National Tide 1980.

That's how doing business is.

If you have the right idea, the right method, and a bit of luck, you'll basically succeed.

Like Nakamura Go, who gained the approval of Joshinji Temple by providing high-end funeral products for Inoue Yasushi's funeral, thus opening up the religious market for the first time.

Next, as long as he proceeds steadily and pays attention to maintaining customer relationships and his own reputation, then continuously expanding his business and building his reputation will all come naturally and smoothly.

However, to be fair, Zhao Chunshu, as the master, is actually not much less capable than his apprentice.

While China has the saying "the student surpasses the teacher," it also has the proverb "old ginger is spicier."

Zhao Chunshu's Chunshan Co., Ltd., in cooperation with Hemu Saiba, has seen its business grow at a much faster pace than the small shop managed by Nakamura Go.

Moreover, thanks to Ning Weimin's ambitious blueprint and the human resources support provided by the Mainland Compatriots Mutual Aid Association, Zhao Chunshu's registered businesses are more diversified in their operations compared to Nakamura's shops.

In addition to selling funeral products, he is also beginning to gradually try out related human services in the funeral industry.

So in reality, even though he has only been in the business for a short time, he has already embarked on a path toward monopoly and exorbitant profits that will benefit many Chinese compatriots.

…………

On the evening of February 3, 1991, the snow intensified, and the temperature in Tokyo dropped even lower.

The cold wind made the billboards at Ikebukuro Station rattle, and the snowflakes felt like fine needles hitting my face.

Despite the terrible weather, a young man wearing glasses had to travel a long way to this place, hunching his shoulders and stamping his feet, standing silently in front of a public phone booth at the foot of a high-rise apartment building, waiting for someone.

To the Japanese passing by, he was just a pitiful creature about to freeze to death.

His rustic, shabby, and somewhat thin clothing immediately revealed his identity as a foreign vagrant.

Otherwise, who wouldn't be rushing home at this time?

Even the lowest-class Japanese people, as long as they have a home, don't have to suffer like this.

That's right, this person is none other than Liu Bo, another Shanghainese who arrived in Japan two months ago with Wang Xiulian and Amin and boarded the tour bus of the Mainland Compatriots Mutual Aid Association at the entrance of Narita Airport.

Because he always wore glasses with an inaccurate prescription, after arriving in Tokyo, he naturally earned a nickname among the surrounding Chinese community: "Glasses."

Why is he willing to brave the wind and snow and patiently wait here at this moment?
It must be admitted that it was indeed due to the pressure of making a living, but it was not just that.

To be honest, the reasons for this are quite complicated, and there is also an element of gratitude involved.

That very afternoon, Chu Haoran, one of the vice presidents of the Mainland Compatriots Mutual Aid Association and a representative from Shanghai, suddenly came to the restaurant where Liu Bo worked, wanting to offer him a well-paying temporary job.

Chu Haoran told Liu Bo that he could earn eight thousand yen in about two hours of work that night.

Moreover, this number is a minimum; depending on the actual situation, it could be even higher.

However, this job is not very respectable, and it's taboo to talk about it. It is called "corpse carrier".

Liu Bo, who was startled when he heard this, was very unwilling.

For no other reason than that, what normal person would want to deal with dead people?

Although it pays a lot of money, the problem is that this job is really unlucky.

Although Liu Bo was not a social elite, he had a respectable formal job in a state-owned factory in China.

How did he end up working as a corpse carrier after coming all this way?
If his hometown people found out, how could he ever face his family and friends back home?

So initially, Liu Bo shook his head and refused outright.

But Chu Haoran refused to give up easily and told him about the difficulties of the mutual aid association.

They said that this kind of job would not normally consider non-members.

You, Liu Bo, have only been in Japan for two months. You'll have to wait at least another month before you can submit your application to join the mutual aid society.

Logically speaking, you wouldn't be chosen by anyone else.

However, the current situation is quite special. As the Spring Festival is approaching, many members of mainland hometown associations have returned to China, and the mutual aid society has very few people to spare.

However, the number of deaths in Tokyo has recently surged.

Therefore, due to the cooperation agreement with the relevant unit, the mutual aid association had no choice but to find someone from the non-member pool to help temporarily in order to avoid breaking its promise.

Chu Haoran ultimately offered a generous reward, saying that if Liu Bo was willing to help, it would not only protect the reputation of the mutual aid association but also safeguard this source of income for all Chinese compatriots.

Afterwards, he would not only approve Liu Bo's direct entry into the mutual aid society as a formal member, but also reward him with an extra 5,000 points, and he would also remember this favor.

Now Liu Bo really couldn't refuse anymore.

Because money is secondary; the key is that membership in the mutual aid society is truly valuable.

With this identity, he could not only purchase more discounted goods from the two stores, Daikibusan and Daikiya, but also obtain countless benefits from the Mutual Aid Association.

For example, rental guarantees, bicycle and suit rental benefits, better job opportunities, legal assistance for full members, and even personal reputation and credibility can be enhanced as a result.

In Tokyo's Chinese community today, membership in a mutual aid society is a guarantee of credibility, making things much easier for you than for others. Showing your membership card is a sign of respectability.

In reality, some particularly good deals, such as the low-price transfer or free gifting of personal items, only occur between official members of the mutual aid society, and it's no use for others to be envious.

Besides, Liu Bo himself knows best that since arriving in Tokyo, he and two other fellow countrymen have been receiving help from the Mainland Compatriots Mutual Aid Association.

For example, at the airport entrance, there are free tour buses that give them a ride...

Even their current cheap dormitory and his dishwashing job were introduced by Chu Haoran...

People from Shanghai are just calculating, not heartless.

As the saying goes, courtesy should be reciprocated.

Having received so many benefits from him, he simply couldn't bring himself to say "no" to Chu Haoran's plea.

This is the real reason why Liu Bo is standing here now.

Of course, as a novice, he couldn't possibly complete such an exciting task alone, so an experienced person would be arranged to mentor him.

Therefore, Chu Haoran, as the editor-in-chief of Tokyo Life, also gave him the latest issue of the newspaper.

When he arrives at the destination, he should hold it in his hand as a token to acknowledge the other person.

That's why, even in this cold weather, he can't keep his hands in his pockets; he has to carry a copy of "Tokyo Life" like a newsboy from the old days, waving it around as if afraid no one would see it. Because that's his identification.

Before I knew it, the snow water at my feet had soaked through my socks, and the coldness crept up my ankles.

Because he was afraid of causing delays, Liu Bo arrived at the place fifteen minutes earlier than the agreed time, but now he really regrets it.

If I had known it would be this cold, I would have come right on time.

He was also a little scared, and thinking about it afterwards, it was inevitable that he felt lingering fear.

He had never been in contact with dead people before, and the thought of coming here so late at night to do this kind of work made his stomach churn and he feel nauseous.

He was worried about whether he would be able to sleep tonight after finishing this job.

In particular, he has no experience in this area.

How do you move it? How do you lift it? Do you grab its feet, hug its waist, or put your arm around its neck?

He didn't scratch it.

What if I make a mistake?
What if I can't move it myself?
There are too many things he needs to worry about.

But people are so contradictory; while feeling uneasy and anxious, they also experience the psychological compensation brought by generous rewards.

He now works as a kitchen helper in a restaurant, washing dishes and doing all sorts of odd jobs. He's constantly on the go for eight hours a day and is treated like a beast of burden by his boss.

It costs only 600 yen per hour, and only 4,800 yen per day.

The contrast between the two jobs Chu Haoran promised him, where he could earn at least eight thousand yuan in two hours, and the fact that Chu Haoran promised him at least eight thousand yuan, is striking.

Two hours tonight are equivalent to a day and a half of his usual work. Where can you find a reason to complain?
Even though he thought he didn't care about money, the figure of eight thousand yen was still real, and it made his heart flutter against his will.

Strangely enough, once he thought about it this way, the unease that had been weighing heavily on his heart vanished with the stark difference in numbers, and even the cold wind didn't seem so biting anymore.

Everything will be alright!
There's nothing to worry about!
Liu Bo told himself this in his heart, and unconsciously straightened his back.

Especially at this moment, on the main road in front of him, groups of two or three young men were handing out flyers to passing women to solicit business.

They were dressed in respectable suits with brightly colored ties, and wore elegant black wool coats over them, their leather shoes polished to a shine.

Seeing this made him, who loved fashion, even more eager, feeling both envious and a little ashamed.

He couldn't help but think that these people must be making a lot of money to be able to wear such high-end clothes!
Looking at his faded cotton-padded coat, Liu Bo felt discouraged; compared to others, it looked far too rustic.

And so, the desire for money suddenly resurfaced, stronger than ever before.

"I need to make money quickly! I also want to dress smartly!"

He turned to look at the apartment building's glass, trying to cheer himself up. His eyes behind his glasses shone brightly. "Just this once. I'll grit my teeth and get through this."

However, at that very moment, the person he was waiting for arrived.

Suddenly, a loud Beijing accent interrupted his reverie.

"Dude, buddy! You're Liu Bo, right?"

Liu Bo turned around again and saw a middle-aged man in a black cotton-padded coat waving at him. The man had a buzz cut covered in snow and a sincere smile on his face.

But what pleased him even more was that he saw the other person also had a copy of "Tokyo Life".

The identity has been confirmed without a doubt.

"I'm Wang Liang, from Beijing. Chu Haoran mentioned me to you, right?"

Liu Bo quickly went up to him and awkwardly offered him a cigarette, "Brother Wang, Brother Chu told me to listen to you, so I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you today."

Wang Liang took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and patted his shoulder so hard that it made him stagger.

"Don't be so polite. Since Old Chu sent you, we're all on the same side. Everything's easy to talk about. I'll show you around."

As they were talking, a black hearse with the four seal characters "Hemu Zhaichang" printed on it slowly drove up and stopped by the roadside.

The car door opened, and a man in a dark blue uniform got out. Surprisingly, he greeted Wang Liang in Chinese, "Mr. Wang, have you found the person yet? We need to hurry."

Liu Bo was taken aback—the other person's Chinese pronunciation was very strange, and it was obvious that they were Japanese.

"Brother Wang? Aren't we the two of us supposed to be doing this job today? Why are there Japanese people here?"

Wang Liang pulled him toward the car and explained in a low voice, "The body needs a car to take it away. This is the driver, Yamada Hisaichi, a mixed-race Chinese and Japanese. His mother is from Northeast China and his father is Japanese, so he's practically one of us."

He then added, "Don't be fooled by the 'Hemu Zhaichang' sign on the car. This guy actually works for another company, something like Chun... oh right, Chunzen Co., Ltd. It's a bit complicated, and I don't know the details either. But it's okay, you only need to know two things. First, our job was taken over from the police by Yamada and his guys, and then they gave it to us. Second, this guy will pay us after we finish the job."

As he spoke, he led Liu Bo to Yamada and introduced them to each other.

Liu Bo was a little nervous. After all, in his understanding, the person who paid the workers was the boss, let alone the fact that the other party was Japanese.

In his memory, the Japanese were always arrogant and harsh towards the Chinese.

Just like the restaurant owner where he works now, who would grumble and complain about him every day before he started work.

It's as if he won't work hard if he doesn't do it this way.

To everyone's surprise, Yamada was very friendly. He smiled at Liu Bo as soon as they met and even comforted him.

"Is this Liu Sang's first time? Don't worry, Wang Sang and I have already arranged a collaboration. With him guiding you, things will go smoothly."

Liu Bo relaxed a little and realized that what Wang Liang said earlier was indeed true. Wasn't this how people treat each other?
It's really strange.

Before Liu Bo could think any further, Yamada opened the back door of the hearse, and at Wang Liang's invitation, Liu Bo followed him into the back seat of the hearse to change into his work clothes.

Surprisingly, it's actually quite warm in here.

Apart from a cart that looked obviously used to hold corpses and some unpleasant smells, there was nothing else horrifying about the place.

Several sets of dark blue protective suits, masks, and rubber gloves were piled up in the back seat.

Wang Liang quickly put on his clothes first, and didn't forget to toss one set to Liu Bo as well.

"Come on, wear it like me, but don't get any corpse fluid on it, the smell won't wash off."

As he buttoned his cuffs, he explained the basic procedures that would follow. “We can take the elevator upstairs, but if we bring a body downstairs, we have to take the stairs. This is a strict rule that all apartment buildings in Japan must follow; you absolutely cannot take a body in the elevator. If you violate this rule and someone calls the police, you'll face legal trouble. To put it bluntly, this is the hard-earned money we make. As for dealing with the Japanese police later, I'll handle the communication. You don't need to say anything; just follow me. Do whatever I tell you to do—don't panic when you sign; just write your own name. The Japanese police aren't like the immigration bureau; they won't care if you're a foreigner or how long you've been in Tokyo. They're also eager to get these things done quickly and won't deliberately make things difficult for us; it's usually just a formality.” (End of Chapter)