Kyoto: I just want to be a gentleman

The vast ocean sparkles in the sun, like a huge gem inlaid between heaven and earth, and the distant horizon merges into one with the sky.

"Look, those are dolphins!" Rimi suddenly pointed at several figures jumping out of the sea and shouted. I saw those cute dolphins jumping happily on the sea, as if they were performing a wonderful dance for us. This scene made me laugh out loud.

"Take a picture for me, Hideyuki."

"..."

About two hours later, the ferry arrived in Yoshino City.

I had to transfer afterwards, so I bought a ticket at the ticket office.

Sitting on an old tram with only one car, I put my luggage under my feet to prevent them from moving around.

The tram waited for about ten minutes, but before the second wave of passengers arrived, it started to leave.

Heading north along the railway track, once you leave Yoshino city, the scenery opens up.

"When I left, it was still spring, and the area was full of green wheat."

When I heard Nishii Rimi's voice, I came to my senses from the book I was reading and looked out the window.

Farmlands and wastelands come into view.

"Are we almost there?" I asked.

"It's still early." Nishii Satomi replied.

I stopped reading the book. I closed the title page and looked out the window with Nishii Satomi at the scenery slowly receding.

After a while, the tram drove into a cedar forest.

The cedar trees are tall and straight, like slender towers rising from the ground.

The light was blocked, the inside of the tram became dark, and even the temperature seemed to drop.

Nishii Rimi sneezed, and I took out a coat from my luggage and put it on her.

After finally leaving the cedar forest, the scenery opened up again.

In the distance, white smoke is rising, there must be a house there.

Just when I saw a corner of the sea and was about to see it clearly, the tram drove into a forest.

The forest was unmaintained, and its branches had grown right up to the railroad tracks, sticking to the windows like windshield wipers when the trams passed.

There are also branches that are not very flexible and you can clearly see the signs of being broken by the tram.

"Coming."

Just as Nishii Satomi finished speaking, the train drove out of the woods and the light became brighter.

This is a basin.

There are mountains in the distance. On the ridges of the mountains stand wind power stations with huge white windmills turning slowly.

As your sight leaves the top of the mountain, you will see the forest below, and below the forest are layers of terraced fields.

"If it were spring, the terraces would be full of green rice," said Nishii Satomi.

"It must be beautiful." I imagined the scene.

This place reminds me of Iwate Prefecture.

In the middle of the terraced fields, there are a few houses that look uninhabited and a buffalo is eating grass.

Below the terraced fields is a flat rice field with no water. There is a man wearing a bamboo hat burning straw.

"A small town?" I asked.

"Ah."

The tram stopped at a simple station without even a shelter, like an isolated island.

Nishii Satomi and I walked out of the train.

Compared to Kyoto, Shikoku seems a bit cold.

"Let's go." Nishii Rimi took the lead and walked towards her home.

Chapter 173: Four Countries Journey (I)

In the afternoon, the sun shines obliquely on the town, but it is difficult to dispel the inherent desolation and coldness. Watanabe Hideyuki follows Nishii Satomi's footsteps and walks through the slightly lonely streets of the town.

A breeze blew, and a few dead trees on the street swayed in the wind. The fallen leaves were rolled up in the air and then fell quietly, adding a sense of desolation.

They walked towards the northwest corner of the town, where there were few houses on both sides of the street. Many of them looked dilapidated, with doors and windows closed, silently telling of the desolation of the place.

However, when they arrived at Nishii Rimi's home, they found a different scenery here.

It is called a home, but it is more appropriate to call it a small bookstore. The small shop on the first floor is open to the public, while the second floor is where Nishii Satomi and her family live.

Hard to imagine, right?

In this remote and desolate town, there is a small bookstore like this.

The wooden door of the bookstore was half open, and through the crack one could see the neatly arranged bookshelves inside, filled with a variety of books.

besides...

An old man was sitting on a recliner at the innermost corner of the bookstore. He had a head full of white hair, but looked energetic. He was holding a newspaper in his hand, reading it leisurely.

The sunlight shines through the window, casting dappled shadows on his body, blending in with the fragrance of books and the charm of wooden bookshelves around him.

Next to him, there was an old teacup...a ​​broken porcelain bowl.

"I'm back!" Nishii Satomi walked in. When she saw the old man, a warm smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, it's Rimi, you're back." The old man raised his head and said kindly. He put the newspaper aside and slowly stood up from the recliner.

"How's the bookstore business today?"

"Not bad." The old man picked up the teacup next to him and moistened his throat.

"Wow, not bad?" Nishii Satomi deliberately exclaimed, then puffed up her round face and looked at the old man, "Could it be that another copy didn't sell?"

The old man smiled awkwardly when Nishii Rimi hit the nail on the head, but he quickly found a way to change the subject - he saw Watanabe Hideyuki standing closely behind Nishii Rimi. The old man's eyes lit up, as if he had found a savior.

"Hey, Rimi, you've brought your classmates back, why don't you introduce them to grandpa?" The old man muttered in pretended anger, but the smile in the corner of his eyes betrayed his inner joy.

Without waiting for Nishii Satomi to introduce herself, Watanabe Hideyuki took the initiative to say, "Hello, Grandpa. I am Nishii Satomi's classmate, Watanabe Hideyuki. You can just call me Hideyuki."

Grandpa looked at Watanabe Hideyuki, his eyes fell on his neat clothes, and seemed to be quite satisfied with this young man. "You are a good young man, and you can tell at first glance that he is a smart man." After saying that, he patted Watanabe Hideyuki on the shoulder and turned back to the recliner.

"Thank you for the compliment, Grandpa." Watanabe Hideyuki replied respectfully.

The three of them chatted for a while, and Nishii Satomi suggested going to the second floor to visit her room.

"My grandfather's room is downstairs, and the second floor belongs to me." She said, leading the two up the stairs.

The layout of the second floor is similar to that of the first floor, except that there are a few more desks and chairs, and a row of tall floor-to-ceiling windows.

The sun shines through the curtains onto the bed, illuminating a corner of the room. The room is filled with a light scent of sandalwood, making people want to immerse themselves in this peaceful atmosphere.

"It's so quiet here." Hideyuki Watanabe exclaimed, looking across the bookshelves, desks and other items.

"Yes, I like the quietness here the most." Nishii Satomi responded with a smile, "Here I can concentrate on reading and studying without being disturbed."

dong dong——

Before Nishii Satomi could finish her words, there was a knock on the sliding door.

"Please come in." Nishii Satomi said softly.

The old man came in with a plate of exquisite pastries and said with a big smile, "Come, try the pastries I just made. I'll give you something new to try."

Watanabe Hideyuki and Nishii Satomi smiled at each other and thanked the old man at the same time. Nishii Satomi took the cake and put it on the plate on the desk. Suddenly, an enticing aroma filled the air.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Watanabe Hideyuki couldn't help but exclaim. He picked up a piece of pastry and took a light bite. The crispy crust and sweet filling instantly blended in his mouth, making him intoxicated.

"Grandpa, your craftsmanship is getting better and better!" Nishii Satomi also praised.

"As long as you like it." The old man responded with a smile, and all the wrinkles on his face relaxed. It was obvious that he was very pleased with his granddaughter's praise.

He looked at Watanabe Hideyuki with a questioning look in his eyes, "Hideyuki, what do you think?"

Watanabe Hideyuki quickly swallowed the pastry in his mouth and gave a thumbs up, "It's really delicious, the crust is crispy, and the filling is sweet but not greasy. This is the most delicious pastry I have ever eaten."

He used all his life's knowledge to praise this pastry.

The old man smiled broadly after hearing this, "If you like it, I'll make more. Here, there are these too, try them." As he said that, he handed over a few more pieces of pastries with different flavors.

After doing all this, the old man walked out with the empty plate.

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

“I grew up here.”

Nishii Satomi suddenly spoke.

"My parents have been working in Tokyo. I live with my grandfather, who has always been the closest person to me..."

As she spoke, she suddenly paused and looked at Watanabe Hideyuki.

"I have a room next door. It's Mom and Dad's room. I'll clean it up for you later. You can stay there tonight."

"Yeah." Watanabe Hideyuki nodded slightly.

"What should we do now?" Nishii Rimi looked around, as if she had thought of something, and quickly ran to the cabinet to look for something. She found an old-fashioned Famicom and many game cards.

"Let's play games, Hideyuki-kun."

"it is good."

Nishii Satomi held the long-lost Famicom and a box full of game cards, her face filled with an excited smile.

Looking at the Famicom, Watanabe Hideyuki recalled many things.

It's just that the countless happy moments in the memory were all played back in a hurry, and finally froze at this moment, in front of him - on the chubby little face of Nishii Rimi.

She placed the machine on the table between them, quickly inserted a game card, and pressed the power button.

"Strange, why is there no response?" Nishii Rimi frowned, her face full of confusion. Her eyes moved back and forth between the machine and the TV, trying to find out what the problem was.

At this moment, Watanabe Hideyuki gently pointed behind the TV and said, "Stupid, you only remembered to plug in the controller, but forgot to connect it to the TV."

"Don't call me an idiot, Hideyuki-kun. Only an idiot can fail an idiot in an exam."