Chapter 3: 003, Is it really only possible to sell X?

The afternoon sun grew increasingly brilliant.

Nagayama Naoki walked along the street toward the convenience store. Even though he chose to walk in the shade of the green trees, beads of sweat soon appeared on his forehead.

My body is still too weak; I’ll have to strengthen my exercise routine in the future.

The convenience store wasn't actually far from his residence. A high school graduate who had just come to Tokyo to work couldn't find a job too far away, and coupled with his dull personality, he had managed to scrape by here for nearly half a year. Aside from the store manager and the landlady, he hadn't met many people.

Nagayama Naoki hadn't really thought much about why he came to Tokyo. After graduating from high school, he didn't want to huddle in an izakaya with his father and older brother, so he took the little pocket money he had saved, held onto a stubborn streak in his heart, and came to Tokyo.

The convenience store was his first job in life, where he received his first paycheck and used it to pay his first rent.

Thinking about it this way, working at a convenience store was full of meaning.

Even so, it was impossible to continue working there; it would be impossible to work for others in the future as well~

After walking for about 40 minutes, the small convenience store sat in a gap between residential buildings. Convenience stores in the Showa era didn't have the dazzling array of goods seen in later years; there were even some vegetables on the shelves, making it more of an advanced grocery store. However, it already had outdoor freezers, ice cream, soda, and other beverages.

The store manager, Ishida Yuichi, wearing his work uniform, was checking receipts behind the counter. One could see another young man in the store organizing goods.

"Ishida-san, excuse me." Nagayama Naoki walked inside and greeted the manager.

"Nagayama-kun, you're here!" Ishida Yuichi looked calm, but Naoki, who knew his personality well, knew that a strict conversation was about to follow.

*So, even the way he addresses me has become so formal,* Nagayama Naoki thought to himself.

"Hai, I was hospitalized for some reasons, which is why I haven't been able to come to work for the past three days." He said this very honestly.

"I am truly sorry for causing trouble for the store!" He bowed his upper body very honestly as well.

Upon hearing that he had been hospitalized, Ishida Yuichi’s expression didn't change, but his tone softened significantly: "What happened, Naoki-san? Is your body alright now?"

Sure enough, even the way he addressed him had changed back.

"Hai, I ate something bad, so I had to have my stomach pumped." Nagayama Naoki intended to state his purpose for coming all at once.

"My body is fine now, I just need to rest for a while."

"I see. So, Naoki-san, why are you here today?" Ishida Yuichi seemed to have already guessed.

"Hai, Manager. Although I am very reluctant, I am here today to resign from this job!" One must always say the polite things.

"Thank you for your care during this time, Ishida-san!"

"Ah, I see." Ishida Yuichi seemed somewhat relieved. "Naoki-san, you’ve helped out a lot here. Take care of your health in the future!"

"Hai, arigato!"

Nagayama Naoki walked down the street, holding an envelope in his hand containing 50,000 yen.

Manager Ishida said it was his previous wages, but in reality, his wages were settled every week. If he worked full-time and took an extra night shift, he could make about 150,000 yen a month. If he worked a few more jobs, he could make even more; his income might even catch up to that of an ordinary salaryman.

He had worked less than five days in October and had caused trouble by being absent without leave; the manager could have easily chosen not to pay him.

"Ishida-san really is a good person!"

Walking aimlessly along the street, looking at the unfamiliar Showa scenery, Nagayama Naoki didn't have any thoughts of returning to his apartment for the time being.

At this time, Nakano Ward was still primarily residential, and with the "autumn tiger" heatwave acting up in the middle of the afternoon, the pedestrians on the road were all in a hurry, and there wasn't much to see.

He slowly wandered onto a train and went to Shibuya, an area the original owner didn't know much about either.

It was indeed Shibuya; even in this weather, the foot traffic was immense.

The neon lights on the side of the road were resting; perhaps only at night could one feel the charm that represented this country.

The shops facing the street displayed all sorts of novel things of the time. The trendy clothes inside wouldn't look out of place even if brought to the 21st century; perhaps fashion really is a cycle.

Occasionally, groups of girls would pass by, inevitably followed by a few attentive boys. The rumor that a girl in the bubble era was surrounded by at least four types of men seemed to be manifesting already.

Walking along the commercial street, Nagayama Naoki wasn't too obsessed with these scenes. Looking at Tokyo's most prosperous district and its dazzling array of goods, what he was thinking about was

How can I get my first pot of gold to start my life of sudden wealth?

Seeing the surrounding discos and closed nightclubs,

Could it be that I have to sell my body?

Would my physical strength be able to handle it?

Are there any future ideas I can sell for a good price?

While walking and thinking, a burst of music suddenly reached Nagayama Naoki's ears.

It turned out he had passed a record store.

Inside the store, Yamaguchi Momoe's poster still smiled gently. The record store was using the gimmick of her retirement to place all her old records in the center, hoping to earn a bit more from the fans' sentimentality.

On the other side, the poster was of a young girl with a brilliant smile. What had just reached his ears was none other than Matsuda Seiko's hit song, "Aoi Sangosho" (Blue Coral Reef).

Nagayama Naoki felt the strange atmosphere of this transition, thinking of the fierce competition in the entertainment industry during the bubble era.

What reached his ears was no longer just a lighthearted song.

It was the sound of his first pot of gold falling onto him.

"Thanks to the uploaders on Bilibili, thanks to the glorious beauty of Seiko and Akina, which allowed me to learn about so many divine songs from the Showa era~"

"My first pot of gold, it really has to be selling songs!"