novelraw Chapter 107: The Future of the Nohara Family! Panasonic Mobile Phones? Buy!
Chapter 107: The Future of the Nohara Family! Panasonic Mobile Phones? Buy!
At the TV station, the impact of Nohara Hiroshi's three million yen bonus was like a thunderbolt spanning heaven and earth, instantly cleaving through the inherent cognitive barriers of the Nohara family on the spot.
That light, fluttering piece of paper was now as heavy as Mount Tai, pressing down on Nohara Ginnosuke and Nohara Semashi until they could barely breathe.
The way they looked at Nohara Hiroshi had completely changed.
"I didn't expect you kid... to actually be so rich! Truly amazing!" Nohara Ginnosuke sighed with emotion.
"Yeah, I didn't expect Hiroshi to be so amazing." Nohara Semashi calculated on his fingers how many years he would have to save to get that much money, and eventually gave up.
His gaze toward his biological younger brother, Nohara Hiroshi, gained a bit more complexity, but also surfaced with a proud expression: "As expected of my, Nohara Semashi's, otouto (younger brother)!"
"Moreover, Hiroshi-kun can get even higher bonuses! After all, the current Hiroshi-kun is a famous director at TV Tokyo!" At this time, Misae also puffed up her small chest, looking at Nohara Hiroshi with a very proud and admiring gaze.
She said with a sighing tone: "It's just that Hiroshi-kun is too young right now and needs to build up seniority step by step. Otherwise, just based on Hiroshi-kun's abilities alone, he could definitely become a very big leader!"
"As expected of my son!" Nohara Ginnosuke looked at Nohara Hiroshi, chuckling 'hehehe', extremely satisfied.
Nohara Tsuru also covered her mouth, looking as if she couldn't believe it.She knew now that Nohara Hiroshi was doing well.
But she hadn't expected.
That he was doing this well!
"Let's go, let's eat first."
Nohara Hiroshi calmly and indifferently put away that payslip capable of setting off a financial storm in Akita Prefecture, as if he had merely done an insignificant little thing.
Holding Misae's hand, he led his still-petrified family into an elegant landscape restaurant on the top floor of the mall.
Inside the restaurant, melodious jazz music flowed like water. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was the breathtakingly bustling cityscape of Tokyo.
Nohara Hiroshi casually chatted with Nohara Ginnosuke and Nohara Semashi about the grand concept of "Nohara Family's Kabushiki Gaisha (Corporation)".
"Hiroshi... are... are you serious?"
It wasn't until the steaming hot steaks were served that Nohara Semashi finally found his voice. His dark face was written full of struggle and unease: "Establishing a corporation... that's no joke. We... we are just ordinary farmers."
"What's wrong with being farmers?" Nohara Hiroshi cut off a piece of tender, juicy steak, put it in his mouth, and chewed carefully. That posture was as unhurried as if he were evaluating his own empire: "Farmers are the foundation of this country."
"But... the Agricultural Cooperative (JA)..." Nohara Semashi still hesitated: "Most of the things we grow have to be sold through the JA. The prices are set by them. Even if we want to sell it ourselves, we can't sell much. Plus, there are so many rules and regulations;
slightly violate a rule, and the subsidies are gone."
"Preposterous!" At the mention of the JA, Nohara Ginnosuke's restless heart livened up again. He took a huge gulp of iced beer and indignantly slapped the table: "Exactly! That bunch of guys sitting in offices, what the hell do they know about farming! They only know how to point fingers! Last year, our family's rice was downgraded a whole level just because a few grains weren't plump enough! For one hectare of land, we sold it for over a hundred thousand yen less!"
Although he complained, his tone carried a few traces of helpless resignation.
"Although there are many rules, there are pros and cons." Nohara Tsuru, at the side, saw things clearly. She gently refilled her husband's beer glass: "With the JA, at least we don't have to worry about our goods not selling, and the prices are stable. If the crops get sick, there's insurance. Buying agricultural machinery also has large subsidies. It's much better than in the past, depending on the weather for food, having one meal but not knowing about the next."
Listening to his family's back-and-forth discussion, Nohara Hiroshi just listened quietly, a meaningful smile curling the corners of his mouth.
Of course he knew what a massive and complex community of interests the Neon JA of this era was.
To outsiders, it was an organization serving farmers, but in his eyes—a transmigrator with a vision of the future—it was fundamentally an association of feudal landlords cloaked in the guise of a cooperative!
Using an invisible giant net, it firmly controlled millions of farming households nationwide, monopolizing every link of production, processing, and sales.
It enjoyed huge national financial subsidies, formulating trade protection policies with heavily fortified barriers, making it impossible for cheap foreign agricultural products to step onto this land.
And precisely under this extreme protection, a batch of "monsters" matching the wealth of a nation was birthed—those large-scale agricultural corporations owning hundreds of hectares of land, integrating production, tourism, and brand operations.
In the future, their annual income would, at minimum, reach tens of billions of yen!
Those weren't farmers anymore;
those were true, modern, hereditary agricultural aristocrats!
"But this is good too." Nohara Hiroshi muttered softly.
His gaze pierced through the bustling metropolis before him, as if seeing those future emerald-green rice paddies churning with waves of wealth under the golden sunlight.
What he wanted to do was not drift with the current in the torrent of the times, but to become the... chess player who built the dam and guided the direction of the torrent.
"That's why we must join them, and then, become them." Nohara Hiroshi put down his knife and fork. In those clear eyes, a wise light that saw through everything sparkled: "Dad, Big Brother, you two remember, starting today, you only need to do one thing."
He looked around his family, enunciating every word clearly:
"Buy land! At all costs, acquire all the farmland available for purchase around Omagari City! Especially those lands abandoned because the young people went to the city. However much there is, we want it!"
"Ah?!" Nohara Semashi's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg, somewhat unable to comprehend: "Buy... buy land? Hiroshi, land is worthless now! Everyone... everyone is buying houses in the city. Who would still buy land in the countryside?"
"Exactly!" Nohara Ginnosuke also furrowed his two thick eyebrows: "Now housing prices in Tokyo change every day! Everyone says the economy will get better and better! The newspapers all say our Neon country is about to buy up the entire America! At a time like this, not investing in real estate, but going to buy those unwanted wastelands, isn't that being an idiot?"
"That's not exactly the case..." Nohara Hiroshi smiled, that smile holding a trace of pity.
Buy America?
He knew better than anyone that the current carnival sweeping the nation was nothing but the final feast before the bubble burst.
Before long, that unprecedented economic storm would descend.
By then, stocks would become waste paper, skyscrapers would turn into ghost towns, and countless elites who were infinitely glorious today would end up on the streets tomorrow.
The prosperity beneath the bubble was but an illusion.
When the tide recedes, only the land beneath one's feet is the eternal reality.
But he knew, reasoning like this wouldn't get through to his family, who were currently dizzy with frenzy.
And he didn't need them to understand.
"You don't need to understand why." Nohara Hiroshi's voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable, 'no room for interference' majesty: "You only need to trust me. I will provide the money. You only need to do it. Just listen to me."
Nohara Ginnosuke and Nohara Semashi exchanged a glance. From each other's eyes, they saw deep shock and bewilderment.
They couldn't understand the logic behind the youngest son's words, but they could feel that mountain-shaking confidence.
Ultimately, the two, as if drained of all strength, nodded dejectedly: "Al... alright. We'll... listen to you."
After all, who made their youngest son, Nohara Hiroshi, so successful now?
The final word was set.
The fate of the Nohara family, in this restaurant overlooking all of Tokyo, was gently pushed by a hand from the future towards a brand new, magnificent voyage.
...
The afternoon flew by in a typical tourist-style carnival.
From the incense smoke curling up at Senso-ji Temple, to the leisurely relaxation at Ueno Park, to the solemnity at Kokyo Gaien.
Nohara Hiroshi played the role of a tour guide with ease. After all, he had just taken the Koyama family along the same route not long ago.
Nohara Ginnosuke and Nohara Tsuru were like two kids coming out of the mountains for the first time, finding everything novel. In every photo taken, they smiled from ear to ear. That heartfelt joy infected everyone around them.
Only Nohara Semashi, although he had also changed into new clothes and had a smile on his face, deep in his eyes, there was an added trace of heaviness.
He looked at his younger brother's unhurried figure, recalling that ear-splitting doomsday prophecy from noon, and the string named 'frugality' in his heart was tightened unprecedentedly.
Economic crisis...
This word, like a heavy mountain, pressed on the heart of this honest farmer.
He decided, after going back, he absolutely had to work harder, save money even more desperately.
Not for himself, but so that when the great storm his brother mentioned arrived, he could leave behind one more brick and tile to shelter this family from the wind and rain.
Just as the family was enthusiastically discussing where to go for dinner to taste the legendary monjayaki, the pager in Nohara Hiroshi's pocket vibrated with a "beep-beep" again.
He picked it up to look, and a smile couldn't help but surface at the corner of his mouth.
[Section Chief, the actors are all in position. The first recording of "Kasou Taishou" has officially begun! The studio is already fired up! — Tanaka Kei]
Very good.
Three lines advancing simultaneously, everything is under control.
He put away the pager, just preparing to call his family to get in the car, when his gaze was attracted by a commotion at the entrance of the mall not far away.
It was surrounded three layers deep with people. In the center of the crowd, it seemed some new product launch event was being held.
"Wow! Hiroshi, look, it's so lively over there!" Misae curiously stood on her tiptoes, pointing in that direction: "It looks like they're selling a kind of... very small mobile phone?"
Mobile phone?
Nohara Hiroshi's heart stirred. He pulled Misae and squeezed into the crowd.
On the stage, a female host wearing a professional suit was holding a silver block only half the size of a palm, loudly introducing it with an extremely inflammatory tone.
"Everyone! Please look! This is the epoch-making product brought to us by the Panasonic Company—the portable mobile phone! With it, you won't be bound by telephone cords anymore! Whether in the car, on the road, or anywhere, you can maintain the closest contact with your family, friends, and clients anytime, anywhere!"
Nohara Hiroshi's pupils suddenly shrank.
It's here!
He knew, the era belonging to mobile communications, that dust-sealed door, was officially pushed open at this moment!
With almost no hesitation, he parted the crowd and walked to the front of the stage.
"This phone, how much?"
The female host saw this young man with extraordinary temperament wearing designer clothes. Her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly quoted an astronomical price enough to make ninety-nine percent of the people present flinch.
"Four hundred thousand yen per unit," the female host said.
"Four hundred thousand yen? That expensive?"
"My god! This is way too expensive! What kind of thing is four hundred thousand yen?!"
"This is too terrifying!"
Immediately, exclamations erupted from the surrounding crowd.
One must know, the average annual income of Tokyoites now was only about six million yen, but in reality, most Tokyoites only made around four million a year, or even lower.
Now this single mobile phone was four hundred thousand yen.
A month's salary.
It was way too expensive!
However, Nohara Hiroshi just calmly nodded his head.
"Very good."
He turned around and flashed a brilliant smile at his family behind him, who were already pale from being frightened by that price.
"Give me five."
"..."
The whole world seemed to have possessed the mute button.
If a three-million-yen bonus was a thunderclap, then this casually spoken "give me five" right now was an explosion enough to destroy their thinking!
Nohara Ginnosuke felt his heart disease was about to flare up.
Nohara Semashi saw his vision go dark, almost fainting on the spot.
He watched his younger brother, without changing his expression, swipe away a huge sum enough to build a small two-story house back in their hometown—just like buying five scallions—and then hand out those five silver blocks representing the future and technology into everyone's hands one by one.
"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Misae, one each. This way it'll be convenient to contact each other in the future. Our Agricultural Corporation will also need to communicate anytime."
He paused, and carefully put the last mobile phone back into its box.
"There's one more, it's for Father-in-law."
The Nohara family, blankly holding that cold yet heavy "future" in their hands, had their brains fall completely into blankness.
They felt as if they were not touring Tokyo, but rather riding a spaceship named 'Future' piloted by Nohara Hiroshi, crazily performing space-time jumps at a speed they entirely couldn't comprehend.
Nohara Hiroshi looked at his family's thoroughly 'broken' expressions, and just smiled.
What is earning so much money for?
Isn't it precisely to spend on family?!