Zongman, working as a teaching assistant in Trasen

Chapter 180 You are absolutely right!

"Thank you, Mr. Uozuka. It's great that you can be in charge of the docking work this time."

After sorting and filing the paper and electronic documents, Seto Ren gently stroked her ample chest and let out a sigh, stepping out of her corporate-woman mode. With a wry smile, she said to Uozuka Saburo, "If Gin-san had come forward like last time and then handed it directly to one of your completely uninformed subordinates, I'm afraid we'd have to go through a lot of trouble again."

"Ha, thank you for your compliment, but I still suggest you refrain from making irresponsible comments about the organization."

Shrugging and leaning back on the soft sofa, Uozuka Saburo blew a puff of cigarette smoke upwards, flashing his signature wicked smile. "Although my brother and I, at our level, don't really care what the other party thinks, there's always the chance that some psychopath in the organization will find an excuse to pick on you. I don't want the whole family of the transaction partner to die in the middle of the mission."

"Alas... Thank you for your reminder. We will pay attention to it in the future."

"..."

Turning to check the clock, he realized they were still in the opening ceremony, the part where each of the participating ponygirls was pulled out from the small stage to perform a personal talent show. Uozuka Saburo thought for a moment before speaking directly, "We still have some time. Do you mind chatting for a while, Mrs. Seto?"

"Of course we don't mind. It's more like what we want."

Frankly expressing his thoughts, Seto Ren signaled with his eyes that Masakazu Shark Tengdai at the next table could leave first. He crossed his legs, changed into a comfortable sitting position, and said, "Actually, even if you don't say it, I still want to ask you a few things: such as your appearance and your current disguise?"

"Oh? Shouldn't you be most concerned about what I just said about threatening your daughter's life?"

"Haha~ You are just joking~"

Facing Uozuka Saburo's puzzled expression, Seto Ren chuckled naturally, shook his somewhat stiff neck, and said, "We mermaids may not have other abilities, but we have an instinctive sense of truth and lies. Especially when your words are so joking and harmless, we will never believe such nonsense~"

"...Are you so confident in your perception? What if you're wrong?"

"Of course not. Although I'm not as wary as that idiot father over there, I was very nervous when I saw Xiaocan meet you and you recognized him at first sight."

Tilting his head, Seto Ren propped up one cheek with his palm, a look of slight distress. "That girl may have some self-defense skills, and her fighting ability is comparable to mine, but she's still just a fourteen-year-old middle school girl... Facing a cunning and treacherous veteran organization leader like you, the chances of her winning in a conflict are simply too low."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

Uozuka Saburo, who had been repeatedly targeted by middle and high school girls recently, didn't care about the implicit sarcasm in the words. He looked into the other person's eyes and said, "So? You've been worried until now, and you never did anything to stop me from taking her and her boyfriend away?"

"That's because she was willing to go with you, not because you took her away by force."

Shaking her head, Seto Ren's expression turned calm. She smiled and said, "Didn't I just say that? We mermaids, especially the female mermaids, are very talented at detecting lies. If you truly intend to harm her and Manchao-kun, or use her as a hostage to threaten us relatives, she will definitely sense it and resist."

"Oh? Maybe I used sweet words to make her trust me? That's not impossible."

"Haha~ There's no need to slander yourself like that, Mr. Uozuka." Seto Ren said, as if amused. "You and your elder brother are both the kind of cool people who would never lie and express any expression directly. How could you possibly be capable of such a high-level, despicable trick as using sweet talk to deceive a junior high school girl?"

"..."

Although Brother Gin and he have always been straightforward and not scheming, but... I still feel like you are slandering me!

After all, I was a Tokyo bully back in the day!? As a fellow gangster, can't you just give me some respect and praise my fierce face that could make a child stop crying?!?

...It must be because he's been at Tresen Academy for so long lately that he's lost all his Haki! It's definitely not because he's become weaker over the years!!

Training instructor Saburo Uozuka blamed himself in his heart.

"My physical condition and identity are organizational secrets. You and your husband have no right to know."

Feeling he'd become a disgrace to the former yakuza if he continued like this, Uozuka Saburo had no choice but to put on a brave face and try to regain the initiative. "On the contrary, although the organization has always been indifferent to the intentions of its trading partners, the Tokyo area has been very turbulent recently, with many exciting events taking place one after another. At this time, mobilizing the entire team from a remote island in the Setouchi Inland Sea to a place like Saitama close to Tokyo is not a wise choice."

"......I know."

Hearing Uozuka Saburo's words, Seto Ren also put away his relaxed demeanor and sighed with resignation. "We've heard rumors of foreign forces invading our homeland and the gathering of the famous gangs in Kanto to launch an all-out war... If the Setouchi Group weren't so remote and small in number, those bigwigs in the capital might have drafted us into military service."

"Oh? It seems you're quite aware of your situation?" Uozuka Saburo raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, why did you take the initiative to get involved in this vortex when you could have stayed out of it?"

"Is there no other way? Because I need to transform..."

In an instant, the beautiful woman, who was over forty and still as charming as ever, seemed to have aged several years. She frowned, as if she had recalled something unspeakable and shameful. Her expression was extremely complicated. "I can only say that in this era... whether it is humans or mermaids, it is time for them to change..."

“…traditional models no longer meet the needs of emerging companies. If rigid organizations want to survive in a rapidly changing world, they need to proactively change.”

"Yes! You are absolutely right!"

Chapter 181 Change! Must change!!

Normally the group is full of brainless idiots. Of the only two people who can discuss things with him, Seto Gosaburo always loses control of his emotions and it's impossible to talk properly. And because of his status, Zheng can't have a deep conversation with him, otherwise it will easily cause gossip.

Seto-chan is a very sensible child, and is willing to take on the responsibility of managing and developing the Setouchi Group, but it's too early to tell her about such a big thing... Besides, her focus has shifted recently with the matter of her marriage to the human child, Mancho Nagami.

So! Seto Ren is feeling really bad! She desperately needs someone to talk to and let it all out!

"Kids these days are so radical. They have nothing, but after reading two comics and two novels, they think they are heroes! They will surely soar to the sky in the future under the forging of iron and fire! How is that possible? Really... They are a bunch of ignorant people who think they are so capable. Don't we know what's going on? Even Gosaburo, who was so powerful back then, has become like this. Can't they use their brains to think for themselves? And they keep talking about counterattacks..."

"..."

Seeing the woman in front of him suddenly start complaining in a barrage of words, Uozuka Saburo was silent for a moment. He did not interrupt her, but silently poured himself another cup of tea and started listening.

After following his elder brother for so many years, he has completely understood the way of thinking of people like Seto Can and Seto Gosaburo who are in power: when they act silently without saying a word, their minds may not be extremely calm, and when they talk incessantly and reveal everything, they may not be completely untrustworthy.

At least this is when they want you to know and don't care if you know it or want to know how you would react, and you can often read a lot of useful subtext from it.

Soon, Uozuka Saburo, who had an extremely strong information gathering ability, sorted out several useful pieces of information. After listing them one by one in his mind, he couldn't help but be surprised:

First, the "collective relocation" of the Setouchi Group's top management was not pre-planned, but a spur-of-the-moment decision - the reason was the young man, Mitsushio Nagasumi, who was holding hands with Seto Can and was almost stuck together.

The specific process is a bit complicated. To put it simply, the boy fell into the sea and was rescued by the mermaid princess. Because of the mermaid tribe's tradition of "anyone who sees the true body must be killed or married", the mermaid forced the other party to marry their own little princess at the age of 14, and took his wife to live in Saitama, the city where the other party was. The elders secretly followed him through the organization's relationship, intending to be teachers in the same school to protect each other.

...Honestly, apart from the classic scene at the beginning where the boy meets the girl and they fall in love at first sight, Uozuka didn't quite understand the reaction of the entire Setouchi group...

Mermaid traditions? What the hell is this still happening?

Even though you were born during the Showa era, you're not so old-fashioned, are you? Aren't things like traditional things used as table cushions when swimming, and then burned in the stove as non-combustible garbage when no longer in use?

The last time you did business with the organization, didn’t you ask us to help you build a WIFI base station for live TV broadcasting?

Fortunately, Seto Ren was not the type to talk without regard for logical loopholes. She quickly told Uozuka Saburo the reason for his actions:

Second, the Setouchi Group’s operating conditions in recent years have not been ideal.

The original intention of establishing the Setouchi Group was to create a relatively quiet place in the chaotic and complex Japanese society, to provide the mermaids, whose living space is becoming increasingly difficult, with an area where they can live in peace and avoid being exposed too much to the risks within the current society.

But people's hearts always change.

Three generations before Seto Gosaburo, the Setouchi Group had almost absolute control over the Setouchi region. They were an important force in protecting the local residents (both humans and mermaids) from the invasion of the militarists, and they truly achieved the goal of protecting the peace in the subsequent wars. Their reputation continues to this day and is still recognized by many older people - but when Seto Gosaburo's previous generation began, it was completely different.

The post-war economic boom created many miracles that traditional concepts could not even imagine. It not only completely destroyed many old things in Japanese society, but also brought about ideological changes in the new generation and middle-aged fish-men, and fostered ambitions on the "Pure Land".

Okayama next door was originally as poor as the Setouchi region, with only a tiny ocean area. People could not catch any fish and were almost starving to death.

The result? Bridges were built, highways opened, and amusement parks were constructed. Development went on apace, and everyone in the city became so prosperous that they looked at everyone with their noses raised!

Let’s take a look at Kurashiki next to Okayama. Like the Seto Inland Sea, it is very close to the sea and has a larger territory than the Seto Inland Sea, but its ecological resources are completely not on the same level. During the war, it was ravaged several times due to its geographical location. Its fishery is extremely poor, not even as good as Okayama.

Then what? They built a port, developed industry, and promoted tourism. Money poured in. Not only did they make a lot of money, but their reputation also grew! They were incredibly proud!

Turning back to the Setouchi area: the fishing industry is quite developed, but the natural resources are so abundant that they can't really develop any industry or cities. They can only grow some food and produce some specialty products, making a small profit... It's nothing compared to the guys next to them who used to look down on them! ?

The problem is not the lack of wealth but the uneven distribution of wealth, and the idea that water flows to low places and people go to high places is the same all over the world. Therefore, from then on, there were some voices within the mermaid tribe calling for leaving, and as the years went by, the voices expanded year by year, directly affecting the ideas of the next generation.

If it weren't for the unprecedented economic crisis that broke out more than ten years ago, forcing many of those who had left to return to the countryside to fish, and the emergence of a strong man like Seto Gosaburo who had strong skills to integrate regional resources, there might not be any Setouchi Mermaid Group now.

However, this is only temporary. The development of the world will not stop because of the economic collapse of your country. The once broadened vision will not disappear because of temporary setbacks. Instead, it will gradually brew due to factors such as unwillingness and desire, and give rise to more and broader ideas.

Especially since the Edomae Mermaids, their long-time rivals, had managed to survive this crisis and secure a place among the human elite! This was enough to make even the most traditional mermaids feel bad!

Change! This status quo must change!

written request for leave

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

It's almost December, and the Party Building Responsibility System assessment is about to begin. I coded a thousand words this morning, and then I worked non-stop all day...

It just so happens that I have reached the word count for this month, so I’ll take a break today and continue writing tomorrow.

above------------------------------------------

Chapter 182 I will make you an offer you can’t refuse

But how can I become stronger? What can I become stronger?

The conditions in this area of ​​Setouchi are like this. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is "poor, mountainous and water-scarce". Large-scale urbanization and industrialization are basically impossible. Tourism has no special features and development is very difficult.

What’s more crucial is that the older generation of mermaids have no relevant knowledge or experience at all, and the young men who have gone out to explore in recent years have not been able to summarize any useful methods, which theoretically means they are seriously lacking.

So in the end, Seto Ren, whose parents were both migrant workers and who attended high school and college in the city, married Seto Gosaburo after returning with her parents and became the hostess of the Setouchi Group, in order to use her knowledge and talents to lead the Setouchi Mermaid Group out of its current predicament.

————Of course, this is not entirely a political consideration. Whether it is Seto Gosaburo and Seto Ren, or Seto Ren and Seto Gosaburo, they are both the kind of love at first sight that is extremely rare in modern society, a fairy-tale love with some elements of girl comics and gang violence. The parents of both sides are also happy to see it happen, and it has become such an ending. It is a very perfect story.

But now, their children have grown up, and the times have changed again. The sequel to this story will have to be continued by the parties involved.

"Recent technological advancements have led to a shift in social and political dynamics... If the Setouchi Group wants to maintain its independence and security, it can no longer isolate itself and close itself off from human society."

Putting his legs down and straightening his back, Seto Ren's mumbling finally reached the key point, causing Uozuka Saburo's expression to involuntarily become serious. "So, you have always wanted to move the upper floors, and you just happened to run into the incident between Nagase and your daughter and took advantage of it?"

"Yes."

Seto Ren nodded, sighed helplessly, and said, "Although the Setouchi Group has made some progress over the years thanks to your organization's care and has gradually begun to develop into a chamber of commerce, I still feel that the pace is not fast enough and the level of conservatism is still too high... So, originally planning to wait until Xiaochan reaches adulthood and starts college before implementing the plan, I discussed with Gou Saburo and decided to start it now. We have also changed the relocation targets from a few promising young people to our current leadership team, in order to ensure that the plan is foolproof."

"So that's how it is. I understand your plan." Uozuka Saburo said suddenly.

In fact, it is very simple to sum it up. It is nothing more than that the remote and poor Setouchi area has little potential for development. The mermaids intend to seek other ways out, but they don't want to owe "favors" to other developed mermaids, so they seek funding from the organization and leave their own territory in the name of "marrying off their daughters".

To be honest, this matter is a bit awkward. It's okay that you don't trust humans, but you don't even trust your own mermaid compatriots. You just keep talking to yourself and trying to make trouble in pursuit of independence. What if you fail to develop?

Those aliens whose identities are completely exposed and who become "hunting targets" do not end up in a good way.

But...once it succeeds, it will definitely be a good plan that can last long enough and reach high enough.

"The path of domination... Is this the path you wish to take?"

"Huhu~ A woman like me wouldn't dare to think about being a tyrant."

Finally, he got out the things that had been accumulating in his heart for a long time, and he told them all to a person who had a vested interest in him but could be called a stranger. Seto Ren felt relieved both physically and mentally, and his expression relaxed a lot.

"I just want the man I love, my darling daughter, and the brothers who trust me and follow us to live a good life and not be crushed into dust under the wheels of history. ————Things like being unrivaled in the world and unifying the martial arts world should be left to those with more ambitions."

"Is that so... But aren't you afraid that after you tell me all this, I'll tell my brother about it and he'll use you as pawns?"

"No, you won't. Or rather, even if you report this to Mr. Gin, he won't make such a decision."

A sly smile suddenly appeared on his face. Facing Uozuka Saburo, who had truly harbored ill intentions, Seto Ren spoke as if he was certain of victory: "Because I will make you an offer you can't refuse~"

----------

"Ah, Mr. Uozuka! You're back just in time!"

"The contestant introductions have just finished, and the competition is about to begin!"

"Oh, Uozuka-kun, you're back! How...how did the discussion with the 'client' turn out?"

"Well... not bad, at least the conditions on our side are basically met."

With an expression that was half helpless and half emotional, Uozuka Saburo patted Maori Kogoro on the shoulder and said, "Anyway, there won't be any other 'work' to bother us for the rest of this trip. Let's just focus on watching the game~"

"Ohhh! You're really capable!!"

A big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. Kogoro Mouri didn't ask any more questions. He laughed wildly twice and turned to walk to the glass curtain wall of the treasure chest, joining several horse girls and children who were looking forward to the start of the race.

For him, this is the first time in his nearly forty years of life that he can watch a game with so many like-minded people of such young age and cheer for his favorite players together!

And just after he left, Conan, who was probably the only one among them who, like Uozuka Saburo, was not that interested in Uma Musume, rubbed his aching head and walked up to him with a bitter face and complained, "Really... Mr. Uozuka, you are too unprotective of children... Uncle Mori almost squeezed my head to pieces just now."

"hehe."

Uozuka Saburo gave a fake smile and looked at the little detective with a look of contempt as if to say, "You don't know what kind of person you are," without saying a word.

"...Okay, okay, I get it..."