The literary era since 1979

July, SoftBank.

Kazuhiro Kogure presented a letter with both hands: "President, this is my resignation letter!"

Son stared blankly at the white envelope on the large desk and murmured, "Why?"

"I...I have no confidence in the future anymore."

Kazuhiro Kogure said succinctly, "I am very sorry, but I must make a decision for the future of my life and that of my family."

Then he bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your care over the years!"

Son Masayoshi stood up suddenly, suppressing his panic:

"Xiao Mu-kun, why do you suddenly have such an idea? Have you forgotten how we got here?"

"We were also very confused. We once had less than 100 million left, but didn't I get the general agency of Hudson?"

"In the second year, we will have a revenue of more than 20 billion. Believe me! As long as we work together, everything will be fine soon."

"SoftBank will quickly return to its previous position. We are No. 1 and will always be! The day of 1 trillion yen will come soon!"

"You are still the same, always full of enthusiasm and optimism."

Kogure Kazuhiro had a complicated expression, and then he sighed, "But I no longer have that enthusiasm and optimism, especially since you've been going your own way since returning to the front line. I'm not the only one advising you not to use the little money you have left to build a database, let alone start a SoftBank magazine and shopping guide. I know you want to lead everyone as soon as possible to create another glory and make the traitors who betrayed SoftBank regret it."

There was a hint of resentment in his tone: "But why don't you listen to the opinions of us subordinates?"

"..."

Masayoshi Son was speechless for a moment. He returned only after recovering from his illness, but he did not return as a king as his old subordinates had expected.

Instead, he was betrayed by the middle and senior management led by the vice president. People in the marketing, technology, procurement and other departments, from directors to section chiefs, either resigned or jumped to Nishi Kazuhiko, who is known as the "Japanese Bill Gates", and is the biggest competitor of himself and SoftBank.

In desperation, he had to adopt some radical strategies, such as spending 1 million yen to build a database.

The result is that before the old debts are paid off, new debts are added. The entire SoftBank is now burdened with a huge debt of 10 billion, and employees are beginning to have a crisis of confidence in him.

"During the years before and after your serious illness, not only you, but I was also in pain, and the last bit of optimism and enthusiasm was gone."

Kogure Kazuhiro said solemnly: "So, please don't try to keep me here. This is the final decision."

"Kogure-kun, don't think like that. Things like enthusiasm and optimism will come back as long as I am here."

Sun Zhengyi's eyes were filled with tears. "Change your decision and stay. Please!"

Seeing him trying to hold back his tears, Kazuhiro Kogure gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Son Masayoshi walked up to him from behind his desk, raised his head and said, "You stayed with me during the three years when I was seriously ill. Now that I'm back, do you have the heart to abandon me and the business we built? Stay, Kogure-kun!"

Then he excitedly held Kazuhiro Kogure's hand and said, "This is the company you helped develop. You once told me that if it were me, we would accomplish our goals. Now, don't you believe me? Have you forgotten the passion we had together to make SoftBank stronger? Have you forgotten our lofty ambitions? One day, we will become world-famous figures because of SoftBank!"

"…Don't be like this, President Yasumoto, everything is over."

Kazuhiro Kogure let out a long sigh.

"No! It's not over yet!"

Son Masayoshi still refused to give up. "Kogure-kun, please stay. Now... is the time when I need you the most! Whether it's a salary issue or other issues, you can tell me. It's all right! Anything is fine! I hope we can still fight side by side together!"

Kogure Kazuhiro resolutely pulled his hand away, stepped back two steps, bowed, and said:

"I'm terribly sorry, but I won't change my decision!"

"Ah~"

Masayoshi Son's hand hung there, trembling slightly.

Even though he was almost begging, even though tears were welling up in his eyes, Kazuhiro Kogure was still so determined.

Perhaps it is because he has not made a comeback that makes SoftBank’s future even less optimistic?

He tried hard to calm himself, straighten his back, and regain his confidence and determination so as not to be looked down upon by his subordinates who were determined to resign.

"What a shame... But, didn't I tell you that my last name is Sun?"

"Well, President Sun, goodbye."

Kazuhiro Kogure smiled and nodded slightly again.

Before Masayoshi Son had time to process the emotion of his generals abandoning him, he saw Kazuhiro Kogure walk out of the office and someone else walk in right after him. His initial bewilderment gradually turned into shock, and finally into suppressed anger.

Could it be that Nishi Kazuhiko received investment from the Mori Group, founded by the "King of Japanese Real Estate" Taikichiro Mori, which made them feel that SoftBank was finished?
Or were they frightened by the news in the newspaper that "Kazuhiko Nishi will team up with Bill Gates to integrate Japanese software with Microsoft"?
Or maybe they feel they are no longer able to solve the huge debt of 10 billion owed by SoftBank?
At this moment, he felt dizzy and staggered to the sofa, then collapsed as if he had lost strength.

As the sun sets, rays of afterglow shine through the window onto his face.

But Masayoshi Son did not feel a trace of warmth. Instead, he felt a chill, and everything in front of his eyes was dark. A trace of gloom rose in his heart.

I lay there like this until the end of get off work.

No one stayed outside to work overtime, and they all packed up and left quickly, leaving the huge office area empty.

At this moment, the sound of a phone ringing in the office woke Masayoshi Son up.

Although he looked haggard, he pretended to be full of energy when answering the phone.

"President Yasumoto, I'm the vice president of Kadokawa Shoten, Kadokawa Koyomi."

After hearing this, Masayoshi Son's heart skipped a beat, especially when he heard that he wanted to invite him to chat in the evening, his depressed spirit immediately perked up.

Sure enough, the road is boundless!
For a large-scale chain bookstore like Kadokawa Bookstore, if it could take over the software magazine and product business, it would definitely be a huge order. Even if it cannot solve the 10 billion yen debt crisis in one go, it can at least solve the urgent problem.

In addition, Japan has cut interest rates, and banks are willing to provide loans to companies. SoftBank can use this to get through the current difficulties! Thinking of this, Masayoshi Son's mouth couldn't help but rise, and he said "Hi, Hi" for a while before hanging up the phone in ecstasy.

His previously heavy steps began to become light. He first walked to the bathroom in the company and saw that his face in the mirror looked very bad.

He washed his face and then smiled at the mirror. His little eyes narrowed up and he looked very friendly.

Then he tidied his clothes, went back to the office, picked up his bag, and set off quickly. Kadokawa Kojihiko was his life-saving straw!

………………

"Mr. Fangyan, someone has already made an appointment for you."

After the signing event for "Love Letter", Kadokawa Leyuhiko talked to Kadokawa Haruki again about the future of Kadokawa Shoten.

As expected, the two brothers had a big fight over their different business philosophies. In the end, Kadokawa Lehiko made up his mind to accept Fangyan's proposal and led the core members of the subsidiary who were also frustrated to leave, set up their own business, and founded the two-dimensional library.

However, before leaving, I have to do my last bit for Kadokawa. I will wait until I get the publishing contract for "Norwegian Wood" and the filming of "Love Letter" officially starts before announcing my "retirement". During this period, I will also register the publishing house and bookstore, select a location, and recruit people...

"It's troublesome."

Fang Yan glanced at his watch and said, "It's almost time, let's set off now."

Kadokawa Koyomi nodded: "But I still don't understand. Aren't we going to run a library and bookstore? Magazines about computers and software don't seem to have anything to do with it. If we sell software on consignment, do we have to offer this kind of product in our bookstore in the future?"

"What are the main functions of software nowadays?" Fangyan smiled. "The main function of software nowadays is games! Aren't the people who come to bookstores to buy novels and comics mostly young people? Wouldn't it be more attractive if there were one more product category?"

"I certainly hadn't thought of that."

Kadokawa Koyomi's eyes lit up. Since they were running a library, in addition to light novels, they would naturally also involve novels adapted from animation, comics, and games.

Afterwards, the two came to the Japanese restaurant where they had agreed to meet with Masayoshi Son, and saw that Son had arrived earlier and was already kneeling on the cushion.

"Vice President Kadokawa! This is...the dialect teacher?"

"It's me."

Fangyan took the opportunity to greet him and looked him up and down.
There is no sign on his face that SoftBank is facing internal and external troubles. Could it be that the internal troubles have been solved? Or has the external trouble not yet emerged?

This is impossible. Even if the internal employees' job-hopping does not cause any serious damage to SoftBank, the huge debt of 10 billion yen is not so easy to solve.

"Nice to meet you."

After shaking hands, Masayoshi Son hurriedly took out two business cards and handed them over.

Kadokawa Leyi took it and said, "I've heard of Mr. Matsumoto's reputation as a 'monster businessman' for a long time. In just a few years, he has become the strongest in the Japanese software industry. If Mr. Matsumoto hadn't unfortunately fallen ill, the development in the past two years would have been even faster."

Fang Yan said meaningfully: "Yes, I heard that you just recovered from a serious illness. I didn't expect you to return to the front line so soon. Are you so busy?"

"I have no choice but to take on the responsibilities of the president again. There is a lot of work to do and too much business."

Masayoshi Son still couldn't understand why a great writer like Fangyan was here and why he was invited by Kadokawa Lehiko at the same time.

After suppressing my curiosity and ordering the food, I immediately got into work mode and started to explore Kadokawa Koyomi:

"Personal computers will become a popular new product in the world within the next five years, and every household will have one..."

"SoftBank is the largest software distributor in Japan. It is a wise decision for Vice President Kadokawa to choose us!"

"President Matsumoto misunderstood. We didn't ask you to come here this time to purchase software products for Kadokawa Shoten."

Kadokawa Toshihiko interrupted with a smile.

In an instant, a basin of cold water was poured from Masayoshi Son's head to his feet. His fiery enthusiasm was extinguished and the smile on his face froze.

Kadokawa Lehiko told a little lie and did not say that he and Fangyan had teamed up to create a two-dimensional library brand.

Instead, this two-dimensional library is described as a sub-brand of Kadokawa Shoten, and Fangyan is the hired consultant and deputy editor-in-chief.

That's it!

Masayoshi Son suddenly realized that it was no wonder that dialects appeared here, but he soon became puzzled as to why Kadokawa Shoten got involved in the two-dimensional world?
Isn't Kadokawa Shoten's main focus on movies? Why did it suddenly make a brilliant turn and start making animation and light novels?
But no matter what, hope has been rekindled. After all, this two-dimensional library is also a joint-stock company.

As long as it is a joint-stock company, the capital required is higher than that of a limited liability company.

And they regard it as a test for Kadokawa Bookstore. If the cooperation with SoftBank goes smoothly, it is possible that Kadokawa Bookstore, one of the giants in the Japanese publishing industry, will purchase software products in large quantities for its own chain bookstores.

Thinking of this, Masayoshi Son asked anxiously, "So, what is the name of the library you run? How many business outlets do you have? How many copies of software are expected to be purchased per year?"

When Kadokawa Kojihiko heard these three questions, he didn't know whether he should answer truthfully.

In fact, let alone the first store, even the location of the library office has not been chosen yet, which makes him not know how to start.

The dialect was different. He said shamelessly:

“We have just finished selecting a location for our first store, but we will definitely become one of the largest bunko brands in Japan in the future!”

Masayoshi Son was stunned for a moment. Why did this feel... a little familiar?
It seemed like the scene when he had just founded SoftBank and was negotiating with Hudson and Shangxin Motor.

He clearly has nothing, but he acts so confidently. Could it be because he has the shade of Kadokawa Shoten?
Fangyan smiled without saying anything, having caught the obvious disappointment in Son Masayoshi's eyes just now.

It was obvious that he came here with hope, hoping to get a large number of orders from Kadokawa Shoten, so when he heard Fang Yan directly say that they were just starting out, he couldn't help but reveal a look of disappointment. It seemed that there was a big problem within SoftBank.

Otherwise, Masayoshi Son, who has taken a fancy to Jack Ma, would not have made such a strong guy feel desperate and try all kinds of methods.

"Cough cough!"

Kadokawa Lehiko felt a little embarrassed by Son Masayoshi's stunned expression. He coughed a few times and said with reservation that Fang Yan was not only the deputy editor-in-chief and consultant of the library, but also the stock owner, that is, the "shareholder", and the amount of investment was no less than 1 million yen.

One hundred million yen!
After these words were spoken, Masayoshi Son refreshed his impression of Fang Yan. This great writer from China is really too rich!
Perhaps, he is the lifeline for himself and SoftBank? (End of this chapter)