It is currently 1991, during the Tokyo economic crisis, a period of rapid decline in the real estate industry.
The economic development of the entire society also came to a standstill due to the bursting of the real estate bubble, with a large number of companies going bankrupt, a large number of people losing their jobs, and a large number of properties defaulting on mortgages. The incident also became famous throughout the international community.
Having just had his eyes treated by his wife, Mr. Nie, when discussing business, naturally became professional, meticulous, and eloquent. He said, "Tokyo's housing prices certainly didn't rise naturally; there are behind-the-scenes manipulators."
Of course, Mr. Dong knew this. He said, "I've seen the news. It's said that there's a guy named Soros, a Western financial conglomerate, who raises housing prices and stock prices, then withdraws the funds, leaving behind a pile of debt. He's ruthless enough."
But then he said, "Who told them to be so greedy? Heaven's sins can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. They deserve it."
Nie Zhao said, "Just last year, in the Tokyo real estate market, the market value of one building could buy half of Kowloon. If people wanted to buy a house, they had to treat real estate agents to dinner first, and they had to carry bundles of cash in boxes as gifts."
These "Mr. Dong" types have probably read in the newspapers that people don't realize housing prices are just artificially inflated and lack strong economic support. They think prices will continue to soar, and with the mentality that buying a house is like making a profit, they give gifts to salespeople and treat them to lavish meals to buy a house. This seems absurd to outsiders, but they think it's normal.
What's even more ridiculous is that their penthouse prices even exceed those of major metropolitan areas in the United States. As a result, some people are clamoring that they will march into the United States and buy back the Empire State Building.
However, the prosperity of the real estate market requires a stable output of industries and a stable influx of foreign capital into the stock market.
At the end of last year, when everyone was frantically buying up properties, the stock market suddenly plummeted, and various orders from Western industries were canceled en masse. People lost their jobs, lost their money, and couldn't afford their high mortgages, so they defaulted on their payments.
A real estate myth that could have been etched in history vanished like a bubble, leaving behind a group of pitiful people burdened with debt.
But what does this have to do with Chen Rou, and with Koizumi's soldiers?
Master Dong felt that Nie Zhao was going off on a tangent, and even thought that he was just trying to fob him off with nonsense. But as he waited anxiously, Master Er didn't appear. He was getting impatient and annoyed, and was about to lose his temper.
But just then, Nie Zhao said, "Koizumi Hei-ding is also involved in a gang. I think you're more familiar with the gang he belongs to than I am—it's the Sumiyoshi-kai, which specializes in real estate speculation in Tokyo. And according to my inside information, the Sumiyoshi-kai is the ultimate winner in this financial crisis, like a game of musical chairs."
The financial crisis is not just a game of musical chairs, but a ticking time bomb that keeps changing hands, and it comes with huge profits.
If you ask who the ultimate winner is, it's obviously the one who sold at the last minute and made a fortune.
Although they are both gangs, Master Dong and Master Er do not participate in much business, let alone finance. They do business only to support their disciples. It's an old Chinese tradition that martial arts practitioners should only do martial arts and nothing else.
However, in Tokyo, groups like the Yamaguchi-gumi and Sumiyoshi-kai prefer to get involved in business.
Driving up housing prices and making big money through real estate speculation sounds pretty good, but in Mr. Dong's opinion, that kind of business is not ethical.
Because no matter what you do, reasonable buying and selling should be like shearing sheep. Shear one crop and it grows back, shear another crop, and so on. Not only does the grandfather have sheep to use, but the grandson also has sheep. But speculating on real estate is like skinning the sheep and taking its wool, like draining a pond to catch all the fish. You make all the money at once, and later generations not only don't make any money, but they also end up with a mountain of debt that their descendants have to pay off. It's too vicious.
When Nie Zhao mentioned the Sumiyoshi-kai again, Master Dong was puzzled: "I'm afraid a small gang can't accomplish such big things, can it?"
Nie Zhao further explained: "They are the local representatives of Western financial groups."
Mr. Dong suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
He added, "Isn't that the worst of the worst, the most traitorous of traitors, a blessing for the Japanese devils?"
After all that talk, the old man thought it was just a neighbor's house fire, and he was leisurely watching from the sidelines. But Nie Zhao was about to drop a bombshell: "But now, they've set their sights on Kowloon."
Just as Master Dong brought the teacup to his lips, tea splashed everywhere with a "pfft".
As Nie Zhao turned his head, Song Yuanchao's hand reached out to block him, but Boss Nie disliked him and brushed it aside.
Because of the previous groundwork, Dong Ye understood without needing to go into too much detail: "They made a killing in Tokyo and now they've stockpiled a huge amount of money. In this new era, they don't dare to use guns, but they want to come and take over our territory with their money?"
Actually, Nie Zhao had a vague premonition about this matter, but he wasn't sure.
Chen Rou told him that before the handover, the Western financial industry, which had made enough money in the Tokyo market, would make a comeback and target Hong Kong, preparing to take advantage of the handover to short the market.
Like Tokyo, it drove up housing prices and the stock market, but then withdrew its investment and left the market.
However, unlike Tokyo, Hong Kong has the solid backing of mainland China. So, the whole thing started with great enthusiasm from the conglomerates, but ended in a mess because of the strong support from the mainland.
No one except Chen Rou knew about this event; even Nie Zhao only predicted it and dared not say that it would definitely happen.
But it was a good opportunity to talk to Master Dong and Master Er about the demolition, which is why Chen Rou was so confident that she could win them over.
If you were to suddenly say you wanted to buy his land and demolish his brothel to build a building, Master Dong could easily blow Nie Zhao to smithereens with his gun. But when he heard that the foreign enemies they had once driven out of Hong Kong Island were now eyeing him covetously, bringing foreign devils and money to seize his territory, he would take the initiative to discuss the demolition issue.
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