Eri's Troubles (4,000 Words, Includes Romance Thread)

Bandai acted quickly; just a few days later, Mitsui Chuta called.

The experimental mold was successfully tested on the first attempt, proving the new design to be entirely feasible.

Mitsui Chuta's voice on the phone was very excited, which put the entire Bandai Model Business Department into a state of excitement. According to the plan agreed upon with Nakayama Takuya, the new mold design for the Original Gundam 10th Anniversary Edition has been officially put on the agenda.

Nakayama Takuya was not surprised by this. He simply offered a few words of encouragement to Mitsui Chuta over the phone before hanging up.

He already had a grand plan in mind regarding Fangdai.

The current dependence is for future conquest.

The failure of the merger between Sega and Bandai in the previous Bandai stemmed from the fact that Bandai felt Sega couldn't offer much, and instead, Bandai perceived Sega as a greedy robber with an ugly and arrogant desire to swallow them whole, which aroused the shared hatred of the entire Sega team.

But this life is different. He gives Wan advice and helps them solve technical problems, and plans their future, including games, animation, IP operation, and even specific technologies for model development.

Given the Japan's social mentality of admiring strength, Bandai has developed a path dependence on Nakayama Takuya and Sega.

This dependence can develop into trust, or even worship, over time.

All he needs to do is wait quietly for Bandai to make a fatal mistake.

"Nakayama Sang? What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought."

A slender hand waved in front of his eyes, and a gentle voice tinged with a hint of reproach pulled Takuya back to reality from his business thoughts.

He looked up and saw a high-end coffee shop in Ginza, with soft lighting and the rich aroma of Blue Mountain coffee in the air.

Across from her Nakagawa Eri, with a slightly reproachful expression, was gently stirring her coffee with a small spoon, the clinking of the porcelain making a crisp sound.

Today she wore a beige dress, her long hair was tied up, revealing her graceful swan-like neck, exuding the elegance of a well-bred lady.

Takuya then realized how rude it was to be daydreaming in front of the girl he loved.

He smiled apologetically, reached out and took Eri's hand, which was resting on the table. Her hand was slightly cool, delicate and soft.

"Sorry, sorry, I accidentally had a mental meeting. How will you punish me, Eri- san?"

A charming blush rose on Eri's cheeks. Instead of pulling her hand away, she gently grasped it back and whispered reproachfully, "Deputy Director-General Nakayama is extremely busy. It's already an honor for me to have even a little bit of your precious time. How could I dare to punish you?"

Although it was a joke, Takuya still sensed a hint of grievance in his voice.

He tightened his grip on the soft hand in his palm slightly and said sincerely, "I can deal with work anytime after I get back, but I can't waste a single second of the time I spend with you."

These words made Eri blush even more, and her little bit of resentment vanished instantly.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Eri sighed softly, a hint of melancholy creeping into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Takuya keenly noticed the change in her mood. "What's bothering you?"

"It's all the station's fault," Eri said, sounding a bit troubled. "Dad wasn't satisfied with any of the new program proposals submitted by the Variety department. He thought they were too old-fashioned and lacked originality. Now, this task has inexplicably fallen on my shoulders."

As the "princess" of TV Tokyo, she is being consciously pushed into the spotlight by her father and given various forms of training.

"Oh? Tell me about it." Takuya became interested.

"It's nothing more than song and dance shows, food reviews, and comedic sketches—nothing special at all." Eri shook her head. "Dad said that audiences these days are getting more and more discerning. We need a phenomenal program that can get everyone on edge and spark nationwide discussion."

"Sparked nationwide discussion?"

"Yes," Eri nodded, somewhat troubled, "We need to achieve high viewership ratings, but how should we phrase it? The tone can't be too low-brow, and ideally, it should have some positive social message."

Takuya looked at Eri's pretty face, which was filled with "What should I do?", and couldn't help but laugh.

He released her hand, leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and asked mysteriously, "Eri, I have a question for you."

"Huh?" Eri was taken aback by his expression.

Can knowledge be turned into money?

"Of course! Don't scholars, lawyers, and writers all make money with their knowledge?" Eri answered without hesitation.

"No." Takuya shook his finger, his smile widening. "I meant a more direct, more exciting, more dramatic way. For example, answering a few questions and you could get a million, or even ten million Japanese yen."

"Ten million?!" Eri's eyes widened instantly; she was stunned by the number.

"That's right." Takuya snapped his fingers. "My idea is simple: it'll be called ' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'"

"We built a stage that was both technologically advanced and imposing, leaving only a chair for the challenger to face the host and the national audience."

"The rules are brutal and direct: answer 15 multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty in a row to win the grand prize of ten million Japanese yen!"

Eri's breathing became rapid; she could almost see that suffocating stage before her eyes.

"But won't this be criticized as opportunistic?" she raised her concern, revealing her professional producer side. "Good question." Takuya looked at her approvingly. "So we need to make our slogan clear and aboveboard—'We are encouraging everyone to learn!' All the topics come from daily life, history, science, and art—knowledge that anyone who is eager to learn has the opportunity to master. We are simply providing an opportunity to monetize knowledge. We can confidently tell everyone: this is not opportunism, it's a reward for knowledge! If you think it's opportunism, it's because you haven't studied hard enough. You don't even know these things in life, so what right do you have to criticize others? Those who make sarcastic remarks are simply uneducated and jealous of those who earn money through knowledge!"

"Pfft," Eri was amused by his absurd logic, and her worries vanished.

"Furthermore," Takuya continued, "For the sake of the show's effect and humanization, we've set up several 'safeties.' For example, if you answer the fifth question correctly and choose to quit instead of continuing to answer, you're guaranteed to receive a 100,000 Japanese yen kaiseki meal voucher."

This way, even if some participants lack confidence in answering the later questions, they won't go home empty-handed. These prizes can also be used to promote the sponsors' business and products.

"At the same time, we give challengers three opportunities to ask for help: remove two wrong answers, call a friend, or ask the audience on the spot."

"This not only increases the interactivity and suspense of the show, but also gives the audience a strong sense of immersion—'If I were on that show, I would definitely be able to answer this question correctly!' 'How could he be so stupid? He should have chosen C!' When the audience has this illusion of 'I could do that too,' our ratings are guaranteed."

Takuya picked up his coffee, took a leisurely sip, and his composed demeanor, as if he had everything under control, Eri admiration from Eri. "Finally, remember to remind your Legal Department to patent the creative format of this program globally. Believe me, it won't be long before foreign TV stations are lining up to buy the licenses from us."

Hearing Takuya say "we" to her, Eri felt both admiration and sweetness.

He was casually sipping his coffee, but when he was focused on explaining, his deep eyes seemed to sparkle with stars, filled with a convincing magic.

He not only provided a brilliant idea, but also considered all the execution details, potential risks, and subsequent business development in a comprehensive manner.

This effortless professionalism and all-knowing wisdom resonated with her more effectively than any sweet words.

This man is her boyfriend.

Thinking of this, Eri's heart felt as if it were filled with honey, an unprecedented sense of pride and admiration making her almost melt in the other person's confident smile.

Looking at Eri's bright, excited eyes, Takuya felt quite pleased with himself.

He changed the subject, asking seemingly casually:

"By the way, how are your TV station's daytime programming slots filled now?"

Eri was stunned for a moment, recovering from the shock of winning the multi-million dollar prize.

"During the day -"

She sighed softly, and the professional producer's thoughts immediately took over her mind.

"The situation isn't very optimistic. We bought some TVB martial arts dramas for the evening slot; they're low-cost and can attract some male viewers, so they can barely be considered a supplement."

"But during the daytime, the main viewership comes from housewives, and this group is the hardest to please."

"To control costs, we're basically just rebroadcasting old shows, and the ratings—as you can imagine—are not competitive at all."

Eri's tone conveyed a sense of helplessness, a predicament shared by all television professionals.

Takuya's fingers tapped lightly on the rim of his coffee cup, producing a crisp sound, as if he were tapping on the core of the problem.

"Housewife, isn't that the perfect target audience?"

He smiled slightly, as if he had already made up his mind.

"Since cost is an issue, why not look to China?"

A hint of doubt flashed in Eri's beautiful eyes. "China?"

"That's right." Takuya leaned forward slightly, his voice not loud, but filled with undeniable power.

"We can collaborate with China to produce a food documentary."

"A food documentary?" Eri immediately thought of the cost. "Those well-made documentaries probably cost more than our domestically produced TV dramas, right?"

"No, no, no," Takuya shook his finger, "quite the opposite, we're going to use the cost difference to make a film that 'looks expensive,' but is actually 'very cheap.'"

A sly smile curved his lips.

"China's labor costs are now far lower than ours, and they have resource advantages that we cannot match."

"We film high-end Chinese cuisine, such as imperial cuisine and state banquet cuisine, specifically choosing those that sound impressive."

"The theme must be precisely chosen, avoiding all potentially sensitive topics and focusing only on two points: 'the incredible inheritance of skills' and 'a country rich in resources.' This perfectly aligns with the domestic audience's admiration for Chinese cuisine and will not be subject to censorship or obstruction from China cultural authorities."

With each word Takuya spoke, Eri's eyes brightened a little more.

She discovered that this man's way of thinking always hit the nail on the head.

"We can collaborate with China's national television station, having them take the lead and local stations provide support. Even the music composition can be done in China; think about how little their orchestra costs—it's probably enough to cover the cost of a recording studio in Tokyo. Our TV Tokyo only needs to send a small planning and production team to oversee the final style and editing, ensuring the content suits the tastes of Japan audiences. Tokyo only needs to handle the dubbing."

He held up three fingers.

"I've calculated that the cost of a 30-minute episode like this can be kept under 5 million Japanese yen, which is only one-third of the cost of similar programs produced domestically, or even less."

"We can film three to five episodes in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou first. After filming, we'll edit them and send them back to Tokyo for a test broadcast. If it's good, we'll continue; if it's not, this small investment won't hurt."

"These finished films will naturally be broadcast on China Central Television and local TV stations in China; we won't interfere with that. But we have the final say in markets outside of China. We can sell them to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, or even make them into videotapes and sell them to North America. Maybe the money we recoup can directly cover our investment."

The calculations were so clear that even professional producer Eri was taken aback by the enormous profit margin involved.

This is no longer just an idea; it's a flawless business plan that can be executed immediately!

But Takuya's performance was not over yet.

He looked at Eri and unleashed the final, and most lethal, "Killer move."

"Furthermore, think about it, those seemingly unattainable techniques from famous shops—at the end of the program, we'll include a 'simple home-style replica' tutorial, teaching housewives how to make a similar, home-style version—"

"What do you think the ratings will be like? Of course, this part can only be filmed in Tokyo, but it's just cooking, so the expenses shouldn't be too high."

Eri couldn't help but cover her mouth with both hands.

She was completely speechless.

It perfectly combines high-end aspirations with everyday practicality.

This is practically a ratings-boosting weapon tailor-made for daytime TV viewers, especially housewives!

"Finally," Takuya added, "This kind of cooking tutorial is perfect for GG (game items) that include everything in the kitchen, and that's how sponsors and GG merchants come to be, isn't it?"

"We can even train a few celebrity housewives, which is very convincing for ordinary housewives." The idea that "if she can do it, so can I" is definitely ingrained in the minds of most housewives.

She looked at the man before her, at a loss for words to describe him.

This kind of planning is practically designed to completely eliminate the target audience—housewives—not only to get their viewership ratings, but also to get them to contribute to GG sales conversion rates.

The legend of "Sunrise Creative Master" that had been vaguely circulating in the animation industry some time ago has now become incredibly real.

No, legends don't even begin to describe one ten-thousandth of him.

This confident and insightful man was her boyfriend.

Thinking of this, Eri's heart felt completely filled with the sweetest honey.

An indescribable sense of pride and admiration made her almost melt away in the other person's confident and composed smile.