Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 372 Ambition Needs to Match Strength

After settling his domestic affairs, Masato Takeshita quietly returned to Shanghai.

What is the due date?

"If you ask me again in January, I'll get angry."

Seeing the girl raise her small fist, the young man chuckled and replied, "I was just afraid I misheard."

"Hmph, even if you're afraid of mishearing, there's no reason to ask a dozen times."

Lin Qingqian was a little resentful and annoyed by her boyfriend's dawdling.

"My bad, my bad."

Masato Takeshita never imagined that he would one day be so humble in front of his girlfriend.

The "it smells so good" principle truly never goes out of style.

"Ha, I'll forgive you one more time."

Lin Qingqian, with her large pregnant belly, gently pushed away her lover's restless hands, then gently picked up a grape and put it in her mouth.

Since becoming pregnant, she has increasingly enjoyed eating grapes, and she doesn't know why.

The two chatted about everyday things for a while, and then the girl took the initiative to talk about the Xinghai Group's China branch.

Overall, the Chinese subsidiaries of each company are doing well, with revenue and profits soaring.

"Do you think it's necessary for us to continue strengthening the company's localization efforts?"

Except for a few key positions, most of the major areas of Xinghai Group's Chinese subsidiary are currently staffed by Chinese employees.

For example, marketing, and product development...

It is estimated that it will not be long before the president of Xinghai Group's China region will also be a Chinese employee.

"It's better to let things take their natural course and not be in such a hurry."

"Okay, it's up to you."

Xinghai Group's various businesses in China are developing very well, and there is indeed no need to rush to change personnel.

Since we're already here, we might as well take a look at the business related to China.

He doesn't focus on major issues either, because you can't see anything clearly in just a few days.

The young people mainly investigated the issues of meals and accommodation for lower-level employees, and learned about the company's reputation among the local people through various channels.

"Brother, is the Shencheng Luggage Factory just ahead? I wonder what the work is like inside?"

"Oh, that's great! My third sister told me they earn over 1000 yuan a month, get a bonus every six months, and often receive gifts during holidays..."

The taxi driver looked envious when he mentioned the Shanghai Luggage Factory.

Although being a taxi driver is a very good job right now, he still thinks it's not as good as working at a luggage factory in Shanghai.

Not only do you earn more each month there, but the benefits are also far superior to those of taxi companies.

"Oh, such good treatment?"

If you were to ask which profession in a city has the best access to information, taxi drivers would undoubtedly be a top choice.

Today, Masato Takeshita will take on the role of a passenger to gain a basic understanding of the external situation of the various subsidiaries of Xinghai Group in China.

"This is a company that collaborates with the Japanese Xinghai Group and the government; how could the benefits be bad?"

The taxi driver's voice rose in excitement, and then he continued with great enthusiasm.

"However, I heard that the company directly invested in by Xinghai Group offers better benefits, with many people earning several thousand yuan a month, and some even earning tens of thousands of yuan."

"With such good benefits, the company must have a high demand, right?"

The taxi driver replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, I heard that the minimum requirement is a high school diploma, and good positions are only open to those with a college degree."

"If my child can get into university and then work for Xinghai Group, then my life will be worthwhile."

The taxi driver's face was full of happiness when he talked about his children.

"With a good father like you, big brother, it's easy for the child to get what he wants."

"Hehe, thank you for your kind words, sir."

Over the next few days, Masato Takeshita was constantly taking taxis around to find out what was going on.

Ultimately, he concluded that Xinghai Group had an excellent image in Shanghai. Working for Xinghai Group was considered a very prestigious thing in Shanghai.

He then took some time to visit Beijing and Guangzhou, and came to similar conclusions in both places.

It seems that Xinghai Group's Chinese subsidiaries have not encountered any major problems, at least not on the surface.

Of course, he can only grasp some basic information; more in-depth analysis requires the company's internal oversight body.

If a major problem arises and the fault lies with the employee, that employee will be immediately marginalized.

As for dismissal, that's a last resort and is generally not used.

After all, they are a Japanese company, and they don't like to fire employees or play the bottom-ranking elimination system.

After staying in China for less than a week, the young man returned to his homeland.

This time he will travel to the United States to handle the $400 billion in cash wealth belonging to the Xinghai Group.

"Thank you so much, Chairman Takeshita. Your virtue will illuminate the whole world."

"Principal Gerhard, you are too kind. Schools are the beacons of human civilization."

When faced with Stanford University, one of the top ten universities in the United States, Masato Takeshita was very generous, starting with a donation of $5 million.

This is his fourth stop at prestigious universities across the United States; he previously donated to Yale, Harvard, and MIT.

The donations were staggering, which earned Masato Takeshita and the Xinghai Group a great deal of praise.

A super philanthropist, a promoter of human civilization, an educator...

Many titles that even the Japanese find outrageous have been bestowed upon him by the American media.

Because Masato Takeshita's first donation target in the United States was an organization related to journalists.

For example, the United States branch of the International Federation of Journalists, or the White House Correspondents' Association, etc.

This naturally makes the media industry willing to speak well of him, since no one would turn down money.

In addition to journalists, media outlets, and some top American universities, Masato Takeshita's donations also include those from organizations that advocate for the poor and environmental protection.

Regardless of the inner workings of these organizations, what he really wanted was the prestige.

The last part of the donation was given to a charitable foundation established by the wives and children of American political figures.

However, time was limited before Christmas, and even if he donated once a day, he only completed a small part of the plan.

There's no way to complete the donations in just over ten days; there are simply too many recipients.

The American upper class is aware of this, and therefore shows great tolerance. As long as the Xinghai Foundation's donation progress next year satisfies everyone, there won't be any problems.

Actually, Masato Takeshita doesn't have to donate; he'll just be held accountable someday.

Since Japan cannot stand firm against the United States in the short term, it has no choice but to take the route of paying money to avoid disaster.

The Japanese New Year passed quickly, and Masato Takeshita did not immediately travel to the United States, but instead quietly arrived in Shanghai.

He sat nervously outside the delivery room, awaiting the final verdict of fate.

"Congratulations, sir. Mother and child are safe and sound."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

Masato Takeshita was so excited that he was at a loss for words and could barely speak.

"It's alright, it's what we should do, sir, please calm down."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I lost my composure."

Masato Takeshita forced himself to calm down, then asked expectantly.

"Um, can I go inside and take a look now?"

"Yes, sir, please go ahead." "Okay, thank you, thank you!"

Masato Takeshita followed the nurse into the delivery room, wanting to know how his lover was doing.

Perhaps because the child was well-behaved, Lin Qingqian seemed to be in good spirits. Only her damp hair showed signs of fatigue.

The young man quickly went up and took his lover's slightly pale hand.

"Thank you so much for your hard work."

"I'm alright, you've worked hard too."

The girl raised her hand and gently stroked the young man's hair, a happy smile spreading across her face.

A short while later, after the nurse had bathed the newborn and removed any substances that might be obstructing his breathing, she brought the baby to the couple to see.

"It's cute, isn't it?"

"um, yes."

Most newborns are ugly, and the couple's child is no exception.

But in front of Lin Qingqian, who exuded maternal warmth, he dared not tell the truth.

Anyway, in a few days, once the child's head opens up again, they'll really become cute.

Both newborns and new mothers need ample rest, so he only stayed in the delivery room for a short while.

He will be cared for by doctors and nurses from now on, and will continue to wait outside the delivery room.

More than ten days later, after everything was settled, the two returned to the villa with their child.

However, to avoid any problems, the villa has now been converted into a small hospital.

There is some essential medical equipment, as well as experienced doctors, nurses, and caregivers.

In short, try to avoid all factors that are not influenced by fate.

"Little Xingzai is so cute."

"Yeah, it's really cute."

Lin Qingqian really liked the poem "Gathering Ferns" from the Book of Songs, so the two of them decided on a name for their child early on.

If it's a girl, she'll be called Lin Caiwei; if it's a boy, he'll be called Lin Xingzai.

Unlike his other child, whose name was somewhat casual.

Masato Takeshita stayed with his lover for more than two months before returning to Tokyo at her urging.

However, there wasn't much to do in Tokyo at the moment, so he soon returned to the United States.

Donate—take a photo—promote, donate—take a photo—promote…

Masato Takeshita repeated this process repeatedly in the United States, eventually establishing his and Xinghai Group's reputation there.

Although it doesn't reach the level of Japan, it's already on par with China.

The cost was that Starsea Fund's profits fell by $120 billion last year.

But that's not all; he's going to continue throwing money around.

But this time, his spending was an investment, meaning the return would be slower.

"This, this, and this are all our investment targets."

Masato Takeshita visited the Silicon Valley subsidiary of Starsea Fund and set his sights on spending money on the four major North American sports leagues.

The New York Knicks basketball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, the San Francisco 49ers football team... these were all targets he set his sights on.

If we're talking about the future, buying these teams would cost at least $200 billion.

But now, even the most expensive Knicks only cost a little over a billion dollars.

This also includes the ice hockey team and the Garden Plaza, a New York City landmark.

"Understood. How much money is the chairman planning to invest?"

"I think we can acquire it all for under $40 billion."

Before the internet age arrived, the four major North American sports leagues were in a period of low development, and even the most popular football teams in the country didn't cost much money.

This is still with the fact that he's only targeting top teams in big cities. If it were a team like the Golden State Warriors, he could acquire them all for under $20 billion.

"Yes, President."

After discussing investments in North American teams, Shinji Kikuno steered the conversation toward Yahoo.

He knew that his chairman valued this emerging internet company highly, so he had been personally monitoring it.

"Chairman, Mr. Moritz of Sequoia Capital wants to invest in Yahoo."

"How much is he planning to invest in Yahoo?"

Yahoo doesn't lack money, but it lacks connections in the US. If Sequoia Capital's investment is reasonable, he'd be happy to cooperate.

This is a legendary venture capital firm that has invested in Apple and Cisco. Even without Starsea Ventures getting involved, it would have invested in Yahoo.

"Evaluated at $2000 million, with an investment of $400 million."

"Oh, that's quite a generous gesture. What do Mr. Yang and Mr. David mean by this?"

To succeed in Silicon Valley, you can't operate in isolation. Starsea Ventures is willing to bring in new investment groups, but it also depends on the wishes of the company's two founders.

"Mr. Yang and Mr. David are both willing to bring in new investors."

Jerry Yang and David Filo are both highly intelligent people who know how to attract capital in the best interests of themselves, so they naturally wouldn't refuse Sequoia Capital's investment.

With Sequoia Capital acting as a check, Starsea Ventures' influence at Yahoo will be reduced by more than half.

"Okay, we'll accept Sequoia Capital's investment."

"Yes, President."

Shinji Kikuno quickly wrote it down, then looked up and asked, "Should we follow suit?"

To prevent their shares from being diluted, venture capital firms typically have the right to co-invest in their contracts.

In this way, many of the tricks used by the company founders would be rendered useless.

"Let's skip this round; it's better for us to be on par with Sequoia Capital."

In the angel round, Starsea Ventures valued Yahoo at $1000 million and then invested $25 million to acquire a 250% stake.

The valuation in this round was $20 million. Starsea Ventures did not participate, and its shareholding was exactly the same as Sequoia Capital's, both at 2000%.

"Yes, President."

After discussing Yahoo, which he valued most, Masato Takeshita asked about Netscape's situation.

"Things are going very well, and the two founders are preparing to go public this August."

"Great, Xinghai Venture Capital has finally opened for business."

Starsea Ventures did not receive angel investment from Netscape because Jim Clark, one of Netscape's two founders, was not short of money.

Before founding Netscape, he was the CEO of Silicon Graphics.

However, thanks to the powerful promotional capabilities of the Xinghai Internet Cafe Alliance, Xinghai Venture Capital secured Netscape's Series A funding and enjoyed similar treatment to Sequoia Capital.

"Yes, everyone is very optimistic about Netscape and wants it to go public as soon as possible."

Netscape, currently focused on its browser business, has an incredibly imaginative mind.

For investors, a browser is like a window to the internet, giving them the opportunity to control the entire network.

Perhaps in a few years, another giant similar to Microsoft will be born.

However, it's clear that Microsoft won't give Netscape that opportunity. If Netscape's vision succeeds, Microsoft will be marginalized.

After all, computer users can change their operating system, but they can't change Netscape, which controls all websites.

However, Netscape's ambitions were grand, but its capabilities were simply insufficient to support them, making it difficult for its visions to become reality.

(End of this chapter)