"Oh? Please speak, Yukinoshita-san."
Toru made a gesture for her to continue.
Toru was actually well aware of the Yukinoshita family's situation, since both Haruno and Yukino had private contact with him.
Haruno would speak indirectly, explaining the situation her family was facing.
But Yukino had long since become straightforward, frankly telling Toru about the predicament the Yukinoshita family was facing.
However, neither Haruno nor Yukino had ever asked Toru to help the Yukinoshita family.
The Yukinoshita family needed a significant amount of funding. Even though Yukino and Toru had an ambiguous relationship, and even relatively close contact, this involved nearly 2 billion yen in assets. She did not think she could gain Toru's full support based on their relationship alone.
Furthermore, the two sisters, without realizing it, were united at heart and held great resentment toward their mother.
Both Haruno and Yukino had been silently hoping that their mother would personally come to ask for help. They wanted to use this method to break their mother's authority and prevent her from controlling the sisters' lives any longer.
"Fujiwara-san, the situation is as follows. The Yukinoshita family has always been responsible for the building materials work for the real estate companies under the Shinomiya Group."
"This has been the Yukinoshita family's main source of business income for a long time, but recently, the Shinomiya Group has encountered some issues. I'm sure Mr. Fujiwara is aware of this."
"As a result, the Yukinoshita family is facing cash flow problems, and one payment has not been returned..."
Fumino carefully chose her words, hoping to explain things clearly to Toru. First, she would describe how miserable the Yukinoshita family's situation was, then ask for his help to gain his assistance.
Originally, when Haruno suggested seeking help from Toru, Fumino had not wanted to approach him.
Aside from the fact that her sister's involvement made her reluctant to seek help from the Fujiwara family, another reason was that she felt she needed at least 2 billion yen. That was simply not something the current Toru could provide.
However, after looking into Toru, she suddenly discovered that he was much wealthier than she had imagined.
Not long ago, under Toru's leadership, Sakayanagi had sold a piece of land belonging to the family, a large-scale transaction involving billions of dollars.
Toru had also gained many benefits from this, securing at least nearly 100 million dollars in profit and achieving a result that satisfied everyone.
That was nearly 100 million dollars, and it was cash, a huge sum far exceeding what the Yukinoshita family needed.
The total assets of the Yukinoshita family combined were only on the scale of ten billion yen.
Such assets might not be much in Tokyo, but in Chiba Prefecture, it was definitely a major household.
Fumino finally believed that Toru had the ability to help the Yukinoshita family, and that this was not a big deal for him.
Just as Fumino was racking her brain over how to move Toru, he said impatiently, "Yukinoshita-san, I will speak directly."
"I know exactly what you came here to do, but you've been talking to me for nearly an hour without getting to the point. That makes me seriously doubt your abilities."
"Didn't you come to borrow money to overcome the crisis the Yukinoshita family is currently facing?"
Toru directly stating that she had come to borrow money left Fumino dumbfounded and even a little ashamed.
She was a generation older than Toru and had to borrow money from a junior. Being pointed out so directly by the other party made Fumino's arrogant self-esteem almost collapse.
However, the crisis facing the Yukinoshita family overcame her embarrassment. She tried hard to remain calm and said, "Did Haruno or Yukino tell Fujiwara-san?"
Toru shook his head. "They didn't need to tell me about this. Anyone with even a little bit of information knows that the Yukinoshita family is looking for funds everywhere."
"You haven't been hiding this either, have you?"
Fumino was a bit bewildered. Could it be that the news of the Yukinoshita family's financial difficulties, and that she was borrowing money everywhere, was already known throughout all of Tokyo?
But recalling the evasive attitudes of the families and banks in Chiba Prefecture, Fumino felt that this might really be true.
Seeing the impatience on Toru's face, Fumino knew that her attempts to change the subject had displeased him. She was a smart person and roughly understood Toru's personality, so she immediately changed her approach.
"As you said, the Yukinoshita family is in urgent need of lifeline funding. This amount is approximately 2 billion yen."
"I came to Fujiwara-san precisely because I hoped to receive this lifeline money from you."
Fumino spoke in a humble tone.
Toru remained calm and said slowly, "Fumino, 2 billion yen is not a small sum. Although I have this money to lend to the Yukinoshita family, you must guarantee the safety of the funds and prove your ability to repay it."
Fumino quickly took out a stack of documents from her bag. She had come well prepared. "Fujiwara-san, these are some of the company's accounts."
"You can see from the accounts that the Yukinoshita family's operations have no problems. If it weren't for the Shinomiya Group's crisis this time, the Yukinoshita family would not be in its current predicament."
"Please believe that the Yukinoshita family has the ability to repay this debt, and I can also pay you a satisfactory amount of interest."
There was one more thing Fumino did not say, which was that Toru's interest could not be higher than the bank's.
The banks had seen the Yukinoshita family's crisis and were demanding exorbitant interest. It was too high, forcing the Yukinoshita family to give up.
Because Fumino knew very well that behind these banks in Japan were capital groups operating. They seemed to want your interest, but what they were really after was your principal.
Toru did not accept the financial report. Instead, he chuckled. "You are not honest at all. Are you betting that I don't understand business management?"
"The fact that the Yukinoshita family is facing the current crisis means there are fundamental problems with the Yukinoshita family's company structure and business model."
Fumino quickly said, "No, this is just an unexpected event."
"Look, Yukinoshita-san, you are contradicting me again, and you still want to deceive me. You can say that all of this is the Shinomiya Group's problem, but the fact that the Yukinoshita family deeply tied all its sources of income to the Shinomiya Group itself proves that the Yukinoshita family's business structure is too narrow and lacks the ability to withstand risks."
Pausing for a moment, Toru continued, "Therefore, it was almost inevitable that the Yukinoshita family would run into problems. You were simply betting that the Shinomiya Group was huge and would not have issues."
"But did the Yukinoshita family forget one thing? When you rely entirely on the Shinomiya Group for your livelihood, the Shinomiya Group can also kick you out at any time and switch to another partner company."
Fumino's face turned ugly. She had not expected Toru, despite being so young, to see the biggest problem facing the Yukinoshita family's company at a glance.
And Toru's following words made her even more desperate. "Yukinoshita-san, before you came to me, you had already tried other ways to raise funds, but you failed."
"Because those people wanted to divide up the resources occupied by the Yukinoshita family, they naturally would not help the Yukinoshita family."
"And you only came to me last instead of first. What does this show? It shows that you have absolutely no trust in me, Yukinoshita-san, and you treat me like a child who knows nothing."
"Even now, you still want to deceive me with your so-called elder mindset. Haruno and Yukino have a mother like you, and they must live truly hard lives."
Fumino's expression changed drastically. She stood up directly, knowing that she would not get help from Toru. "Fujiwara-san, I hope you will not bring up Haruno and Yukino. This is my family matter, and it is not for you to comment on."
Seeing Fumino about to leave in anger, Toru chuckled. "Yukinoshita-san, do you really want to cross that door?"
"I might be the last person who can help you. You need to think carefully. If the Yukinoshita family doesn't receive this injection of funds, the entire family will fall apart, and the company will go bankrupt."
"The luxury apartments you live in will also be auctioned by the court to repay debts, and everything the Yukinoshita family has accumulated in Chiba Prefecture over decades will vanish like smoke."
"Your father, your grandfather, and the efforts of several generations, including yourself, will all collapse here. Can you truly accept such an outcome and go to the underworld to face your father, burdened by the pain and regret of your family's destruction?"
Fumino's delicate body trembled. She heard another meaning in Toru's words. She turned around hopefully. "Fujiwara-san, you... do your words mean that you are willing to help the Yukinoshita family?"
Toru's expression turned cold. "What is the price, Fumino? I need sufficient benefits. Don't talk about interest. You can barely protect yourselves, and the business itself has problems. I don't want to throw 2 billion yen down the drain."
(To be continued.)