National Tide 1980.

Japan's Emperor Showa is the longest-lived emperor in history.

As of December 1988, 12, Emperor Showa had been on the throne for exactly sixty years.

At the same time, as a mastermind who condoned militarism and launched the war of aggression against China, he also successfully proved the cruel reality of this world that "bad people may not necessarily get bad retribution" with his longevity and his good fortune in escaping post-war reckoning.

However, this old guy's luck in this life is almost over.

In fact, since 1987, the old guy has entered a stage of lingering survival.

He had serious health problems, and despite multiple surgeries, his condition did not improve.

It was from then on that many Japanese began to realize that the Showa era might be coming to an end.

In September 1988, as Emperor Showa's health continued to deteriorate, Crown Prince Naruhito began to handle state affairs. Through this change, more Japanese citizens saw the reality that an era was about to end.

Now everyone is just quietly waiting for something that is destined to happen and let it happen naturally. Most people know in their hearts that Emperor Showa is about to die.

Despite this, it is somewhat ironic that, apart from a few die-hard fans who are also older, there are actually not many Japanese citizens who are heartbroken about the fact that Emperor Showa is about to die.

This was because Japan was at the height of its bubble economy at that time, and money and desire were the main themes of Japanese society.

In 1988, the Nikkei index broke through points.

This figure is 4,000 points higher than the 26,000 points before the Black Monday drop.

The total market value of the Tokyo stock market exceeded Japan's GDP of 387 trillion yen that year, reaching 477 trillion yen.

Land prices in cities near Tokyo also saw an abnormal increase of nearly double at the end of the year, driving up core land prices in Tokyo, which had already been somewhat stagnant, again.

In Akasaka, where Ning Weimin once lived, a piece of land the size of a newspaper can now be sold for $30,000.

The total value of land assets nationwide is almost equal to one and a half times the GDP.

Under such circumstances, the scale of financing for Japanese companies is also increasing.

Stock capital and land capital have caused the book wealth of many companies to skyrocket. Regardless of whether the company's main business is profitable or not, the net profit in the financial statements will definitely increase exponentially. This is a common phenomenon.

Therefore, for the whole of Japan, whether it is companies or individuals, it seems that there is countless wealth in their hands, and money comes too easily.

So during the New Year, people only care about how to consume and enjoy themselves. Who cares about the life or death of Emperor Showa?

No, that’s not entirely true.

After all, if Emperor Showa was really seriously ill, the Japanese people would not be able to engage in various entertainment activities.

If we look at it from this perspective, Emperor Showa's dying state actually stimulated the retail, entertainment, and catering industries to engage in frenzied publicity and promotion, and the Japanese people seized the opportunity to enjoy themselves.

Otherwise, when Emperor Showa really takes his last breath, where will he be able to spend money on fun?

Isn’t it a huge loss?

As a result, a strange economic phenomenon emerged across Japan.

The worse Emperor Showa's health became and the closer he was to death, the more prosperous the business of shopping malls, supermarkets, bars, restaurants and dance halls across the country became.

Even companies are rushing to hold their year-end parties, scrambling to move the carnival celebrations forward.

It seems like everyone is in a hurry, afraid that the money in their hands will not be able to be spent if it is left for too long.

I wonder if Emperor Showa would feel proud or sad if he found out that his life was coming to an end and that his work actually promoted social consumption?

Anyway, no matter what, at least Ning Weimin is very happy about it. Now he smiles like a big peony all day long.

After all, he is a vested interest holder. The more money the Japanese spend, the more he earns.

In particular, he knew very well that the good days of those who lived there were about to change.

After Emperor Showa caught a cold from the sea crabapple, it wouldn’t be long before the entire Japanese economy would be buried with the emperor.

As a Chinese, I naturally can't help but applaud for this fateful coincidence.

After years of planning, it is time to finally close the net. First, wait for the enemy to burp, and then reap the benefits.

Ning Weimin didn't know how to describe this sweet feeling of revenge.

He had no way to share this with his family in Japan, and only a true Chinese person could understand the happiness in his heart that came from his blood.

In addition, Ning Weimin's family had such a big happy event this year. He had a lovely daughter and finally became a father.

As a result, he even felt like a show-off during the New Year.

Otherwise, he would have to spend some money to relax. Otherwise, he would feel a little bit unable to eat and restless.

So, before Christmas, he bought a lot of high-end gifts for his wife, daughter and parents-in-law.

After Christmas, he specially selected a day to entertain guests at Tan Gong Restaurant.

Not only did he post messages to his compatriots he met in Japan, he also asked these people to invite their friends to come, even if the guests were strangers he didn't know.

As I said, the meat is rotten in the pot.

He doesn't care how many guests come to eat and drink for free, as long as they are compatriots from the mainland.

After all, the fact that he had a daughter and Emperor Showa was going to die were both rare happy events that he had finally waited for.

How could he not gather his compatriots together, have a drink and talk about these things?

He must be so depressed.

In this way, on December 12, several private rooms of Tan Gong Restaurant were reserved specifically for entertaining Ning Weimin's guests.

You know what, there were quite a lot of people coming.

Not only did Liu Yang, Chen Song, Chu Haoran, Sun Wufu and his soldiers come, but Liu Yang, Chen Song and Chu Haoran also brought over a dozen international students from mainland China.

Even the mysterious dragon that has been elusive and is currently traveling around Japan, Li Xiaojiang and Wang Yan, who are selling Zhang Guang 101 Hair Growth Water, received the news and rushed all the way from Nagoya.

In addition to them, there were also several friends from the literary and artistic circles who had fled to Japan to join Ning Weimin. Su Yue, An Wen, Zhang Liling, and Yao Peifang all came to support him. For a while, everyone was greeting each other, and it was very lively.

No matter whether we know each other or not, as long as we sit together and offer each other cigarettes, we become friends.

Especially here, it is a rare place where you can enter the room and communicate freely in Chinese.

Everyone felt very happy communicating in their local dialect, and soon everyone became familiar with each other and was completely immersed in the joyful and lively atmosphere.

Needless to say, Ning Weimin, as the host, must be the protagonist of this banquet.

Liu Yang, Chen Song and Chu Haoran introduced their friends to him in turn. Regardless of whether they knew him or not, everyone hurriedly shook hands with Ning Weimin, saying they had long admired him and showing admiration on their faces.

If nothing else, there would be no such gathering without him.

Moreover, almost everyone who goes abroad is struggling for survival. If it weren't for the generous donations from wealthy people like him, we would not have the opportunity to gather here.

So everyone’s gratitude is sincere.

Even Li Xiaojiang, who had made a fortune in Japan and was a celebrity known to almost all international students, had great respect for Ning Weimin.

He had really found out all about Ning Weimin, so as soon as the banquet started, he stood up and started to flatter Ning Weimin.

"Hey, everyone, be quiet, be quiet. I have a suggestion. Let's toast to President Ning. Thank you for President Ning's warm hospitality. It is because of this that we, who are wandering in a foreign country, can sit here today with dignity, eat and drink, and taste the food of our hometown. To be honest, after going abroad, you will know how homesick you will be. Just because President Ning has done such a great thing for everyone, just because President Ning is so generous and righteous, I should stand up and raise my glass to express my gratitude, right?"

These words made sense, and everyone responded by standing up and toasting Ning Weimin.

This made Ning Weimin proud and he raised his glass in return.

That's not all. Li Xiaojiang continued, "There's another big happy event, maybe you don't know it yet? Our President Ning had a daughter last month. And the child's mother is the famous Japanese movie star Ms. Matsumoto Keiko. I say, just because our President Ning married a Japanese national treasure-level beauty and let her give birth to a child for us Chinese, shouldn't everyone give another toast to President Ning? This is what a hero is..."

Just like that, another wave of noisy congratulations rang out.

Ning Weimin, who was radiant, felt his itch was tickled and returned the gesture with a smile.

Seeing that Li Xiaojiang seemed to have something else to say, he raised the glass again after drinking the wine.

Finally someone got annoyed.

After all, not everyone can't see that Li Xiaojiang is using the big guys to put on a show and curry favor with himself.

Like a young man yelling, "Hey, Xiao Jiang, don't just admire Mr. Ning verbally, you have to take some practical actions, right? Among the people from the mainland who came to Japan, besides Mr. Ning, you are probably the one who has done the best. I heard that your bottle of hair growth water can earn hundreds of thousands of Japanese yen. What do you think? Next year, you can also be generous and donate generously and organize a gathering for everyone. We all miss you."

His words obviously put Li Xiaojiang in an awkward position, causing a burst of laughter.

However, Li Xiaojiang was able to make it in Japan, so he must have some skills.

He was not afraid of what was happening on the scene and immediately retorted.

"Oh, Zhao Gang, are you trying to bully me? Yes, I have made some money in the past few years, so it's nothing to treat you to a meal, but I have money, so I have to compare it with others. Isn't it that we still have President Ning? He runs a restaurant, and what kind of family business does he have? Without President Ning's permission, there is no place for me to show off. You, don't try to be so mean, there's no need to be jealous. If you really don't have a way to eat, just say it directly, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. We are all friends, at most I can send you a box of instant noodles and a dozen bags of pickled mustard tubers, you can eat them first..."

"No, I do manual labor in Japan, so I can't eat instant noodles all the time. I need to eat high-protein food. Let me take supplements like you, and I'll eat whatever you eat from now on..."

Seeing that Li Xiaojiang half-jokingly resolved his move, Zhao Gang didn't want to take it too seriously. He could only act shameless and end it as a joke.

"Then you really wronged Xiao Jiang. Don't think he has an easy life. He is always on the road and has no time to eat. He has made more than 40 bags of instant noodles and more than 10 bags of pickled mustard this month. He really gives you whatever he eats..."

As expected, Wang Yan also interjected, and this remark caused an uproar in the room, and everyone burst into laughter.

Zhao Gang took advantage of the situation and said, "Okay, Xiao Jiang, it seems that you are not as good as me. You are just a superficial person."

"Fuck you, you're the ass."

Liu Yang introduced him to Ning Weimin, "I also know this Zhao Gang. He is now working as a decorator for a decoration company. He actually studied electronics in China, and came to Japan to study in a related field. He is not a bad person, but he is too straightforward. He says whatever he wants..."

In short, fellow villagers are fellow villagers.

Although these people who go abroad have different purposes, means and backgrounds, when they sit together and talk, there will be conflicts and differences of opinion from time to time.

But after all, everyone has more empathy for each other.

Being in a different country, we are the only ones who can give each other some warmth.

So as time went on, they started eating and drinking, and the grudges between them were quickly forgotten. In the end, a harmonious atmosphere became the mainstream...

However, what Ning Weimin did not expect was that few of his compatriots seemed to know that the emperor was going to die, and not many people cared about it, because their living environment was too harsh.

Apart from those who followed him, most international students were still busy studying and working and had no time to take care of this matter.

So in the end, the meal turned into a complaint meeting, with everyone talking about the difficulties of life in Japan and the urgency of debt in China.

Especially the female compatriots, they all inevitably suffered sexual harassment and bullying from the Japanese at their workplaces. Even girls like An Wen and Zhang Liling were not immune.

Ning Weimin felt heavy in his heart after hearing these words.

It has to be said that after he learned more about the real lives of these compatriots, his interest in showing off his happy life to everyone and chatting about how evil deeds will be punished was greatly reduced.

He began to realize the gap and differences between himself and everyone else in living situations.

So much so that he didn't say much throughout the meal and instead became just a listener.

I listened to the difficulties everyone had in Japan, the hardships and misfortunes everyone had encountered, and watched a room full of people staggering drunk, some howling to the sky, some grumbling.

At the same time, he also began to think about whether he could do something for everyone, whether he could improve everyone's situation and provide some useful help to everyone.

As a result, before he could come up with many practical ideas, a bloody incident occurred the next day that shocked all the international students in Japan.

This further motivated him to not stand by and do nothing and to do something. (End of this chapter)