boyutpedia Chapter 295 Fragrant clothes and shadow on the temples
Chapter 295 Fragrant clothes and shadow on the temples
(Two chapters today too~)
The "Water Moon" main banquet hall on the first floor of S-Palace Hotel.
Dark volcanic rock columns are interspersed with warm charcoal black wood latticework, creating a restrained sense of layering in this vast interior space. Concealed warm-toned matrix light sources shine on the Echizen washi paper canopy above, casting a soft halo that is evenly distributed across the polished marble floor.
The panoramic soundproof glass blocked out the chilly wind and rain of the early winter night. Several minimalist dry landscape gardens dotted the edges of the venue, and the air was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood and the subtle sweetness of aged champagne, making this bloodletting event, which was supposed to be a "relief" event, extremely elegant.
To the side and back of the hall, a small chamber orchestra was playing Bach's string quartet on a semi-circular stage. The soothing violin notes flowed among the elegantly dressed people, masking the deliberately hushed conversations and the clinking of wine glasses.
Fuji Bank Vice President Kagawa stood calmly beside the buffet table, a glass of champagne in his hand. He was wearing a dark gray flannel suit, and a white silk handkerchief was neatly folded in his breast pocket.
A slightly overweight president of a mid-sized real estate company, his temples damp with sweat, approached the buffet table with a slightly stiff gait, holding a wine glass in both hands. His breathing was a little rapid, and the Windsor knot around his neck was so tight that it even made his facial muscles appear somewhat congested.
"Vice President Kagawa, good evening." The real estate company president gave a slight bow, trying his best to make his voice sound calm. "We met briefly last month at a ryotei in Ginza. It's quite a coincidence to meet you here tonight."
Kagawa turned around, his gaze lingering on the president's face for half a second, a flawless business smile playing on his lips.
"President Takada, good evening. Tonight's banquet brings together colleagues from all walks of life, which is indeed a rare opportunity for exchange." Kagawa raised his champagne glass and gave a slight nod.
President Takada swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. He took a half-step forward, closing the distance between them.
"Vice President Kagawa, since we've run into each other, I'd like to ask you for a favor." Takada lowered his voice, his tone revealing barely concealed anxiety. "Regarding the bridge loan for our company's three construction projects in Shinagawa Ward... it's due this Friday. The Ministry of Finance recently issued that 'Total Loan Regulation' directive, and all the contractors are now pressing us for cash. Could you perhaps speak to the risk control department and ask for another month's extension for this loan? Just one month, and once we sell those two vacant plots of land at a discount, we can immediately replenish our funds."
Kagawa listened quietly to the other party's request, his eyes twitching almost imperceptibly.
No, do these people think the money in banks is unlimited? Should we just rob the entire Treasury?
"President Takada, I fully understand your difficulties."
Kagawa's voice was gentle, and his pronunciation was clear.
"Given the current volatile macroeconomic environment, a special inspector dispatched by the Banking Bureau of the Ministry of Finance is currently personally overseeing the audit office at Fuji Bank's headquarters. Regarding the red line for the growth rate of loans in the real estate sector, the board of directors at headquarters has issued the strictest compliance instructions. Any overdue extension will directly trigger an alarm in the underlying audit system. This is far beyond my personal approval authority."
Kagawa looked at the other person's face, which was gradually losing its color, raised the wine glass in his hand, and slightly moved it forward.
"I wish your company a speedy recovery from this difficult time. I also wish President Takada's charitable act tonight all the best."
President Takada froze on the spot. He opened his mouth, trying to find some room for negotiation. But faced with Kagawa's impeccable smile, he ultimately couldn't say anything.
"...Sorry to bother you."
President Takada bowed deeply and retreated into the crowd with a deathly pale face.
Next to a champagne tower, about ten meters away from the buffet table.
Hiroya Iwasaki, the top advisor of the Mitsubishi Group, and Yagi, the head of the Mitsui zaibatsu, stood side by side. The two elderly men held half a glass of red wine in their hands and looked very relaxed.
In reality, in the months leading up to this, Mitsubishi and Mitsui were forced to frantically sell off shares of their peripheral subsidiaries on the secondary market in order to maintain the capital adequacy ratio of their core banks. They essentially cut off half of the group's assets to secure the ample cash they hold today.
But in the current situation, complaining about the overall environment is completely useless.
The lost chips must be recovered exponentially from other sources as quickly as possible.
Yagi's gaze remained fixed on President Takada, who had retreated into the crowd.
"Fuji Bank is quick on the uptake." Yagi took a sip of red wine, his gaze sweeping over Kagawa's profile. "Takada's plots of land in Shinagawa are in excellent locations. He staked all of his company's cash flow on acquiring those plots. Now that Fuji Bank has cut off his extensions, he can't even pay next month's construction fees."
Iwasaki Hiroya leaned on his sandalwood cane with a pure silver handle and followed Yagi's gaze.
"Takada won't last until the end of the month before it goes into bankruptcy liquidation." Iwasaki's voice was low. "Once the court seal is affixed, the starting price for those plots of land will be less than 30% of the cost he originally paid for them."
Yagi withdrew his gaze, his eyes sweeping across the brightly lit hall. He took in the small and medium-sized business owners and local tycoons, each holding a wine glass and harboring their own secrets.
"The timing of the stage set up by the Saionji family was perfect." Yagi's fingers gently caressed the rim of his cup. "One invitation was enough to gather all the prey in the Kanto region, who were mired in debt, whether they were there willingly or not, into this building."
Hiroya Iwasaki nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping calmly over the crowd.
Hiroya Iwasaki's gaze swept indifferently over several small and medium-sized enterprise presidents who were huddled together wiping their sweat not far away.
"This is much more intuitive than the due diligence report submitted by the investment department."
He placed the wine glass in his hand on the tray of a passing waiter and held the top of the sterling silver cane with his hands folded together.
"After observing everyone, we'll know which courthouse the M&A team should be queuing at tomorrow morning."
Yagi nodded slightly, following his gaze to the prey in the center of the hall who were forcing smiles.
"We personally cut a lot of peripheral businesses recently in order to get the cash back on hand," Yagi said in a low voice. "We need to find a place to make up for the losses on our core holdings many times over."
Iwasaki looked at the crowd and gently rubbed his fingers on the handle of his cane.
"Once the Saionji family forces these people to reveal all their cards tonight, we can start taking over those clean assets tomorrow, which will just settle our accounts."
"...Look, here comes that bloated fat man."
At that moment, a considerable commotion suddenly arose from the direction of the main entrance of the hall.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, chairman of the Seibu Group, entered this hunting ground in a high-profile manner, surrounded by several core executives of the group.
Today, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi was dressed in a finely tailored Italian dark suit, his dark red silk tie gleaming under the crystal chandelier. The moment he appeared, executives from major banks and presidents of small and medium-sized enterprises mired in crisis all turned their attention to this real estate tycoon who owned one-sixth of Japan's land.
No matter what rumors circulate outside that this "Emperor Seibu" is on the verge of collapse, as long as Seibu's cash flow remains intact, he will still be the "world's richest man."
Several influential members of Congress immediately stepped forward to greet him.
"Chairman Tsutsumi, good evening." A councilor extended his hand with a broad smile.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi strode forward and extended his right hand to shake hands firmly with the other person. He deliberately raised his voice, and his strong, resonant voice, accompanied by classical music, still carried clearly to the ears of the crowd several meters away.
"Congressman Nakamura, it's been a long time." Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's smile was infectious. "I just went to Sydney last week. The Seibu Group has its eye on several prime plots of land on the Gold Coast, and they're planning a large-scale golf resort project spanning thousands of acres. The sunshine there is truly wonderful. Once the project is finalized, I'll definitely invite you to come and play a few rounds."
"Oh? The Seibu Group is still expanding its overseas presence at this time? Chairman Tsutsumi's boldness is truly admirable!" The councilor immediately echoed loudly, his eyes full of amazement.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi released his hand and accepted a glass of champagne from his attendant.
"Temporary fluctuations in the macroeconomy cannot stop the expansion of truly high-quality assets." Yoshiaki Tsutsumi raised his glass, his gaze confidently sweeping around. "Not only overseas. Seibu Land also has a strong interest in acquiring several high-premium core commercial land parcels that have just been listed in Minato Ward and Shinjuku. Our cash reserves are ready to provide ammunition for the next round of industry consolidation."
This ostentatious display caught the eye of several real estate developers nearby who were eager to find bridge financing, and they all tried to approach and strike up a conversation.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, holding a wine glass, chatted and laughed with the various factions who came to greet him. He deliberately used this arrogant and high-profile attitude to forcefully create the appearance of a prosperous society with ample cash flow, in order to intimidate the bankers in the hall who were ready to come and withdraw their loans at any time.
At the same time, his gaze swept across the crowd, quickly passing over the presidents of several subsidiaries of the Seibu Group.
Since tonight's banquet will inevitably involve a significant financial outlay, and the daily expenses for special heavy fuel oil consumed by Hokkaido Gokurakukan cannot be reduced, this massive shortfall in readily available cash must be rapidly extracted from the group's assets.
He clinked glasses with several other politicians, having already finalized several specific exploitation strategies in his mind.
Seibu Railway will increase the price of commuter passes for the second half of the year, ostensibly for "upgrading line safety equipment." The daily commuting volume of millions of passengers will translate into immediate cash flow.
Those Prince Hotels in the Kansai region with their outdated facilities and low occupancy rates can be packaged and put up for sale first thing tomorrow morning. Before land prices completely collapse, they can be dumped on small and medium-sized developers who are still blindly looking for projects to cash out.
As for the payment cycle for all downstream suppliers of Seibu Department Store, it was forcibly delayed by sixty days. This withheld payment can be used to cover Gokurakukan's energy deficit.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi raised his wine glass and lightly clinked it against that of a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Finance who was walking towards him. His smile was confident and composed, and he was preparing to have his secretary, Shimada, issue all the instructions first thing tomorrow morning.
On one side of the hall, Vice President Kagawa coldly watched the arrogant tycoon in the center of the crowd.
Fuji Bank's internal bad debt hole is about to be exposed, how can Seibu act so detached? Does Yoshiaki Tsutsumi think he is also a member of the Saionji family?
With such a large operation, the Seibu Group is unlikely to be as relaxed as it appears at this point in time.
Iwasaki Hiroya and Yagi, watching from a distance, also observed this scene.
The two elderly men exchanged a glance, and without saying a word, raised their wine glasses and tapped them together very lightly in mid-air.
The glass clashed, producing a crisp sound that only the two of them could hear.
In this banquet hall filled with lies and debts, the more loudly one flaunts wealth and the more eager one is to demonstrate expansionist desires, the more riddled with problems their ledgers tend to be.