After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

After Ruoye Mu got on the bus, Qingshan had a difficult conversation with her before he finally understood the situation she was facing.

Simply put, she can't go home for the time being and hopes that Aoyama can take her to a nearby 24-hour karaoke bar to spend the night...

Not long after Wakaba Mutsu came out to throw the cucumber, Mori Minami set off for the TV station and booked a hotel for the night.

When Ye Longwen returned home and didn't see Xiao Mu, he assumed his daughter was already in bed and planned to go to sleep as well. However, this comedian had a habit of not having any outsiders in the house when he slept, so he sent the servants away beforehand.

If Ye Mu came out to throw away the cucumbers without her keys, she would know what was going on when she saw the lights go out at home.

In the past, when such things happened, Ruoye Mu would go to a nearby karaoke bar to spend the night and then wait for her servant to come to work the next day to take her in—so she was quite familiar with karaoke bars, and could even sing in a karaoke bar more fluently than when speaking in front of acquaintances.

She wouldn't tell her parents about her terrible experience last night, and the servants naturally wouldn't say a word. Wakaba Takafumi and Mori Minami wouldn't pay any attention to her mental state, and the matter of being locked out quietly passed by.

She had originally intended to do the same today, but Qingshan couldn't just leave her out, so he invited her to stay at his house for the night and would send a car to take her back the next morning.

……

The old house of the Aoyama family was nowhere near as grand as Aoyama Xiang's manor in Toshima Ward.

After all, when Michael Scofield was dismantling conglomerates and securing housing for residents in Japan, he took away a lot of land in places like Chiyoda Ward, Minato Ward, and Chuo Ward. So, living in a Japanese-style manor with thousands of square meters of land in Chiyoda is just a pipe dream. Even for those newly rich in the financial world, the only option in Chiyoda Ward is luxury tower apartments.

The Aoyama family, as loyal retainers of the Tokugawa Shogunate, couldn't stand the expansionist fanatics who rose to power after the Meiji Restoration. But General MacArthur didn't care about that; he was there to break the bones of these arrogant "nobles." What did it matter if they had ancestral property? They were all to be handed over to the Allied Headquarters for unified planning.

Want to live in a mansion? Sure, there's plenty of land in the suburbs... anyway, you rich kids...

Even those from wealthy families don't need to clock in for work every day.

Regardless, Chiyoda Ward is the political and economic center of Japan, and many families who were once wealthy still live there. However, their "mansions" are much smaller than their counterparts in New York's Upper East Side and London's Mayfair.

After parking his car in the first-floor garage, Aoyama got out and headed straight for the elevator.

He was followed by a little tail – Wakaba Mutsu, who had been invited along without really understanding what was going on, and Suzumiya Takumi, who was carrying twenty pounds of cucumbers.

The overall structure of the Aoyama family's old house is very much in the traditional Japanese style. Specifically, apart from the garage, the interior structure on the first floor is almost completely abandoned, and a foundation more than three meters high is built instead—somewhat like a castle tower. The second, third, and fourth floors are the living areas.

But the spacious courtyard is definitely gone; instead, several rings of tall shrubs and two-person-high security bars have been planted around the main building on the second floor.

Aoyama Yuki had already received news that Aoyama Muto was coming back, and was sitting on the sofa in the second-floor living room, sipping whiskey and waiting.

Upon seeing Aoyama enter, Xingying raised her glass to him from afar, saying, "Oh, Aoyama, it's been a long time. And, Takumi, thank you for your hard work."

"Dad, what have you been up to lately...?"

Aoyama wanted to exchange a few polite words with his adoptive father, but as soon as he spoke, he saw his father's eyes widen suddenly, looking behind him with an incredulous expression.

"...This...this...this child, could she be my granddaughter?"

"What are you thinking about?" Qingshan's lips twitched twice, and he said speechlessly, "This child is at least fifteen or sixteen years old, while I just turned thirty this year. I can't possibly become a father when I'm fourteen, can I?"

"...Isn't it reasonable for a fourteen-year-old to become a father?" Whether it was from the whiskey or from the overwhelming excitement of seeing his only son whom he hadn't seen for six months, Aoyama Yukio completely ignored Aoyama Muto's explanation and continued rambling on, "He was inoculated by an older woman and gave birth to a daughter. Then, more than ten years later, his daughter, now in high school, came to claim her as her father, thus beginning a heartwarming and lively father-daughter story..."

"You watch too many TV dramas, don't you? With my current status and position, if I really encountered a daughter coming to claim kinship, the first thing I should consider is whether our family has been targeted by some international fraud gang."

Yes, that's right. Only an international fraud gang would dare to come to the Tokyo governor's house to commit fraud; domestic gangs wouldn't have the guts to do that.

Of course, one must also consider the possibility that political enemies might set a trap for him... Although having illegitimate children is not considered a fatal scandal in Japan (for example, former Tokyo Governor Ishihara had a well-known illegitimate child), using illegitimate children to create scandals and smear public figures is a common tactic. Doesn't the United States often have such cases exposed?

Aoyama Muku didn't want Komugi to continue listening to Aoyama Yuki's nonsense, so he asked Suzumiya Takumi to take her to the next room to rest for a while.

After all, it's getting a bit chilly now. Ruoye Mu has been sitting on the street for two hours in just a single layer of clothing, so there's a good chance she'll catch a cold. It would be best to have the maid at the old house find her a blanket and some hot drinks to help her warm up.

“...But speaking of TV dramas,” the room next door and the living room were separated by bulletproof glass, so Aoyama Yuki could still see Mutsu’s face clearly. “I feel like this child looks familiar, like I’ve seen her on a TV drama before.”

"That's normal, her mother is Minami Mori."

Aoyama sat down on the single sofa and asked the maid for a cup of hot coconut milk infused with vanilla.

"You're having an affair with Senmina?"

"...Dad, watch your mouth. You're the chairman of a conglomerate now, can you please stop using such vulgar language?"

Fortunately, the hot coconut milk was still a bit too hot, so he didn't drink it immediately after getting the cup, otherwise he might have spat it out too.

"Okay... answer my question first."

"Of course not... Minami is much older than me."

"So, this child has nothing to do with you anymore?"

"Of course. If I really had an illegitimate child, you wouldn't even need to ask me; the newspapers would be going crazy over it."

"Then why did you bring her home?"

When Aoyama Yuki saw Mutsu lying on the beanbag chair, covered with a blanket and looking so comfortable she was about to fall asleep, his perpetually straight-male aesthetic sense suddenly went offline. Like many girls who saw Mutsu, he had the thought that "this girl looks as delicate as a rag doll."

"Wait, this child isn't my granddaughter, could she be becoming my daughter-in-law? If she were the daughter of Wakaba Takafumi and Mori Minami, perhaps those stubborn old men in the family could accept it even if they had to hold their noses."

"...Dad, you're starting to listen to their opinions now?"

"I'll joke with Aoyama," he said.

He was too lazy to deal with those people, so he dumped all the family affairs on his father, Aoyama Yukio. But Aoyama Yukio's father had been kicked out by these guys' fathers and didn't treat them well either.

"It buzzes around your ear like a fly every day; you'd be hard-pressed not to get infected too."

"Miss Ruoye's family has run into some trouble and she can't go home for the time being. I've met her once before, and I couldn't bear to see her locked out of her house in this weather, so I brought her along."

Isogachi Music Awards: 059 Which of the three banks to choose?

After Qingshan finished his hot coconut milk, the three pillars of Dongshan Holdings arrived.

Daigo Dojima and Osamu Kashiwagi are both highly capable and have extensive connections in the financial world, making them key figures in Higashiyama Holdings' decision-making circle. Kashiwagi, in particular, has participated in the development of the former Tojo Clan's Okinawa resort and the reconstruction of the Kamurocho Millennium Tower, giving him a good understanding of real estate development. As a result, he was able to quickly assess the prospects and feasibility of the Goi Park project.

As for Taiga Saejima, although he is simple-minded, he always takes the lead in his work and enjoys high prestige among the workers of the construction and shipping companies under Higashiyama Holdings. He also serves as the chairman of the labor union. Therefore, if the Goi Industrial Park project is to be successful, his participation will definitely be indispensable, and his opinion is also very important.

After reviewing the information about the Goi Industrial Park, Dojima and Kashiwagi felt that there was nothing wrong with the project, except that the capital investment was too high. Whether from the perspective of maintaining the company's healthy cash flow or from the perspective of sharing risks, it would be best to take out a bank loan.

Dongshan Holdings first paid upfront, together with Fengchuan Consortium, to acquire the dozen or so plots of land from the original owners with only a small advance payment. Then, using these plots as collateral, they obtained bank loans and used the money to gradually repay the debts owed to the original owners while simultaneously carrying out development.

The National Bank of Japan is currently implementing a negative interest rate policy, resulting in very low loan costs. Coupled with the depreciation of the yen and reduced purchasing power, it is very worthwhile to take out a loan for development now.

The only problem is which bank to partner with.

Dongshan Holdings has been cooperating with the Tokyo Development Bank. If they continue to apply for a loan from them this time, the interest rate will be lower, the loan will be processed through a VIP channel, and there will even be preferential treatment in the use of building materials and engineering facilities. After all, those building materials companies and engineering facilities companies also borrow from the Tokyo Development Bank. It is only natural for the bank to help integrate resources and eliminate communication costs for old customers.

But now Dongshan Holdings and the Suzuki Group have cross-shareholdings, and the Suzuki Group has its own bank, which means...

It's the Hanoi Bank (Hanoi here refers to the ancient Japanese geographical concept of Hanoi Kingdom, and has nothing to do with Vietnam), so why would Dongshan Holdings want a loan from the Tokyo Development Bank? Don't they know the principle of keeping profits within their own borders?

You say the Tokyo Development Bank has low interest rates and fast loan disbursement, but Hanoi Bank can do the same.

You said the Tokyo Development Bank can help integrate resources and reduce costs, but at most they can only connect a few big clients. The Suzuki Group is different; it has all sorts of building materials and engineering companies under its umbrella. Just invite the heads of these companies to the group headquarters, and Dongshan Holdings can directly make its demands to them. If they disagree, the Suzuki Group headquarters will help you persuade them. Isn't that much better than the Tokyo Development Bank, which relies purely on client relationships to negotiate preferential treatment?

The problem is that after Dongshan Holdings and the Suzuki Group cross-shared shares, the Suzuki Group's influence on Dongshan Holdings' board of directors has become quite significant. They have also formed a "Suzuki faction" within the board by bribing managing directors and executive officers. While they cannot yet rival the former Tojo Clan faction led by Aoyama Yukio, or the Wood faction closely associated with Aoyama, they have already gained considerable influence. (The Wood faction refers to Woodbridge Medical Investment Company of Canada, which valued Aoyama's foresight in pharmaceutical investment and his position as a member of the Phnom Penh Development Declaration Organization's International Coordination Conference, establishing a stable cooperative relationship with him. Aoyama holds shares in the company because he possesses a patent for a syphilis treatment. This company is also one of Dongshan Holdings' major shareholders.)

The directors from the former Tojo-kai faction did not want the Suzuki Group's influence within Tojo Holdings to continue to expand, so they did not want to borrow money from Hanoi Bank.

However, such a large development project as the Goi Industrial Complex would definitely require board discussion before it could be implemented. Once the project plan is seen by the managing director representing the Suzuki faction, he will certainly do his utmost to help Hanoi Bank secure this loan opportunity.

So Dojima and Kashiwagi felt very conflicted.

Aoyama had already had this idea in mind.

"The matter with Hanoi Bank is easy to resolve; we can introduce them to provide loans to the Toungcheon Group."

"If Toyokawa Group is willing to do this, that would be great, but they also have banks they have long-term partnerships with, right? Would they accept a loan from Hanoi Bank?"

Kashiwagi had some doubts about this.

Loans for large projects like the Wujing Industrial Park are the kind of big deals that major banks have to fight tooth and nail for.

If Toyokawa Group seeks loans from other banks today, its original long-term partners will most likely break off relations with them, and the two sides may even become enemies as a result.

He had seen this kind of thing many times before, when he helped the chairman of the Tojo Clan with the Okinawa resort project.

"The Toyokawa Group has some internal problems, especially their chairman, Toyokawa Sadaharu, who may be very keen to choose other banks... But I may need some more time to give you an accurate conclusion on the specifics. In short, Osaka Hanoi Bank will not be our primary consideration for lending."

"So, should we also choose to cooperate with the Tokyo Development Bank this time?"

"Yes, but we need to negotiate the loan interest rate, relaxed standards, and other conditions to make them more favorable to us."

"Don't worry, we'll get the loan terms from Hanoi Bank first, and then use those terms to pressure Tokyo Development Bank... They won't want to lose a big client like us, so they might be able to get the interest rate even lower than Hanoi Bank in Osaka."

Kashiwagi Osamu said calmly.

Although he came from the East City Club, he wasn't particularly averse to this kind of unfair price-cutting behavior.

Even Daigo Dojima has a history of using despicable means to strengthen the Tojo Clan.

It was precisely because these two were not so conservative that they were able to quickly realize the fact that the Japanese underworld had come to an end after the East City Gang disbanded, and then turn to play a role in the business world.

If it were Kiryu Kazuma here, even if he didn't outwardly express his opposition, he would definitely have mentally rejected this action.

The four of them had finished discussing the loan bank (mainly Aoyama and Kashiwagi, while Aoyama and Dojima didn't say much during the process), and were just about to change the subject when Saejima Taiga suddenly interjected, "Kashiwagi-nii, Aoyama-nii, Dojima-nii, and Aoyama, how about adding another alternative?"

"Ok?"

Aoyama turned to look at him with some surprise.

"Does Uncle Saejima have any thoughts?"

"Tokyo Central Bank. A friend of mine had a family business that was almost bankrupt due to market fluctuations and poor investment. A head of the financing department at Tokyo Central Bank made an exception and provided him with an unsecured loan of 3000 million yen, helping him out of his predicament. In the past, I only thought that bankers were inhuman profit-driven machines, but this incident changed my mind. At least Tokyo Central Bank still has some humanity."

Is it because you feel the other party is humane that you want to give them a chance to sign a large contract?

Having this kind of thought is quite in line with Taiga Saejima's personality.

Isokachi Music Awards: 060 Mutsumi Through the Eyes of a Former Tojo Clan Member

"Tokyo Central Bank, right?"

Aoyama had an impression of this bank.

Despite having "Tokyo" and "Chugoku" in its name, this bank is actually a private bank under Mitsubishi, one of the four major conglomerates.

Although it is a private bank, it is very large, on par with the Suzuki Group's Hanoi Bank, and much larger than the Tokyo Development Bank.

As for the Tokyo Central Bank, is it as humane as Taiga Saejima claims...?

Aoyama felt that these three words had nothing to do with such a large bank. Isn't this kind of large financial institution one of the concrete manifestations of the highest form of capitalism? It must have sucked the blood of countless large, medium and small enterprises to grow into the behemoth it is today.

However, it's not impossible that the section chief of a certain department at a branch of the Tokyo Central Bank is humane.

Since Taiga Saejima had a good impression of the head of the financing department, Mukashi Aoyama naturally didn't think it would be a bad thing to get to know such a banking professional, so he decided to include the Tokyo Central Bank in his considerations as well.

If we can't reach an agreement with the Tokyo Development Bank, having an alternative is a good option.

……

With the business settled and nothing else to do, the older men, encouraged by Aoyama Yukio, started drinking. Ryoumiya Takumi, who was already on good terms with these men and didn't need to drive tonight, joined in as well.

The group was having a great time drinking.

The servant also picked out some cucumbers from the bag that Suzumiya had brought back and made them into appetizers to accompany the drinks. He also served some sushi and meat dishes, since they couldn't just eat cucumbers all the time.

Although the four old men all loved to drink, they weren't heavy drinkers. They were the type who could drink a glass of whiskey for half an hour, unlike Kikuri Hiroi, who could down a whole bottle of Moutai in half an hour.

Take Taiga Saejima, for example. Even when he's had a good time drinking, his eyesight and hands are still sharp. If he encounters a dozen or twenty thugs on the street, he can take them down without batting an eye.

Aoyama, who doesn't drink, couldn't connect with these older men of his uncle's generation, so he went to the next room to check on Wakaba Mutsu.

Xiao Mu lay on the recliner, covered with a small cashmere blanket, so comfortable that she was almost snoring.

But Qingshan Xiangyi

She woke up as soon as she entered the room, and then sat up straight, a little embarrassed, covering half of her face with a blanket.

"Miss Xiaomu, were you asleep just now?"

Looking at Xiao Mu, who seemed particularly petite sitting in the large recliner, Qingshan wanted to reach out and pat her head, but then felt it would be disrespectful, so he didn't.

After all, he wasn't wearing a mask at the moment, so he still had to maintain his image as the Governor of Tokyo to some extent.

Xiao Mu actually recognized him and knew that he was much more powerful than her father, who was the undisputed head of the household. However, perhaps because of the part of Aoyama Xiang's mouth she had seen at the previous dinner party, she had some guesses about Aoyama Xiang's identity. When she saw Aoyama Xiang's full face tonight, she was neither surprised nor scared.

How could someone who loves playing music, forms a band with a crazy woman like Hiroi Kikuri (whose name is irrelevant), and can also enlighten confused children like her, Xiangzi, and Deng, be such a terrifying tyrant?

"I was woken up by Haksan."

Xiao Mu thought for a moment and then answered.

Wow... this girl really speaks her mind directly.

Aoyama's lips twitched slightly, but he refrained from uttering his inner thoughts.