Chapter 251 Hijacking! Hijacking!
When Xu Cang was on his way to Japan, an unexpected guest arrived at the Erhai Base of Spring Airlines. It was Ji Kaiming, the Fruit King of Northwest China, whom Xu Cang had hoped to meet.
At this time, part of the new base had been opened. Qin Xin did not receive Ji Kaiming at the old base, but instead led him to the VIP reception room of the new base.
Ji Kaiming is not tall, has a beer belly, and a round face. He often has a cheerful smile on his face, like a Maitreya Buddha.
As soon as the two of them sat down, Qin Xin was about to pour tea for Ji Kaiming, but was stopped by Ji Kaiming: "Mr. Qin, don't bother me. I'll just say a few words and then leave. Let's talk about business."
Qin Xin stopped her movements, and also followed Ji Kaiming's intention: "Xu Cang was interested in cooperating with Boss Ji before, and Xu Cang mentioned this to me."
"My good-for-nothing son told me about this. However, I have been busy with other things during this period, so I have been delayed. I hope Mr. Qin doesn't mind." Ji Kaiming smiled with narrowed eyes, looking very amiable.
However, Qin Xin did not believe what others said. It was obvious that Ji Kaiming had not had time to meet, and Qin Xin was more inclined to believe that Ji Kaiming was secretly investigating Xu Cang and Spring Airlines.
Of course, if we investigate, the cooperation between the two sides will be a big deal, so it is normal to conduct an investigation beforehand.
"Boss Ji, this is normal. It's not a big deal anyway. We can just wait a little longer. But some time has passed. I wonder what Boss Ji thinks?"
Ji Kaiming's smile faded a little: "Mr. Xu Cang thinks that the demand for mid- to high-end fruits in the eastern coastal areas will increase in the future, which coincides with my idea. However, I don't know how much profit there is in air transporting fruits. I'm afraid I have to try it on a small scale first, so as not to have no way back after rolling it out on a large scale."
"That's natural."
It was a very common practice to start with a small-scale pilot and then promote it after the effect was good. Qin Xin would naturally not refuse. However, she was concerned about another thing.
"Boss Ji, Xu Cang means that he doesn't want to do small-scale business. If the two parties cooperate, he wants it to be exclusive." Qin Xin said.
“Exclusive?” The smile on Ji Kaiming’s face suddenly disappeared, and he looked extremely surprised: “Does that mean I can only cooperate with you guys in the future?”
Qin Xin nodded: "Sign a contract every five years, but the first time it can be shorter, three years. Either don't sign it, or give us all the business."
Ji Kaiming's mouth twitched: "Miss Qin, this is Xu Cang's intention, where are the others?"
"He is not in Erhai Lake now, but this is indeed his intention, and there will be no changes." Qin Xin said calmly: "If we take over Boss Ji's fruit air transport business, then we must make arrangements in the northwest region. I believe Boss Ji also knows that the civil aviation market potential in the northwest region is slightly weak, and a large part of its profit lies in your air transport business. However, to be honest, if we can't take over the business, it will be useless to us, so it's better not to do it."
Ji Kaiming was speechless: "Ms. Qin, is this how you talk about business?"
"No! I don't think Boss Ji is the kind of person who likes beating around the bush. He should just lay out the conditions directly. If you can accept it, that's great. If you can't accept it, we can still be friends. This way, we can save Boss Ji's time."
Ji Kaiming sighed and said, "It seems that Mr. Qin is still upset about my delay."
"No, no, no, Boss Ji misunderstood." Qin Xin smiled and said, "This is the bottom line set by Xu Cang. You know, he is not a businessman. He has always drawn a line. If he can, he can. If he can't, he can't. It's that simple."
Qin Xin directly pushed everything onto Xu Cang. This was indeed a good choice.
In the past, Qin Xin might have had a brief discussion with Ji Kaiming. However, in this matter, Spring Airlines did not beg Ji Kaiming for help. On the contrary, Ji Kaiming needed Spring Airlines' help in expanding his business.
Of course, Ji Kaiming could also look for other airlines, but the prices charged by other airlines would definitely be higher than that of Spring Airlines. Qin Xin was still somewhat confident about this.
Therefore, in this conversation, Ji Kaiming should be the one who needs help. As long as this is clear, Qin Xin will naturally not bother to play along.
"Talking business with Mr. Qin is really interesting." Ji Kaiming is a seasoned man, but seasoned men are most afraid of those who act stupid. He laid his cards on the table right at the beginning, not giving him any room to maneuver: "If you want to airfreight fruits to the eastern coastal areas, the sales channels..."
Qin Xin smiled and said, "Boss Ji is really a man who won't give his all until he has arranged everything for you."
"Please don't misunderstand me, Mr. Qin. My family business is just a small one, but it can't withstand any hardship." Ji Kaiming laughed dryly.
"That's fine! Xu Cang said that if Boss Ji is willing, Xu Cang can open up early sales channels for Boss Ji, and then expand after we have established a firm foothold. But in this case, we are responsible for both transportation and sales, so it's not just the freight compensation, we need to take a cut of the total profit."
Ji Kaiming was really overwhelmed. He felt that he was following Qin Xin's ideas completely. From signing a long-term contract, to exclusive cooperation, to profit sharing, it seemed that Qin Xin had anticipated his reaction from the beginning and was waiting for him to get in.
"Boss Qin, isn't this profit share a bit too much?"
"Please put it this way, Boss Ji. Currently, most domestic cargo transportation still relies on land and water transportation, which are relatively cheap methods. However, the domestic economy has taken off obviously, and people are gradually willing to pay for higher prices compared to cheaper ones. In the past, the inner flesh of a banana with spots on the skin and a banana without spots on the skin was actually the same, and few people were willing to spend more money to buy the banana without spots because they thought it was not worth it. But now it is different. Beyond basic living needs, more and more people are willing to pay for the banana without spots, even if it is just because it looks better."
"This trend is not limited to transportation or fruit sales. Without fruit, we still have other things, but it will take some effort. The wind has already picked up, and it depends on whether Boss Ji has the courage to do it."
Ji Kaiming was shocked when he heard that. He could see that Qin Xin was not talking nonsense. She really thought that her fruit business was replaceable.
At the beginning of this conversation, Qin Xin had the psychological advantage and spoke with confidence.
Ji Kaiming fell into deep thought for a moment. The conditions Qin Xin mentioned were indeed harsh, but not excessive. Spring Airlines was responsible for both transportation and opening up the early market, so it was reasonable for them to want a cut of the profits.
After thinking for a while, Ji Kaiming spoke up: "Then I wonder how much commission Mr. Qin wants?"
Qin Xin smiled and said, "Xu Cang meant a fifty-fifty split."
Upon hearing this ratio, Ji Kaiming directly refused: "Impossible, 50-50 split is too exaggerated, at most 20%."
"Twenty percent?" Qin Xin laughed and stood up: "Boss Ji, how about we just pretend this conversation never happened?"
Ji Kaiming was overwhelmed when he saw Qin Xin's behavior. Why did this little girl always put extreme pressure on him without any intention of pulling him back?
"Boss Qin, the fruit business is all about small profits and quick turnover. I really can't handle it with you making so much profit all of a sudden."
"That's the low-end fruit business. We've said that we only sell mid- to high-end fruits, so the profit margin is definitely not low. Twenty percent is absolutely unacceptable. How about this, 40 percent! We don't charge air freight fees, just 40 percent of the profit, but if we sign a contract, the first contract must be signed for five years." Qin Xin concluded.
"Don't want the air freight fee, just a commission of the profit?" Ji Kaiming's eyelids jumped. This showed that compared with the fixed air freight cost, Xu Cang was more optimistic about the fruit sales.
However, if this is the case, then Ji Kaiming basically does not have to bear any risk, the only difference is how much he earns.
He thought about it in his mind, and finally nodded: "It's a deal!"
Qin Xin also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although she made the fruit business sound like it was highly replaceable, in fact, according to Xu Cang, if this business was done well, it could still make a lot of money, and it was definitely not a useless thing.
However, it was true that Qin Xin had a psychological advantage during the conversation. It was because of this that she was confident in using the method of extreme pressure.
There is no way to play tricks with a veteran like Ji Kaiming. You should lay your cards on the table from the beginning and leave him no room to maneuver.
Ji Kaiming was also very happy, at least he had a relatively safe trial and error opportunity. Although the contract was for five years, the scale was decided by Ji Kaiming.
If you make money, then expand the scale. If you don't make money, then reduce the scale and muddle through the contract period, and you won't lose much.
In five years, he would be able to see the mid- to high-end fruit market clearly. If there was no improvement, he would give up the idea of expanding his business.
"This is probably the fastest business deal I have ever negotiated in my life. It took less than five minutes. It's really..." Ji Kaiming scratched his head, looking quite speechless.
Qin Xin smiled and said, "Boss Ji, you will be extremely grateful for these five minutes in the future."
Ji Kaiming raised his eyebrows: "It seems that Mr. Qin is very confident. I am not sure myself. But I hope so!"
"That will definitely happen." Qin Xin called the secretary over: "Take Boss Ji to the restaurant. I'll be there in a moment."
After that, Qin Xin said to Ji Kaiming: "Boss Ji, it's time for dinner. How about having a simple meal here? Everything is ready ."
Ji Kaiming was in a good mood: "Then I'll follow Mr. Qin's arrangements."
So, the secretary took Ji Kaiming to the restaurant first.
Qin Xin stayed where she was, took out her cell phone and dialed a number. Soon, the call was connected, and Qin Xin immediately said, "Please help me contact the Northwest Bureau."
…
At Tokyo Haneda Airport, the man in the black jacket checked in his knife and successfully entered the second-floor terminal. In his hand was a ticket to Osaka Airport with his name, Takashi Kuroda, on it.
Takashi Kuroda did not go in the direction of the boarding gate marked on his ticket, but turned into a small alley after leaving the security checkpoint.
At the end of this path is an iron gate that appears to be closed. There is a sign in front of the gate that says "No Entry".
Takashi Kuroda stood at the beginning of the trail. He did not go in immediately, but pretended to look around casually to see if there were any surveillance equipment in the trail.
After wandering around for a while and confirming that there were no surveillance equipment or security personnel, Kuroda Takashi walked into the alley. He ignored the no-entry sign and grabbed the door handle and pushed it forward, but there was no movement.
Kuroda Takashi was stunned for a moment, then changed direction, from pushing to pulling. This time, the door that seemed closed was actually opened with a gap, and the gap was big enough for someone to pass through.
"Sure enough!" Kuroda Takashi showed a hint of excitement.
However, he did not go in. Instead, he closed the door again and slowly backed away.
After that, Kuroda Takashi didn't do anything strange again, but flew from Tokyo to Osaka calmly.
After arriving in Osaka, Kuroda Takashi went to pick up his luggage bag, and then did not leave Osaka Airport at all. Instead, he went directly to the ticket hall, bought a ticket back to Tokyo Haneda Airport, and checked in the luggage bag containing the knife.
After a short wait, Kuroda Takashi passed security check again and boarded the plane back to Tokyo Haneda Airport.
More than an hour later, the plane landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport. In the arrival hall on the first floor, Xu Cang and Guan Yueling appeared. They were also transferring via Osaka Airport and had just landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport.
This time when he came to Japan, Xu Cang planned to travel for a while. After all, he didn’t have much fun the last time he went to the UK, and his life couldn’t be all about work.
Xu Cang went to the baggage hall to pick up his luggage, and Guan Yueling followed him, talking on the phone as he walked.
Soon, Xu Cang found his luggage, and Guan Yueling said beside him: "Let's go, the car to pick us up has arrived."
"The contract shouldn't be signed today. It should be signed tomorrow at the latest, right?" Xu Cang looked outside. It was already pitch dark.
However, he heard that the Japanese work very hard, and if they were asked to discuss something late at night, they would not be able to stand it.
Guan Yueling smiled and said, "That's not the case. Let's go to the hotel first and talk about it tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Xu Cang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, pulled his suitcase and followed Guan Yueling out. However, when passing a small path, Xu Cang suddenly stopped, and he quickly called Guan Yueling: "Do you think you can get in over there?"
Guan Yueling, who was walking in front, was stopped by Xu Cang and took two steps back to look in the direction Xu Cang pointed. He saw a man in a black jacket carrying a luggage bag pushing his way into the iron gate at the end of the path.
The door was only partially open, so it was difficult for the man to get in. This situation was not really worth paying attention to, it was probably because the door was broken.
But there was a sign clearly standing in front of the door, which clearly read "No Entry".
The no-entry sign is not only in Japanese, but also in English and Chinese.
But under such a glaring sign, a man is squeezing in openly. Is this appropriate?
Guan Yueling could certainly understand the sign, but she only glanced at it and then walked away: "Maybe it's an airport staff, let's go."
Xu Cang frowned and shrugged. Since the local people didn't care, there was no need for him to care either. So he followed Guan Yueling and left.
Just as Xu Cang's figure disappeared, the man in the black jacket had already squeezed in. It was none other than Kuroda Takashi.
Kuroda Takashi carried his luggage bag and climbed up the dim stairs, and soon arrived in front of a door. This time he seemed to be quite familiar with it, and he pushed it directly, and the door opened again, with a gap that was only wide enough for one person to enter and exit.
Just like before, Kuroda Takashi spent a little effort to pass through the crack of the door, and then he was greeted by a burst of noise and light. After he passed through, there was the same sign under his feet as when he entered just now, with the words "No Passing" written in a different language.
Walking along the path, Kuroda Takashi suddenly saw the end of the road, and what caught his eyes was the second-floor terminal of Haneda Airport.
Yes, just before, he had come to this path when he departed from Tokyo Haneda Airport, and it was the same door, but this time he came out from inside instead of going in.
After putting the luggage bag down and tearing off the shipping label on it, a perverted smile appeared on Kuroda Takashi's face.
Looking at the security checkpoint in the distance, his heart was pounding.
That's right, the baggage hall on the first floor and the waiting hall on the second floor of Haneda Airport are connected. The door that should have been locked was not closed properly, and the no entry sign was useless.
In this way, Kuroda Takashi bypassed the security check and brought the knife into the waiting hall, and then he would not have any obstacles.
Takashi Kuroda wandered around the waiting hall for a while, and when he saw the situation outside through the glass curtain wall, he couldn't help but frowned.
I saw it was foggy outside and I didn’t know if it was foggy or raining.
Kuroda Takashi stood in front of the glass curtain wall for a long time, and finally sighed: "Today is not a good day for flying."
…
About an hour later, Kuroda Takashi left the airport and walked on a path not far from home. The dim light reflected his long shadow, making him look lonely and silent.
Suddenly, someone patted Kuroda Takashi's shoulder. When he turned around, he saw the smiling man standing next to him.
"Kuroda, didn't you say that you discovered a security loophole at Haneda Airport? And you reported it to the airport? Has there been any follow-up? Have you received any praise? Why haven't I heard any news at all?" The man said with a smile, following Kuroda Takashi, and seemed not to want to leave for a while.
Takashi Kuroda had previously worked as a temporary worker at Haneda Airport. He accidentally discovered that the baggage hall on the first floor was connected to the waiting hall on the second floor, and the door was not locked.
At that time, he also specifically reported this situation to the airport, but there was no news since then. Not long ago, Kuroda Takashi asked the airport about this matter, but the reply he got was "still studying it", and then there was no news again.
At first, Kuroda Takashi thought the airport would reward him for this and often boasted about it to his friends. Unexpectedly, Haneda Airport didn't take it seriously at all.
Kuroda Takashi didn't say anything, just walked forward quietly.
Seeing that Kuroda Takashi was in a low mood, his friend stopped teasing him and comforted him, "Forget it, it's not a big deal not to be able to fly a plane. You were carefree in college, and it was okay for you to like planes, but now you have to consider the actual needs of life, and stop dreaming."
It turns out that this person is Kuroda Takashi's college classmate.
Although Ryuji Kuroda studied business at university, he was so obsessed with airplanes that he applied for jobs at Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways three times after graduation, but was rejected each time.
Later, Kuroda Takashi worked in railway transportation for a while, but eventually resigned because he was not interested in it. Recently, he has been working as a temporary worker at Haneda Airport.
"What are you dreaming about? I can obviously fly a plane, so why can't I be a pilot?" Kuroda Takashi asked back.
My friend waved his hand and said, "Oh, those are all computer games. They are fake! How can games be compared with the real thing? They are different."
He knew that Kuroda Takashi was obsessed with flight simulation games, to the point where he could hardly tell the difference between reality and fiction, and really felt that he could operate a real plane at will.
As soon as his friend finished speaking, Kuroda Takashi suddenly stopped. He seemed to suddenly think of something, his mouth slowly opened, and his expression looked crazy and obsessed.
"You said I can't fly a plane?" Kuroda Takashi's eyes widened: "Hehehe, one day, I will fly a plane and do somersaults over Tokyo. No, no, no, it will be soon, you will see it soon."
…
Accompanied by Guan Yueling, Xu Cang first went to the hotel to check in. After washing up, at Xu Cang's request, the two went to the ANA headquarters.
As the second largest airline in Japan and one of the largest airlines in Asia, All Nippon Airways' headquarters building does not seem to match its reputation.
Compared with the magnificent headquarters buildings of the three major domestic airlines, ANA's headquarters building is not tall enough, not new enough, and even has an old-fashioned feel.
Of course, this is also related to ANA's relatively long history. After all, this airline has a history of almost fifty years.
In this era, there are still many arguments in the country that boast about the Japanese spirit of craftsmanship. Some bizarre remarks such as "toilet water in Japanese hotels can be drunk directly" are widely circulated.
However, Xu Cang had no such idea at all. Moreover, Xu Cang had experienced the times when lies were exposed, and the so-called craftsmanship was nothing but a beautified illusion.
Yes, but not many!
Of course, in the spirit of learning, Xu Cang felt it was necessary to take a look at the appearance of this top Asian airline, which might provide some reference for the future of Spring Airlines.
When Xu Cang and his companions arrived at the ANA headquarters, it was already late and most of the lights in the building had been turned off. Except for the flight preparation room and the crew preparation room on the first floor which still had some people, only a few spots in other places were still lit.
"Everyone says that the Japanese are so hardworking and capable. The situation here looks similar to ours." Xu Cang said casually as he passed by the gate of the headquarters building.
Guan Yueling smiled but didn't say anything. She knew Xu Cang was not talking about her, so there was naturally no need for her to respond.
The two entered the building and first went to the flight preparation room to take a look. At this moment, there were only two groups of flight personnel in the flight preparation room, and the dispatchers and other ground personnel were yawning, some were in a daze, and some were flipping through books with unknown contents.
At this time, there are not many flights left, so the ground dispatcher will release the plane early, and then normally there will be nothing to do. You can just wait for the last flight to take off and then go home.
It's almost ten o'clock, and it's time to wait for the end of get off work.
This has never changed in the past, but today, the big boss came suddenly, and all the ground staff were so scared that they instinctively bowed 90 degrees.
The flight crew performed slightly better, but they were also relatively nervous. They put down their work one by one and saluted Guan Yueling, which made Xu Cang very uncomfortable.
ANA's flight preparation room seems to be nothing special except that it is a little bigger. However, in the year 2000, when personal computers were not yet very popular, there was already a row of computers in the corner of ANA's flight preparation room, which seemed to be specially used by the crew.
In any case, Japan is indeed ahead in terms of electronic equipment.
Originally, Xu Cang was planning to look at some details, such as how the seats on the ground were distributed. But wherever they went, the pilots and ground personnel's eyes were fixed on them like searchlights, which made Xu Cang quite uncomfortable. In the end, after just a brief observation, Xu Cang left in a hurry.
As soon as you come out of the flight preparation room, there is a short corridor outside the exit, which is covered with various photos, both black and white and color.
The first photo is a group photo of a man standing in front of a helicopter, in black and white, and looks quite old. Above the photo hang four numbers - 1952.
This is the year ANA was founded.
"We at ANA started out as a helicopter cargo operator and have grown to such a large scale today."
The two walked slowly. As photos passed by and years went by, what appeared before Xu Cang's eyes was ANA's nearly fifty-year development history.
However, Guan Yueling suddenly stopped at the year 1969, lowered his head and said slowly: "But, until now, we are still suppressed by Japan Airlines, starting from this year."
Xu Cang raised his eyebrows. He actually knew this history. In 1969, the Japanese Ministry of Transport approved Japan Airlines to monopolize international scheduled flights. This policy lasted until 1986.
This was nearly 20 years of international route monopoly, and it was during this period that the gap between JAL and ANA reached its peak. After that, even though ANA was allowed to join the competition for international scheduled flights, the situation was difficult to reverse, and JAL still took the initiative in the international market.
Xu Cang had no interest in the grievances here. When Guan Yueling complained, Xu Cang chose to remain silent.
Going forward, Xu Cang even saw a few photos of plane crashes. There were photos of 1960, 1966 and 1971. The 1960s to 1970s and 1980s were known as the wave of plane crashes in the Japanese civil aviation industry. During these ten years, not only ANA, but also Japan Airlines had several plane crashes, which was really weird.
Before the years when the crashes occurred, Guanyueling was obviously moving faster. This is normal, as no airline company would regard a crash as its pride.
However, just as the two of them passed the last photo, Xu Cang suddenly stopped. This made Guan Yueling beside him feel a little surprised: "What's wrong?"
Xu Cang thought for a moment, took two steps back, pointed at a group photo below the year 1999, and asked in confusion: "Was joining the Star Alliance a big deal in 1999?"
That’s right, the photo under the year 1999 is the photo of the signing ceremony when ANA joined the Star Alliance.
Guan Yueling was a little confused by Xu Cang's question: "Other important things? What do you mean...?"
Xu Cang carefully looked at Guan Yueling's expression, which seemed to be true. Then, looking at the photos of plane crashes from previous years, Xu Cang felt a little doubtful.
If I remember correctly, there should have been an ANA plane hijacking incident in 1999, and even the captain was killed. But where is he now?
