Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

"Hey!" Ayako shouted at Ezaki, suddenly raising her hand to slam it on the table. Ezaki raised an eyebrow, and Ayako slowly lowered her hand to the table, saying loudly, "We're discussing how to deal with malicious competition. What are you doing? Are you watching a show?"

Ezaki ignored Ayako and said to Riko, "Riko-chan, your employees are asking you what to do. You don't want your employees to lose their jobs, do you?"

"Aren't you forcing Riko to decide to be a bad person?!"

Just as Riko was about to speak, Ayako slammed her hand on the table. This time, she was very confident because in her eyes, Ezaki was forcing Riko to be a bad guy, which was equivalent to bullying her, and this was something Hideaki wouldn't allow... Then she said loudly, "What else can we do? They've already come to our door, of course we have to fight back! Immediately print more discount coupons and fill the streets and alleys of Tokyo. My husband has plenty of money, he earns billions in a morning, he can't possibly spend it all. We'll sell at a loss! Let them starve to death first, and after they go bankrupt and all die, we can make back whatever we lost."

"The worst approach, you idiot, you have no brains," Jiang Qi commented leisurely, taking a sip of coffee.

"You!" Ayako wanted to smash her coffee cup, and said angrily, "I believe my husband would definitely do the same thing, I know him."

“He’s a brute too.” Ezaki put down his coffee cup and crossed his arms.

For someone who is not short of money at all, this is the most direct and effective method in their eyes. Not to mention someone like Xiuming who hoards money like it's garbage; as long as he can achieve his goal, he doesn't cherish money at all, and his pursuit is not money at all.

"Um, are these all supermarkets in the vicinity of our area?" Riko asked Chieko.

Chieko nodded.

"Then let's find someone to ask if they're selling the supermarket, and then we can buy it all, how about that?" Riko said softly, "Anyway, my husband does have a lot of money..."

"He's my husband. Watch your words. I haven't allowed you to call him 'husband' yet."

Ayako glanced at the still bewildered Tachibana, secretly relieved. She'd finally gotten to be the main wife; she couldn't let it slip before she even got to enjoy it… Then, back to the main topic, she said…

"You think it's that easy? You think you can just buy them whenever you want? If you try to buy them, they'll either refuse to sell and try to crush you, or they'll demand an exorbitant price, take the money, open more branches next to you, and then wait for you to buy them at a higher price. I've seen plenty of people like that. At least let them see what despair looks like. Do it my way: first, wage a price war, cripple them, then you can show some mercy. At that point, they'll be begging you to buy them, and you won't even need to haggle."

"Doing this is...it's so cruel..." Riko picked up the flyer on the table and crumpled it in her hand. "They'll lose their jobs, they'll be heartbroken...wouldn't it be better to open a shop together..."

“Never mind,” Ayako paused, thinking that Riko was just like that, and that she would keep tolerating her unless she was pushed to the brink… She continued, “If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll allow you to call my husband and ask him, but just so you know, you’ll get a real dressing down from him.”

"I, I..." Riko's eyes lit up with a hint of interest. When Ezaki mentioned being targeted by his colleagues, she instinctively wanted to make a phone call, and she had been secretly considering it as well. But when Ayako mentioned that she would be scolded, she backed down. "I won't make a phone call. I want to figure it out myself..."

"Then think about it! Think about it!"

"Don't make a sound, I'm thinking about it." Riko subconsciously slapped the table.

The news brought by Chieko and Hitomi Shiraishi was indeed quite infuriating.

But if I didn't open a shop there, they wouldn't be targeting me like this... No, I can't think like that. What Ezaki and Ayako said earlier makes a lot of sense.

Right now, I do have responsibilities I must take on. I have over two hundred employees to pay their salaries; they are all struggling families, and many are in debt…

"Haven't you decided yet? Time is running out."

Ezaki tapped the table lightly with his finger, then picked up his coffee cup and blew on it to cool it down. "Once the surrounding residents have stocked up on goods, the supermarket will reopen tomorrow, and no one will go there."

"I need to go and see how serious it is."

Riko stood up and walked towards the door, saying, "Misako-chan, Chieko-chan, Hitomi-chan, let's go."

The four of them left the supermarket with an air of "impressive grandeur".

The room suddenly fell silent.

A bewildered Tachibana was still sitting barefoot on the tatami mat, while Ezaki lowered his head and slowly drank his coffee.

Ayako felt a strange sense of loneliness as the banquet ended. She hadn't even had a chance to enjoy her newfound status as the official wife before it suddenly fell apart.

Moreover, I really envy Riko's career success; she walks with such confidence, followed by three little followers. My career hasn't even taken off yet; I haven't even gotten an office...

"President Ezaki~ Yoko-chan~" Ayako sat down next to Ezaki with a grin, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "We're already pretty close, aren't we?"

Ezaki's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he placed the coffee cup next to Ayako's hand, saying, "The coffee is getting a little cold."

Ayako's smiling face froze, and she turned around and said, "Tachibana-chan, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and pour some coffee."

"Me? I was the one who made you fall," Tachibana put on her shoes, turned and left. "Do we even know each other? This is completely inexplicable."

After Tachibana left, Ayako quickly closed the door, then sat down next to Ezaki, rubbing her hands together and saying with a grin, "Yoko-chan, don't mind. After all, I'm the official wife now, so I have to maintain some dignity. Um, would you like some coffee? I'll go get you some."

"Speak, what is it?" Ezaki glanced at Ayako's grinning face and thought to himself: If you ask her to pour coffee, she'll probably spit in it...

"It's just a small thing...hehe..." Ayako said, rubbing her fingers together. "My embroidery company is opening soon. For decorations and office furniture for your new company, why not consider me? I can customize things to your taste!"

"Oh, it's really just a small matter,"

As he spoke, Ezaki took a pen out of his pocket, casually wrote down the phone number of the company's logistics manager, then stood up and walked towards the door, saying, "I don't care about such trivial matters, just call this number!"

Ezaki's interest plummeted instantly. There was no need for discussion; all Ayako had to do was shamelessly go to the company and say, "I'm very close to Yoko Ezaki; she asked me to arrange the decorations," and she would receive VIP treatment.

The only person left who dares to act recklessly in her name is Kitaro; he'll be sent to prison sooner or later.

"Okay~" Ayako immediately put away the phone and said loudly. After Ezaki left, she spat and said, "I'll put a needle in your cushion and prick your butt... such a perky butt, I'll prick it until it deflates..."

She was also moved by Riko's domineering manner, and took the opportunity to close a deal ahead of time, indulging in the thrill of building a business. She felt no pleasure in it, and was forced to be subservient.

Ezaki is so annoying, she made me pour her coffee? And then she spat in her cup...

The company hasn't started operations yet; they'll have to wait for Xiuming to buy the building so they can move in for free.

Now, should we go and observe Riko, or go and purchase embroidery equipment?

I haven't even spent the 5000 million yen I just swindled from Midori Umezu.

After careful consideration, Ayako decided that since Riko was still entangled with Tachibana, and she and Riko were in a "pretty good" honeymoon period, she should take advantage of the fact that she hadn't fallen out with Riko and quickly secure the decoration business order from her company.

Although with Xiuming's connections, it will definitely fall into my hands, but if I don't take it now, I will feel very frustrated later.

Of course, we don't know where Riko and her people have gone, so we can only continue to wait here.

Eri went to report to the animation department of Hideaki's "Future Game Development Co., Ltd.", while Tachibana sat at a small table in the dining area, holding a resume in her hand, staring blankly at the building across the street.

Ayako sat down next to Tachibana and said with a grin, "Tachibana-chan, why don't you become Riko's secretary..."

"Are you and Hideaki-kun actually married?" Tachibana's eyes were full of suspicion.

The situation just now doesn't seem reasonable at all. Where did the problem lie?

Tachibana racked her brains but could never have imagined that her best friend Riko and Hideaki were husband and wife.

"Would I joke about my own reputation?" Ayako shrugged. "You're ridiculous. You're just being a sour grapes. Shameless."

"Do you even have a reputation?" Tachibana snapped angrily. "Cuckoldry, you pervert..."

Ayako's eyes widened instantly. She pointed towards the massage room and said, "Do you dare come in with me? I challenge you to a duel!"

Tachibana picked up her resume, turned around, and walked away, saying, "I can't be bothered with you... Ugh!"

Ayako instantly grabbed her by the throat and dragged her towards the massage room, saying, "Do you think you're Riko...?"

Riko has just arrived at the Kayabacho store.

Chapter 219 Dimensional Reduction Attack

In Midori Umezu's office at Sanyo Securities.

Based on intelligence gathered at noon, Hideaki once again targeted the Nikkei 225 index, which is currently hovering around 25000 points, but the downward trend is obvious.

His intelligence-based targeting allows him to accurately pinpoint the highest and lowest points during each fluctuation, enabling him to profit without risk.

Since the early 1990s, when the Nikkei 225 index was at its historical peak of over 38000 points, the government proactively burst the bubble, resulting in a crash-like decline. Since then, due to repeated government interventions, there has been no more straight-line declines, but rather a repeated downward fluctuation.

This slow, steady decline is extremely erratic, with weak, small, and short-lived rebounds. It precisely gives people a glimmer of hope, only to immediately follow it with despair.

Often, when the index is at 24000 points, it may suddenly rebound to 25000 points, giving investors hope that it has "bottomed out." After all, it was as high as 30000 points two years ago, and it has already fallen so much that a rebound is due.

But when they tried to buy at the bottom, they were devastated to find that the index had fallen below 23000 points again, hitting a new low. After that, the index consolidated around 22000 points for a long time, giving people a sense of hope that it was resisting the decline. Could this be the real bottom?

Many investors who refused to give up believed that the fundamentals of the Japanese economy remained intact, and that this was merely a correction.

Then investors and institutions kept trying to buy at the bottom, but every time they put money in, the price continued to fall.

"There is no lowest point, only lower," forming a cycle of "falling, consolidating, and falling again." The emotions of ordinary investors gradually collapse. From the initial enthusiasm for buying at the bottom, to doubt, anxiety, and finally despair and numbness, their investment confidence is destroyed time and time again. But often, they just don't learn from their mistakes.

Many experts believe that this is a clever strategy by the government to achieve a soft landing for the economy: those with money should contribute financially to the macroeconomy, and those without money should not be pessimistic.

Thus, this soft landing began at the end of 1990 and continued gently until 2017, when it finally returned to the 25000-point level that started in 1991. This resulted in a 26-year economic slump.

As for the 38000-point level in the early 90s, theoretically, there was no such opportunity. The reason why the economy grew so rapidly at that time was mainly due to the war on the neighboring peninsula.

Japan was a supply depot at the time, with troops from dozens of countries stopping there, creating numerous jobs. Anything produced there was never a problem finding a market, and a baby boom also occurred.

In today's overly complex international situation, it's unlikely that such a windfall will happen again. Of course, if it does happen again, well, never mind.

Returning to the topic, the soft landing of the bubble collapse was accompanied by structural economic problems, such as balance sheet recession, population aging, declining marriage rates, and negative population growth. Of course, from the perspective of government politicians, the most serious issue was the clearing out of the asset bubble after it burst, since it was a matter of political achievements that directly affected their interests.

"Hey, are you just going to leave like that?"

Taking advantage of her position, Midori Umezu nervously carried out some underhanded operations for Hideaki, allowing him to earn an extra 100 million yen. However, Hideaki simply said, "It's unnecessary," and then patted his behind and left.

Umezu Midori suddenly felt like she'd been cheated on. Even though a hug wasn't allowed in the office, a compliment would have been acceptable, right? Or at least some comforting words to give her some confidence…

"What are you still doing here?" Xiuming said as he walked away. "I'm very busy."

Riko's supermarket will open tomorrow, making it the first large-scale low-cost "100-yen supermarket" in Japan, earlier than Daiso.

Leaving aside how many imitators will emerge in the future, right now, there will definitely be some malicious ones. After all, in the increasingly dire economic situation, any entrepreneur is walking on thin ice, anxious and sensitive. If a competitor suddenly appears and tries to take their business, I would also get angry and want to see how Riko handles it and whether she is being bullied.

“I know you’re busy, but… you, you are…” Umezu Midori was too embarrassed to be too direct, so she whispered, “Do you know how much I just paid? If I’m exposed, I’ll lose my job and I might be thrown in jail.”

“I already told you it wasn’t necessary, but you still came,” Xiuming said seriously. “Don’t worry, at most you’ll get a year in prison. Then you can just get pregnant and have a baby every year. Let’s see how they lock you up then.”

"I..." Midori Umezu was speechless. "Wasn't it you who kept hinting at it to me?"

"Really? That's utter nonsense..."

Xiuming opened the door and went straight out, thoughtfully closing the office door behind her.

In Japan, the maximum penalty for insider trading in securities is five years imprisonment, which is only imposed in cases of particularly serious circumstances and significant impact. However, it is still rare to receive the maximum sentence; the maximum penalty is usually around one year.

This small, medium-sized Sanyo Securities is about to go bankrupt in a few years. There are many shady dealings involved. Umezu Midori's actions are just scraps, not even worthy of being used as a scapegoat.

The inside stories involving Nomura Securities and Yamaguchi-gumi are the most explosive.

The Japanese Bridge, spanning a stinking ditch, acts like a sealing barrier, isolating the financial district shrouded in anxiety and repression once crossed.

Kayabacho's shopping street suddenly became lively, with groups of temporary workers handing out flyers and stuffing them into people's hands.

Hideaki thought it was Riko's aggressive advertising campaign for "Miyamoto 100 Yen Supermarket," but he didn't expect that other retailers were getting impatient.

It's not far from the "Miyamoto 100 Yen Department Store," just at one end of the street. They started their sale at 3 PM today, and it'll last for three days—it's practically a shopping spree!

At the entrance of the supermarket, which is preparing to open tomorrow, a lot of people have gathered to hand out flyers, and some are even throwing them at the store entrance.

The supermarket employees all looked quite grim. Some of them went out to chase them away, and were even forced to hand over a discount coupon.