Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 540 Family Funds
As we all know, buying a house and a car is a major hurdle before marriage.

Countless couples have fallen at the last hurdle, due to various reasons such as consumption concepts, property distribution, future risks, and family power dynamics. They ultimately fail to get married, realize the true nature of their partner, and end up in a miserable state.

It's said that talking about money hurts feelings, and buying a house or a car is a prime example of this.

The man has worked hard to save money, and may even have a family to support him, so he definitely wants to find a good partner to spend his life with; the woman is in a weaker position in her marriage and has difficulty remarrying. If she marries far away, it is equivalent to entrusting her life and fortune to someone else, so of course she wants to choose a capable and financially stable man.

But the man might be greedy, wanting his other half to be gentle and virtuous, intellectual and generous, fair-skinned and beautiful, and willing to take on household chores... Ideally, she would also contribute some dowry, or if all else fails, he would prefer not to give any bride price at all.

Women can also be greedy, demanding that men be handsome, highly educated, over 1.8 meters tall, and also half of their family fortune...

Humans are inherently greedy, and accepting one's own limitations is extremely difficult. Therefore, some people tend to be unrealistic when it comes to choosing a partner.

Fortunately, Japan doesn't have a tradition of bride price, so there's nothing to worry about in that regard.

Furthermore, Fushimi Shika takes money lightly, doesn't care about it, and has no interest in it. To date, his spending is basically unrelated to his salary. Theoretically speaking, it's as if he has never received a penny of salary, and he can shamelessly call himself the Japanese Jack Ma.

In addition, he has a keen eye and is very good at judging people, so he won't be fooled or deceived, which basically eliminates all the problems that the man might encounter.

There's nothing wrong with Minamoto no Tamako. Her family isn't short of money, and she's quite frugal herself. How much could she possibly spend on desserts? For an elementary school student, eating desserts every day might be a bit of a luxury; but for the daughter of the Metropolitan Police Department's director, she's already extremely thrifty.

In addition, she's been on a diet lately and has stopped eating desserts. She basically has no expenses every day, and spends all the money she has on Yingzi, buying her new clothes, stationery, novels, encyclopedias, and so on.

Even without money, Yuan Yuzi can still live a good life; if she has money, things will be even better.

For two people who don't care about money, financial disputes are never a problem. When they encounter situations where they need a material foundation to maintain their lives, they will naturally work together to earn money instead of exploiting each other.

Therefore, Fushimi Shika and Minamoto Tamako's house-hunting trip went very smoothly.

The real estate agent first verifies the funds to confirm that the two are major clients, then treats them to good food and drinks before taking them directly to see high-quality properties.

But Fushimi Shika said there was no rush and asked him to first introduce the Sunshine Apartments property.

Upon hearing this, the real estate agent advised from a professional perspective: "The real estate economy has already collapsed. No matter how much you speculate on those low-priced apartments, you can't drive up the prices anymore, and banks will no longer use these properties as collateral for loans..."

Fushimi Shika didn't care and insisted on going. He knew back in the police academy that Sugamo would be redeveloped in the future, so how could he let this opportunity pass him by?

The real estate agent, feeling helpless, showed Fushimi Shika several detached houses on the ground floor, which perfectly matched Fushimi Shika's "investment plan".

The exterior paint was peeling, the alley was gloomy and narrow, and the thugs loitering around always had a malicious look in their eyes—it was a familiar sight.

Real estate agents have no other selling points to mention, and can only emphasize the "subway extension line planned by the government"... In fact, whether the Japanese government's projects can be implemented is anyone's guess, and buying property in advance may very well result in being stuck with bad debts.

The Tokyo Bay government has a lot of unfinished projects, and countless people have gone bankrupt as a result.

Fushimi Shika squatted down and tapped the floor to check the earthquake-resistant structure. He turned to Minamoto Tamako, winked, and whispered, "Did you hear that? This floor will get you an extra 200,000 yen in compensation during the demolition."

Yuan Yuzi looked at the leaking ceiling, the musty smell making her frown. There were still pachinko marbles left by the previous tenant in the master bedroom closet. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

This place is uninhabitable even if it's bought, but Fushimi Shika intends to buy it as an investment and to save the government money, so there's nothing to say. Let it be; it's not her money that's being spent anyway.

Each set cost around three million yen, which was very cheap. Fushimi Shika bought ten sets in one go, wiping out his savings again and even owing Minamoto Tamako five million yen.

Yes, when you encounter a trend, you should leverage it, leverage it heavily!
Next up was Minamoto no Tamako. She explained her housing requirements to the real estate agent: it had to have a balcony, and ideally, it would be a three-bedroom apartment—just in case she needed to sleep in a separate room from Fushimi Shika someday, or if guests were staying overnight. An extra room was always a good thing.

The real estate agent knew what was going on and took her and Fushimi to see a high-end tower in Toshima Ward.

The apartment building's elevator goes directly to the 45th floor, and the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows offer stunning views. The real estate agent mentioned that the nighttime view is particularly beautiful, with Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree appearing side-by-side in the frame.

In addition, the fully furnished kitchen is equipped with German kitchenware, all three suites have a private bathroom, and the master bedroom has a large bathtub. Apart from the price, it has virtually no drawbacks.

Not only is buying a house expensive, but the monthly property management fees and property taxes are also high. Yuan Yuzi was taken aback when she heard the real estate agent talk about the monthly bills. She had initially been very interested, but after hearing the details, she hesitated.

"How about... we take another look?"

Yuan Yuzi wondered if there might be even better value for money. These weren't garbage bags given away by the supermarket; she should compare prices from different stores, right?
The real estate agent understood the homebuyers' psychology and didn't say much, maintaining his smile as he showed Minamoto no Tamako and Fushimi Shika another property.

The third house is located in Setagaya Ward and is an old Showa-era house with a garden.

There was a cobblestone path in front of the door, and the lintel was rather low compared to Fushimi Shika's height, so he had to bend down to enter.

This is a detached house. The second floor is slightly smaller than the first floor and has a separate tea room, study, and reception room. The floors are all covered with tatami mats. The building is in the Showa style, but it wasn't built during the Showa period. It's just a modern building modeled after the style of that era. It has running water and electricity, and even a bathtub.

Setagaya Ward is considered a traditional affluent area in Tokyo. Land prices are high, but it is not crowded. Almost every house has a walled yard, making it a popular filming location for various television stations.

Gentama took a liking to this house. The first floor is about 100 square meters and adopts the traditional sukiya style. The main structure is a cypress frame and earthen wall structure. The eaves are covered with a tatami mat edge, which connects to a dry landscape garden of about 30 tsubo.

The entrance hall features a three-sided earthen slab, and passing through a hidden door made of coal and bamboo, one enters a ten-tatami mat room. Shoji doors separate the tea room from the eight-tatami mat master bedroom.

Very good, excellent.

However, the downside is that it's expensive.

The selling price alone is a whopping 30 million yen. The real estate agent said the price is negotiable, but at most a few tens of thousands of yen more; the price of such a good property doesn't have much room for fluctuation.

In addition, there is a property tax of more than 400,000 yen per year and a property management fee of about 10,000 yen per month. Inflation is not so exaggerated these days, so if you calculate it like this, there will be an additional fixed expense of about 40,000 yen per month.

so expensive.

Genji has about 45 million yen, of which 25 million yen is embezzled money from Neko Island and cannot be misappropriated, so only 20 million yen is left... It has to be passed over.

Fushimi Shika could tell that Tamako was interested. To be honest, he also liked the house. It was quiet in the middle of the city, with a nice environment. There was a park just around the corner, and a hospital, university, and high school were nearby. The facilities were complete, and it even had its own yard. It had everything one could want.

"This set is a bit over budget, let's look at some others..."

Before Minamoto no Tamako could finish speaking, Fushimi Shika interrupted, "Wait a minute, I need to use the restroom... Where's the restroom in this house?"

Yuan Yuzi was taken aback, feeling it was rather impolite. They weren't buying the house, so how could they poop in someone else's house? Wasn't that just like a puppy marking its territory with its excrement? Only a puppy would do that, right?

She wanted to ask Fushimi Shika to be patient a little longer, but he didn't give her a chance to stop him and went into the toilet stall with the toilet paper in his hand.

Yuan Yuzi stood outside, waiting anxiously. Looking at the real estate agent's professional, fake smile, she felt increasingly awkward and restless.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you..." she said, bowing.

"Oh, it's nothing, everyone needs to use the restroom sometimes, it's a normal thing." The real estate agent's smile was like a mask: "Why don't you reconsider, Miss Yuzi? This house is still very valuable, the land is in a very good location, whether you live here or invest, it's very worthwhile."

"No, I don't think so... It's mainly because it exceeded the budget," said Minamoto Tamako with a bitter face.

She had never worried about buying a house before, but now that she actually has to buy one, she realizes how expensive real estate is.

"You can get a loan!" the real estate agent coaxed. "Both of you are civil servants with good credit. If you take out a loan to pay the balance for the house, the bank will definitely approve it. I also have access to reputable lending companies with monthly interest rates as low as three percent... That's not high, is it?"

Gentama had no concrete idea of ​​what three percent of ten million meant. Her first reaction was to nod: "That's not a lot, it seems like something I could consider..."

Immediately afterwards, she did a quick mental calculation and found that three percent of ten million was three hundred thousand, which meant that the monthly interest was three hundred thousand.

It would be strange if it weren't tall!

Yuan Yuzi was startled and quickly took back what she had just said: "Forget it, forget it, I won't consider it. Taking out loans and such would be too much of a burden."

Compared to paying in full, real estate agents prefer customers to take out loans, as this earns them a higher commission.

Seeing that Tamako had just shown some interest, the real estate agent quickly said, "The pressure isn't actually that great. We don't require you to pay it off in one lump sum within a month. If that's not possible, we can arrange for a loan in installments. The monthly interest is only 30,000 yen..."

As he spoke, the real estate agent began to paint a rosy picture: "This is an elite area. Everyone who lives here is either rich or powerful. If you can join the local wives' association, it will be of great help in expanding your network."

If it were an ordinary person, with their mind filled with thoughts of upward mobility, they would impulsively grit their teeth and take out a loan.

But Yuan Yuzi didn't have a filter for the elite class. In her view, no matter what class, everyone has two eyes and one mouth, with advantages and disadvantages. At most, the elite class is just a little better at making money. They are no different from ordinary people.

She did the math in her head: 30,000 plus 30,000 equals 60,000.

If she had to shoulder six months' worth of loans every month, she would definitely become a miserable corporate slave; just thinking about it is incredibly stressful.

Garlic bird, garlic bird, this house is nice, but there's no real need for it.

Even Sherlock Holmes shared an apartment with a roommate, right? A famous detective and police inspector doesn't need to buy such a large house; they might get accused of embezzlement...

Just as Minamoto no Tamako was about to firmly refuse, in a spirit of self-deception, Fushimi Shika came out of the bathroom, pulling up his pants. She nudged Fushimi Shika with her elbow, letting him say that the house was unsuitable.

“Hmm, not bad, we’ll buy it,” said Fushimi Shika.

"Huh?" Minamoto Tamako was taken aback, and quickly stood on tiptoe, anxiously whispering in his ear, "I don't have enough money! I only have 20 million yen, and I also have to pay property tax in the future. I simply can't afford it!"

The real estate agent's eyes lit up. Giving them no chance to take back his words, he quickly pulled a contract from his briefcase, bit his pen, and said, "Which loan plan would be most suitable for you? If the monthly repayments are too heavy, I recommend this installment loan extension, a three-year loan..."

“No borrowing,” Fushimi Shika interrupted, taking out his bank card from his wallet. “We’ll pay in full.”

Minamoto no Tamako didn't think, "Wow, this man looks so handsome paying for things." Her mind was completely occupied with where Fushimi Shika got the money from.

Didn't Fushimi-kun just spend all his money?
How come I got money just from going to the toilet?
Is there a gold mine in the toilet, or did he do some shady deal in the toilet?

Minamoto no Tamako was completely bewildered, but she knew it wasn't appropriate to ask these questions in front of outsiders. Fushimi Shika, right in front of her, paid a deposit of ten million yen to temporarily purchase the house, a win-win situation for everyone.

The real estate agent helped with the paperwork, claiming that we could move in by next week at the latest, and if things went smoothly, we could inspect the house in three days. If there were no problems, we could pay the final payment.

Japan does not have property ownership certificates, but only real estate registration books, which allow property to be jointly owned by multiple people. The most common form is 'joint ownership,' which is often found among spouses or family members. Co-owners have equal rights to the property and must jointly exercise the right to dispose of it.

However, Fushimi Shika and Minamoto no Tamako are not yet married, so they chose 'shared ownership', where the co-owners own the property according to the agreed proportions, such as 50%:50% or 80%:20%, and their respective shares will be noted in the register.

Fushimi Shika contributed ten million, and Minamoto no Tamako contributed twenty million. The latter held a larger share, and Fushimi Shika had no objection to this, as long as his name was on the real estate register.

After the real estate agent said goodbye, Fushimi Shika, holding the keys, planned to drive around a few more times. Minamoto Tamako quickly caught up and asked, "Where did you get the money? Did you make money in the stock market again?"

"No, you can't cash out so quickly from stocks."

Fushimi Shika opened the window and looked at the cherry blossom tree in the yard, thinking to himself, "This is the kind of scenery that Japanese dramas and anime should have! What's the difference between this run-down environment like the Sugamo apartment building and an urban village?"
"Then where did you get this ten million?" Yuan Yuzi pressed.

“It’s a family fund from your maternal grandfather,” Fushimi Shika said with a grin.

He actually asked for 20 million, and secretly pocketed a 10 million yuan kickback in the process.

(End of this chapter)