pjbooks Chapter 270 Summer in Karuizawa
Chapter 270 Summer in Karuizawa
(Thanks to "Chonggong Bamboo Path" for the expert certification!)
(Two chapters today~)
A gentle breeze at the end of summer swept through the lush mountains and forests, bringing with it a cool scent mixed with the aroma of earth and pine resin.
This is the "Tingsho Sanso," a villa belonging to the Saionji family.
The villa is hidden deep in the dense forest of Karuizawa.
Built in the early Showa era, this single-story wooden building follows the contours of the mountain. After more than half a century of weathering, the cypress wood panels on the exterior walls have lost their original brightness and settled into a dull, deep color.
Adhering to the principle of going all out, after sending Amy back to the lab, Satsuki immediately took Shuichi to Karuizawa to relax.
The spacious living room.
A floor fan with a brass base in the corner was slowly oscillating. The blades cut through the air, producing a very regular and deep "whoosh" sound. A gentle breeze swept across the rush-straw tatami mats, bringing a touch of coolness.
The large, floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors were pushed open completely. Outside the window, the continuous chirping of cicadas in summer rose and fell amidst the vast expanse of lush greenery, converging into a dense, white noise.
A large Sony Trinitron color television is placed in the center of the room.
On the screen, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is broadcasting a special international news program.
The news anchor's tone conveyed a highly tense and serious feeling.
"According to the latest commercial satellite images from Reuters, a large-scale tactical formation of heavy armored units of the Republican Guard in Baghdad has been completed on a highway south of Basra."
The screen switched. Several black-and-white aerial photos with a rough, grainy texture appeared on the television. Amidst the endless yellow sand, the steel outlines of hundreds or even thousands of tanks could be vaguely discerned, along with deep ruts left by their tracks on the desert highway, stretching for tens of kilometers.
"The vanguard of this armored force is now less than 30 kilometers from the Kuwaiti border. Border clashes have surged in the past 48 hours."
"Faced with escalating military pressure, the Emir of Kuwait has urgently appealed to the Arab League for intervention and mediation. Meanwhile, the White House spokesperson held an emergency press conference early this morning Washington time, stating that they will closely monitor the situation and warn against any unilateral armed action that could destabilize the Middle East..."
Satsuki, dressed in loose cotton loungewear, lay quietly on a rattan rocking chair by the French windows, flipping through a thick foreign language book.
As her center of gravity shifted slightly, the rocking chair swayed back and forth on the wooden floor, making a very faint "creak, creak" sound.
She lowered her eyelids, her gaze fixed on the densely packed printed words in the book. She didn't even bother to turn her head to glance at the tense international situation and the looming shadow of war on television.
Shuichi sat at a long, solid wood desk not far away.
He was wearing a light gray cashmere cardigan today. His hands were resting on a portable computer keyboard in front of him (here, a Toshiba T5200).
"Pat-pat, pat, pat."
The mechanical keyboard emitted a series of rapid, crisp keystrokes as Shuichi's fingers tapped it. He was reviewing a macroeconomic briefing on global capital flows transmitted via an encrypted network from the Saionji Intelligence System (SIS).
The news broadcast on the television continued.
"...The White House spokesperson stated..."
Hearing this word.
Satsuki's slender fingers, which were turning the pages of the book, paused for a second in mid-air.
She pressed her fingertips against the rough edge of the paper. She closed the heavy foreign language book and casually placed it on the low table beside her.
The rocking chair stopped rocking.
"Father. How are the final stages of all the projects going?
Satsuki asked casually, her tone calm.
Xiuyi stopped typing.
He stared at the plasma screen, which emitted a dark orange glow. On the screen, a long string of complex offshore trust architecture diagrams and fund flow codes were slowly scrolling.
"Yes. We've completely connected with Washington."
Shuichi's gaze swept over the jumping code.
"More than 200 billion yen, equivalent to US dollars, has all been poured into the underlying shares of those military-related private equity firms on K Street. The current financial network is already inextricably intertwined with them."
"Next..." Xiu smiled, "As soon as there's any movement in the Middle East, oil prices will surge. Those politicians on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon who have received our bonuses will be jumping up and down in a panic, risking their lives to protect our oil positions for the sake of their own pockets."
He pressed the page up button on the keyboard.
The screen switched to rows of dense options transaction details.
"As for Wall Street, the OTC betting agreements for crude oil call options have all been successfully distributed. Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers' proprietary trading desks are reaping the benefits. Frank and his team have broken down their position-building orders into very small pieces, leaving their accounts clean."
"The progress domestically is almost complete. Endo is finalizing the debt settlement for the last two semiconductor companies. The executives at Fuji and Sumitomo are cooperating very well to cover up their bad debts. The collateral for those special optical glass production lines and multi-axis machine tools should be in the underground vault of Daiwa Bank by the end of tomorrow at the latest..."
Satsuki listened quietly.
Her gaze swept across the room and landed on Xiu Yi's face.
The early autumn sunlight streamed through the shoji doors onto the long wooden table. Shuichi's eyes were bloodshot, his eye bags were heavy, and his complexion had a sallow look, a result of prolonged lack of deep sleep.
Since Satsuki collapsed from exhaustion in the underground strategic room, Shuichi has taken full control of this massive machine. During these crucial few weeks, he single-handedly handled both his own work and Satsuki's share.
Whether it was dealing with the probing of major domestic conglomerates or coordinating the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in overseas funds, Shuichi, who was only capable of "maintaining the status quo," forced himself to take on all the work so that Satsuki wouldn't be so overworked.
Satsuki stood up from the rattan rocking chair without saying a word.
She was barefoot. Her fair feet trod on the perfectly polished wooden floor as she tiptoed behind Shuichi.
Xiu Yi remained slightly leaning forward, his eyes fixed on the dark orange plasma screen, while he continued to read out the debt data regarding domestic non-performing asset restructuring.
Satsuki stretched out her hands.
A hand emerged from behind, palm down. Soft, white fingers gently covered Shuichi's eyes.
His vision was suddenly cut off. The plasma screen emitting a blinding orange light disappeared from Shuichi's sight, replaced by a warm darkness.
Shuichi's body stiffened instinctively, and the typing on the keyboard stopped abruptly.
Satsuki placed the pad of her thumb on Shuichi's temple. With a slight pressure, she gently massaged the taut acupoints at an extremely slow rhythm.
"Father, you must be very tired lately?"
Satsuki's voice rang in Shuichi's ears.
Shuichi's originally tense back slowly relaxed after feeling the comfortable pressure coming from his temples.
He leaned back, surrendering his entire body weight to the back of the large, solid wood chair.
"What do I have to be tired about?"
Shuichi closed his eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"These past few months have indeed been quite busy. But at my age, it's the time to work hard. The Saionji family's business is expanding, and I can't afford to hold them back."
Satsuki's massage movements didn't stop at all. Her fingertips continued to circle around her temples.
"Father, you're not young anymore."
"Don't push yourself, you're already an 'ojisan' (old man) after all."
Satsuki's voice was soft and teasing.
Shuichi chuckled softly. He closed his eyes, completely relaxing his facial muscles, enjoying his daughter's massage.
"You little brat, you're talking nonsense."
His breathing gradually became steady and deep.
"At least I won't grow old until you grow up."
The room quieted down.
The brass floor fan continued its tireless shaking. Occasionally, a few clear birdsongs drifted in from outside the window.
After enjoying a moment of tranquility, Xiu Yi closed his eyes, and the trivial matters that had been temporarily suppressed in the depths of his mind resurfaced.
"Satsuki".
Shuichi suddenly spoke.
"Um... Suzuki Emi seems to be planning something strange lately."
His tone became slightly more serious.
"The internal briefing from SIS (Saionji Intelligence System) mentioned that last week, she used her authority to have the biological laboratory under S-Farm in Hokkaido purchase five live rhesus monkeys from overseas at a high price. The purchase list also included more than a dozen boxes of extremely rare microelectrode probe materials."
Xiu Yi frowned.
"The security department reported that she has been locking herself in the underground computer room all day for the past few months, looking up obscure medical information on neurophysiology and electrical stimulation of the motor cortex."
"and."
"I've observed her behavior during her recent visits to you. Her dependence on you... seems unusual. Or rather, it's crossed a line. Is that alright?"
Satsuki's massage movements continued without pause. The pressure from her fingertips remained even.
"Amy...it's okay."
Satsuki turned her head slightly to look at the lush green mountains and forests outside the window.
"That's exactly the direction we were planning to cultivate her in. After all, her talents in certain areas shouldn't be underestimated..."
"Although some interesting deviations occurred."
Satsuki's lips curled into a faint smile.
"But overall, it is still within a predictable range."
After listening to Satsuki's explanation, Shuichi trusted his daughter's judgment in recognizing and managing people. Since Satsuki seemed confident, he put his doubts aside and didn't ask any more questions.
Satsuki slowly withdrew her hands.
She walked to the side of the long, solid wood desk and reached out to press down on the screen of the Toshiba portable computer.
"Clatter".
The heavy engineering plastic casing closed. The sound of the internal cooling fan gradually weakened until it stopped completely.
"Let's take a break."
Satsuki looked at Shuichi.
"Let's go for a walk in the woods behind the building."
Shuichi looked at the closed laptop and rubbed his still slightly sore eyes. He stood up and straightened his cashmere cardigan.
"Okay. I'll do as you say."