sbdcsierra Chapters 1355 and 1364: The Tree Friend's Opponent – How Much Pressure Must There Be?!
Chapters 1355 and 1364: The Tree Friend's Opponent – How Much Pressure Must There Be?!
Chapters 1355 and 1364: The Tree Friend's Opponent – How Much Pressure Must There Be?!
Xingjiahua, who had been on holiday since Christmas and had been resting for almost a week, came to work at the Tree Friends Building early.
As someone working in the administration department, she needs to start planning New Year's visits to various partner companies, or rather, delivering auspicious gifts for the new year.
In Japan, there are also unspoken rules among companies that resemble personal relationships. A company is a human-like entity, and companies not only have business dealings but also social interactions, which can even be described as friendships.
Therefore, once a business relationship is established between two companies, it usually lasts for a very long time.
"The flower basket should be sent to Kadokawa first, and either Otomo-san or Naoki-san should pay a visit."
In the office, Hoshino Kaori and Hayano Riko from the General Affairs Department were making plans together.
"The major TV stations also went there as soon as work resumed, even though they were still working on holidays."
"In addition, there are major media outlets and newspapers."
"Movie Studio"
"."
Actually, these were all planned out before the Lunar New Year. Since we had the list from previous years, we could just follow the same pattern this year, only adding the companies that joined last year.
"The gifts are all prepared, and the flower basket will be delivered by the florist tomorrow; it's full of fresh flowers."
Hayano Riko said,
"Besides a few large companies, Xing Jiahua and I will visit the other partners together."
As the face of the company, the administration and general affairs departments can indeed represent the company to deliver flower baskets at this time.
"Hi"
After aligning her granularity with Hayano Riko, Hoshika prepared to return to the front desk and begin other New Year preparations, such as contacting a cleaning company for a thorough cleaning.
However, when she passed by the animation floor on the fifth floor, she was surprised to find that there were already many people gathered around a workstation, having a heated discussion.
"Minister Aoyama?"
Hoshino Hana walked up to Gosho Aoyama.
"Have you all returned to work yet?"
"Ah, Section Chief Xingjia, you're back too!"
Gosho Aoyama turned his head and saw Hoshino Kaori, a smile spreading across his face as he began to explain.
"Our animation department has a new movie coming out, so most of us came back early."
He pointed excitedly at the newspaper on his workstation and said:
"Just received great news! 'My Neighbor Totoro' has grossed 500 million yuan in its opening week!!!"
"Only five hundred million?"
Xing Jiahua didn't immediately understand what they were so happy about. She was a veteran who had been with Shuyou Pictures since its inception, and she was used to seeing other Shuyou Pictures films consistently gross over a billion yuan in their opening week.
The only one with a slightly lower box office is probably Shuichi Itō's art film "The Blue Sea," which seems to have only grossed 600 million. Even Naoki Nagayama's art films, like "April Story," had a first-week box office of nearly 1 billion.
"What do you mean, only 500 million?!"
Gosho Aoyama was somewhat defensive. Although the film market had expanded rapidly in recent years along with the booming economy, and box office revenue had soared, with more and more films grossing over 100 million, Aoyama's performance was somewhat affected.
However, a box office of over 500 million in the first week is still an excellent result!
"Hoshiga-san's 'My Neighbor Totoro' is really amazing!"
"Ah," Hoshika finally realized, "Secretly, I've seen Naoki-san's movies make billions."
"."
Upon hearing this, both Gosho Aoyama and Hayao Miyazaki, who had just wanted to refute, immediately lost their desire to do so.
Yes, Naoki Nagayama's movies make billions, while theirs only made 500 million. There's really nothing to brag about or be dissatisfied with.
"Ah, I have something to do here, so I'll head down now!"
Seeing that her words had rendered the entire animation department speechless, Xing Jiahua stuck out her tongue and quickly made an excuse to leave.
Once only his own people remained in the animation section, Gosho Aoyama patted Hayao Miyazaki on the shoulder:
"Don't worry. The animated film industry is just getting started. In the future, TreeFriend Animation will definitely be more famous than TreeFriend Pictures."
"Um"
Hayao Miyazaki nodded, then looked at Gosho Aoyama.
"Besides 'Slam Dunk,' what new projects does the animation department have for the new year?"
"Now that 'My Neighbor Totoro' is finished, our illustrators can also help out."
"A new project."
Gosho Aoyama glanced at his partner, Yoshihiro Togashi.
"Togashi seems to have several ideas related to X-rays, Hunters, and the like."
"We'll need to discuss with Naoki-san in the new year before we can decide which specific direction to take!"
After listening, Hayao Miyazaki nodded:
"Actually, I also have some ideas about fantasy manga with witches. Let's wait for Naoki-san to come back before deciding on our key projects for the coming year!"
"Ok!"
Gosho Aoyama is full of confidence.
"I believe that the future of our Tree Friends Animation is bright!"
"Yeah yeah!"
Of the three offices on the top floor, Shuichi Itō also had one. Today, he returned to his office and was working on his "Cultural Nation-Building Strategy" on his computer.
"How can it be repaired?"
Shuichi Itō scratched his head.
"Besides movies, TV series, music, and theater, it seems like sports are included too."
"Naoki-san also said that the anime industry may even become the most important component in the future."
"What else is there?!"
"This is really tough on me!"
Shuichi Itō kept pulling at his hair, feeling that if this continued, he might follow in Otomo's footsteps and start to develop a receding hairline!
"No, I can't develop such a grand strategy on my own!"
After much deliberation, Shuichi Itō decided that he would also delegate the tasks to others!
"The Prime Minister has a team of advisors, so it's understandable that I, as a planning committee member of the ruling party, would also seek out some think tanks!"
"When the New Year comes, let's just find a few undergraduates specializing in policy research from university political science departments. No, let's find some professors."
Shuichi Itō stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"By the way, we could also find some underappreciated members within the Social Democratic Party."
"Also, it seems we could invite Yoshihiko Noda to join the discussion. If Doi-san adopts this proposal, it would be a very important qualification for a politician!"
Thinking about this made Shuichi Itō feel much better!
As a superior, the key is to learn how to delegate tasks effectively!
Just as he was pondering, there was a sudden knock on the office door, and Xing Jiahua peeked in:
"Xiuyi-san! Happy New Year!"
"Ah, Hana-chan. Happy New Year." Itō Shuu nodded. "What's wrong?"
"what!"
Xing Jiahua immediately explained,
"I came to check on the top-floor office and was preparing to clean it. I didn't expect to see Shuichi-san here!"
".I see"
Itō Osamu paused for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled. Indeed, he hadn't been to this office in a long time.
Since focusing on the film association last year, he has often worked in the association's headquarters on the fourth floor. Now that he has turned to politics, he uses it even less frequently than Naoki Nagayama.
"The office is very well maintained; there's nothing dirty or messy!"
"That's good"
Xing Jiahua nodded and prepared to take her leave.
"Shuichi-san, you can continue with your work. I went to check other places. The propaganda department was there all holiday; the hygiene situation must be far from satisfactory."
Just as Hoshika was about to leave, Itō Shuichi suddenly called out to her:
"Qiudou Madai. Huajiang, you mean the publicity department didn't get a holiday because of the promotion of 'My Neighbor Totoro,' right?!"
"Hi!"
Xing Jiahua nodded.
"Besides the publicity department, people from the animation department also came."
"Oh, I see. How's the box office performance of 'My Neighbor Totoro'?"
"I heard that the box office reached 500 million in its opening week."
Xing Jiahua scratched her face somewhat awkwardly.
"For specific data, Xiu-yi-san, you should ask the publicity department. I don't know either."
"Okay~"
Shuichi Itō waved for Kaika Hoshino to leave, then sighed with emotion.
Five hundred million!
Since focusing on associations and politics, I've paid much less attention to the tree-loving community's core business than before.
"I didn't expect the anime club to have developed so much!"
At this point, a spark suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Hey? Isn't Tree Friend's animation department the perfect example of the 'Cultural Nation-Building Strategy'?!"
Shuichi Itō stood up, somewhat excited.
"Given my relationship with the tree friends, I can definitely use them as a testing ground!"
Just like certain special economic zones and pilot programs, the implementation of a national governance strategy must first undergo small-scale trials!
Such trials often mean policy support and resource allocation. Many large state-owned enterprises and other important companies in the country have achieved this in this way!
"Including Tree Friends Animation in the support program would undoubtedly benefit the development of Tree Friends!"
Shuichi Itō became more and more excited as he thought about it. If this was the case, then his move into politics was absolutely the right one!
"I'll call Naoki-san and the others tonight. Tomorrow I'll discuss the feasibility of this plan with Naoki-san and Otomo-san!"
Once a person comes up with a good idea, they can't sit still!
Since there was no one to share with at the moment, Shuichi Itō had to hold back and stood up to walk towards the publicity department.
He wanted to understand the data from "My Neighbor Totoro" in detail, as it was an important sample!
The staff in the publicity department are always busy. The phone rings constantly, the fax machine is constantly printing, and the sound of pens scratching on paper is incessant.
All kinds of data and feedback from all over the country need to be compiled into the publicity department. After starting work, there will be even more of this communication and exchange!
"Shuichi-san?!" "Director Itō!" "What brings you here?!"
Shuichi Itō's arrival surprised everyone. At this time, Shuichi Itō was nominally the person in charge of Tree Friends Pictures and the direct superior of the publicity department!
Eiichiro Watanabe heard the commotion and quickly came out to greet them:
"Shuichi-san, are you back at work already?!"
"No, I just came to take a look today."
Shuichi Itō waved his hand.
"How's 'My Neighbor Totoro' doing at the box office? 500 million?"
"Actually, there isn't 500 million."
Eiichiro Watanabe shook his head.
"It was Otomo-san who instructed us to use this line in the publicity."
"Oh why?"
Shuichi Itō was somewhat curious.
"My Neighbor Totoro must be pretty good, right?"
"The main reason was that the premiere coincided with a re-release of 'Love Letter'," Eiichiro Watanabe said with a wry smile. "Going to see 'Love Letter' on the first snow of the year symbolizes love and such, and many young people were drawn to it."
"It's been snowing non-stop. And there are 'Snow Flower' posters everywhere. This movie has stolen the entire Christmas and Lunar New Year movie season."
"."
Upon hearing this, Itō Shuichi couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, even if Naoki-san doesn't have any new works at the end of the year, he still makes the film industry feel like it's facing a formidable enemy!"
"Yes, Naoki-san!"
Eiichiro Watanabe's tone was full of admiration.
"Spring is just around the corner, and soon the temperature will rise and the cherry blossoms will bloom. 'April Story' may also be re-released on a small scale."
"In the summer, there were 'A Quiet Summer' and 'Kikujiro's Summer'."
"Departures" is probably more suitable for autumn.
"There's also 'Ghost,' a film for romantic holidays, and 'The Ring,' a film for Halloween."
Listening to Eiichiro Watanabe's rambling, it seemed as if Naoki Nagayama was going to occupy every single slot in Japan all year round.
"Hahaha, Eiichiro-kun, you should be happy!"
Itō Shuichi explained,
"You're a member of Tree Friends. If you were Tree Friends' competitor, how much pressure would you be under?! Think about the publicity and distribution pressure that other film production companies face!"
"Haha, that's right!"
Eiichiro Watanabe also laughed.
After talking for a while, Itō Osamu began to ask about audience feedback on "My Neighbor Totoro" and the current acceptance of animated films. He even inquired about the overseas distribution of the anime.
After obtaining firsthand information, Shuichi Itō became increasingly confident in his strategy of "building a nation through culture".
After spending a night at his hometown, Naoki Nagayama, along with Natsuka and Akina, stopped by Qinglai on their way back to pay a New Year's visit to his wife's family.
Now, all of Nakamori's children are independent, except for Nakamori Akiho, who is unmarried and still lives with her mother. Moreover, Nakamori Akio did not even come back for the New Year, so they are completely separated.
But it doesn't really matter. The emotional connection between the children has always been through their mother-in-law, Chieko. As for the other side, sending a gift will suffice.
They had lunch at Qinglai, and then returned to Yama-oya-in in the afternoon.
Upon entering, I was greeted with a warm welcome from the dog. It felt like an eternity had passed since I last saw it, and the dog was incredibly enthusiastic.
"Yoshi, yoshi Eitaro is a good boy!"
Naoki Nagayama stroked the dog's head, opened the trunk to get the local specialties his mother had prepared, and at that moment, the butler, Afuku, quickly came over to help:
"Naoki-san, I'll take care of these~ You go help Madam and Hana-chan~"
"Thank you very much!"
The New Year holiday is basically over, the housekeeper has returned to work, and even the nanny, Nonaka Mari, will be back tomorrow.
Once inside the living room, the heating kept all the cold air out, and the two adults and one child all felt much more relaxed.
The little guy immediately went excitedly to find Nyantaro in the cat bed, because he used to sleep with the orange cat and missed it terribly after a day apart.
"Finally, I can get some rest!"
Akina leaned back on the sofa, wanting to sink into the soft cushions.
"Yes, the tedious New Year celebrations are finally mostly over!"
Naoki Nagayama also sat down, though he himself wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this custom of only visiting each other during the New Year period.
People who are truly close would never only contact each other once a year; they would definitely see each other frequently. As for those who aren't close, there's even less reason for them to meet.
"Next"
Turning his head to look at his wife's increasingly prominent belly, Naoki Nagayama reached out and touched it.
"I'm just staying home and taking good care of myself during my pregnancy!"
"That will take another six months!"
Akina held Naoki Nagayama's hand, somewhat wistfully.
"Like Hua Jiang, it was born in the summer!"
"Yeah~"
"Naoki-san, have you chosen a name yet?"
Not yet~ We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl.
"Then I'll go for a checkup in a few days!"
"."
At this moment, Xiaoxia Hua dragged the reluctant Nyantaro to their side, huffed and puffed as she climbed onto the sofa, then hugged the orange tabby and lay down between them. After looking left and right, she closed her eyes.
"I'm going to go to bed!"
"?"
(End of this chapter)