manynovel Chapter 126 The Golden Cage
Chapter 126 The Golden Cage
October 20, 1988, afternoon.
Shiba Park, Minato Ward, Tokyo.
On the top floor of the Ito-Yokado headquarters, there is a little-known tea room called "Quiet Listening".
The rain outside the window continued to fall, showing no sign of stopping despite the arrival of afternoon. The gray curtain of rain shrouded the Tokyo Tower not far away, its red structure appearing somewhat blurred in the mist.
The air in the tea room was dry and warm. The floor was covered with tatami mats that smelled of rushes. A scroll with the words "Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility" hung in the wall niche, and a white camellia with dew was placed in a ceramic vase below.
The charcoal burned silently in the stove, and the water in the iron pot made a soft rustling sound.
Masatoshi Ito knelt in the main seat. This business tycoon, who single-handedly built the Ito-Yokado empire, now resembled a weathered stone statue. His eyes were closed, his hands folded on his knees, and only the occasional trembling of his eyelids revealed the turmoil in his heart.
"Click".
The sliding door to the tea room was pushed open.
Toshifumi Suzuki walked in.
His suit was slightly damp, with undried rain stains on his shoulders. His tie, which was always impeccably tied, was now slightly askew.
But he still kept his back straight.
He took a deep breath, tightened his tie, and tried to make himself look less bad.
Even if he loses the war, he cannot lose his last shred of dignity.
"President."
Suzuki Toshifumi bowed deeply to Ito Masatoshi, his voice hoarse.
Masatoshi Ito slowly opened his eyes, glanced at his most capable assistant with a complicated expression, and then turned his head slightly to look at the other side of the tea room.
"They're here."
Suzuki Toshifumi followed his gaze.
A young girl sat at a guest table in the tea room.
She was wearing the dark blue uniform of St. Hua Academy, her long black hair flowing smoothly down her back. She was focused on the tea whisk in her hand, her wrist deftly turning to create delicate foam in the teacup.
Her movements were elegant and fluid, as if she were not there to negotiate, but to attend an elegant tea party.
Upon hearing the sound, Satsuki stopped what she was doing.
She raised her head, her obsidian-like eyes quietly gazing at Suzuki Toshifumi, a flawless, standard "rich heiress" smile on her face.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Suzuki."
Satsuki placed the prepared matcha on a tray and pushed it to the empty space opposite her with both hands.
"This is freshly arrived Uji matcha, please enjoy."
Suzuki Toshifumi looked at the bowl of emerald green tea and his throat moved.
He walked over and knelt down heavily.
The tea room fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of rain outside the window and the boiling water in the iron pot mingling together.
Suzuki Toshifumi picked up the teacup, but did not drink it.
He stared at his reflection in the tea, his voice hoarse: "Miss Saionji, you win."
"7-Eleven's supply chain has been disrupted. Our inventory will only last until tomorrow morning."
He raised his head, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment, confusion, and deep weariness.
There's only one thing I don't understand.
"Please speak." Satsuki picked up a piece of tea snack and took a small bite.
"Why us?"
Suzuki Toshifumi's voice rose a few decibels, filled with suppressed anger.
"Whether it's FamilyMart or Lawson, you've been courting them, collaborating with them, and investing in them. Why are you using such ruthless tactics against 7-Eleven? Cutting off supplies, smearing us in the media, blocking our logistics... You've pushed us to the brink."
"Is it because I rejected your initial offer? Or is it to retaliate against my arrogance?"
Masatoshi Ito also looked at Satsuki. This was the answer he wanted to know as well.
Satsuki swallowed the snack in her mouth and took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of her mouth.
"revenge?"
She chuckled softly, as if she had heard a funny joke.
"Mr. Suzuki, you underestimate yourself and the Saionji family too much."
She stood up, walked to the French windows, turned her back to the two of them, and looked out at the gray Tokyo.
"Zhong Neigong is an opportunist. He expanded too quickly and his foundation was unstable. As long as you give him money, he will sell his soul to the devil. Tsutsumi Seiji is a poet. Although he has ideals, he is too easy to compromise in the quagmire of business."
"They are tools. Tools that will obey as long as you give them a little something."
Satsuki turned around, the shadow cast by the backlight making her expression appear somewhat ambiguous.
"But you are different."
"You are Toshifumi Suzuki. You created single-item management, you defined the convenience store in Japan. You have your own philosophy, and you possess absolute confidence and pride."
"If it's an equal partnership, you'll never truly conform to S-Food's standards. You'll outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, try to build your own barriers, and sow the seeds of division within my system."
"Besides, didn't you reject me before? Since you rejected the Saionji family, you have to pay a price."
She took a step forward and looked directly into Toshifumi Suzuki's eyes.
"The recipe for that 'Premium Rice Ball' is absolutely amazing. To be honest, if logistics hadn't been physically disrupted, S-Food's mass-produced products wouldn't have been able to beat it."
Suzuki Toshifumi's pupils contracted slightly.
These words were like a warm current, striking the softest spot in his heart. He lost, but his prized product did not.
"Because you are the strongest, I must break your sword first."
Satsuki's voice was calm.
"If it's an equal partnership, you'll never truly conform to S-Food's standards. You'll outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, try to build your own barriers, and sow the seeds of division within my system."
"Only by letting you experience despair, and making you understand how fragile personal experience and intuition are in the face of absolute resource blockade in this new era dominated by capital and data, will you willingly board my chariot."
Suzuki Toshifumi was stunned.
Looking at the teenage girl in front of him, he felt a chill that was hard to describe, but it was also mixed with a complex emotion of being "accepted".
It turns out that in the other party's eyes, he was the only opponent.
"Chariot..." Suzuki Toshifumi murmured the word, "You mean, you want me to be your charioteer?"
"No."
Satsuki shook her head.
"I'm inviting you to be the 'commander' of this tank."
She walked back to the table and took a thick document out of her briefcase.
That was a new contract.
"Mr. Suzuki, do you think all I'm doing is selling a few rice balls?"
Satsuki opened the document and pointed to an architecture diagram on it.
"SA Group's goal is to build a comprehensive lifestyle infrastructure covering all of Japan and even the whole of Asia. We want to control not only convenience stores, but also logistics, finance, data, and even the lifestyle of every Tokyo resident."
"In this grand blueprint, convenience stores are just the 'infantry' responsible for spreading out the network."
"What I need is a 'general' who truly understands retail, is ambitious, and capable, to lead this massive army and show everyone what the Saionji family's standards are."
Suzuki Toshifumi's gaze fell on the document.
Although Satsuki's words were very sweet, the terms of the contract were still suffocating.
1. Data Transparency: 7-Eleven must open the real-time data interface of all POS machines to SA Intelligence.
2. Supply chain integration: Abandon 7-Eleven's own fresh food factory and connect it to the production system of S-Food.
3. Logistics restructuring: 7-Eleven's logistics subsidiary was merged into SA Logistics.
If they sign the agreement, 7-Eleven will completely lose its independence and become just a front desk responsible only for sales.
"That's impossible."
Suzuki Toshifumi clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.
"Without product development rights, what's the difference between 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson? We'll just become identical stores, selling the exact same things."
"That would be the death of 7-Eleven."
Are you worried about homogenization?
Satsuki seemed to have anticipated his reaction.
"S-Food will indeed provide standardized basic products to the three companies. But..."
She held up one finger.
"I did not say that S-Food can only produce one type of product."
"What do you mean?" Suzuki Toshifumi frowned.
"S-Food is a platform, not a rigid factory." Satsuki sat back in her chair, interlacing her fingers and resting them on her chin. "I will turn S-Food into a flexible manufacturing base."
"That 'price killer' in the middle of the internal power, he likes cheap and large quantities. I will have the factory set up a special production line for him, using B-grade raw materials, to produce huge portions of inexpensive 'Mega Series' bento boxes. That's for people who want to save money."
"Seiji Tsutsumi likes to create a sophisticated atmosphere and appreciates culture. I'll have the R&D center make him a 'Seibu co-branded product,' with exquisite packaging and a unique flavor. Even if it doesn't taste good, it has to look good. It's designed for trend-conscious young people."
Satsuki paused for a moment, her gaze falling on Suzuki Toshifumi.
"As for you..."
"I know you are committed to quality."
"Therefore, I will grant you special privileges."
"Of all the raw materials produced by SA's 'S-Farm,' the top 10% premium grade—the freshest vegetables, the most beautifully textured black pork, and the sweetest strawberries—will be supplied to 7-Eleven first."
"S-Food will reserve a 'Gold Label production line' for you. The processing standards there are entirely up to you. Even if you require that every grain of rice has an airy texture, we will do it."
Suzuki Toshifumi's eyes flickered.
The best raw materials. The highest level of craftsmanship.
This is exactly what he has always wanted to do, but has been unable to fully achieve due to cost and supply chain constraints.
"but."
Satsuki changed the subject, her tone becoming more playful.
"That's not enough."
She pulled another piece of paper from the document bag and gently placed it on top of the contract.
The paper had a gold logo printed on it, and below it was written a line of text:
【S-Rank · Strategic-Level Item Dynamic Allocation Protocol】
"What is this?"
"This is the 'Golden Sword' I've prepared for you, and it's also a set of rules for the game."
Satsuki leaned forward, her eyes gleaming.
"Mr. Suzuki, both Nakana and Tsutsumi thought they could rest easy after signing the contract and make money off the Saionji family's supply chain. But I don't support lazy people."
"In this cage, only the strongest lions get to eat the best meat."
"Every three months, S-Food's R&D center will launch a 'killer item'. It could be the ultimate rice ball made with Hokkaido-supplied rice, or a limited-edition dessert supervised by a Michelin three-star chef, or even... it could use top-quality raw materials from the Saionji family's private farm (products from private farms that do not meet standards can be distributed to them)."
"This product will not be distributed equally."
"It will be exclusive."
Suzuki Toshifumi's breathing became rapid.
"At the end of each quarter, we rank the three convenience stores based on their data performance—average transaction value, inventory turnover rate, and new product promotion efficiency."
"The top-ranked company will receive the exclusive sales rights for the 'S-level blockbuster product' in the next quarter."
Satsuki stared at Suzuki Toshifumi and said, word by word:
"Now, all three are on the same starting line. Everyone is using SA's logistics and SA's system. There is no longer any first-mover advantage or special privileges."
"Under such absolutely fair rules..."
"You, the 'God of Retail,' are you still confident you can beat the other two companies?"
Provocation tactic.
A blatant act of provocation.
However, Suzuki Toshifumi felt his heart, which had been dormant, suddenly start beating violently.
This is an open conspiracy.
Satsuki Saionji used this mechanism to turn the three giants into fighting beasts in a cage. In order to obtain that "god-level product" that could ignite customer traffic, they had to desperately optimize management, desperately reduce costs, and desperately please customers.
This is a cage made of gold.
But for Toshifumi Suzuki, this was not just a prison, but an arena to prove himself.
If we don't sign, 7-Eleven will die tomorrow.
If he signs, although he will lose his freedom, he will have unprecedentedly powerful weapons in his hands—the terrifying capital, technology and supply chain of the Saionji family.
He could use these weapons to crush his entire family, to crush Lawson, and to prove that even though everyone was dancing in shackles, the dance steps he, Toshifumi Suzuki, performed were still the most perfect in all of Japan.
He wanted to prove that even with the same weapons, God is still God.
"call……"
Suzuki Toshifumi let out a long breath.
He loosened his clenched fist, his palms covered in cold sweat.
He raised his head and looked at Satsuki.
This time, his eyes held neither hostility nor despair. Instead, they held the fervor of a gambler seeing an unbeatable hand, the excitement of a swordsman finding a peerless sword.
"Can S-Food's R&D capabilities really keep up with my requirements?" Toshifumi Suzuki asked, his voice still hoarse but now carrying a hint of sharpness. "My standards are very high."
"As long as you can sell them."
Satsuki responded with a smile.
"I can build it."
"it is good."
Toshifumi Suzuki no longer hesitated.
He picked up the pen on the table and opened the contract.
He signed his name amidst those clauses that could easily betray 7-Eleven's independence.
The pen tip glides across the paper, making a soft, scratching sound.
This time, his hand was very steady.
Give me three months.
Suzuki Toshifumi closed the folder and pushed it back to Satsuki. His eyes burned with a fierce flame—the flame of revenge, and the flame of ambition.
"Three months from now, I'll make S-Food's premium production line work itself to the bone. I'll show FamilyMart and Lawson that there are some things they'll never learn."
As Ito Masatoshi watched this scene, a hint of relief appeared on his aged face, along with a touch of admiration for the young girl before him.
She not only won.
She also turned the losers into her sharpest knives.
And they were completely convinced.
……
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
The rain stopped.
A crack appeared in the thick clouds, and the afterglow of the setting sun pierced the sky like a golden sword, turning the wet Tokyo into a brilliant orange-red.
Satsuki walked out of the headquarters building of Ito-Yokado.
At the entrance, a black Nissan presidential limousine had been waiting for some time.
Fujita pulled open the car door and helped Satsuki into the car.
"Young Miss, shall we return to the main family?" Fujita asked in a low voice.
Satsuki got into the car, leaned back in the soft leather seat, closed her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing temples.
She didn't like the incense in that tea room; it made her feel dizzy. Was this part of the other party's tactics?
How despicable... Two grown men bullying a pitiful, helpless, and weak girl.
"Miss, did he sign it?" Fujita asked, glancing at Satsuki in the rearview mirror as he started the car.
"Signed."
Satsuki answered softly.
"Will he hate us?" Fujita asked, "After all, we went to such extremes."
The car slowly entered the traffic, and the scenery outside the window began to rush past.
On the roadside, a 7-Eleven signboard had just lit up. The red, green, and orange stripes intertwined in the afterglow of the setting sun and the reflection in the puddles on the road, creating a mesmerizing and magical effect.
Satsuki opened her eyes and looked at the sign.
"Hate? How could that be?"
A faint smile curved her lips.
"For a pure swordsman, as long as he can have a sharper and more indestructible sword, he doesn't care who forged it or whose family crest is engraved on the hilt."
"All he wants now is to take this new sword, charge into the arena, and cut everyone down."
"I'm... someone who respects talent the most."
Satsuki turned her head and looked at the Tokyo night view that was gradually lighting up in the twilight.
Countless lights converge to form a flowing river of light.
The convenience store wars are over.
The Saionji Empire's territory has been expanded once again.