Chapter 20

She was smiling when she walked into the restaurant at 8am. I said, “You look happy today. Excited about visiting factories?”

“I’m also happy about clearing some cobwebs and hang-ups from my mind. I feel more free to be me.”

“That sounds good. I stopped by the concierge. I didn’t want to wait around for a taxi when we were ready to leave the factory. I had him hire a car for the day. It’s out front whenever we’re ready.”

“Do you want to go now?”

“No, the driver has tea and already ate breakfast. I want some food.”

I ordered a Bánh mì sandwich and some coffee. Sakura had some rice dish. We talked about the day and what the goals were. I said, “I know that we’re looking for things for my apartment but I also plan to open a store that will import things from around the world. Think high end furniture for high end apartments. We may order ten or one hundred. I want you to think about quality first, style second and price third. If you had a high-end customer would you put it in their home? If the quality is poor just say, “I think we already have a supplier back home that meets this niche. We don’t want to waste our time or theirs. We’re looking for new suppliers to meet the needs of high-end customers.”

“I got it. This should be interesting.”

We went out and I introduced Sakura to our driver, his name was Aart. He drove us to the first place and within a few minutes. Sakura said, “We already have a supplier back in Japan that makes something similar. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” We shook and bowed before making an exit. We were off to the next one and she was soon saying, “We already have a supplier back in Japan...”

She apologized for the time spent. I said, “You are doing just fine. I was going to say it if you didn’t. It was the fifth factory when we saw the quality. I said, “We were about to just leave after we saw some of the other factories and what processes they used. I like what we see here.”

“Many people see Vietnam on the label and expect it to be cheap. There are still people that cut the wood, dry the wood and finish the raw materials. Then our craftsmen make it into something special. We specialize in Siamese RoseWood, Walnut and Teak. We use ash for the frames in our couches since it is both lighter and sturdy.”

“I like the materials, do you’ve a showroom or catalog so we can see what you make? If we designed something could you make it for us?”

“We have a showroom where you can see most of what we make or have made. We can make it custom if you want your label on it.”

“Are you doing anything to replant the trees you are harvesting?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we had rice with dinner last night. They replanted the field so that we can have rice again tomorrow. I want to have you making furniture for me in ten, twenty and fifty years. I want to know that you are planting trees that will be grown when I want that furniture.”

“You are the first person to ask about that.”

“I want two trees planted for every one to be cut down, if not more. Most trees take twenty or more years if you are growing to harvest the wood.”

“Would that be required or just desired.”

“It would be in the contract. It could cause fines if you aren’t holding up your end. The good news is that most seedling trees are cheap and besides the labor you may only be paying a hundred dong per tree.”

“I’ll get with the suppliers if we sign a deal.”

“We have other factories to visit here in Vietnam, then we have other countries to visit but I like what I see so far. Of course, just like most furniture buying, it is up to the women and what they want.”

We looked at Sakura and she was in the showroom with a catalog in hand. “I like the quality and many of the designs. We’ll need to understand the shipping cost and schedules. I like this teak set for your living room and the walnut bed for the guest bedroom.”

“We’ll be back before we leave the country to sign a deal if we’re interested. We’ll let you know either way so you are not waiting on us.”

As we got into the car, Sakura said, “I like the furniture. The part about buying from them long in the future went a long way. I saw them about to give me a price sheet but when you said that, he changed it for a better price sheet. We can still negotiate them down but it’s a better starting point.”

There was one other factory that met our standards but at the end of the first day we had visited all ten that we were planning to see. I said, “Aart, you’ve heard us back here all day. You’ve heard us talk about the poor quality and the good quality. We’ve flown here to buy your products and bring jobs to your people. Do you know of any places that you think we should see before we go?”

He smiled and nodded. He turned north and we went for a ride. “Mr. Nick, the place I’m taking you is not a factory as you’ve been visiting. It is more like a village of craftsmen. They’re known for their carvings and skills as carpenters.”

The work was amazing. I walked around and watched the old men and women teach the younger ones. Many sat on the ground with a bench that covered their laps and the wood sitting on the bench. Sakura said, “I want it all. This is amazing.”

Aart walked with us as many didn’t speak English or Japanese. “Where do they sell this work?”

“At the local markets. It’s expensive for this area but in the rest of the world it would be inexpensive.”

“Introduce me to the man in charge.”

“There’s no one in charge but I’ll introduce you to one that can speak for the village.” We walked to a hut. Aart knocked on the door frame as we entered. “Hello Grandfather. I have brought some people interested in your work.”

He put down his chisel and said hello. I looked at a carving he was working on. I asked, “When it is finished, how much will you sell it for?”

“Something of this size will take me a month to complete. I sell it for about a million dong.”

“If the quality is this good, I’ll buy all that you make for two million dong. Do you have a way to pack and ship them to me in Japan?”

“For that price I will.”

Aart said, “I’ll help him and any others.”

“Could I get them any tools that might help them work safer, faster or with more skill?”

He spoke to his grandfather and they talked about tools. Aart finally said, “Different size knives would make it easier, faster and safer.”

“What about sand paper or electric tools to take off bulk so they can save the finishing tools on finishing the products?”

He again spoke to his grandfather who smiled and nodded. There were a few pieces in the trunk of the car as we left with Sakura hugging the craftspeople that had made them. As we drove I said, “Aart, I’ll pay you to go up once a week and pay for the finished products. Then you will need to crate them and ship them. I’ll give you ten percent of the cost. As long as the quality is good, the shipping is secure and the price is right. If you send ten of those pieces a week then you will get two million dong a week. If you buy less, then you will get less. If you buy more then you will get more.”

“I’ll do that.”

“It means getting people good tools, good materials, it means training more people to do this type of work. This is part of your heritage and you will be responsible for sharing it and spreading it around the world. If there are bigger projects they want to work on, I can pay as we go so they’ll have the funds as they need them.”

“You are very generous, Mr. Nick.”

“Make sure that every piece is signed by the craftsmen. I’d also like for you to write a short biography about the artist so that we can let their names and stories live on with the art.”

Aart pulled to the side of the road and began crying. I looked at Sakura and she was crying. I guess I got a little something in my eye as well. He finally stopped and said, “I was hoping to bring a little money to my village but instead you honor the work and the people of the village.”

“We didn’t come here to take advantage but to find craftsmen that take pride in their work so we can share it with our customers. The ones in the trunk will be on the walls of my home unless Sakura steals one.”

“Consider it stolen. I want the one of the fish on my wall.”

Aart said he would be by in the morning to pick us up and have all the information about how to reach him. We had dinner at a nice restaurant. She had pho. I had a beef dish. I had to wonder who got the steak since the restaurants wanted to sell every part of the cow except the steaks. I liked my breakfast sandwich the best so far.

As we got to our doors she asked, “Do you want to see the view from my room?”

“Are you asking me to play tennis?”

“I think I am. You got me excited today when you took control of the meetings and in some cases demanded more and in some cases gave away more. You never once asked about price. Except for Aart’s grandfather.”

“Factories have all their costs and profit margins calculated. They’ll sell them to us at good prices or we’ll go elsewhere. The village has craftsmen and their time. What is that worth? It depends on the quality and the value they put on their time. I just value their time more than they do. I also want them to feel appreciated for what they do, like the whore in the bar. She felt better about herself after I bought her a drink just to be nice.”

Sakura said, “I wish that you could make me feel better about myself.”

I said, “Be in my room in ten minutes and bring a change of clothes if you want any to wear when you go back to your room.”

It was thirty minutes before she made it back to my room. She said, “I’m sorry, I called my dad to tell him that things were going well and he wouldn’t let me off the phone.”

I walked over to her and hugged her as if everything was all right. She put her arms around me and I reached for the zipper on her dress. I ripped the thing to the hem at the bottom then gave one more tug to snap that. I went to the front and did the same thing. Taking her hand I sat on the bed and took her over my knee.

With my forearm on her back I said, “You called him. He didn’t call you. You chose to call him when you had a scheduled appointment instead of waiting until we were done or changing the time before we left the hall. You could have also told him that I was waiting to fuck you and you were going to be late. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Sir. I didn’t think he would keep me that long and I was excited about the day.”

Smacking her ass three times, I heard her yelp and try to move her hands to protect her ass. “Take your punishment. I think you did it on purpose to see if you could move from a two to a four. It isn’t going to work with me. You can pull that shit on your other milquetoast men.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Five more swats on her ass and I let my finger move between her folds to find her wet. I pushed her off my lap and onto the floor where I mounted her from behind and started to fuck her. She was pushing back as hard as she could to get me as deep as she could. I held her hips and pulled her on to my cock. She was soon cumming and I would continue to spank her ass as I fucked her. She came again and again.”

Her knees were red and her makeup was smeared when I let her up to use the bathroom and clean up. I was on the bed when she came out and gave me a hug. “How did you know I would get off on that?”

“You’re a daddy’s girl. I should make you call me daddy when I fuck you.”

“That’s nasty, naughty and sexy.”

“Tomorrow we need to sign two contracts. Do you want to spend another night here or head out to our next stop? Do you have an order for what we’re going to buy?”

“I have the templates but need to fill them out.”

“Make sure the clauses are in there. Fill out one for Aart so we can make it official.”

“What are D & B DBA D&B importers?”

“D&B is the name of my company that does the software. I’m Nick Duke. The D. Adam Buckley is the B. I want the importer to be different from the software so I created another division.”

“Will you read it over in the morning before we head out?”

“Yes. You asked a lot of questions but you didn’t answer the one I asked you.”

“What question?”

“Will we be done? Can we fly to Thailand tomorrow afternoon or do we need to spend another night here?”

“We should be done by early afternoon.”

“I’ll make arrangements. Bring your bags down in the morning and we’ll check out. Wear clothes you feel comfortable traveling in. The dress you wore over here can go in the trash.”

“Yes, Sir.”

She hadn’t brought clothes but stole a towel and wore it as she ran across the hall. She had a big smile on her face as she looked back and said good night.”

The meetings the next day went smoothly. The owner of the first company said, “I called about planting trees. The forester called someone and they said that they had room to plant almost five trees for every one cut down. He said he would charge me next to nothing to do it. I won’t even change the prices. I want that wood for me as well.”

They were going to airfreight the order and I was paying the tab. I told Sakura, “I want my place furnished when I get back, even if I have to throw out both of your suitcases to fit in a chair or table.”

She laughed but said it would be done. I paid for everything and he took the address of her father’s warehouse. She told me as we drove off. “I may over buy what we need but I can sell what you don’t use.”

Aart was set up and we had all his information. He had ours. He had a new business and a new bank account. He was told to keep good records and we would be by to check on him from time to time.

He dropped us at the airport and we flew to Thailand. It was still early and we checked into our hotel except when I went up to check in, there was only one room and it was in Sakura’s name. If her dad called and asked for her room, he would be put through. She smiled but didn’t say anything when she had to sign in. I paid for the room.

We hired another driver through the hotel and after three days I thought we were going to have one big waste of time. They built crappy furniture with little style. On the last day we did find a place about 140 miles west of the city. They also did a lot of carving but it was in the furniture. They had a lot of bars that folded into a smaller cabinet when not in use. There was a table that sat ten people with a dragon carved into the top under a piece of thick glass. Sakura did the contract and made sure they were aware of the reforestation clause. There was a table and a big desk with a dragon carved in it. Both Sakura and I were happy with the products, style and quality. What we bought was paid for and shipped out.

Besides the work, Bangkok was also an eye opener for Sakura. She lost some more clothes when I didn’t want to wait on her to undress. She started wearing things she didn’t like as much. When we went out, she also saw how the girls were exploited. She saw that many came willingly or were sent by their families to work in the sex trade. Many older men were traveling alone. Many were white from the USA and Europe but many were from Japan and Hong Kong as well.

We were in a bar and a girl tried to pick us up. I asked her to sit down and bought her a drink. Sakura asked her a lot of questions. She was a freelance girl and was saving and sending money home to her family. On a good night, she would make about one hundred dollars. As we sat and talked, Sakura asked more and more questions. I slipped her about 3,000 baht or a hundred dollars, so she didn’t feel like she needed to leave and make some money. I kept buying them both drinks as the girl told stories about some of the guys she had been with.

She said the oldest was in his seventies. Some were married but many were those that had trouble with girls. Most were shy and she had to take the lead. She normally asked more from them in a tip afterwards. She liked sex and sometimes wished she could stay with a guy that treated her right. One guy had given her a thousand dollars or 30,000 baht to spend a week with him and she got to stay at the beach and had a great time.

As we were getting up to go, Sakura took her hand and asked if she wanted to come with us. She did. Sakura wanted to watch me fuck her. The girl, Busaba, wanted to have sex and I wanted to watch her eat out Sakura while I did. We all got what we wanted and did so twice. When Busaba left the room, she had an additional 30,000 baht in her purse and a smile on her face. She said that she made more money and had more fun than with any other customers.

Sakura felt bad for her and the other half a million girls that did that for a living. When she found out that we had given her the equivalent of two months of salary for an average Thai family she felt a little better and even admitted that she had fun with the girl. We went out other nights but didn’t have a repeat while we were in Thailand.

We stopped in Italy and found leather goods but not a lot of furniture we liked. In Germany we signed a deal with Eames to sell their chairs. I had a couple shipped out to the apartment. We weren’t looking for any furniture but flew into London to check on business. By now, Sakura was sharing a room at every stop. She was used to spankings and all kinds of positions when we had sex. She was still very professional but was exploring what made her happy.

When we got to London, I had called ahead to schedule meetings. Sakura went shopping and had the day free. I had three meetings scheduled. The first was with Tim and Andy. Andy had come down from school. They were happy with the sales, the installs using the people from IBM service and the income they were getting.

When we’d gone through everything, Tim said, “The best thing is not that we’re ahead of our best projections by 30%. The best thing is that every single customer is happy. Even when things break, they have to fall back to the old way and it just reinforces what a great purchase they made. Most either find something that was wrong in the restaurant; giving things away, theft and food waste. One figured out that he had a bad thermostat on his cooler and the food was spoiling faster than it should. Overall the customers are happy and that makes me proud to represent the products. There are still write ups about the show and we’ve already been contacted by the show and other vendors about being a part of next year’s show.”

Andy said that he was doing well in school and had a drive to finish early and with good grades. He was taking a max load and had almost all A’s.

My next meeting was with Tim’s brothers. Randy and Rodney were good guys and we joked around a bit. I finally said, “I’m thinking of opening a few pubs, bars or clubs in Japan. I can get the locations that are good, I can pay for the equipment including some good management software. What I need is someone to run the things. You know me. I can’t sit still long enough to be in charge of day to day operations.”

Rodney said, “I love Tokyo but I couldn’t get the wife to move. Hey, maybe that would be a good thing.” They both laughed.

Randy asked, “Are you looking for a partnership or advice or did you want to steal some of our help?”

“I don’t know. You know me and I know you. If we went in as partners then you could be in charge of running the place. I could be in charge of finding the locations and paying to have them built.”

“No money out of pocket, what kind of split are we talking about?”

“This is up for negotiations but you hire and train the staff. The first three years you get 50% of the profit. Then for the next four years it drops 10% a year but by then you will probably only be over for a quarterly meeting, some Japanese whiskey and seeing some old friends.”

“How many locations were you thinking?”

“I was thinking, as many as make sense. Maybe different themes, names and target audiences. I know the salary men or white collars work long hard days but then go out and party. So in the business district something to draw them in. There are a few universities where kids gather. Perhaps pizza and beer. We can try a dance club or that new singing thing called Karaoke. They seem to like it in Tokyo.”