Time passed quickly, in a blink of an eye into the middle of June, Shanghai's weather into the rainy season, plum weather semi-sunny and cloudy, yellow plum sky, eighteen changes, the weather is like a child's face, cloudy and sunny.

Sometimes the sky is blue and the air is exceptionally fresh, but due to the high humidity, people feel a little suffocated, but suddenly the sunny weather is cloudy again, and the light rain is dripping down, which makes people breathe deeply, and the feeling is also very pleasant.

In the courtyard of the Mulan Society, in the special courtyard, under the long pavilion corridor, Ning Zhiheng sat alone on the wooden chair, the rain in front of him was blowing, and he was sprinkled by the wind on his clothes from time to time, but he didn't have the slightest intention of watching.

Less than a month later, the international situation has undergone earth-shaking changes, and in early May, Germany took the lead in launching a full-scale attack on France, and a few days later, Italy officially declared war on Britain and France, and a full-scale war in Europe began.

From the declaration of war in September last year to the actual start, both sides have been prepared enough, and everyone thought that this would be a vicious battle against opponents, and the continuous war did not know when it would end.

But no one expected that under the lightning attack of the German army, the performance of the French army, as an old Western power, was shocking.

In the French campaign, known as the world's first army power France, showed the combat effectiveness of everyone disappointed the extreme, it was simply vulnerable, only one face was beaten down by Germany, in just more than 40 days, the original impregnable Maginot fortress became a decoration, until the Germans approached the city of Paris, the capital Paris fell, just two days ago, the French Petain government officially surrendered to Germany, and the war in Europe was in a one-sided situation.

The British were unable to survive on their own, and in order to preserve their strength, they quickly retreated from the European continent to defend themselves against the German attack, which was a dramatic change that shocked everyone's attention.

Due to the fall of France and the danger of Britain, the original balance of power between European countries was completely broken, and the entire pattern was changed from the original three-legged situation of Germany, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to a pattern of confrontation between Germany and the Soviet Union.

The major changes in the international situation had a direct impact on the situation of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the Japanese took advantage of Germany's victory to become even more arrogant, attempting to attack Southeast Asia when Britain and France had no time to look eastward, but because of the lack of troops and the fear that the Chinese army would take the opportunity to counterattack, the Japanese base camp ordered that the troops be dispatched to quickly solve the Chinese problem, and the situation of the War of Resistance became increasingly tense.

The Japanese decided to carry out strong diplomacy against the British, and everything went as Phillips expected, the British made huge concessions, and the British troops in the Shanghai Public Concession were ordered to withdraw from Shanghai, and at the same time, under the pressure of the Japanese, the British finally ordered the Burmese government to close the Burmese part of the Burma Highway, the only transportation and supply line in China.

Fortunately, due to Ning Zhiheng's timely intelligence, the Chinese government increased the transportation volume of Myanmar's roads, and in this month's time, it rushed to transport a large amount of materials piled up in the port of Yangon day and night, minimizing the loss, but in this way, the only blood transfusion artery of the Chinese government was cut off, and the situation became worse and worse.

For this reason, the two bureaus had to order the Shanghai Intelligence Department to do their best to transport supplies to ensure the material needs of the front line, this time even Huang Xianzheng also ordered to urge, which shows the urgency of the situation, Ning Zhiheng also felt that the pressure on his body doubled, and his mood was even more anxious.

Just when Ning Zhiheng was full of emotions, Kimura Maki walked over with light steps, and before he could speak, Ning Zhiheng turned his head to look at him.

Kimura Maki hurriedly reported: "President, Takano-kun asked to see him, and he also brought a friend. ”

Ning Zhiheng was refreshed when he heard this, he asked Takayuki Takano to introduce Tetsuhei Ito, but after such a long time, there has been no news, and he is not good at urging too much, fortunately, he is very rich in time, and he is not in a hurry.

Until today, Takayuki Takano finally brought Tetsuhei Ito, and his plan can be carried out.

"Invite them to the study, and I'll be right there."

"Hey!" Kimura Maki took the order and left.

Ning Zhiheng got up and entered the room, picked up the phone and dialed out, and soon the phone was connected, and he said, "Takeshita-kun, if you have time, come to me now." ”

After getting an affirmative reply from the other party, Ning Zhiheng put down the phone.

In the front hall, Takayuki Takano and Tetsuhei Ito were waiting in the hall.

Tetsuhei Ito is in his early forties, of medium height, slightly bald with sideburns, deep wrinkles on his forehead, and some dense stubble on his chin.

A month earlier, as soon as he and his assistant Hiroshi Tanimura entered Shanghai, they were immersed in intense work, starting to revise and engrave Japanese military tickets.

Takayuki Takano went to the Shojin Bank to look for Tetsuhei Ito, but because of the secrecy of the work, all the carving work was in a fully enclosed working mode, and it was easy to leave, and Tetsuhei Ito rarely had the opportunity to go out, so until today, the work at hand came to an end, and Tetsuhei Ito asked many times, so he was allowed to have the opportunity to go out and meet and talk with Takayuki Takano.

When Takayuki Takano told Tetsuhei Ito that Tomohito Fujiwara, the president of the Fujiwara Kaisha in Shanghai, was going to see him, Tetsuhei Ito was also very surprised.

He is not unfamiliar with the name Fujiwara Tomohito, when he was in China, he heard his teacher Kanda Tamayama say that when he was in Shanghai, he was warmly entertained by Fujiwara Tomohito, a descendant of the Fujiwara family, Kanda Tamayama highly praised Fujiwara Tomohito, saying that although this person has a prominent status and noble status, he is a man with a valley and approachability, especially has a great impression of the artist, and is a figure like Meng Weijun.

Hearing that this top magnate admired him, Ito Tetsuhei was of course very happy in his heart, as a civilian artist, it is rare to have the opportunity to make friends with such a person, so he immediately came to the Makuran Academy with Takano Ryuichi to meet Fujiwara Tomohito.

As soon as Tetsuhei Ito entered the Muran Academy, he was shocked that there was such a large-scale building in the modern metropolis where every inch of land is at a premium here in Shanghai.

Along the way, the continuous pavilions, the blue tiles and white walls, and the dragon heads and fish bodies on the roof ridges are all Japanese-style buildings.

Between the pavilions, there are flowers everywhere, green paths, and the whole building is not lacking in elegance and simplicity, but it has a bit of magnificent atmosphere.

All this made Tetsuhei Ito can't help but secretly speak, even in Japan, there are few nobles who can build such a large-scale landmark building, which shows Fujiwara Tomohito's prominent position and rich heritage in Shanghai.

After walking for a long time, they came to Fujiwara Tomohito's exclusive courtyard, and after the confession, they waited here for Fujiwara Tomohito's summons.

Tetsuhei Ito couldn't help but whisper to Takayuki Takano, "How could Mr. Fujiwara-chan know my name?" I also specially asked you to introduce me, I am really nervous! ”

Takayuki Takano saw Tetsuhei Ito's nervous appearance, and comforted with a smile: "Ito-kun, don't be too nervous, Fujiwara-kun has always been amiable, don't look at his noble status, but he is the same as us, he loves literature and art, especially in calligraphy, and his attainments are extremely high. ”

Tetsuhei Ito nodded and said, "Thank you for your introduction, I also heard about Mr. Fujiwara from my teacher, and of course it is great to be able to make friends with him." ”

Just as the two of them were talking in a low voice, Kimura Maki walked into the living room, stretched out his hand to make a gesture of please, and said with a smile: "Kono-kun, the chairman invites the two of you to talk in the study, please come with me!" ”

Takayuki Takano and Tetsuhei Ito also nodded slightly, followed Kimura Maki through the hall, came to the study, pushed open the door, and invited them to enter.

"The president will be here soon, please wait!"

"I'm tired, Kimura-kun!"

Kimura Maki retreated, and after a while, Ning Zhiheng, dressed in a kimono, pushed the door in, and Tetsuhei Ito and Takayuki Takano hurriedly got up to greet them.

Ning Zhiheng had a smile on his face, walked a few steps quickly as soon as he entered the door, came to the front of the two, and said with a hearty smile: "Gao Ye-kun, I've kept you waiting for a long time, this must be Ito-kun?" It's been a long time! ”

"Fujiwara-kun!"

"Mr. Fujiwara!"

The two also hurriedly returned the salute, the two sides had finished greetings, and they each sat down, Ning Zhiheng spoke first: "Ito-kun, you are all proud disciples of Mr. Kanda, and you are also the best carvers in my country, I have always admired it very much, this time when you come to Shanghai, please be sure to be close, don't be polite!" ”

Tetsuhei Ito hurriedly bowed and replied respectfully: "It's a shame that I am fortunate enough to be favored by Mr. for my meager name!" ”

"Ito-kun is too out-of-sight!" Ning Zhiheng waved his hand, and the smile on his face became more cordial, "Speaking of which, Ito-kun and I are both family, but we are just sisters-in-law, so don't be too angry, we will get along a lot in the future, just call me Zhiren!" ”

The family in Ning Zhiheng's mouth is not without basis, the origin of the surname Ito was originally a branch of the Fujiwara family.

The Fujiwara family has been a thousand-year-old family, and there are many branches that have broken away during the period, one of which is a side branch of the Fujiwara clan, and later moved to Ise country, taking the meaning of "Ise" and "Fujiwara" to become the Ito clan, but the world is impermanent, and as time goes by, the Ito clan gradually declined, and then it was not considered a noble rank, and the Fujiwara family is even more difficult to have anything to do with it.

Now Ning Zhiheng deliberately mentioned this matter, just to narrow the distance between himself and Ito Teppei.

Ito Teppei knew what he meant, he naturally knew that this was Fujiwara Tomohito surrendering his identity and deliberately expressing his intimacy, and he couldn't help but feel hot, he quickly nodded and agreed: "Thank you Fujiwara-kun for your kindness, please take care of me in the future!" ”

Of course, he would not be so arrogant as to really dare to call Fujiwara Tomohito's name directly, the word "Tomohito" can only be called by elders and very close friends, and he will call "Fujiwara-kun" like Takayuki Takano.

Ning Zhiheng laughed, and he could see that Tetsuhei Ito was extremely respectful to him, and his words and demeanor were very measured, which made him very satisfied.

In the history of China, there is no shortage of talented celebrities and literati, arrogant and arrogant, crazy in behavior, and do not take the powerful in their eyes, but this kind of thing can never happen in Japan, which is also related to the extremely strict hierarchy of Japanese social classes.

The three of them sat opposite each other and talked heartily, Ning Zhiheng asked some about Ito Teppei's recent situation and the situation in Japan, Ito Teppei answered in detail, and after talking for a long time, Ning Zhiheng said to Takayuki Takano on the side: "Takano-kun, you didn't say some time ago that you were looking for some good stones, these days I happened to get a few good Wada seeds, you can go and choose them." ”

Takayuki Takano suddenly understood when he heard this, this was to talk to Tetsuhei Ito alone, and he was not surprised, Tomohito Fujiwara asked himself to introduce Teppei Ito, which was a little abrupt, but now it seems that there is really something to find Tetsuhei Ito, he quickly nodded and agreed: "Thank you so much, I'm worried about the material, since Fujiwara-kun has this good intention, I'm not welcome!" ”

After speaking, he got up and said goodbye, retreated, and under the guidance of Kimura Maki, he went to select materials, and only Ning Zhiheng and Ito Tetsuhei were left in the room.