Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 357 The Invisible Desolation
February 28st.

The last day of February.

Platinum Terrace, in the living room of Hanyu Hideki's house, the warm sunshine of early spring shines through the glass, casting undulating outlines on the house.

Facing the direction of the light, a wooden easel is supported. Hanyu Hideki is sitting in front of it, painting freely.

Nakolulu was lying on her stomach next to Hideki Hanyu. The little female cat, which had not seen its owner for a long time, seemed quite clingy at this time. She seemed to be sleeping, but her tail was still gently wrapped around her owner's trousers.

On the record player not far away, a vinyl record was slowly spinning.

The gentle classical music melody is warm, profound and sweet.

It's Robert Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood", the seventh Fantasy.

Under the soft sunshine and classical music, the handsome writer paints according to the cat, which is like a beautiful picture in itself.

This is the second day after Hanyu Hideki returned to Tokyo.

He had been busy all afternoon just after he came back.

Decided to put off all trips for the time being and let myself relax physically and mentally.

Often at this time, I don't refer to the memory in my mind, don't care about winning awards or the market, and just create casually.

This feeling of letting go of everything makes Hideki Hanyu very comfortable.

Ding-dong-

I don’t know how long it took, but I suddenly remembered the doorbell.

That sense of freedom was interrupted.

Hideki Hanyu put down his brush and sighed.

When you are in a high position, you will naturally feel helpless.

After being away from Neon for so long, I finally came back. There are some things that you can't just ignore if you don't want to.

Marco and other bodyguards were guarding the house outside.

It is impossible for ordinary people to disturb him.

The only people who can be found at this time are acquaintances.

Opening the door, he saw Eri Kitahara waving to him.

After Kitahara Eri was brought into the house, she immediately picked up the little female cat and exclaimed with some difficulty.

"Well, I haven't seen you yet. Nakolulu is so heavy. If it gets heavier, she won't be able to hold her anymore."

"That's because your physical strength is too weak. Iwata-san is in charge of Elf Entertainment. You should exercise more when you are not busy. Health is the most important thing."

After Hanyu Hideki finished persuading, he asked.

"I was just getting ready to have a good day's rest, and Kitahara-san suddenly came to my door. Is there something urgent?"

"Hanyu-san has been in Xiangjiang for so long, haven't you had enough rest?" Kitahara Eri said.

Hanyu Hideki's expression was exaggerated, "Huh? Who said I was going to rest? I was obviously going to work, okay?"

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Hanyu-san."

Kitahara Eri gave a perfunctory comfort, then put down Nakolulu, "I came to Hanyu-san this time because I have something to say."

"Sit down and talk slowly."

Hideki Hanyu invited Eri Kitahara to sit at the tea table in the living room.

He didn't have much research on tea ceremony, and he was not as good as Yanai Masaru, but he had seen a lot and was so influenced by it that he could still do a little pretense.

Seeing Hideki Hanyu making tea for her, Eri Kitahara joked, "Drinking tea brewed by Hideki Hanyu is considered a source of conversation."

Hanyu Hideki pushed the tea in front of Kitahara Eri.

"Okay, Beihara-san suddenly came to see me, not to see my poor tea ceremony skills. Let's talk about business."

Kitahara Eri took the tea with both hands, "First of all, my old friend from Shogakukan wanted me to ask Hanyu-san if he has any plans for his works this year? Should the autograph session be held?"

Hearing this, Hanyu Hideki showed a strange expression, "Why don't they come and ask me in person?"

"Hanyu-san was away from Neon some time ago, so they consulted Yunshang Culture." Eri Kitahara said.

"I only have one picture book now and the manuscript for the seventh part of The Magic Snack Shop. As for the book signing, I don't have time in May or July. If I have time in June, I'll find two cities to visit."

Although Hideki Hanyu is running around, he still finds time to create in his spare time.

But there are only picture books and magical snack shops.

As for other works, he has no ideas yet.

"I'll have someone notify Shogakukan if you tell me, but that's actually why I came here this time."

Kitahara Eri said, took out a document and pushed it in front of Hanyu Hideki.

Said at the same time.

"This is the plan that President Hirohashi, Iwata-san and I agreed upon together. Can Hanyu-san see if there is anything that needs to be modified?"

Hideki Hanyu took the document and looked at it. The first thing was the name of the document.

Peripheral marketing and copyright operation planning for Elf Entertainment and Yunshang Entertainment.

Read the content again.

Officially, Hideki Hanyu mentioned before, regarding the independence of peripheral product marketing and copyright operations from Fairy Entertainment.

After putting Satoru Iwata in charge of managing Elf Entertainment.

He feels that it is better for game companies to focus on games.

As for the work of derivatives operations, it is best to separate them independently while ensuring that the content is coordinated. Otherwise, it will be easy to distract attention and lose focus on the other.

Now it seems that Eri Kitahara not only intends to only take over the derivatives business of Elf Entertainment.

It is also recommended that even Yunshang Entertainment eat in as well.

This suggestion was also recognized by Asako Hirohashi.

After Hideki Hanyu read the content, he roughly understood why Eri Kitahara did what he did.

Because many copyrights derived from games, in addition to games and comics, also have a large part of their influence because of the cartoons produced by Yunshang Entertainment.

For example, after "Super Mario Bros." became popular all over the world through games.

Yunshang Entertainment took advantage of the popularity of the game to translate the animation and push it overseas.

Especially in the American market, the Cloud Animation Division relied on the popularity of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to establish cooperative relationships with many TV stations and began to promote other animations.

Although the ratings are good and bad, it is undeniable that animation has brought huge help to the promotion of IP.

These IP copyrights need to be shared with Cloud Entertainment when Elf Entertainment uses derivatives and copyrights to create revenue.

In addition, the two companies are now collaborating at a strategic level on tokusatsu drama projects.

Although for Hideki Hanyu, this is nothing more than a matter of left hand and right forehead.

However, as its copyrights become more and more influential and their income becomes higher, the settlement between the two independent clubs will become more and more troublesome.

Therefore, in terms of cooperation, it is required that the two parties must have a more effective method of profit distribution.

From this point of view, it is imperative to jointly establish a derivatives and copyright operating company to uniformly manage the copyrights of the two companies.

In this plan agreed upon by Kitahara Eri and Hirohashi Asako.

Not only will derivatives and copyright sales be separated from Elf Entertainment, but Elf Publishing will also be taken away.

After all, Elf Publishing House has been serving stories and derivatives since its inception, and Kitahara Eri did not want to let it escape control.

The leading party and controlling party of this new company is neither Elf Entertainment nor Yunshang Entertainment.

It’s Hanyu Hideki’s Cloud Culture.

After all, Hanyu Hideki put all the copyrights of Elf Entertainment under the management of Yunshang Culture for the sake of safety.

Even if the operation is split, it will still be authorized by Yunshang Culture.

Seeing Hanyu Hideki finish reading, Kitahara Eri asked, "Hanyu-san, do you have any comments?"

As of now, as long as the boss Hideki Hanyu doesn't object.

Next, Kitahara Eri will completely launch the formation of a new club.

"I generally have no objections to this plan, but as for the employee bonus distribution plan, I will carefully calculate it and make sure there are no mistakes."

According to Hanyu Hideki, convenient management is good.

But the interests of subordinates cannot be harmed just for the sake of convenience.

After all, in the past, the income generated from derivatives and copyrights would also be included in the year-end dividend bonus pool.

Now that this part is separated, the income will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

As the saying goes, when you win a favor, you lose a favor.

The bonus distribution method he originally implemented.

In essence, it is equivalent to giving all employees a "share".

It's just that this stake is not fixed and will be affected by the club's income, position, and contribution.

The company has been running for so many years, and this distribution system has been working well, and employees from top to bottom are also very satisfied.

It has also established an excellent reputation in the industry.

It has made Elf Entertainment the most desirable club for Neon graduates and talents in the industry.

The bubble economy started, and Neon Club also started a fierce competition for talents.

Various promises are given free of charge.

Elf Entertainment, on the other hand, is sitting on Diaoyutai without any competition and is just recruiting as usual.

As a result, there is still an endless stream of people who want to join every graduation season.

While attracting talents, Elf Entertainment also has a very low job-hopping rate.

Nowadays, the game market is booming, and many clubs are offering high prices to poach people.

There are also many game producers who have switched jobs and gone it alone.

But in Elf Entertainment, this kind of situation is rarely seen.

The reason.

First of all, good company benefits are of course the first priority.

For example, the house-buying benefits have been implemented for so long, especially after housing prices soared last year, and have been praised by all employees of the company.

Then there is the bonus distribution system that is fair, transparent, consistent and never breaks its promise.

Of course, in addition to welfare and income, Elf Entertainment, which focuses on young people, values ​​​​one thing the most.

That is the working atmosphere that is different from other clubs in Neon.

After all, the club is still very young, and the boss is Hanyu Hideki, a "people-friendly, neither old nor young" hands-off shopkeeper.

Coupled with the management of Satoru Iwata, an executive who "studies in the United States".

The internal atmosphere of Elf Entertainment can be described as joyful, happy and relaxed.

Plus an overall reasonable distribution of benefits.

This creates a healthy competitive working atmosphere.

This makes young people and talented people yearn to join Elf Entertainment.And once you join, it is easy to integrate into the group and create a strong sense of belonging.

Even if faced with more favorable conditions, he is unwilling to change jobs.

That's why Hideki Hanyu asked Eri Kitahara to calculate the distribution of bonuses.

This hard-won corporate culture cannot be destroyed for the sake of management convenience.

Hideki Hanyu has always believed that companies that only give employees a pie and do not provide benefits will not be able to retain talents.

And giving benefits does not mean satisfying employees' desires without any upper limit.

As long as employees feel that they have worked hard, they will get the rewards and honors they deserve.

For example, the games that employees participated in the development of this year have sold well, creating benefits for the club.

Then the club should give appropriate bonuses.

In terms of honor, the same cannot be left behind.

For example, directly distribute prizes and certificates of honor to employees’ families, invite employees’ families to attend year-end parties, and participate in company-organized trips, etc.

For this reason, Elf Entertainment has set up an honors class in the General Affairs Department to deal with this matter.

It doesn't cost much, but the results are great.

Through practice, the Honors Class found that among the reward gifts that employees’ families like most, the top ones are not small household appliances.

Instead, there are signed photos of employees and Chairman Hideki Hanyu, or signed books by the president.

Especially when there are women in the family, the effect of giving these things is particularly good.

It always helps employees gain face at home.

Last year, Hideki Hanyu was unable to attend the year-end party at the end of the year because of something else, which disappointed many family members who came to see Hideki Hanyu as the president.

I have to say that with a heartthrob president, it will become easier to give out prizes continuously.

For this reason, the head of the general affairs department of Elf Entertainment frequently asked Hanyu Hideki to sign autographs while holding photos and books.

He even suggested at one point that Hideki Hanyu personally come to praise outstanding employees.

Hanyu Hideki was so embarrassed that he ran away when he saw the guy.

Eri Kitahara naturally understands Hanyu Hideki's worries.

"I will definitely handle this matter carefully and will definitely not harm everyone's interests."

In fact, there is no need for Hideki Hanyu to tell him, but Eri Kitahara will make careful calculations.

After all, she also belongs to the category of people who take "dry shares".

Elf Entertainment's revenue surged last year, and the dividends she received from Elf Entertainment were even higher than the profits of some small gaming clubs.

Not to mention repaying the mortgage, he is even planning to follow Hideki Hanyu's advice and buy a few more houses in one go.

Thinking of this, she said with a smile.

"I'm currently considering consulting with Yata-san to buy a few more apartments in Tokyo, so Hanyu-san, please rest assured that I won't miscalculate the bonus in order to repay the loan."

Hanyu Hideki also laughed when he heard this.

However, he said, "If Kitahara-san wants to invest, I have a better suggestion recently."

"What opportunity?" Kitahara Eri asked curiously.

She is [-]% convinced of Hanyu Hideki's investment ability.

Back then, Hideki Hanyu "forced" her to buy an apartment in Bunkyo District.

Only a few years have passed, and the value of that house has already appreciated by 50.00%.

Hideki Hanyu said, "Crescent Cinema Line is preparing to go public and needs to meet the number of shareholders. It will arrange the subscription of original shares in advance. I asked Asako-san to arrange some shares for you."

Of course, Kitahara Eri is happy to subscribe for the original shares.

But there was another thing that surprised her even more.

Eri Kitahara said in surprise, "Crescent Cinema is going to be launched so soon, but Game Base is still planning."

The plans to list Crescent Cinema and Game Base Publishing were confirmed almost at the same time.

But Crescent Cinema has already started taking action.

The game base is expected to take some time to be planned.

"The two are completely incomparable. Crescent Cinema Line controls a lot of real estate, so it is easier to operate." Hanyu Hideki explained.

"So that's the case, but the game base has to speed up."

"Naito Securities, which is cooperating with Crescent Cinemas, can be considered. Behind them is the Daiichi Banking Group, which can provide a lot of help in listing."

"No problem, I'll ask President Guangqiao later."

When Kitahara Eri said this, he talked about another thing.

"The contract between Elf Factory and the labor dispatch agency has ended. I have recently considered whether to renew the contract."

"What do you mean? Are they going to raise prices again?" Hanyu Hideki asked.

Last year, he went to the Elf Factory to watch the EGP arcade test, which happened to be the time when the third-party labor dispatch company was renewing its contract.

At that time, the other party asked for a salary increase.

"We are not asking for a salary increase. However, Elf Factory's factories and OEMs in South Asia, South Korea, Bay, and China are enough to meet our production needs at low costs.

On the other hand, Neon's factories are experiencing rising export costs due to the appreciation of the yen, and reproduction is at a loss.

And other manufacturers are also transferring a large amount of production capacity overseas.

So I considered keeping the neon production line running at a minimum and no longer using third-party dispatch workers. "

Hideki Hanyu was not surprised by Kitahara Eri's plan.

On the surface, Neon's financial market and real estate market are booming and prosperous.

Those real estate, banking, financial and other companies and practitioners are making huge profits.

However, the appreciation of the yen and the increased pressure on exports will inevitably cause capital to vote with its feet and accelerate the transfer of manufacturing to low-cost countries.

A large number of factories closed and industrial workers lost their jobs.

Under the seemingly beautiful bubble.

But it is getting easier and easier for the rich at the top to make money.

It is getting harder and harder for ordinary people to make money.

This is the invisible desolation under prosperity.

and future generations...

Forget it, I'll eat river crabs if I talk too much.

However, Hideki Hanyu gave different opinions on Kitahara Eri's suggestion.

"Third-party labor dispatch can no longer cooperate, but we will continue to recruit workers to maintain operations. From now on, the production capacity of the Neon Elf factory will mainly be supplied to the Neon domestic market."

"Although this can solve the problem of exports, it still cannot solve the problem of our declining profits."

Kitahara Eri didn't understand Hanyu Hideki's approach.

"Kitahara-san, sometimes when we do things, we can't just think about making money, so just listen to me." Hanyu Hideki didn't explain much.

It's not that he wanted to be kind and help Neon solve the unemployment rate or something.

Just as a capitalist, a capitalist who needs to deal with the upper-level forces.

Hanyu Hideki's perspective on things is different from Kitahara Eri's.

In a society like Neon, the workers under your control are also a kind of capital to a certain extent.

Just like after his factory in Sendai was put into production, it recruited a large number of industrial workers because it was a labor-intensive enterprise.

Therefore, in this year's local elections, we can already influence some things to a certain extent.

"Okay, I listen to Hanyu-san, but even so, our factory cannot operate at full capacity. After all, the Neon market cannot handle that much production capacity."

Kitahara Eri decided to follow Hanyu Hideki's decision.

"It doesn't matter, just do your best."

"Now that I've finished my business, I won't disturb Hanyu-san's rest. I'll take my leave now."

"Why don't you stay and have lunch together? I recently hired a Chinese chef and the Chinese food he cooked is very good."

"No need, I still have a lot of work on my hands."

"Okay then, if you need me to handle something, call me in time."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

"Goodbye."

Hideki Hanyu sends Eri Kitahara out.

Soon the Chinese chef he hired came to the door with ingredients.

After greeting Marco and his men and eating a bunch of delicious Sichuan food.

Hideki Hanyu felt refreshed physically and mentally after eating.

Marco and his men were sweating from the food, and their faces were red from the spicy food.

After lunch, just as Hideki Hanyu was sitting back at his easel, ready to continue creating, he suddenly heard the sound of a key opening the door.

Except for him and Chie Ishihara, who helps him take care of Nakolulu, the key to this house is there.

Only Akina Nakamori has the key.

When he was at home, Ishihara Chie would definitely not open the door without permission, but would ring the doorbell.

Therefore, the only one who could open the door directly without the bodyguards blocking her or ringing the doorbell was Akina Nakamori.

Sure enough, there was a cheer of joy.

He saw Akina Nakamori rushing towards him.

"Hanyu-kun, you are finally back. I miss you so much."

Hideki Hanyu opened his arms and caught Akina Nakamori.

"Hmm... I'm also thinking about Akina, why are you back so early today? Do you think you won't work hard if you become the president?"

Hanyu Hideki did not expect that his joking question would come up.

Nakamori Akina's little face immediately drooped.

He sighed and said, "Something happened. I'll end my trip temporarily and come back to deal with it."

Hideki Hanyu asked, "At work?"

When Nakamori Akina heard this, she shook her head.

　Not surprisingly, there was an accident.

　　I updated my computer system last night, and then my computer stopped working for me today. After struggling all day, my computer is still stuck. I can only code words first and continue to clean up tomorrow.

　　So the extra chapter is not finished yet, and the main text is only 5400.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)