Chapter 484: Black Technology
After finishing the phone call with Toshihiro Tajima, Shirakawa Kaede prepared to go to Subaru to take a look.
The contract has been signed and the agreement is being implemented, so my identity as the big boss behind the scenes has been confirmed.
Thinking of this, Baichuan Feng's mood unconsciously became much happier.
"Knock knock knock~" There was a knock on the door.
"Please come in~" Baichuan Feng was in a very good mood and said in a cheerful tone.
Click, and the person who pushed the door open was none other than Sachiko Kamachi, who was holding a cup of coffee.
"Shirakawa-san" placed the coffee in front of him, and Kamachi Sachiko quietly stepped aside.
"Thank you~" Baichuan Feng happily picked up the coffee and took a sip.
When he looked up, he saw Sachiko Kamachi, dressed in an office lady outfit, walking to his desk and organizing documents for him.
Her long hair was simply tied up, and she was wearing slim-fitting clothes. The light from the window shone through her fringe, leaving a shadow on her side face.
Just standing there, her graceful temperament invisibly infects others.
At this moment, Baichuan Feng couldn't help but imagine in his mind what she would look like in a shirt and casual clothes.
Is it still the same as I remember, with the sound of flowing springs and the gentle breeze blowing on my face?
"Sachiko, do you like music? " Thinking about it, Shirakawa Feng couldn't help but express his inner thoughts.
"Huh?" Sachiko Kamachi, who was tidying up her desk, turned her head in surprise.
Because she has been Shirakawa Kaede's assistant for almost a year, after they got to know each other, Shirakawa Kaede usually calls her Sachiko directly.
However, what surprised her was not this, but that Shirakawa Kaede asked her if she liked music.
This is a somewhat personal question, and you probably wouldn't ask this question if you weren't friends.
But after a little surprise, Kamachi Sachiko nodded gently, "I guess I like it. Music always makes people forget their troubles."
Shirakawa Feng was not surprised by her answer. At least during breaks from work, he had seen Kamachi Sachiko listening to music with headphones more than once.
Oh, by the way, the CD player she uses to listen to music is made by Shirakawa~
It seems that although experiences have changed, some things are still engraved in the bones.
"How about your current job? Do you like it?"
Sachiko Kamachi stopped what she was doing, tilted her head and thought carefully, "I guess I like it~"
Baichuan Feng smiled and said, "What a pleasing answer. It seems that being my assistant is not such a bad thing."
Hearing his slightly teasing words, Sachiko Kamachi also smiled and said, "No~".
"Ha~" Baichuan Feng chuckled. She was a little naughty in her character.
"So, have you ever considered pursuing a career in music in the future?"
"Eh?" This time, Sachiko Kamachi's beautiful eyes widened slightly in surprise.
A career in music? This... this was a path she had never thought of.
Although she loves listening to music, she imitated the group Pink Loday when she was very young.
He also joked with his classmates at school that he wanted to be a singer in the future, and even actively participated in the school's guitar club.
But since I graduated from junior college and entered the society to work, my childhood dream seems to be getting further and further away from me.
Now, Baichuan Feng's words brought her back to her ignorant childhood.
Seeing that she was distracted, Bai Chuan Feng did not say anything to disturb her. It was not until she looked at him again that Bai Chuan Feng slowly spoke.
“As a human being, you should do something you like at least once in your life.
Maybe it was a childhood dream, or maybe it was just a joke.
But as long as you work towards that goal, no matter what the result is, I believe there will be moments of joy in the process.
If deep down it never goes away, then give it a try.”
As he spoke, Baichuan Feng took out a business card from the drawer of his desk and handed it to her.
"Tetsuro Oda is a very talented composer and is currently working as a producer for the pop music section of SAOND Records.
I have already told him, if you want to give it a try, go find him."
After taking the business card handed to her by Shirakawa Kaede, Sachiko Kamachi was stunned.
It all happened too suddenly and she was completely unprepared.
"Of course I'm not trying to get rid of you, Sachiko. I just suddenly want to see you singing on the stage."
Shirakawa Kaede's vague voice came into her mind, making Kamachi Sachiko's confused heart even more excited.
…
Ever since Shirakawa Holdings and Fuji Heavy Industries jointly issued an announcement, the already bustling business district in Neon has become even more bustling.
Shirakawa Holdings is entering the heavy industry? Is the $9.2 billion acquisition true?
With the support of a chaebol like Shirakawa Holdings with incredible financial resources, can Fuji Heavy Industries get out of the shadow of continuous losses?
And what about the former president, Toshihiro Tajima, who resigned in a hurry? What does he have to do with this deal? Is the embezzlement of public funds true?
In addition, the name change of Fuji Heavy Industries to Subaru also aroused heated discussion among everyone.
Because there are too many hot news topics since the two companies released the announcements.
The endless reports in the media have almost dominated more than half of the front-page news in Japan in recent times.
And with the involvement of more media, more detailed transaction details were also dug out.
For example, the US$9.2 billion figure is real, and even Shirakawa Holdings' investment was basically paid in cash.
The new company name "Subaru" was decided by Mr. Shirakawa himself because he is a car fan.
It is rumored that Subaru, which has changed its course, has prepared a series of reform plans with the goal of solving Subaru's losses within a year.
There is no doubt that any of these pieces of news are enough to make everyone discuss for a long time.
This is not just a matter for the business community, even ordinary people are very interested in it.
After all, the legendary Shirakawa Kaede-san has his own traffic, and Subaru, as a civilian automobile company, is also closely related to everyone's lives.
However, the most eye-catching news is that Shirakawa Holdings spent US$9.2 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Subaru.
$9.2 billion in cash!
This number has shocked not only the general public but even the six major chaebols.
Everyone may have countless assets, but it is not easy to take out so much cash at one time.
But it is remarkable that Shirakawa Holdings was able to do it without seeming to suffer any serious consequences.
This incident also shows the strong financial strength of Baichuan Holdings.
Because of this sky-high acquisition fee, Subaru's stock, which had been languishing in the stock market, began to rise significantly.
Because the market believes that with a large conglomerate like Shirakawa Holdings as its backer, Subaru will not have to worry about bankruptcy no matter how bad the situation.
There is also the Subaru revitalization plan worth more than 200 billion yen. Everyone thinks that with so much money invested, Subaru should see significant improvement in the future.
Look, this is the stock market. It doesn't matter whether a company is profitable now, what matters is its prospects? Is there any foreign aid?
After Fuji Heavy Industries changed its name to Subaru, people are looking forward to its future performance in the market.
Everyone is already familiar with the name "Subaru". After all, the previous Subaru car series is still quite well-known in Japan.
However, Subaru's revitalization plan has not yet been announced to the public, and Shirakawa Holdings is currently negotiating with Subaru on this point.
Didn’t Shirakawa Kaede come to Shinjuku in person today just to discuss this matter?
Fuji Heavy Industries' headquarters was originally located in the "Cube Building" at the west exit of Shinjuku Station. The logo on the top has now been changed to "SUBARU".
Not to mention that such a foreign name may seem more suitable for Japan at this time. After all, foreign luxury goods are now popular, and an all-English logo is more conducive to the spread of the company name.
As we walked into the Subaru Building, Takao Nakamura, who had been waiting there for a long time, immediately came forward.
"Mr. Shirakawa, thank you for making such a special trip."
"It's just a small matter, don't worry about it." Baichuan Feng waved his hand, avoiding everyone's meaningless politeness.
Behind Takao Nakamura stood a large group of Subaru's technical team and management.
Baichuan Feng also has a group of people around him. Some of them are from Baichuan Holdings, and some are experts from various fields of the university.
They came to the Subaru Building today to comprehensively evaluate Subaru's existing technologies.
Although we spent a lot of money to buy it, the problem of losses does exist.
Therefore, regarding Subaru's subsequent business issues, both parties need to brainstorm and make targeted plans.
"Nakamura-san, let's talk about Subaru's automotive division first. It is our core business, and we will prioritize satisfying it when necessary."
"Yes!" Nakamura Takao immediately nodded in agreement.
To be honest, it was Shirakawa Kaede who gave the order himself that Takao Nakamura was appointed as the president of Subaru.
But he himself has always been very nervous because Nakamura Takao was only the director of the planning department before, and even worked in the technical department before that.
In fact, Takao Nakamura always had some doubts in his heart about how he could become the president of Subaru.
But now that the opportunity is in front of us, there is no reason not to seize it.
After organizing his thoughts, Takao Nakamura led Shirakawa Kaede and his group towards Subaru's technical department.
As a heavy industrial company, especially with a division like automobiles, of course all the things you can see are in the technical department.
"Subaru first entered the automotive industry in 1954 with the Subaru 1500, but the model that really made Subaru famous was the Subaru 360.
By the 1970s, a total of 400,000 units of this model had been sold, making it a national car among light vehicles.
Speaking of this, Takao Nakamura felt a little proud. This was the first time that Subaru made a name for itself.
And in the car museum outside the technical department, there is a Subaru 360.
Judging from its appearance, it is very similar to the Beetle, with a round and compact shape.
From the perspective of Shirakawa Kaede in later generations, this is also a car with good aesthetics.
And he didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the Subaru 360 was somewhat similar to China's later Ora Cat series.
Tsk, a light car like this should be very suitable for women to drive.
“Subaru began mass production of four-wheel drive vehicles and horizontally opposed engine systems in 1966.
The horizontally opposed engine is different from the ordinary inline and V-type engines because it is placed horizontally and has a smaller size.
Vehicles using this engine have a low center of gravity, stable structure, low body resistance, and greatly reduced vibration and noise.
This type of car has good handling and strong power.
The complementary left-right symmetrical full-time four-wheel drive system further increases the vehicle's driving stability.
Because of the combination of the horizontally opposed engine and the full-time four-wheel drive system, the vehicle's driving safety and stability are greatly increased on various and complex road conditions such as snowy roads, muddy roads, rugged mountain roads, wet roads and highways."
These two are Subaru's real black technologies, and they are even things that other OEMs cannot do.
There is no doubt that when they mentioned them, not only Takao Nakamura, but also the Subaru technicians behind him showed proud expressions.
As a car manufacturer, how can we succeed without having our own skills?
Shirakawa Kaede is also satisfied with Subaru's technological accumulation, but there are some things he needs to understand clearly in advance.
