SWDnovel Chapter 322 Winter Arrival
Chapter 322 Winter Arrival
The first report was finished. Endo put the list into the left pocket of the folder.
"The second item."
He pulled another report from the right side of the folder. The paper had the SIS Analysis Department's number printed on it, and a red "Confidential" stamp was affixed to the upper right corner.
"SIS has completed the initial screening of the first batch of enclave account data sent by Kagawa."
Endo turned to the second page.
"Two abnormal signals were detected."
Satsuki pulled a blank A4 sheet of paper from the drawer, pencil in hand.
"Article 1. Fuyou Group's subsidiary, Fuyou General Development Co., Ltd., owns a large-scale residential complex development project in the Makuhari area of Chiba Prefecture. The outstanding loan balance is 35 billion yen. The actual sales rate of the project is—"
Endo's voice paused for less than a second.
"14.7%. Work has been suspended for three months."
Satsuki drew a square on the paper with her pencil. Inside the square, she wrote: Hibiscus Group Development. Next to the square, she wrote two numbers—350 and 14.7%.
A loan of 35 billion yen was taken out, but less than 15 percent of the units were sold, and construction was halted for three months.
This means the actual bad debt is around 30 billion yen—but this loan is currently still listed under Fuji Bank's normal loan category.
On the surface, everything appeared peaceful and serene.
"Second point." Endo turned to the next page. "Within Fuji Bank's own off-balance-sheet SPV structure, there is a loan of 24 billion yen issued through a special purpose entity registered in the Cayman Islands. The counterparty is a limited company registered in Hong Kong."
He turned the page over and pointed to the bottom line of small print.
Company Name: 'Pacific Crown Holdings Limited'. Registered Address: Room 1207, Office Building, Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong. Date of Registration: November 1988.
Satsuki's pencil moved swiftly across the paper.
The second box: Fuji Bank. The arrow points to the right, indicating the third box: Cayman SPV.
The next arrow points to the fourth box: Pacific Crown Holdings (HK).
Then she drew a question mark next to the fourth box.
Two hundred and forty billion yen flowed out of banks, passed through a shell company in the Cayman Islands, and ended up in a paper company in Hong Kong.
Where did the money go?
Satsuki turned the sketch toward Endo. The pencil tip touched the square frame of Pacific Crown.
"This company—get someone to check it out. Registered agent, company secretary, list of directors, bank account details, fund transfer records. Everything."
Endo nodded. He copied the company name and registration information word for word into his notebook.
Satsuki's pencil didn't stop. On the right side of the sketch, she drew another dotted line—starting from Pacific Crown, turning left, and ending back in the "Japan domestic" area. At the end of the dotted line, she drew a hollow circle. There were no words written inside the circle.
"I suspect the money eventually flowed back," she said in a low voice. The pencil tip spun halfway around the hollow circle. "After being laundered in Hong Kong, it ended up being used to take over someone's private investment losses."
Endo looked up from his notebook and landed on the dotted line.
"If a return path can be found—"
Satsuki didn't finish her sentence.
If it can be proven that the 24 billion yen was used by Fuji Bank executives to transfer benefits to private relationships through off-balance-sheet special purpose vehicles (SPVs), then the nature of this chain of evidence will no longer be a simple case of "concealing non-performing assets".
This behavior constitutes breach of trust, specifically a special breach of trust offense.
It's a nuclear-level scandal that could lead to the collective resignation of the entire Fuji Bank board.
Endo closed the notebook.
"Frank's short-selling strategy—"
"No rush."
Satsuki folded the sketch in half and stuffed it into the red folder.
"Tell Frank to gather data first; we can discuss establishing a position next year."
She held up three fingers.
"First, the current data volume is insufficient. Kagawa has only just begun delivering goods, and the monthly turnover of the enclave account needs to accumulate for at least six months to establish a reliable bad debt growth curve. Without a curve, short-selling models are just guesswork."
Take it with one finger.
"Secondly, Fuji Bank's stock price hasn't bottomed out yet. Entering short selling now wouldn't be a good cost-benefit ratio. We should wait for it to drop another 20%."
I'll take the second one.
"third."
Her gaze fell on the envelope in the corner of the desk—the one Kagawa had sent, which she had opened yesterday.
"Akasaka branch."
Endo's shoulders tensed.
"That thing is still growing." Satsuki withdrew her third finger, bringing her five fingers together and placing them on the table. "Fifty billion is just the beginning. Without regulation, the hole will expand faster than anyone expects. Six months, a year later—"
She did not give specific figures.
"Wait until it grows big enough." She closed the red folder, pressing her palm against the cover. "By then, we'll have three things in our hands: more than six months of continuous bad debt data for the enclave account, the complete cash flow path of the Cayman SPV, and the right to detonate the bomb at the Akasaka branch."
"Three keys open the same lock."
She pushed the folder to the top right corner of the desktop.
"So we're not in a hurry."
The sound was very soft.
"The fish aren't fattened up yet."
Endo looked at Satsuki and nodded deeply.
"I see."
He put the pen cap back on.
"I'll arrange those two things from now on." He stood up and put the folder into his briefcase. "I can produce a first draft of the debt acquisition plan for Yodoba Precision this afternoon. The due diligence team for the Saitama packaging plant is expected to be dispatched tomorrow. Frank—make sure he's in place before the New York market opens tonight."
"Yes." Satsuki nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."
The door closed gently behind him.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the cedar planks of the corridor faded into the distance and disappeared.
……
The study fell silent.
Sunlight streamed through the shoji paper, making it even brighter than before. The shadow of the maple tree in the courtyard was cast on the paper, clearly showing the outline of its leaves.
When the wind blows, the shadows sway.
Satsuki put down the pencil. She rubbed the web of her right hand—the muscle was a little sore from holding the pencil for too long.
Shuichi sat to the side the whole time.
He didn't interrupt the entire report once. He listened to everything he was supposed to hear and read everything he was supposed to read.
He put down the Nikkei newspaper. The newspaper nestled along the creases on the armrest.
There was a few seconds of silence.
"Satsuki".
"Um?"
"Have you calculated the total resettlement cost for the 120 people at Yodoba Precision plus the 20 technicians at Saitama?"
Satsuki folded the list in half and stuffed it into the red folder.
"A rough estimate is a little over 300 million. This includes relocation, housing, children's school transfers, and back pay. Endo will provide a detailed budget this afternoon."
"Three hundred million," Xiu Yi repeated, as if weighing the weight.
"That sounds like a lot."
"If we put those three patents from Yodoba upstream of the B-07 petrochemical pipeline, we can recoup four to five times the cost within three years." Satsuki tapped her finger lightly on the folder cover. "The twenty packaging technicians in Saitama—if we were to train a team of the same level from scratch, it would take seven years."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Buying seven years for 300 million is a good deal."
Xiu smiled.
"Now that you mention it, it does seem like a good deal."
He took a sip of the herbal tea. It was bitter.
Two more maple leaves fell outside the window.
"Oh, right—" Shuichi said casually, as if remembering something, "The morning news said that two presidents of construction companies in Kobe had accidents. One burned charcoal in his car, and the other jumped from the sixth floor of his office. The two companies together have debts of more than 30 billion yen."
Satsuki was gathering the scattered pencil shavings on the table with her fingertips.
"These kinds of things will become more and more frequent from now until next spring."
She picked up the pencil shavings and threw them into the wastepaper basket.
"The tightening measures in Mieno will take at least two to three quarters to reach the end. The peak number of monthly bankruptcies—"
She thought about it for a moment.
"Between March and June next year. It's possible that it will double or triple in value by then."
Shuichi placed the empty teacup on the armrest, his fingers unconsciously circling the rim of the cup.
"The more companies that go bankrupt... the more good targets we can sell?"
Satsuki looked up and glanced at Shuichi.
"You learn very quickly, Father."
The corner of her mouth curved slightly, very faintly.
Shuichi was amused by her tone.
"However, the number of unemployed will also increase accordingly. The cost of maintaining order will rise again..."
As he spoke, he picked up the empty teacup and stood up.
Satsuki watched Shuichi's retreating figure and nodded with satisfaction.
She thought Xiu Yi would ask questions like, "Oh, what will happen to those laid-off unemployed people? How many families will be torn apart? It's so pitiful..."
However, Shuichi considered the issue from the perspective that unemployment would lead to increased social security costs.
You passed, Father.
Shuichi scooped a spoonful of tea leaves from the tin can wrapped in indigo cotton cloth on the top shelf of the tea cabinet.
Qimen black tea.
I tried it yesterday, and it seems that Shuichi also likes the taste.
Hot water is poured into the cup. The tea leaves unfurl in the boiling water, and a layer of translucent red gradually rises to the surface of the deep amber-colored liquor. The aroma, which Chen Zhiyuan calls "orchid base," rises gently from the rim of the cup.
Shuichi brought the teacup back and placed it beside Satsuki.
"This tea is indeed very good. Is it available for purchase in China?"
Satsuki looked down at the cup of tea. The red tea soup rippled quietly in the white porcelain cup.
"I don't think so. This seems to be a specialty of China."
I took a sip.
As the tea entered my throat, a sweet aftertaste lingered on the back of my tongue. Just like the cup I had after dinner last night. Warm and full-bodied.
"If you like it, we can buy a few tea plantations next time we visit China."
Satsuki placed the teacup back on the table and gently circled her finger around the rim of the cup.
Xiu smiled.
"Alright, anyway, you love black tea the most."
"Speaking of which, although China is poor, it is indeed a major tea-producing country. I'll try more different varieties when I go there and buy them all at once."
He walked back to his leather chair and sat down. He picked up the Nikkei newspaper again and turned to page five.
At the bottom of the newspaper was a narrow line of statistical bulletins—
"In the first week of October, 1,247 new bankruptcy filings were filed in the Kanto region, representing a 34% increase year-on-year."
One thousand two hundred and forty-seven companies.
Shuichi's gaze slid over that line of numbers.
It paused for less than a second.
Then I turned to the sixth edition.
Maple leaves are still falling outside the window. The aroma of Qimen black tea spreads in the October sunshine, slowly filling the entire study with an invisible warmth.
The world outside the study is entering winter.