Tokyo Detective

Chapter 401 You're Declaring War

When Naoki Hanyu entered the headquarters of Tonegawa United Agriculture Company, dozens of employees in light blue work clothes were busy. Some of them were contacting people to see if there were any other combine harvesters, while others were curious about who the young man the president had brought back was. Very few people knew that he was the boss behind the scenes.

The door to the guest reception room was pushed open, revealing three men inside: an elderly man, a middle-aged man, and a young man.

The elderly man in the middle greeted everyone first.

"Nice to meet you, Manager Hanyu. I am the head of the Narita City branch of the JA Agricultural Cooperative. I am Ohara Terashima. I am in charge of all the business of the Narita City Agricultural Cooperative. These two are my assistants."

Naoki Hanyu turned to look at Mitsuo Aiba, who shook his head, indicating that he hadn't introduced Naoki Hanyu, meaning that the other party knew that Naoki Hanyu was the real boss of the agricultural company.

Naoki Hanyu shook hands with the other person and sat down.

"Hello Mr. Ohara, I've come to discuss the harvester issue with you. Couldn't you arrange for the harvester to be ready in the next couple of days?"

Oharajima shook his head with a troubled expression.

"I'm sorry, there are 23 million hectares of paddy fields in Japan, of which 1.7 million hectares are partners of agricultural cooperatives. Agricultural cooperatives directly manage 110,000 harvesters, and farmers entrust agricultural cooperatives to dispatch 230,000 harvesters. The total number that agricultural cooperatives can actually dispatch is only 50% of the national total. October is the season for rice to ripen and be harvested. Now that the typhoon has arrived at this bad time, the agricultural cooperatives themselves are overwhelmed."

Aiba Mitsuo couldn't help but retort.

“Ohara, we had about a week to prepare for the typhoon warning, why did you only tell us today? If we had just had two more days, we wouldn’t be in such a passive position.”

1500公顷稻田3天乃至2天多收割完毕，至少需要100台大型收割机，如果是中型小型收割机起步200台以上。

If he had two more days, even if Aiba Mitsuo couldn't call in 100 large harvesters, he could still harvest in front of the typhoon using a combination of machines and manual labor. But his friend wasted two precious days of his time, which was clearly intentional.

Oharajima spread his hands, looking completely innocent.

"I can't do anything about it. This is how the higher-ups allocate resources, and it's not something I, as the head of the city cooperative, can change. Besides, you're not our agricultural cooperative's partners, so of course we have to prioritize the harvest progress of our partners."

Aiba Mitsuo was furious. He had trusted this friend of over 10 years, but he never expected that the friend would cause him to potentially lose his position as president.

"Ohara, you bastard, what are you saying?"

“Aiba, you’re still so impulsive. I’m just talking business. The agricultural cooperative you used to be in charge of was a partner of the agricultural cooperative, but the current Tonegawa United Agricultural Company is not a partner. If 100 harvesters are brought here, then 1500 hectares of rice fields belonging to the agricultural cooperative’s partners will not be able to be harvested before the typhoon arrives.”

Naoki Hanyu stopped the enraged old man.

"Mr. Ohara, in that case, would it be possible for us to become partners of the agricultural cooperative now?"

"Of course. The higher-ups knew I was here to discuss this, so they've arranged a contract tailored to you. Please take a look, Mr. Yuzuru."

Naoki Hanyu picked up the contract and became increasingly unhappy as he read it.

"60 kilograms for only 20000?"

"What? 60 kilograms for 20000? Aiba, are you insulting our Tonegawa United Agricultural Company? This land is the most fertile land in the Kanto region, and the rice we grow is first-class Koshihikari, the top-grade rice in Japan. The neighboring farm sells 60 kilograms for 40000, and we only get half of that."

This year, the purchase price of rice by agricultural cooperatives has increased by one-quarter compared to last year, with significant increases even in the lowest-ranking counties.

Iwate Prefecture had 23000 new cases, an increase of 6000 from the previous year; Akita Prefecture had 24000 new cases, an increase of 7200 from the previous year; and Fukushima Prefecture had 26000 new cases, an increase of 4800 from the previous year.

With its location nestled between Japan's second-largest river and its largest plain, Tonegawa United Agriculture Company's price, given the significant reduction in transportation costs, is practically an insult.

Oharajima shook his head.

"That's not how it's calculated. You only approached us for cooperation before the typhoon hit. It takes time to mobilize harvesters, which will delay the progress of other partners. I hope everyone can understand. Think about the rice in your fields. Do you really want to ruin it?"

"."

Naoki Hanyu put down the contract and asked calmly.

Is there really no way to negotiate?

Oharajima bowed, feigning an apology.

"There's really nothing I can do, please forgive me, Manager Hanyu."

"I want to ask who is targeting me?"

Oharajima's expression froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

"No one is targeting us; this is business."

The agricultural cooperatives indirectly control 70% of the paddy fields, a near-monopoly, giving them the confidence to do whatever they want. As for Naoki Hanyu, while he is indeed very famous and extremely wealthy, Ōhara-jima is not afraid.

He wasn't afraid of the other party's police status because he was in Tokyo, and he wasn't afraid of the trillionaire's status because he had the backing of the agricultural cooperative.

"I understand."

Naoki Hanyu returned the contract to the other party and spoke directly to the three men of Aiba.

"President Aiba, please see the guest out."

"what?"

The four people present were stunned. Although Aiba San's appearance seemed very angry, his bottom line was to cooperate with the agricultural cooperative, since the rice was still in the field.

This was unexpected for Oharajima, which made him a little flustered.

However, his concern wasn't about Naoki Hanyu, but rather that if the 1500 hectares (22500 acres) of land truly couldn't be harvested and rotted in the fields, and this was exposed, it would definitely damage the agricultural cooperative's reputation and incite public anger. "We're almost unable to afford rice, and you guys are doing this!" he thought.

Oharajima persuaded him.

"Mr. Yuzuru, won't you reconsider?"

"No need, see them out."

Although Aiba Mitsuo was also anxious, he was just an employee, and he could accept having an agricultural expert as the company president.

"Ohara, please leave."

Upon seeing this, Ōharajima also stood up.

"I hope you can change your minds today, otherwise you might regret it."

Naoki Hanyu remembered Oharajima's figure, but he hadn't had time to deal with him for the next couple of days, as he needed to take care of the rice paddies first.

"Aiba, how many harvesters does our company own?"

"There are 5 large harvesters, 7 medium-sized harvesters, and 3 mini harvesters, which have already started harvesting in the fields."

"how many people?"

"The company has 80 official employees, and 130 people were temporarily hired to harvest the crops."

Naoki Hanyu estimated in his mind that there was still a long way to go. He estimated that there were at most 8 large harvesters, which was 92 short. If he had to harvest by hand, he would also be far from enough.

Do you know many agricultural companies?

"There are quite a lot, after all, I've been farming in the Kanto region for decades."

Naoki Hanyu nodded.

"In that case, contact other agricultural companies, or even individual farmers, and ask if they have any harvesters for sale. I can offer twice the market price for a new machine, and you can estimate the price for a used one yourself."

"Yes."

Aiba Mitsuo was surprised that his boss was really rich and powerful; harvesters are not cheap.

Large harvesters are divided into intelligent and semi-intelligent types, with the former costing 3000 million yuan and the latter 2200 million yuan. Medium-sized harvesters cost 1000 million to 1500 million yuan, and mini harvesters cost 400 million to 600 million yuan.

至于收割机的使用年限一般是10年以内，一到两年的残值率是70-80%，3-5年40-60%，6年以上少于30%。

As Aiba and the other three men left, Naoki Hanyu's eyes turned dangerous. He was short of money, so no matter who in the agricultural cooperative was making things difficult for him, he saw it as the entire agricultural cooperative declaring war on him.

Since that's the case, he'll do whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties. After all, the agricultural company will need harvesters after the merger, and it's no longer a small company that can handle everything on its own, even if it means a lot more trouble.

Naoki Hanyu calls Saeko Amamiya.

"Hey, Saeko, can you help me find some harvesters that I can buy right now? Any model is fine, up to 100 large harvesters."

Saeko Amamiya on the other side was stunned. Why buy a harvester?
"Naoki, what do you need a combine harvester for?"

"Of course it's for my own agricultural company, Tonegawa United Agricultural Company. We have 1500 hectares of land. Would you like to come and help me out?"

Saeko Amamiya was stunned. She was now Naoki Hanyu's personal accountant, so how come she didn't know about the agricultural company? It was like a phantom springing out of a rock.

Seeing that the other person did not answer immediately, Naoki Hanyu continued to press for an answer.

"Do you want to take responsibility? If not, I'll find someone else."

"Leave it to me."

Saeko Amamiya agreed readily. Although she also had her own businesses, such as the Amamiya House chain of mid-sized supermarkets, which had more than 20 stores throughout the Kanto region and a market value of tens or hundreds of billions of yen, half of the credit went to Naoki Hanyu's connections.

Of course, this achievement cannot compare to her efforts in bed. Just the fact that she was granted a loan to buy 2% of Tianyu Qilin's shares as a lover was more than her entire fortune. She regretted not buying more.

Some even have a strange thought: why work so hard when someone else can give you several times more benefits than you could gain from years of hard work? You might as well learn how to please a man.

Fortunately, Saeko Amamiya is an ambitious woman who would never wait to make money while lying in bed.

By the next morning, the situation was not looking good.

Aiba San's side only managed to acquire 8 large harvesters, 7 medium-sized ones, and 11 small ones, at most 13 large harvesters. After all, it's the busy farming season, and even if others are tempted, they might not sell at double the price.

This time not only allows you to harvest your own land, but you can also rent it out to others for money, making it a profitable time of year.

Saeko Amamiya's side deals with several times more various channels, including 37 large harvesters, 34 medium-sized harvesters, and 24 small harvesters.

You ask why large-scale operations are the most expensive and have the most readily available stock? Well, we have to talk about Japan's agricultural structure. Agriculture in the Kanto region is mostly comprised of small and medium-sized enterprises or individual businesses. Naoki Hanyu's company, located in the Kanto region, is one of the largest in terms of land holdings.

Therefore, agricultural workers in the Kanto region tend to purchase medium or small-sized agricultural companies, unlike Hokkaido which has many large agricultural companies. Even if Naoki Hanyu's company were located in Hokkaido, it would only be considered medium-sized.

This means we have the efficiency of 70 large harvesters, but we're still short 30.

(End of this chapter)