Tokyo Wingman King

The place where I met Kenjiro Nijo was in the study on the second floor of the Western-style house.

Nijo Reina led him to the door of the study, left a strange message like "Come on, Master O!", and went downstairs.

I'm not here for an interview.

After knocking on the door three times with no response, Asana had to open the door himself.

The chair behind the desk on the right side of the room was empty, and Kenjiro Nijo was making a phone call on the second-floor terrace right in front of his sight.

The topic of conversation was the monetary policy led by the current Governor of the Bank of Japan. Most of the discussion revolved around the Governor's academic background - the MIT school.

The head of the Nijo family inferred that the MIT school's consistent action program might make the government's means of economic intervention more radical, and the core card of this scholar-type governor who was not optimistic about Abe's economics from the beginning to solve the current inflation and stagflation problems is likely to be tightening the current ultra-loose monetary policy, devaluing and raising interest rates - Japan's long-term path dependence on negative interest rates will end in the hands of this governor - and it may even affect the relationship between Japan and the United States. After all, the United States' monetary policy is also historically loose at the moment.

The world's economic lifeline is in the hands of a few people. This statement is absolutely true. I just don't know if there will be a central bank governor in Japan in the future who would rather short his own country's currency, stock market, and national debt than make a fortune from national disasters. It is hard to say that it is impossible. After all, there are news such as "The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Speculates in Stocks" in the past. It is reasonable for the son to learn from his father.

Asama decided to go back and study the topic of "How to make the money in hand 100 times thicker if you know in advance that the yen will depreciate and interest rates will rise."

Seeing that the call from the head of the Nijo family showed no sign of ending any time soon, Asama walked on the carpet embroidered with a Victorian world map and walked around in the space called a study but actually a private library.

The huge bookshelf seemed to be the wallpaper of the entire room, occupying all the vertical walls within Asama's sight. According to conservative estimates, there were at least 4 books in this place.

Religious texts, encyclopedias, and general social science treatises are just [a minority] in the study room.

The [main ethnic group] in this room, unsurprisingly, belongs to economics.

The books that fill the bookshelf constitute the voluminous history of economics; the gilded metal nameplates inlaid on the edge of the 4-centimeter partitions of the bookshelf constitute the catalog of this history of economics.

The bookshelf is specially divided into sections for series of books such as classical and neoclassical economics, old and new Keynesian schools, old and new Cambridge schools, Austrian school, Chicago school, Freiburg school, Stockholm school, supply-side school, monetary economics, and institutional economics.

In addition to the works of those British economists, Asama also saw monumental names such as Leon Walras, who created the theory of [Walrasian equilibrium], Vilfredo Pareto, who created the theory of [Pareto optimality], Carl Menger, the ancestor of Hayek, Joan Robinson, the master of female economics, Milton Friedman, the master of neoliberal economics, Samuelson, Mankiw, Wieser and so on.

I originally thought that Hayek's books would occupy a considerable space, but I didn't expect that the Nijo family treated him the same as Veblen, the author of "The Theory of the Finite Class" - only one book "Denationalization of Money" was on the shelves, and he was even not as good as Locke, Bentham, Karl Marx, Max Weber and others who studied political economy.

Judging from the size of his book collection, it was Friedman who was the real standard-bearer of freedom who opposed Keynesianism.

It seems that the big hand of communication is much stronger than the big hand of economics.

[The June self who tried to understand the free market economy by reading Hayek was terribly stupid] - Asama Shizumi from September looked down on the self who was often influenced by media thinking and picked up information in fragments.

And another voice in my heart is also defending my past - fragmentation is the embodiment of modernity, it is the limitation of the times - as long as enough fragments are collected, a map can be pieced together.

Asama moved his eyes to the bookshelf behind the desk, which displayed the winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics since 1969 and related books. In the glass cabinet about 80cm below the bookshelf were some collections of newspapers and journals, but there was no copy of The Economist, probably because The Economist was similar to the Reference News he read in his previous life, and he did not understand economics.

What is rather ironic is that many successful businessmen, such as Bill Gates, Buffett, Bezos, and Li Ka-shing, are loyal readers of The Economist, while those scholars who understand economics better but do not pay much attention to The Economist rarely make a lot of money with their theories. The famous classical economist and founder of monetarism, Fisher, even went bankrupt because of stock speculation.

Nijo Reina once complained that the Nijo family studied this every day, but they could not buy almost half of South America like the Jujin family. This kind of thing often happens in literary creation. Many people who are well versed in various literary theories can only be teachers or critics, while many authors with average academic qualifications and weak theoretical foundations can always stand out.

Asama recalled this sentence: "The main purpose of studying economics is to avoid being deceived by economists." Perhaps this is the reason why the Nijo family is so keen on studying economics.

Nijo Kenjiro's call continued, and the content turned into trivial matters among acquaintances. Asana suspected that this person was deliberately leaving him alone.

But it's not bad to stay here, it's better than being pulled downstairs and asked questions - if it wasn't a deliberate arrangement, then the situation of more yin than yang in the Nijo family would be too serious.

Asana took out a copy of Max Weber's "Economy and Society", found a single sofa to sit on, and opened the preface to read.

"You can't finish reading this book in a short time. If you are interested, you can take it home. You can also take my notes."

Kenjiro Nijo, who had been talking on the phone on the second-floor terrace and had been left alone for more than half an hour, finally walked into the study.

"Thank you."

Asana put the book down and made eye contact with the smiling head of the Five Senses family.

As the owner of the mansion, his dress is very consistent with this mansion - a black morning suit, lined with a beige vest and white shirt, black and grey striped trousers, a thick and neat mustache on his lips, and two rattan seal rings on his left little finger - even though Kenjiro Nijo has a typical oriental face, one would have the illusion that the person in front of him is a prince who walked out of Windsor Castle.

Kenjiro Nijo sat down opposite Asama and pressed the bell on the coffee table. After a while, several maids placed tea and snacks in front of Asama.

The head of the Nijo family picked up a piece of cinnamon apple scone and stuffed it into his mouth, then picked up the black tea and took two sips. The pretentious aristocratic aura on him faded a lot.

"As for you, I would rather say thank you. Reina's growth in the past six months is mostly due to you, although the way you used is not what I like."

The head of the Nijo family said while wiping his mouth.

"Nijo-san's growth is entirely due to her own efforts, and has little to do with me. As for the latter, if Nijo-san is referring to the relationship between Nijo-san and Takishima-san, as a parent, you can intervene directly if you are not satisfied."

"Before the children get married, our family adheres to the principle of free will for love relationships. I will not interfere with Reina's love. On the contrary, I admire Tetsuya. As a war orphan who has grown to this point, Reina is somewhat unworthy of him."

There was no humility in Nijo Kenjiro's tone when he evaluated his third daughter, which reminded Asanama of Nijo Ruri, who could never reveal her emotions when speaking. Compared with her father and sister's ability to control facial expressions, Nijo Rena was indeed far behind.

Another question is, behind Tetsuya Takishima, who has excellent grades, is good at all sports, is humorous, gentle to others, and likes to be a dog, there is also Takishima, the young soldier in the smoke of the Middle East, Takishima, the killer in dark web transactions, and Takishima, the outlaw scum scavenger in the dark night of Tokyo.

How much do these second family heads know?
"So what does Mr. Nijo mean?"

"You have exaggerated the purchasing power of her wealth. This cognitive bias will cause her to blame others for her future setbacks."

"Perhaps Mr. Nijo is exaggerating the frustrations of those who are qualified to encounter Mr. Nijo. Besides, if there is such a concern, wouldn't it be enough for Mr. Nijo to remind her directly?"

"It is difficult to teach people, but it is profound to teach people through things. Setting up a plan, manipulating people, intelligence warfare, expanding social circles, forming alliances, many of the lessons Reina learned from you were learned through one thing after another. This is exactly why you, a good teacher, are better than her tutor.

If you and Reina can maintain a closer friendship, I won't have any worries."

When did I teach Nijo Reina the things you said? !
"I'm not sure if the close relationship you mentioned means that when Nijo-san needs my help, I have to offer her a higher price?"

"It's convenient to talk to Asama-kun."

"I have to state in advance that I don't know what kind of bet you are making. You want me to intervene and help Nijo-san win the Eiwa Student Council election. I can't do this no matter how much I am offered."

"It's no use trying to distance yourself from this matter. Didn't you let that Arima-san help Reina deal with your sister for free?"

"." Asana thought for a while before he remembered that the head of the Nijo family was talking about Konoe Chiyo.

What does Arima helping Nijo have to do with me?
"Let those arrogant little guys fight over the election. Even if Reina wins now, it may not be all good, unless you are willing to go back to Yinghe and continue to guide her.

Reina was ignorant before, and didn't know what price she had to pay for wisdom. As Reina's father, how about letting me buy out your guidance of her? What Ma Yuan can afford, the Nijo family can afford as well. "

Nijo Kenjiro laughed as he finished speaking.

Why does it feel like you are not hiring a mentor, but recruiting a son-in-law for the Nijo family?

"I have no idea what the guidance is about, but Mr. Nijo's offer is a little confusing to me."

"I will teach you everything that can be taught. Reina can learn a lot from you."

Asama shrugged,

“I feel like I’ve been treated as an overvalued stock by Mr. Nijo.”

"Brother Zhuomu, you'd better not learn from your false modesty. When you take responsibility for others, they will think you are unworthy."

"That's good. I don't think anyone is worthy of shouldering responsibilities that don't belong to them."

Nijo Kenjiro took a sip of tea with a smile like an elder watching a child's quibbling, and then said,

"As for asking Reina to re-plan the dinner, even if her two sisters give advice together, it is impossible for them to be more thoughtful than you think."

"I don't think this is anything to brag about. I believe that Mr. Nijo has seen a more perfect plan."

"Planning is like strategy, there is no such thing as perfection. In just two days, you were able to teach Reina the first-principle deduction, underlying logic, final thinking, abstract extraction and symbolic packaging, structured design and management required to handle a matter. The possibilities here alone are enough to make me admire Brother Zhuoma's educational level."

Hmm? Did old man Konoe teach me how to plan? How come I don't know?
Asama, who didn't know how to answer, chose to eat scones.

Seeing the atmosphere was cold, the head of the Nijo family looked at the first volume of "Economy and Society" on the coffee table and asked Asama,

"Why do you think the capitalist world has taken up Max Weber's immature theory, which is more historiography than economics, as a banner against Karl Marx's political economics?"

“Because the core is not a conflict of economics, but a conflict of political ideas, they can only find a Weber who can completely confront Marx’s philosophical theory from the perspective of idealism, individualism, and bourgeois philosophy and ethics, and use this to unify bourgeois thought. Other scholars who deny Marx’s political economics cannot reach the level of Weber [explaining everything].

As far as I know, Weber was actually the most comprehensive student who enriched and supplemented Marx's research on modern capitalist society. The object of his criticism was also Marxism that was easily translated into tyranny through naive translation. He personally never directly criticized Marx and his original works.

The Soviet Union does not represent Marxism, and the United States does not represent capitalism. Those who hold two flags represent only the distorted learning of their respective doctrines based on the interests of political groups. "

“Yes, from the perspective of economics, the two Marxes actually ended up standing on the same trench against economic reductionism.”

The two chatted for a quarter of an hour about America's exploration of capitalism over the past 150 years. The head of the Nijo family said, "Asama, listen."

When the maid replaced the teapot for the two and walked out of the study, Nijo Kenjiro smiled and said,
"The king of the world economy is about to step down from the throne before he has even lost the smell of a nouveau riche. Do you know who is most likely to become a victim and who will become the winner during this period of transition between the old and new kings?"

“It is hard to imagine that someone who is not the king but wants to have it all will become the winner.”

"Of course, Europe, Russia, the UK, Australia and South Korea cannot do this. In terms of macroeconomic reforms and future trade wars, Japan has the opportunity to become the only winner in the second world."

Kenjiro Nijo gave Asama an answer that went against common sense.

Considering history and geopolitics, it is difficult for Japan, with two fathers, to be as flexible as Türkiye and India.

But judging from economic and trade relations alone, Japan, with its two fathers, is more like a capital haven than Europe.

"Middlemen?"

Nijo Kenjiro looked at the 16-year-old boy with admiration, nodded and smiled,
"Yes, the most comprehensive middleman. From culture to economy, from production supply to consumer demand."

"So the Nijo family's ideal is to be a middleman?"

The head of the Nijo family did not answer the question directly, but asked,
"Which do you think is more difficult, being caught between two people in love or between two people who are quarreling?"

"Of course it's the former."

Just when Asama thought that the Nijo family really wanted to emulate the Great British and become the troublemaker of the Five Regents, he heard Nijo Kenjiro say:
"Middlemen who actively stir up conflicts will eventually be eliminated, while those who passively act as peacemakers will be respected."

"The gloriously isolated arbiter?"

"It's also Brother Zhuoma's way of fighting without fighting."

"The fact that he can passively act as a peacemaker proves that he is a respected person."

“For some people, it is much easier to accumulate reputation than to accumulate strength.”

Asama, who always felt that the Nijo family leader was hinting at something, fell into deep thought.

Nijo Kenjiro took another sip of tea and asked with a smile,

“Are you getting used to staying at KKIS this week?”

Asama answered casually,

"I'm not used to it. The private school of the Kujo family is a bit different from Toyo Eiwa."

He didn't quite believe that the head of the Nijo family was unaware of his situation in KKIS.

"What's the difference? Are international students difficult to get along with?"

“I don’t teach international students. I feel that the study and life of international students and local students at KKIS are mostly parallel.”

"How about I introduce one to you?"

The head of the Nijo family suddenly made a suggestion. (End of this chapter)