Chapter 108: Tohan and Nippan

Anjiu Bookstore, second-floor office.

Akiwara Yuto pushed open the door, said "Good morning" to those inside, and sat down on the sofa on his own.

Anjiu Tsuyoshi, who was working, stood up the moment he saw him arrive, pushed his office chair over, and placed it opposite Akiwara Yuto.

"Satake, go pour two cups of tea."

After Anjiu Tsuyoshi sat down, he spoke to Satake Maki, who was processing work at another small table. Upon hearing this, she nodded and got busy, and soon had the tea brewed.

Akiwara Yuto took the tea, blew on it, and then said, "President Anjiu, you asked me here today because the sales data for the first week and the first day of this week are out, right?"

It had been almost a full week since the release of *The Devotion of Suspect X*.

Anjiu Tsuyoshi nodded, then had Satake Maki bring over a document and lay it flat on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"According to statistics from various channels, the first-week sales were better than we expected, reaching over 4,000 copies. And based on yesterday's sales figures, it is estimated that this week's sales will likely reach that same number."

Akiwara Yuto looked at the document and fell into deep thought.

Judging by these sales, the initial print run of 30,000 copies could be sold out in a few months, but without someone to give it a push, annual sales might struggle to even reach 100,000 copies, or rather, there wasn't much hope for it.

He thought for a moment and asked, "President Anjiu, have any newspaper or journal book reviewers commented on or recommended the work?"

Hearing this question, Anjiu Tsuyoshi scratched the back of his head and said embarrassedly, "Teacher Akiwara, usually for works published by small publishing houses like ours, unless there is some special reason, they only attract the attention of book reviewers if the sales are quite high."

Akiwara Yuto pondered this and realized it was indeed the truth.

When *ZOO* first started serialization, the weekly sales of *New Fiction* were actually 30,000 copies, yet only one book reviewer had commented on it, and the space given was very small.

Now with *The Devotion of Suspect X*, the weekly sales were only 4,000 copies; it was estimated that it would attract even less attention from book reviewers.

Come to think of it, his title as a "thriller genius" was truly cheap; not many people were even paying attention to him. Though, the outside world might still think he would continue serializing in *New Fiction*, right?

Never mind, let's just wait for the work to slowly ferment; hopefully, the traffic from that mystery forum will have some effect.

"Teacher Akiwara?" Seeing Akiwara Yuto silent, Anjiu Tsuyoshi coughed twice to pull back his attention. "Regarding sales channels, you don't need to worry too much; our channels are still gradually expanding."

"Oh? What other channels can be expanded?"

Anjiu Tsuyoshi replied, "Currently, the main sales market is focused on Tokyo and its surrounding areas, but if sales trend upward, distributors will increase their orders and expand into other regions."

Akiwara Yuto was a bit puzzled and asked directly, "Why can't they be expanded directly?"

He truly didn't understand. Although Tokyo was the most densely populated metropolitan area in Japan, the markets in other regions shouldn't just be left alone; after all, the more cities they expanded into, the higher the sales of *The Devotion of Suspect X* would be.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's confusion, Anjiu Tsuyoshi brought over paper and pen to explain further.

To avoid vicious competition like price wars in the market, the Japanese government implemented the "Book Resale Price Maintenance System," meaning publishers sell books to bookstores through distributors, and then bookstores sell them to readers.

Through these two systems, two behemoth book distributors emerged in Japan: Tokyo Publishing and Distribution and RB Publishing and Distribution.

These two giant enterprises monopolized most of the Japanese publishing market; there was once a rumor that these two companies controlled 80% of the market circulation of books.

Akiwara Yuto nodded; he had already learned quite a bit about this from some books he had read, many of which were about these two companies.

"President Anjiu, what does this have to do with our channel expansion?"

Anjiu Tsuyoshi shook his head. "Teacher Akiwara, as a local enterprise in Tokyo, we can use some connections to bypass Tokyo Publishing and Distribution and RB Publishing and Distribution to sell books in small batches to local bookstores. But if we want to sell to other regions, we must first greet Tokyo Publishing and Distribution and RB Publishing and Distribution."

Anjiu Tsuyoshi sighed. "Our current partner is Tokyo Publishing and Distribution. Of the 30,000 copies in the initial print run, 18,000 rely on them for distribution."

Akiwara Yuto hadn't expected this, but he quickly understood Anjiu's meaning: because of the need for profit, Anjiu Bookstore had to follow the regulations of Tokyo Publishing and Distribution.

Akiwara Yuto sighed inwardly; it seemed that every profession had its fair share of unspoken rules.

However, why was *New Fiction* able to sell directly to bookstores and related institutions in other regions back then?

Akiwara Yuto posed this question to Anjiu Tsuyoshi.

Anjiu Tsuyoshi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and explained, "Teacher Akiwara, there is a gap between people, and the same goes for publishing houses. As one of the 'Big Four' publishers, Mantan Society naturally has privileges."

"In fact, the industry has always believed that the Big Four publishers hold significant equity within Tokyo Publishing and Distribution and RB Publishing and Distribution, and even have considerable influence within the boards of directors of both companies."

Akiwara Yuto was speechless; the power of capital, it seemed, could not be underestimated in any world.

Forget it, let's just rely on the quality of the book and continue to move forward steadily.

The two chatted about other things and then ended the conversation.

Just as Akiwara Yuto was preparing to leave, Satake Maki, who was working nearby, suddenly spoke up. She took out a pink bento box and said to him, "Teacher Akiwara, this is today's bento."

Akiwara Yuto was a bit surprised, realizing he had almost forgotten about lunch, and replied, "I've been troubling you all this time, thank you."

Satake Maki waved her hand. "It's nothing, I happened to be making my own portion anyway, so I just made an extra one."

Akiwara Yuto smiled and nodded, intending to take the bento box and leave.

But to his surprise, Satake Maki called out to him, "Teacher Akiwara, could you eat here?"

"Why is that?" Akiwara Yuto stopped in his tracks.

Satake Maki said a bit embarrassedly, "I'm short on bento boxes at home, so could you please give the box back to me after you finish eating so I can wash it directly?"

She was lying, as there were still several bento boxes at home. However, she wanted to find a reason to have close contact with the "idol" she had always admired.

"Sorry, I've caused you trouble." Akiwara Yuto went along with it. He looked around and found another problem: "Where should I eat?"

At this moment, Anjiu Tsuyoshi stood up, said "I still have things to do," and hurried away from the scene...

As a married older man, he still knew when to advance and when to retreat.

Satake, this is all the President can do for you!

Seeing the President leave, Satake Maki said "Sorry, President" in her heart, then gestured for Akiwara Yuto to come to the small table where she had just been working, while tidying up her things.

The two sat around the small table and opened their lunch boxes.

Looking at Akiwara Yuto, who was within arm's reach, a faint blush appeared on Satake Maki's face.

If only it could be like this every day, that would be wonderful...