money player

The Kimura family home in the back alley of Ginza 8-chome.

Seiji Shibusawa, head of the securities investment department at Matsunaga Investment, is entertaining Judy, who has come from afar.

Seiji Shibusawa placed a skewer of miso offal on Judy's plate. "Ms. Montagu, please enjoy."

"Arigato." Judy bowed slightly in thanks, but instead of taking the skewers, she picked up a cigarette from the ashtray, took a puff, and said, "Mr. Shibusawa, is it feasible for Pumpkin Carriage to buy 15% of Toyota Motor's shares on the stock market?"

Seiji Shibusawa put down the half-eaten skewer, picked up his briefcase, took out a document, and placed it on the table. "Ms. Montagu, this is Toyota Motor stock information obtained from Nomura Securities. Toyota Motor has a total share capital of 8,436,900 shares, with 2,528,000 shares in circulation, representing 29.97% of the total shares."

"So you can get 15%?"

“Absolutely impossible.” Seiji Shibusawa shook his head. “Ms. Montagu, you can turn to the third page. It records that nearly half of the circulating shares are held by stakeholders of Toyota Automatic Loom Works Co., Ltd. and Toyota Boshoku Co., Ltd. The actual circulating shares of Toyota Motor Corporation are less than 16%, and the liquidity is very poor, with a daily trading volume of less than 1 shares.”

Judy picked up the document, flipped to the third page, and read it carefully before saying, "Mr. Shibusawa, I'd like to know how many shares can be purchased without attracting the attention of the major shareholders?"

After a moment's thought, Seiji Shibusawa said, "I'm confident I can get 5%, but I'll need to pay a 20% premium."

"Does Mr. Shibusawa mean that Pumpkin Carriage needs to pay Matsunaga Investment 86 yen per share?"

"No, this is the cost, without taking into account the commissions of Matsunaga Investment and Nomura Securities, and without adding stamp duty."

Judy picked up her beer glass and took a sip. "I need a total."

Seiji Shibusawa bowed and said, "I will tell Ms. Montagu tomorrow."

"Thank you."

After having a good time drinking with Judy, Seiji Shibusawa didn't go home. Instead, he returned to the company and studied Toyota's information under a desk lamp.

At the beginning of the year, he joined the securities department of Matsunaga Investment and took the lead in investing in Toyota Motor's stock. The securities department held 17 shares of Toyota Motor stock, more than 2%, but his investment was not based on his optimism about Toyota Motor's future, but on special orders.

He bought in at 52 yen per share and has held it until now at 72 yen per share, making a profit of 340 million yen. He is already considering selling the shares, even though he predicts that Toyota will receive another wave of demand orders in the near future and the stock price may soar to around 100 yen. He still prefers to sell and take profits soon.

In January of last year, Toyota Motor Corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy due to a deficit and was on the verge of applying for "corporate restructuring." Fortunately, it received 500 million yen in financing from a bank to save it. In April, it laid off a large number of employees, with 2000 people "voluntarily" resigning. The union split, and Kiichiro Toyoda resigned to take responsibility. In June, a special order came in unexpectedly, and Toyota Motor Corporation survived by sheer luck.

Observing Toyota's current situation, on the surface, it seems to make a profit on every car it produces, and this year's profit report will look very good. However, upon closer examination, Toyota is facing numerous crises:

53% of the equipment has been in use for more than 10 years, or even close to 20 years. It lacks maintenance and is in very poor condition. This year's profits will certainly not be enough to upgrade the equipment.

Once the special orders end, Toyota will face a surge in inventory and a broken cash flow. Unless it launches a best-selling model in the short term, Toyota will face bankruptcy and liquidation.

"is it possible?"

Seiji Shibusawa lit a cigarette and pondered the question.

Analyzing the current economic situation in Japan and the purchasing power of Japanese people, he is not optimistic about Toyota. But why would a British car company travel thousands of miles to invest?

In particular, this British car company belongs to a financial institution, and its recent partner, the Dean Group, is capable of seizing opportunities and winning millions of pounds in the sugar market. How could the Dean Group not understand Toyota?
After finishing a cigarette, still unable to find a clue, he irritably pulled out the list of Toyota Motor's shareholders, glancing over Toyota Automatic Loom Works, Toyota Boshoku Co., Ltd., Toshisaburo Toyoda, and Kiichiro Toyoda, before fixing his gaze on Mitsui & Co., Ltd. He tapped on it a few times and asked himself, "Is Mitsui & Co.'s investment in Toyota Motor solely motivated by supporting postwar reconstruction in Japan?"

upstairs.

Yoshiko Matsuda sat at the large dining table, eating slices of beef from a sukiyaki hot pot.

The beef slices are freshly cut, and the beef is taken from freshly slaughtered cattle. The cattle come from Matsunaga Ranch in Hyogo Prefecture. This ranch was not established or invested in by Yoshiko Matsuda herself, but rather acquired through several roundabout means as payment for debts.

The story is a bit complicated. A nightclub owner borrowed money from Matsunaga Shinhan, but couldn't repay it on time. When the owner went to collect the nightclub's property as collateral, he proposed to use another, larger debt as collateral. After assessing the potential, the owner went to collect the debt from the other debtor.

Unexpectedly, the debt was settled by debt settlement, and the ranch owner ended up collecting the debt. The ranch owner was quite decisive, took the difference of 50 yen and returned it, then simply walked away, and the ranch fell into the hands of Matsunaga Nobuhiro.

When Xian Yaowen saw the asset in the report, a 700-acre ranch with more than 300 Tajima cattle, he instructed Matsuda Yoshiko to continue managing the ranch and provided her with a comprehensive development plan.

When it comes to beef, Wagyu beef is naturally indispensable, and Tajima beef is the finest among Wagyu beef. Adding the name Hyogo Prefecture, it becomes the finest of all.

To put it simply, the Japanese conscripted almost all the cattle in the country for military use during the war. If it weren't for someone resisting and secretly hiding the cattle, there would be no cattle species in Japan. Looking at the present, Matsunaga Ranch has the largest herd of purebred Tajima cattle in all of Japan. Whether these cattle can be managed properly in the hands of Xian Yaowen is up to him. If he doesn't get the biggest piece of the pie, he'll flip the table and nobody can have a bite.

Not all beef is the same. Yoshiko Matsuda had never eaten such delicious beef before. She devoured it with gusto, her taste buds fully enjoying the experience, while her eyes were busy exploring.

Beside her lay an investigation report about Guo Shuanglong. She was looking at the list of Guo Shuanglong's classmates at the Imperial Academy, Gakushuin. One name had three horizontal lines drawn under it, and it was none other than her old acquaintance, Kishi Nobusuke.

She put down her chopsticks, picked up the documents sent from Hong Kong, glanced at them, and confirmed that Sin Yiu-wu's marriage partner was Guo Biting, not Guo Shuanglong's daughter Guo Huaiyu. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Takano-kun, as his idea of ​​establishing a Hong Kong-Japan relationship was probably not so easy to realize.

The mouth of the Sumida River.

The riverbank here is covered with tin shacks, housing those burned down by air raids and those who caused the destruction. It is one of Tokyo's well-known slums.

Keiko Nagumo sat on a tattered mat, receiving the homeowner's kneeling and bowing.

"President, I'm very sorry, I can't repay the debt on time."

Keiko Nagumo picked up a teacup on the table with so many chips that it looked like serrated lines. She took a sip of persimmon leaf tea made from dried persimmon leaves she had picked up in the park, put the teacup down, and said gently, "Kobayashi-kun, the Uyado Shinkansen will extend your debt for three months without interest. We hope you can get through this difficult time soon."

Kobayashi bowed deeply again, his head hitting the mat, saying, "Thank you so much!"

"Kobayashi-kun, don't be discouraged, the difficulties are only temporary," Nagumo Keiko comforted him, placing two "Touken Ranbu" chocolates on the table. "Give these to the child."

Kobayashi bowed deeply once again, and after accepting the bow, Nagumo Keiko took her leave, as she had many other places to visit and did not have time to linger.

Once outside, she took a few breaths of fresh air, took two chocolates from her secretary, and headed to the next store.

The postal service is a tool for her to accumulate political capital. What she is doing now is winning people's hearts. Once she has laid a solid foundation, she will join a political party and run for the Senate election.

Of course, Uyato Shinkan doesn't do business at a loss; debt extensions are possible, but non-payment is not.

Shibuya, Oyama-cho 39.

In front of a two-story wooden detached building, Kazuo Ijiri arrived at the gate. He glanced at the sign hanging by the door, which read "Ichiji-ko," and knew he had come to the right place. He waved and led his men around to the back of the house.

Arriving at a courtyard wall, he took out several newspaper clippings from his pocket and distributed them to his men. "Identify the person, smash their fingers, but don't break them. Knock out all eight front teeth, no more, no less."

"Hay."

Do you remember that sentence?

"Hay."

"Read it once."

His men shouted in unison, "We'll make you a traitor!"

"Yosh, let's get moving!"

As soon as Kazuo Ijiri finished speaking, two of his men were carried up the courtyard wall by a human ladder. After the two men disappeared, the other men returned to the front of the house and guarded the gate.

Inside the house, Hu Lancheng was having dinner with his landlady and widow, Mrs. Yizhi.

Hu Lancheng was a womanizer. On the first day after moving here, he flirted with Mrs. Yizhi. On the second day, he invited her to a movie. On the third day, which happened to be Mrs. Yizhi's birthday, he was short of money and could not afford a gift, so he washed himself and delivered himself to Mrs. Yizhi's tatami mat.

From then on, Hu Lancheng not only didn't have to pay rent, but also started living off Mrs. Yizhi.

While eating, Hu Lancheng uttered corny pick-up lines, making Mrs. Yizhi very happy. The bland and watery food became very delicious. However, Hu Lancheng was cursing in his heart. Not only was he not full, but a single dried plum made him eat half a bowl of rice. Was this even fit for human consumption?

He somewhat regretted coming to Japan; perhaps staying in Hong Kong and living with his ex-lover, She Aizhen, would have been a better choice.

In the backyard, two henchmen peered through the crack in the shoji door and saw what was happening inside. They exchanged a glance, then drew a ruler made of sandalwood from Shengxian County from their waists and gently pulled the shoji door open. Once it opened a gap large enough for one person to pass through, the two men slipped into the room one after the other.

Hu Lancheng, who was still spouting cheesy pickup lines, suddenly had his pupils dilate and a look of fear on his face. The ruler was reflected in his pupils, growing larger and larger until it could no longer fit in his pupils, at which point it fell on the top of his head, which was already showing signs of balding.

pop~
"I'll make you a traitor!"

Hu Lancheng was struck on the head with a ruler, his glasses dangled, and he became blind. His mind was buzzing; he was both physically and psychologically stunned. He couldn't understand why a Japanese person would call him a traitor.

By the Emperor, he is a good friend of the people of Japan!

Another team member pointed a ruler at Mrs. Yizhi and said, "This is none of your business. Sit still and don't make a sound."

Madam Yizhi was very wise. She understood the principle that a good woman doesn't suffer losses in front of her. She neither moved nor cried out. She merely glanced at Hu Lancheng with pity before turning her head to the other side, putting into practice the theory that not looking is also a form of compassion.

Slap, slap, slap! The ruler struck Hu Lancheng's head several times, completely stunning him. Then his right hand was pressed onto the table, and the rice bowl he had been holding was lifted up, once, twice, until the bottom of the bowl made intimate contact with his fingers.

He simply uttered an "ah" sound and then hypnotized himself into fainting.

The team members were a bit hesitant to strike, carefully controlling their strength with each blow, afraid of breaking Hu Lancheng's fingers. After three blows, he put down his rice bowl and switched to using a ruler to chop.

Hu Lancheng fainted, was woken up by the blow, and then fainted again, repeating this three or four times. Seeing that his mangled fingers could still move, the team member thought it was enough. He used one hand to pry open Hu Lancheng's jaw, glanced into his mouth, then shoved the ruler into his upper front tooth, and with a forceful push, snapped it off with a crack. (End of Chapter)