Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

Xiuming silently hung up the phone. He had given too much... His brother, who was with him, hadn't been discharged from the hospital yet.

This kid is just pretending to be respectful.

I must have been resentful when I used a big spoon to scoop out his bird, but he's quite conscientious and follows the rules when it comes to his work.

Yoko is a really good boss; she knows how to educate her subordinates.

Hideaki rode in Ichiro Shiraishi's taxi and toured each branch.

There are a total of ten branches, and the renovation is progressing smoothly.

I bought two stores myself: one is the Kayabacho branch in Chuo Ward, and the other is near the Akihabara Electric Town in Chiyoda Ward.

The other seven stores belong to Ezaki's "Yamagaigumi" (山合組). Let them be renovated for now! We'll buy them at a high price when Ezaki returns. If she's not stupid, she should agree. After all, they're the "organization's" properties, all for making money, and given her close relationship with them, it's worth paying a high price.

While visiting the Kayabacho branch, I also stopped by the financial district and checked the Nikkei 225 futures index again at the stock exchange. It was truly a windfall.

After turning down another high-end salon that had nothing to do with his current business, Xiuming took a golf membership card and got into a taxi.

As Shiraishi Ichiro drove his taxi, he kept glancing at Hideaki's membership card with a look of envy and disdain. It was truly awful.

“Mr. Shiraishi, if you would like to give me a compliment, I will give you this priceless golf membership card that represents your noble status.”

Ichiro Shiraishi's eyes darted around, a conflicted look flashing across them. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Really?"

"Authentic." Xiuming placed the membership card under the windshield.

“My conscience won’t allow it,” Shiraishi Ichiro said, his lips moving firmly. “We’ve arrived. Please pay the bill and get out of the car.”

The taxi came to a smooth stop in front of the supermarket, where Ai Iijima was sitting on the steps, playing a game with her head down.

"I appreciate your honesty. Consider this card as payment for the ride!"

Xiuming opened the door and got out of the car. As soon as he closed the door, the taxi driver sped away as if afraid he would change his mind.

Hideaki walked over to Ai Iijima and glanced down at the game console in her hand. It was a Nintendo Game Boy handheld, playing Tetris.

Chapter 148 Game Development Company

"Why are you playing games here? Aren't you dating Mizuhara anymore?"

Xiuming casually kicked her to make her move, then lifted the roller shutter and walked into the supermarket.

“He’s too busy to play with me,” Ai Iijima shifted her position, sitting on the other side while still engrossed in her handheld game, and continued, “You should do something about that guy named Shota! He discriminates against me, finds me annoying, and says I’m disturbing their work. He’s playing a really fun new game, but he won’t let me play it. You should hire more staff; I feel like the people upstairs are acting weird…”

Ai Iijima especially noticed that the other four people who were with Mizuhara were looking at her very strangely, making her feel uncomfortable all over and unwilling to continue trying to curry favor with Mizuhara.

Of course, Shota's attitude was the worst and most appalling. He even said he would complain to Hideaki and suggest that a different man deliver the food.

"A large group of people will be coming tomorrow, at least twenty men. You can choose them with your eyes wide open!"

This company is acting like a huge social gathering. Has Shota, who dreams of going to a bubble bath parlor, grown to the point of hating women?

However, the new game that Ai Iijima mentioned should be the demo version of the overly chuunibyou-esque arcade game "Tokorō Ranbu: Sangoku Heroes". Is it really only a matter of two or three days to make? It should take at least a week. I'll go check it out.

The acquisition of exclusive image rights for Shota hasn't been finalized yet, since he hasn't gone downstairs to inform him or made a phone call.

"Are you coming in?" Xiuming gestured towards the supermarket and asked, then said, "If you're not coming in, I'll close the door and go upstairs to check."

"Go ahead! I'll sit by the roadside and experience the loneliness of heartbreak."

“Oh, you’ve become a cultured person,” Hideaki pulled the shutter down again, ruffled Ai Iijima’s hair, and continued, “Publish an autobiography sometime! I’ll be your first fan.”

She once published an autobiography titled "My Years as an Adult Film Actress," but it seems unlikely she'll do that in the future, since very few women willingly enter that industry... However, the other four are all retired adult film actresses. Will she publish a book called "My Four Adult Film Actress Friends," continuing to reveal the tragic aspects of the adult film industry?

She's better suited for variety shows; it's a waste of her talent to be here...

Xiuming took the elevator to the 28th floor.

It is, after all, a high-end office building, with eight elevators arranged in a 4:4 configuration, located in the middle of the building.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, the bright white floor tiles reflected the ceiling lights like a mirror.

Upon exiting the elevator, there were automatic glass doors on both the left and right sides, which were not yet powered on and remained open.

To the right, behind the white marble-style reception desk, is the technological blue lettering of "Future Corporation".

On the left, behind the glass door, the layout suggests two companies sharing the same marble-style reception desk.

On one side is the emerald green "Miyamoto Co., Ltd." lettering, and on the other side is the same size black "Ezaki Co., Ltd." lettering.

It seems like Ezaki orchestrated this remotely; it's like she's determined to tie Riko to the wall. But she did a really good job.

Yoko is very thoughtful and makes things easy for me.

It's still under renovation, and there are construction workers coming and going all the time.

Of course, several software talents from the game development company are still inside.

I've moved to a new studio; it's no longer a simple, unfinished place, and now I even have air conditioning.

The work area is bright and spacious. Supermarket employees who deliver meals downstairs can clean up leftover food containers, trash, and beverage bottles at any time.

The property management is also having a tough time. They don't have many employees left, only two experienced plumbers and electricians to keep things going, and they don't even have cleaning staff.

The rent in this building is expensive, and too many companies have gone out of business or moved away.

Shota was also at the company, playing games with two game testers. His eyes were more excited than any of the technicians.

"Shota, how are the talks with the 'Records of the Three Kingdoms' side going?" Hideaki asked.

"Huh?" Shota seemed to still be immersed in the game. He instinctively looked up, then jumped up and ran to his desk. He took out a copyright acquisition agreement from his drawer and ran back over, his face beaming with excitement. "President, I've got it done! It'll save our company 250 million yen!"

Shota has already acquired the copyright to the game character's image.

When he went to negotiate, he made a box for himself based on Hideaki's business card, and also brought along the company brochure that Hideaki had carefully made. Finally, he even gave himself the title of "Executive Director".

He primarily assists the president in managing the company's overall operations; besides Hideaki, he's the most important person there.

The purchase price was 750 million yen, which is a significant saving compared to the expected 1000 million yen.

Although he wasn't a technically skilled developer—even though he participated in the development of the Fatal Fury game, he was still fired by SNK—he was a skilled negotiator, quick-witted, one of the first "awakened" men of the new era, and seemed to have good management abilities as well.

“Of this 250 million yen, 50 yen is your bonus,” Hideaki gestured to Shota, then to the others, and continued, “The remaining 200 million yen can be split equally among the twelve of you! It will be paid in cash, no tax.”

Saving 250 million yen is hardly worth it compared to the billions of yen one can rake in from the stock market in half a day.

"Long live the president!"

Shota suddenly yelled, almost startling Hideaki. The others looked up in bewilderment. Although they all had the typical dull look of otaku, there was still a lot of light in their eyes. They also shouted softly along with Shota.

The demo version has indeed been completed and is now in the testing phase. After finding and fixing some bugs, we can then use it to market to platform providers.

The previous plan was for Hideaki to draft a proposal and approach platform providers to promote the game. The three companies he chose were CAPCOM, SNK, and Sega, all of which have strength and market presence in the arcade game business.

Hideaki hadn't finished drafting the proposal yet, but Shota had provided one, which Hideaki carefully reviewed and found to be quite good.

"Shota, keep negotiating with these platforms! If the position of executive director isn't enough, I'll give you the position of vice president."

"Thank you for recognizing my talent, President. I will follow you as Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei!"

Shota collapsed to his knees with a thud.

So cheesy...

Afterwards, I briefly discussed the details of game development with the technical staff, and then it was time for dinner.

Ai Iijima came up with a dark expression, carrying a bento box. She didn't say anything, put the box down, and left.

“Oh, right, President,” Shota tore open the can of coffee, then continued, “As the saying goes, ‘honest advice is hard to hear but beneficial,’ and I, as Zhuge Liang, am like…”

"Spit it out already," Xiuming said impatiently.

“Let’s get a man to deliver the food! Women are too much of a distraction from the work.” Shota pointed towards the workbench. “Look at Mizuhara and the other four. Ever since Ai Iijima came over this morning, I don’t know what she talked to them about, they seem to have developed depression.”

"We should be talking about the company's employee housing policy..."

Xiuming then briefly explained the welfare housing system.

Shota's mouth hung open for a long moment before he said, "Many of my former colleagues at SNK can't afford to buy a house..."

"You can ask them if they want to switch jobs. We have no shortage of game projects here. You can manage as many people as you bring in. If you have time, also check on Satoshi Tajiri's side and ask them what they've thought about it. Our company has plenty of office space, and they're welcome to move in anytime..."

As Xiuming spoke, he casually picked up the attendance sheet that Shota had printed out on his desk.

上班时间都在6~7点，下班时间不等，在晚上10点~11点，有的是凌晨1~3点才走。

Of course, the few who live here just wake up and get to work, sleep when they get tired, and then continue working when they wake up.

Are you crazy?! Aren't you afraid of dying suddenly?

They were having a good chat when Xiuming saw the attendance sheet and the working hours, and he was disgusted. He tore up the attendance sheet and shouted, "It's time to leave work now! From now on, we leave work at five o'clock sharp. No more overtime. Anyone who works overtime without permission will have their pay docked. I don't need your self-righteous overtime work."

Nowadays, the meaning of Xiuming starting a company has long since shifted from making money to experiencing life.

After all, the stock market makes money too quickly.

As his own game development company, making money is naturally a must, but it must be done according to his own will. If he says he will make 100 million within a specified time, then he will make 100 million.

Those who work overtime without permission are disrupting their own earning rhythm. Do they need the little bit of money they earn from working overtime?

In Xiuming's eyes, this was like a beggar cutting a piece of flesh from his leg and handing it to a kind person distributing porridge, saying, "You eat it, I'm not hungry..."

Xiuming didn't ask them to work overtime, but they did it on their own, and even worked overtime like crazy. It's just wishful thinking and maliciously showing their loyalty.

If someone dies suddenly, who is responsible?

What have some people turned migrant workers into?

The donkey pulling the millstone has to wear a harness around its neck, and the oxen plowing the fields have to be led. Look at these migrant workers, harnessing themselves and plowing the fields themselves…

Before the company starts making a profit, let's educate the employees first.

Once the company officially launches, they will only be allowed to work 6 hours a day.

Zero tolerance for those who maliciously work overtime! Strict crackdown! Absolutely no leniency!

Work hours per week cannot exceed 36 hours; those who exceed this limit will be severely punished!

Annual leave must be no less than 40 days. If you dare to work even one more day, you will be fired!

Establish an employee emotional support subsidy.

For example, if someone is heartbroken, give them some money as a form of condolence.

If someone is getting married, a red envelope is given out, and all employees attend.