Chapter 595: Focus on doing other more important things!!

In this era of entertainment poverty, without mobile phones, short videos, or online games... the means of recreation for young people were very limited.

The KTV in Harajuku soon spread among the young people of Tokyo. Everyone knew that a new type of nightclub had appeared where one could sing at the top of their lungs and play games.

Sales staff, who were wholeheartedly wanting to make their clients happy, also discovered this place, which was much more interesting than the existing clubs.

After all, in a club, it was impossible to sing at the top of one's lungs, dance, play games, drink, or let loose like one could in the private rooms of a KTV.

So, very soon, besides young people, there were also various uncles in suits and even pot-bellied ones coming in and out of this KTV in Harajuku...

Naoki Nagayama would occasionally come to check on the operations and handle some of the newly emerging situations.

And just today...

"Damn it!" A half-bald man with a flushed face and reeking of alcohol was making a scene in a private room. "You actually dare not give me, Akita Wao, any face! Have you never heard of the great name 'Dog of Takeshita Street'?! I'm telling you, today, either leave a finger behind or swallow this bottle of liquor!"

Facing him was a young hostess from the KTV, who had been pushed to the floor at this moment... The hostess, whose stage name was Machida Anko, had a face full of stubbornness and was saying:

"'Dog of Takeshita Street'? What the hell is that? You old uncle are already outdated! You're lecherous and still want to kiss me! Don't you know who is backing this KTV?!"

This group of hostesses already knew about the connections behind Feng Nagayama, and many of the waiters in the KTV were burly men covered in tattoos who didn't look like people to be trifled with, so they had plenty of confidence.

"You bastard! I think you don't want to live anymore!"

The middle-aged man, with alcohol going to his head, reached out to grab Machida Anko's hair, but as soon as he reached out, he found he couldn't move... His hand had been grabbed by a waiter covered in tattoos...

The waiter was also angrily cursing: "Bastard, you actually dare to cause trouble in our KTV. You're the one who doesn't want to live, right? Do you believe I'll send you to Tokyo Bay to cool off?!"

Just at this moment, a strong figure walked in from the doorway and slapped the waiter on the head:

"Koichiro, don't threaten the guests!"

Then Feng Nagayama walked in, and relying on his height and physical advantage, he pressed Akita Wao onto the sofa in one go...

Two or three other burly men followed behind, instantly blocking the small room tightly, making the other people in the room who were drunk calm down quite a bit.

Feng Nagayama had a kind smile on his face: "This guest, thank you very much for coming to support the KTV today, but... coming here is for happiness, why do things that make people unhappy? Right?"

"Yes, yes... We are here to sing!" "That's right, that's right, just looking for some fun..." The others nodded one after another to express their agreement.

"... Damn it, it was clearly this hostess..." Akita Wao cursed and said, still wanting to stand up, but felt that the hand on his shoulder was very powerful, and he couldn't resist at all...

"Don't use foul language! Everyone is a civilized person!"

Feng Nagayama applied a little force to his hand, making him quiet down quite a bit, and then said to the other guests who came with him:

"I see this gentleman is already drunk... How about we call it a day for today? It would be good for you all to send this... uh... Mr. 'Dog of Takeshita Street' back, how about it?"

Under the gaze of several tattooed burly men, how could these guests dare to say a word of "no"! They nodded repeatedly~

"Wait a minute!" Feng Nagayama turned back to look at Machida Anko, who had already stood up, and then turned his head back and said, "This drunken guest has caused quite a bit of trouble for our hostess! Shouldn't this gentleman give Anko-chan some... some..."

Halfway through, Feng Nagayama awkwardly got stuck. He asked towards the outside of the room door with some shame: "Naoki... what was that word again?"

"Mental distress compensation~" Naoki Nagayama said from outside the door, covering his forehead.

"Ah, right! Mental distress compensation!" Feng Nagayama continued to say to the few inside, a fierce smile blooming on his face again, "Don't you think so?!"

"... Yes!!!"

After the few sweating middle-aged hooligans left the KTV in a dejected manner, Machida Anko was beaming with joy with no less than 100,000 yen in "tips" in her hand, and the room also began to be cleaned up, preparing to welcome the next batch of guests.

Naoki Nagayama and Feng Nagayama went to a corner of the bar in the lobby and picked up a drink to drink.

"Naoki... these few days have been simply too annoying! All sorts of things have come up!"

Feng Nagayama asked for a glass of whiskey and drank it in one gulp, only then exhaling a breath of frustration, and began to complain to his cousin,

"Things like underage students wanting to drink, lecherous uncles wanting to find hostesses, getting drunk and vomiting all over the room... and some gang members coming to find trouble..."

"One thing after another, it hasn't stopped at all!"

Naoki Nagayama listened to him finish silently, and then said with a smile: "Then... how is the turnover of the KTV?"

Speaking of this, Feng Nagayama immediately became spirited: "The guests have been coming in an endless stream every day these few days, the total turnover has gone from 800,000 on the first day to over 2 million yen yesterday! And there is a trend of rising!"

"So just treat those trivial things as the hardship that must be endured to make money~" Naoki Nagayama comforted, "Think about the guy who caused trouble earlier, didn't he also pay money?"

"Hmm... thinking about it this way, it seems to make a lot of sense." Feng Nagayama nodded.

Naoki Nagayama continued to give him ideas: "Also... didn't Grandfather leave behind a group of old members of the society? The daily operational matters can also be handed over to them to handle! Just treat it as preparing in advance for operating the KTV."

"Big Brother Feng, you can focus on doing other more important things!"

"More important things?" Feng Nagayama was a bit puzzled.

"Yes, don't forget, we are going to open a chain of KTVs!" Naoki Nagayama said, "Grandfather has already gotten a promise from the Yamaguchi-gumi side, we have to catch up here too!"

"Meaning? We are going to open new branches right now?"

"No, it's to open Big Brother Feng's exclusive brand of chain KTVs, for example, called Hot-Blooded Mass-Market KTV, Xiong Yuan Mass-Market KTV, Nagayama Mass-Market KTV... or something like that, it's all up to you." Naoki Nagayama said, "But no matter what, you have to go buy land, renovate, and expand!"

"This is what Big Brother Feng should be doing!"

"This... this place has only been open for a few days..." Feng Nagayama was still a bit confused, clearly this shop hadn't even been operated properly yet!

"Isn't the money-making model already clear?" Naoki Nagayama said, "At this time, capital must have already investigated it. Those who originally opened clubs and dance halls might have already started preparing to open the same kind of KTV."

"And we have to be one step ahead of them! Occupy the market first... then build the brand... and after forming a scale, we can open a franchise system..."

Feng Nagayama nodded repeatedly as he listened to the franchise business system of later generations.

Naoki Nagayama continued: "A lot of real estate has already been prepared on Keiko Fujita's side..."

"Regarding the design and decoration, hand it directly to the Honma Architectural Office. I already let Mr. Honma prepare quite a few decoration templates before, you just go and pick."

"In short, Big Brother Feng, first use the money Grandfather sent over before to open 10 KTVs in Tokyo first!"

Feng Nagayama drank the liquor in his glass in one gulp and nodded:

"I understand, starting tomorrow, I will go look at sites!"

From buying land to renovation and then to opening, Feng Nagayama participated in the entire process of preparing the first KTV, and even the karaoke equipment was assembled by himself, so there was absolutely no problem with opening new KTVs.

After coming out of Harajuku, Naoki Nagayama didn't go to the studio. After all, "April Story" had already been released, and his work had come to a temporary end.

For the first time in a long while, he came to Sanmaiju on Ginza Street...

The palace-like teahouse, because of its cyan roof, carved corridors and painted pillars, and its antique environment, stood out on Ginza Street with its high-rise buildings and had already become one of the landmark buildings of Ginza.

However, due to the ridiculously expensive prices, it wasn't too crowded inside Sanmaiju. The regular customers who came in twos and threes were either wealthy people with money and leisure, or the gold-collar workers in Ginza who didn't lack money.

"Naoki-san!" Aki Matsumura, who usually served on the first floor, recognized the owner of Sanmaiju at a glance.

"Aki-chan." Naoki Nagayama looked at the shop. Besides this newcomer Aki Matsumura, there were two more figures, who seemed to be new service staff. "There are quite a few more people in the shop?"

"Ah, they were all newly recruited this year..." Aki Matsumura explained slightly. "Naoki-san, please follow me. Do you want to sit on the second floor or the third floor today?"

Sanmaiju always kept two seats for Naoki Nagayama, one was a booth on the second floor, and the other was a private room on the third floor. This was an iron rule set since the opening.

"The second floor, friends will be with me later..."

The first floor was a fully open teahouse, lively for drinking tea; the second floor belonged to semi-open booths, which had popularity but wouldn't appear noisy; the third floor was closed private rooms for customers who liked quiet and needed private space.

Naoki Nagayama had an appointment with Masaki Kobayashi and Masahiro Shinoda to drink tea today. There was nothing too private, just chatting.

"Yes! Please follow me."

Aki Matsumura led the way in front, while Naoki Nagayama looked at the current environment of Sanmaiju while walking.

It had been a long time since he came over. Some furnishings had been adjusted, and some decorations and fresh flowers had also been replaced... However, the solid wood tables and chairs had not been replaced, the antique feeling hadn't changed, and instead, it appeared to have more of a sense of history.

Overall, Katsuo Yasui and Chika Sakakibara managed it well.

Not long after sitting in the booth, Chika Sakakibara, wearing a kimono, came over with a smile on her face: "Naoki-san, it's really been a long time since you came over!"

"Haha, I was a bit busy at the beginning of the year..."

First was the release of "Love Letter", then the awards ceremony, then building the KTV, plus publishing books and filming "April Story". In the first quarter, Naoki Nagayama was indeed busy, and even the time for rest was much less.

"That must have been really hard~" Chika Sakakibara said with a smile, "Naoki-san, are you still drinking Gyokuro tea today?"

"Hmm, just the same as before." Naoki Nagayama nodded. "I have two friends later, it will be the same when they come."

"Yes! I understand! Please wait a moment."

Chika Sakakibara bowed gently and retreated, then went to prepare tea leaves and tea snacks.

The fresh tea fragrance came from the cup, the emerald tea water was slightly bitter at the entrance, but immediately there was a full mouth of sweetness. This was the latest Gyokuro tea!

A sip of tea, a bite of tea snack, Naoki Nagayama leaned back on the seat and let out a long breath, feeling that his whole spirit had become much more lively.

The April sunshine was envious of such a life, hitting the light spots on Naoki Nagayama's face, as if wanting to give him a slap~

"Naoki-san!"

A spirited voice came from the side. Masaki Kobayashi, who was squinting and smiling, and Masahiro Shinoda, who always had a straight face, walked over:

"You still know how to enjoy yourself~"

They saw Naoki Nagayama's leisurely appearance earlier and couldn't help but laugh.

"Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life..." Naoki Nagayama, who quoted a line of poetry, hurriedly let the two sit down, and by the way, let Chika Sakakibara send their tea water up.

"Masaki-san, Masahiro-san, last time at the preview, I didn't have time to chat properly, so today I specially invited you two to drink tea~" Naoki Nagayama said with a smile.

"Haha, Naoki-san's 'April Story' is really a very beautiful movie!" Masaki Kobayashi laughed, "It reminds me of when I was young!"

"When Masaki-san was young, did you also have a secret crush on someone?" Naoki Nagayama teased and asked.

"Of course, but I bravely confessed!" Old people of this age could already speak openly about interesting things from when they were young.

"Haha~"

After chatting about some interesting things, the directors naturally started talking about movies.

Masahiro Shinoda took a sip of tea and said: "The technique Naoki-san used in 'April Story' to express emotions is very special, giving peers great inspiration."

"Not at all, not at all~"

"Haha, the design of those shots will definitely make people unforgettable for a long time.

Especially the last scene, the cold color tone composed of transparent rainwater, gray buildings, and the dark blue dress on the heroine, and that bright red umbrella... such a strong contrast..."

Masaki Kobayashi praised endlessly, "It's just like the seawater and surfboard at the beginning of your 'A Scene at the Sea'!"

"Thank you, Masaki-san... However, if you praise me any more, I will be ashamed!"

Naoki Nagayama smiled and thanked him, his expression calm. After all, these few movies were masterpieces of masters, and he just occupied their creativity. However, this appearance of being unperturbed by favor or humiliation made Masaki Kobayashi and Masahiro Shinoda evaluate this young man even higher.

"Does Naoki-san have a plan for the next movie?" Masahiro Shinoda asked.

"Yes, the next movie of Tree Friend Films is called 'After the Rain', and it is already being prepared for filming... Next, this year, it is very likely that I will film the sequels to 'Crows Zero' and 'Ring'."

"Sequels~~~" Masahiro Shinoda showed disdain on his face. For a director, sequels were purely commercial films.

"Haha, making money~" Masaki Kobayashi smiled and nodded.

"Yes, after all, one has to eat~" Naoki Nagayama mocked himself, then asked, "Are you two preparing any new movies recently?"

"I don't have any plans. After 'Tokyo Trial', I want to rest for a period of time..." Masaki Kobayashi's "Tokyo Trial" offended many people and belonged to being forced to rest.

And Masahiro Shinoda, who was tasting tea, said: "I am currently editing a movie called 'Setouchi Moonlight Serenade'."

"Setouchi Moonlight Serenade"? Naoki Nagayama seemed to have heard the name of this movie, but the memories in his mind were not enough, and he didn't remember anything.

In Japan, baseball was one of the very popular sports, and going to Koshien to compete was the dream of many high school students.

"When will it be released?"

"It should be in June..."

Naoki Nagayama nodded, but suddenly thought: "June?!"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Masahiro Shinoda was a bit puzzled, "Does Naoki-san have other movies to be released?"

"No... that's not the point."

Naoki Nagayama actually remembered that the Yamaguchi-gumi was going to decide on the fourth-generation successor in June. He thought for a while and still revealed,

"If it's the end of June, the Yamaguchi-gumi might decide on the fourth-generation successor. It will be very chaotic at that time..."

The "Yama-Ichi War" of Japan's largest gang organization, although he didn't know the specific time it happened, it was just after the fourth-generation successor took office, and society was affected during that period.

"....... This"

Masahiro Shinoda and Masaki Kobayashi looked at each other. Although the film circle of this era was entangled with gangs, they were so clear about the internal succession time of the Yamaguchi-gumi. It seemed that Naoki Nagayama indeed had a deep relationship with gangs!

However, Masaki Kobayashi still comforted: "Rest assured, even if it's a gang, they won't think about destroying a cash cow like a movie theater."

Masahiro Shinoda also agreed: "Yes, there should be no major impact on the movie release."

Since the two directors who had experienced wind and rain had no opinion, Naoki Nagayama didn't say anything more.

"By the way, Masaki-san, for the next movie... I have a script for 'Xia Zhiting' here. I wonder if you are interested?"

Naoki Nagayama suddenly remembered the movie adaptation rights he had sold to Toho,

"Although the movie adaptation rights were sold to Toho, they don't seem to have the intention to film it... So I was thinking, should I film it myself."

"'Xia Zhiting'?"

Masaki Kobayashi had also read this novel, which told the story of an old man meeting several young people at the end of his life, and the protagonist's experience was a bit similar to his own. Masaki Kobayashi had also been conscripted when he was young, witnessed the cruelty of war, and subsequently devoted himself to reflecting on Japan's mistakes.

"Naoki-san, let me see the script... I need to consider it."

Naoki Nagayama nodded: "I'll send it to you next time~"

Having decided on a possible cooperation, the three continued to chat about gossip while drinking tea.

Don't look at Masahiro Shinoda's serious face, but he was also a repressed person:

"Naoki-san, do you still remember that director who was scared to pee by your movie?"

"Director Kinji Fukasaku?" Naoki Nagayama was puzzled, "What happened to him?"

"It is said that after being kicked out by his lover Keiko Matsuzaka, he doesn't even have a place to live and is staying at a friend's house!" The expression on Masahiro Shinoda's face was very strange, "It's really miserable~"

"He is a famous director?! How could he have no money?" Naoki Nagayama couldn't believe it.

"I heard that he divided most of his property to his wife when they divorced..." Masahiro Shinoda continued, "I don't know what he was thinking, even the house and pension were divided by more than half."

"Then there should still be a lot?" After all, he was a well-known director.

"Indeed a lot, but after being kicked out by his lover, he seemed to have caught a cold, and now his body is very weak... his spirit has also been hit... and now no one is taking care of him, so he can only rely on friends~"

"Uh......."

Even though Naoki Nagayama knew Kinji Fukasaku was his enemy, thinking that an old man of such a great age was so miserable, he still had some feelings...

"At such a great age, still entangled with a beauty like Keiko Matsuzaka, it will definitely shorten his life!" Masaki Kobayashi also felt emotional.

"... I hope Director Fukasaku can survive..."

The three felt emotional about Director Fukasaku's experience and decided to take it as a warning.

"Naoki-san, especially you, you have to be careful! Don't think that because your body is young, you can mess around!" Masahiro Shinoda warned.

"Yes, yes, lust is a knife... when you reach my age, you will know to regret it!" Masaki Kobayashi exhorted.

"......"

Naoki Nagayama didn't know how to refute~ ===== CHAPTER 596 =====