Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 59 Zheng Yi Sets Up Another Hongmen Banquet

After seeing that everyone had come in.

As soon as he stood up, dressed in a black suit, he bowed deeply at a 75-degree angle and said very sincerely:

"I am very sorry and regretful about Mr. Takahashi's suicide."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

"you……"

"But don't worry, the rumors circulating outside are all false. Mr. Takahashi's death has nothing to do with me," Zhengyi said.

It's hard to feel at ease about this.

The group looked at each other, their movements and expressions extremely stiff.

"Why did you call us here?" one of the tall young men asked.

"you are?"

“This is Tomokazu Hashimoto from the Newsroom,” Hashimoto said.

Zheng Yi straightened his suit, gestured for the group to sit down, and then said softly, "My newspaper is going to be distributed in Osaka, so I've entrusted your newsstand to sell my newspaper."

The group exchanged glances and listened to Zheng Yi explain further.

Zheng Yi said, "We are willing to take 10% of the newspaper's price as commission."

Everyone was silent.

They all take 20% to 30% of the price as commission. Is this 10% just to feed beggars?

The fact that they didn't speak up clearly indicated their refusal.

"Is your newspaper published in Tokyo?"

“That’s right.” Zheng Yi nodded.

"Ahem, Mr. Shoichi, we have an exclusive agreement with the Tokyo Daily, so we may not be able to publish in other newspapers in the Tokyo area," someone said.

A 10% commission means there's practically no profit.

Their venue and staff are costs, and with such low commissions, how can they make a profit?

Moreover, I've never heard of Zhengyi having any newspaper, so it's probably not a well-known one. Its sales volume is low, and the strategy of low profit and high volume is not viable.

“I believe those exclusivity agreements can be overcome,” Zheng Yi said.

"No, Mr. Zhengyi, we must abide by the original agreement, otherwise those guys will sue us into bankruptcy."

"Yes, Mr. Zhengyi, you should consider our difficulties."

Seeing that Shoichi's expression was not good, Hashimoto said, "Our news agency, Sosho Shinbun-do, can accept some of your newspapers. However, due to the exclusivity agreement, we cannot accept too many."

Given the Sumitomo name, we still have to give them face.

But the substance is simply not something I can provide.

Everyone needs to earn a living; how can they do a losing business if you don't put a gun to their heads?

Zheng Yi looked at them sincerely, hoping they could give entrepreneurs some preferential treatment.

But these people are cold-blooded and ruthless; at most, we can only agree and treat them the same as Hashimoto.

Zheng Yi was very sad.

Did my unwavering sincerity fail to move these cold-blooded businessmen?

Seeing Zheng Yi's dejected expression, the people from the news store didn't feel the satisfaction of mocking and ridiculing the newcomer; instead, they felt a faint sense of fear.

Although they were all from Osaka, they had also heard of the terrifying legends surrounding Shoichi in Tokyo.

Moreover, the very first thing he mentioned today was the deceased Takahashi, which is quite unsettling.

“I discussed this topic with Mr. Takahashi before.” Shoichi started talking about the deceased Takahashi again.

Zheng Yi said with great regret, "Mr. Takahashi was very welcoming of my newspaper joining us, but unfortunately, he died at my uncle's banquet."

Hashimoto and the others exchanged glances.

Is this a threat?
Zheng Yi added, "It's just a debt of money. If he had talked to me about it, I could have made him pay it back slowly. Why would he commit suicide?"
To prevent his wife and children from being burdened with huge debts, I even funded the purchase of his newsstand, which can be considered a good deed.” Hashimoto’s eyes widened.

Is this really a good deed?
Is it really a good deed to force entrepreneurs to their deaths and acquire other people's businesses at low prices?
It's hard to imagine that such dark business warfare is still so prevalent today.

Everyone felt sad.

"This?" Hashimoto's hands trembled.

He asked softly, "May I ask what the name of your newspaper is?"

“The Justice Daily,” Zheng Yi said with a smile.

This name sounds very righteous.

Those who heard the name exchanged glances, their fear deepening.

Their understanding of Zhengyi comes entirely from the Justice Daily.

Now you're suddenly saying that the Justice Daily is Zhengyi?
"Never mind." Zheng Yi sighed. "Since you don't want my newspaper, I won't force you."

If you don't want it, plenty of others will.

Just like Mr. Takahashi, he didn't want it at first, but now he wants it too, doesn't he?

Zheng Yi suddenly put his finger to his lips and said softly, "Oh~ I misspoke. Mr. Takahashi originally planned to put my newspaper in his store."

Who wouldn't be terrified after such a shocking statement?

At that moment, Zheng stood up, preparing to leave.

"Mr. Shoichi! We haven't even started talking yet, don't rush off." Hashimoto hurriedly blocked Shoichi's way.

Everyone's bringing up that dead Takahashi.

The meaning of this threat is all too clear.

Although he was certain that Zheng Yi wouldn't kill them all, he was still willing to kill a few chickens to intimidate the others.

Wasn't Takahashi already dead?

No one can be sure if they are the chicken that gets killed.

Zheng Yi gently pushed Hashimoto's hand away, looked into his eyes and said, "Then I'll go to the restroom first. You guys think about it yourselves."

Then he left the private room.

After Zheng Yi left, the others fell silent.

After a long silence, a tall woman said, "What do we do now?"

"What can we do? Live or die," someone said dejectedly.

Hashimoto frowned and said, "Mr. Shoichi seems quite kind."

"Being kind my foot! Didn't Takahashi die? Didn't Takahashi's news shop fall into Masakazu's hands?"

“That’s right!” the tall woman chimed in. “And don’t forget, those evil deeds that Zheng Yi committed in Tokyo were all reported by the Justice Daily.”

If these things were false, would they dare to fabricate negative rumors about their own boss? Perhaps what they wrote in the newspapers has already been edited and whitewashed.

It's not impossible that a woman would say that.

But this only made everyone more terrified.

“But a 10% commission is still too little. Not to mention I have an exclusivity agreement with the Tokyo Shimbun, which would incur a penalty,” someone said with difficulty.

"Humph!"

Hashimoto snorted and said to him, "Losing money is much better than losing your life. Don't forget, his personal detective is in Osaka right now."

Hashimoto's words silenced everyone once again.

There's a widespread rumor in Tokyo that the detective Kogoro Mouri seems to die wherever he goes, which defies scientific logic.

Japan has such good public safety, how could there be so many murders and suicides?

It must be that guy Zheng Yi behind it all, eliminating business rivals!

(End of this chapter)