Tokyo Three Generations

The alcohol that had already entered his digestive tract now seemed to boil inside his stomach, and Toyokawa Kiyoko almost vomited, leaving unsightly stains and a pungent smell on the sofa.

Then, he suddenly raised his head and stared at Takasaki Jun with extremely angry eyes, as if he wanted to tear him apart alive.

The truth is more hurtful and heartbreaking than a lie. The reason he was so angry was because he subconsciously knew that all of this was actually possible, or at least the probability was not zero.

After saying that, Jun Takasaki regretted that he had gone too far with his provocation and shouldn't have insulted Xiangzi like that.

However, the results were quite astonishing—no father with a conscience could remain indifferent to this.

"I'm just leaving on my own, she can stay here! I've already discussed it with my father-in-law!" Then, Toyokawa Kiyoshi let out a roar.

"Hahaha..." Takasaki Jun responded with a mocking laugh, "How ridiculous! You've spent over a decade with Miss Shoko, yet you can't understand her resolve as well as I have, who's only met her a few times. Mr. Seigo, things have come to this point, and you still refuse to face reality?"

After laughing for a while, he became serious again. "Now that things have come to this, stop pretending to be stupid or running away from me. Either admit that you're going to drag your daughter down with you, or take responsibility for what you have to do. There's no middle ground. You know that best!"

9. The answer

After the chaotic noise and arguments, the room suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

Here is a wounded beast and a hunter who drove it into a cage.

The hunter is waiting for the beast to face reality, surrender, and act according to his wishes.

At this moment, Toyokawa Kiyoshi was in a terrible state. His body ached, his clothes were disheveled and stained with vomit. He was no longer the high-spirited son-in-law and executive of the conglomerate he usually was.

However, this was the clearest he had been in days.

"Now it seems we can talk this out." Jun Takasaki's tone was no longer as stern as before. "The problem is actually quite simple, Mr. Kiyoshi. Given the risk that Miss Shoko may have some kind of genetic disease, if you want her to live, or at least live to the maximum probable lifespan, the safest course of action is to keep her in the Toyokawa family. Only the Toyokawa family can protect her at all costs. Medicine is steadily advancing, and in time, it will be possible to determine whether Miss Shoko is sick and what kind of disease she has. At that time, huge sums of money will be needed to develop the corresponding treatment procedures and drugs... Aren't all these facts already laid out before us? You stay and, as her guardian, do everything in your power to protect her. This is the only option, at least in my opinion! If you choose to shirk this responsibility, no matter how noble the reason, you are putting your daughter to death. Can you deny that?"

“My father-in-law can take custody of her! It’s not like I’m indispensable.” Toyokawa Kiyoshi answered softly, no longer as arrogant as before. It was clear that his heart had been broken and wavering.

"Are you sure there's anyone more eager to protect Miss Xiangzi's life than you? If you weren't here, wouldn't someone be hoping for Miss Xiangzi to die young like her mother? Yes, Mr. Fengchuan will do his best to protect his granddaughter, but he's getting old after all. He has to run the conglomerate and take care of his granddaughter, so he's bound to be negligent... Only you, young and strong, can best ensure her safety and ensure the smooth transfer of the family business to her, right?"

General!

This question gets straight to the heart of the matter. Just by seeing Toyokawa Kiyotaka's face turn deathly pale, Masaki Jun knew he had achieved his goal.

Toyokawa Kiyotaka originally thought that even if he resigned and went into seclusion, his daughter could still happily live as a pampered young lady and inherit everything she deserved when she grew up. However, the risk that "his daughter might have a hereditary disease" was like a sword hanging over his head, making it impossible for him to give her up.

Moreover, did he really believe that those collateral branches of the Toyokawa family wouldn't be tempted by the main family's business? Did he dare to gamble?

He dare not.

The room fell silent instantly.

It was only after a long time that Toyokawa Kiyoko's voice rang out again.

"So, you were sent by your father as a persuader to not resign?"

"You might think I'm acting on my father's orders, or at the behest of some other interest group, to spout nonsense before you; but I can tell you, I'm simply here to persuade you out of compassion for Miss Xiangzi, risking everything. Undoubtedly, you can disbelieve me, or you can ignore my words, but I implore you, in her most vulnerable and helpless moment, as a father, to shoulder your responsibilities. Don't you want your daughter, the apple of your eye you've raised from childhood, to live a healthy and long life?"

"You did all this simply because she's pretty?" Toyokawa Kiyoko's eyes were filled with surprise. "And it was all your own doing? All that you just told me, was it just something you came up with yourself?"

Faced with a father's questioning gaze, Jun Takasaki's eloquent speech, which had been flowing endlessly, suddenly stopped in embarrassment.

"Even so, is that not acceptable?" he replied reluctantly.

“The younger generation is truly formidable…” The only response he received was a long sigh, “When I was your age, I knew almost nothing.”

Don't compare me to you, my live-in son-in-law! Jun Takasaki thought to himself.

"You flatter me."

Toyokawa Kiyotaka glanced at him again, his expression now completely calm. "Since we've come this far, do you know why I have to leave?"

"It is said that in the past few years, the Toyokawa Group has committed financial fraud amounting to more than 1500 billion yen. The Financial Services Agency discovered this and held them accountable. In order to take responsibility and give an explanation to the higher-ups, you chose to take full responsibility, right?" Jun Takasaki asked rhetorically.

Toyokawa Kiyoko was once again speechless.

"They actually know so much?" He sighed after a moment.

Jun Takasaki smiled calmly, adopting an air of profound mystery.

"I only know a little bit. For example, I don't know where these 1500 billion yuan in bad debts came from. Could you tell me more?"

Toyokawa Kiyoshi didn't answer immediately. He subconsciously picked up the bottle next to him, wanting to take another sip, but then he reluctantly put it down again.

Then, like a criminal whose psychological defenses had been breached, he spoke the truth with a sense of calm—or rather, this made him feel a little better.

The Toyokawa family has a long history and has grown into a vast corporate empire. However, just like the country mired in difficulties, the Toyokawa Group also faces its own challenges.

Most of the companies under the Toyokawa Group are concentrated in traditional industries such as construction, machinery, and chemicals. These industries are characterized by heavy assets, huge investments, and meager profits. At the same time, they are also facing serious labor shortages due to aging populations and declining birth rates.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the Toyokawa Group faces any significant survival risks. Through the efforts of several generations and countless behind-the-scenes exchanges of interests, the Toyokawa Group possesses extremely strong political and business connections, allowing it to obtain virtually unlimited financing from banks, making it perfectly capable of being "too big to fail."

However, if this continues, profits will eventually decrease, and the family's capital gains will be greatly affected.

Therefore, starting from the last ten years or so, under the leadership of Toyokawa Sadaharu, the Toyokawa Group began a covert transformation.

The goal of the transformation is very simple: everything should serve the purpose of asset-light operations, get rid of businesses with insufficient profit margins, and concentrate capital as much as possible in cash and the financial sector with faster turnover.

Under this policy, over the course of ten years, the Toyokawa Group began closing factories, laying off employees, reducing domestic investments, and recouping a large amount of cash.

But then another problem arises: while continuous cost reduction and efficiency improvement have indeed increased profits and cash inflows, they have also brought a new trouble – more taxes to be paid.

If corporate tax and local tax are paid in full, the combined tax rate will be close to 30%, which would obviously result in a huge loss of assets.

Of course, there is a solution to this problem—that is, to use accounting tricks to avoid taxes.

The Toyokawa Group also has branches overseas. Using overseas registered companies or shell companies registered in places like the Cayman Islands, they fabricate expenditures such as procurement and service fees to transfer these profits and capital overseas. Then, by falsely reporting overseas operating income, the profits flow back to the parent company in Japan.

In this way, the Toyokawa Group acquired its wealth at a much lower cost.

Actually, this wasn't exactly a unique method; most large conglomerates have done similar things. However, the Toyokawa family's mistake lay in its execution—in manipulating the flow of capital between overseas and domestic markets, they inadvertently left some loopholes.

If it's just a few flaws, it's not a big problem. Toyokawa Household Management has extensive connections in the business world, enough to make the government turn a blind eye.

But something even worse happened.

Shrinking traditional businesses, closing factories, and laying off large numbers of employees have all aroused public resentment. If it were just "minor" public resentment, it wouldn't be a big deal. But the problem is that the constituencies of several heavyweight councilors have been affected, and they have therefore held a grudge against the Toyokawa Group.

Under their instigation, the Deputy Prime Minister also decided to teach the Toyokawa Group a lesson, and ordered the Financial Services Agency to conduct a thorough investigation.

This thorough investigation instantly escalated the problem. Although the Toyokawa couple tried their best to cover it up, the 1500 billion yen in fraudulent accounts could no longer be concealed.

Having found a handle against them, the Deputy Prime Minister became even more relentless. He declared that if the Toyokawa family didn't produce a sufficiently compelling explanation, they would be in for a world of hurt.

After the deputy prime minister spoke, the pressure on the Toyokawa family exploded instantly, and those who were originally willing to say nice things now kept silent.

Despite the Toyokawa family's continuous efforts in emergency public relations, the results were minimal, and it seemed that this hurdle was truly insurmountable.

In retrospect, it's likely that Mizuho Toyokawa's early death was directly related to the mental and physical exhaustion she experienced while dealing with these matters.

After his wife's death, Toyokawa Kiyoshi, who was already overwhelmed, completely broke down this time. He decided to abandon everything and, before leaving, take the blame for the Toyokawa family—by being kicked out of the house as punishment, to give his superiors an "explanation".

In this world, everyone values ​​dignity. Although the Toyokawa family has been caught red-handed, they are still deeply entrenched. If the Toyokawa family is truly pushed into a corner, none of us will escape unscathed.

So as long as she sacrifices herself, this matter will be over, and her daughter can live a good life and grow up to inherit the family business left to her by her wife with clean hands.

However, he did not expect that his daughter would be so stubborn as to abandon the family business and leave with him, which completely disrupted his plans and left him at a loss.

Toyokawa Kiyoko spoke frankly and calmly, recounting his previous situation as if he were speaking to a priest offering guidance.

It was clear that after saying all that, he had released a lot of psychological pressure and seemed to relax.

He spoke with gusto, but Jun Takasaki found it all incredibly confusing.

Although he was confident, he wasn't arrogant enough to look down on everyone. Putting yourself in his shoes, if you were in that predicament, you might also have the thought of quitting.

Although the Toyokawa family seems to be in a terrible situation, it is difficult to judge the power struggle between politics and capital in terms of morality.

The Toyokawa family wanted to abandon their "outdated" old industries and concentrate their capital in lighter asset sectors, even going so far as to evade taxes to save money; however, the will of the "state" could not allow them to act so recklessly and insisted that they continue to operate in order to maintain employment and votes.

If we have to judge this from a moral standpoint, the Deputy Prime Minister is in the better position...

A large ship is difficult to turn around; history is both a badge of honor for the Toyokawa family and a burden for them.

Of course, he wasn't there to make moral judgments; he was there to help Xiangzi fulfill his wish. He didn't care how much the Fengchuan family lost; as long as Fengchuan Qinggao stayed, he would have completed his mission.

"Don't worry, I will keep all the reasons a secret from Miss Xiangzi." After a long silence, he finally spoke. "She should at least come of age with clean hands."

Kiyoshi Toyokawa nodded slightly.

Then, he glared at Takasaki Jun through gritted teeth and cursed again.

"I know I haven't done anything good, so I won't complain. I'd rather accept the punishment. But you little bastard... you've come to instigate conflict in our family!"

Although Jun Takasaki was eloquent, he was now at a loss for words and felt somewhat embarrassed.

After hurling a few insults, Toyokawa Kiyoko lowered his tone.

“However, although you are a despicable person, what you said makes some sense. If I leave, Xiangzi will have to come with me, which would be too risky for her health... So, no matter what, I will hold on until Xiangzi comes of age.”

At this point, his face twitched a few more times, then finally became serious again. "In that case, I can only ask my father-in-law to make do."

10. Regroup and make a comeback

As Jun Takasaki previously analyzed, Kiyotaka Toyokawa actually decided to take the blame alone because he was heartbroken after his wife's death. As the father and guardian of Miss Toyokawa, if he stubbornly resisted to the end without his daughter turning against him, no one could really kick him out of the house.

Seeing Toyokawa Kiyotaka's fighting spirit ignited, Takasaki Jun breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he and Toyokawa Kiyoko had a big fight just now, no matter what happened, the result was ultimately good.

"That's wonderful that you think that way." After Toyokawa Kiyoko changed his stance, Takasaki Jun immediately switched tactics, using polite language. "Actually, in my analysis, as long as Miss Shoko remains steadfastly on your side, and you gather your relatives, if everyone launches a coordinated attack, even Mr. Sadaharu certainly won't be able to withstand it. If Mr. Sadaharu resigns, then the explanation the higher-ups want will be sufficient..."

There was actually one more thing that Jun Takasaki held back from saying.

While it's highly likely that Mizuho Toyokawa's death was due to a hereditary disease, it can also be partly attributed to the "coercion" from above.

The Toyokawa family has already lost its head of the family, sacrificed the old man, and is even willing to pay compensation. If we were to pursue the matter further, it would be too unreasonable. Presumably, public opinion among the elites would lean towards sympathizing with the Toyokawa family.

With such an atmosphere of sympathy, it's likely that the old men who were about to besiege the Toyokawa family will eventually back down.

After all, it's only a matter of 1500 billion, not something that needs to be taken to the extreme.

Seeing that this young man had already thought this through, Toyokawa Kiyotaka felt a sense of awe and admiration for the younger generation.

He then sized up the wretched boy.

Although I don't want to admit it, she is indeed good-looking and comes from a good family.

"How exactly did you come to know Xiangzi?" he asked abruptly.

"Well... I was the one who approached her voluntarily." Jun Takasaki deliberately avoided the question.

"Hmph, if it wasn't you who took the initiative, would it have been my daughter? Xiangzi is a good girl, she wouldn't do that!" Toyokawa Kiyoshi sneered.

Then he asked, "What do you want to achieve by jumping around and stirring up trouble everywhere?"

“You might not believe it, but I really just wanted to make her happy,” Jun Takasaki replied with a smile. “Of course, I’m not that noble and selfless. If she can thank me handsomely for this, that would be even better.”

"How do you plan to make her repay you handsomely?" Toyokawa Kiyoshi's gaze grew increasingly hostile. "Do you also want to take the Toyokawa surname?"

“I don’t want to.” Jun Takasaki pretended not to notice the probing in his voice and answered seriously, “I think the surname Takasaki is quite good. It was passed down to me by my grandfather and father, and I have to pass it on.”

"Hmph." Seeing Takasaki Jun's reply, Toyokawa Kiyoko's expression finally softened a bit.

Then, as if admonishing the other party, he said, "Xiangzi is still inexperienced and too naive. She is not suited to be involved in the things of this world. Whatever dirty thoughts you have, keep them to yourself. Wait until she truly inherits the family business and has to face the world before you have any ideas."

"..."

Jun Takasaki realized that the other person seemed to have a strange misunderstanding.

Yes, he did admire Miss Xiangzi, both for her looks and her temperament, but... this admiration was just that, admiration. His mindset was similar to when he drew the best limited-edition item in a game.

As for becoming a son-in-law of Fengchuan, forget about it; he has his own pride.

But he knew that no matter what he said, the other party would still not believe him—after all, to ordinary people, the title of "son-in-law of Fengchuan" was simply too tempting.

Fortunately, Toyokawa Kiyotaka didn't want to dwell on the issue. He simply stood up unsteadily from the sofa and tidied his messy hair.

"I'm going to take a shower, you can go out first."

Jun Takasaki stood up. At this moment, he was completely calm and composed, having lost all his hostility. He even bowed respectfully to Kiyoshi Toyokawa to take his leave.

After he stepped out of the room, Toyokawa Shoko, who was waiting outside the door, immediately came to greet him.

"Mr. Takasaki, how did your talks go?"

Jun Takasaki didn't answer the question immediately. Instead, he looked at Shoko Toyokawa strangely, and only after confirming that she wasn't angry did he cautiously ask, "Miss Shoko, were you able to hear our conversation just now?"

“I only vaguely heard you arguing, but I don’t know what you were talking about.” Toyokawa Shoko shook her head.

It seems she is very well-mannered; she would never eavesdrop.