Given that Downing didn't eat well at noon, Sakurai planned to change the style of dinner and invited Downing to eat traditional Japanese kaiseki cuisine. Tang Ning had heard of the daimyo of kaiseki cuisine, and knew that it was a way of eating based on artistic conception, and it was very normal, and it was completely different from what he ate at noon, so he happily went.

This time, I went to a long-established kaiseki restaurant in Japan, and a good luck old restaurant in Koryobashi in Osaka, which is famous for its Koryo Bridge in Kyoto Sanjo and Zhaofukulou in Higashi-Omi City, Shiga Prefecture.

The courtyard of the old store is very beautifully decorated, and the dining and interior are full of antiquity, whether it is the seats, hanging scrolls and vases, they are all carefully designed, giving people a Zen and ethereal feeling.

In Japanese tradition, only by enjoying tea kaiseki cuisine in such an environment can you absorb the elegance of tea ceremony culture and reflect the beauty of Japanese food culture.

'Kaiseki' refers to the feeling that Buddhist monks put a warm stone on their abdomen during zazen to fight hunger. It is in the form of 'one sauce and three dishes' (there are also one sauce and two dishes). Kaiseki cuisine is considered a work of art by some because of its extreme exquisiteness, both in terms of the presentation of the utensils and the presentation of the food (but the small portions).

Although kaiseki cuisine is very Zen and beautiful, the topic Sakurai and Downing are talking about at this time is not aesthetic at all, in fact, Sakurai's original intention of choosing kaiseki cuisine is high enough to show that he attaches importance to Downing's trip, and second, it is quiet enough here to talk about some serious things.

Sakurai poured tea for Downing and said, "I invited Mr. Downing to Osaka this time to deepen our friendship and deepen cooperation in some business on the other. ”

Downing was not surprised at all by Sakurai's statement, because the Osaka merchant group was originally a businessman, and what would they talk about if they didn't talk about business with him. "There is no problem in this regard, our cooperation on the shadow line was very pleasant before, and I also hope to have the opportunity to deepen our cooperation with each other, but I don't know which aspect Mr. Sakurai wants to invest in this time?" ”

Sakurai pondered for a while and said, "Actually, it still has something to do with the theater. We have made a lot of money with Mr. Downing in running the cinema chain before, and now with the gradual improvement of the entire Japanese economy. People's incomes and lives have also improved, so we feel that the demand for movies and novels will gradually increase, and most of the films we are showing are imported from Europe and the United States, although the quality and influence are large enough. But after all, it wasn't filmed in Japan, so there are still certain obstacles in terms of acceptance, and Mr. Downing probably knows better than me that it is becoming more and more difficult to introduce the latest films in the United States, so we should take precautions. Prepare early. ”

In the first few years, he took advantage of the fact that no one in Hollywood paid attention to the Japanese market, and took a step ahead of the frenzy to buy the Japanese rights of a large number of films, thus making a lot of money. Now with the stimulation of the Korean War and the deliberate support of the United States for the Japanese economy, more and more American businessmen have noticed the huge market of Japan, which has led to the fact that it is becoming more and more difficult for Downing to acquire the Japanese copyright of the latest film, and the cost is getting higher and higher. Jimmy complained to him several times about this.

Seeing that Sakurai was going to deal with this situation, Tang Ning was naturally happy to see it, so he asked: "It's really getting more and more difficult now, I don't know if Mr. Sakurai has any good way?" ”

Sakurai Masasei said: "I want to be invested by the two of us to form a new film company, specializing in shooting Japanese films, so that all the copyright and income are in our hands, I don't know what Mr. Downing wants?" ”

Tang Ning was still a little tempted by this proposal, in fact, he had thought about starting his own film company earlier, but he had been busy with other things. This matter has been delayed, and his understanding of film and television is not too deep, and he is afraid that he will not be able to recover the cost after investment, and now that the Osaka business group is willing to join in and share the risk. Naturally, he couldn't ask for it, so he said, "Mr. Sakurai's idea is indeed very good, but I don't know how we should work together?" ”

"We know that Mr. Downing's connections and prestige in Hollywood are very high, especially the "Roman Holiday" invested in this investment is a bumper harvest at the box office and word of mouth, so it is troublesome for Mr. Downing to worry a lot in terms of operation and shooting, and our Osaka business group can increase the proportion of investment. But the proceeds are divided equally between you and me. ”

Sakurai actually means that I will take more money, you will work more, and then make half of the money for each person, which at first glance seems to be a loss for the Osaka merchant group, but in fact this is the most correct way. First of all, in terms of film and television production and distribution, not only the Osaka business group does not have enough relevant experience, but even several major film companies in Japan are not good, otherwise why can't they stand up at all in such a large market, and they are stuck by Hollywood movies.

On the other hand, although it is now more difficult for Downing to acquire Hollywood films, because of his status advantage and Jimmy's efforts, Downing is still the largest provider of Hollywood films in the Japanese market, and if he does not cooperate with him, then the new local films will inevitably be sniped by him, because no businessman will let others steal their market share. Japanese films have not developed in recent years, and there is absolutely an inescapable relationship with his obstruction.

The only thing he didn't obstruct was the development of Japanese pink films, because the target market of pink movies did not conflict with him, and because pink movies had low production costs and quick results, a bunch of small companies had risen one after another, causing the life of large film companies to become more and more difficult, which was tantamount to helping Downing crush the Japanese film industry in disguise, so he would definitely let it go.

Tang Ning thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Well, I agree to this cooperation method in principle, but the matter is big, and we have to discuss the specific details of cooperation." ”

Sakurai smiled: "That's nature, that's nature, we're here to enjoy kaiseki cuisine tonight, we can't let these coppery topics affect Zen, hahaha!" ”

The two men looked at each other and laughed before the official service began, and the traditional kaiseki must-have seven-point appetizers (seven kinds of intricate side dishes), Wanmori (handmade dishes with soup), sashimi, kimono (fried), boiled food, grilled food, and food (rice or soup) must be served in order. (To be continued.) )