National Tide 1980.

“Nakamura has been managing the businesses in Chiba Prefecture for me. He knows the specifics best and will explain them to you later. As for working capital, I can tell you now. I should be able to withdraw some money from Tokyo. The approximate amount should be between 250 million and 300 million yen.”

Zhao Chunshu said this.

"Two hundred million to two hundred and fifty million yen? That means you have more than a hundred people under you, so on average, it should be around two million yen per person. Is that right?"

"Is it a bit too little?"

Having discerned Ning Weimin's underlying meaning, Zhao Chunshu's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and his voice betrayed a sense of helplessness.

"Perhaps this is putting you in a difficult position. Of course I know that this amount of money would only be enough to open a decent bar in Ginza. But this is all I have right now. I'm not afraid to admit that I only have this money because of you. Because recently, I was seriously trapped in the stock market. If Xia hadn't told me that you had already liquidated your assets and advised me to sell everything and not have any more illusions about the stock market, I probably wouldn't even have this much money."

Ning Weimin hadn't expected this to happen, and couldn't help but smile.

But he knew Zhao Chunshu had probably suffered heavy losses, and especially considering the other party's feelings, he quickly reassured him, "No, no, you misunderstand. Actually, when it comes to doing business, no matter how much money you have, it's never enough. Although your funds aren't a lot, they're not an amount that ordinary people can easily come up with; it's enough to do quite a lot. The key is to find a business that truly suits your current situation. If the project you invest in isn't suitable for you, the more you invest, the more you lose. Finding the right project is the most important thing."

Ning Weimin's words resonated with Zhao Chunshu, so it was Nakamura Go's turn to report on the situation.

"Chiba Prefecture's main economic pillars are heavy industries such as petrochemicals and steel, as well as a transshipment port. Its economic situation is relatively simple and it is also heavily dependent on Tokyo's policies. So we mainly earn money here from port workers, seamen, and workers in steel mills and oil refineries."

"In Chiba Prefecture, the main areas where we collect protection money are about five or six commercial streets, mostly with ordinary restaurants and izakayas. There are only five bars, snooker parlors, nightclubs, etc., two pawnshops, and three coffee shops. That's about it. We earn about 3.2 million yen a month."

"Besides these, we also have a finance company, a mini baseball stadium, a construction company, two love hotels, and a hot spring hotel in Chiba Prefecture. Ah, the hot spring hotel is this 'Otake no Yu'. But not all businesses can make money. And the cost of living in Chiba Prefecture is much lower than in Tokyo."

"The arcade and construction company are both currently losing money, averaging around 2.4 million yen per month. The two love hotels only make about 1.3 million yen in profit per month. The mini baseball stadium is basically breaking even. The most profitable businesses are the finance company and this hot spring hotel. The finance company, which also engages in lending and cross-border business, makes about 6 million yen in profit. The hot spring hotel makes 5 million yen. In total, after deducting income and expenses, we have a profit of 13 million yen per month. After paying various taxes, we can expect a net income of about 10 million yen."

A net income of ten million yen!

This is all the profit of a gang of 100 people in Chiba Prefecture, Japan!

It really is a small place.

In Ning Weimin's view, this amount of money was about the same as what A-Xia used to earn when she ran a nightclub in Ginza.

At that time, Xia only needed to support the dozen or so brothers around her.

Zhao Chunshu will need to support 120 people in the future.

Besides, Zhao Chunshu is a big shot in the underworld, and he's already this old. Not only does he have to make a living for his subordinates, but he also definitely has family burdens to bear.

Besides, no one is perfect. Who knows if he's like Hung Hon-yee, keeping several mistresses on the side?

If that's the case, even if he gets all the monthly income of ten million yen, it would probably only be enough for him to live a meager life.

Ning Weimin only needed to think about it for a moment to understand why Zhao Chunshu was so eager to expand his sources of income.

According to his rough estimate, a business with a monthly income of at least 20 to 30 million yen would be needed to truly solve the survival needs of Zhao Chunshu and his group.

For a moment, he found himself in a rather difficult situation and began to concentrate on thinking about what kind of business would be suitable for people like Zhao Chunshu, given the current state of Japanese society.

Seeing Ning Weimin deep in thought, he fell silent.

Zhao Chunshu and Nakamura Gou also became more cautious without realizing it.

Not only did they dare not speak, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear of disturbing Ning Weimin's train of thought.

They waited and waited, for almost ten minutes, but they didn't hear a word from Ning Weimin. Instead, they noticed that Ning Weimin's expression became increasingly serious.

So the master and apprentice looked at each other, their hopes dwindling, and their eyes gradually dimmed.

To be honest, they knew this wasn't going to be an easy thing.

However, the business methods that Zhao Chunshu learned from A-Xia were so amazing that they couldn't help but applaud them, which is why they held onto a sliver of hope that they could get help from such a master.

Unfortunately, the higher the hope, the greater the disappointment, and even now, Ning Weimin is still unable to come up with a good solution.

They eventually had to wake up and realize that this was essentially a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, and accept the harsh reality that even Ning Weimin could not help them.

“Mr. Ning, it’s alright if we don’t have a good solution right now. Let’s have dinner first. It’s almost the end of the year, and you must be very busy and stressed lately. This matter isn’t urgent. Your presence is already a great honor. Today, why not take a break?”

Zhao Chunshu suddenly spoke up, his intention being nothing more than to give Ning Weimin a way out.

It must be said that he was indeed a kind and generous elder. Although Ning Weimin seemed to have no ability to solve his predicament, he did not want Ning Weimin to be embarrassed because of it.

Upon hearing this, Nakamura Gou chimed in, "Yes, Mr. Ning, let me pour you some wine. I'll have someone bring another serving of roast beef; it won't taste good cold." He was also a kind and honest apprentice, always following his master's lead.

Moreover, he is extremely hospitable and not the kind of opportunistic, mercenary person who changes his tune with the wind.

In this way, even though Ning Weimin still had many questions he couldn't figure out, he was very pleased with the attitude of the two people and couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Wait, let's not rush into eating and drinking. I have an important question I'd like to ask so I can offer Mr. Zhao some advice. I'd like to know, what would happen if you stayed in Tokyo?"

"What? Stay in Tokyo?" Ning Weimin's words startled not only Zhao Chunshu but also Nakamura Go. His hand, which was pouring wine, trembled, spilling a lot of it on the table.

This time, he finally couldn't resist overstepping his bounds and shouted before Zhao Chunshu could do so.

"No, Mr. Ning, such a thing must never happen, not even in our minds. To leave the Inagawa-kai and still want to stay in Tokyo would be the greatest insult to the Inagawa-kai, and no high-ranking member of the Inagawa-kai would allow it. If we really did that, it would be a provocation against the entire Yakuza code. Not only would we not find any reinforcements, but we wouldn't even have anyone to speak up for us. Then there would only be one outcome: becoming the common enemy of all Yakuza, being besieged by all Inagawa-kai organizations as enemies, and ultimately facing total annihilation."

"No, no..." Ning Weimin quickly explained, "What I mean is not that you just need to hand over your past businesses, but that you need to completely abandon your past means of making a living. I want you to stop collecting protection money, stop lending money, stop smuggling, stop running prostitutes and gambling dens, and completely sever ties with all industries that society considers harmful or immoral. From now on, you will only engage in legitimate businesses in Tokyo. Is that not even possible?"

Nakamura Gou opened his mouth wide and couldn't speak. His mind wasn't quick enough; he was completely stunned.

I couldn't immediately grasp the deeper meaning behind Ning Weimin's words, which implied an attempt to explore and discuss.

He had only one thought in his mind: Was Ning Weimin asking them to lay down their butcher's knives and become Buddhas on the spot?
How can this be?

But Zhao Chunshu understood that Ning Weimin was discussing with him the possibility of gradually clearing their names and returning to mainstream society.

To be honest, he also hoped it would be like that.

But after thinking about it, I still think this is not a good idea.

"I'm afraid that won't work either. It will still cause misunderstandings in Inagawa, and no one will believe it. After all, we still retain our territory in Chiba Prefecture and the organizational structure of the 'Hakoya Family,' unless... unless we hand over the 'Hakoya Family' as well. But that wouldn't be withdrawing from the Inagawa-kai; it would be announcing our dissolution on the spot. A complete abandonment of everything!"

"Then disband right here! Abandon everything!"

Ning Weimin's voice wasn't loud, but for Zhao Chunshu and Nakamura Go, his words struck them like a blow to the heart.

Both of them stared at Ning Weimin, speechless with astonishment.

They never expected that Ning Weimin, who had remained silent for so long, would give them such a resolute suggestion when he finally spoke.

“But…but…

"After hesitating for a long time, Nakamura Gou finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, "So we have no way out at all? What if we switch to a legitimate business and fail?"

Faced with Nakamura Gou's wide-eyed stare and Zhao Chunshu's unpredictable expression, Ning Weimin's previously furrowed brows relaxed.

He seemed to have figured something out and said with considerable confidence, "Excuse my bluntness, but your so-called escape route is merely a monthly income of ten million yen, and that's only based on the premise that the Japanese economy doesn't decline further. The price to pay is leaving Tokyo and losing the protection of the Inagawa-kai. From now on, as an independent Yakuza organization, you'll be confined to a small place like Chiba Prefecture, facing pressure and harassment from the police and fellow Yakuza members on your own. This isn't an escape route; it's a cage that binds your own hands."

"cage?"

Nakamura Go was clearly taken aback by Ning Weimin's blunt words.

He glanced at Zhao Chunshu, and before the other could stop him, he indignantly rushed to retort.

"The Hakoya family business was something my master painstakingly built up back then, and Chiba Prefecture is where he started his business. How can you say it's so insignificant? With these ten million yen, we can at least guarantee that we'll have food to eat."

Ning Weimin could completely understand the other party's attitude, but he still had to speak up.

"I'm sorry, but that's not how you do it. I know this might be hard for people to accept. But I still want to ask, is over ten million yen a lot? Don't you have over a hundred people? Look at it from another angle: even if each of you did the cheapest job, your monthly income would exceed twenty million yen. Compared to that, what is ten million yen?"

"Of course, you might say that these industries in Chiba Prefecture themselves provide jobs for your people. That ten million is the net profit after deducting all expenses. But don't forget, many of your businesses are in the gray market. This leads to very high hidden costs in operating these businesses. Maybe you can evade some taxes? But don't you have to bribe officials? Don't you have to endure police exploitation? If you have conflicts with other gangs, or are reported for skirting the law, don't you have to go to court and pay for medical expenses?"

"Besides, in order to preserve this business, you will have to give up a lot of things, and it will definitely come at a price. First of all, you will have to give up the Tokyo market. You yourselves said that the cost of living in Chiba Prefecture is not comparable to that in Tokyo. This is enough to show that if you want to make money, you have to go to a big city with a prosperous economy. In any case, there are more opportunities than in a small place."

"Secondly, if you continue to exist as Yakuza, you will have to endure social exclusion. You see, no legitimate businessman wants to do business with Yakuza because it involves facing uncertain risks. No ordinary person wants to patronize a Yakuza-owned shop because there is a possibility of encountering violence. Who wants to spend money in a place where fighting might break out?"

"Please believe me, I have absolutely no prejudice against your line of work. But I've also noticed that the shops run by Yakuza are mostly frequented by similar businesses, with very few ordinary people. So, even though you're running restaurants or hotels, your income is only half that of ordinary people. It's not because you're not good at running businesses; the main reason is actually the public's rejection and the difference in customer base. Those who are willing to take the risk are either daring or have no other choice."

"Take your hot spring hotel for example. In my opinion, although business is good, your people can't really get involved in the management, right? I don't see many gang-related traces here. If you hadn't mentioned it earlier, I wouldn't have known that this was also your property. Of course, this is partly due to its advantageous location, after all, hot springs require resources. Plus, there isn't much competition here, so the locals probably don't have many other options, which is why they come here."

"In short, the fact is that these industries in Chiba Prefecture are no longer valuable assets; they have become a burden. You must discard them to move forward lightly. Otherwise, carrying this burden, you will only be trapped here waiting to die. You will either starve to death or be swallowed up by others. Or one day, you may be completely wiped out by the Japanese police. There will be no other possibilities. But if you are willing to completely dispose of your assets and have the courage to burn your bridges, firstly, you will be free from most of the legal risks and negative impacts of social exclusion, thus ensuring the greatest possible protection for your lives and property." (End of Chapter)