America: My Time

Chapter 886 A Helpless Struggle

Chapter 856 A Helpless Struggle
"Is she trying to drive our whole family to our deaths? Doesn't she know how much debt we have? Can we even afford to pay it back?" That shameless guy, Nakamori Akio, was still muttering to himself, still accusing Nakamori Akina of being 'unfilial'. No matter how much Nakamori Akina did, as long as she didn't listen to him, she was unfilial.

"It's not that she's trying to drive our family to our deaths, it's that you're trying to drive her to her death. You haven't forgotten the turmoil before; she's already died once. Those loans were your own doing. You didn't have the means, yet you still got involved in these things. Didn't they warn you? But what did you do? Whether you can repay them or not, this is something you have to face. If all else fails, sell everything in the house. Sell the house that Akina bought for us, and the house in our hometown, to pay off those loans. That internet cafe is your last source of income."

Selling all of this means their quality of life will be severely impacted. They'll have to rent apartments themselves, face numerous challenges, and no longer have free housing. Of course, they could choose to sell the internet cafe, but that would mean losing their livelihood; the current situation makes it difficult for them to even find legitimate work.

In Japan's current situation, many people are facing unemployment, and even more businesses are going bankrupt. These people, lacking both education and skills, what can they do? Running an internet cafe is their best source of livelihood. As for the living expenses Akina provides, now is not the time to discuss it, because if these people don't change their ways, they will never have another chance.

"How could she treat us like this? We're family!" At this moment, Nakamori Akio thought of Akina as family, but did he ever consider Akina family? Betrayal and hurt time and time again—even outsiders shouldn't be so cruel, let alone family. Now he thinks of them as family; why didn't he think of that before?

“She is our family, but she has already done enough and sacrificed enough for this family. You shouldn’t make her make any more sacrifices. It’s time for you to be independent.”

“But now if we sell our houses, where will we live? And with house prices so plummeting, we won’t get much money from the sale, not enough to repay the loan. We’ll be homeless, and the current economic climate is so difficult. How are we supposed to live?” At this point, Nakamori Akio pulled the others aside and emphasized his own difficulties.

“They need to be independent. They can't rely on Akina forever. Akina can't support them for life, and I don't want Akina to be a burden on them forever. It's time for them to live on their own.” It wasn't that Chieko didn't care about these children, but if they weren't allowed to become independent, they truly wouldn't be able to stand on their own two feet, and the last vestige of family bond would be severed. Right now, she was still maintaining that sliver of family affection in Akina's heart; if she were gone, that sliver of affection would likely end. That's why Chieko didn't mention living expenses again. Without forcing them to earn a living, there would never be a way for them to go out and find their own lives.

Nakamori Akio opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Continuing to cause trouble would have even worse consequences; once Ken-on stopped holding back, their fate would be far more tragic. In the end, he could only sigh and sign the guarantee. After he signed and stamped it, he went limp; he had lost all support.

Seeing that her father, Nakamori Akio, had signed, the other family members had no choice but to sign as well. Thus, the farce came to an end, and the family was torn apart. However, Chieko felt a sense of relief. The pressure she had been carrying for so long was reduced by more than half. Perhaps their lives would not be very happy from now on, but it was better than continuing to leech off Akina and being a parasite for the rest of her life, harming both herself and others.

Has Akina's situation been resolved? At least for now. This lesson should have made them more aware, but how long they can hold out is unknown. However, there's truly no room for reconciliation between Nakamori Akina and her family. Now, only her mother, Chieko, still cares and resents her; the others only feel hatred. They think Nakamori Akina is too cold-blooded and heartless, having the ability to help them yet standing idly by, making her an unfilial daughter.

In the hearts of this family, all they thought about was how to leech off Nakamori Akina and how to make themselves live comfortably, without ever considering Nakamori Akina's well-being. This is the truth, but they don't think they've done anything wrong. After leeching off Nakamori Akina for so many years, they still have such ridiculous thoughts. Perhaps this is the best manifestation of selfishness.

“This is a good way to handle it. If they don’t truly face everything, they’ll always think it’s your responsibility and will never choose to be independent. They’ll just keep sucking you dry. Even the closest family members can’t keep letting you support them forever. People have to be independent, or they’ll be ruined. Now is the perfect time. Japan is facing such a huge bubble crisis. Let them experience firsthand what it’s like to make money. Only then will they know that life isn’t as wonderful as they imagine, and that it requires hard work, not just endlessly sucking their family’s blood.” John gently patted Akina’s arm as he spoke. Pain was inevitable; after all, everyone has a heart, and making this decision hurt her greatly.

The pressure on Nakamori Akina from her overgrown family was immense, a fact known to many, especially those close to her. However, few dared to offer advice, except for John, who was mindful of saving face. The fact that everything was resolved so smoothly was a good thing. Only after this brief period of pain passed could things begin anew, and only by severing ties with this greedy man could things get back on track, freeing Nakamori Akina from his relentless harassment. Having learned her lesson and adopted this attitude, Ken-on would no longer hold back and would never again give a bastard like Nakamori Akio a kind look.

"If you're tired, take a break. Don't push yourself too hard. There's no need to do that. You need to learn to relax. Discuss it with Ken-on and have Sachiko accompany you on a trip to different places to relax!"

“But I still have…” Sachiko Kamachi wanted to say something, but John interrupted her before she could finish.

"What else do you think I don't know your situation? Don't you know you've been staying up all night again? I can tell you're guilty just by seeing you put on makeup! Having ideals is fine, but not at the cost of your health. That's not worth it." John shook his head, thoroughly exasperated by this stubborn girl. Thinking about her future, he decided it was best to have someone keep an eye on her.

Seeing Sachiko's expression, Akina Nakamori said, "No need to trouble Sachiko-chan, I'm fine. Ken-on's work can't be suspended indefinitely, and I can't let others be affected because of me!"

Upon hearing this, John shook his head and said nothing more. Since things had already gone this far, there was no point in saying anything more. He would leave it at that for now and make arrangements later when things on his side were resolved, since this was not something that could be changed in a day or two.

John has already made his move; now it's time to see how those guys in Japan react. With their capabilities, they'll find out everything soon enough. It's just a matter of seeing what they do. John isn't concerned about the performance of those conglomerates, but rather the performance of the Japanese government, since he'll need their help for many things going forward.

Soon, the results of Kenon's handling of the matter reached the Japanese guys, which relieved them once again. From this small incident, they realized that John had no intention of settling accounts. After all, many people had been eyeing John's assets, so it was only natural for John to seek them out for settlement now.

However, even so, those old guys didn't react at all, they didn't make a sound, as if everyone was making some kind of plan in the dark, or as if these guys wanted to sit back and wait for the benefits to come to them. In short, nothing happened, the chaos in Japan continued, and these guys seemed to have no idea that John had come to Tokyo!
However, the Japanese authorities couldn't pretend they didn't know anything; that would be too impolite. John's attitude had already made it clear, and now they should make some gesture, at least to provide John with a satisfactory investment environment.

The expansion of 7-Eleven convenience stores quickly received strong government support, as it would create jobs and reduce unemployment, albeit to a limited extent for Japan as a whole, but it would at least provide some reassurance. While the conglomerates were still waiting, the Japanese government couldn't afford to. The stock market crash, the real estate crash—the crisis had exceeded their expectations. They urgently needed to change everything; otherwise, the situation would worsen.

Unfortunately, the Japanese government didn't have that much time. Soon, a wave of bankruptcies hit, and unemployment surged. Even worse were the graduates, who found themselves with no job opportunities upon graduation. The unemployment rate across Japan was skyrocketing, and these graduates had no advantage whatsoever.

Almost all companies are downsizing, which is very unfriendly to graduates. Those with connections can still find a job, but those without connections will directly join the ranks of the unemployed, struggling to find a way to make a living and support themselves!

(End of this chapter)