Nogi Bookstore
The interior of the bookstore was white in color, giving off a spacious impression. The walls were covered with books, but it didn't feel oppressive at all.
Tomoshi Ohka entered the bookstore and looked at the bookshelves.
The bookshelf in the middle of the bookstore was filled with new books in the fields of art, design, humanities, culture, and other related fields. The books on the left and right bookshelves weren't just arranged by category, but by content. It was very detailed. People who came to this bookstore could easily find the books they wanted.
It was worth mentioning that this bookstore also had a special characteristic. Other than new books and special sales books, as long as they determined that the book on the shelf was needed, this bookstore would try its best to find it and place it on the shelf.
Hence, the bookstore received many good reviews. Many customers reported that they found the book they wanted in this bookstore even though they couldn't find it for a long time in some old bookstores.
Tomoshi Ohka didn't spend much time before he saw Pei Zi Yun. When he walked up, he heard someone talking.
"Among the new Japanese authors, I only read Yamada Shinji's books!"
"From what I see, other than him, there's no one else in this generation who has the potential to become a national author." Munta Imai held onto Pei Zi Yun's new book and spoke to his girlfriend who was holding his hand.
Munta Imai was wearing a pair of glasses and a couple's outfit. He was a white-collared worker who worked in Japan's Huhe Electronics Company. He was mainly in charge of maintenance and had a decent income.
Now that the company was on holiday, Munta Imai purposely strolled around with his girlfriend.
Munta Imai and his girlfriend Kumita Tomo had something in common. They both loved to read. It was because they loved to read that they met in the bookstore, got to know each other, and fell in love.
Recently, Munta Imai discovered a few good books and recommended them to his girlfriend Kumita Tomo.
They were Pei Zi Yun's and . Especially , Munta Imai was deeply immersed in it. He felt that this book was his favorite.
" has a lot of meaning. It won my heart!" Munta Imai said as he shook the in his hand. "But this book attracts me even more."
"Even though it's a book that goes against the times, it still holds onto its beliefs. This kind of life that lives for the sword is really charming. I'm fascinated."
"That's right, Mr. Yamada. As expected of the winner of the Araki Prize!" Kumita Tomo chimed in. Her attitude was sincere, and there was no hint of flattering her boyfriend.
"I really look forward to seeing someone like that in Nocturnal Ghost." Munota Imai's face was filled with longing as he lightly sighed. Although he was an official employee of Japan's Mohe Electrical Appliance Company, the pressure he faced was huge. There were some things that he had no choice but to compromise. Sometimes, he would even go against his own principles.
This was also the reason why Munota Imai admired and yearned for the main character in "Nocturnal Ghost" who persisted in his beliefs.
"Although Mr. Yamada has only released two novels, both of them reflect a unique view of the world and feelings!"
"Not only are his works full of interest, but you can also learn a lot from them." Kumita Tomo added, "Even though Mr. Yamada started his career late, he must be middle-aged by now, right?"
She guessed.
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he laughed but didn't say anything.
Tomoshi Ohka, who was standing behind Pei Zi Yun, heard their comments and whispered to Pei Zi Yun, "Yamada-kun, sorry to keep you waiting."
"As expected of Yamada-kun, to have such achievements is really admirable!" Tomoshi Ohka said as he turned to the salesperson, "Please give me one or two books, 'Who's the Second Man' and 'Nocturnal Ghost'. Please!"
He then turned to Pei Zi Yun and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Shall we go to the cafe next door?"
Seeing Pei Zi Yun nod, Tomoshi Ohka walked to the cashier. As there weren't many people in the bookstore, the two of them queued up for a while before leaving.
There was indeed a cafe next to the bookstore. It wasn't big, but the environment was good. It was quiet and suitable for conversation.
In the cafe, Tomoshi Ohka ordered two cups of coffee and said to Pei Zi Yun, "Yamada-kun, I didn't expect you to be so outstanding in this area other than swordsmanship!"
Tomoshi Ohka lowered his head and said sincerely. To Japanese society, or any society, a samurai's sacrifice and role were great. However, with the decline of physical strength and life, there wouldn't be many traces left in history.
However, a successful writer and a good work could leave a lasting spiritual mark!
The coffee was served very quickly. Pei Zi Yun took a sip of coffee and frowned. "You flatter me. To be honest, I'm very surprised that you're only looking for me now!"
It had been a month since the assassination attempt on Keiji in Nishibie Prefecture.
During this month, Pei Zi Yun had completed his graduation exams.
In fact, after the incident, Pei Zi Yun thought that Tomoshi Ohka or the Sakato family would immediately look for him. However, he didn't expect Tomoshi Ohka to withstand such pressure for a month.
One had to know that Pei Zi Yun had used the power of the Makawa Shrine to investigate the Sakato family after the death of Keiji in Nishibie Prefecture.
After the investigation by the Makawa Shrine, Pei Zi Yun knew that it wasn't easy for Tomoshi Ohka to withstand the power of the Sakato family without implicating him.
Understanding this, Pei Zi Yun's impression of Tomoshi Ohka changed a lot.
"But I still have no choice but to look for you now." Tomoshi Ohka couldn't help but smile bitterly. He stirred his coffee with a fork and told Pei Zi Yun everything that Sakato Sakato had said.
In particular, Tomoshi Ohka emphasized Sakato Sakato's threat and said to Pei Zi Yun, "If we can't find the real murderer, she will let me and you be buried with her husband!"
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He didn't answer, but asked Tomoshi Ohka, "In the past month, you definitely haven't been doing anything. What did you find out?"
Tomoshi Ohka took a sip, pursed his lips, and said to Pei Zi Yun straightforwardly, "I suspect that the murderer is someone from the Sakato family."
Pei Zi Yun was unmoved. He said, "That killer is strong and not an ordinary person. He has received strict training. It's understandable that you have this suspicion."
"However, even if it's an internal strife in the Sakato family, Keiji of the Nishibe family is just a son-in-law. It doesn't involve the right of inheritance, right? Why kill him?" Pei Zi Yun was puzzled.
In Japanese society, there was a huge difference between men and women. In the Extreme Dao, even the wife and daughter of the chief were only slightly higher than the ordinary subordinates. They couldn't scold the high-ranking officers.
In the aristocratic families, women were often ranked at the back, especially when it came to the right of inheritance.
As long as the son had the slightest bit of success, the daughter would not be considered to inherit the family, let alone a son-in-law.
"Yamada-kun, I thought so too." Tomoshi Ohka said seriously. He had the same opinion. "However, this is the result of my investigation. It's for the person that Keiji of the Nishibe family wanted to save — Sakato Genko."
Even though there was no one around, Tomoshi Ohka still whispered into Pei Zi Yun's ear, "Sakato Genko might be the next head of the Sakato family!"
"... This, this can't be, right?" Pei Zi Yun was shocked and sat up straight. The dignified Sakato family was known as a financial group, and they had three sons. Why would they pass the position of the head of the family to their granddaughter?
Genko was the granddaughter of the head of the Sakato financial group, Sakato Kuroshi. She wasn't even considered outstanding. She was only fifteen years old, and it was said that she was recuperating in Hokkaido due to her poor health.
Sakato Genko's father, Sakato Takashi, wasn't considered outstanding. He controlled a small piece of the Sakato financial group. Currently, the Sakato financial group's latest product — Little Withered Wakaba was managed by Sakato Takashi.
Little Withered Wakaba was said to be a product that could significantly improve physical weakness, susceptibility to diseases, obesity, constipation, endocrine disorders, sallow complexion, palpitations, poor sleep quality, easy to get angry, bad breath, skin dehydration, etc. Once it was launched, it relied on the financial group's network and quickly became popular throughout Japan. It became one of the best-selling health products in Japan.
Little Withered Wakaba was a product that allowed the Sakato financial group to obtain a piece of the cake in the health products market. However, that was all.
When it came to the inheritance rights of a financial group or family, even Sakato Takashi couldn't compete with his two brothers, not to mention Sakato Genko.
The inheritance rights of Japanese financial groups and families were all passed down to the male and not the female, the eldest son and not the second son. Unless there were special circumstances, these traditions would not change.
Even if the family head was seriously ill, it would never be Sakato Genko's turn.
"Also, if he passes the position to his granddaughter, how can he control the shareholders of the company and explain to the staff?"
There was a misunderstanding here. Many people equated the size of a financial group with capital and family (private) assets. This was really laughable.
The Sakato financial group was made up of twenty-nine companies. Through controlling and exchanging shares, it involved more than a hundred companies. However, the Sakato family's total shares were never more than 15%!
Oda Nobunaga of the Owari country was the king of the Owari country. The Owari country was known as Ishikawa 570,000 stones (Kei Changshi). However, the Oda family's Ishikawa was not more than 150,000 stones, and Oda Nobunaga's was not more than 50,000 stones!
The Tokugawa shogunate's Tenryu (direct control) only had 4 million stones, which was about one-fifth of the world.
It was a miracle for a family to own more than 15% of the company's shares.
"I also think that this is impossible. However, I came to this conclusion. Rather than saying that I found out, it is more like someone told me on purpose." Omooka Tomoshi was very understanding. He was also shocked when he heard the news. This was suicide.
"Who told you? Could it be Sakato Kuchi? Did he finally go crazy after being sick for so long? "
The Sakato financial group was more like a general than a family. Each company was relatively independent, and the board of directors and staff also held a certain amount of shares. The whole system was complicated and intersected. Under such circumstances, the inheritance was not the will of an individual, but the choice of the entire financial group.
That kind of power struggle between rich and powerful families was actually for amateurs. What was the use of simply currying favor with the family head?
Even Kuroshiki Sakato didn't have the power to suppress the entire consortium. At most, he could pass down his shares. However, once the big names of other companies had doubts and suspicions about this, the Banto consortium would fall into turmoil and split.
Had Sakato Kurushi, who used to be known as a wise ruler, gone mad?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
