National Tide 1980.

"Compared to you, you are far inferior to Huaxia Company. To date, Huaxia Company has been established for less than nine years, but its business scope in China has already covered the five largest cities in China. Last year, its net profit reached 18 million US dollars, which is about 2 billion yen, far exceeding yours."

"Although Huaxia Company's net assets were only about 47 million US dollars last year, equivalent to 5.7 billion yen, which was much worse than that of Japanese companies in the same period last year, it has certainly surpassed Japanese companies burdened with huge debts today."

"The Huaxia Company even owns two of its own buildings, operates the Maxim's restaurant, and the world's largest Pierre Cardin franchise store. The number of employees in its Beijing headquarters alone exceeds three hundred. In every way, it surpasses Japanese companies."

"Note that what I'm comparing you to is China, not Singapore, Hong Kong, or Macau—economically developed regions. It's just a developing country with an average monthly salary of 5,000 yen. The Third World in your eyes."

"I really don't know how you've managed such a snail's pace of development in such a prosperous Japan, in such a prosperous era, where everyone is spending money freely and willingly. I also don't know if you feel ashamed or embarrassed after hearing such a comparison."

"As for what someone just said, asking me to be understanding of you being a Japanese company, no, quite the opposite. I think you people should learn from Chinese companies and correct the lack of ambition that plagues Japanese companies. So, whether you owe Mr. Carton or Mr. Carton owes you, I think that question is no longer worth discussing, is it?"

"Don't think I'm here today to save you. No, you're not worth it. To be honest, I'm only here to salvage Pierre Carton's reputation and protect the value of the PC brand. I can't let Mr. Carton's life's work be ruined by people like you. If you have any conscience or sense of shame, then reflect on your actions."

What are words that are meant to pierce the heart?

These are Ning Weimin's words.

Although his words didn't contain any profanity, they exposed these people's true colors and utterly humiliated them.

Of course, it's impossible for those who were scolded not to feel resentful.

This was the first time these Japanese people had been so openly scorned by a Chinese person.

But Ning Weimin's words were not only based on solid facts, but also left them with no excuse to protest.

The key is that if they want to keep talking back, they should first consider whether they still have their jobs.

For the first time ever, Chinese people took control of the company, replacing the Japanese as the bosses of the Japanese employees.

This is a situation I've never encountered before.

Chinese people and Chinese bosses are of course very different; everyone should think about that carefully.
These people were just stirring up trouble, but Ning Weimin was truly tough.

Seeing that they couldn't gain any advantage and instead ran into a snag, where did they get the guts to risk losing their jobs and go against their new boss?
That's right. Whether they're Chinese or Japanese, as long as they can pay our salaries, we have to put up with it.

To put it bluntly, their psychological reaction is itself a manifestation of the Japanese national character—cowardly, mercenary, despicable, and selfish.

Just as Zuo Zongtang once said of the Japanese: "They know small manners but lack great righteousness, are bound by trivialities but lack great virtue, value minor details but disregard integrity and shame, fear power but do not cherish virtue, the strong will inevitably become bandits, and the weak will inevitably become subservient!"
So, let's not even talk about how that roughneck was so embarrassed by your words, Weimin, that he didn't dare to say a word back. It seems he's almost driven to despair by the insults.

The others were also collectively filled with shame, and they all lowered their heads, no one making a sound anymore.

On the contrary, Ning Weimin had a good time cursing. After so many years in Japan, this was the first time he had so openly criticized the Japanese and spoken his mind.

Even with this result, Ning Weimin was still not satisfied. He had not forgotten the culprit who caused all of this.

So, turning around, he decided to get rid of Hidehiro Hasegawa, ruthlessly ordering him to leave.

“Mr. Hasegawa, now that the handover procedures are complete, please take your check and leave immediately. You have nothing to do with this place anymore! Please recognize your situation and stop interfering in my company's internal affairs by taking advantage of your seniority. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite.”

They've been expelled!

They were kicked out like trash!

This is a blatant humiliation!
Hasegawa Hidehiro never expected that Ning Weimin would actually kick him out of here in front of so many people.

To be honest, it's impossible for him not to regret it at this point. Who told him to underestimate Ning Weimin and insist on causing this trouble?

He had initially thought Ning Weimin was just an ignorant Chinese man, an inexperienced young man. His impression of Ning Weimin had always been that he was very amiable, and he figured that in this situation, he could be treated however he wanted out of politeness.

To his utter surprise, Ning Weimin chose to confront him head-on, and the situation was completely out of his control.

It turns out this guy is such a formidable local tyrant, willing to tear off all pretenses over the smallest things, showing no regard for sentiment or morality. If I had known earlier, I would have preferred not to cause any trouble.

Even if I have to leave, I will do so in a dignified way. Why make myself look bad like this?

It's truly a self-inflicted humiliation. Not only did they fail to save face, but they also lost their last shred of dignity.

Despite his shame and anger, he couldn't say anything and was powerless to say anything. All he could do was glare back at Ning Weimin with resentful anger in order to barely maintain his dignity.

Ning Weimin, of course, wouldn't hesitate; he wasn't afraid of anything.

He wasn't afraid of Hidehiro Hasegawa when the company was still owned by him, so of course he's even less likely to be afraid now.

On his own turf, exercising his legal rights, how could he be intimidated by some old Japanese devil?
Just as the two were locked in a fierce exchange of glances, some people had already made their choice, causing the blustering Hasegawa to break down on the spot.

“Mr. Hasegawa, if you are not unwell, please leave as soon as possible. The president is right, you no longer hold a position in our company, and you are no longer affiliated with Pierre Cardin Japan Co., Ltd. Please do not linger here, lest you cause us any trouble.”

The piercing sound reached Hidehiro Hasegawa's ears, and his expression immediately changed.

Turning my head, I found it was actually Sekiguchi Osamu.

This former confidant now calls that Chinese man the president!
The change of address went so smoothly.

How can he turn his back on his former president so coldly and act so indifferently?
Having been stabbed in the back by his former confidant, Hasegawa truly felt an unbearable humiliation, to the point that he trembled with anger.

But just as he was about to loudly question the situation, Fukuda Sakae, who was supporting him, also spoke up.

"Can you stand up? If so, please leave quickly. If you stay here any longer, it won't do anyone any good. The situation is chaotic enough right now, and the company has a lot of things to do. Please understand and forgive us."

"What? Fukuda, even you..."

If Hasegawa could bear the abandonment of a trusted confidant, then when both men resolutely chose to betray and distance themselves, such a blow was absolutely unbearable for Hidehiro Hasegawa.

This is where he devoted half his life, and these trusted confidants were all promoted by him.

Now he has become an eyesore here, and everyone shows their disgust towards him and wants to distance themselves from him. How can he bear this?

In short, Fukuda Sakae's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making his vision darker and more blurred.

This time, he wasn't just succumbing to the pressure and bowing his head in defeat; his body truly couldn't take it anymore, and he was about to faint...

Ultimately, Hidehiro Hasegawa, who had gone into shock due to extreme anger, was taken away by an ambulance.

This is an outcome that even he probably didn't want to see; it truly shows a complete lack of dignity.

But as the saying goes, if you don't act recklessly, you won't get into trouble.

Instead of simply taking the money and leaving, he insisted on causing trouble for Ning Weimin, and as a result, he almost lost his life. Who can he blame for that?
Of course, we can only blame him for stirring up trouble and having ill intentions. Only the phrase "reaping what he sowed" can best explain his fate.

The next step, naturally, was for Ning Weimin to take up a position in the company as president as soon as possible and begin to gain a thorough understanding of its operations.

Then, based on actual needs, we injected capital and tried to make up for the company's debts.

According to the employees of Pierre Cardin Ltd. in Japan, the company's work model and business situation were already established, and the company had always been profitable in the past, so there was nothing wrong with it.

The company suddenly fell into trouble simply because its upper management should not have engaged in financial speculation.

The company is currently only lacking funds. Once this problem is solved and sufficient funds are provided to maintain the company's operations, the company will soon be back on track.

Anyway, getting rid of the former president and eliminating the two parasites, Ishikawa and Takada, is enough for the ordinary staff.

They believe there is no need to make any changes at all; everything should just wait for things to return to their former state.

It must be said that the general public's thinking is very simple. Although they were fortunate enough to be criticized by Ning Weimin in person and educated on the importance of striving for progress, it is hoped that they can learn from their shame and be courageous.

But very few people took it to heart; no one could understand the subtext in Ning Weimin's words.

In fact, Ning Weimin disliked the Japanese company's business model from the bottom of his heart, believing that their business model was too conservative and completely outdated, and that it needed to be thoroughly and comprehensively reformed.

Of all the things from the past company, even the people, very little has remained.

Ning Weimin also knew that Pierre Cardin Co., Ltd. of Japan started as a garment workshop, and its former president, Hidehiro Hasegawa, was best at running garment factories and personally took charge of manufacturing and products.

Sales, however, are a weak point, and have always been handled by the vice president, Takada, who is now in prison.

Therefore, for a long time, the superior quality of garment manufacturing and the high cost-performance ratio of ready-made garments were the advantages of Japanese companies.

However, their sales channels have always been singular, relying solely on large shopping malls for sales, and their products mainly consist of men's suits and women's dresses.

In contemporary Japanese society, the drawbacks of this business model are becoming increasingly apparent.

Firstly, labor costs in Japan are rising.

Secondly, the fees charged by shopping malls are getting higher and higher.

Furthermore, Japanese companies lacked a proper understanding of Pierre Cardin's brand value and had no idea how to manage its brand image, resulting in Pierre Cardin's clothing becoming increasingly uncompetitive in Japan.

While international brands such as LVMH, Dior, Hermès, and Gucci are opening new stores in Japan every year and making a fortune, Pierre Cardin's revenue in Japan has long been stagnant and its profits have been declining year after year.

It can be said that without fundamentally changing this rigid and outdated business model, Japanese companies have no future whatsoever.

The reason why Japanese companies have not yet suffered losses is simply because Japan's economy was extremely prosperous and has only recently begun to decline.

After Japan's bubble economy burst, the first to be affected were non-essential luxury goods, while essential, affordable goods have not yet been impacted.

In addition, Japan's unique accounting methods also conceal potential financial risks, making the numbers on the books quite deceptive.

Take Pierre Cardin Ltd. of Japan as an example. Its most valuable asset on the books is actually the 1,400-square-meter factory in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, built on its own land.

There are also two plots of land located near Takocho, Narita Airport.

Like most people, Hidehiro Hasegawa believed in the government's development plans circulating in society, thinking that this area would eventually be included in the Tokyo commuter zone. So last year, he didn't hesitate to borrow money from a bank to buy land and wait for it to appreciate in value.

Little did he know that the Japanese real estate market was already on the verge of price softening, and it wouldn't be long before prices plummeted across the board.

If that time really comes, the two worthless plots of land he bought will definitely be the first to depreciate, and the ones that will suffer the most severe drops.

In the future, it will probably be of little use except for growing persimmons.

Therefore, for Ning Weimin, it would be impossible not to implement sweeping reforms after taking over the company.

As the saying goes, "no destruction, no construction," he must first smash the existing systems in front of him in order to break the deadlock, whether it is the company's business model or fixed assets.

Otherwise, everything should remain the same, without any talk of correcting past mistakes or reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Before long, the Japanese branch will indeed become insolvent, creating another huge financial hole.

In short, the first thing Ning Weimin personally took charge of after taking over the company was to sort out the company's financial accounts.

He went straight to the company's coffers, striving to reduce debt and replenish principal in the shortest possible time.

However, he didn't unconditionally use his own money to save the company; strictly speaking, he revitalized the company's assets.

On the one hand, he consulted with Director Taniguchi and promoted a reliable person from the finance department to become a supervisor, in order to appease the creditors and delay the external payment period as much as possible.

At the same time, all those responsible for collecting payments are instructed to do their best to settle accounts receivable from partner shopping malls and recover funds.

On the other hand, he didn't hesitate to list the properties below market price, and almost at lightning speed, he sold all the real estate under the name of his Japanese branch, raising 8.7 billion yen.

This includes not only two garbage dumps in Tako-cho, but also Shinagawa's own factory.

However, instead of using the money to pay off his debts, he planned to re-enter the capital market and leverage the funds for arbitrage.

So he contacted several directors of the EIE Group and proactively explained his current predicament.

He stated that in order to pay off Pierre Cardin's debts, he hopes to be allowed to participate in actions to drive up EIE's stock price in the future.

At this moment, with many asset transactions already completed, all that's left is to wait for the release of positive news.

The directors of EIE Group and Ning Weimin no longer had any issues of mutual trust. Seeing that he was having difficulties in resolving his debts, they were not opposed to his idea of ​​getting a share of the profits.

In any case, Ning Weimin only wanted to participate with 8.7 billion yen, and he was doing so through Sanyo Securities, owned by one of the directors, Tsuchiya Yoichi.

Not only is it completely transparent to the EIE board of directors, but even if leverage is applied, the scale used will not exceed 15 billion yen at most.

It's far less than EIE Group's own funds. The board members aren't worried about losing control of the joint operation. On the contrary, they have an extra sum of money as reinforcements. It's good that everyone can advance and retreat together.

Why not give this favor, which is beneficial to both yourself and others?

And so, Ning Weimin once again treated the Japanese stock market like an ATM, and returned to the fray. (End of Chapter)