National Tide 1980.

Perhaps it is because this child is truly a gift from God to Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko.

Perhaps it was because Ning Weimin's heroic act of giving red envelopes to all his grassroots employees also accumulated virtue and brought them good fortune.

Anyway, ever since Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko returned to Tokyo, Japan and confirmed that Keiko was pregnant, their luck has become particularly good.

You can have whatever you want, and everything you wish for will come true.

Keiko Matsumoto, the future mother, was delighted to learn that during her absence from Japan, the TV series "Black Leather Notebook" in which she starred had firmly occupied the top spot on the national Japanese drama chart since the third episode.

The show ended with an average viewership of 33.7% and a peak of 39.1%.

This result even made the drama rank fifth among the Japanese dramas with the highest ratings to date.

Then she received a surprising profit-sharing data from Shochiku.

It is learned that the second blockbuster produced by Fog Studios, "Crazy Rich Asians", which was released on Valentine's Day, also achieved success in China.

It eventually grossed 3.3 billion yen across Japan, setting a new high for Kiri Studios' films.

Moreover, the theme song of this movie, "The Flowing River", also received great response in the Japanese music scene. As the box office of the movie continued to rise, the single quickly soared to the top of the hot list and was widely praised.

The soundtrack album produced and released by Taurus for this film also sold 550,000 copies in the Japanese market.

So far, the box office revenue and soundtrack revenue of this film in Japan alone are enough to cover the production costs, and it has even started to make a profit, at least 300 to 400 million yen.

In other words, this movie is destined to make a lot of money.

In the future, all earnings from other markets will be pure profit.

Moreover, the income from copyright will continue to bring profits to Fog Studios.

But this is not the most important thing. The key point is that this TV series and movie were completely praised in the newspapers, with very few critical voices.

This means that Matsumoto Keiko's Mist Studio has not only further consolidated its position in the film industry, but also increased its voice.

It also opened up the situation in which TV drama production was originally almost completely controlled by major TV stations, forcibly tore open a gap, and gained a certain amount of development space.

In addition, the French films under the name of Matsumoto Keiko and the Chinese-language films brought to Japan by Ning Weimin have performed well in the market, and the number and variety of films in their film libraries are sufficient for these independent theaters to show them all year round.

Now, not only are more and more independent cinemas deciding to maintain long-term cooperative relationships with them, but they also have stable partners in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

With the help of Shochiku Film Company, the screening business of these films was further expanded to Yokohama, Sapporo, Kobe, Hiroshima and Nagoya.

It can be said that Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko relied on the film library to control some independent small cinemas that were originally unsystematic.

Although the two of them had no plans to invest in building cinemas, this would mean they had their own cinema chain, which would at least cover most of Japan's major cities and ensure simultaneous screenings on at least fifty screens.

Therefore, it was for this reason that Ning Weimin, with the help of his wife's Mist Studio, introduced the first Hong Kong film "A Chinese Ghost Story" to Japan, and with the help of Shochiku Film's theater chain and these independent theaters, he was able to increase the number of screens for the opening to more than 140 theaters showing the film simultaneously.

And it soon proved that the film was a box office dark horse, with box office revenue reaching 280 million yen in its first week.

Not much, the performance of a film at the box office depends on many factors.

These include film subject matter and script, creative team, film positioning, film quality, ticket prices, release date, distribution, theater scheduling, publicity and promotion, and many other aspects, but no matter what, the number of screens opening is the most important.

The more theaters the film is screened in, the more audiences will be able to see it, which will be more conducive to the spread of word-of-mouth.

This is why "A Chinese Ghost Story" became popular in Japan, compared with the original history, even though the two leading actors Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong did not come to Japan to promote the film this time.

However, just because it was released in so many theaters, the film still became popular due to its excellent quality, romantic Chinese aesthetics, and subject matter that the Japanese like. It is destined that the final box office will far exceed the original historical target of 360 million yen.

In short, Keiko Matsumoto's Kirigami Studio has completed its transformation at an unimaginable speed and has become a production organization and producer that must be respected by the Japanese industry.

Now, whether it is movie theaters or TV stations that serve as media platforms, or the management agencies that make a living by sucking the blood of artists, they all have to welcome Fog Studio with a smile.

Because Mist Studios not only likes to shoot big-budget works, but also achieves frequent success. Such production capabilities are extremely important to them.

The benefits that Fog Studio can bring to them are simply innumerable. In their eyes, it is now equivalent to a money printing machine and a cash cow that can spend money at will.

It can be said that as long as the future big productions of Fog Studio do not suffer a Waterloo-like failure.

This film and television production company will be a partner that they can never refuse.

Putting aside the background and business scale, let’s talk about the current influence in the industry.

In fact, in the eyes of industry insiders, Kirigami Studios can be compared with the "Big Five" in the Japanese film industry.

As long as they can gradually increase the number of works shot each year, it is a foregone conclusion that Fog Studio will become one of the "Big Six".

Because of this, Matsumoto Keiko won the Best Actress Award again at the 11th Japan Academy Awards.

It was only natural that her Mist Studio won seven major awards at the Japan Academy Awards for the film "Li Xianglan", including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress, and even became the number one box office film in Japan in 1987.

In fact, at the awards ceremony, when Keiko Matsumoto went on stage to receive the award, countless filmmakers stood up and applauded her, which is unprecedented in the history of the Academy Awards.

This is enough to prove her current status in the Japanese entertainment industry. Almost everyone pampers her, pats her, coaxes her, and serves her. This is her status in the industry.

Of course, it is unknown how much of this is admiration, how much is gratitude, how much is fawning, and how much is fear or submission to the trend.

Anyway, no matter what, Keiko Matsumoto, who is about to become a mother, can be described as elegant and dignified recently.

The only drawback is that she suffers from severe morning sickness, which has been a torment to her recently.

But the good news about her career comforted her to a great extent, provided her with motivation to cheer her up and effectively reduced her pain.

Helped her to get through the period of the most intense reaction without realizing it.

This is her own unique benefit.

As for Ning Weimin, he is no less capable.

This time when he returned to Tokyo, he simply came back to get red envelopes.

There is only one thing he wants to do - count money!

For no other reason than that since 1988, Japan has completely entered a frenzied era of uncontrolled credit expansion.

First, under the "window guidance" of the Bank of Japan, the loan targets that major Japanese banks need to meet are getting higher and higher, which forces these banks to take increasingly excessive and unconventional operations.

To what extent are these so-called unconventional operations excessive?

It was so excessive that there was no need for much collateral. Not only did Japan's major banks begin to lend large amounts of money to individuals and companies that were unable to repay, they also began to relax their assessment of the value of collateral, especially real estate.

In the past, when a house was mortgaged, the bank would only lend 50% of the loan amount, but now it has been increased to 70%.

And as the value of houses continues to appreciate, this ratio is still increasing.

The bank will also proactively contact customers who have already taken out loans and ask whether they are willing to take out additional loans.

To put it in the terms of thirty years later, it was like turning on the faucet completely and “releasing the water”.

It’s no longer a matter of how much you can receive, but how much you want to receive.

The bank has enough.

So now in Japan, whether it is a small company or an individual, it can easily get a low-interest loan.

In this era of skyrocketing stock and land prices, who would use these loans to actually start business?

Of course, after getting the money, you can buy stocks and real estate.

Secondly, the Bank of Japan not only caused the bubble through lending, but also directly participated in creating the bubble.

Japanese conglomerates cross-hold a large number of stocks with each other, and two-thirds of the stocks in the entire Japanese stock market are held by companies among each other.

The banks controlled by these consortiums alone hold nearly half of the shares.

We are all part of each other.

In particular, in early 1988, Japan introduced a new accounting standard - if the stocks held by banks appreciated in value, part of it could be recorded as real income for that year.

This principle can be expressed in simple terms as follows: as long as the stock price continues to rise, the company will make money on paper regardless of whether it actually makes money or not.

As long as the company is profitable on paper, the stock price will continue to rise.

It's a mutually reinforcing cycle.

At that time, interest rates were so low that the consortiums borrowed money to buy each other's stocks, causing the bubble to grow bigger and bigger, and finally it was out of control.

In general, across Japan, regardless of level, there is a consensus on the pursuit of stocks and real estate in the context of rampant credit.

The whole of Japan is immersed in the fantasy of high land prices and high stock prices and is daydreaming.

People are so caught up in the craze of worshipping money that almost all their assets, including stocks, real estate, and even artworks and golf memberships, are beginning to rise in value at an alarming rate.

Relatively speaking, the only things that have been decreasing are the loan threshold and bank interest rates.

So you can imagine what a great era this is for bubble gentlemen!

There are many cases of carp jumping over the dragon gate and becoming rich overnight.

For example, as soon as Ning Weimin returned to Tokyo, he was soon contacted by Yoshima and his son.

It wasn't him who took the initiative to look for others, it was others who took the initiative to look for him.

This father and son really treated him well, almost like they were grateful to him, and gave him 2.5 billion yen from Sumitomo Bank with an interest rate of only %.

Ning Weimin put the money into the stock market without any hesitation, and went all in with the additional capital.

The stocks he bought did perform well, especially Hanwa Kogyo, whose total assets, including the balance of commercial paper issuance, had exceeded 6 trillion yen.

The balance of special funds and designated funds outside the trust is as high as 600 billion yen, most of which are "handshake" funds held by securities companies and trust banks with guaranteed returns under the premise of rising stock prices.

Therefore, the market value of Hanwa Kogyo undoubtedly exceeded 880 billion yen and began to create a new high.

The land prices are even more outrageous.

During this period, housing prices on Tokyo's Ginza Street had reached US$350,000 per square meter.

The two Ginza properties under Ning Weimin's name are already worth up to 40 million US dollars.

It is no joke to say that Japan can buy the United States at this time.

Therefore, a large number of tourism real estate projects and high-end hotels in Guam and Hawaii have changed hands and become owned by the Japanese.

Even in European countries, there are frequent news and information about Japanese purchasing large amounts of assets.

Even real estate developers and service personnel in Europe and the United States have begun to become keen on learning Japanese in order to obtain higher labor remuneration.

Therefore, Ning Weimin now cannot calculate how much assets he has in his name, because the leverage has been increased and the debt structure has become complicated.

Also because asset prices change too quickly.

As soon as he finished calculating a number, the number changed again.

Of course, things are definitely changing for the better, and he is making more and more money, of that he is sure.

In short, Ning Weimin is now full of absolute confidence in his personal property and his financial strength.

He no longer cares about the risk of investment failure that he faces in supporting his wife's career. Could any risk be as high as the risk of him adding leverage?

Even if all the projects he invested in this year lost money, he wouldn't care.

However, he was always worried about Keiko Matsumoto's pregnancy. Although he was ecstatic, he had to force Keiko Matsumoto to change his work plan for the new year for the safety of the fetus and his wife's health.

At least he couldn't let her film "The Wandering Princess". That scene involves suffering from cold and hunger, as well as wandering around. It would be too painful to act. He was not willing to pursue realism and let the child take risks.

At first, Matsumoto Keiko was a little reluctant about this. As she loved acting, she really couldn't stand Ning Weimin's caution. Thinking about not working for a year, just eating, drinking and having fun, and giving gifts, she had never dared to be so lax before. It really made her feel a little bored, a little empty, and even scared.

But then again, Matsumoto Keiko was so upset that Ning Weimin wanted to tie her to the bed with a rope so that she could take care of her pregnancy.

I received special attention in it, which is something that Japanese men find difficult to do.

For example, Ning Weimin first took her to see obstetricians and gynecologists in well-known hospitals and asked them about various precautions.

Then he studied relevant books every day and gave her many instructions every day.

It can be said that Ning Weimin became much busier after she became pregnant.

But no matter how busy he is, he never wants his wife to be busy. He does the housework himself, prepares nutritious meals for his wife, and helps Qingzi deal with the affairs of the office and the studio.

Of course, Matsumoto Keiko felt sorry for her husband's busy schedule, but Ning Weimin did not feel tired or hard-pressed. Instead, he felt that his life had a clear goal and hope, and that his life was more meaningful than before.

All of this made Matsumoto Keiko feel extremely sweet. Although she felt that Ning Weimin cared about her a little too much, she was happy with it. She was the happiest pregnant woman in the world. (End of this chapter)