Chapter 8 trap

When he announced that he had lost the lawsuit, Tajima vowed to use his own hands to create a new climbing rope that surpassed the "S climbing rope".Because he thought it was the best revenge he could have for the brutal murder of his wife. Tajima is just an ordinary company employee who likes to climb mountains. He has become the section chief of a large company at the age of thirty-five, so he is somewhat proud.But that was not the reason for his vengeance after losing the case.He is satisfied with his current status, and he is also satisfied with his young and beautiful wife.

What changed his way of life was climbing Mt. Gundake with his wife in summer. On the way to climb the rock wall, the climbing rope connecting him to his wife suddenly broke.So the wife fell off a cliff more than 20 meters deep and died immediately. Tajima filed a claim for compensation to the manufacturer of the climbing rope.He intends to pursue his claim as required by the law.But S climbing rope joint-stock company rejected his request.Tajima was angry.A petition was filed in court. He ended up losing the lawsuit miserably.He went to the newspaper again and begged them to provide justice for him from public opinion, but he was treated coldly.Maybe he would not receive such a cold reception because he is a celebrity. He is just an ordinary company employee and has no news sensational effect.

Tajima is determined to rely on his own strength to fight against S Company.For this reason, he quit his job and opened a small factory with the money he had saved and his retirement pay. He planned to manufacture climbing ropes that surpassed Company S and occupy the market, thereby causing Company S to go bankrupt and achieve the goal of revenge. At first he suffered a string of failures.At that time he had to borrow money.During this period, his mother who lived in his hometown, Nagano, passed away and left him a forest, which he also used as mortgage. Three years later, he is confident that the trial production of the best climbing rope has been successful.Through various tests, it has been proved that the climbing rope he manufactured is superior to the climbing rope of S company in all aspects except strength.

Tajima thought he had won.The career that supported his hatred of S Corporation for three years finally had a gratifying result. But his sense of victory didn't last long, and he didn't sell even an inch of the climbing rope he named "Mountainmaster".Not a single line of it was published in the sports papers. Tajima went to several sports equipment stores in succession, asking them to sell them on a consignment basis, but was told that they couldn't sell them.The lives of climbers are tied to every climbing rope. Who dares to entrust their lives on products produced in a small factory with no industrial influence?

In the factory, climbing ropes piled up like hills in vain, and creditors also came to the door to collect debts, and there was a lot of chaos for a while.Tajima was restless. So he once again tasted the taste of new failure.The climbing rope must be sold!To this end, it is necessary to vigorously publicize.However, in the face of S Company, which has a 100% market share, perhaps this kind of publicity is just hitting a stone with a pebble. Tajima put ten 10,000-yuan banknotes on the table, "This is all publicity expenses." As his right-hand man, the young Urakami has been with him since the establishment of the factory.At this moment, he looked at Tajima with a puzzled expression.

"That's all? What can you do?" "I know it's too little. But if you don't do it, you won't be able to sell an inch of climbing rope. We must go bankrupt. Or we will hang ourselves with the rope we made! But I didn't make climbing rope to hang , to sell it! It is to be used by Japanese mountaineers!" "But what can you do with this 100,000 yuan? You can't even print three lines in a newspaper. If it is serious publicity, it should be used by a famous mountaineer, and then published in a special magazine or newspaper to explain and introduce it. It will work. And it is necessary to do it continuously. One hundred thousand yuan, the contact fee alone is not enough."

"I know this even if you don't tell me." "Then you still have to do this." "Use your head to do it! Use your head to think! There is only 100,000 yuan, and with this amount of money, you have to achieve a certain effect." "Why don't we go buy a lottery ticket first?" Urakami said solemnly. "Of course, with so much money, people won't even look at it; but if there is an interesting thing, they will definitely come and write something without asking for a penny. said Tajima. Urakami looked at Tajima puzzled and asked, "But what does this have to do with climbing ropes?"

"Let's just make things work." "Have you seen an American movie called "Dry Well?" Tajima asked Urakami with fiery eyes. Urakami shook his head silently.Tajima took out a cigarette and lit it. "It was a very early movie. Although it was a short film, it was very popular. The story happened in a small town in the southern United States where blacks and other people had deep conflicts. One day, a black child disappeared. The white people ganged up to make trouble after being abducted, and riots began in the small town. The white people also fought back tit for tat. Seeing that a large-scale bloody conflict was about to happen. At this time, the missing child was found in a mouthful In the dry well, in order to save the child, the black and white people worked together and worked together to save the child. The result is a very touching humanitarian ending."

"What does this story have to do with us?" "Don't worry, listen to me finish this story." Tajima glared at Urakami. "This is an event that happened in Tokyo a month ago." With that said, Tajima took out a cut-out newspaper from his pocket and handed it to Urakami. "In Gotanda, five boys were caught between the concrete slabs when they were playing. In order to save these five people, the police and firefighters were dispatched, and finally the five boys were rescued by breaking through the cement slabs with machinery Come out. But let me say this is not an incident. This is the paper that reported that incident. I cut it out because it had pictures of these five kids. I went to the library and looked at the newspaper of the day , there is almost no newspaper that did not publish this news. This incident was less than two hours before and after, but the newspapers published it. That is to say, five children were caught between the cement boards for less than two hours, and the newspapers were willing to It's been reported in such a large space; but we've worked hard for three years: and no one's looking."

"There is no other way, the newspapers..." "Yes, a newspaper is indeed a newspaper, but it is the mouthpiece of the mass media, so if we can't do it head-on, we might as well try the opposite. You should know what I mean." "Create a child incident?" "Yes. If we can create a piece of news that can be published in the newspaper, it will save us." After Tajima asked "how is it?", Urakami's eyes showed curiosity and uneasiness. He stared at Tajima closely and asked, "What should I do?" "Tokyo is very big. There should be a few dry wells, just deeper. If the child falls into it, his parents will definitely ask the police and call the police. Of course, some people will think that he was kidnapped, and it will definitely cause a sensation. , and someone will find that the child fell into a dry well. Everyone will gather. But at that time, people who have not been specially trained cannot save it. At this time, when everyone is waiting for the police and firefighters to arrive, a The man used a climbing rope to go down to the bottom of the well and rescued the child. He became a hero. The journalists came and took pictures of this rescue hero and asked him to talk about his feelings. He answered very well Modestly, he can say that it was this climbing rope called 'Mountain Climber' that saved the child. So the name of our product appeared in newspapers, TV stations and weekly magazines, and this was done without spending a penny. "

"But what about the child?" "I'll go find it." "Where is the person who saved him?" "you!" Tajima stared intently at Urakami's face. "Didn't you stay in the mountain interest group when you were a student? You should know how to use climbing ropes." "But I'm from a company that makes climbing ropes. Once people know about it, don't they understand it's a show?" "I think so too, but if it has nothing to do with mountain climbing, wouldn't it be fine?" "why?" "We haven't sold even an inch of the products we produce, so it's normal for you to encounter such things in your hands. For example, you are selling. If it was someone else, why would you always walk around with this rope? I can't explain why. And..." Tajima stopped at this point, he smiled and said: "If it were you, I would have saved labor costs!" Dry wells are really hard to find, maybe they won’t be hard to find if you leave a big city like Tokyo.But Tajima stubbornly wanted to search in the twenty-three districts of Tokyo.Because he believes that only in the urban area of ​​Tokyo can it attract the attention of the public.If such an incident happened in the deep mountains and old forests, it would not be of any news value. A week later, a dry well was found in a corner of Setagaya District.And this area is mostly farmhouses, and there is a newly built residential area nearby. This dry well is in a corner of an open space surrounded by barbed wire.Weeds are overgrown there, and the mouth cannot be seen from a distance.If people from the city came here, they would accidentally fall into the well when they entered the grass.So Tajima thinks this dry well is the best. The dry well is "covered" with barbed wire.Tajima squatted beside him and looked at the bottom of the well. It was very dark in the well.Can't see anything.He threw a pebble down.A small "beep" sound can be heard.Fortunately, there is no water. At night, Tajima brought Urakami to the dry well. They used the prepared climbing rope and tied one end of it to the ground peg, and then Tajima went down to the bottom of the well by himself. The air at the bottom of the well was humid, and there was no water as he had judged during the day.He stood at the bottom of the well and looked around.It's like standing in hell.Tajima took a photo with a flashlight, and the well wall is very strong, so there is no need to worry about it collapsing. Tajima crawled out of the well in satisfaction, and Urakami, who was waiting for him, asked in a trembling voice, "What are you really planning to do?" "Do it!" Tajima replied firmly, "Are you afraid?" "What's so scary..." Urakami was also infected by Tajima's emotions. "I'm not afraid of anything else, I mean you'd better move to this area as soon as possible." "why?" "If you don't live here, it's unnatural to save the child. The rent can be paid from the 100,000 yuan. How about it?" "What about the child?" "You don't have to worry about this. Just seize the opportunity and save the child." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it after you find out." "I'm not that weak. I'm afraid of this even after I've become an accomplice of the 'kidnappers'." "yes." Tajima still insisted not to speak, "I am also a kidnapper, so I don't keep my word." The child must have lived near this dry well.In this way, there is a certain "inevitability" of falling into the well.If it is a child in a residential area, it will be even more sensational.Because there would be an instant uproar among the mothers of the children. The problem was how to "get" the child into the well.If money is used to "get" down the well, it must be too much acting.And there will be no injury, and it will be exposed all at once.Because children cannot tell lies.Once people know that this is a disguise for the sake of propaganda, then public opinion will immediately overwhelm it, and it will be a complete failure for Tajima. There is no other way than letting the child actually fall.Tajima made up his mind.Although there is a risk of injury, due to the softness of the child's body, it will not be life-threatening.And for the sake of caution, Tajima also spread a lot of weeds at the bottom of the well. After Tajima threw the barbed wire that had covered the wellhead into the river, he concentrated on waiting for the "prey" to take the bait. Tajima wore a pair of sunglasses and came near this empty field in the evening, in order to "hunt" children.In his pockets are many beautiful stones that children like.This is his "hunting" tool. In the sunset, you can often see a few children playing in the empty field, but most of them are two or three people playing together.Tajima waited patiently for the children playing alone to show up. A few days later, the people who came to the factory to collect debts became more and more vicious, and told Tajima that they would come to confiscate the property in the factory in another week.Tajima was extremely anxious. The evening of the next day was the same as the past few days, and Tajima was disappointed.When he was about to leave, suddenly a little boy about seven years old jumped into his eyes.And only him.There is a key hanging around his neck, and it seems that he is undoubtedly a child in the residential area.The press pays more attention to children in housing estates than to ordinary children.And there is also a hot topic among the public recently: "the problem of children with keys around their necks". Tajima called him.The boy gave Tajima a startled look.His big eyes look bright and sharp. Tajima took a pebble out of his pocket and said to him, "Here you are." The little boy hesitated at first, but was finally attracted by the beautiful appearance, and stretched out his hand cautiously. "Where did it come from? This?" he asked. This is exactly the question Tajima hopes to ask. "Over there, in the empty field." Tajima replied, "The place surrounded by barbed wire!" "I know." "Have you ever gone in?" "No." "There is a well there, and there is so much grass that it cannot be seen from the outside." "what……" "Under that well, there is a pile of such stones! They are all beautiful." "real?" "If you don't believe me, you can take a look!" The boy glanced at the empty field, and then at the stone in his hand. "Isn't it beautiful?" Tajima added provocatively.So, the boy immediately walked towards the empty field.He got under the barbed wire and walked towards the weeds.Tajima quietly followed behind him. The boy put his hands on the edge of the well and looked down, but because it was dark down there, he couldn't see anything clearly.The boy leaned forward again.But he still couldn't see clearly, so he leaned forward even further. At this time... Tajima heard the boy's screams. As soon as Tajima returned to the factory, he immediately called Urakami who lived in a dormitory in the community. "Is there anyone with you?" "No." "That's good. The kid fell into the well. Thirty minutes ago. He has a key hanging around his neck. It must be the kid who lives in the community." "Did the child really fall?" "real." "You pushed it down?" "He fell by himself." "In case he goes into shock, gets injured, or dies..." "It's okay, I can still hear him crying! Are you afraid now?" "Somewhat." Urakami was a little angry, he didn't expect Tajima to really do this. "Then what am I doing?" "Pay attention to the community. His parents will come to him in a while, maybe they will go to the police. You pay attention, once someone finds the child, you go over immediately. Call me before you go. I have been staying In the factory." After Tajima finished speaking, he put down the phone and turned on the TV. It wasn't on the seven o'clock news. The same goes for the eight o'clock news.The boy's parents must have called the police by then.But why hasn't it been reported on TV yet.The TV station is known as "news fast", why is it so slow today. The ten o'clock news program finally had the news. "A 7-year-old child is missing in a residential complex in Setagaya." The TV announcer said so. Mr. Ichiro-kun, the seven-year-old eldest son of a company employee who lived in No. 16 of the F community, went out to play and did not return. The police were worried about being abducted by bad guys and were searching around the community. Photos of the children were also broadcast.It's that kid!That's right!It is the child who fell into the dry well! Then I waited for Urakami's call. Time passed minute by minute.Tajima hopes to find the child as soon as possible. But on the other hand, he hopes to spend more time, so that the response will be greater. It started to rain again around two o'clock in the morning.Tajima came out to take a look. There was not much rain but it was really cold.He shivered and went back into the house.Then the phone rang.Tajima grabbed the phone at once. "Is it Urakami?" "it's me." "Have you found the child?" "have not found." "Then why are you calling?" "It rained just now, you know?" "Yes. So what?" "The rain will fill the well." "what?" "The temperature will drop after it rains." "Don't go around the bush, what are you going to say?" "I heard from people nearby that the boy named Takahashi Ichiro is not in good health. Will he get pneumonia if he is drenched in the rain and blown by the cold wind? If he dies from pneumonia, we will become murderers." It's..." "Stop thinking about it." Tajima said angrily. "He's a boy!" "I definitely won't get pneumonia!" "You can't guarantee that. When the rain gets heavier, I'll tell people that the child is in that well. It's not that I don't think about you, but if someone dies, our loophole will be widened." "Then my plans would be over!" Tajima almost shouted, but he didn't listen to a word of what Urakami said afterwards.He just wanted to hang up the phone, but he felt that it was inappropriate, and if he annoyed Urakami, it would be the end. After a while, Urakami suddenly said loudly: "People are running to the empty space!" His tone was very excited. "I heard he fell into a well!" "Then you go right away!" Tajima said loudly, "And do it better!" Tajima put down the phone and left the factory.He didn't know whether Urakami would faithfully realize his plan, and he had to see it with his own eyes. He drove towards Setagaya. He deliberately stopped the car far away from the empty field, and Tajima walked there in the rain.It was nearly three o'clock in the morning, and the surrounding area was very dark, but the empty field was very bright because there were many lights shining on it.A lot of people gathered in black crows, and the ambulance also came.As more and more people watched, Tajima managed to squeeze into the crowd. The strong light shines on the wellhead, and the thin raindrops are clearly injected into the wellhead under the light.The policemen crawled along the edge of the well, looked down the well, and shouted something. "How's it going?" Tajima asked a housewife next to her, and she looked at the mouth of the well and said, "It doesn't matter." She went on to say: "Just now a man pulled the climbing rope down." "Is it the police?" "No, not like the police." Probably Urakami.The policeman crawling along the edge of the well was still yelling down the well, and then he turned around and yelled: "tension!!" Four or five men tugged upwards on the climbing rope together. It was the boy who came up first.There was a cheer from the crowd.Immediately, the flashing lights flickered non-stop, and a woman who looked like a mother hurriedly picked up the child.The child's whole body was as soft as noodles.He was immediately carried by the woman into an ambulance. The climbing rope was lowered again.After a while, a young man slowly emerged from the well.Under the spotlight and flashlight, Tajima recognized Urakami and smiled shyly at the crowd. That guy did a great job! Tajima was secretly happy. Urakami stepped out of the well and stood in the grass.He was suddenly surrounded by reporters.A young rescue hero was born. Tajima felt relieved all of a sudden. He left the scene, returned to the car, and the plan worked. Almost all the evening papers that day published photos of the scene and reported the incident.There are also pictures of Urakami and the boy. No matter which report, Urakami is called a life-saving hero.And even the climbing rope with the name "Mountain Climbing Master" is also written on it. Journalists also flocked to the factory. They touched the climbing ropes in the warehouse and asked with emotion: "Are these climbing ropes?" Then ask about Urakami's personality. Tajima tried his best to praise Urakami: "This is an honest and promising young man." But he smiled wryly inwardly. Three years ago, when he complained about his misfortune to the press, a newspaper and a reporter ignored him, but this is the case today.They came uninvited, and they wrote all about his products and praised them all. Great wow! After the reporters left, Tajima beamed. As soon as this incident was reported, the climbing rope, which had not sold an inch before, began to sell well.The creditors who came to ask for the debt also showed smiles they hadn't seen for many days. "Successful!" Urakami said happily to Tajima.His tired appearance was probably caused by being "chased" by the reporters. "Now I'm relieved, this scene is not so easy to act." "there's one more thing." "What else? Isn't the climbing rope on sale?" "Yes. But I want to take this opportunity to give it another shot." "Another one?" Urakami looked at Tajima in surprise. "What the hell are you trying to do?" "This time, let's lead the mass media by the nose again. It's hard to catch up, how can it be over so easily!" "Another thing about the child falling into the well?" Urakami looked a little timid. "No, if you do something like this again, you'll be exposed all at once." "What event was that?" Tajima smiled, "If the same incident is repeated again, it is very likely that our plan will be exposed. This time we will tickle them right under their noses." "How exactly?" "Is that boy named Ichiro Takahashi still in the hospital?" "Well, I heard that my right leg was broken when I fell. It will take a few days before I can be discharged from the hospital." "Let's pay the hospital bill!" "Is it redemption?" "Nonsense." Tajima smiled. "Journalists were touched by your warm gesture last time. So we will use this opportunity to touch them again. If they heard that we brought hospital bills, they would definitely ask why. So we answered like this, thanks The kid’s accident, the climbing rope we produce sells very well, so we think this kid is the real savior of our factory. Well, journalists must love such kind words, right?” "..." "how is everything?" "I said manager, isn't this a bit too much, is it abnormal? Is it because you are brooding about the past and taking revenge on the press or the mass media?" "Revenge? We're just using them!" "It's easy to lose your composure if you overdo it." "Are you saying it's too serious?" "Of course." Urakami nodded, "I'm worried about you this time. Doing such a thing again will arouse suspicion from others. Things are always reversed! Those people are not so easy to play..." "I have noticed what you said." Tajima said a little unhappy. Tajima did not heed Urakami's dissuasion, but his second move was a success.Of course, the other party insisted on not wanting it, but in the end, Tajima's factory paid all the medical expenses, which also won unanimous praise from the public opinion.With an investment of only 25,000 yen, journalists came to the factory again and interviewed Tajima himself.In the next day's newspaper, he wrote "Talk about the Event" with the title of "A Warm Story".Of course, some people think that Tajima is buying people's hearts.But after all, such criticism also plays a negative role in promoting Tajima's factory and products. "How is it?" Tajima looked at Urakami proudly and asked, "The power of this media is really not bad." "You really think so?" "Of course, the TV station called to explain that there will be a documentary interview program with me in tomorrow's news." "Are you really going?" "Of course." Tajima still said proudly, "I want to use this opportunity to promote climbing ropes." "What if the child recognizes you?" "Don't worry, the kid is still in the hospital! He won't be discharged in a week. And there is no TV in the hospital. You should know this after you have seen him." Tajima smiled excitedly, "I have been pressing my Well planned!" "But..." Urakami wanted to refute, but couldn't find any reason for a moment, "If you're not careful, you might fall into the well you dug yourself." Tajima just smiled disapprovingly.Both gambles worked out.He is very confident.Of course, this is also revenge for the news media that ignored me three years ago; make fun of them!Use as much as you can! The next day, Tajima made serious preparations and went to the TV station. The "Studio No. 8" of this TV station is good at producing warm programs, and Tajima is very happy for this. On this day, a host named K welcomed Tajima, and he introduced to the audience in a serious manner: "Recently, a lot of commendable things have happened in our declining society. When I say this, you will know what I mean. Today, we are honored to have the protagonist of the matter come to our Live room." Tajima tried to look very humble facing the camera lens.He thought it would look better this way. "The climbing rope made by Mr. Tajima rescued a child, so it is not an exaggeration to say that Mr. Tajima is the lifesaver." The round-faced host praised it all the time, but Tajima said while showing embarrassment, "It's just that our company's 'climbing master' occasionally played a role." Then Tajima, at the request of the host, talked about the arduous process of developing the "Mountainmaster" and the excellent standards achieved in various tests. The show was going on as Tajima expected. At the end, the host suddenly said to Tajima with a smile: "Then, starting this week, the program will be broadcast live in person." "..." "Today our guest, Mr. Tajima, is meeting a guest. Can you imagine which guest it is?" "have no idea." Tajima still smiled reservedly.But suddenly he felt uneasy.Who do you want me to meet? "Mr. Tajima, don't you want to meet Takahashi Ichiro-kun who was rescued by the 'Mountainmaster' produced by you?" "what?" "Actually, we've already hired him." As a burst of cheerful music sounded, a boy in a wheelchair slowly "walked" from the direction the camera pointed.A nurse and his mother followed. It's that kid! He shouldn't be able to come! That's why I appeared on TV with confidence!But - he must have forced him to come to create a sensational effect!Now he can't leave at all. I should know that the press is very cruel in order to attract viewers, but I... The wheelchair stopped, and the boy was staring at Tajima closely. At that time, Tajima was wearing a pair of sunglasses. Maybe the boy couldn't see it? Tajima smiled at the child as if nothing had happened.In an instant, something flew out of the child's hand and hit Tajima's face. It is a pebble.It was the stone that Tajima used as bait.Not too painful.But Tajima felt that he had fallen into a dark well.