vstars Chapter 28 Takao Shiraishi's Repentance
Chapter 28 Takao Shiraishi's Repentance
Seiji Shiraishi's face darkened.
"Takao."
Did I say something wrong?
Takao Shiraishi sneered.
"You called the bank people over, weren't you just trying to get me to sell you the stocks at a lower price?"
The air in the conference room suddenly tightened.
Kiryu Yaya looked at Shiraishi Takao.
The man in front of me is a typical example of the type of person who emerged after the bursting of the economic bubble.
They believed that assets would always rise, credit would always expand, and tomorrow would always be better than today.
But as the bubble burst and everything became an illusion, they remained immersed in the past, unwilling to wake up.
Takao Shiraishi pulled out a chair and sat down.
"I heard that Mitsubishi is willing to offer 320 million?"
Masakazu Yamada couldn't help but correct him:
"It wasn't Mitsubishi Bank that made the offer; the bank wasn't the buyer of the shares."
Takao Shiraishi waved his hand impatiently.
"It's all the same. The money comes from your bank anyway."
He leaned back, his tone clearly defensive.
"Mr. Kuroda gave me 340 million. You have 20 million less than him, and you still want my cooperation on things like releasing the pledge, changing the name, and getting board approval... Why should I choose you?"
Three hundred and forty million and three hundred and forty million.
There's a shortfall of 20 million yen.
In the height of the bubble economy, many people might not have taken 20 million seriously.
But for Takao Shiraishi, it might have been the last piece of driftwood he could grasp after struggling to escape credit dredging, margin calls, the collapse of golf memberships, and debt collection by securities financing companies.
Seiji Shiraishi whispered his advice:
"Takao, this isn't about money. Kuroda wants the Dojima Cold Storage; that's the foundation of Shiraishi Refrigeration!"
"So what?!"
Takao Shiraishi suddenly raised his head.
"The Dojima Cold Storage is a company asset, and the company belongs to the shareholders. What's wrong with the shareholders selling the assets to make money?"
Seiji Shiraishi's brows furrowed sharply:
Do you know what you're saying?
"Of course I know."
Takao Shiraishi's voice rose a few decibels.
"If I can't repay the money by May 2nd, Yamato will take action against my guarantee, and then I'll have nothing!"
He pointed at Seiji Shiraishi and said fiercely:
"Brother, you've been groomed to inherit the company since you were little. Father took you to the cold storage, introduced you to clients, taught you accounting, and trained you to be his successor. But what about me?"
"These are all the stocks I have."
"So what's wrong with me selling the stocks now?"
Seiji Shiraishi opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.
The meeting room was eerily quiet.
Just then, semi-transparent text appeared before Kiryu Yaya's eyes.
[New life options have been triggered]
[Takao Shiraishi has been pushed to the brink by debt, additional margin calls, and Shuichi Kuroda.]
Your response at this moment will determine the outcome of this equity negotiation.
Option 1: Remain silent and let Shiraishi Seiji continue to persuade his younger brother.
[Reward: 5 yen increase in deposit; negotiations are highly likely to fail]
[Option 2: Directly intervene, pointing out that Kuroda Shuichi's offer was not a lifeline, but rather bait to allow Shiraishi Takao to escalate the failure to the entire Shiraishi family.]
[Reward: Savings increased by 10 yen; Ayako Shiraishi's favorability increased]
[Option 3: In front of Seiji Shiraishi, verbally abuse Takao Shiraishi, exposing his gambler's mentality, self-deception, and the fact that he continues to drag the Shiraishi family down.]
[Reward: Savings increased by 20 yen; Ayako Shiraishi's favorability decreased]
Kiryu Yaya looked at Shiraishi Takao and suddenly said:
"Mr. Takao Shiraishi, please calm down."
Takao Shiraishi turned to look at him.
"Who are you?"
"The Financing Review Division, Kiryu, indeed."
"oh."
Takao Shiraishi sneered.
"A newbie who hasn't even grown up yet dares to interrupt? Mitsubishi Bank is getting worse every day."
Kiryu Yaya ignored his tone and said directly:
"Mr. Takao Shiraishi, why do you think Shuichi Kuroda was willing to pay an extra 20 million? It's because he's not just buying your 28% stake, but also the future of Shiraishi Refrigeration."
"In this future, there will be no jobs for Shiraishi Refrigeration employees, nor will there be a place for you as a member of the Shiraishi family."
"There's only one thing—"
"That means you have to hand over the company your father left behind to an outsider."
Takao Shiraishi's expression gradually turned ugly.
He suddenly stood up.
"What do you know, you newbie at the bank!"
The chair slid backward with a jarring sound after being hit.
"Do you know how it felt when Daiwa Securities kept chasing me for margin calls? Do you know how it felt when people from a financing company called my home? Do you know how people who used to play golf with me now treat me like I'm a plague?"
His voice grew louder and louder.
"Of course you can say nice things!"
"Mitsubishi Bank is sitting here, my brother is sitting here, and you both say you want to protect the company!"
"And what about me?"
"I lost money, I'm being chased by creditors, I can't sleep at night, every time I close my eyes I see margin call notices!"
"Kuroda, at least give me cash!"
"What are you giving me?"
No one spoke in the meeting room.
Ayako Shiraishi's eyes were already red.
Seiji Shiraishi lowered his head, his hands resting on his knees, suppressing the grief in his heart.
Kiryu Yaya looked at Shiraishi Takao.
After a moment, he slowly said:
"Mr. Shiraishi".
"It's hard to admit defeat."
Shiraishi Takao was stunned.
Kiryu Yaya continued:
"But what's harder than admitting defeat is stopping before you drag others down with you."
The meeting room fell silent.
"Losing money in the stock market is your failure."
"Adding margin is your failure."
"Pledging 28% of White Stone Refrigeration's shares is also a failure on your part."
"These things have already happened."
Kiryu Yaya's voice was calm as water, yet it was like nails being driven into the air one by one.
"But if you sell your shares to Kuroda Shuichi, causing Dojima Cold Storage to be demolished, Shiraishi Refrigeration to lose its business foundation, employees to lose their jobs, and President Shiraishi's reputation built over two decades to be ruined by a single vote at the shareholders' meeting—"
"Then it's not just your failure."
"That's because you turned your own failure into the failure of the entire Shiraishi Refrigeration unit, and into the failure of the Shiraishi family."
Takao Shiraishi stood still, his chest heaving violently.
Kiryu Yaya didn't force him to sit down, but simply pushed the draft equity transfer agreement to the center of the table.
"The bank's plan is indeed 20 million less than Kuroda Shuichi's."
"However, the bank's plan can also help you repay the debts of the Daiwa Securities Group financing company, release the pledge on the shares, repay the 30 million yen loan to Kuroda, and release the purchase reservation, delegation of voting rights and penalty clauses."
"In other words, from the moment the execution is completed, you will no longer be chased by Daiwa Securities for additional margin, no longer be pursued by financing companies for debt, no longer be led by Kuroda Shuichi, and no longer have to bear the pain of betraying the Shiraishi family and regret it for the rest of your life."
"You'll get less money, but you can have peace of mind."
Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment.
"Mr. Shiraishi, this is not to let you win."
"This is to help you cut your losses."
Takao Shiraishi's fingers trembled slightly.
Stop loss.
That word struck him.
Those who trade stocks certainly know about stop-loss orders.
But very few people can actually do it.
Many people during the bubble era believed that if prices could just hold on a little longer, they would definitely come back.
The more you stretch it, the bigger the hole gets.
The less willing you are to cut your losses, the more you will ultimately lose.
Takao Shiraishi was that kind of person.
He had hated himself countless times for not choosing to cut his losses when he was only experiencing small, floating losses.
If he had done that, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
Takao Shiraishi slowly sat back down in his chair.
He looked down at the agreement, his voice a little hoarse.
"Three hundred and twenty million, Kuroda's side has three hundred and forty million, a difference of twenty million..."
"Yes."
Kiryu Yaya did not deny it.
Takao Shiraishi chuckled, but there was no ease in his laughter, only embarrassment.
"You're honest, aren't you?"
Kiryu Yaya slowly said:
"Banks cannot convince customers by concealing risks."
Takao Shiraishi looked up at Seiji Shiraishi.
"elder brother."
Seiji Shiraishi looked up.
"Takao."
Takao Shiraishi stared at him for a long time.
"Do you really want to buy back my shares?"
Seiji Shiraishi's voice was very low.
"It's not that we want to buy it back, it's that we have to buy it back."
Takao Shiraishi's lips twitched.
"You're still the same as ever, your words are never pleasant."
Seiji Shiraishi did not refute this.
After a moment, he slowly said:
"Longfu, I'm not here to steal your stocks."
"I want to save Shiraishi Refrigeration from Kuroda's hands."
He paused.
The sound became softer.
"I also wanted to pull you back from your mistakes."
Shiraishi Takao's shoulders trembled violently.
The conference room was so quiet that it was as if all other sounds had faded away.
Looking at his younger brother, Shiraishi Seiji seemed to finally speak out what he had kept in his heart for many years.
"After my father passed away, I always felt that I had to protect the company."
"So I do everything myself: reviewing accounts, meeting clients, running around cold storage, repairing equipment."
"I thought that as long as I could keep the company afloat, I would have done right by my father."
He lowered his head, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"But I might be wrong too."
"I didn't ask you if you wanted to join the company, nor did I listen carefully to what you had to say."
"I just think you don't understand business and shouldn't interfere."
"Perhaps that's why you're going out more and more, and trying to prove yourself with stocks, real estate, and golf memberships."
Takao Shiraishi's eyes gradually reddened.
Seiji Shiraishi looked at him.
"Takao."
"I can't let you sell the Dojima Cold Storage to Kuroda."
"But you are my brother."
"This won't change because of how much money you've lost or what mistakes you've made."
Takao Shiraishi lowered his head.
His hands were on the table, clenching and unclenching, unclenching and unclenching again.
Time passed little by little.
Finally, as if all his strength had been drained away, he said in a hoarse voice:
"Bring me a pen."
Seiji Shiraishi suddenly raised his head.
Chihaya Yuri pushed the prepared documents over.
Company Transfer Agreement
Transferor: Takao Shiraishi.
Transferee: Seiji Shiraishi.
Target: Shiraishi Refrigeration Co., Ltd., with a 28% stake.
Transfer price: 320 million yen.
Stop condition:
I. Mitsubishi Bank Osaka Branch officially commenced corporate financing for Shiraishi Refrigeration Co., Ltd.;
2. The bridge loan obtained by Mitsubishi Bank Osaka Branch for Seiji Shiraishi's personal equity has been formally executed.
3. Daiwa Securities Group financing companies released their pledge on the shares held by Takao Shiraishi;
IV. Kansai City Development Co., Ltd.'s termination of the purchase reservation right, decision-making right delegation and related liquidated damages clauses;
5. The board of directors of Shiraishi Refrigeration Co., Ltd. approved the share transfer and completed the change of ownership register.
Takao Shiraishi picked up his pen.
He paused for a few seconds, as if finally realizing that this transaction would completely change the connection between him and the 28% stake his father had left him.
Then he continued writing.
Takao Shiraishi.
The four characters are finished.
He then took the seal.
The vermilion print fell onto the paper.
thump.
The sound was very soft.
But it was like a stone that had been hanging for a long time, finally falling to the ground.
Seiji Shiraishi also signed his name and stamped the seal.
From this moment on, Takao Shiraishi himself had made his choice.
Instead of selling the 28% stake to Kansai City Development, he returned it to the Shiraishi family, specifically to his older brother, Seiji Shiraishi.
After signing the document, Shiraishi Takao sat there with his head down, not moving for a long time.
After handing the document to Chihaya Yuri, Shiraishi Seiji was about to say something.
Suddenly, Takao Shiraishi stood up.
Then, facing Seiji Shiraishi, he bowed deeply, his forehead touching the table:
"Brother, I'm sorry."
Seiji Shiraishi almost froze.
Shiraishi Takao's shoulders trembled, and his voice became hoarse as he said:
"I regret it so much. I regret gambling away the shares my father left me. I know nothing, but I always thought I was smarter than you."
I'm jealous of you.
"You're jealous that your father trusts you, jealous that your clients only recognize you, and jealous that your employees all call you president."
"So I want to win something outside, whether it's stocks, real estate, golf memberships... I just want to prove that I'm not the useless second son of the Shiraishi family."
At this point, Takao Shiraishi's voice finally broke down:
"But I lost. After losing, I even wanted to sell the Dojima Cold Storage as well. If Father knew, he would be very disappointed, wouldn't he?"
Seiji Shiraishi's eyes instantly reddened.
He stood there, his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Takao Shiraishi remained hunched over, as if he had no face left to look up.
The next second, Seiji Shiraishi grabbed his shoulder.
That's enough.
Seiji Shiraishi pulled him up with force.
"Stop looking down."
"If your father could see that you have turned back today, he would never be disappointed."
Takao Shiraishi raised his head, tears already streaming down his face.
Looking at his younger brother, tears finally streamed down Shiraishi Seiji's face.
"You idiot."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Like a child whose defenses had been shattered, Takao Shiraishi finally couldn't hold back any longer and raised his hand to cover his face.
"I'm too ashamed to say it..."
"I'm so ashamed to say it..."
Seiji Shiraishi closed his eyes and reached out to hug him.
Two men, no longer young, embraced tightly in a conference room on the fifth floor of Mitsubishi Bank, just as they had many years ago before they separated, before the inheritance, before the rift.
Ayako Shiraishi stood to the side, tears silently streaming down her face.
She didn't disturb her father and uncle, but simply wiped her face with the back of her hand, trying her best not to cry out loud.