Chapitre 11: Irresistible business
"Think of it as me renting a space here to advertise, and of course, if you find this thing good in the future, you can also directly approach me for a purchase," Takayuki smiled as he introduced himself to the bald-headed manager in front of him.
But what Takayuki was particularly interested in was why the bald-headed manager had a red mark in the middle of his head.
Was it some special decoration? Or a trace left by a massage similar to cupping therapy?
At this point, Sayuri had already retreated behind Takayuki, her face slightly reddening.
It turns out she wasn't really suited for sales-related work.
She had mustered the courage to say something just now.
But a single glance and a hand chop had immediately put her at a disadvantage.
"Renting a small space? That's no problem."
¥10,000 per day wasn't much, but it wasn't little either, just enough to cover the salary of one or two regular employees.
Moreover, this young man seemed confident and wasn't just talking for the sake of it.
"This is the rent for the first month, I can pay in advance, then it's up to you, Mr. Manager."
Takayuki pulled out a bundle of ¥300,000 already tied up from his pocket.
He had prepared several such bundles in advance.
Next, he would need to go to several other stores and prepare to use the same spiel.
Takayuki was confident that these stores had no reason to refuse.
After all, no one would refuse money placed right in front of them, even if it wasn't much.
"As for this, I can agree, but I'd like to ask if this thing is for children to play with?" At this point, the manager was obviously tempted.
Giving a month's rent upfront, this was quite generous of the young man.
And judging by his demeanor, he was definitely not some poor guy.
In these bleak times, their entertainment hall wasn't doing particularly well either, just barely balancing income and expenses. After all, he still needed to provide a portion of it to the yakuza to ensure the safety of his establishment.
He really had no reason to refuse.
"Yes, but I think there might also be some adults interested in this game. However, I hope you can manage it well and not let the children be influenced by the adults."
"Of course, this isn't a gambling machine, right?"
"No, it's just for entertainment. If kids want to play, they just need to insert a ¥100 coin here."
Takayuki pointed to a coin slot next to the gaming machine.
That was installed before they came.
Each ¥100 coin would provide three lives. Once depleted, they would need to insert another coin to continue playing.
Meanwhile, Takayuki had also built a ranking system into the game. When the game started, the ranking would be prominently displayed to stimulate players' competitiveness to some extent.
"Good, this does seem like a good deal. I can place this TV game machine next to the gashapon machines. However, I can't guarantee if anyone will come to play. And I won't refund the rent you've given me."
Takayuki smiled and nodded, "Of course, I would never do something foolish like that."
The manager happily accepted the gaming machine and arranged for a staff member to power it up.
Then he looked at Takayuki again, "So, do you need any banners or promotional materials? I can help with that, but of course, there might be some extra service charges."
"Oh, that's not necessary. I think kids will come to play in the next couple of days."
Kids will come to play? Why did it sound like the children were already familiar with this gaming machine?
But he hadn't heard of such a thing as TV games recently.
The manager couldn't help but look at the several electronic arcade machines that were already gathering dust in the corner. They had similar games on them, but since he bought them, almost no one had used them.
He didn't think anyone would be interested in this thing.
But since someone was paying, he had no reason to refuse.
After sealing the deal, Takayuki and Sayuri left the entertainment hall.
"Takayuki-san, I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
"Trouble? No, no, the negotiation went smoothly. You don't need to apologize; you did well."
"Well... actually, before you came..."
"Hm? What happened?" Takayuki asked, tilting his head.
"It's nothing."
Sayuri felt too embarrassed to say it in the end.
Because her previous behavior was a bit shameful.
"Alright, don't worry about it. Let's move on to the next place. Would you like to continue driving?"
"Yes, of course!"
Sayuri now felt that only by driving could she be of some use.
Suddenly, she really wished she could stay up all night with Takayuki studying how to make these so-called gaming machines.
Because that way, she could utilize the knowledge she had learned and not feel like a useless person.
"Okay, the next place isn't far, just a few blocks away."
Takayuki pointed to another mark on the map.
...
Takayuki and Sayuri spent about a whole day running around Tokyo's main city area, roughly visiting several lively entertainment halls.
And without exception, the managers there readily agreed to Takayuki's terms.
They could directly provide a month's cash rent, and they only needed to occupy a small space in their stores, with no reason to refuse at all.
Moreover, Takayuki also mentioned that if they found this thing profitable, they could discuss buying it later, so they didn't have to worry about it suddenly stealing their business and losing money to outsiders.
Until evening, Takayuki and Sayuri finally returned home.
Sayuri tiredly slipped into the bathtub, hugging her knees and burying half of her face in the water, seemingly lost in thought.
Because Takayuki's house was large enough, there were three bathrooms. Sayuri was arranged by Takayuki to stay in the innermost bedroom on the second floor, which came with a bathroom and bathtub, with meals provided.
Such considerate bosses were almost extinct now, and Takayuki had always treated her with respect, otherwise Sayuri wouldn't have moved into a man's house like this.
As for Takayuki, he had already begun considering promoting at the park tomorrow.
Recently, he often ran into some kids who recognized him.
And the first thing they said when they met was where the gaming machine was and which park he would be setting up at today.
But Takayuki just gave them a mysterious smile and said he wouldn't be setting up for now, but if they wanted to play, they should prepare some pocket money.
After all, Takayuki couldn't always play the role of a philanthropist. The losses he incurred before were enough, and now it was time to massively promote the places where kids could play with the gaming machines.
With the kids on winter break recently, they had nothing to do, and they needed the gaming machine as a way to pass the time.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone