raknovel Chapter 69 Songfeng'an Restaurant
Chapter 69 Songfeng'an Restaurant
After Kuroda Shuichi left, the third reception room fell silent for a moment.
Kiryu Yaya glanced down at the personal business card and put it into his suit pocket.
A 20 million yen annual salary is indeed very attractive, but what he cares about more than the money is what kind of relationship this guy has with Miyazawa Hara.
and also……
What does "above" mean in his mind?
Is there an even larger organization behind the Kansai urban development project?
Kiryu Yaya rubbed his temples, feeling that everything had become a complete mess.
Shuichi Kuroda in the Shiraishi case and Hara Miyazawa in the Miyazawa case.
Two people who were originally unrelated have somehow ended up together.
They seem to have a close relationship.
Things are getting more and more complicated.
Kiryu Yaya checked the time.
It's 3:47 PM now, and there's still a long "performance time" before I get off work, which is very much in line with Japanese bank culture.
Kiryu Yaya returned to the financing review department, looked at the several completed forms, and began his slacking-off mode.
It seems like they started slacking off as early as 3:30, which is definitely a bit excessive in the Japanese workplace.
Even Chihaya Yuri couldn't help but ask:
"Kiryu-kun."
"Yes."
"Have you completed the monthly monitoring report for Shiraishi Refrigeration?"
"It's done. It's the second stack on the left side of the table."
Chihaya Yuri turned her head and glanced at it, and sure enough, she saw the document lying there neatly.
She paused for two seconds, then asked:
"What about the guarantee relationship diagram for the Miyazawa tourism development?"
"It's finished too, on the third stack."
"...The credit approval timeline from Sumitomo Bank?"
"The fourth stack, the one with the blue clip."
Sitting on the shore in front of Chihaya Yuri, Section Chief Wakako couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard this conversation.
Chihaya Yuri and the female section chief, who is two years older than her but already married, seem to have a good relationship.
She heard Wakako's laughter from the shore, rolled her eyes at her, then looked at Kiryu Yaya and picked up the document beside her:
"Now that everything is done, please take this document to the section chief."
Kiryu Yaya looked at the section chief's office, which was just a stone's throw away, and then at Chihaya Yuri's serious and pretty face.
I couldn't help but find it funny.
Anyway, Chihaya-sensei is kind of cute.
If it's not because they're looking for trouble.
……
Night was falling.
The neon lights in Beixindi lit up one by one, reflecting on the damp ground.
Kiryu Yaya greeted Yamada Masakazu and, after finishing get off work at 7:30, took the train to Kitashinchi to meet Kuroda Shuichi.
He stood in front of Songfeng Temple, holding a black umbrella in his hand. He raised his hand to straighten his tie and then touched the button on his suit to reveal a tape recorder.
[Button Recorder: A miniature recording device that looks no different from an ordinary suit button. It can be magnetically attached or sewn onto clothing. Once started, it can record continuously for 6 hours, and the recordings are automatically saved in tape format.]
This is the reward for completing the prologue mission of "The Storm of the Miyazawa Family".
I never thought I'd be able to use it against Kuroda Shuichi.
The door to Matsukaze-an is a traditional Japanese sliding door. As soon as Kiryu Yaya's hand touched the wooden frame, the door was pulled open from the inside.
A nakai wearing a irotomesode (colored kimono) knelt in the entrance hall, his hands folded in front of his knees, his forehead almost touching the tatami mat.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"
Kiryu Yaya handed over Kuroda Shuichi's personal business card.
Zhongju took it with both hands, glanced at it, and then stood up, leading him through a narrow corridor paved with white sand.
Kiryu Yaya had never actually been to a ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant).
He had heard of the reputation of Beixindi Restaurant.
This is Osaka's most prestigious entertainment venue, a secret stage for politicians, bureaucrats, and business tycoons to raise their glasses and enjoy themselves.
A single meal can easily cost tens of thousands of yen, and most of them are by referral only, so new customers can't even get in.
The corridor was quiet, with only a few stone lantern-shaped lamps lit, casting a dim and restrained light.
Kiryu Yaya walked around, looking at his surroundings.
Separate sukiya-style private rooms can be vaguely seen on both sides of the corridor, with blurry figures visible through the paper shoji screens, but no conversation can be heard.
Each private room is as if separated by an invisible wall, ensuring that they do not disturb each other.
This design itself is a language.
It's not just about soundproofing; it's also about telling guests:
No matter what you say or do here, no one else will know.
Nakai stopped in front of a private room called "Kiku no Ma", knelt down again, and gently pulled back the shoji screen.
"Your guests have arrived."
The private room was about twelve stacks in size. In the niche hung a traditional Chinese ink painting scroll, depicting a lone bird perched on a withered branch. The signature was somewhat blurred.
The flower arrangement is a minimalist approach, with only a single white camellia branch leaning out from a black ceramic vase.
Shuichi Kuroda was sitting in the seat of honor.
He had already taken off his suit jacket, wearing only a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and in front of him was a pot of sake and two cups.
When Kiryu Yaya entered, he gave him that familiar smile, as if he were meeting an old friend again.
"Kiryu-kun, you've worked hard. Please have a seat."
Kiryu Yaya took off his shoes, stepped onto the tatami mat, and sat cross-legged opposite Kuroda.
Zhongju silently poured each of them a cup of wine, then bowed and withdrew.
The shoji screen closed gently, leaving only two people in the private room.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Shuichi Kuroda raised his glass, but instead of drinking it, he first lowered his head to smell the aroma of the wine before taking a small sip.
"It's so nice to talk to you here. Things that are hard to discuss in a bank are much easier to talk about here."
He twirled the wine glass in his palm and looked up at Kiryu Yaya.
"You must have a lot of questions, but before that, I'd like to ask Kiryu-kun a question first."
His gaze suddenly became subtle.
"What do you think is behind the Kansai urban development?"
Kuroda Shuichi asked the question very lightly, but Kiryu Yaya sensed the weight in it.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sniff.
The sake is Junmai Daiginjo, chilled, with a crisp and restrained aroma, exactly like the atmosphere of this "Kiku no Ma".
"President Kuroda."
Kiryu Yaya put down his wine glass, raised his eyes, and spoke calmly:
"From my personal perspective, Kansai Urban Development appears to be a company that engages in real estate development and asset restructuring. But based on my experience with them over this period of time..."
"What your company is really doing is probably not development, but acquisition. And you specifically target companies that have financial problems but still hold high-quality real estate."
Shuichi Kuroda paused slightly in the hand holding the wine glass, then his smile deepened.
"As expected of Kiryu-kun, please continue."
"Dojima Cold Storage is one example."
Kiryu Yaya said unhurriedly:
"The operation of Shiraishi Refrigeration itself did not have any fatal problems, but Takao Shiraishi's personal debts pushed 28% of the shares onto the market."
"Your company isn't interested in Shiraishi Refrigeration's cold chain business, but rather the land of the Dojima Cold Storage. If you can acquire a controlling stake, dismantle the cold storage, and resell it as commercial real estate, the profits will be far greater than operating a cold chain business."
Kuroda nodded, not denying it.
Seeing his noncommittal expression, Kiryu Yaya smiled slightly and dropped a bombshell:
"Given your company's business logic, President Kuroda's next target is probably the Miyazawa Group's Rokko Golf and Miyazawa Tourism projects, isn't it?"