Chapter 1067: Becoming the person hidden behind the scenes!!

"Hi, I understand!"

Naoki Nagayama of Shanying Yuan replied gently on the phone,

"Mm-hmm, thank you for your hard work, Fujiwara-san... Everyone on the production team has worked hard too. It is thanks to everyone's diligent efforts that the program has achieved such explosive results..."

Early in the morning, Iku Fujiwara's call bearing good news had come through. The first episode of *The Voice of Neon* had received a very positive response, and naturally, the program's founder should be informed.

Naoki Nagayama was, of course, full of praise, spouting a bunch of pleasantries, and even promised year-end bonuses and the like... Having been a boss in business for so long, knowing how to paint a picture to motivate subordinates was already an effortless task for him.

"Naoki-san..."

After hanging up the phone, Akina had just finished feeding Xia Hua and was holding her to pat her back for a burp.

"So early, what is it?"

"It's the producer of *The Voice of Neon*, calling to report the good news..." Naoki Nagayama explained, sitting down next to Akina and reaching out to tease the baby. "He said that since last night, the hotline hasn't stopped ringing."

In fact, Naoki Nagayama had also watched the premiere last night, together with Akina.

Although he had already seen it in advance, his wife hadn't, and she was very much looking forward to the new talent show.

"Haha, *The Voice of Neon* is indeed very interesting!" Akina nodded in agreement, a look of longing in her eyes. "If this show had existed before I debuted, I could have participated too!"

Akina's voice was highly recognizable and had a wide range; if judged purely by her singing voice, it would definitely be a huge advantage.

"Then it would definitely have been all four mentors turning their chairs!" Naoki Nagayama laughed. "And there would also be a Hideki Saijo saying he has a national tour and could take you along!"

"Hahaha~ Hideki-san is famous this time! Maybe he'll even get a nickname..."

Akina laughed. The biggest meme-king of the first episode of *The Voice of Neon*, Hideki Saijo, had won big!

Their laughter made Xia Hua, who was full, very happy. Her little eyes looked here and there, and then she also gave a sweet smile~

"Ah... Hua-chan agrees too!"

Akina looked at her baby smiling happily, and she became even happier!

In August of this year, first the popular science fiction novel *Jurassic Park* was published, then in mid-month, Tree Friend's masterpiece *Tiger of Ginza* was released, and in the latter part of the month, Tree Friend brought *The Voice of Neon*... It could be said that the entire month of August in Neon was shaped by Naoki Nagayama.

However, what was surprising was that the key figure of these events, Naoki Nagayama himself, seemed to have hidden away, not appearing much in the newspapers or media.

Those who knew him knew it was because Naoki Nagayama had a baby and was focusing his energy at home, but those who didn't thought he had begun to change his style, transforming from a former cover star into a hidden tycoon behind the scenes...

Just like the Rockefeller or Rothschild families, they didn't appear in public much, yet their shadows were everywhere behind the world's major events.

Secretly extending their tentacles into every industry in Neon, through cross-shareholding, they spread the Nagayama family's influence into every aspect of Neon like a spider weaving a web...

In fact, similar practices were never new; the feudal aristocratic class of Neon had always been like this, and after arriving in the modern era, they hid behind the scenes while controlling the entire politics and economy of Neon~

At this moment in Shimizu City, Shizuoka, a group of people arrived at a hill in the suburbs under the scorching sun...

Having recovered from his serious injuries, Kumahara Nagayama was thinner than before and also more profound and restrained. There were no loud floral shirts, black sunglasses, or big gold watches, but rather a simple white shirt and black trousers.

The shade of the mountain forest blocked much of the sunlight, and the temperature was two or three degrees lower than at the foot of the mountain.

"Is this the place?" After climbing to the top of the mountain, Kumahara Nagayama wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked his subordinate, Shogo Hanada, "Did Feng buy all the woodland on this hillside?"

Shogo Hanada nodded:

"This whole hill is..."

"Heh..." Kumahara Nagayama let out a sound that was hard to tell if it was praise or a sigh. "I didn't expect this kid to have bought a whole hill without anyone noticing... He's actually become a big landowner!"

"Boss..."

Shogo Hanada was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Actually, from here to the hot springs of You Shan Yuan, all the mountain land was bought by Boss Feng!"

He pointed to the west:

"And from here to Tengu Stone Mountain, except for the national forest area, it was all bought by Boss Naoki..."

"......."

Kumahara Nagayama was stunned for a moment, looking up at the sea of forest that was almost endless, and swallowed hard.

"That is to say, almost all the mountain land north of Shimizu belongs to the Nagayama family?!"

"Hi... that is the case..."

In this era, mountain land without highways or tourist attractions was not expensive, and Naoki Nagayama had bought a large area without anyone noticing, even thinking about buying the adjacent Long Claw Mountain, so that all the mountain forests in northern Shizuoka would belong to the Nagayama family...

It was just almost impossible; the area around Mount Fuji was still watched very strictly...

"...... This is really..."

The surprised Kumahara Nagayama didn't know what to say for a moment, pulling out a cigarette to calm down...

Previously, Feng Nagayama had called back, saying he wanted him to help look at the mountain land for building a lumber mill. He had thought it was just a small woodland; he didn't expect it to be such a large area!

If this were developed, wouldn't it be a foundation for a hundred years?!

"Boss... be careful with open flames in the mountains..."

"......"

The cigarette was put back... He couldn't burn down the future of the Nagayama family!

"Hanada..." Kumahara Nagayama took a deep breath of the fresh air in the mountains, his mood suddenly becoming excellent. "This is the foundation of our Nagayama family!"

"......"

Shogo Hanada curled his lips; before coming, he had said that there was nothing to see in a piece of broken forest!

"Where is the place to build the factory?" Kumahara Nagayama asked.

"Right at the foot of the mountain... near the highway..." Shogo Hanada said. "There used to be a small lumber mill there, and it can be expanded in the future..."

"Oh, by the way, there is also a tea plantation of Boss Naoki nearby."

"A tea plantation?"

"Hi, I heard it was bought specifically to supply tea to a teahouse in Tokyo... It's the local specialty Shimizu tea!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Kumahara Nagayama immediately became interested.

"Then let's go take a look quickly. I'm just thirsty, and I'll go taste the tea from Naoki's plantation!"

"Hi..."

Shogo Hanada looked at Kumahara Nagayama, who was full of energy, and felt very emotional...

In fact, the previous blow had been truly heavy for his boss, especially since the Nagayama Group had been forced to disband, which could be said to have extinguished Kumahara Nagayama's spirit.

And now, it had finally recovered a little.

Shogo Hanada caught up with Kumahara Nagayama in a few steps:

"Boss... Boss Feng said before that before building the lumber mill, we need to meet with the people from the Forestry Association... In terms of lumber, they have great influence, and if we join, we can get protection..."

"What lumber union? Is it a gang?"

"No, no, they are an industry association!"

"That's just a bunch of guys getting together to monopolize resources, right?"

"You could say that..."

"Tch, isn't that the same as a gang? When they get big, they unite to suppress other small organizations... Alright, I understand! I know very well how to plant a flag in a new group!"

"Boss... I'm not asking you to plant a flag!"

"Shut up! Isn't it all the same!"

Kumahara Nagayama strode forward, with Shogo Hanada following behind, and a few younger brothers together.

This silhouette looked like a pack of wolves going on an expedition, gradually disappearing into the lush mountain forest, full of wildness and drive...

Just like the weather outside, even after the premiere, the popularity of *Tiger of Ginza* remained very high.

On the way to Ginza, Naoki Nagayama saw more than one large poster for *Tiger of Ginza*... filled with scenes of money and noise, which matched Ginza, the center of wealth, inexplicably well.

When he arrived at the office building of Tree Friend Capital, young men in suits were lined up from the elevator entrance to the company door. Naoki Nagayama almost thought he had arrived at some nightclub or famous restaurant that required queuing to get in...

Relying on his strong physique, he squeezed to the front desk, where Zhouxiang Jinjing was busy. She looked up and exclaimed:

"Naoki-san!"

At this sound, everyone queuing at the company entrance looked over. The pressure of so many pairs of eyes made Naoki Nagayama feel a bit overwhelmed.

"Naoki-san, follow me... Make way! Everyone, make way! If you don't make way, we won't register you anymore!"

Zhouxiang Jinjing hurriedly shouted at the people queuing to make a gap, her tone actually sounding a bit sharp... This was how she brought Naoki Nagayama into the company.

During the process, Naoki Nagayama also heard words like "It really is Naoki Nagayama," "I said it was here," and "Didn't find the wrong place."

"Eh?"

After reaching the corridor, Naoki Nagayama asked in surprise,

"Jinjing-chan, what is going on? When did we start expanding recruitment again?"

"No expansion, no notice posted... but they just came!" Zhouxiang Jinjing looked at Naoki Nagayama with some resentment. "Didn't Naoki-san let *Tiger of Ginza* film on location at the company? And you didn't cover up the Tree Friend Capital logo..."

"Yeah, I wanted to increase the visibility of Tree Friend Capital... Anyway, it's also a film investor..."

In order to avoid taxes when distributing dividends in the future, Tree Friend Capital and Tree Friend Film were separated among the film's investors.

"The visibility has increased!"

Zhouxiang Jinjing led Naoki Nagayama to his office,

"So now many people want to join Tree Friend Capital. Even after explaining that there is no recruitment plan, they still handed over their resumes, saying that we can give priority consideration in the future, and that salary and such are negotiable..."

Although Neon people are very particular about "politeness" and "not causing trouble for others," those who hang out in the financial world are all ambitious guys whose eyes are only on wealth, and they won't be held back by such psychological standards.

After seeing the potential of Tree Friend Capital, they immediately sent themselves to sell themselves!

Speaking of things during this period, Zhouxiang Jinjing couldn't stop. She had been very busy during this time,

"And Yuantai-san, he said we could temporarily accept the information and make it into a reserve talent pool or something... Without noticing, the queue of people got longer and longer..."

"...... So that's it..."

Naoki Nagayama arrived at his exclusive office and asked,

"Then where is Yuantai-san? Why don't I see him?"

"Yuantai-san went to talk to a client!" Zhouxiang Jinjing actually knew that Genta Nakai was just hiding to find some peace. "Now it's Chief Section Chief Masamichi Sakaguchi who is dealing with the more troublesome job seekers..."

Masamichi Sakaguchi was one of the first veterans to join Tree Friend Capital and is now the Chief Section Chief under Genta Nakai, specifically responsible for investment in the foreign exchange market.

The more troublesome job seekers were those who had some fame and experience in the industry and could bring client resources.

They also knew the rate of return of Tree Friend Capital and wanted to join this high-income organization... And these people, Masamichi Sakaguchi would really consider letting them in...

"Okay, I understand~"

"Then Naoki-san, do you want to see the job seekers?"

"I don't need to... just handle it according to Yuantai-san's original method!"

Naoki Nagayama shook his head. He came over today because it was the end of the month, to check the revenue accounts and determine the plan for next month, not to deal with trivial matters.

"Hi..." Zhouxiang Jinjing nodded. "Then I'll go make you some coffee... still mocha?"

"Mm~"

Zhouxiang Jinjing naturally knew who she should serve at Tree Friend Capital!

After Zhouxiang Jinjing went out, Naoki Nagayama sat in the boss's chair and sighed... He didn't expect the effect of advertising on *Tiger of Ginza* to be so good!

It seems that the advertising fees for Tree Friend Film will have to be raised a bit in the future!

The good sound insulation of the exclusive office kept the noise outside from coming in at all. After Naoki Nagayama was dazed for a while, he looked at the reports that Genta Nakai had already organized and placed in the safe.

The Plaza Accord had been signed for almost a year, and the exchange rate of the yen had appreciated from the original 1 USD to 250 JPY to around 1 USD to 150 JPY. This appreciation range was staggering...

At the same time, the benchmark interest rate dropped significantly, and all the funds in Neon flooded into the stock market and property market. Stock prices rose by almost 25%, and land prices also rose by about 10%.

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million... So... how much money do I actually have now?"

Looking at the series of numbers in the revenue statement, Naoki Nagayama couldn't even find a unit to describe it... And this was just the funds in the domestic accounts of Neon.

Although they communicated by phone every month, at the end of this year, the American investment manager Aldrich would fly to Tokyo to report the revenue statement of the American market this year to him and determine whether to continue to entrust him with investment next year.

In the following time, Naoki Nagayama carefully reviewed the capital statement of Tree Friend Capital for this month, took the reports of the previous few months for comparison, and clearly understood the profitability of his own investment company.

Thanks to his foresight and guidance, the investments were all in sectors that rose sharply after the Plaza Accord~

This was no longer a goose that laid golden eggs; it was simply a banknote printing factory!

"So much money..."

Naoki Nagayama muttered to himself,

"What should I use it for..."

The simple increase in numbers seemed unable to move Naoki Nagayama's heartstrings anymore. What he was thinking about now was how to use these funds in the right place.

"Apple seems to be experiencing bumps..."

Naoki Nagayama thought of the newspaper report that Apple had changed another CEO, and the stock price had experienced another limit-down...

"I can take this opportunity to invest a sum and become a shareholder of Apple before Jobs returns!"

"Then Microsoft, Oracle..."

His thinking scattered, and Naoki Nagayama suddenly discovered that it seemed that portals like Google, Yahoo, etc., had not been established either...

"How about, build a website to play with?"

His heart, which hadn't written code for a long time, suddenly felt a bit itchy...

You know, in his previous life, he had never stopped writing code!