National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1354 Under the Neon Lights

Although I know the approximate address, there are too many clubs in Nanachome.

Minister Ji Mao and his son Ji Mao Ce walked along a small alley on the side and turned to the road behind the main street. There were many stores with the same business scope gathered here, at least several hundred.

So even though I knew that Chixia Club was nearby, its neon sign was mixed in with the flowers and it was not easy to find.

The father and son, Ji Mao, stared wide-eyed as they searched for the name of the store and nearly bumped into pedestrians on the roadside several times.

Finally, their behavior attracted the attention of a "concerned person" who had been guarding here for many years.

"Excuse me, sirs. Which store are you looking for?"

A short lady with a scarf on her head and a basket of tulips in her hand stood in front of Jimao and his son and took the initiative to ask about their destination.

"We're looking for the Chixia Club. I heard it's near the 7-chome middle street. That should be it, right?"

"It's almost here, but it's on the other side of the building. I can take you there."

The flower girl said as she changed direction and gave directions to the two people beside her.

They soon arrived at the place, and Jimao and his son followed the flower girl to the main entrance of the building, which was indeed very spacious and grand.

As the flower girl pointed to a neon sign above their heads, Jimao and his son looked up along the long row of colorful light boxes hanging on the wall and finally found their target.

The third neon sign is "Chixia Club".

Come to think of it, this was the road they first took, but they didn't expect to miss it.

Maybe it’s because the signboard is made to be more delicate and compact?

All in all, it's a really laughable situation.

"Buy a bouquet of flowers! Give it as a gift to the mama-san at Chixia Nightclub!"

The flower girl also knew that they were about to break up, so she looked at the father and son one last time with hope and made a request that was hard to refuse.

"How much is your bouquet?" asked Ji Maoce.

The flower girl smiled and replied, "One thousand yen."

It should be said that although the price is a bit high, it should be treated differently in a special place like Ginza.

Especially at this late hour, I would also like to thank the flower girl for leading the way.

So Ji Maoce hesitated for a moment before reaching for his wallet, as he thought it was fair.

But unexpectedly, the moment she opened her wallet, Minister Yoshimo suddenly interrupted and said, "Give her 2,000 yen, and don't spend it."

Ji Maoce was confused for a moment by his father's order, and a puzzled expression suddenly appeared on his face.

However, his doubts were completely suppressed by his father's stern face.

When I found that my father was looking at me with serious eyes, his attitude was serious.

He didn't dare to say anything else, so he just followed his father's instructions and simply added another thousand-yen bill to the amount and handed it to the flower girl.

There is no doubt that this was a pleasant surprise for the flower girl.

She took the money, which was twice as much as she had expected, bowed gratefully, and left.

Not only that, out of fear of his father, Ji Maoce suppressed his curiosity and did not immediately ask his father why.

As a result, his silence earned him a look of approval from his father, which made him feel more at ease.

And soon, he himself found out the reason why it was inconvenient to ask.

If for no other reason, it is because buildings like this house all kinds of entertainment venues, and even at night, the entrances and exits are kept open to facilitate guests to come in and out.

The sign of Chixia Club showed that the club was on the third floor. If they wanted to go upstairs, they had to stand in front of the elevator and wait for it to come down.

Moreover, this building has a total of twelve floors, and there are various stores on each floor.

So there were a total of seven or eight guests waiting for the elevator in front of the elevator door.

They are all middle-aged, carefree people, and most of them are obviously professionals who use the company's business entertainment expenses.

There were also two people dressed more casually, I didn't know if they were musicians or painters.

In addition, there was a tall and thin male waiter standing at the door of the building.

He looked to be about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, wearing a dark brown wide-brimmed hat like a ticket seller, dark brown clothes and trousers like a ticket seller, and dark brown boots. It seemed that he had been watching their actions at the door.

Especially when you see Yoshimo and his son using money to send the flower girl away and walking towards the elevator of the building together.

The waiter at the door confirmed that they were guests visiting the building, and he skillfully took off his wide-brimmed hat, revealing his brush-like hairstyle, and bowed deeply to them.

"welcome!"

Just think about it, it would be embarrassing for Yoshimosuke to ask his father why he gave him 2,000 yen and didn't want flowers in front of so many people.

Soon, the elevator came down.

The uniformed male waiter watched intently until all the waiting guests got on the elevator.

He stood up straight and straight and bowed again in front of the door.

"Please go!"

In this way, the respectful attitude was maintained until the elevator door closed.

It turned out that the floor where Yoshima and his son were going was the lowest in the elevator.

As they reached the third floor, they were the first two to get off the elevator.

By this time, I saw that there was no one else in the corridor.

There was no need for Ji Maoce to ask any more questions. Minister Ji Mao stopped and took the initiative to bring up what had just happened, revealing his intention in a low voice.

"Ace, were you curious just now, why did I ask you to do that?"

"Yes, Minister."

"Have you figured it out now?"

"This one……"

Ji Maoce's stupidity forced Minister Ji Mao, who was a father, to remind him again.

"Let me remind you again, this is Ginza. It's not an ordinary place."

"So... so... Father thinks the bouquet is too shabby and can't bear to give it away?"

Fortunately, the son was not that stupid and he finally guessed a little bit of Minister Yoshimo's thoughts.

Otherwise, Minister Yoshimo would really lose all his patience and might not be willing to waste any more words with such a stupid son.

"You're right. You can't give a bouquet like that. You can only use it to fool the hostesses who are not very popular. You have to understand that in any club in Ginza, the mamasan is the most important person and knows the most celebrities. If you really bring something like that, it will only make people laugh at you. It will bring shame to yourself. Only a fool would do such a stupid thing."

"If that's the case, why should we give the flower girl an extra thousand yen?" Yoshimosaku asked again.

"It's the same reason. This is Ginza. You should remember the waiter at the door, right?"

"Yes, I remember." Ji Maoce answered honestly, but he still didn't quite understand what his father meant.

"That person is here every day to watch the gate and greet guests. In other words, he is one of the people who knows the most about this building. If the mama-san of a store in this building wants to know more about a certain guest, she will definitely ask him to keep an eye out. Conversely, if a guest wants to know about a store in this building, he will most likely ask him about it. That's why I did this. If we come here often in the future, then our actions just now will probably be spread to other people through that person's mouth. After all, no store doesn't like generous guests. This is a very important point if you want to be a popular guest."

"Oh?" Ji Maoce was deeply touched by his father's words. He couldn't help but be surprised by his father's foresight.

"Why do you look like that? Are you surprised? Let me tell you, the reason why I have been strict with your behavior since you were a child is because many times, details can determine everything. Oh, by the way, take out your lighter and let me see it?"

"Huh?" Ji Maoce was also surprised by his father's inexplicable request. He really couldn't keep up with his father's unconventional thoughts.

But being the good son that he is, he still did as he was told. "Sure enough, it's a cheap 100 yen one. Don't let anyone see this kind of thing, throw it away immediately."

Following Minister Ji Mao's order, Ji Maoce did as he was told with great trepidation and quickly disposed of the plastic lighter in his hand - kicking it into the dark corner.

But this was not the end. Minister Yoshimo immediately turned his attention to his shoes, then took out his handkerchief and handed it to him with great dissatisfaction. He looked around and urged in a low voice, "Wipe your shoes well."

No matter how obedient he was, Ji Maoce couldn't stand it at this moment. He really felt that his father was being too cautious.

  After all, it’s not morning work, and it just rained a little. How could any office worker’s shoes remain as shiny as they were in the morning?

Besides, my father's handkerchiefs are not cheap, one costs 2,000 yen, just to wipe his shoes...

"Minister, this..."

"Fool, why are you hesitating? Let me tell you, every store and every staff here is good at judging people by appearance. They can roughly determine your background based on your clothes and conversation. Therefore, pretending to be rich is a heroic quality that every man who goes to the Ginza bar must possess. If you want to get something from here and don't want to waste your money, you have to learn this skill."

"Also, listen to me carefully. Midnight is usually the time when customers leave various business places in Ginza. There are no clearly marked prices in Ginza bars. There is only a white slip of paper with the amount you have to pay tonight written on it. What standard is this amount calculated based on? Don't ask, because if you ask, you're just a bumpkin. Let me tell you, there is only one standard for calculation, and that is the look of the mama-san or the store manager. If she thinks you are rich, she will charge you more. If she thinks you are uncultured, she will charge you more. If she has sympathy for you, then maybe she will charge you less."

"But no matter what, as long as you get this kind of slip, you must take out your wallet to pay without hesitation. If your eyes stay on the slip for more than three seconds, you will be looked down upon. If you dare to say to the mama-san, 'It's too expensive, can I get a discount?' Then, next time, it will be difficult for you to step into the door of this store again."

Following Minister Yoshimo's "Do you understand?"

Ji Maoce had awakened from his shock and truly understood the good intentions of his father's teachings.

He did not dare to hesitate, responded, and quickly bent down to polish his shoes.

That’s not all. As a father, Minister Yoshimo waited for him to stand up again and even straightened his tie before leading him inside.

At this time, Ji Maoce no longer had any relaxed mood. Now he was filled with seriousness and preparedness.

To be honest, I didn't expect that a meeting in a nightclub would require so much attention, and I learned a lot of knowledge from my father that I could not learn in the classroom.

He had a vague feeling that the door of the club in front of him was the real adult world.

Compared to there, graduating from college, being hired by a bank, and even the recent promotion seem less important.

It seems that only when he is accepted by the world inside can he be considered a real adult.

There were several shops on both sides of the corridor, but none of them were what they were looking for.

Chixia Club is at the innermost part, and at the entrance of the store is a very heavy metal door.

There were several large metal characters lying across the door, not clearly showing the name of the club.

And below these words there is a bronze plaque with the words "Membership System" written on it.

When they saw the sign, Minister Ji Mao and Ji Mao Ce both took a breath at the same time.

Because this means that this club has a certain threshold for guests, so it is inevitable that its business is good, and it does not seem to be easy to get in.

Just as they hesitated, the door opened by itself from the inside with a click.

Then, Ji Mao and his son saw two elderly guests with big bellies walking out of the door.

The three waitresses who were seeing off the guests followed closely behind.

They are all very beautiful, with looks like models or actresses.

When they saw Yoshimo and his son, they knew they were guests and bowed to them with a smile.

From the outside, you can see that the club looks like a liquor store.

A long row of several layers of bottled foreign and Japanese liquors were neatly arranged in a decorative cabinet at the entrance.

Although the entire club could not be seen yet, the sounds of laughter, talking, clinking glasses and the dim lights intertwined together, like waves of air pouring out from the screen of the wine decorative rack.

This undoubtedly shows how prosperous the business is.

However, in the bar behind the door, the bartender with a bow tie and a 50-50 side-parted hair showed a suspicious expression, as if he found that the faces of Yoshimo and his son were those he had never seen before, so he quickly walked out of the bar.

"You... Is this the first time you two have visited us?"

"Yes, today is the first time," Minister Yoshimo replied.

Of course he could see the other party's scrutiny, so he added another sentence.

"We are from Sumitomo Bank and would like to come in for a drink."

However, even so, the bartender still glanced at them sharply.

"I'm sorry, but our store is a membership-based one, and we only provide services to members or friends introduced by members. So please forgive me, sir."

These words inevitably made Minister Yoshimo feel a little embarrassed and a little sad.

If nothing else, he has always enjoyed high-level treatment throughout his career.

Especially after he was promoted and transferred to the headquarters of Sumitomo Bank, he became the focus of all kinds of people's flattery in almost all social occasions.

However, in recent years, with the signing of the Plaza Accord, the Japanese banking industry has begun to have a hard time.

Now, not only does he need to be servile to his customers, he can't even enter a nightclub in Ginza.

As one of the senior executives of the core enterprises of the Sumitomo Group, he believed that he should not be treated like this.

  When did Japan's banks decline to this extent?

Whenever he thought of this, his self-esteem was hurt and his heart ached slightly.

"Look at the way you look, it seems like you are refusing, right?"

Minister Yoshimo's tone also became tougher.

He had finally found this place, how could he just leave like this?

  What's more, it happened in front of his own son, which was too embarrassing. How could he maintain his dignity as a father?

So I will never give up until I achieve my goal.

"I'm really sorry, please forgive the club's rules. Unless you were introduced or accompanied by a member."

The bartender's attitude was a little better than before, but there was still a tone of intimidation in his voice.

Such words made Ji Maoce, who was standing at the back, stunned and a little frightened.

However, the old man is still the wisest, and Minister Ji Mao calmly showed Ning Weimin's name.

"It's true that no member introduced me, but I know President Ning of the Tan Palace Restaurant and the Dadao Trading Company. I also know that he is in there. I just came here today to meet him. I think he might be willing to be our introducer."

This really worked, and the bartender's expression changed immediately.

"What, you two are acquaintances of President Ning?"

"Yes, if you don't believe it, you might as well ask President Ning."

As he spoke, Minister Ji Mao took out his business card and handed it over.

The guy in the bow tie hesitated, shrugged his shoulders, and bowed instead of extending his hand.

"No, I'm so sorry! Please follow me, both of you."

The bartender quietly apologized to Igawa-kun.

"Please, come over here. I will inform you two. However, President Ning is very busy right now and may not have time to meet with you for the time being. Do you mind having a drink first?"

The arrogance of this person just now disappeared without a trace, and he became a completely different person in an instant, with his eyes filled with respect.

This finally gave Minister Yoshimo some satisfaction to his self-esteem.

And Ji Maoce, who followed him timidly, also let out a sigh of relief.

At this time, he no longer had any doubts about his father's words.

As expected, the clubs in Ginza are not places that ordinary people can enter casually.