In the past, due to poverty, Japan's folk customs were mostly similar to those of our country's difficult years.
For example, you can borrow money when you have no money to buy things. The accumulated credit must be paid off before New Year's Eve.
So every year in December, which is about to end, Japanese people are busy just clearing debts, cleaning, etc. to prepare for the New Year.
But things are different now. After the war, Japan continued to take off for thirty years because of its strong support and help from the United States.
Now every December, Japanese people have led a busy life of receiving bonuses, exchanging year-end gifts, and holding year-end parties and other routine year-end activities.
Especially in recent years, due to Japan's opening up of its financial market and the economic bubble caused by the appreciation of the yen, Japanese society has been completely prosperous except for the manufacturing industry.
So the Japanese also added Christmas celebrations to their year-end routine.
Just as our country has experienced the process of becoming rich from poverty, only a developed economy can promote social consumption.
The number of festivals a country celebrates, the scale of events held, and people’s interest in celebrating the festivals are all determined by whether the country’s economy is performing well or poorly.
December 6, 1986, Saturday, is what the Japanese call Earth Day.
Ning Weimin went to the new house bought by Miyoko Kagawa and Yujiro Zuokai to have dinner with everyone as promised.
As soon as he drove onto the street, he felt the year-end prosperity coming to the streets of Tokyo.
People who are not Christians are also buying Christmas cakes, and Christmas carols are wafting all over the streets.
Santa Claus models can be seen as decorations in department store windows.
The large Christmas tree has become an eye-catching sign in the square
To be honest, due to the large number of Western brands entering the Japanese market, Japanese business, which is already highly receptive to foreign cultures, has become more dynamic.
The Christmas atmosphere in Tokyo, an Asian city, is no less than that in the Western world.
Whether it is Dah Shin department stores, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, or bakeries, they all advertise Christmas sales and year-end sales in various ways.
The huge advertisement shows a girl with yellow skin and black hair, wearing a tight-fitting Christmas costume and smiling like a flower.
Advertising slogans such as "delicious life", "brilliant life" and "dreams come true" have long been rampant.
There are even businesses that hire special actors to distribute advertisements on the streets, and organize bands and jugglers to perform in the open air to attract more customers.
So much so that on this holiday, many Tokyoites go out of their homes as a family unit and go to shopping malls and restaurants to spend money.
Japanese men watch baseball, drink foreign wine, and smoke foreign cigarettes, while women wear Western clothes, silk scarves, and taste coffee.
Children eat Western snacks with ice cream in hand, browse various toy stores in the mall, or run around in the playground.
Ning Weimin had to admit that Tokyo, Japan, in front of him, was so prosperous that it was like a paradise on earth.
Not only are there no homeless people or beggars, there are almost no sad faces on the streets, they are all smiling.
After all, the economic situation is great.
On TV, radio, and newspapers, there are all good prospects and praises for Japan's economic prosperity.
In this kind of environment, even if you are a social animal in Japan, it is valuable to endure humiliation and bear the burden.
No matter how unhappy people are, their depressed mood can be soothed by the generous bonuses that will fall into their pockets in a few days.
Or you can make up for your physical and mental losses by spending money on enjoyment in various consumption places.
It's still daytime, not night yet.
Otherwise, if you look at the young girls with enough pocket money in their pockets, they are like American little girls, wearing wild and sexy clothes, sitting in Western restaurants or bars drinking "Moscow Mule" cocktails.
Or those well-dressed gentlemen who go to bustling entertainment venues and spend tens of thousands of yuan in banknotes as casually as throwing away napkins to wipe their noses.
I’m afraid it makes people think that this is the center of the world and the happiest place in the world.
Regarding this point, Ning Weimin really couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied.
It’s not that he is stingy and doesn’t like others, the point is that the Japanese committed too many crimes during World War II.
After only a few years of suffering, we were freed, but it was far from being able to atone for the sins of this nation.
In particular, the foundation of their fortune is still based on our war with the United States. It will be even more disgusting to eat Chinese blood steamed buns and enjoy the war dividends.
But having said that, this kind of economic prosperity caused by speculation also comes at a certain price.
Let’s not talk about how Japan has been lost for decades in the future. Just say that right now, land and housing prices across Japan have been rising rapidly year after year, which makes the Japanese who originally lacked residential land appear extremely pitiful in the eyes of Europeans and Americans. ——They have become a race that "lives in a rabbit hole".
This is what the European Community said in this year's summary report on Japan, which caused many Japanese who were so excited that Japan's economy was about to catch up with Europe and the United States to have their self-esteem severely damaged.
They protested dissatisfiedly, "No matter how small the houses in Japan are, they are never this big."
They all said, "This is a deliberate slander, this is racial discrimination, and this is not seeing the beauty of our great Japan!"
But having said that, in Japan's big cities, It is an indisputable fact that the population density is more than 10,000 people per square kilometer.
Take Tokyo as an example. As the capital of Japan, the largest city in Asia, and one of the five largest international cities, the population from all over Japan is concentrated here.
Tokyo only accounts for 5% of Japan’s land area, but 11% of the country’s population works and lives here.
Under this situation, the living space of ordinary people is extremely cramped. When the real estate market rises, it will be even worse!
For some people who have no education and can only work in low-end jobs, they can only live in low-cost apartments called "Abato", where the toilet and kitchen are shared, sleeping and living space Only three or four square meters.
The words "rabbit's nest" are just right.
To put it bluntly, the living conditions of these Japanese are not as good as the dormitories arranged by Ning Weimin for his employees.
And if this situation wants to change, for most young people in Japan who have no savings, there is almost no hope for life.
You know, nowadays, land prices are very expensive, and the land prices in Tokyo have reached prohibitive and terrifying figures. Ordinary office workers want to own a house of their own in Tokyo, which is like a wishful thinking.
Currently, house prices in the three core districts of Tokyo have reached over 10 million yen per square meter. Even the housing prices in the farthest residential areas in the suburbs have reached over 200,000 yen per square meter.
Rents have also increased accordingly.
Although salaries are also rising in most companies in Japan, the speed certainly cannot keep up with housing prices.
Like this year, the salary of college graduates has increased from a minimum of 180,000 yen to 200,000 yen.
Some popular industries or large companies can even give new employees a monthly salary of 400,000 yuan.
But so what?
Even if someone earns 400,000 yen, they can only afford a suburban house of two square meters with their combined monthly income.
What's more, it's not easy to just pay the rent for an apartment and a house, so what extra financial capacity do you have to buy a house?
They are no longer rushing. This is the cruel reality that most Japanese people need to face.
Recently, several newspapers in Tokyo have reported that compared with single-family houses, more people choose apartment units sold by the house. This is a further improvement in the housing situation of Japanese people. Deterioration evidence. This shows that even Japanese people with a certain economic foundation have begun to abandon the one-family house building that they have a soft spot for in traditional concepts.
After all, there is not much land left to build new houses, so there is no way around it.
So if you look at it this way, Yujiro Sakai and Miyoko Kagawa finally plucked up the courage to buy a one-family house just to get married.
For them, it is already a great blessing.
Although they started from Ning Weimin's original suggestion, they delayed it for a year, and had to pay twice the extra price.
Even if they had to find a bank loan to buy this one-family building, they were suddenly burdened with a debt of 35 million yen.
But after all, they bought in the early stages of the real estate bubble, and it was still cheap compared to the sky-high housing prices in the future.
Moreover, he got rid of the trouble of commuting and successfully realized the dream that most Japanese people have not been able to realize.
If compared with those who are still hesitating and have not started buying a house.
If compared with those who have to give up the requirement to build one house and settle for the next best thing.
Contrast this with those who can only hope to live in public housing through lottery.
They are definitely the lucky ones, enough to make these people envious to death.
It can even be said that as foreigners from a small place, they have found gold in Tokyo and got things they should not have got.
With this house, even if they don’t sell it for profit in the future, they have already firmly entered Japan’s middle class, catching up with many locals who grew up in Tokyo.
Don’t forget, Lian Ning Weimin is still living in Matsumoto Keiko’s mansion in Nishiazabu, which is less than a thousand square feet.
The two couples already live in a separate house with a courtyard on several floors, which undoubtedly gives people a sense of status that goes beyond their status.
A sure winner in life!
The most rare thing is that the house they bought is in a good location. It is located in Kameido in the north of Koto District. It has convenient transportation and is extremely cost-effective.
It is only a dozen kilometers away from Ning Weimin’s residence.
Although there was a traffic jam on the road, he drove through the Imperial Palace gate and took the nearest road, and it only took about half an hour.
Speaking of which, this is also due to the high parking fees in Japan. It is not common for Tokyo roads to be extremely congested.
Even on weekends, ordinary people have to think carefully if they want to take their whole family by car.
Although many consumer places claim to offer free parking, it is one thing to be inconvenient and another thing to say how long you have to wait for a parking space.
The key free time is limited, in most cases only one hour.
That’s barely enough time for a meal. In Beijing dialect, that’s “to tease you.”
No one is stupid. In addition to spending money on weekends, you have to spend thousands for parking. Even the Japanese are extremely afraid of this kind of "parking lot assassin".
So without bragging, in Tokyo today, there are probably only people like Ning Weimin who spend huge sums of money to hoard parking lots.
Only then can we not consider the cost of parking, drive out without any scruples, and explore the city.
This kind of fertile water does not leave outsiders' fields, that is super good!
But things in this world are still so weird. The more people are not afraid of spending money, the less they can spend it.
Ning Weimin parked for free today, and he didn’t have to pay a fortune.
Because a single-family house has an independent courtyard and garage.
But Yujiro Kai and Miyoko Kagawa haven't bought a car yet.
So, not only did Ning Weimin have a place to park when he arrived, he also saw Director Taniguchi's car in the garage - a dark blue Mazda that had been wiped clean.
You know, for Director Taniguchi, who arrived a step early, today must be a rare opportunity to finally touch the steering wheel of his car, otherwise the car would be just a decoration.
This is Tokyo. For most people, they can afford a horse, but they cannot afford a saddle.
There is no doubt that Ning Weimin's arrival was unanimously welcomed by the host and guests.
They had probably been waiting for him for a long time. These people had been paying attention to the situation outside through the windows.
In fact, when Ning Weimin just drove into this street, he saw sisters Miyoko Kagawa and Rinko Kagawa quickly walking out of the courtyard gate and waving to him.
As he drove the car closer, Ning Weimin discovered that not only Zuo Hai Yujilang had opened the door for him and guided him to the location of the garage.
Director Taniguchi, Mrs. Taniguchi and their son Taniguchi Shinyu also walked out of the room and stood at the door waiting to greet them.
And such a posture really made him feel flattered and ashamed.
For no other reason, because after returning to Tokyo and calling Miyoko Kagawa to learn about the real estate market, Ning Weimin has been busy with his apartment and parking lot.
Originally, he had said that he would come here to pay a visit, but because he did not have time, he kept postponing the meeting.
And during this period, he did not even visit the Eibundang Bookstore that was entrusted to Kagawa Rinko to manage it.
Until this week, with Maria's help, he completed the most important acquisition in the parking lot business so far - finally bought the Nishi-Shinjuku Parking Lot from President Takeda. That large parking lot also fulfilled the promise to Maria.
He finally calmed down and finally had the time and energy to meet and catch up with these old Japanese friends he had known since he first arrived in Tokyo.
Thinking back on this now, especially when compared with the enthusiasm with which everyone treated him.
I inevitably feel that I am a bit philistine and appear to be unreasonable.
You can’t be too self-righteous. Why do others keep coaxing you?
Although he did hand over part of the parking lot acquisition business to Miyoko Kagawa, and continued to have Yujiro Sakai's insurance company underwrite his insurance, Rinko Kagawa and Director Taniguchi didn't owe him anything.
On the other hand, it is thanks to the dedicated help of Rinko Kagawa and Shinyu Taniguchi that his bookstore can be maintained and has not closed down. He has to thank them.
Fortunately, although he handled this matter a bit badly, the gift he brought today was sufficient, and he was finally able to make effective emotional compensation to a certain extent.
It should be said that Ning Weimin pulled almost a whole cart of things.
Not only is the trunk full, but the seats behind the car are also full.
So it must be said that it is appropriate for these people to come out to greet him.
Qi Chi click, everyone started moving, one piece at a time and one at a time, and we moved everything in without much trouble.
When we arrived in the living room, these dazzling array of various things gathered together.
To be honest, these Japanese people were a little dizzy and lost their minds.
It wasn’t until Ning Weimin personally distributed them one by one that everyone figured out what these things were. (End of this chapter)