money player

After having a late-night snack with Eileen Chang, Sin Yiu-man returned to Keiko Nagumo's courtyard well past midnight. The courtyard was quiet, the lamplight under the eaves was dim, and Keiko Nagumo was nowhere to be seen in the house.

He didn't speculate too much about the reason. After a quick wash, he went to bed to rest. He was exhausted from the past few days and fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleeping until his biological clock woke him up on time in the morning.

In a hazy state, a soft, warm body gently nestled into his arms. Nagumo Keiko had returned and was quietly curled up in his embrace.

He moved slightly, and the long eyelashes of the person in his arms trembled twice, their eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings as they slowly opened their clear eyes.

Her voice, soft and languid from just waking up, gently called out against his heart, "Anata, good morning."

Xian Yaowen looked down at the lingering sleepiness in her eyes and asked calmly, "What happened last night? Why are you back so late?"

“One of the gifts was abused. Two of its ribs were broken, its back was covered in whip marks, and it had lacerations and severe bleeding in its lower body. It was taken to the hospital and was out of danger at 3 a.m. I waited for news outside the hospital and didn’t get home until 4 a.m.

"Was it voluntary?"

Keiko Nagumo hesitated slightly, "It was voluntary, but I probably didn't expect things to turn out this way."

"Once his physical condition stabilizes, we will provide sufficient compensation and send him out of Japan."

"She still has family."

"There's no choice. You have to give it away. Keeping it will turn it into a time bomb, killing your partners and hurting you too. Last night was the last time you interfered in something like this. You didn't even know the gift existed. Do you understand?"

"Hai~"

Xian Yaowen raised his hand and gently stroked the top of her head, his tone reassuring: "Sleep well at home this morning."

Nagumo Keiko snuggled closer to him, her eyes still sleepy and charming, and softly pleaded, "Anata, will you sleep with me?"

"No, I don't sleep in."

Nagumo Keiko drew out her words, her voice tinged with a wronged nasal tone as she gently nuzzled his chest: "Anata..."

"Sweetie, go to sleep by yourself. I'll cook you some Chinese dishes tonight."

Keiko Nagumo's eyes lit up, instantly shaking off some of her sleepiness. She tilted her little face up with expectant eyes and asked in a soft, sweet voice, "Honto~ Daddy Ska~?"

"Really, go to sleep."

Keiko Nagumo nodded and closed her eyes.

Sin Yiu-man got up, washed up, changed into his workout clothes, and went for a run to the ordinary residential street.

Today is Sunday, and office workers and laborers don't usually go to work. There are almost no factories in Bunkyo Ward, so there are cheap dormitory rentals and affordable wooden house rentals, catering to all budgets, making it a popular spot for office workers.

After running around in circles and estimating that he had run 6.5 kilometers, he arrived at Kanda Jimbocho. He waited in line for a while in front of a breakfast shop called Manchukuo Shokudo, got a seat, went inside, and ordered two Tianjin-style steamed buns, a plate of fried dumplings, and a cup of green tea.

The Tianjin steamed buns are a bit small, but they taste pretty good; they're probably more authentic than the ones made by that kid Pan Ruifa.

I asked other diners and found out that the owner was from Northeast Japan. He went to Tianjin to learn how to make steamed buns and fried dumplings in his early years, and then went to Dalian to open a shop. After the war, he was repatriated and opened this Manchurian Canteen.

After having breakfast, I ventured deeper into Jimbocho, stopped at the entrance to the used bookstore district, took out my notebook, glanced at the time, wrote "AM 6:52" in the notebook, and began observing the flow of people.

Sunday is a rare time to sleep in, and there aren't many people on the streets. Only one or two people will appear every minute or so, and sometimes no one will appear for seven or eight minutes. Moreover, they are mostly alone, rarely in groups, and even fewer with their families.

After observing for an hour and a half, he packed up his stall and went into the used bookstore street, browsing through each shop.

His main goal this time was to find some Shanghai magazines and newspapers from the past twenty years, and maybe catch a glimpse of printed editions. There were many printed editions on the street, including those from the Ming, Song, and other periods, which had entered Japan through various means such as legal importation, planned acquisition, and wartime looting.

There are many good Ming dynasty engravings. If you hoard them for decades and then bring them back to the mainland to sell, you should be able to make a lot of money.

It's a pity that his talent was wasted. He was too ambitious, and using these things to get rich would be a waste of time and a disgrace to his ambitions. He only picked what he liked to look at and had no intention of buying up large quantities of goods.

He only looked at the Ming and Ming dynasty engravings, glancing at the Song dynasty engravings with a single glance. The placement of the engravings was too deliberate, clearly a trap. Not only did he start the price at least 10,000 yen, but he also made people waste their breath haggling over the price.

They picked through the books one by one, stack by stack, the cheaper ones costing a couple hundred yen, the more expensive ones costing five or six hundred yen. After browsing the entire street, they bought more than three hundred books/stacks, spending over seventy thousand yen, which is more than half a year's salary for an average white-collar worker.

After putting the book in the car, he went to Matsunaga Daihonya and took out "Run, Yamato!" from the bookshelf, and began to read it with great interest.

At the right time, with the right theme, and guiding the right ideas, "Run, Yamato!" received recognition from the Ministry of Education. It entered schools without encountering much resistance and, on its own, slightly changed the image of the manga, no longer being a piece of trashy reading material that was condemned by the public.

Naturally, they want to capitalize on the momentum they've created. First-Class is currently planning "Baseball Boys" and "Street Fighter," riding the wave of popularity from both baseball and boxing.

At next year's Helsinki Olympics, the Japanese team is expected to have a major performance in three events: wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics. Ishii Sohachi has a good chance of winning the gold medal in the freestyle bantamweight category. It would be the first gold medal since the war, and it would be quite prestigious. He should take advantage of the hype.

After flipping through half of the comic book, he took out his notebook, turned to the page containing information about the comic, and jotted down a few key points that had just come to mind.

As soon as Sin Yiu-man closed his notebook, gently closing the pages with his fingertips, a soft and gentle female voice came from beside him.

"Hello, excuse me."

He looked up at the person who had come in, his expression calm and indifferent: "Is there something you need?"

The young woman had gentle features and polite manners. Her face held a shy yet hopeful expression as she bowed slightly and introduced herself: "Hello, I am Masako Watanabe, and I am currently drawing illustrations for Wakagi Bookstore. I apologize for bothering you, but could you please take a look at my artwork?"

She gently held the drawing in both hands and carefully handed it over, her gaze fixed on Xian Yaowen, full of anticipation.

Xian Yaowen glanced indifferently at Watanabe Masako in front of him, then shifted his gaze to the female shop assistant beside him. The shop assistant's eyes were filled with longing, her gaze constantly fixed on Watanabe Masako, her eyes revealing obvious nervousness and expectation.

These two people are acquaintances, and may even be colleagues.

The employees at Matsunaga Daihonya are all part-time aspiring manga artists who work part-time at the store while seeking opportunities to draw manga.

The rules in the comic book industry are similar to those in the film industry: the top players take all the credit. Even if a newcomer gets the chance to draw a single volume, the fee is only a little over 200 yen per page. After drawing one volume, it's uncertain when the next one will come out.

Short stories are even rarer, costing only a few dozen to one hundred and fifty yen per page.

As for illustrations, they cost around 500 yen each. There's also an unspoken rule in the industry of "three drafts." No matter how amazing your illustration is, you can't expect to pass the review without three drafts.

The above fees are for male newcomers; female newcomers usually receive 30% less.

Before becoming a certain artist, drawing comics was simply not enough to support oneself. Every newcomer had a part-time job, and among these jobs, secondhand bookstore clerks and loan bookstore clerks were the most popular. They could see other comic artists' work every day, understand market trends, and get commissions from loan bookstores right away. Many newcomers started their careers by working at loan bookstores.

The intricacies have been clarified, but it's unclear whether Masako Watanabe approached him by chance or with a specific purpose.

It doesn't matter what, it won't stop him from helping.

"Okay." He nodded slightly, took the drawing, his fingertips brushing across the paper, and looked up to ask, "Which story's illustration?"

"The Little Prince"

A knowing glint flashed in Xian Yaowen's eyes as he said softly, "Congratulations."

This book, "Little Prince," is a currently very popular shoujo manga in the genre of online comics. It has a very wide audience. If you can get illustration offers for popular books and you can stay focused, it won't be long before you start to stand out.

Masako Watanabe lowered her eyes, her tone tinged with melancholy: "I'm not a full-time illustrator yet."

Xian Yaowen looked up at her slightly reserved appearance and comforted her gently, "Take it slow, you'll get ahead eventually."

"Thank you," she said softly.

Sin Yiu-man turned his gaze back to the drawing, examined it carefully for a moment, then got up and walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a copy of "The Little Prince," quickly flipped through a few pages of the text, compared it with the original illustrations in the book, and then looked back at her original drawing. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly spoke:
"Your skills are solid, and the characters' expressions are delicate. Overall, it's very good. However, the style is too different from your previous illustrations. It's too soft and impressionistic, which probably doesn't fit the publisher's usual aesthetic. It might be rejected."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Masako Watanabe walked away, and Sin Yiu-man continued reading his comics. After finishing a volume of "Run, Yamato!", he took a shoujo manga from the bookshelf.

While watching, I wondered if the theme of "The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with XX" would be popular with Japanese women today.

He thought the answer was yes.

First, the comics are exclusively supplied to loan bookstores, bypassing regular bookstore channels. There is almost no pre-screening; the printed comics are sent directly to loan bookstores. Only if someone reports inappropriate content will the business be shut down.

Generally speaking, unless it's too outrageous, no one will report it, which means that the content of this comic can be quite explicit.

Secondly, women in the postwar period lacked a sense of security and support.

The rise of male office workers, with chaebols, presidents, and senior executives of large corporations holding extremely high positions; while women mostly work as shop assistants, clerks, or housewives, resulting in a huge class gap.

In this family, the status of men and women is vastly different. The husband will never clean, do laundry, or cook. Don't even expect him to pick up a soy sauce bottle if it falls over.

Rich, powerful, cold, and possessive older men are the ideal partners that young girls yearn for.

The currently popular shoujo manga already relies on the combination of "Cinderella + powerful male lead". The female lead is a poor girl, and the male lead is a company president, young master, tycoon son, or noble descendant. By incorporating the domineering CEO, it can be said that it has caught the trend of the times.

What needs to be avoided is that the current trend in Japan emphasizes subtlety. Things like wall slams, forced kisses, and forced love may be too avant-garde. Instead, the domineering gaze, forceful invitations, silent support, using power to shield from trouble, and possessiveness can be written in a subtle and sophisticated way. This kind of cold, hard, gentlemanly domineering CEO is more charming to Showa girls than a straightforward domineering CEO.

"It seems necessary to arrange another meeting with Masako Yamaguchi," he thought to himself, opening his notebook again.

We need to open a training course to popularize some knowledge needed to appear sophisticated, such as the daily work routine of a domineering CEO, the scenarios of high-end cocktail parties, common sense about upscale restaurants, basic car knowledge, and brand knowledge of women's related products.

The "domineering CEO" comic is perfect for product placement; without it, he wouldn't be Sin Yiu-man.

Independent of the first-rate club, establish a publishing house called Gosoji Publishing House, find a homeless Japanese man to be the legal representative, be a little adventurous at first, make the comics a little more daring, and test the limits.

If something goes wrong, throw the homeless man out as the scapegoat, move everyone else to another place, start over elsewhere, and find another homeless man to register a new publishing house.

As for expanding distribution channels, one can initially adopt the method of stocking the products on loan-holding houses, and then charge fees if the rental market is good.

There are approximately 7000+ bookstores in Japan. The printing cost of a 128-page manga is no more than 30 yen. 7000 copies would cost 21 yen. With employee salaries and transportation costs, a startup capital of 100 million yen would be sufficient.

A 128-page comic book can be retailed for 100-130 yen, but wholesaled to bookstores at a 30% discount, i.e., 70-90 yen. The revenue from one comic book is approximately 350,000 to 100,000 yen.

This is the minimum amount. It's impossible for a mortgaged house to only have one mortgage. It's normal to prepare five or six mortgages when the market is good, and even in ordinary cases, two or three mortgages will be prepared. 35 yen × 6 = 210 yen.

If we reconsider sales, there's still a chance to turn things around.

Looking at it this way, the "CEO Loan" comic book genre seems quite promising; earning over 100 million yuan a year isn't difficult. The only question is how many "CEO Loan" characters the market can accommodate simultaneously. With more than a few, earning over a billion yuan a year isn't unimaginable.

Having made up his mind, Sin Yiu-man left the old bookstore street and took a car to Imperial Tea House.

I took Ma Guanhua to the comic printing factory and roughly assessed the fire hazards—one barrel of kerosene could burn the world.

Yu Cao Si should be able to monopolize the CEO role for a year.

On my way home, I stopped by Komagome Souvenir Market and bought some vegetables to take home.

When I got home, Keiko Nagumo was still asleep.

He went into the kitchen, lit a fire, boiled water, scooped out a few spoonfuls of sweet potato starch, and poured it into the pot after the water boiled. He stirred it slowly with chopsticks, and the sweet potato starch gradually solidified into a transparent block.

Scoop it out, put it into a square container, and refrigerate it.

After rinsing the pot, boil water again. Once boiling, add an appropriate amount of cane sugar and mint leaves. When the mint flavor is released, immediately remove from heat, let it cool, pour into a glass bowl, and refrigerate.

Once the crystal cake is made, put a note on the refrigerator indicating how to eat it.

Write another note and stick it on the door of the walk-in closet.

After showering and changing, she flew to Toranomon in the port area, to Yoshiko Matsuda's office.

Yoshiko Matsuda was not present, but Nagahira Katsuma and Kazuo Ijiri were.

He followed Katsuma Chohei to the back of a truck parked some distance away and began to peruse Matsunaga Trading Company's internal accounts.

Internal accounts must not be made public and cannot be shown in the office.

It is mainly divided into two parts: one part is the accounts of East Asian trade, and the other part is the accounts of "Big Water Pipe".

In Japan in 1951, private lending was subject to the Interest Restriction Law of Meiji 10 (1877) No. 66, with a legal interest rate cap of 20% per annum and 15% per annum for principal exceeding 100 million yen. Interest exceeding the cap was invalid, but voluntary payments were non-refundable.

If both parties agree, an interest rate of 10000% is acceptable; they should resolve the matter privately and avoid taking it to the legal system.

Nevertheless, Matsunaga Shinsuke's success has attracted attention, and he can no longer charge interest rates as recklessly as he did at the beginning. The maximum rate is 30%, and the interest must be hidden within the principal to keep it within a legal range.

The real loan sharking was outsourced; Matsunaga Shinhan only provided the capital, while the execution was handled by partners. The funds were routed through numerous intermediaries, making it impossible for anyone to trace the operation back to Matsunaga Shinhan. The worst-case scenario was simply financial loss.

After a quick look, it appears that Matsunaga Shinkansen's monthly sales volume for the past three months has exceeded 5 billion yen. After deducting costs such as bad debts and collection, as well as the revenue sharing between the business execution and the bank, the profit margin is about 50%, with a monthly net profit of around 2.5 million yen.

How much money is locked up in the vault?

"72 billion yen."

How long will it take to clean it up?

"Half a year."

"Too slow. I need a listing plan for a chain restaurant, Chinese cuisine, Pinzhenlou."

"Include it in the revenue?"

"Correct."

"Hay."

After reviewing the accounts of letter sellers, let's look at the accounts of smuggling. This year's business volume has exceeded 90 billion yen, with an average profit margin of 40%. With the profits split 50/50 among the three groups, they can get 18 billion yen.

This figure is roughly pure profit, but the funds will remain in the hands of the partner, Jinji Logistics, for a period of time. When the funds are returned, they will inexplicably shrink by 5%, but the money will be clean and there is no fear of investigation.

After reviewing the accounts, Sin Yiu-man got out of the car, and Katsuma Chohei personally escorted the account books away.

Once the ledgers were filed, only he knew where they were stored; even Yoshiko Matsuda didn't know.

Back in his office, Sin Yiu-man was still looking at the ledgers—ledgers that were transparent and, moreover, had to be made public.

Matsunaga Trading Co., Ltd. comprises Matsunaga Shinhan, Matsunaga Investment, Matsunaga Real Estate, Matsunaga Ranch, Matsunaga Sparrow House, and Matsunaga Loan House.

Matsunaga Investment has two business lines: venture capital and securities investment, as well as its own Matsunaga Dental Clinic.

Matsunaga Real Estate has three subsidiary companies: Matsunaga Tanzakura, Matsunaga Construction, and Matsunaga Real Estate Sales. Matsunaga Tanzakura also has Matsunaga Candle Manufacturing.

Currently, only Matsunaga Trading Co., Ltd. is profitable in Matsunaga Shinkan and Matsunaga Candle Manufacturing. The latter is almost negligible compared to the former. It can be said that Matsunaga Shinkan supports the entire Matsunaga Trading Co., Ltd.

Riding the wave of the special demand boom, Matsunaga Shinkan's business volume reached 700 billion yen in the first three months. Due to the reuse of funds, costs were diluted, and the profit margin was 12.73%.

The profits were converted into equity funds that were used to invest in businesses, hoard land, and expand Matsunaga Dental Clinic.

Currently, Matsunaga Investments has invested in a total of 206 companies, holding the second-largest shareholder position in 179 of them. Of these, 80% are companies he has circled as a potential investor. Companies whose names he can remember are generally of high quality.

The returns on these investments will depend on the long term, but there are also foreseeable short-term dividends. It is estimated that this year's dividends will not be less than 8.5 million yen.

In terms of securities investment, the company invested a significant amount in military and steel-related stocks, with a total investment of 42 billion yen (own funds) and 107 billion yen (bank funds). With the stock appreciation and dividends combined, the company expects a comprehensive annualized return of 175%, resulting in a final net profit of 90 billion yen.

The decision on when to cash out military stocks rested with the great Stalin. As soon as he coughed, the stocks were cashed out immediately, without a moment's delay.

When the stock market crashes, it's impossible to buy the dip. It's unlikely that military stocks will ever see such a frenzy again. Buying the dip will only result in losses. However, some military stocks are worth buying in large quantities, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The goal is not to make money, but to build a patriotic image. Yoshiko Matsuda is patriotic.

After closing the ledger, Sin Yiu-man gently tapped the table.

It's time for Matsunaga Shinhan to be spun off from Matsunaga Trading Company and to announce plans to attract political shareholders. Once other businesses take off, they can gradually sell off their shares, eventually exiting the business completely.

"Takei Yasuo, young man, the golden road is right under your feet. Let's see if you can grasp it."

Sin Yiu-man leaned back lazily into the large leather executive chair, his body sinking slightly into the soft seat, and slowly closed his eyes.

His fingertips rested lightly on the edge of the armrest, appearing relaxed and calm on the surface, but his mind was racing with calculations—based on newly acquired real-time information, he was gradually revising the path Matsunaga Trading Company should take in the future.

This simulation lasted for more than an hour, almost two hours, and noon was fast approaching.

Looking at his watch, Xian Yaowen frowned. It was already this late, and Lin Qingying and the other two still hadn't arrived. This was a test of his patience.

He had arranged to go for a walk with Keiko Nagumo, but his toasts would only be served at 3 p.m., after which he would have to drink a penalty shot.

"Kazuo." Sin Yiu-man called out to Kazuo Ijiri, who was practicing golf.

Upon hearing this, Kazuo Ijiri walked over, bowed, and said, "Chairman."

“Send someone to Yokohama City University to conduct a new investigation, to find out who Mori Taikichiro’s rivals are at the school, and to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the female teachers and students. Bring back photos and information of the good-looking ones. If they are of Chinese descent, do not conduct a thorough investigation.”

"Hay."

After giving his instructions, Sin Yiu-man got up and went into the kitchen of the lounge, opened the refrigerator to take a look at what dishes were available.

I'll cook something for lunch myself; I won't go out to eat. (End of Chapter)