Spring Thunder Chapter 0295: Eyeliner in Kabukicho
The Chinese are hardworking, brave and smart. As long as there is a gap, they can still survive well in unfamiliar soil.
Xu Tianmu was one of the first batch of trainees sent by Ikeda. After paying Ikeda's 1.8 million yen fee in the first year, he spent some more money to buy back his trainee contract and became a freelance student in Japan.
Xu Tianmu is worthy of being the nine-headed bird in the sky. He is very smart and can hardly endure hardship.
The job he was assigned to was to be an underground sewer cleaner for the Tokyo municipal government. His daily job was to clear silt in the sewers. The job was not too tiring, but it was very dirty. He worked ten hours a day and had six days off every month.
Unlike other trainees who go to factories and try to work overtime on holidays to earn more overtime pay, Xu Tianmu always rests on holidays, but not really resting. He spends this time in language school.
In half a year, he could speak fluent Japanese, and in a year, he mastered English. Then he bought back the trainee contract and became a guide at Kabukicho Ichibangai.
In layman's terms, a guide is a tour guide or a waymaker, but in a specific context, its meaning will change. For example, the guide in Kabukicho can actually be directly understood as a pimp, but not as blatant as a pimp.
Who makes it so that all the businesses in Kabukicho comply with Japanese laws?
Since they are taking people to a legal place to consume, the derogatory meaning of pimping cannot be attributed to the guide. It is more appropriate to use a word in Beijing dialect to describe the guide, which is "patchwork".
Today, Japan's economy is booming, and various companies have huge "entertainment expenses". Kabukicho Ichibangai can generate a turnover of several hundred million yen every day, and on a good day it can exceed 1 billion.
Not to mention the shop owners here, even the mama-sans have an annual income of over 100 million yen. In the more upscale places in Ginza, there are public relations people who earn over 1 billion yen a year.
Business is good, so naturally there are many people who want to squeeze in and get a piece of the pie.
There are so many shops in Kabukicho that there is no vacant space at all. With so many shops, it is impossible for each shop to provide different services, so naturally the market will fall into homogeneous competition and involution.
At this time, the role of the guide is highlighted. They stand at the intersection of Ichibangai. There are many people who are itching to go in but are too embarrassed to go in and keep wandering around the intersection. They need to persuade them to go in and go to the stores that have signed kickback agreements with them. They can send business to the stores and earn a generous kickback for themselves.
If you meet a customer who is easy to talk to, you can get a commission from him, which is not low, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yen. If you can get more than ten orders in one night, your monthly income will definitely be over one million yen.
It was just after 7pm, and the shops in Kabukicho were not yet full of customers. There were only a few tourists on Ichiban Street, most of whom were tourists who came here purely to satisfy their curiosity.
Under the lamppost outside the KOMA Theater in the center of Ichome, Xu Tianmu was leaning alone on the street railing, smoking and worrying.
After working as a trainee for five or six months, Xu Tianmu discovered that there was a very well-paid job in Kabukicho, a place full of glitz and glamor. So, after learning more about the situation, he went back to work as a dredging worker and also signed up for an English course.
One year after arriving in Tokyo, he became the first Chinese guide in Kabukicho.
In just a few months, he had grown from a small scoundrel with no background who could only pick up scraps in the cracks between various forces to a person who now owns a territory covering two streets and has four or five people working for him.
Of course, the territory here is not the kind of "territory" in Young and Dangerous. Here it means that he and his men are qualified to solicit customers on these two streets, while other guides are not allowed to enter these two streets.
The difficulties and risks experienced during this period are almost countless.
Although his current achievements have a lot to do with luck, more of it is due to his own hard work, courage and never giving up persistence.
However, he is now facing a difficult problem, which makes him want to back down.
More than half a month ago, his protector in Kabukicho, Masatsugu Kumada, the leader of the Sumiyoshi-kai's Shinjuku office, committed suicide because he was unable to complete the protection fee task assigned by the organization on time.
When he first heard the news, he subconsciously thought it must be just an April Fool's joke. How could a powerful and influential leader who walked around Kabukicho with a large following commit suicide, and for such an absurd reason?
However, the facts that followed told him that this was not a joke. The cherry blossoms in the hometown of his protector and good friend, Mr. Kumada, were blooming.
The interests here in Kabukicho are huge. Not only is Tokyo watching the taxes here, but various associations and groups are also eyeing the protection fees here. No one can monopolize the interests here. Every six months, the power here will face a reshuffle.
They would meet at the foot of a quiet mountain for a multi-person, no-holds-barred fighting match involving punches and knives. The loser would have to give up a certain amount of territory and reduce the income from protection fees.
Masataka Kumada came in last place in the competition three months ago, so the Sumiyoshi-kai's share of protection fees became less. Unfortunately, the monthly protection fees assigned by the superior organization were fixed and did not decrease due to Masataka Kumada's failure.
As the team leader, Masataka Kumada put all his efforts into completing the three-month membership fee task. But in the fourth month, he found that he could not raise the high fee no matter what.
After losing the game, Mr. Kumada, who was very loyal to the organization, felt that he had let down the organization's trust and had lost his face as a man. He finally committed suicide at home out of shame.
Although Xiongtian's death was absurd and heroic, it brought Xu Tianmu a life-and-death crisis.
The reason why he was able to own two streets in this money-making place was all thanks to the care of Kumada Masataka. After losing the protection of this big backer, his territory immediately became a place where anyone could come and pick on a weak kid who was swaggering around with tens of millions of yen in his hands.
In the week after Kumada's death , his men clashed with members of other guide organizations almost every day. And the South Koreans on the street next to the ward office had already openly come to his theater street to solicit customers.
Without Kumada's protection, Xu Tianmu was about to lose his foothold in Kabukicho. He urgently needed a backer.
Xu Tianmu had been standing at the entrance of KOMA Theater for more than half an hour.
This was a habit he developed after he started working as a guide. He didn't know when it started, but every evening before work, he liked to stand in front of the door of this theater, which had a square exterior but an ancient Greek circular structure inside, to relax.
This theater may be the only place in Kabukicho that does not involve pornographic activities. Most of the performances performed here are traditional Japanese arts such as Noh, Kyogen, and Enka, as well as Western performances such as opera and ballet. Occasionally, some pop singers will hold concerts here.
Xu Tianmu studied model opera in China. In the early 1970s, he was the mainstay of the commune propaganda team and was also considered a practitioner in the art world.
Perhaps it was for this reason that he felt that only here could he calm down his restless mood caused by all kinds of complicated things.
Unfortunately, this habit that was usually very effective could not calm him down today. He looked at the cigarette butts scattered on the ground under the trash can beside him and took out the last cigarette from the cigarette box.
After smoking this one, no matter how he felt, he had to force himself to smile and play his role.
It might be because he smoked too much when he was worried just now, the originally mellow and refreshing Seven Star cigarettes now tasted so bitter and dry when he smoked them, just like his mood at the moment.
After losing his protector, Kumada, he had no idea how to solve the dilemma of being surrounded by wolves. He had just thought about it for a long time, but still had no idea.
"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time. There is always a way out. We can always find a way." He comforted himself helplessly.
Then he put out the remaining half of his cigarette and said to himself, "I'd better hurry up and work. I'll earn as much as I can. I'll take care of the present first."
…
"School Belle, tell me, which type of people in this world are the most open-mouthed?"
Under an overpass not far from Kabukicho, Nan Yi and the school beauty stood next to a street performer playing the saxophone, listening to him play a very familiar song "Going Home".
"President, it must be a man who had lustful thoughts when facing a woman in a special place."
Although the school beauty's answer was a bit euphemistic, Nan Yi understood the meaning behind her words, which was similar to what he thought. When lust arises, many men will become unrestrained in front of women.
If you don't lock the door, it's easy to get some useful information.
Whether it is in Ginza or Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Ghost should have a few spies. Before the Japanese economic downturn, most of the people who could come to Kabukicho to consume were middle and senior managers of various companies.
The consumption level in Kabukicho is very high at that time. If you use your own money to travel, you can only come once or twice a month at most. If you come more than that, you will not be able to visit it unless you spend the rest of your life there.
The middle and senior management can use the company's entertainment funds to come and have some fun every now and then. It has to be said that Japan's economic situation is very good now, and the welfare of many companies is also excellent.
From these middle and high-level people, you can hear a lot of useful information. This information can be transformed into reference and guidance for Nan's Japanese strategy.
"Hey, Tianmu, so you are here." Just when Xu Tianmu was about to leave, he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from not far away.
He turned around and saw a young man waving at him across the street. Under the dim light of the neon lights, the man's appearance was not clear, but his figure looked very familiar.
Xu Tianmu took a few steps in that direction, and the man opposite also came over here.
When there was still about ten meters between the two of them, Xu Tianmu finally recognized who the man was. Suddenly, a burst of ecstasy surged from the bottom of his heart to his whole body in an instant.
"Unlucky star, why are you here?" Xu Tianmu hurriedly took a few steps forward and greeted him.
He tried his best to calm himself, but his voice still trembled slightly.
Bao Xu took two steps forward with a steady smile on his face, then stretched out his hand and said, "Tian Mu, I came here specifically to look for you. I just walked around Kabukicho and didn't see you. Later, I ran into Lao Li on Sakura Street and realized that you were here."
Xu Tianmu held Bao Xu's hand tightly, shook it several times enthusiastically, and said anxiously: "Oh, you unlucky star, I have been looking for you so hard. I was not smart enough at the beginning. I didn't know that there was such a big dragon like you hiding in my grass. In the end, I let you escape. I regretted it so much that I didn't sleep well for several days.
Why did you come to see me today?
Are you unhappy working in the factory? If you are unhappy, come to me. I will help you buy out your trainee status and we can conquer the world together."
Under normal circumstances, Xu Tianmu would definitely not speak so subjectively and impulsively. He has the blood of the Nine-headed Bird and has always been a shrewd person. He took the initiative to speak like this, and even asked people to join the gang with a bit of urgency and pleading. For him, who is a steady person, he has never made such a mistake before.
However, the situation he was facing was too bad. He had been thinking about ways to break the situation for the past two days but to no avail. He was already worried and exhausted, but now he suddenly saw Bao Xu, whom he regarded as his savior, and he was overjoyed.
It is normal for one's speech and behavior to be a little out of control under such drastic emotional fluctuations.
As for why Xu Tianmu thinks so highly of Bao Xu, it all started with Bao Xu's brother Bao Gang. It is said that Bao Gang was the incarnation of the star Wu Qu, born with supernatural powers. In the mid-1970s, when the Bao Village Brigade in his hometown was fighting for water with the neighboring brigade, he killed three people with his bare hands.
When the captain of the Bao Village Brigade saw that something serious had happened, he realized that Bao Gang must be shot. No, he had to let Bao Gang escape quickly.
Bao Gang escaped and came to Tokyo after many twists and turns. He joined an organization established by Taiwanese in Tokyo. This organization was located in Shinjuku and mainly operated pachinko and underground casinos. It also had some strength in this area. Bao Gang was more than capable of protecting Xu Tianmu as a case officer.
"Tianmu, you are too polite. This is not a matter of help. I came here to make money together with you, Tianmu." Bao Xu did not care about Xu Tianmu's loss of composure. He just followed his words and misinterpreted the meaning of the word "help", and then took the opportunity to point out the purpose of his visit tonight.
The job of a guide is mainly about dealing with people. Xu Tianmu has been in this business for so long that the skill of listening and observing has almost become his instinct.
Bao Xu's words interrupted his inner joy. After his mind recovered a little, he immediately grasped the key to this sentence.
"Partnership? What do you mean by partnership?" Xu Tianmu asked with some caution. He had a vague feeling that he seemed to have completely misjudged Bao Xu's intention of coming today.
Bao Xu did not answer his question, but turned sideways and pointed backwards, saying: "Come on, Tian Mu, let me introduce someone to you first. As for the issue of partnership, we will talk about it later."
Bao Xu introduced a "ghost" man named Kuroki Kai to Xu Tianmu, and then continued the conversation with Xu Tianmu.
On the other side, Nan Yi and the school beauty seemed like a pair of tourists. They had already strolled around Kabukicho Ichibangai and seen all kinds of bizarre custom shops. What shocked Nan Yi the most was a black sign with only a white circle with an R in the middle and three Chinese characters "Membership Only" written on the lower right corner. No one knew what kind of shop this was.
He stood there and observed for a while, and found that people were walking in in pairs of men and women. Combining the "membership system" and the theme of this street, Nan Yi finally understood.
I guess this store ’s business revolves around the word “change”.
On the other side, the conversation between Bao Xu and Xu Tianmu was coming to an end. Although Xu Tianmu had a somewhat sullen expression on his face, he still shook hands with Bao Xu very solemnly, expressing his approval of the cooperation between the two parties.
Xu Tianmu's current mood is understandable. Although Bao Xu's joining can indeed solve his current predicament, the cooperation reached under this premise will definitely make him feel like a humiliating alliance.
The content of the cooperation is also very simple . Bao Gang protects Xu Tianmu, and Bao Xu will send two people to these two streets. They are not to be Xu Tianmu's lackeys, but an equal relationship. Both parties will eat the meals on these two streets together.
Of course, this is just on the surface. Nan Yi didn't arrange people here to really serve as guides. The main thing is to establish good relationships with the staff in each store. If there is any news, they can tell them and get some benefits in return.
As for why Nan Yi didn’t start from the perspective of opening a store, it was because the customers were too scattered and it was impossible for him to attract all the customers to his own store.
In addition, it is difficult to open a store in Kabukicho. There are not many old stores, and most of them are new stores that have been open for a short time. Every few months, the stores here will change owners.
The cramped space of the store and the limited services have resulted in a difficulty retaining repeat customers. New customers have to be developed constantly every day, and the costs remain high. The work is tiring, and basically everyone just makes a quick buck and leaves.
What's more, Nan Yi had no interest in doing this kind of business.
He was interested in setting up a club in Ginza. It was not just a place with public relations and drinking companions, but something in between private clubs and traditional clubs in Ginza. It would treat guests as a resource, introduce each guest to other guests suitable for him to socialize with, and do a similar resource matching business.
However, to support such a club, a mama-san with considerable capabilities is needed, and Nan Yi has not found this person yet.
