Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

The store manager, Hoshino Hikaru, was anxiously talking to Riko about something.

Riko's expression was quite calm. She held a black-covered notebook in her hand, writing something as she nodded.

Misako, Hitomi Shiraishi, and Chieko behind her were all holding notebooks and writing something down.

After Xiuming walked across the street to the store entrance, he was given several discount coupons. At that moment, Riko, who was inside the supermarket, closed her notebook and came out with her three assistants.

All four women were wearing black blazers, white shirts, and straight-leg pants, with flat shoes, presumably because they walk a lot and wearing high heels would be too tiring for their calves.

Their solemn expressions and imposing manner led them straight to the Toyota Crown parked at the entrance.

Ichiro Shiraishi became their personal driver. Although he looked at his daughter, Hitomi Shiraishi, with an air of "I don't know her well," there was a smile on his lips.

Hitomi Shiraishi's eyes held a look of disgust, as if she thought, "This is really annoying."

When Hideaki realized that none of the four girls, including Riko, had noticed him, they were all opening the car door and about to get in. Startled, he suddenly felt like he had lost a child, so he quickly took a few steps and waved to them from across the car.

Where are you going next?

"Ah, honey?" Riko's eyes flashed with joy, then flickered again, and she whispered, "Let's go on a store visit and do some research..."

Around noon, Ayako's words had some effect on Riko, namely, "If you call Hideaki, he'll yell at you to death..."

Riko wasn't too worried about being criticized, after all, she had been criticized many times and was almost used to it. The main thing was that she felt that the problem of competition from peers that she was currently facing was a common occurrence, and since it happened frequently, it could only be considered a minor matter.

And Ezaki also seemed to take it all in stride. If I bothered my husband with such a trivial matter, he would be very disappointed. I need to learn how to handle it myself.

"Is it about these flyers?"

Xiuming pointed around and was handed another flyer. How arrogant... He immediately folded the flyer into a paper airplane without changing his expression and said, "Need any help?"

"President Ezaki hopes I can handle this myself... so I can get some experience..."

Riko lowered her head and stammered, not daring to refute Hideaki. She could only bring up Ezaki. However, recalling the situation when she communicated with Ezaki, she realized that it did make her own decision. Wasn't this training her?

Of course, Ezaki's true intention at the time was not to train her at all, but to wait for her to come to him for help, to show off in front of her, to gain her admiration, and to lay the foundation for future dominance.

"Really? Is she that good?"

Hideaki was stunned. He found it hard to agree with Ezaki's purpose. Every time Ezaki looked at him, she had a "I've got you figured out" look in her eyes. Moreover, with her personality, she would never be willing to submit to Riko.

However, regarding Riko's explanation...

Oh dear, Riko has grown up and doesn't need a husband anymore. Oh dear... she's even finding excuses now.

What's wrong with telling the truth? You just wanted to show off, right? If we weren't on the street, I'd definitely give you a piece of my mind and teach you what honesty is.

"Fine, fine, go do your thing!" Xiuming said irritably.

"Okay, husband."

Riko, as if she had no brains and looked as if she had been granted a pardon, got into the car as soon as she finished speaking.

Misako and the other two nodded to Hideaki with smiles in their eyes, then got into the car. A plume of black smoke billowed from the Toyota Crown, slapped Hideaki's trouser leg, and they drove off.

In the rearview mirror of the driver's seat, there was Ichiro Shiraishi's gloating face.

Hikaru Hoshino, who had just seen them off, was still standing at the supermarket entrance.

Xiuming walked straight over and asked, "Have you been headhunted by any supermarket with a high salary?"

“Uh, yes.” After a moment of surprise, Hoshino Hikaru nodded nervously, seemingly taken aback by Hideaki’s directness. Then, he raised his fist and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Yamanaka, I will always be loyal to President Riko.”

"What kind of treatment did they give you?" Xiuming ignored her flattery and continued to ask.

“They offered double pay,” Hoshino Hikaru continued, “but I refused them outright.”

"You're busy."

Xiuming unfolded the paper airplane in his hand and then walked towards the discount supermarket at the end of the street.

They offer double salaries to poach talent, but once they've recruited them, they'll most likely find various reasons to reduce their salaries or fire them.

I took a quick look around at the competing supermarkets, and it turns out they really do offer discounts based on the items on Riko Supermarket's shelves.

They simply designated a section for inexpensive fast-moving consumer goods, creating a "Ten Items a Day, Amazing Deals for 100 Yen" special sale area. The product range largely overlapped with that of Riko Supermarket, but the brands were even better.

It's a complete copy of Riko Supermarket's price tags.

Okay, that's a really good strategy, it's practically a blatant copy, shameless.

Xiu Ming almost laughed.

But it was useless.

Riko's supermarket is located in a prime location and is owned by her, so she doesn't have to worry about rent.

Ezaki's stable, ultra-low-cost supply chain, coupled with Hideaki's daily revenue of several billion yen.

A classic case of overwhelming force.

It can fully leverage its debt-free and low-cost structural advantages to launch a value revolution in this deflationary environment.

The high-consumption habits of the bubble era still exist, but the gradually shrinking assets and continuously declining wages have made more and more people realize that something is wrong.

In such a depressed era, business strategies can be used to directly educate the market, letting consumers know that saving money does not mean lowering their quality of life, redefining what "value" and "consumption philosophy" are, and doing so in a way that is very much in line with the current situation of the masses, which will have a very good sense of identity.

The current period is a transitional phase, shifting from sentiments of "luxury," "face," and "big brands" towards "pragmatism," "stability," and "reasonableness." At the right juncture, values ​​can be easily reshaped.

After browsing around, Hideaki returned to the supermarket and found Hoshino Hikaru.

They produced a job offer on the spot, which included: a salary 30% higher than the industry average, a "lifetime employment" promise, welfare housing, community kindergarten, and other attractive conditions, all highlighted in bold.

"Go print a few copies and put them on the door..."

Xiuming gave a few simple instructions, "If anyone tries to poach you again, ask them if they want to come here and give them a reserve store manager position..."

The promise of "lifetime employment" alone is enough to kill off a large number of people. This is the "iron rice bowl," equivalent to the "lifetime employment" of a state-owned enterprise in a certain region, which has a fatal attraction.

In Japan's current economic climate, more and more companies are turning to "temporary workers" and "contract workers," and this is also the case in some areas. The difficulty of getting a permanent position is increasing at every level, and some companies are even using family ties as a selection criterion, which shows how precious these workers are.

Of course, the media has been publicizing that so-and-so voluntarily gave up a "certain position" to become self-reliant. This is a very small minority. The point is to deliberately reduce its value in the public's perception and blur its preciousness in order to avoid any unpredictable consequences. The point is to make people think: Look, someone has given it up. That's not so great after all!

Regarding the issue of "lifetime employment" for supermarkets, it wouldn't be a bad idea to transfer the older workers to the community as cleaners and gardeners after the welfare housing communities are built in the future...

Chapter 220 Even the Lord's Woman Is Not Acceptable

The weather was nice at four o'clock in the afternoon, with blue skies, white clouds, and warm sunshine... It seems like it's been pretty good for the past few days.

It's already June, and in a few days, the annual rainy season will be here...

Hideaki boarded the train back to Nishi-Shinjuku Central Park and stood near the back door, holding onto the handrail as his thoughts drifted.

The seats were occupied by office workers with blank expressions.

There seemed to be a group of people with briefcases. Whenever they sat down, they would all lay their black briefcases flat on their laps, then put on earphones, sitting upright and looking like they were resting with their eyes closed.

This seems to have become a very popular posture, a way to find peace amidst chaos and gain a moment of rest.

I got off the bus at Shinjuku Central Park and strolled leisurely to the supermarket.

Behind the cashier, Kimiko Matsuzaka, who pioneered the H-cup bust size, was packing goods for an elderly man with gray hair. The old man stared blankly at Kimiko's bust size.

Ji Shizi was busy with her work, wearing a professional smile.

This man, hailed as the "pioneer of the large-cup size in the industry," is 22 years old this year. He will die of illness at home in 2008 when he is 39.

In the future, she will have a rather special and relatively niche marriage pattern that has also sparked public controversy, called "open marriage". In addition to her husband, she will have three partners who are approved by her husband but do not enter into her life.

It basically means, "You can sleep with whoever you want, I don't care about you, and you don't care about me either. Also: loyalty!"

Loyalty means maintaining a marital relationship in the public eye based on preconditions such as voluntariness, honesty, and understanding.

In fact, this type of marriage is quite popular among highly educated and high-income groups, such as those in the entertainment industry, certain circles, and certain social circles. They keep it quite secret, since it's too easy to cause public controversy and could have a bad influence on children...

If it's accidentally exposed by the media and brought to the public eye, it's basically a recipe for divorce. After all, the public doesn't know the specifics; they only know that someone was unfaithful, cheated on someone, or was cuckolded.

However, when acquaintances meet, they will only tease each other with "Oh, you were so careless," or curse together, "Paparazzi deserve to die, they're so annoying."

Such things happen occasionally and secretly in the general public. If they are discovered, but the couple has a deep affection for each other, all they can do is sadly say, "What else can we do? For the sake of the marriage, the children, and the family, of course we have to forgive him/her."

This marriage model is highly controversial and challenging in Japan, as it violates the etiquette and ethics that should be followed under the influence of Confucianism.

It's hard to define right and wrong; there are advantages and disadvantages.

"Kimi-chan, are you tired?"

After the old comrade reluctantly left, Xiuming stood in the old comrade's spot, which indeed offered an excellent view.

Ji Shizi pursed her lips and said, "Compared to Ms. Shiraishi Hitomi, I'm still very relaxed."

She and Shiraishi Hitomi were inseparable... How should I put it, "I was afraid my sister would suffer, and I was also afraid my sister would drive a Land Rover." Now, Shiraishi Hitomi was practically driving a Land Rover, and she always talked about how powerful her Land Rover was.

"Would you like a massage?" Xiuming shrugged.

“Let’s forget it, Miss Ayako will beat me to death,” Kimiko shrugged like Hideaki, then gestured to the massage room and said, “She’s still beating Miss Tachibana, it’s been an hour already.”

She had quietly opened the door during her break, and her impression was: Ayako is so cruel, and Tachibana is so pitiful.

"Really?" Xiuming wanted to go to the massage room to take a nap, so he immediately turned around and walked out the door, heading straight for the building across the street.

Ji Shizi was taken aback and asked, "Mr. Xiuming, aren't you going to go in and stop him?"

"I'm not done with my company's business yet, how can I have time to deal with them?" Xiuming walked without stopping, reached the middle of the road, and shouted without turning her head, "Go ahead and hit them, beat them until their brains are fried..."

The afternoon sun at 4:30 pm shone brightly on the building's revolving glass doors, warm and sunny, exuding the scent of sunshine.

At the property service desk in the lobby on the first floor, there were two female receptionists dressed quite professionally.

In the freight elevator, moving companies come and go; some are closing down and moving out, while others are newly established startups. Construction workers are also busy at work...

The slow, declining stock market reflects the current economic environment, like a chronic, debilitating disease that doesn't knock people down all at once, but slowly erodes assets, gradually destroying market liquidity, opportunities, and the confidence of almost all participants in a frog-boiling manner.

Just like the hundreds of small and micro-sized enterprises in this building, although many have gone bankrupt, many new ones have also been established.

The successive collapses of the economy have caused many business owners who started their businesses with loans to fail to earn enough profits as expected, making it impossible for them to repay their loans and pay salaries. In the end, they can only leave the market with a mountain of debt and amidst the complaints of their employees.

These small companies have an average lifespan of only two to three years.

Countless entrepreneurs are groping for opportunities in the foreseeable economic apocalypse, their confidence shattered time and time again, yet they continue to forge ahead.

Several business cards advertising "microloans" and "consumer loans" were also stuck on the advertising board in the passenger elevator...

It's truly baffling. Ordinary people have very little money left, the overall economy is experiencing deflation, and yet the government is stimulating consumer spending. Where did all the newly printed money go? Did it all go to lending companies...?

In this environment of high national debt, opening a small debt collection company would likely be profitable.