National Tide 1980.

"Sister, don't say that. Are we still separate? Aren't we a family? Is there anything wrong with me helping my sister and brother-in-law?"

Feeling the pessimistic tone of Midori, Rinko Kagawa tried to persuade her again.

"Since you're married, don't think about anything else, sister. I know you're just saying this in anger. If you ask me, since your brother-in-law is so ambitious, it's fine to use the money to support his career. Why stop him? If he succeeds, isn't it also your success?"

But Midori still insisted on opposing it.

"No, no, Rinko. Which woman doesn't want her husband to be successful? But I tell you, what Yujiro thinks is really unrealistic. Yes, in fact, I also know that in an insurance company, it takes at least 5 million yen to go from a salesperson to a branch manager, and this statement is not groundless. But this game is not something that children like us who come from poor families can afford to play. Those talented students who graduated from Keio University and Waseda University married daughters of wealthy families who are well-matched. They spent 5 million yen to get promoted, which is just an initial investment. Success or failure is completely irrelevant. But what if we fail? That comes at the cost of economic collapse and huge debt risks. We can't afford such consequences. In that case, our lives will be ruined. This is not a risk we can afford. Okay, Rinko, don't persuade me. Although my life trajectory is already like this, I will never let you ruin your life because of myself. This is not a risk we should take."

Rinko Kagawa was speechless.

At this moment, she didn't know why she remembered what Ning Weimin said to her after her sister's wedding a few months ago.

“Happiness doesn’t mean exactly the same thing to everyone.”

“Only when a person’s income is independent can he or she be independent in character.”

"It is career that gives men the power to rule the world, and career can also give women freedom..."

Originally she thought those words might not be entirely true, but after seeing her sister's appearance today, she no longer doubted these words.

Yes, if a woman ties her life to a man, it is as unreliable as tying her life to a kite!

Even Yujiro, who is always gentle to his sister, has such a domineering side.

My sister was really blinded by love at that time.

  If she hadn't gotten married, how comfortable would our lives be if we sisters and I lived together with our current income?

Why suffer such injustice?

As she was thinking about it, Rinko Kagawa suddenly had an idea and felt that she could at least think of a way to alleviate her sister's financial difficulties.

"Oh! By the way, sister, if you don't want to use my money, how about I arrange a part-time job for you? 2,000 yen per hour, you come to Huiwentang Bookstore to help from 9 am to 1 pm every day. Are you willing?"

Midoriko hadn't expected her sister to suddenly bring up such a topic, and the sudden change of thought left her stunned.

Rinko Kagawa tried her best to list the benefits of this part-time job for her.

"It's only four hours a day, and there aren't many guests in the morning. It won't interfere with your housework, and your brother-in-law won't know."

After doing the math, she found that she could earn 160,000 yen a month, and Midori was indeed tempted.

But she thought about it for a while and still had some concerns out of moral sense.

"How come a temporary worker is paid 2,000 yen per hour? The bookstore belongs to President Ning. Your deliberate care for me will damage the interests of the bookstore, isn't that bad? If President Ning finds out, how can we face him? He has already taken good care of us. I don't want him to lose trust in you because of me. This can't be done..."

Rinko Kagawa quickly explained why she didn't expect her sister would consider Ning Weimin in this way.

"No, no, that's not the case. Sister, you probably don't know after becoming a housewife. It's hard to find temporary workers now, and the prices are basically like this. That's why Huiwentang Bookstore has been closed in the morning because there are few customers. It's because there is a lack of reliable people. At least two employees should be arranged for one shift. But you are different. If you are willing to help, it will be a good thing for the bookstore. At least it can increase the business hours of the bookstore, save the cost of hiring one person, and receive more customers. If President Ning knew, he would be happy."

"If that's the case, then I'd love to give it a try. So Rinko, when can you start work?"

"Well, how about starting from tomorrow? Although tomorrow is the weekend, my brother-in-law doesn't stay at home much on weekends recently. I'll be off tomorrow, so I can go with you for two days. I'll take you to get familiar with the environment and work process, okay?"

"That's great. I'm sorry to bother you. Thank you, sister. From now on, Rinko will be my boss. Please take care of me."

"No way, don't say that, sister, do you want me to blush?"

Seeing her sister finally stop crying and smile, Rinko Kagawa finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, she lied and had some tricks up her sleeve in this matter.

Because even though there is a shortage of labor now, temporary workers used to earn only 800 yen per hour, but now it has risen to 1,200 to 1,400 yen.

She said this just to help her sister.

Of course, she would not let Ning Weimin suffer any loss.

In fact, what she thought was that she could just use her own salary to make up for her sister's debt.

But then again, even though Ning Weimin didn't know about it, the sisters would still remember Ning Weimin's good points in their hearts.

Because if there was no Ning Weimin, if there was no his trust, if there was no bookstore of his.

Then they are helpless in the face of the current situation.

Meeting President Ning was definitely the luckiest thing that happened to them in Tokyo.

This is undoubtedly the unspoken consensus among the Kagawa sisters.

…………

When a person is sad and upset, having someone who can sincerely comfort him or her is definitely a good thing that is beneficial to physical and mental health and can release negative emotions.

However, Yujiro Sami, who felt that his self-esteem was trampled upon and left home in anger, was not as lucky as Midori.

There was no one around him who could do this for him like Rinko Kagawa did for Midori.

So, not only was he on his way to the company, he was still furious.

As a result, he did not seek help from the "subway pushers" today, but squeezed onto the subway with his own brute force, prompting many passengers who were unfortunate enough to be in the same carriage with him to wail in dissatisfaction.

  (In Tokyo, Japan, the crowded subway has spawned a new job - "pushers", whose task is to help passengers squeeze into the subway)

Even when he came to the company, he still worked in a serious state throughout the day.

His abnormal state, which was manifested by his frowning brows, was also observed by his subordinates.

All the sales staff under Zuo Haiyoujiro spent that day in fear and trepidation.

Especially at six o'clock in the afternoon, when the team meeting was held to summarize the day's performance, these people became a group of cowardly mutes.

  No one dares to take the initiative to call their target customers one by one, and they all say "Oh, sorry, I haven't made a decision yet.

They often tell their team leaders the bad news like "Oh", "Let's talk about it next month", "Sorry, we chose another company".

In the end, it was only after Zuo Haiyoujiro's repeated questioning that several salesmen mustered up the courage to work together and give him unsatisfactory feedback.

Needless to say, Zuo Hai Youjiro must be full of dissatisfaction, and the anger that had been suppressed for a long time finally found a way to vent.

He lost his temper on the spot and his subordinates immediately became his punching bags.

"Asshole! With results like this, what can I report? Is it that hard to sell insurance? If we keep going like this, our team will become a laughing stock in the company. I tell you, starting tomorrow, you all have to work twice as hard and get results at all costs!"

However, it is undeniable that these subordinates are different from him.

Because everyone has the attitude of doing it if they can, and leaving if they can't.

No one was like him, truly willing to devote his all to Taisho Insurance Co., Ltd.

"Team leader, this can't be entirely our fault. I almost knelt down to the client in order to get him to take time off for a physical examination. I finally got his consent, but he hinted to me that he liked whiskey. But even cheap wine like Suntory Red Label costs money. You know, I have already paid for gifts to three clients, but I have only signed one insurance policy, and it will take some time before I get the commission. I really can't afford it at the moment, so I have no choice but to give up."

"Team leader, we have worked hard enough, but we cannot do it alone. You have to give us some support. Many other teams are holding marketing activities to develop new customers in order to win over customers. For example, when holding a reception for a celebrity speaker, the venue must be the 'such and such hall' of a super five-star hotel. A full dinner is also included, and the cost is an average of 15,000 yen per person, which is super luxurious. However, the guests are all high-income groups such as doctors and tax consultants, and any insurance policy signed is worth hundreds of millions of yen. If you join us, you will have such an opportunity, and of course you can use these people as a breakthrough to sell."

The male salesmen began to complain and cry out for injustice, but the women's psychological endurance was even more fragile and they could not stand any grievance at all.

She actually said to him, "Selling insurance is not like picking apples. There are apples on the tree waiting for you to pick them. Even if you say that to me, I can't do anything about it. Forget it, my family doesn't expect me to support them anyway. If you are so dissatisfied, then I won't come tomorrow..."

In the end, it was Zuo Haiyoujiro himself who felt the most headache.

Of course, he knew in his heart that his subordinates' excuses and pretexts actually made sense.

In order to achieve better results, those team leaders with good family backgrounds know how to use their family backgrounds to create sales opportunities for their teams, and are willing to use money as a tool to assist.

But can he? He doesn't have a rich and powerful father.

In addition, he really cannot treat his subordinates with oppression like his boss did.

If the situation really gets to the point where subordinates resign, the boss will definitely blame the high turnover rate of his subordinates.

Think he lacks leadership skills...

Damn it, this life is really unbearable.

I have no money and no people. It’s so difficult!

In short, Zuo Haiyoujilang spent an extremely bad day in a very depressed mood. His whole world turned gray today, gray-white during the day and gray-black at night. He really couldn't think of how to improve his performance as soon as possible to avoid being scolded by his boss at the end of the month.

For this reason, even though he got off work early that day and left the company at 8 o'clock, Zuo Hai Youjiro, who did not want to go home immediately, still went to an izakaya and tried to relieve the performance pressure by getting drunk.

However, he did not understand the truth that "wine enters the heart of sorrow and only makes it more sorrowful."

Instead of giving him the pleasure he desired, his reckless drinking made him feel even more miserable.

When he walked out of the izakaya, he was half drunk but did not feel that his negative emotions were released, and the resentment in his chest was still pent up.

On the contrary, this uncomfortable feeling made him feel as if he had fallen into a quagmire from which it was difficult to move forward.

Under the neon lights, he staggered forward. He was exhausted, but had no idea how to break through the bottleneck in his career or whether his future could shine again.

Zuo Haiyoujiro couldn't understand it. Compared with many of his peers, he was obviously good enough.

When he was less than 30 years old, he was promoted to team leader at Taisho Insurance.

In addition to buying his own house in Tokyo, he also married a gentle and virtuous wife.

Even the company's salaries and bonuses continue to rise.

He should be the winner, but why doesn't he even have 30,000 yen in his wallet now?

Because of his limited financial resources, he was unable to provide his subordinates with the help they needed.

He also didn't dare accept the invitation to play golf with a client tomorrow.

Or play mahjong with Ninomiya Hideo, Nagase Yasuo and others.

He didn't even have the courage to take out a 10,000 yen bill to call a taxi home.

  How did he, who works so hard every day and is considered an elite in the insurance industry by others, end up in such a miserable state?

To be honest, he was actually very envious of those team leaders who had family connections and financial support.

Not only are they able to take advantage of the advantages in developing customer resources, some of them have also made a lot of money through stock market investments.

So, for them, life has entered a virtuous cycle.

On the other hand, he himself was unable to move forward due to lack of money.

How ridiculous! Now even hard work requires financial support to achieve results!

He is a team leader, but now even his wife looks down on him, and he can't even control his subordinates.

Everyone dared to oppose him openly, and it was very likely that they were laughing at him behind his back.

  money! money! money!

correct!

  The key to everything points to money!

What he lacks most is money!

This society is such an unfair society!

It is so difficult for children from poor families.

Without support and money, it is impossible to pursue your ideals and it is difficult to achieve success in your career.

If he had sufficient funds, based on his work ability, the position of branch chief would be a piece of cake for him.

He didn't believe that the team leaders of other groups could surpass him in performance.

Don’t those people rely on having a good father?

  That's cheating, what kind of skill is that!

Thinking of this, Zuo Haiyoujiro sighed deeply, his eyes filled with despair.

There is nothing else to do. What he regrets now is that he discovered this problem and understood this truth, but it seems too late.

It was really a wrong step.

If I had bought a smaller house, or not bought a house at all, but invested all the money I earned in the stock market...

  Well...so now he can handle everything with ease with the money he earned from the stock market, right?

Maybe if I can get a promotion, I can also use the money I earn to buy a house. I won’t have to worry about the monthly mortgage like I do now.

Yes, it must be like this, if you want to lead the road to success.

He just lacked some funds that he could use freely.

It's his own fault. He made the wrong choice at the most critical moment.

He was extremely sure about this.

However, the trajectory of life is so unpredictable.

At this moment, when Zuo Haiyoujiro was walking towards the subway station, suddenly an advertising leaflet was blown onto him by the wind.

Originally, he took it casually and wanted to throw it away.

But for some unknown reason, he took a look at it before throwing it away.

As a result, just with this one glance, I unexpectedly seemed to have discovered an opportunity to solve my own problems and a turning point in my destiny.

"One phone call! Two hundred thousand yen in cash!"

"Cash delivered to your door, only for 100,000 yen or more!"

"Apply by phone and the loan will be disbursed immediately! Second application, direct bank transfer!"

"Loans up to 3 million yen, no income certificate required!"

In addition to these eye-catching headlines, the name of the company is written in the most prominent position of the flyer - "Takefuji! A cash store that will never let you down!"

(Takefuji's founder, Yasuo Takei, required his employees to bow to his photo every day when they came to work and recite his famous quotes aloud)

This is...is this an advertisement for a personal consumer loan company?

After several seconds of analysis, Zuo Haiyoujiro stood up and shook his dizzy head before he figured out the contents of the flyer.

He remembered that he had not only seen the TV commercials, but also seemed to have seen the company's street advertisements there.

  (Takefuji's TV commercial)

It should be a strong and formal company. I heard that the service is good and the interest rate is not high.

Have you seen it there?

He couldn't remember, but it didn't matter, because he still remembered that there seemed to be a sales office of this company on the street corner ahead.

  You might as well give it a try. If the loan can be granted smoothly, why not?

From now on, I won’t have to ask my wife for money or look at her face anymore.

Thinking of this, Zuo Haiyoujiro, who had been depressed all day, finally felt a little positive.

He had never considered borrowing from a loan shark, but now he was really tempted.

He also thought that maybe there really were gods in this world, and maybe the gods heard his thoughts and gave him this hint.

So he decisively changed his plan of taking the subway home, and instead burped comfortably, and continued walking towards the road in front of the station with a vague expectation and hope.

At this moment, Zuo Haiyoujiro had no idea to what extent this flyer that he had accidentally obtained and paid attention to would lead his life astray.

He also didn't know that once something started, misfortune would come rolling in.

He didn't even know that it was right behind him, on the roof of a building.

The Takefuji logo on the flyer was in huge neon light mode, emitting the brightest light at night.

It seems to be enough to light up half the night sky!

However, this kind of dazzling brilliance and splendor seems somewhat lacking in solemnity and grandeur because it flashes too quickly.

Rather, it looked like a bewitching monster looking down upon all living beings, blinking and snickering because of a successful plan.

(Takefuji's street sign advertising) (End of this chapter)