nashuaworldcup Chapter 149 One Yuan Coin
Chapter 149 One Yuan Coin
(I'm so sorry! I have to go out today and can't write two chapters. I'll have to post the extra chapter tomorrow... But please forgive me since both chapters are 5,000 words each.)
January 25, 1989.
Osaka, Kita Ward, Tenma.
Ministry of Finance Mint Headquarters.
The air here is filled with a smell that makes your throat dry.
Inside the huge stamping workshop, sixty high-speed stamping machines are operating simultaneously.
"Clang, clang, clang."
The dense, muffled impacts sounded like thousands of hammers striking your eardrums simultaneously. The concrete ground trembled slightly, and the vibrations traveled up your shoes, causing a slight physical discomfort.
The director of the mint stood on the second-floor inspection corridor, gripping the railing tightly with both hands. His eyes were bloodshot, and the back of his uniform was soaked with cold sweat, sticking stickily to his skin.
"Is that still not enough?"
His voice was hoarse, almost drowned out by the roar of the machines.
The technical section chief next to him was holding a stopwatch, his face as pale as paper.
"No. Even with three shifts and 24-hour non-stop operation, the daily output can only reach 40 million pieces." The section chief looked at the aluminum sheets flowing like a silver river below. "There are still 65 days until April 1st. At the current rate, there will be a shortage of at least 400 million pieces."
The bureau chief took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with trembling fingers.
April 1st. The date the consumption tax was implemented.
This is a Damocles' sword hanging over the heads of all Japanese people.
According to the bill forcibly passed by the Takeshita Noboru cabinet, a 3% consumption tax will be levied on all goods.
This means that a rice ball that originally cost 100 yen will become 103 yen. A magazine that originally cost 1000 yen will become 1030 yen.
Japan's business system will fall from the "era of whole numbers" to the "era of fractions" overnight.
The lubricant for all of this is that small, round coin made of pure aluminum, 20 millimeters in diameter and weighing 1 gram—the 1-yen coin.
"What did the bank say?" The director put his glasses back on.
"They're going crazy," the section chief said with a bitter face. "Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo... all the major city banks are frantically requesting coins. They say retailers are pressuring them, and if they don't get the coins, all the cash registers in Tokyo will be paralyzed on April 1st."
The bureau chief looked down.
On the conveyor belt, the freshly stamped one-yen coins were still hot. They looked like a swarm of newly hatched silver beetles, densely packed together, colliding with each other and making a crisp, cheap "clattering" sound.
These aluminum sheets, which no one would normally bend down to pick up if they fell on the ground, have now become the most expensive strategic material in all of Japan.
"Continue to open more production lines."
The bureau chief gritted his teeth and gave the order.
"Take out those old machines from the Showa 30s and fix them. Even if the scrap rate is a bit high, it doesn't matter."
"As long as it's round and it says 'one yen' on it, ship it out."
……
Minato Ward, Tokyo.
The Saionji Information System (SIS) building, second basement level.
It was as cold as an icebox here. To maintain the stable operation of those hundreds of servers, the industrial-grade air conditioning kept the room temperature constant at 18 degrees Celsius. The air was dry, with only the faint red and green lights of the indicator lights flashing in the darkness and the slight hissing sound of hard drives reading and writing.
Shimomura Tsutomu, wearing his ever-present gray hooded sweatshirt, was huddled in his ergonomic chair. His feet were propped up on the control panel, a can of soda that was no longer cold was in his hand, and his eyes were fixed on the Samsung monitor in front of him.
On the screen, countless streams of green data are cascading down like a waterfall.
"Boss, the model is finished running."
Shimomura Tsutomu chewed his gum and spoke to the person sitting in the shadows behind him.
Satsuki sat on the leather sofa in the corner of the room. Today she was wearing the winter uniform of St. Hua Academy, a dark blue suit jacket with the school badge pinned on it, and a cashmere blanket was draped over her knees.
She was holding a 1-yen coin in her hand.
It's very light.
It's so light you can barely feel its weight.
"What was the result?" Satsuki's voice was calm.
Shimomura Tsutomu pressed a button.
The waterfall display on the screen stopped, and a simulated chart appeared instead.
"It's terrible. Or rather, it's catastrophic."
Tsutomu Shimomura pointed to a red curve on the screen.
"We simulated the checkout process after adding a 3% consumption tax."
"Previously, a customer would buy a rice ball for 100 yen, drop in a coin, take the food, and leave. The whole process took 3 seconds."
"After April 1st, the price will be 103 yen. Customers will need to take out a 100 yen note and then look for three 1 yen notes in their wallets. If they happen to give a 1000 yen note, the clerk will need to give them 897 yen in change. That is, one 500 yen note, three 100 yen notes, one 50 yen note, four 10 yen notes, one 5 yen note, and two 1 yen notes."
"The number of coins involved has increased from 0 to 11."
Shimomura Tsutomu blew a bubble, which popped with a "pop".
"According to our algorithm, for every additional coin, the checkout time increases by an average of 1.5 seconds. For elderly customers, this time will double."
"In other words, the average time for each transaction will increase dramatically from 3 seconds to over 15 seconds."
"Efficiency decreased by 400%."
Satsuki looked at the red number.
400%.
For a business model like convenience stores that relies on high turnover and high traffic to survive, this is more than just a little slow.
This is a blood clot.
Commuters during the morning rush hour may give up buying food because the queues are too long; office workers during their lunch break may turn to the noodle shop next door if the wait time exceeds ten minutes.
If convenience stores cease to be "convenient," the consequences will be fatal.
"There's something even more troublesome."
Shimomura Tsutomu switched to a different chart.
"It's one thing for convenience stores, since the average transaction value is low. But for our twenty large-scale supermarkets, 'S-Mart,' which will open simultaneously on April 1st, this is fatal."
A huge red and blue logo appeared on the screen—S-Mart.
This is the Saionji family's heavy weapon to directly confront Daiei and Seibu Department Store, and it is also Satsuki's long-planned "middle-class harvester".
"Supermarkets have high average transaction values and a large number of items. If every transaction involves dealing with a huge pile of 1-yen coins, the checkout lines would stretch all the way from the cashier to the parking lot."
"Furthermore, according to the Mint's production capacity data, the shortage of 1-yen coins in circulation in April was approximately 400 million."
"At that point, it won't just be slow, it will be that there simply won't be any money left to raise."
"The shop assistants would have to beg for change from the customers behind them in line just to get that extra 3 yen. The cash register would turn into a vegetable market."
Satsuki held up the coin in her hand.
The aluminum surface gleamed palely under the monitor's fluorescent light. The "Ruomu" pattern on it looked so fragile.
"What a troublesome little thing."
Satsuki said softly.
She stood up, walked to the control panel, and placed the coin on the table.
"Shimomura, if..."
She placed her finger on the coin and gave it a gentle push.
The coin slid across the smooth tabletop and fell into the wastepaper basket.
"What if we make this thing disappear?"
Shimomura Tsutomu paused for a moment, then stopped chewing his gum.
"disappear?"
"Since it can clog blood vessels, let's clean it out."
Satsuki turned around and looked at the two people who had just walked in from outside.
Shuichi was wearing a dark gray wool coat, his expression grave. Behind him followed Endo, the finance director, who was carrying a thick stack of financial statements and whose forehead was covered in sweat.
"Father, Executive Director Endo."
Satsuki pointed to the glaring "400%" on the screen.
"It seems we've encountered a man-made traffic jam."
Xiuyi walked over, glanced at the data, and frowned.
"This is indeed a big problem. I just came back from Mitsui Bank. President Kanda said that the Ministry of Finance has given a strict order to all major banks to prioritize the supply of coins to state-owned enterprises and large distribution companies like Seibu Department Store and Daiei Supermarket. As for 'newcomers' like us... the quota will be allocated by lottery."
"Borrowing lots?"
Executive Director Endo wiped his sweat, his voice becoming shrill.
"This is utterly ridiculous! We have thousands of convenience stores, and twenty more S-Mart hypermarkets opening soon! The change we need every day is astronomical! If we're going to rely on a lottery system, we might as well just close down!"
"Therefore, we don't rely on them."
Satsuki walked back to the sofa and sat down, her posture languid.
"Executive Director Endo, I recall that S-Food's net profit margin was what it was in last year's financial report?"
"Uh... around 8%." Endo replied, somewhat unable to keep up with the young lady's jumping thoughts.
8%.
Satsuki nodded.
"What if we add Uniqlo?"
"Uniqlo has a high gross profit margin and a net profit margin of over 25% due to the cost advantages of its own brand and Shanghai factory. As for the newly planned 'S-Mart' supermarket, it is expected to achieve a gross profit margin of 20% because it directly sources agricultural products from S-Farm in Hokkaido."
"very good."
Satsuki held up three fingers.
"Then take out 3%."
The meeting room fell silent for a second.
Endo's eyes widened suddenly, and his mouth opened so wide it could fit a fist.
"Young...Young Miss? You mean...?"
"We'll pay this money for the customer."
"Starting April 1st, all retail outlets under the SA Group—Uniqlo, FamilyMart, Lawson, and KTV—will be affected."
"Especially the soon-to-open 'S-Mart' supermarket."
"Implement 'zero-based' pricing."
"An item that originally cost 100 yen would cost 103 yen after tax. We only charge 100 yen. We'll cover the 3 yen tax ourselves."
"The item originally cost 980 yen, but after tax it costs 1009 yen. We just charge 1000 yen."
"I want our cash registers to be so clean that you won't see a single 1-yen coin, now or in the future."
"This...this is impossible!"
Endo almost screamed. As the CFO, his professional instincts made him feel suffocated by this "wasteful" behavior.
"Miss! Do you know how much this is? S-Food's annual revenue is in the hundreds of billions! S-Mart's projected revenue is also in the hundreds of billions! 3% is billions in net profit! If it were Uniqlo, the loss would be even greater!"
"Moreover, this isn't just about money. This is breaking industry rules! What will the Retail Federation think of us? What will the Ministry of International Trade and Industry think of us? They'll accuse us of unfair competition!"
Endo paced anxiously around the room, nearly crushing the reports in his hands.
Shuichi didn't say anything.
He looked at his daughter. He knew that Satsuki never made a losing deal. If she decided to throw away those billions, it must be because she saw a return of tens of billions.
Endo.
Xiu Yi spoke up, while repeatedly signaling with his eyes. He had already noticed that his daughter was somewhat unhappy.
"Let her finish speaking."
Upon hearing this, Endo instantly realized that he had lost his composure, his body stopped as if frozen in place, and then he stood up stiffly.
Oh no, oh no... How could I be so foolish? How dare I yell at the young lady like that?
He stole a glance at Satsuki and saw that she had already frowned slightly, and he immediately felt a shiver run down his spine.
Oh no... Am I going to have to go "diving" tonight? Surely not? I've been with the Saionji family for so long...
He glanced at Shuichi again, only to find that Shuichi had also turned his head away, looking out the window, as if he had no intention of pleading for him at all. His heart sank.
A deathly silence fell over the conference room.
No one dared to even breathe loudly.
But Satsuki didn't react. She just stared at Endo for three seconds, her gaze like that of someone looking at a malfunctioning calculator being considered for scrapping.
She then looked away, as if the offense had never happened.
She stood up, walked to the whiteboard covered in code, picked up the eraser, and erased a blank area.
"Sizzle—"
The sound of the eraser rubbing against the whiteboard was particularly jarring in the quiet room.
Endo's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he dared not move.
Satsuki picked up a marker and wrote down a word.
【Friction】(friction).
"Executive Director Endo."
Satsuki had her back to him, her voice cold.
"Since you're so concerned about that 3%, then I'll tell you what that money actually bought."
She drew a line under the word.
"What it bought was 'speed'."
"While the housewives at Daiei Supermarket were getting angry and queuing up at the checkout counter trying to find those three coins, and the cashiers at Seibu Department Store were still frantically counting coins."
"Our customers just throw down a thousand-dollar bill, grab their stuff, and leave."
"This smoothness, this feeling of not needing to calculate or wait, will make them addicted."
"The experience is relative. When our cashiers don't require waiting or wasting time, people will be more inclined to shop here."
Satsuki turned around, and with the tip of her pen, she pointed at Endo from a distance.
That movement made Endo instinctively shrink his neck.
"More importantly, it bought 'people's hearts'."
She wrote down the second word: [Anger].
"Right now, the whole of Japan is criticizing the Takeshita Cabinet and the consumption tax. Housewives wish they could stuff that 3% tax revenue into the mouths of Ministry of Finance officials."
"At times like these, if a company steps forward and says, 'You don't need to pay for this, I will,'"
"How much do you think this is worth in terms of promotion fees for the new brand 'S-Mart'?"
Endo was stunned.
He stared at the two words: friction and anger.
Yes.
Modern Japanese people are full of anger.
If S-Mart advertises itself as "paying your taxes," then it's no longer just a supermarket selling cheap goods.
It will become a "partner standing on the side of the common people," a bastion against greedy governments and old tycoons.
"But...the cost..." Endo's voice trailed off, "...it's real money after all..."
"cost?"
Satsuki smiled.
"Mr. Endo, have you forgotten where our goods came from?"
She pointed eastward.
"Our factories in Shanghai now have production costs that are one-fifth of those of our Japanese counterparts. Our farms in Hokkaido have potato and onion production costs that are one-third of those of agricultural cooperatives."
"We have the most terrifying Mori space in all of Japan."
"This 3% is a painful blow for Daiei and Seibu, because their costs are too high and they can't afford to cover it. Nakano Kou has taken on a mountain of debt for expansion, and Tsutsumi Yoshiaki needs to make his financial statements look good for the IPO. They are all hoping to raise prices to recover their losses."
"But for us, it's just a tiny bit less profit."
"We use this little bit of knowledge to bring down our competitors, to gain a market monopoly, to... the opportunity to squeeze them out of the race."
Satsuki threw away the marker in her hand.
"Smack."
"This is an asymmetric war."
"I want to use this 3% 'small profit' to starve Daiei, Seibu Department Store, and all those old fogies who are still doing business with outdated thinking."
"Even in the future, we can further reduce prices. Our profit margins are much larger than theirs, and we have much more cash reserves. We can wear them down."
There was silence in the room.
Only the hum of the server fans echoed.
Endo stared blankly at Satsuki. He suddenly realized that the girl in front of him was not talking about something as simple as a business promotion.
She was talking about a massacre.
A meat grinder built with capital, efficiency, and supply chain advantages.
"I see."
Endo took a deep breath and closed the meticulously detailed report.
"I'll go and recalculate right away. The pricing systems for S-Food, Uniqlo, and S-Mart supermarkets need a complete overhaul, as does the GG advertising..."
"GG needs to be big."
Satsuki added.
"They bought full pages in the Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun. On April 1st."
"I've already thought of a title."
She walked to the French windows, looked at the dark night outside, and said softly.
"Let's call it—'Gross Tax? We'll pay it for you.'"
……
After the meeting, the executives left one after another.
Satsuki remained alone in the conference room.
She picked up the 1-yen aluminum coin again.
It's very light.
The current manufacturing cost of this coin even exceeds its face value.
She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the street below.
On the street, a truck bearing the "Da Rong" delivery vehicle logo is slowly driving by.
Satsuki placed the coin on the glass and flicked it gently.
"Buzz—"
The coin spun on the glass, making a low hum, before finally falling over.
The pattern on the tree is facing upwards.
"A single coin can plunge a country into chaos."
Satsuki looked out the window at the traffic and murmured to herself.
"What a fragile order."