Chapter 021: A Drop in the Bucket

January 1, 1998, the beginning of the new year. According to the content of the contract, this was the day that Masayoshi Kishimoto made his first transfer of money to NCSoft Online Game Company.

He arrived early at a Mitsui Bank near the Taito District and lined up for the transaction. To his own great surprise Chinese old people like to start lining up to withdraw money and whatnot before the bank doors are even opened.

This RB old man, too, likes to do the same. They really do go to bed early and get up early for good health and longevity. Only, living too long might not be a good thing.

Inside Masayoshi Kishimoto’s head, he couldn’t help but think of a book he had read before he traveled across the world, “Bankruptcy in Old Age: The Nightmare of Longevity”, published by NHK, which was about the elderly in RB.

One of the lines that still sticks in his mind is when one of the old men in the book said that he would kill himself if he didn’t die when he had spent all his money.

Masayoshi Kishimoto, while sighing and lamenting, once again firmly believed in the words of Soros, I was born penniless, but I must not die still poor and destitute.

When the loudspeaker inside the bank read his name, he walked towards the counter and sat down without hurry. He took out his bankbook and handed it to the other man with a lift of his hand.

RB’s commercial banks do not have thick bulletproof glass, so there is no chance that in the event of a bank robbery, the bank staff will let the customers become hostages of the robbers, causing them to be safe and sound behind the thick bulletproof glass.

This is not the case with Chinese commercial banks, where thick bulletproof glass is standard. This is something that even commercial banks in the United States, where guns are legalized, can’t do.

In addition, the KFC in Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, also has a thick bullet-proof glass like the banks in China, and the window for withdrawing money has become a window for withdrawing food.

It didn’t take long for Masayoshi Kishimoto to finish his personal business of transferring money. He put away the bankbook and his personal seal and got up to leave.

In RB, in addition to signatures, the private seal is a very important thing, and it is commonly used. Whether you are a national or a foreigner, you need one.

When Masayoshi Kishimoto walked out of the bank’s front door, he saw snowflakes starting to fall from the sky. He extended his right palm and even went to catch it.

Masayoshi Kishimoto stepped forward and instead of choosing to go straight home, he walked into a small street side store that he used to frequent in the past.

As soon as he entered, the store owner greeted him with a warm smile, “It’s been a long time. It’s been some days since you came to my place!”

“I sold the bouncy house.” Masayoshi Kishimoto directly explained the reason why he hadn’t come back to this store recently to eat and drink, saying.

“Oh, are you planning to retire early?” The shopkeeper said in disbelief.

“There is no such thing as that one good fortune. I’m going to be going out on a long trip, walking up to America.” Masayoshi Kishimoto really wasn’t being credulous.

He has already put this year’s investment focus object is selected in the United States California San Francisco Bay Area, Stanford University side of a project Road.

Kishimoto justice for the internal layout of the above shape as “Late Night Dining Hall” inside the kind of pattern of the Japanese-style store, do not feel low compulsion, on the contrary, let himself feel very Japanese culture and mood.

The only difference is that the owner of the store in Late Night Diner does business from midnight to early morning, while this shop only does business during the day.

The owner of the store is a good man, or rather a family man, who closes the shop early as soon as it reaches six in the afternoon and doesn’t do nighttime business. Every morning at six o’clock, the place was already open for business.

Masayoshi Kishimoto found a seat at the far left and was instantly attracted by the steaming hot kantochi. Eating hot food in the middle of winter was naturally something that was extremely beneficial to the body.

“First give me one each of radish, tofu, fishball, and bamboo wheel. By the way, bring me another cup of sake.” Masayoshi Kishimoto said as he looked at the lattice cauldron of Kanto Boil that was steaming with white mist.

After the shopkeeper understood, he immediately took an empty bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other and served what was asked for. He served the four items of Kanto Boiled food that the other party needed, and then went and poured a cup of sake for the other party and brought it to him.

At this time, the store’s television was broadcasting the Korean people in order to deal with the Asian financial turmoil is spontaneous donation of gold, dollars and other hard currency to save the country.

“I really didn’t expect that Koreans are also very united!” The shopkeeper looked at the picture on the TV screen and sighed with emotion.

“A drop in the bucket.” Masayoshi Kishimoto blurted out as he held a glass filled with sake in his right hand.

The shopkeeper turned sideways and looked at him again, saying with interest, “Tell me about it!”

“Last year, November 11, 1997, on that day, Korea’s foreign exchange reserves were only 3.84 billion U.S. dollars, and two weeks later, the foreign debt that needed to be repaid amounted to 10 billion U.S. dollars.

South Korea also needed $12 billion a year to import essential foodstuffs from foreign countries. on December 3, 1997, when South Korea was almost caught with a knife at its neck, the government accepted the $57 billion bailout package offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) almost unconditionally and in a full package, except for a few of the most central clauses that it did not accept.

Many international media outlets used the city’s record of being forgotten by Santa Claus to capture the Christmas of the people of Seoul. South Korea was the hardest hit of the four Asian dragons.

More than 2 million Koreans donated gold and other discounted value is only a mere 1 billion dollars. Isn’t this comparison a drop in the bucket?

Or maybe it’s a bit more of a show. After all, at this time in the hands of the average Korean citizen, in addition to a large pile of card debt, there is not much money.

Even if Korea survives this Asian financial turmoil, there will be a credit card crisis in the near future. By then, there will be another wave of suicides in Korea, and even the supermarkets will be off the market for charcoal.

The government has once again stepped up to the plate and played the role of savior. For those who have too much personal card debt, they will simply go bankrupt. For those with less card debt, interest reductions and monthly installments were paid off.” Masayoshi Kishimoto tilted his head and drank a large mouthful of sake in the middle of the glass and said.

“What happens if the Korean government doesn’t accept the International Monetary Fund’s $57 billion bailout package?” The shopkeeper asked as his curiosity rose.

“The national economy collapses. At this point, the TV news you’ll see won’t be about South Korean citizens donating gold, dollars, or whatever, but rather about extreme social disorder, vandalism and looting all over the place, and the people will be in a state of mourning.

However, this is not going to happen. Because the Korean government would rather accept the IMF’s offer of a city deal than allow that to happen.

The former is at best a strong arm, while the latter would be a death knell if it were allowed to become a reality.” Justice Kishimoto said without joking at all.