National Tide 1980

For Keiko Matsumoto, her emotions are everything.

For Mitsuru Watanabe and Akira Okamoto, strength determines everything.

The two of them looked at Matsumoto Keiko carefully and took out the relevant documents and contracts related to Fog Studio. They were completely shocked by the gift from Ning Weimin.

The more they looked at it, the more satisfied they became with their proprietor.

Indeed, this gift from Ning Weimin was too real.

Whether it is the studio's land, studios, equipment, personnel, or the rights to adapt Matsumoto Seicho's works, they are all now owned by Matsumoto Keiko personally.

This is tantamount to saying that Ning Weimin is only responsible for providing money and has no backup at all.

Keiko Matsumoto has become the real owner of this studio.

There are no constraints from other shareholders at all, 100% ownership.

Even if two people get married, Ning Weimin cannot legally interfere.

Moreover, as long as Matsumoto Keiko is willing, she can film any of Matsumoto Seicho's novels from now on, without having to pay any royalties for them.

At the same time, wanting to invest in big-budget movies suddenly became much more reliable because of this studio.

At least assembling a film crew becomes less difficult.

Fog Studio owns most of the frequently used shooting equipment, as well as experienced professional and technical personnel in lighting, photography, stage management, etc.

If they want to make a movie, they no longer have to worry about where to rent equipment or hire people.

But then again, this thing is not entirely perfect.

One thing made them worried - the business conditions of this studio looked very bad.

According to the financial statements, Fog Film Factory’s liquidity has completely dried up and it is saddled with huge debts.

Whether internally or externally, there are many accounts payable.

It ranges from the firewood, rice, oil and salt in the factory cafeteria to the losses from a few movies, as well as some props, costumes, and remuneration for actors and actresses.

Even the cost of Seicho Matsumoto himself going to Ginza to treat guests and drink wine was included in the list. This...is this too much?

So looking at the list of debts, the two couldn't help but look at each other, and their already sunny expressions turned gloomy.

Ning Weimin certainly knew what was going on.

He didn't wait for them to ask questions and simply confessed.

"You don't need to look at the financial data carefully. I have already calculated it. The debts are probably less than 400 million yen. In fact, you don't need to pay too much attention to it, because without these debts, we would not be able to complete this transaction. It is because of the operation If you are not kind, people will want to get rid of this burden. As for these debts, I will take care of them, so you don’t have to worry about anything. What matters is what we bought. Right?"

I have to say that this is correct in theory.

Because Fog Studios is actually just a small studio founded in 1978.

It was originally because the famous mystery novelist Matsumoto Seicho was dissatisfied with the Japan Literature and Art Association's stipulation that the maximum copyright fee for film and television works was 10 million yen, and believed that the big money was made by the film company.

He invested his own money and founded this studio together with the famous director Yoshitaro Nomura, who was born in Shochiku Pictures.

The purpose is to obtain the maximum benefits that he should enjoy from the film and television dramas shot by his own works. This is his original intention.

It can be said that Matsumoto Seicho is the most conceited writer in the Japanese literary world and the one who values ​​the copyright interests of his works the most.

So it is conceivable that if it were not for his lack of experience in operating a film company, he did not manage the studio well.

The films he produces have always been well-received but not well-received.

So how could he, who tightly guarded his copyrights and had unlimited expectations for future profits, package and sell the copyrights of his works with the studio?

Now it seems that it is obvious that the novelist has given up and no longer has any unrealistic hopes, so he will simply make such a big deal.

Not only can you get rid of the debt burden, but you can also get a big benefit at once.

But the problem is that because of this, in the eyes of Mitsuru Watanabe and Akira Okamoto, this deal is not a good deal.

You must know that the copyrights of Matsumoto Seicho's works at Kiri Studio are only worth 330 million yen if the highest royalty price in the industry is 10 million yen per film.

In other respects, they are relatively valuable assets, namely the studio land and buildings.

But that's just a piece of land of about 120 square meters located near Heiwa no Mori Park in Ota Ward, which belongs to the suburbs of Tokyo. According to the current land price of one million yen per square meter, it is only 360 million yen.

Although there are a lot of shooting equipment in the studio, the problem is that those equipment have to be depreciated.

Who knows the specific situation? It was probably the second-hand equipment that Yoshitaro Nomura helped get.

What's more, buying this studio doesn't mean you're done with it.

Then we have to support more than a dozen studio employees, which is a long-term burden.

At least seven to eight million yen in salary is required every month, so what is this equipment worth?

To put it bluntly, this is equivalent to Ning Weimin spending one billion and seventy million yen to buy something that was originally worth only 600 million yen.

He suffered a huge loss and was almost doubled by Matsumoto Qingzhang.

As a result, the two people looked at Ning Weimin with something a little weirder in their eyes.

I admire him, but I really think he has big hands. Isn't this a big injustice?

The two people had a strong sense of responsibility and could not help but persuade again to see if there was still a possibility of improving the current conditions in terms of price.

"Ningsang, this... the transaction price of this studio seems a bit high. The reasonable price of Wu Studio should be around 300 million yen. After all, there are still so many debts. You have to pay off all the money. Is it already? If not, do you want to negotiate with the other party again..."

"Hey, Ningsang, do you know the relevant copyright regulations of the Japan Literary and Art Association? The value of copyright is actually not that high. Although Matsumoto Seicho is a master of reasoning and his works are very popular, the combined price of his novels is also reasonable. It’s worth 200 million yen. After all, not all works are suitable for filming into movies or TV series. I also suggest that you should discuss the transaction price with the other party if possible..."

But they didn't expect that not only Ning Weimin would shake his head at their suggestion.

Tell them to deliver the full amount, which was also one of Matsumoto Seicho's original transaction requirements.

In fact, the money has already been paid in full, and there is no possibility of going back.

Even Matsumoto Keiko was defending Ning Weimin, and she actually said that she was responsible for this matter.

It was because she wanted to do her best to facilitate this matter that she agreed to such a price.

As a result, Mitsuru Watanabe and Akira Okamoto had no choice but to accept the transaction that had occurred and acknowledge the facts before them.

And this undoubtedly reflects the huge gap in realm and level between the two workers and operators.

Not much, Mitsuru Watanabe and Akira Okamoto do have good intentions, but they are unable to correctly measure the true value of certain things.

In fact, the market price is one thing, and whether it can be purchased is another. The so-called fairness does not exist at all, and big sales are not done like they do.

Among other things, world-famous mystery novelists like Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle like Matsumoto Seicho.

The uncrowned master who single-handedly created the school of social mystery novels in the Japanese literary world. Is he a good-tempered person?

Matsumoto Seicho, who came from a grassroots background and had no academic qualifications, was long excluded by the "pure literary school" in the Japanese literary world. He was famous for his perverse personality and bad temper.

His aloof figure and anti-authority left-wing stance have long been known to everyone in the Japanese literary world.

Otherwise, he would have been qualified to be awarded the "National Writer" or the "Cultural Medal", and he would not have never received such a title throughout his life.

Who can meet such a person if they want to?

In fact, thanks to Matsumoto Keiko, who has appeared in several movies adapted from Matsumoto Seicho's works, she is his most recognized candidate for the heroine.

Moreover, when the movie "Bad Guys" was being finalized a few years ago, I danced a song with Seicho Matsumoto, fulfilling the old man's long-cherished wish.

Matsumoto Keiko was able to rely on these friendships to take Ning Weimin to visit him and discuss copyright transactions with him.

Otherwise, there would not even be such an opportunity.

To put it bluntly, Matsumoto Seicho is just like Zhang Dashao who held the house in his hand and wanted to find a tenant. Regardless of the fact that this kind of transaction is more important to them than to anyone else.

But they will never wrong themselves for money. They are arrogant at heart, poor and impoverished, and even have eccentricities.

It is really not possible to negotiate a deal with just anyone, and it will of course be even more difficult to succeed.

Thanks to Matsumoto Keiko's face and Ning Weimin's money, both of them are very knowledgeable and know how to follow the hair and seduce people.

Only then can this matter be finally negotiated.

Otherwise, there is a price but no market, and what’s the point of not being able to make a transaction?

Besides, is this price really expensive?

not necessarily.

Others don't know, but Ning Weimin knows best how much commercial value a well-known IP will have in the future.

Many of Matsumoto Seicho's mystery novels have been remade into movies and TV series many times.

With just "Black Leather Notepad", Ning Weimin has watched several versions of Japanese dramas.

It seems like it is remade almost every ten years and it never goes out of style.

And the ratings are not low, and every time it is remade, the heroine who stars in it becomes famous.

What quality of script is this? Keigo Higashino can't compare either.

Matsumoto Seicho is not the ancestor, but Higashino Keigo, the disciple and grandson, is still lacking in Taoism.

Well, since the old man has something at his disposal, his reputation is not in vain.

Even if the 1.17 billion is entirely the money to buy the copyright, this transaction is not a loss.

The cost of co-authoring a work is only a few hundred thousand dollars. Isn’t this a bargain?

Not to mention that the studio purchased also included a large piece of land and real estate.

Don’t forget, this is the early stage of the bubble economy. The growth rate is slow now, but that doesn’t mean it will always be like this in the future.

Ning Weimin has no doubt that the skyrocketing land prices in Tokyo will soon be transmitted from the city center.

The value of this land is low now, and it shouldn't be a problem to increase it tenfold in the future.

What's more, now it can not only solve the practical problems of shooting, but can also be mortgaged for bank loans.

Once you lend money and use financial magic to increase leverage, you will end up with a bag of sand and a room of gold.

Isn’t it possible to make back all the big losses?

What's more, there was one last thing, a value that no one except Ning Weimin saw.

That's the film library of Fog Studios.

Since its establishment eight years ago, this small studio has produced works every year.

A total of nine movies, three TV series, and two documentaries. This is money.

Not to mention anything else, I just need to go to China, report to the film bureau, and go through the procedures.

Then Ning Weimin doesn't make money by selling copies?

It happened to be a period when domestic movies were in a downturn, so this was a business without money.

Yes, although Japanese audiences don’t like it much, it’s different in mainland China. It’s still a spiritually and culturally barren country.

As long as something is a little bit fresh, people can still queue up in empty streets.

Therefore, the resources of such a studio are not very rich. In Ning Weimin's eyes, they are really valuable in every way.

If he had any worries about this deal, Ning Weimin was actually only worried about one thing, and that was that he felt that Matsumoto Kiyoshi would regret it in the future.

For this reason, when he was negotiating a deal, he really didn't dare to bargain with this man.

What if after the economic bubble bursts, this old man can't think about it any more and takes advantage of it.

How big a crime will he be charged with then?

That shouldn’t be scolded by the majority of book fans!

All in all, Ning Weimin's evaluation criteria for this deal were completely different from those of Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watabe.

This also determines that in the eyes of these two people, his behavior and methods are more and more like a prodigal who does not understand the meaning of money and gets dizzy when seeing women.

For example, after this matter was discussed, Ning Weimin really started to ask Watanabe to cooperate with him in getting a loan.

He was asked to first mortgage Matsumoto Keiko's 200 million yuan factory to repay the loan for Matsumoto Keiko's villa.

Then he re-mortgaged the villa and borrowed 600 million from the bank.

And this money, Ning Weimin still has to put it into the stock market and use leverage to do somersaults.

For another example, Ning Weimin gave the remaining 30 million yen to buy the studio to Mitsuru Watanabe without any hesitation.

Let him use it as the operating expenses of the office.

He also asked him to inform other employees in the office that their salaries would be in line with this year's spring standards, with a 10% salary increase like that of large companies, in order to stimulate everyone's work enthusiasm and fighting spirit.

For example, Ning Weimin also decided to give the extended Cadillac to Matsumoto Keiko's office and use it as a courtesy car in the future.

It is no exaggeration to say that such a gift of money that he did not hesitate to give made the onlookers frightened. He really did not regard money as money.

Even Keiko Matsumoto, the recipient, couldn't bear it anymore. She repeatedly begged him on the spot not to give her a luxury car so boldly again.

However, it must be admitted that it was such tyrannical financial resources and skill that finally allowed Okamoto Akira and Watanabe Mitsuru to completely dispel their concerns about Ning Weimin.

From then on, there was no longer any doubt about his orders, and there was no need to worry that he had other plans for Matsumoto Keiko.

In turn, they were quite relieved and sincerely happy for Matsumoto Keiko.

Because there are many rich men in Japan, but most of them are stingy old guys.

Nowadays, it is not easy for any woman to find a guy like Ning Weimin who is handsome, has a successful career, and is willing to spend money on women.

In particular, Matsumoto Keiko is not young anymore, while Ning Weimin's future is full of infinite possibilities, which is also very important.

Now Okamoto Akira and Watanabe Mitsuru only feel that Matsumoto Keiko is very clever, and she is worthy of being a movie queen to find such a good home in time.

Even if the film really flops, it probably won't be a big deal.

As for whether Ning Weimin is carefree or not, that is not considered. Who can guarantee that the marriage of a movie star will last forever?

Even Yamaguchi Momoe and Miura Tomokazu, who vowed to each other in public, can only let time prove whether the vows they made to each other are sincere.

Anyway, being generous is enough.

If he can give gifts so generously before the wedding, he will naturally not treat his wife badly after the marriage.

Maybe the more you worry about it, the more guilty you will be, and you will be given more material compensation...

Just like this, the two guys became happier and happier as they thought about it, and couldn't help but wink and wink at each other.

At this time, of course, Akira Okamoto had no intention of resigning and leaving.

For this reason, when Mitsuru Watanabe went to the toilet, he chased him out sneakily.

Watabe Mitsuru could not help but plead repeatedly in private.

"Brother, after we have worked together for many years, some things have passed away. Don't bring them up again. Who hasn't said a few words of anger before? Anyway, my fate is always the same. The Onmyoji's calculations are different. I don't know if they did it wrong or if I lived wrongly..."