不仅看准了一个小小的副知事，他还有更大的靠山和人脉。他的人际关系遍布各个省厅，最关键的是他还控制住了大藏省。各个省厅为了争取预算，都会把公共事业计划上交大藏省。只要在大藏省有人，就能掌握有关公共事业的所有情报。不过……他可真是目光长远……我总算搞清楚巨势能做到这一步的原因了。” 13号洞，520码PAR5。球道180码附近的斜面下流淌着一条小河。除非球的飞行距离极短或是击球时犯下重大失误，这种小河根本不是问题。 “今晚金弥要到京都来。” 击球的一瞬间，味冈手上忽然没了感觉，小球缓缓飞向空中，落在近处。低头一看，只见白色的小球，已经沉在了温暖的河水之中。