Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

In Japan, factories that were once bustling are now deserted.

Only a few workers were on duty next to the production line, most of the workstations were empty, and the machines were covered with a thick layer of dust.

"Who would want to work in a factory these days?" Factory owner Sato sighed helplessly as he looked at the empty workshop.

"Young people are all speculating in real estate, earning more in a day than they would in a month working in a factory. Who's going to stick to a regular job?"

Not only manufacturing, but also many other industries such as services and agriculture have come to a standstill.

Restaurants can't find waiters, crops in the fields go unharvested, and logistics companies can't find truck drivers.

Everyone's attention is focused on the real estate market, and they are single-mindedly focused on getting rich quick through real estate speculation.

The latest data released by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that the country's GDP has fallen sharply for two consecutive quarters, with the decline exceeding 5%, hitting a record low.

The real estate-related industries accounted for a staggering 40% of GDP, creating a distorted economic structure.

"This can't go on any longer!" Inside the Japanese Prime Minister's official residence, the Prime Minister, looking at the economic report, convened an emergency economic symposium with a grim expression.

The meeting room was packed with ministers and economists, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry said with deep concern, "Your Excellency, the manufacturing sector is now severely hollowed out, and a large number of workers are flooding into the real estate market. If this continues, the national economy will completely collapse!"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer echoed, "What's even more frightening is that the real estate market is entirely driven by speculative capital, lacking any support from the real economy. Once the bubble bursts, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"I'm reminded of Mr. Yukio Noguchi's warning. He was right; we should have listened to him back then!"

When Yukio Noguchi was mentioned, the meeting room fell silent.

Everyone is filled with regret. If they had heeded this warning and taken timely measures, things wouldn't have come to this.

"It's too late to say all this now!" the Prime Minister slammed his fist on the table.

"Immediately formulate policies to curb speculative housing purchases, raise mortgage interest rates, and increase real estate transaction taxes! We must stabilize the real estate market!"

However, their realization came too late.

Inside the financial command center of Longxing Factory, Li Yu calmly issued instructions while looking at the Japanese real estate market data on the screen: "Lou, begin to sell off our Japanese real estate and real estate stocks in batches. Be slow and don't alert the market."

"Understood, Mr. Li!"

The economic advisor immediately responded, "We own more than 13000 properties in major cities in Japan, as well as a large number of shares in companies such as Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan. It will take about a week to sell them off in batches."

Li Yu nodded and said, "I can give Rogers a heads-up and let him take over. He definitely won't miss this opportunity to buy at the bottom."

Just as Li Yu had predicted, international investor Jim Rogers had been closely monitoring the Japanese real estate market.

When he discovered that mysterious capital was quietly selling off properties, he was not alarmed. Instead, he thought it was a temporary market correction and an excellent opportunity to enter the market.

"Take over all the properties and stocks being sold off immediately!" Rogers said into the phone.

"Japan's real estate market can still rise; now is the best time to buy at the bottom. We should take this opportunity to increase our holdings!"

His team acted immediately, using huge sums of money to frantically buy up the properties and stocks that Li Yu was selling off.

In just a few days, Rogers took over nearly 3000 properties, becoming the sucker of the Japanese real estate market.

Meanwhile, the Japanese people remain immersed in the frenzy of getting rich quick through real estate speculation.

The properties that Li Yu sold off in batches were quickly snapped up by the frenzied public.

"House prices will continue to rise! If we don't buy now, we won't be able to afford it later!" said one resident who had just snapped up a property excitedly, completely unaware that a catastrophic disaster was about to befall them.

Real estate agencies in Tokyo are still packed with people looking to buy homes.

The real estate agent kept persuading them, "This is the last chance to buy; in another month, the price will rise by another 30%!"

In this frenzied atmosphere, no one noticed that selling pressure was quietly increasing in the market.

A week later, when Li Yu had sold more than half of his real estate and stocks, the market finally began to show signs of activity.

Tokyo's housing prices have stopped rising and have even seen a slight decline.

Some astute property speculators began to panic and tried to sell their properties, only to find that there were no buyers left in the market.

"Oh no! House prices have fallen!" A property speculator looked at the estimated value of his property and turned pale.

He tried to sell it at a lower price, but even with a 20% discount, no one was interested.

At that moment, Li Yu issued the final order: "Sell everything! All real estate, stocks, and bonds, regardless of cost, dump them all!"

The financial team at Longxing Factory acted immediately, pushing a massive amount of real estate and stocks onto the market.

The real estate markets in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya collapsed instantly, with housing prices plummeting like a kite with a broken string.

Mitsubishi Estate's stock price plummeted!

Mitsui Fudosan shares hit limit down!

"Tokyo house prices plummeted by 25% in a single day!" Japanese financial news continued to broadcast despairing reports.

Real estate agencies in Tokyo are packed with people listing their homes for sale.

"I'm selling this apartment at a 50% discount! Anyone interested?"

"Please, is anyone willing to buy my house? Even at half price!"

The people were shouting frantically, hoping someone would take over their properties, but all they received in response was endless silence.

Housing prices continue to plummet; in just three days, Tokyo's housing prices have fallen by 70%, returning to levels seen a decade ago. The value of many people's properties has evaporated instantly, leaving them insolvent.

"It's over, everything is over!" A middle-aged man roared in despair as he looked at the bank's collection notice.

To buy a house, he not only emptied all his savings but also took on a huge mortgage.

Now that housing prices have plummeted, the value of his property is not even enough to repay the loan, and the bank has begun to collect the debt, and may even repossess his property.

Similar scenes are playing out repeatedly in various cities across Japan.

Countless people have gone bankrupt because they could not afford the high debt, losing their houses, cars, and even their families.

Overnight, a large number of homeless people appeared on the streets of Tokyo. They were once millionaire real estate speculators, but now they can only sleep on the streets and beg for a living.

What's even more heartbreaking is that people jump off high-rise buildings every now and then.

A former electronics factory owner invested all his money in real estate. After the bubble burst, he not only went bankrupt but also incurred huge debts.

In despair, he jumped from Tokyo Tower, ending his life.

"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!"

Ambulances sped through the streets of Tokyo, their sirens blaring.

Firefighters and police officers were busy cleaning up the body of the person who jumped from the building, and the air was filled with sorrow and despair.

An elderly policeman, witnessing the horrific scene before him, couldn't help but shed tears: "What happened? How did our country become like this?"

Inside the financial command center of Longxing Factory, a financial advisor reported to Li Yu: "President Li, the Japanese real estate market has completely collapsed, with housing prices falling by 70%."

"A large number of businesses have gone bankrupt, and the bankruptcy rate among the public has exceeded 20%. Rogers' assets have shrunk by 90%, and he is on the verge of bankruptcy."

Looking at the images of devastation on the streets of Tokyo on the screen, Li Yu said calmly, "This is the price they pay for provoking China."

He paused, then continued, "Inform the finance team to take advantage of the situation and short Japanese government bonds and the yen, completely destroying their economic system."

"At the same time, we must closely monitor the movements of the United States. If Japan's economy collapses, the United States will definitely be affected, and we must be prepared to deal with it."

"Understood, Mr. Li!"

Inside the Japanese Prime Minister's official residence, the Prime Minister, witnessing the dire state of the country, completely broke down.

He slumped into the chair, his eyes vacant, muttering repeatedly, "It's all over, everything's over..."

The Economy Minister rushed into the meeting room, crying out, "Your Excellency, our economy has completely collapsed!"

"With numerous businesses going bankrupt, people losing their jobs, and social order spiraling out of control, what should we do?"

The prime minister did not respond; he knew that everything was beyond repair.