Chapter 460: Childcare
After coming out of the Keidanren meeting room, Shirakawa Feng and his friends did not stay for long but drove away directly.
However, he did not return to Shirakawa Building in Shibuya, but instead headed to Minato Ward.
When they were almost reaching their destination, Shirakawa Kaede asked Kojima to stop the car.
After getting off the car, he stood on the side of the road and looked at the construction site not far away with an expectant look on his face.
By chance, he turned around and saw Kamachi Sachiko's curious eyes, and Shirakawa Feng explained with a smile.
"That's the headquarters of Shirakawa Holdings. It should be ready for use in the spring of next year."
This piece of land was acquired by Baichuan Holdings in 1985 and covers an area of nearly 20,000 square meters.
Based on the land price of around 800,000 yen at the time, the land alone cost nearly 16 billion yen.
If it were today, the same piece of land would not be acquired without 50 billion yen.
It's exaggerated, right? The land price in Tokyo has nearly doubled in two years, and it's still rising.
This is because the land prices in Tokyo, as a metropolis, are already high enough. The land prices in remote areas of Japan have quadrupled, if not doubled, by four or five times.
For example, in Akita, a few years ago, no one was interested in land, and a good location was only tens of thousands of yen.
Now, the average price has risen to more than 500,000 yuan, and the average price has more than doubled.
This is not to mention that the land price in Kazuo is almost as high as that in Tokyo. As a resort area, its land price is directly kicked out.
This is the general situation in Neon right now. Land prices are soaring not only in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, but throughout Neon.
At this time, Baichuan Feng happened to pass by here, so he got off the car to take a look.
And it is not just the Shirakawa Holdings headquarters that is under construction. Because of the urban redevelopment plan, demolition and reconstruction are taking place everywhere in the Minato area.
These newly built buildings are generally bold and avant-garde in design, with a Western style.
Affected by the bubble economy, people's aesthetic tastes have become much more exaggerated and have invisibly moved closer to the West.
After all, although Japan has not achieved the goal of "leaving Asia and joining Europe", it still yearns for it deep down.
Baichuan Feng shook his head. He really couldn't understand the complicated mentality involved.
"It's not far from here. Come walk with me."
"Hayi"
They were going to meet another group of guests later, but it was still early and not far from here, so Baichuan Feng simply walked over.
The pedestrians on the street were well- dressed and almost everyone had a smile on their face.
Baichuan Feng took a quick glance and saw that they were all branded goods.
But the port area is one of the truly wealthy areas, so it is normal to see this scene here.
However, before he had taken two steps, Baichuan Feng saw several eye-catching magazines hanging outside the convenience store.
"Japan First", "Japan Can Say No to the United States!", "Japan, the Leader of the New Era"
The red cover and the bold yellow font are very eye-catching.
To Shirakawa Feng's surprise, such magazines seemed to be very marketable.
At least a few people took the magazine in front of the convenience store, went in to pay, and then took it away.
This... Shirakawa Feng looked back at the Western-style building under construction not far away, and then looked at the magazine in front of him.
The completely different scenes before and after even made him feel a sense of disconnection.
It is indeed a magical age. After seeing so many bizarre things, I am no longer surprised.
Shirakawa Feng was about to turn around and say something, but he saw Kamachi Sachiko looking curiously at a shop not far away.
Shirakawa Kaede looked up and saw Art Climbing Co., Ltd.
"Go in and take a look?"
"Eh" she came back to her senses and smiled sheepishly.
"Let's go." Without waiting for her to refuse, Baichuan Feng walked into the store which was decorated with an artistic atmosphere.
Sachiko Kamachi paused slightly, then followed him in.
Just looking at the name of the store, Shirakawa Kaede, you might not know what it does specifically. It was only after you entered that you realized it was a gallery.
But because he didn't understand paintings very well, Baichuan Feng couldn't tell whether it was good or bad after looking around.
However, Sachiko Kamachi was looking around the store , but it was not known whether it was Shirakawa Kaede's illusion.
He always felt that the other person frowned slightly when he looked at these framed paintings.
"Sir, Miss, welcome to the Art Climbing Gallery. How may I help you?"
Less than two minutes after Baichuan Feng and the others came in, a middle-aged man with shiny hair walked over in an elegant manner.
Seeing that Sachiko Kamachi was staring at the painting on the wall in a daze, the middle-aged man immediately walked up to her attentively.
"Miss, you have a good eye. This daisy is the latest work from a top student at Musashino Art University.
Mr. Akiyama is hailed as the most promising art student in Musashino in recent years, and it is almost certain that he will become a famous artist in the future.
Because he hasn't graduated yet, the painting is sold at a low price of only 2 million yen!
For an upcoming artist, this price is something you can only encounter once in a while.”
The middle-aged man looked regretful, as if it would be a great loss if Baichuan Feng and the others didn't buy it.
Although Baichuan Feng doesn't understand painting, he understands people.
Just based on the store manager's talkative style, Baichuan Feng had already given him a big cross in his heart.
So seeing Kamachi Sachiko's surprised and hesitant look, Shirakawa Kaede smiled and walked forward.
"this……"
"Oh, my name is Takeru Sato. This is my business card, please keep it for yourself, sir."
The middle-aged man named Sato immediately took out two business cards from his pocket and handed them to Shirakawa Kaede and Kamachi Sachiko respectively.
"So it's Mr. Sato," Shirakawa Kaede said politely with a smile, "But speaking of paintings, I always feel that this painting of "Daisy" is somewhat familiar."
"Uh..." Sato was a little stuck, but he quickly reacted.
"Sir, you must have remembered it wrongly. This is Akiyama-san's latest work from last week. But since chrysanthemums are precious flowers, it's not surprising that there are similar paintings.
If you are not satisfied, we also have the rare painting "Kanagawa" by Master Ebi Akira from Saitama Prefecture.
This painting is a treasure, and 3 million yen is definitely a price you can’t miss.”
Well, there are famous paintings one after another, and the prices are all over one million yen.
Without exception, the paintings introduced by Sato all looked exquisite, and the decorative frames in which they were mounted were also extremely gorgeous.
But judging from the slightly frowning expression on Kamachi Sachiko's face, one could tell there must be something fishy going on.
But before Baichuan Feng and the others could respond, a young couple walked over hand in hand.
"Aming, this painting of "Daisies" is so beautiful . I like it very much." The girl grabbed the young man's arm and shook it coquettishly.
"Momoko, isn't 2 million yen a bit expensive?" The young man hesitated.
"Sir, this is a masterpiece by a top student from Musashi. As a future master, this price is not expensive at all.
You see, he used all his energy to pursue the simplest and most ordinary thing in the world, which is the sun.
Chrysanthemum is a yellow symphony, a life that never stops burning~!"
"Si Guoyi, it turns out that you are a top student in Musashino." As Sato spoke eloquently, the young man nodded in agreement from time to time.
If you don’t know, you might think these are two connoisseurs communicating about their artistic creations.
Two minutes later, the young man happily took out the money and gave the packaged painting to the girl Taozi next to him.
At the moment before leaving, the girl gave Sato a subtle wink.
All of this was seen clearly by Baichuan Feng who was standing on the sidelines watching the show.
Sato, who had just finished a business deal, turned around with a smile on his face and prepared to greet Shirakawa Kaede.
But before he could open his mouth, Baichuan Feng shook his head, indicating that he didn't need it.
"Shall we go?" After confirming with the people around him, Baichuan Feng was ready to leave this boring place.
"Yeah." Sachiko Kamachi nodded, then left the store side by side with Kaede Shirakawa.
She had wanted to leave a long time ago, but because she was too shy, she had never been able to speak up.
"Eh." Looking at the departing backs of Shirakawa Kaede and the others, Sato shook his head with regret.
It was a pity that he missed out on another windfall. According to his observation, the two people just now were definitely not short of money.
Especially that young man, his bearing was extraordinary, which was not comparable to those nouveau riche.
"Shimada, put other paintings in the empty space. Don't put "Daisy" anymore. It's sold too many times and people are almost recognizing it."
Sato came to the inner room, where there was a thick stack of "Daisies" on the table, all of which were the "Daisies" that had just been sold.
"Hai" Shimada had no choice but to take down the "Daisy" that he had just mounted.
"Swish~" Because of carelessness, a big hole was scratched on the picture frame of "Daisy".
"Baga! Be careful, don't damage the picture frame."
Sato picked up the picture frame with concern and looked around to see if there was anything wrong. Then he crumpled up the torn "Daisy" and threw it into the trash can.
These picture frames are all custom-made, and each costs several thousand yen.
As for these masterpieces, they are all prints that can be mass-produced. How can they compare to custom-made frames at a cost of a few hundred yen each?
…
When Shirakawa Kaede walked out of the store, he saw Kamachi Sachiko hesitant to speak and couldn't help laughing.
"Huh?" There was a hint of surprise in her clear eyes.
"Is there something wrong with those paintings just now?" The smile on Baichuan Feng's face became more and more obvious.
"You know?" Sachiko Kamachi didn't expect that Kaede Shirakawa also knew the art of painting.
As if knowing what she was thinking, Baichuan Feng explained with a smile.
“I don’t know how to paint, but I know how to read people.”
"Seeing people?"
"Yes, if my guess is correct, most of the paintings in the store should be very ordinary, or the prices are inflated."
Sachiko Kamachi nodded and did not deny it.
As a fan, I can see the problems with these things if I carefully appreciate them.
"You may not know this yet, but the young couple who just bought the painting, the girl named Taozi, is most likely also closely related to this store."
Pu Chi's eyes widened slightly. She really didn't notice this because she was just busy looking at the painting.
"Have you ever heard of sa-kura?"
Sachiko Kamachi was slightly stunned. Did the gallery also have an agent? This was beyond her imagination.
"As the economy is booming, people are beginning to pursue art. However, taking advantage of this mentality, various scams are emerging one after another."
With too much money in their pockets, ordinary consumption can no longer satisfy the vanity of many people.
So those with deep pockets, especially the nouveau riche, began to pretend to be cultured and seek to collect so-called works of art.
At this time, some thoughtful art dealers would rent stores in busy areas of the city center and decorate them to look like high-end galleries.
Most of the furnishings in the store are paintings that cater to popular tastes and appear to be exquisite.
All that remains is for the clerk to speak eloquently and sell the paintings.
Usually they are art students from prestigious schools, or lesser-known painters from cities and counties. This makes it difficult to verify, and also implies the possibility of appreciation.
Although these paintings will not be sold for millions of US dollars, there is no problem in selling them for millions of yen.
The main point is to capture people's vanity in pursuing art, while the price is well within the affordability of most people.
In order to sell paintings, they even use the love sales method.
The young man who just bought the painting and his girlfriend Taozi have actually only been dating for two weeks.
Before this, Taozi was actually a salesperson in the gallery. She was responsible for finding opportunities to bring the suckers to the gallery and then asking them to buy paintings.
If Baichuan Feng's guess is correct, this young man will soon fall out of love.
Now that the deal is done, Taozi will definitely find a reason to break up quickly, or else will she wait for the day when she is discovered and then be held accountable?
Besides, if I had this much time, I could have gone and caught the next sucker.
Alas, in a society where there are more girls than boys, everyone is a bootlicker.
This method works every time.
And these famous paintings worth millions of dollars each are just like what happened in the store just now.
Most of them are not worth much, and selling one pair would bring huge profits.
As a babysitter, Taozi will also take her share.
Does this set of playing methods sound familiar to you? Think about the wine trays and tea trays of later generations...
Baichuan Feng always felt like he was looking at history in the rearview mirror, and everything seemed so familiar.
This type of gallery later had a special name in Japan, called the high-priced painting scam.
At present, this is still a gray area in the law, and artworks are subjective. Some people may think they are worth a fortune, while others may think they are worthless.
Because of this, even current laws cannot determine that this is an illegal act.
Therefore, even if ordinary people regret it later, they have nowhere to seek justice.
After listening to Shirakawa Kaede's explanation, Kamachi Sachiko was truly eye-opening.
Poor girl, she was still worried that Baichuan Feng would be cheated. It turned out that even if he didn't know how to paint, he still had his own wisdom.
"Okay, let's go to the cafe directly. People from Apple and IBM should be here by now."
Baichuan Feng looked at his watch and headed straight for the Yuehao Coffee Shop with his new assistant.
