Chapter 289: The Founding of Tsutaya Bookstore

Akiwara Yuto knew that the Keihan Publishing House would not let the matter rest; after all, the conflict of interests between the two sides was irreconcilable.

But what he had not expected was that the Keihan Publishing House had actually established a specialized industry operations division under its intelligence department, specifically to analyze and target him.

Although no specific methods had been announced yet, it is easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark.

Who knew when the other side would resort to some underhanded tactics?

However, now that he had received an early warning from Ooshiro Rika, he could be a bit more cautious.

After hearing the intelligence, Akiwara Yuto expressed his gratitude.

"Editor-in-Chief Ooshiro, I will remember this favor."

After Ooshiro Rika waved her hand to indicate it was nothing, he took the initiative to say goodbye and left the office.

Watching Akiwara Yuto’s departing back, Ooshiro Rika had different thoughts in her mind.

On one side was the most sought-after mystery writer in the market over the last two years, and on the other was the Keihan Publishing House, ranked fourth among the four major publishers.

Who knew what kind of consequences the conflict between the two sides would eventually produce?

……

A week later, after the funds from the Kejiaoguan arrived, Akiwara Yuto handed over all the payments to Akutsu Goichi.

The other party received the money and readily signed a series of agreements.

However, when it came to the final registration at the government office, Akutsu Goichi hesitated to sign.

He sighed, looked at Akiwara Yuto, and said, "Akiwara, you will surely make Akutsu Bookstore grow, won't you? After all, it has been my life's work for so many years."

Seeing his reluctant appearance, Akiwara Yuto sneered in his heart.

If it were truly his life's work, why was he swayed by the Keihan Publishing House in just a few words, even going so far as to attempt copyright fraud against him under the guise of bankruptcy?

But since it was the final moment, Akiwara Yuto did not want to create extra trouble, so he just said indifferently, "Rest assured, I will manage the publishing house well."

Akutsu Goichi thought Akiwara Yuto had agreed to his request, so he felt relieved, signed his name, and stamped it with his personal seal.

The two had no further conversation, and Akutsu Goichi turned and left the place.

Akiwara Yuto watched his departing back and pondered other aspects in his heart.

After a series of handovers, the actual operation of the Akutsu Bookstore was now in the hands of Asano Aiko, Satake Maki, and other staff members of the foundation.

Fortunately, there had been quite a bit of cooperation between the two sides, so the employees at Akutsu Bookstore did not have much dissatisfaction.

However, since this publishing house was now under his name, shouldn't he change the name?

Otherwise, every time he heard the word "Akutsu," he felt an uncomfortable sensation in his heart.

Under the puzzled gaze of the registration clerk, Akiwara Yuto stood in the office for half a day before finally selecting a famous name from his past life.

"Hello, I would like to change the company name to Tsutaya Bookstore."

Tsutaya Bookstore was a bookstore brand in Japan; in his past life, it could be called one of the most famous and influential bookstores in Asia.

In fact, the most surprising thing about it was that even during the collective collapse of the Japanese publishing industry, it was still able to climb upward step by step and achieve stable profits.

Therefore, by choosing this name, Akiwara Yuto also had the hope that this enterprise would flourish.

The registration clerk did not hesitate much and quickly agreed to complete the registration.

While handing over the documents, he said politely, "Tsutaya, what a great name."

Akiwara Yuto smiled and expressed his thanks.

After leaving the government office, he took a private car to Setagaya Ward and got off in front of Akutsu Bookstore, which was now the office address of Tsutaya Bookstore.

After getting out of the car, he began to size up the enterprise he had bought.

It was a three-story gray building, square and upright, covering an area of about 300 square meters.

The first floor was the bookstore, displaying a series of books published by the publishing house, with one wall entirely dedicated to his own mystery and traditional works.

Besides that, there were other popular books brought in from elsewhere.

However, compared to the dilapidated bookstore from a year ago, self-published books were basically nowhere to be seen; it was clear they were all legitimate publications.

Through the glass by the door, one could see readers browsing and buying books from time to time.

The second floor housed the editorial department, marketing department, and finance and personnel departments, divided into four offices, with about 30 people working there daily.

The third floor contained the conference room and the president's office.

In addition, there was a terrace.

Akiwara Yuto took a brief look around, then walked in and went to the president's office on the third floor.

There, Asano Aiko was already standing and waiting for him.

Upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, Asano Aiko stepped forward and asked, "Akiwara, regarding the candidate for president, who do you think is suitable?"

Hearing this, Akiwara Yuto frowned and began to consider.

It wasn't impossible for him to hold the title, but he didn't have the time to handle the daily affairs of the publishing house.

If he had to do it that way, it would undoubtedly make the position of president a mere formality.

Asano Aiko? She still had to serve as his assistant and help with many other aspects of his work.

Satake Maki? Although she came from Akutsu Bookstore, she lacked the age and academic qualifications to command the old hands at the publishing house.

Just then, a name suddenly popped into his mind.

"Asano, what do you think of Nishijima Sota?"

The other party was originally from Akutsu Bookstore and belonged to the senior generation, so there was no need to worry about the conflicts between employees and management caused by an "outsider."

Besides that, Nishijima Sota was also very proficient in market and distribution operations and had always been handling the distribution of his own works.

After listening, Asano Aiko felt it was somewhat inappropriate.

"Akiwara, Nishijima did that kind of thing after all. If the Keihan Publishing House offers higher benefits, will he be like Akutsu Goichi..."

In her view, Nishijima Sota was a person who only cared about profit.

She knew exactly what role Nishijima Sota had played in this incident.

"Asano, Nishijima is a smart man. I can give him more than what the Keihan Publishing House can," Akiwara Yuto replied.

The Keihan Publishing House was willing to spend a lot of money to bribe Akutsu Goichi before because his copyrights were in the hands of Akutsu Bookstore.

But now that the bookstore had been acquired by him, the other party no longer had the motivation to spend so much money.

Moreover, this time, Akiwara Yuto was prepared to offer a certain amount of equity to keep the other party firmly on his ship.

Of course, he would also take preventive measures, such as planting a few spies among the staff and having the finances audited regularly by an accounting firm.

After clarifying his thoughts, he added, "Asano, you should serve as the vice president of the publishing house; you don't need to come in for daily shifts like that.

Besides that, I want you to notify Mr. Nishijima to publish the work *Personal Experience* as soon as possible."

Asano Aiko showed a look of astonishment, but she still nodded and agreed……