pjbooks Chapter 296 Fragrant clothes and shadow on the temples
Chapter 296 Fragrant clothes and shadow on the temples
It is located at the intersection of the logistics and food preparation corridor and the concealed smoking area on the side and rear of the lobby.
The lighting here was much dimmer than in the lobby. Yamada, the former foreman of Matsuura Construction, was wearing a dark, old work uniform and hiding in the shadow of a pile of spare bar stools in the corner of the corridor.
His rough fingertips scratched at the newly applied, expensive gold-leaf wallpaper on the wall, his heart still pounding.
Ten minutes earlier, when he impulsively rushed into the back alley of the hotel, the biting winter rain quickly dampened his impulse. Saionji Construction has always been known for its stringent standards in the industry; even if this building was a failed project they had taken over, after their team's re-entry and heavy investment in renovations, the security network should have been watertight.
When he reached the fire door of the unloading area on the second basement level, he even considered turning back, inwardly mocking his naive infiltration plan. But since he was already here, he gritted his teeth, deciding to try his luck one last time, and reached out to grasp the heavy metal doorknob connecting to the employee staircase, pulling it outward with all his might.
The heavy fire door somehow detached from the frame and opened a crack.
Yamada stood there, stunned. In the dim light, he could see the situation at the door hinge—a wooden wedge covered in dried cement was stuck in the electronic magnetic lock. It was something his coworkers had carelessly hammered in a few months earlier during construction work at Matsuura, to make it easier to drag high-voltage cables.
He thought about it and felt it made sense. No matter how impressive the construction of Saionji Temple was, the objective law of a short construction period could not be changed.
The Saionji family forcibly completed the replacement of the entire building's interior design and security system in a very short period of time, severely compressing the construction schedule. The newly arrived team must have focused all their attention on the surveillance setup of the core meeting room and VIP passage, which is why they didn't have time to manually check the remaining physical blind spots on the second basement level one by one.
It was this frantic rush to complete the work in order to hold the banquet on schedule that gave him the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
He quietly entered the fortress by stepping on the cement steps where wages had not been settled.
Yamada turned his head to the side and observed the scene outside through the crack in the half-open door of the staff passageway in the corridor.
Several waiters in sharp uniforms were pushing heavy silver carts briskly across the aisle. On the carts, crystal-clear, fresh Hokkaido sea urchins and caviar from the Caspian Sea were piled on huge bone china plates, garnished with thin slices of expensive French black truffles.
The luxurious aroma seeped into Yamada's nostrils through the crack in the door. He swallowed hard, instinctively shrinking back, trying to hide himself in the shadows as much as possible, afraid of being discovered by the passing waiters.
As the waiter pushed the food cart away, Yamada slightly moved his numb legs. Following the corner ahead in the corridor, near the outer edge of the banquet hall, the door to a secluded smoking room was half-open.
Several presidents of small and medium-sized enterprises who had come down from the front hall to get some fresh air were talking quietly inside.
"A 20 million yen entrance fee... The Saionji family really has a big appetite this time." A company president took a deep drag on his cigarette, his tone full of frustration. "In order to raise this charitable donation to 'buy face,' I sold two CNC machine tools in the factory to a secondhand dealer yesterday at scrap metal prices."
"What can we do?" The other man sighed, stubbing out his cigarette in the sand table on top of the trash can. "The inspectors from the Ministry of Finance are watching, and the banks won't give us loans. If we don't attend this dinner and show the outside world that we have spare money for charity, our suppliers will block the gates of our factory first thing tomorrow morning. This money is for buying our lives."
Yamada crouched in the shadows, listening to every word of the conversation.
Hearing these big bosses complaining about how they were just trying to save face (which he thought was just saving face), his fingers, which were digging into the wall, tightened slightly. The grime under his fingernails scraped against the wall, causing a slight stinging sensation.
Chiba Bank forcibly withdrew its loans, driving President Matsuura to his death and defaulting on the wages owed to the lowest-paid employees. Now, this group of people are using the money from selling their machinery to play this respectable charity game, building on the foundation of those unpaid wages.
A surge of indignation rose in his heart, but in this unfamiliar environment filled with oppressive atmosphere, his body still pressed against the cold wall out of instinctive cowardice.
The banquet had not yet officially started, and the billions of dollars in cash promised in the newspapers had not yet been distributed.
I must continue to lie low here.
He wanted to see it for himself and verify whether the so-called "relief funds" put together by the capitalists would actually end up in the hands of low-level workers like him who were starving to death.
……
Behind the one-way mirror on the second floor of the lobby.
The VIP monitoring room was dimly lit.
Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, escorted by several bodyguards, took a private underground cargo elevator to the second floor and entered the monitoring room.
Kaibu was dressed in a dark black suit today. He walked to the leather swivel chair in the center of the room, faced Saionji Satsuki who was sitting there, and bowed slightly.
"Ms. Saionji," Kaibu began in a low voice, "the Chief Cabinet Secretary has designated tonight's schedule as a 'private, unofficial visit.' News of the Cabinet press conference has also been completely blocked. The zaibatsu and media in the lobby downstairs are still unaware that the Cabinet has intervened in this dinner."
Satsuki sat in a swivel chair, her gaze passing through the one-way glass as she looked down at the elegant banquet hall below.
She looked away, picked up a thin document from the solid wood table in front of her, and handed it to Haibu.
"Lord Kaibu, this is tonight's opening remarks," Satsuki's voice was clear and crisp. "You should be clear about your role tonight."
The current prime minister, head bowed, accepted documents from a young girl with both hands. If this scene were captured by a reporter, it would undoubtedly grab the front page of the newspaper.
Their eyes met briefly in the dim light.
His secret appearance here tonight is the final, massive weight the Saionji family used to crush the group of zaibatsu downstairs.
Once the prime minister personally appears on the main stage to oversee the event, this charity gala, spearheaded by conglomerates, will instantly escalate into a public apportionment of state administrative power. Anyone who dares to be perfunctory in the subsequent donation process will be openly defying the national bailout plan and openly opposing the government.
Moreover, this market rescue is backed by a noble cause. Anyone who dares to disobey will be the first to be condemned by the public.
"I understand." Kaibu put the speech document into the inside pocket of his suit and stepped aside.
Executive Director Endo stepped forward. He laid out a revised "Target Debt Stripping List" on the table.
"Miss, all the invited guests have arrived," Endo reported in a low voice. "Among them, Iwasaki from Mitsubishi and Yagi from Mitsui are near the champagne tower. Yoshiaki Tsutsumi from Seibu is talking with several members of parliament in the center of the hall. Vice President Kagawa from Fuji Bank is on the right side of the buffet table."
He tapped a note below the list.
"The non-performing loan transfer agreements have all been printed out in the private meeting room at the back, and the legal team is ready to go at any time."
Satsuki leaned forward slightly. She extended her index finger and traced it across the list, one item at a time.
Her gaze lingered on the names Mitsubishi and Mitsui for half a second before moving on to the core targets in the center of the list.
"The time has come, Father."
Satsuki picked up the bone china teacup on the table and took a sip of warm black tea. She turned her head and looked down at the hunting grounds below.
Shuichi stood to the side. He straightened the collar of his dark suit and nodded slightly.
"Let's go, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."
Shuichi and Kaibe turned around together, opened the wooden door of the VIP room, and walked towards the spiral staircase connecting to the lobby on the first floor.
Inside the hall below.
On the ceiling, the matrix light sources filtering through Echizen Washi paper created a subtle interplay. The soft lighting around the hall was quietly dimmed, while the warm white lights in the main stage area were sequentially illuminated, naturally drawing the eye to the high platform.
On the semi-circular stage, the orchestra played its last note and quietly put away its bow.
The synchronized changes in light and music quickly silenced the conversations in the hall. Guests stopped what they were doing and turned to look ahead.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the wooden steps was steady and clear.
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes in the audience, Shuichi Saionji and current Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu walked side by side onto the main stage and stood in a bright halo.
The entire banquet hall fell into a deathly silence that lasted for several seconds. Even the sound of breathing was abruptly cut off in that instant.
Front row area.
Yagi of Mitsui and Iwasaki of Mitsubishi exchanged a slight glance. If Kaibu were to appear here, the nature of this banquet would completely change.
Standing in the center of the hall, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who had just been speaking eloquently, slowly froze with a smile. Now he had to consider whether to cut employee salaries again.
As for the presidents of small and medium-sized enterprises on the periphery who were just trying to make up a few numbers to get by, and the vice president of Kagawa who was hiding huge amounts of bad debts.
Their faces turned deathly pale in an instant.
Shuichi walked to the microphone on the main stage.
He extended his right hand, gently grasped the metal stand of the microphone, and pressed it down.
"Sizzle—"
A brief, audible electrical feedback sound suddenly swept across the hall.
This slightly jarring noise shattered the deathly silence of the entire venue.
The media reporters in the audience seemed to wake from a dream. Hundreds of camera flashes went off in a flash in the same second, creating a blinding sea of white light.
The flashes of light captured the various expressions of the prey below the stage, along with the smiling prime minister on the platform, all in one frame at the start of this banquet.