Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"Oh? My unfilial daughter, you even told you this? It seems you two have a close relationship," Esaki Kairyu's tone remained calm. "Then tell me your account number!"

Senior Jielong readily agreed and instructed that he must tell him in detail how "considerable" it was in the afternoon. At the same time, he also took out 1 million yen of his own money and transferred it to Xiuming's account.

He said he decided to test the young man's abilities out of trust in his daughter.

He's probably in a very dire situation.

Jiang Qi wanted her father to go to jail for a while, but as a bank manager, with his connections, as long as he plugged the hole, there wouldn't be any major problems.

Speaking of bringing people into the car, Hideaki suddenly thought of Ayako's brother, Mr. Miyamoto, who really liked to spend money at the bubble bath shop "on public funds".

It was just a casual phone call; I briefly informed them about the Nikkei 225 futures I was buying.

Miyamoto didn't believe it, so Hideaki sent him an invitation to switch jobs and become a full-time logistics driver for Miyamoto Supermarket. He said that this part-time job was good, and Hideaki didn't say anything more before hanging up the phone.

By this time, Riko had already finished holding a morning meeting with the employees and assigned Ai Iijima, who seemed rather clever, to take the "Management Manual" to the print shop.

Afterwards, following the work process she had recorded the night before, Riko took her personal information and rushed to the Shinjuku Ward Legal Department to register "Miyamoto 100 Yen Supermarket" as "Miyamoto Co., Ltd.", with Riko still as the president.

As for the company address, since Xiuming decided to buy the entire financial building across the street next month, he decided not to waste rent for the time being and wrote down a small cubicle on the 28th floor.

With Riko gone, Eri sneaked back into the bedroom to draw comics, leaving Chieko to take charge at the supermarket.

Chieko quickly found her niche and selected Hitomi Shiraishi, who had the air of an intellectual teacher, to teach her how to operate the cash register and create spreadsheets. The others recited the "Management Manual" while recording and arranging the goods on the shelves.

Chapter 124 I Thank Her for Her Favor

At 7:50, a gray minivan pulled up in front of the supermarket, and then the door opened, and eight people got out—three men and five women.

Hideaki immediately recognized the young man in the front, who was walking with his legs apart and wearing a black suit. His name was Daisuke, a loyal follower of Ezaki, who once boasted that even if he became a woman, he would not betray Boss Yoko.

As Xiuming walked out of the supermarket, Daisuke beckoned to five women in business suits who lined up in a row. They were between twenty and forty years old, their faces were pale, and they looked uneasy.

The other two young men in black suits, holding steel pipes, stared menacingly at the group, exuding an imposing aura.

“Mr. Yamanaka,” Daisuke seemed to have forgotten the past grievances, his expression very solemn. He bowed to Hideaki at a forty-five-degree angle and handed him a stack of white A4 papers with both hands. “I have brought you professional staff as instructed by Boss Yoko. These are their job application materials. If you are not satisfied, I can go and get another batch.”

Xiuming took the documents and asked in surprise, "Arrest?"

"I misspoke. They were all volunteers," Daisuke said, then turned around abruptly and asked, "Tell President Yamanaka whether they were volunteers or not?"

“Yes, yes, yes…” the five women said, their lips trembling, “It was voluntary.”

Xiuming frowned, but since he hadn't figured out the situation yet, he refrained from commenting for the time being and then flipped through their personal profiles one by one.

All five of them were in debt.

Some were paying off their husbands' debts, some were paying off their family members' debts, and some were paying off their own personal debts.

The amounts varied, ranging from one million yen to two million yen, with the largest being thirty million yen.

In the work experience section, all applicants have worked in supermarkets, and their salary and benefits during their employment are also listed.

They are all currently unemployed. The reasons for leaving their jobs are as follows: some supermarkets went bankrupt, some were sexually harassed by their bosses, some went home to get married, and some were laid off.

The highest-ranking woman, 36-year-old Ms. Sakai, is a regional manager at a large supermarket. She owes 30 million yen and took out a loan from Matsuba Bank last year to buy her first house.

Then, the developer only built one gate to the community before suddenly going bankrupt, liquidating, and going into bankruptcy... Anyway, although her house was gone, it had nothing to do with Matsuba Bank, and she still had to repay the loan.

Ms. Sakai was dismissed that evening for refusing a drinking party arranged by her boss yesterday.

This morning, when I was getting ready to look for a job, Dazhu and his men called me into a van.

“Mr. Yamanaka, I strictly adhered to the bottom line of the law and did not coerce anyone in any way, so please rest assured!” Daisuke leaned slightly closer to Hideaki, lowered his voice a little, and continued, “Recently, Boss Yoko’s focus is on foreign trade, and she doesn’t have the energy to deal with other sex industries for the time being. However, there are too many unemployed and indebted people, so she asked me to select some capable and innocent ordinary people to send here… Half of their wages will be used to pay off their debts, and more will be sent here later…”

Although it's no longer usury, and the interest rate has been reduced to within the legally stipulated range, it's still the maximum allowed.

Xiuming nodded, indicating that he understood.

Ezaki desperately wanted her organization to completely turn white, and Yamaha Foreign Trade was the focus of her future development, while Miyamoto 100-yen supermarket was the sales terminal that Yamaha Foreign Trade connected with.

If future financing issues arise, her Shanhe Foreign Trade business, with its underworld connections, will find it difficult to secure funding. In contrast, the clean and legitimate Miyamoto 100-yen supermarket, a physical business, could help her raise substantial funds.

She certainly wouldn't make a mistake on this core business.

Now that she's sent these people here, it means she's confident she won't cause any trouble.

Then we'll accept it completely.

Looking at it this way, the salary and benefits on my end are much better than what they received before, which has really helped them.

“Mr. Yamanaka, this is the information on the shops that Boss Yoko sent to you,” Daisuke said, handing over a stack of A4 papers, about a dozen pages. “These shops are in the best locations and have already been transferred to our organization. You can use them as you please. Of course, Boss Yoko said you will need to pay rent. As for the price, she will discuss it with you in person…”

Hideaki was taken aback. Ezaki was really reliable... He then took the documents and said, "I'll call her later and thank her in person... Your boss Yoko is really great."

“You don’t need to tell me. After all, you’re our boss Yoko’s man. Our boss said you deserve to be pampered… uh,” Daisuke’s face stiffened, and he bowed ninety degrees. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave…”

Hideaki was taken aback again. Was the Ezaki in front of him the same as the Ezaki behind him?

I was going to ask her about it, but then I thought about it again and realized it wasn't a big deal. I'd let her make up whatever she wanted and let her spoil her.

Let's see how she handles things once she gets herself into a situation where she has no way out, like Chenghua.

Daisuke seemed to realize he had said the wrong thing, or perhaps he thought that such words would make Hideaki lose face, so he quickly left his "big brother" number, saying that he could contact him anytime if anything happened, and then called his two underlings and drove off in the van.

The remaining five "debt-paying group" seemed to know what kind of work they would be doing, and although they were still cautious, they were no longer as apprehensive as when they first got off the bus.

These five are far superior to those five AV actresses; at least they can all operate cash registers, and Ms. Sakai can even operate a computer and create spreadsheets.

With so many employees suddenly arriving, the small supermarket is almost overflowing. We need to upgrade the store and open branches as soon as possible.

The current supermarket has a total area of ​​100 square meters, which Ayako rented for 500 million yen, and there are still two years left on the contract.

Currently, the rent for similar-sized shops that haven't been rented out yet, located next to the supermarket, has dropped to 400 million yen, and it will continue to decrease.

The current market sentiment is sluggish, and anyone with a brain knows that prices will continue to fall.

Having the advantage of foresight also comes with its pain. Knowing that leasing or buying now would result in significant losses, but the entrepreneurial opportunity waits for no one. —The 100-yuan supermarket must expand rapidly.

Should we buy it or continue leasing it?

Xiuming pondered for a second, then decided to buy it.

This is a prime location in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku Ward. To the south, across the street, is Shinjuku Central Park, and to the north is the newly built Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which will soon be occupied.

Although to the west, separated from the residential area, was an unfinished building complex slated to become a commercial office area, it was gradually built up over the next few years after changing hands several times.

By acquiring permanent ownership of a prime location, the property is a one-time investment, and the future "site costs" are almost zero. This provides a natural cost advantage when engaging in long-term price wars with competitors.

Assets will definitely shrink in the future, but this can be ignored, since the stock market is there to support them and they are not short of money at all.

You can even buy it outright and then mortgage it to a bank, using the low-interest loan as a form of financing leverage.

Mature capitalists use bank money to do business.

Hideaki had Ms. Sakai stand at the cashier's counter, leaving Chieko free.

Hideaki led Chieko to the shop next to the supermarket on the right side, next to the shop with the roller shutter door closed.

Hideaki asked, "Is Eri still drawing manga inside?"

"Probably. She went in after the morning meeting and hasn't come out since." Chieko noticed that Hideaki's expression wasn't good and asked softly, "Should I call her out?"

"Ignore her, Riko will be back soon, kick her out."

Hideaki wrote down the contact number on the roller shutter door, then led Chieko past the supermarket entrance to the corner next to the glass curtain wall, next to the roller shutter door that was advertised for rent, and continued to write down the phone number on it.

"Huh?" Chieko was stunned, stealing a glance at Hideaki's face, and said cautiously, "She, isn't she your woman?"

"How could she possibly be mine?" Xiuming got goosebumps, her expression righteous. "A living, breathing person can't be said to belong to anyone else. This is a serious objectification of women, and you'll be punished by heaven. She is free!"

“But…but…” Chieko closed her eyes, scratched her toes, and said with shame, “She said that you slept with her the night before last, and she is yours now.”

"She's talking nonsense."

Although I climbed into Eri's bed the night before last and cuddled with her to sleep, there was no "real" behavior. In fact, I was even woken up by her dawdling and lewd behavior.

Her spreading rumors surprised Xiuming somewhat. If it weren't for the fact that accusing her of indecent assault was ineffective, he would definitely have tried to sue her.

Don't say it didn't happen. Even if it did, it doesn't mean anyone belongs to anyone else. Those who should be kicked out should be kicked out.

However, Chieko's thinking was a bit off, so I gave her a lesson.

Xiuming asked, "Are you my woman?"

Chieko's eyes widened in surprise, and she froze as if struck by a spell. Her oval face flushed red, she quickly licked her lips with her pink tongue, swallowed, and, with trembling eyelashes, said in a trembling voice, "Yes?"

"No."

“Yes…” Chieko remained motionless, her voice tinged with grievance.

Xiuming earnestly advised, "You can't assume you're mine just because we've slept together. Isn't it mutual?"

After all, it was consensual for both parties; neither party took advantage of the other...

"Could it be..." Chieko covered her mouth with her trembling hand, her eyes filled with a joyful, tearful surprise, "You're my man, aren't you?"

"If you say so, then it is!"

Xiuming was speechless. Giving her the answer directly was not as good as letting her figure it out herself, but she was in a state of high excitement and couldn't say anything.

A disastrous teaching experience...

She then wrote down the phone number on the roller shutter, tore the paper off, and said, "Even if I am your man, if you don't work hard for me, you will lose me."

"No..." Chieko lowered her eyes, looking both aggrieved and amused, and snuggled closer to Hideaki's chest, whispering, "I'll work hard..."

"Alright! Now it's your time to shine," Xiuming said, handing her the phone numbers of the two shop owners he had written down, as well as the phone number of the current tenant, and explaining the purchase details. He then continued...

"Use a notebook to write down what Eri did this morning. I saw her take a can of coffee last night and drink it without paying, so write that down too. I reckon when Riko fires her, she'll be begging for forgiveness, so you'll just kick her while she's down and not make things difficult for Riko. Can you do that?"

"Huh? You're going to expel her?" Chieko's mouth opened slightly, her eyes showing difficulty. "I... I'm very close to Eri..."

"I don't care if you and her are good together or not, is it better than me?"

How can you compare these two things... Chieko whispered, "But... she likes you too."

"Then I thank her for her kindness. What about you? Do you like it?"

Hideaki's overly direct question left Chieko flustered and momentarily dizzy. Instinctively, she lowered her head and only dared to utter a nasal sound: "Mmm..."

"Then I thank you for liking me, but if you don't behave, I'll kick you out too." Xiuming turned and took a step, then suddenly turned back. "Come secretly, don't tell her. If she suddenly becomes diligent, we'll have to wait several more days."

"Okay..." Chieko couldn't help but pound her leg, "How did it turn into you wanting me to leave again..."

Back at the supermarket, Chieko called the landlords and arranged to meet in the afternoon to discuss the sale; the price was attractive.