National Tide 1980

July 25, 1987, was supposed to be a happy day.

Because not only was the weather sunny this day, but it was also a golden Sunday, which was Friday.

After finishing this day's work, most people working in enterprises and companies will usher in a happy weekend.

Although Kagawa Rinko is also the store manager of Eibundang Bookstore, she does not enjoy the blessing of a full weekend. She has to work in the bookstore these two days.

But after all, for two days she could at least have a good nap at home, and she could sleep until almost noon before going to the bookstore. At least she could relax and take a good breath.

So she woke up early this morning in a very happy mood.

But just when she got up and walked to the bathroom on the first floor to wash up, an unexpected situation completely ruined her mood.

When Ganqing passed the stairs, she actually clearly heard the sound of her brother-in-law and sister arguing in the room upstairs.

"...The competition in the insurance industry is too fierce. It's not easy to be a branch manager, especially in a place like Tokyo. I have no choice. Give me the money first. You can endure it as long as I can When you become the head of the branch, everything will be fine..."

"You always say that. You said the same thing last time when you were going to be the team leader, but our life never got better. Can you take a good look at our current living situation? Since we got married and spent our honeymoon, we have been It’s even harder to go out for a meal. I don’t even have a good vacuum cleaner to clean my room, so I only use Rinzi’s clothes when I go out. We are even more embarrassed than when we were saving money to buy a house together before we got married. In order to make up for the family expenses, I even shamelessly accepted the rent paid by my sister. But even so, our savings have not increased, and your external expenses have increased. Who can stand this kind of day? I really have had enough..."

"You're here again. Why are you complaining so much now? You don't understand me at all. Don't I work hard? Don't I work hard? I have to get up at seven o'clock every morning, and then wash up and have breakfast within fifty minutes. , I have to walk out of the house and catch the subway to go to work. It takes more than half an hour one way from our home to my company. After I go to work at 8:30, I will work until at least 9 o'clock in the evening, and the working time is more than 12 hours. After drinking with my colleagues, I usually don't get home until after 11 o'clock in the evening. After I have a late dinner and a shower, it's almost time for me to go to bed. I only have six hours of sleep, and then it’s a new day, and why am I working so hard all day and night? Am I not contributing to the family? Am I not trying to make you have a better life? "

"I know you work very hard. But can it be easy for me? I get up at 5:30 in the morning and have been busy with cooking, laundry, cleaning, and all kinds of trivial matters all day long, and I can't go to bed until 10:30. I said, you Don't avoid reality, okay? The problem that needs to be solved now is that the money you take from me every month is more than what you get back. Don't you know that we have to pay back the mortgage? Let me tell you, at home. Your last bit of savings has been used up long ago. If I hadn't signed store contracts for President Ning in Kyoto and Osaka and received a labor fee, I wouldn't have been able to survive these few months. When you handed out the half-year bonus, I just thought I could breathe a sigh of relief and finally have two months where I don’t have to worry about expenses. But the money hasn’t warmed up yet, and now you actually want to take the money away again. Tell me, How can I keep going like this?"

"Don't be so exaggerated. Of course I also know that you are worried about family expenses. But my half-year bonus this time was much more than we imagined. The company was very generous and gave me a full one million yen, plus salary. And commission, the total is 1.5 million yen. I only want 200,000 yen for necessary entertainment expenses. Is it too much for me to ask for money?"

"Isn't it too much? Let's do the math. If there is no half-year bonus, then your salary plus bonus last month was only 500,000 yen. You need 30,000 yen in pocket money every month for smoking and drinking. There is still a fixed mortgage loan of 168,000 yen that must be repaid, and at the beginning of the month you used this reason to take away 150,000 yen. If you want to take away 200,000 yen all at once, this is completely overspending, okay? Even if Rinzi pays 60,000 yen in rent, it will be all paid. Don’t you think that a half-year bonus of 1 million yen is enough for us to live like this for a few days? I don’t want to give you money, but if this continues, our lives will be ruined.”

The reason why Sakai Yujiro and Miyoko quarreled was very practical, it was about money.

Listening to their heated exchange of words, Kagawa Rinko, who had walked upstairs unconsciously, stopped at the door of their room.

She didn't dare to go in, but she was quite worried.

You know, her sister and brother-in-law have always looked like a loving couple in front of her.

Even if there were occasional conflicts, no one ever cared too much about it. How could there ever be a time like this when we would hide in the room early in the morning and start arguing, refusing to give in to each other?

Like today, I can be so noisy that I don't care about working hours, and my voice is so loud that I am noticed.

This shows that their conflicts are quite deep and cannot be avoided or resolved.

Even she felt sorry for them. It was the first time she realized that her sister and brother-in-law seemed to have serious financial problems after their marriage.

However, she was not allowed to think too much, and the quarrel in the room escalated further.

"Isn't this because my position is not high enough? We have talked about this issue many times in the past two months. Why can't you understand me? You have to know that although my salary and bonus have increased as a team leader, , but there are more responsibilities to bear. You can’t just take care of yourself like before.”

As if he had been touched, Zuo Hai Yujiro's voice rose again and was full of grievances.

"The so-called team leader, in addition to continuing to do insurance sales business, is also responsible for recruiting and training qualified insurance salespeople from outside to complete a certain amount of business. In order to achieve this goal, there will be a lot of additional expenses. For example, my salespeople are not allowed to use the company phone to make calls to customers. Instead, they have to pay out of their own pockets to use the public telephone installed in the company. Now many people are not willing to bear such expenses, so there is no need. The only solution is that I can only use my own money to buy some phone cards and subsidize them for everyone to use.”

"That's not all. Even if we recruit salespeople, we won't feel at ease because the liquidity in this industry is too high and it's difficult to retain talents. In fact, the reason is very simple. Everyone who engages in insurance sales relies on favors to find some. Relatives and friends come to sell, but think about it, this kind of resource will be used up in less than two or three months at most, and it will be exhausted in less than half a year. In this way, many people with phone cards will naturally stop here. The investment is wasted.”

"The most troublesome thing is that after the salesperson leaves, the customers they bring in will soon come to ask for surrender. If they can't retain customers, the team leader will be criticized in the end. So in order to maintain the sales performance under his own name , in order to retain customers, some discounts or gifts are inevitably given, and I will naturally bear the expenses.”

"You don't need to tell me, I know this is not good. However, all this effort is meaningful, and it will eventually end. As long as I can climb to the position of branch leader, I will no longer have to pay for specific sales as I do now. I have to worry about performance. By then, both income and benefits will be further increased, and I will still have my own office. Everything will be completely different from the small team leader I am now..."

Yujiro Sakai talked about the difficulties in his work.

But Rinko Kagawa outside the door felt that he was a bit too fussy and obsessed with an uncertain goal like promotion.

Although it is understandable to demand progress in your career, you should never pursue your goals in such a way that is unrealistic or even destroys the balance of family life.

After all, he is married, so he has to be responsible for his family.

If you act so recklessly, where will you put your sister?

As expected, her sister Miyoko also holds the same view.

"Then you are walking a tightrope. You are just an office worker who works to get a salary from the company, but instead pay out of your own pocket for work. This situation sounds too bizarre. If this is the case, how can our lives be guaranteed? ? Then you might as well not be the team leader."

But these words were unacceptable to Zuo Hai Yujiro, and his voice began to tremble.

"You...what did you say? Ask...let me not be the team leader. You...you are really weird. Other wives hope that their husbands will succeed, but you are so good that you actually want me to settle for the status quo. Can you Don’t be too strange. This is the case in any insurance company. What does it matter if you suffer a little now? This is all for becoming a branch manager in the future.”

"How strange is it that I don't see you so often? You are taking it too much for granted. How can it be so easy to be a branch leader? There are probably no less than twenty team leaders in your branch alone, right? I remember you said that among these people, there can only be A branch director, right? Well, if you have the support of the second minister, then others may not have a bad relationship with the minister, let alone the candidate who is favored by the deputy minister. How can you be sure that you will be the one? ? We might as well consider some realistic ways to improve our situation. Now I can still go out to work. Why can't we take it easy together like before? If you concentrate on selling your insurance, I will continue to be a real estate agent. In fact, it doesn’t have to be too hard. If we make money together, it will be enough to pay off all the loans in two or three years, and then we can think about having children and other things. Wouldn’t that be good?”

It should be said that Miyoko's consideration was entirely from a pragmatic perspective.

Her step-by-step plan is much more reliable in terms of feasibility than Yujiro Sakai's radical approach.

However, in this social environment where economic bubbles are rampant and everyone is eager for quick success, her suggestions have greatly stimulated Yujiro Sakai, who hopes to achieve success immediately and has deep-rooted machismo in his heart.

"You just don't think highly of me. When you say this, you are blaming me for not having the ability. I know that you make more money than me when you work. But I am also a man, at least, I have been working hard. Now I know How much do you look down on me? Do you think a person like me will always be an ordinary little person? You just want me to be someone who always relies on my wife to make a living, right? Nothing is good, then let’s get divorced! Whatever you say is up to you! Don’t blame anyone else from now on.”

Just because he didn't get the support he wanted from his wife, Yujiro Sakai misunderstood Miyoko's kindness and regarded her advice as a kind of contempt and insult to himself.

As a result, his frustration suddenly aggravated his inner inferiority complex, and he became angry and roared uncontrollably.

As soon as he finished his hysterical words, he impulsively opened the door and rushed out, so much so that he almost bumped into Rinko Kagawa outside the door.

But even though this unexpected situation was surprising, what had a more emotional effect on Yujiro Sakai at this time was undoubtedly the disgraceful sullenness.

So he only glanced at Kagawa Rinko and left with a fierce face, without even leaving a word.

Kagawa Rinko stood at the door and heard silence in the room.

After a while, the whimpering sounds of my sister Miyoko could be heard.

First there was a trickle of water, then the dam burst.

Kagawa Rinko looked back and found that Yujiro Sakai had disappeared from the entrance.

She didn't dare to delay any longer and hurriedly walked into the room to comfort her sister who was crying on the bed.

She shook Miyoko's arm and said, "Sister! Sister! Don't cry! It's okay, it's okay! Sister! Don't cry! Sit up, sit up! Drink some water first."

Kagawa Rinko helped her sister sit up.

"Sister, don't be angry. Why did you and your brother-in-law get into this quarrel over money? It's not worth it. Don't embarrass your brother-in-law. He also has his difficulties. Think of the good things. After all, your brother-in-law also wants to make progress. , I want to give you a better life. What conflicts between you and your husband are irreconcilable? Why don’t you just step back and I step back? Nothing is as important as family harmony. The quarrel between you two was really fierce today. You are no longer like the sister you were before. It makes me so scared!"

Miyoko wiped her tears and said inarticulately, "You think I want to quarrel with him! He really hurts my heart! I'm not afraid of hardship, otherwise I wouldn't marry him. And what I value But he is really good to me, and all I ask for is a stable life and a warm family. Is this too much? He is currently dreaming of unrealistic dreams, and he even says that I look down on him and wants to be with him. I’m divorced! How could he say that?”

Kagawa Rinko wiped her sister's nose and said, "Wipe! Harder!"

While combing her sister's hair with her hands, she said, "He was just angry, and he didn't really want to leave you. You obviously know this, why do you have to take a few words seriously? Isn't that going to be difficult for yourself? I won't do it again. I would like to advise you, my brother-in-law has his faults, but he works hard and is eager to get promoted. This is at least worthy of recognition! If we are together again and find trouble, why not look at his advantages and discuss it with him? Discuss and see if this is a feasible path. If you really feel financial pressure, it doesn't matter. I have money. I am working two jobs and have no expenses except the company. In addition to the annual winnings, President Ning also gave me a yearly winnings. I have saved a lot of money this year. Can I give you one million as an emergency?"

Miyoko sobbed and said, "No, it can't be done. Rinko, I can't even take care of my mother's side at home now. It's all up to you to send money to my hometown. I'm already ashamed enough. How can I take your money again for Yujiro's sake?" Money? Don't worry about me. You should save your money for the sake of the future. Don't give without reservation and trust men without reservation like my sister. I'm not afraid to tell you that I regret it now. The mistake was that I thought marriage was too simple. Now I have cut off my own retreat and left everything to others, so now I don’t even have the right to work. Why would I have gotten married if I had known this? Asking for trouble..."