National Tide 1980.

The tranquil atmosphere lingered in the private room for a full half minute.

With his eyes lowered and his gaze deep and somber, Chi Jing's heart was already beginning to tip.

The park renovation project alone could generate a profit of 5 billion yen, with a two-year construction period, zero exchange rate risk, and the potential follow-up projects such as the theme park hotel, the development of upscale residential communities, and many more high-quality government projects...

These numbers drew his attention like a magnet, causing his heart to pound uncontrollably.

He has been in the construction industry for almost twenty years and knows all too well what a 20 billion yen project means.

This is not just a lot of money, but also an excellent opportunity for Kumagai Gumi to make a name for itself in mainland China and to fully expand its main construction business in this major Eastern country.

If we could actually take on such a project, it would be a hundred times better than simply running an amusement park in Beijing and slowly making a profit.

Although Ikei is very optimistic about the market of the great Eastern country and the entertainment market supported by a billion people, he believes that the mass entertainment industry in China is a promising industry with unlimited potential.

However, exploring a new field takes time and involves certain business risks and trial-and-error costs.

Moreover, he is likely to bear the risks and responsibilities of making this decision, but he will gain limited benefits from it, while the real rewards will be enjoyed by his successor.

Wouldn't that be like doing all the work for someone else's benefit for nothing?
This is actually a drawback that cannot be ignored in terms of his personal interests...

So she was moved; Ikei was truly moved.

However, his years of experience in the business world made him wary, and he hesitated to agree easily. There's no such thing as a free lunch; the cake Ning Weimin offered was too big and too tempting, making it seem somewhat unreal.

Just as his thoughts were racing, Huang He beside him couldn't hold back any longer and quietly leaned forward, whispering a reminder in Japanese that only the two of them could hear.

"General Manager, you need to be careful. The investment of 20 billion yen just for the amusement park renovation is no small sum. Then there's the subsequent construction of hotels and commercial residences—that'll cost even more! This is an outrageous claim. Think about it, he's Chinese, and so young. Even if he has some businesses in Japan, where will he get so much money to throw in? Even if he did have that much money, what makes him so confident in making such a decision? We lack experience operating amusement parks; he certainly lacks even more. Isn't he worried about losses? How can he possibly recoup such a massive investment? So, in my opinion, he's just a conman making empty promises, trying to trick us into giving up our shares. If he goes back on his word, we'll be left with nothing, all our efforts will have been for nothing."

These words were like a bucket of cold water, poured over Chi Jing's head, extinguishing the little bit of warmth in his heart.

He frowned slightly, looked up at Ning Weimin, and his scrutinizing gaze became even sharper.

Huang He's words struck at the heart of his deepest doubts.

Yes, Ning Weimin's words are eloquent, but can he really come up with such a huge investment?
Let alone a young person starting from scratch, even a long-established Japanese company with a conglomerate background would have to think twice before investing in such a large project.

Not to mention that Ning Weimin also plans to integrate the aquarium, open a theme park hotel, and develop residential communities.

The sheer amount of money required behind this is unimaginable; it will likely amount to as much as 40 to 50 billion yen.

Isn't he afraid of making a wrong decision and incurring huge losses?
To be honest, the current operation of amusement parks in Beijing is already quite good. However, visitor numbers have a ceiling, and peak visitor numbers will gradually decline as the park ages.

Even if the number of visitors to the Kyoto amusement park doubled and it maintained its current prosperity, it would still only earn 1 billion yen a year.

Does he really want to wait twenty or thirty years to break even? That's really illogical.

Chi Jing slowly sat up straight, his tone becoming more tentative.

"Mr. Ning's proposal does sound tempting. But if I may be frank, such a huge investment requires immense courage and a massive amount of capital. I'm curious, where do you plan to raise this money? After all, anyone can talk big, but real investment is what truly matters. Besides, no one wants to do a losing business. Based on my understanding of amusement parks in Beijing, the market's potential will be exhausted after the visitor count doubles at most. Your investment clearly carries enormous risk. What will you do if you incur huge losses? If you go bankrupt because of this, who will I turn to for payment?"

He paused, his gaze fixed on Ning Weimin's eyes, and pressed him for an answer, word by word.

"I need a concrete answer and a guarantee that will make me believe you. Otherwise, the premise of this cooperation is simply not valid. You can't expect the Kumagai Group to just make empty promises for you, can you?"

That's a direct and pointed question.

Huang He sat to the side, secretly relieved, and looked at Ning Weimin with a hint of triumphant smugness.

He was certain that Ning Weimin could not provide concrete proof of funds, and that the negotiations would end as soon as the other party could not provide an answer.

The atmosphere in the private room became tense again. All eyes were on Ning Weimin.

However, Ning Weimin seemed to have anticipated this question. His face showed no sign of panic, but rather a confident smile.

"I believe that General Manager Ikei had conducted some due diligence on my situation before our meeting today. However, the information you have is clearly insufficient. Otherwise, you wouldn't have raised such a question. Let me put it this way: I have a large amount of capital in Japan, all earned by chance from the Japanese stock and real estate markets. If I wanted, I wouldn't need loans at all; my own funds would be sufficient to complete all my investment plans. For example, in 1985, I used 800 million yen to buy over 1,000 square meters of real estate in Ginza to open a restaurant and use as staff dormitories. At the beginning of last year, I sold this property at the market price of 50 million yen per tsubo (approximately 3.3 square meters). From this investment alone, I made approximately 20 billion yen, which is currently sitting in Sumitomo Bank in Tokyo. If you don't believe me, I can provide you with an authorization and an account; you can verify this fund through Sumitomo Bank headquarters."

"Two hundred billion yen...and it's all from our own funds?"

Ikei's pupils suddenly contracted, and the fingers gripping the teacup tightened sharply, his knuckles turning white.

He never imagined that Ning Weimin had such substantial capital, especially since it was obtained by exploiting the Japanese.

Huang He, standing to the side, was so shocked that his mouth dropped open. His previous smugness froze on his face, replaced by disbelief.

He originally thought Ning Weimin was just a shrewd opportunist who rose to power through his wife, but he never expected that the other party was actually a real capital tycoon.

His pride and sense of superiority were instantly shattered.

Before the two could recover from the shock of the financial situation, Ning Weimin's voice continued, every word hitting the nail on the head regarding the shortcomings of their business philosophy.

"As for Mr. Ikei's view that my investment carries significant risks, I disagree. There's one point I must emphasize: our philosophies on operating the Beijing Amusement Park are fundamentally different. Mr. Ikei, I'm afraid you won't like to hear it, but your approach seems far too conservative to me. You're clearly only considering Beijing's local visitors. Your profit focus is limited to park tickets and the drinks and snacks sold at the kiosks. How can that work? Of course, you'll lose money this way." "My goal is to attract tourists from all over China to the Beijing Amusement Park. And the profit-making methods won't solely rely on tickets and drinks/snacks. I will generate substantial profits through diversified catering services, hotel accommodations, a wide range of merchandise sales, and the development of high-end residential communities. You can understand the specific operating model simply by looking at Tokyo Disneyland. As a Japanese person, Mr. Ikei, I'm sure you've vacationed there with your family, haven't you?"

These words were like a precise scalpel, instantly dissecting the narrowness of the Kumagai Gumi's management strategy.

Ikei's cheeks flushed slightly, and an indescribable sense of inferiority welled up in her heart.

He had indeed visited Tokyo Disneyland and was amazed by its popularity and profitability, but he never considered replicating this "global customer acquisition + diversified profit" model in a Beijing amusement park. His vision remained limited to Beijing and the superficial profits from "tickets + snacks," a world apart from Ning Weimin's ambition.

Huang He lowered his head in shame. His previous contempt for Ning Weimin now turned into self-mockery for his own shallowness—he prided himself on understanding food and business, yet he lacked even such a basic business acumen.

But before this sense of shame could linger for long, Ning Weimin's last words instantly ignited the shame and anger in Chi Jing and Huang He.

"Speaking of which, I really have to thank your country. Because in Japan I not only earned enough money to expand my business in China, but also saw a near-perfect business model to emulate through Tokyo Disneyland."

"you!"

Ikei suddenly raised his head, his face flushed red.

As a Japanese person, he was told by a Chinese person that the other party made money and learned business models by using their country's resources. This was a blatant insult!

Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth, he found that he had no way to refute it.

Because Ning Weimin was stating the facts—that he profited from Japan's economic bubble and drew inspiration from Tokyo Disneyland—every word he uttered was based on fact and completely irrefutable. Therefore, even though Ikei felt a tightness in his chest, he could only force himself to endure it.

After remaining silent for a good ten seconds, Ikei finally managed to suppress his embarrassment and regain his composure.

He knew that getting angry at this moment was pointless and would only make him seem petty.

But he was still unwilling to compromise easily, at least not verbally.

"Mr. Ning's capital strength and business acumen have indeed exceeded my expectations. But don't oversimplify the idea of ​​emulating Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland's success lies not only in its advanced model, but also in its mature operating system, meticulous management capabilities, and Japan's comprehensive tourism infrastructure. China's market environment, consumption habits, consumption levels, and infrastructure are completely different from Japan's. Blindly copying the model is likely to lead to incompatibility. For example, you don't even have the production conditions and maintenance personnel for common large-scale electric rides like carousels and roller coasters; you need Japanese companies to help you with those. So, isn't it unrealistic to think you can emulate Tokyo Disneyland's level? You should know that Tokyo Disneyland's large-scale amusement facilities are world-class, and the complexity of the modern technology they use is beyond the reach of many Japanese companies specializing in amusement facilities. The construction cost of Tokyo Disneyland was as high as 200 billion yen. How could you easily replicate it? Even if you could, how much would the operating costs be for purchasing and importing these high-end amusement facilities and for their daily maintenance?"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly serious. "Moreover, the true charm of Tokyo Disneyland lies not only in its high-end rides, but more importantly in the countless iconic animated characters created by the Walt Disney Company since its inception. Visitors linger because of Snow White, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Mickey Mouse, and Minnie Mouse, and tourists from all over the world are eager to travel long distances to experience it. Only the Walt Disney Company can achieve this; it's not something that can be accomplished overnight. So, if I may be frank, Mr. Ning, your plan, while seemingly impressive, is actually impractical. Many things cannot be solved simply with money."

Ikei's words were powerful and resounding, hitting Ning Weimin's plan where it was most vulnerable.

He even straightened his back slightly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

He was convinced that these real-world gaps were enough to shatter Ning Weimin's "grand blueprint".

Huang He also breathed a sigh of relief and, "kindly," offered his own reminder. "General Manager Ikei is right! Mr. Ning, you're oversimplifying things. The technological barriers of amusement park rides and the cultural appeal of animated characters—neither of these can be bought with money."

Both of them thought that Ning Weimin would be speechless, or at least show some panic as his confidence crumbled.

Unfortunately, they were disappointed again. Ning Weimin remained unmoved and even smiled easily, seemingly agreeing with their statement.

"You're all right. China's industrial manufacturing level and technological reserves are indeed far behind Japan's. In the production and maintenance of large-scale high-end electric amusement facilities, we are currently no match for your country's companies. Moreover, the success of Tokyo Disneyland is indeed largely due to the cultural appeal of its animated characters and fairy tales. Characters like Snow White and Mickey Mouse have been popular around the world for decades and are deeply ingrained in people's minds. I acknowledge these objective realities."

Ning Weimin's voice was gentle yet firm, but his overly frankness made Chi Jing and Huang He uneasy. They stared at him blankly, wondering what he was up to. Just as Chi Jing frowned in thought, Ning Weimin abruptly changed the subject, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, his confidence almost overflowing.

“But from the very beginning, I never intended to rival Tokyo Disneyland in terms of the sophistication and thrill of its rides. The existing electric rides are basically enough for me. What I want to do is make up for the shortcomings of the rides with cultural performances and themed experiences. Playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses is the essence of doing business, isn’t it?”

"Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses?"

Ikei repeated it subconsciously, his brows furrowing even more.

“Cultural performances and scenic experiences?” Huang He scoffed and couldn’t help but interject, “Mr. Ning, you don’t actually think that hiring a few opera troupes to perform and bringing in some strange props can rival the charm of Disney animation, do you? That’s just wishful thinking!”

Ning Weimin ignored Huang He's sarcasm and kept his gaze fixed on Chi Jing.

"General Manager Ikei should know that the customer base attracted by electric amusement facilities is actually quite limited. Most of them are young children and thrill-seeking young people. But a theme park that can truly achieve 'family fun' cannot rely on just these. Only when the elderly, parents, and children can all find enjoyment can it truly break through the ceiling of customer traffic."

He paused, then continued, “Cultural performances and immersive experiences can achieve just that. A captivating mythological stage play can appeal to the elderly with traditional stories, children with magical battles, and parents with their children with the charm of traditional culture. With the help of special stage facilities and techniques, it can be both exciting and entertaining, while also possessing artistic flair. The realistic scenery will also be captivating, sparking interest in taking photos and interacting with the actors. Isn't this kind of appeal more enduring than a simple roller coaster?”

These words made Ikei's pupils shrink slightly, and a sense of agreement arose in his heart.

He has been to many amusement parks, and indeed most of them are dominated by young people. Apart from Tokyo Disneyland, there are very few that can truly provide "fun for the whole family".

Moreover, based on his personal experience, he does indeed find watching various performances at Tokyo Disneyland more enjoyable and relaxing than participating in electric amusement rides.

His wife and children were more interested in taking photos with Disney animated characters than participating in any thrilling rides, and they were happy to wait in line for an hour.

Huang He is, after all, from Hong Kong, and probably hasn't been to Tokyo Disneyland yet, which is why he made such ignorant remarks just now.

This made him glance at his deputy, who had been interrupting him repeatedly, with considerable disdain.

Before he could even process it, Ning Weimin's next revelation nearly made him jump out of his chair. (End of Chapter)