Tokyo Three Generations

“I thought I was contributing to the local community and incidentally building up my family's wealth. I helped them pull strings to obtain huge sums of money. I thought it was all perfect... that everyone would benefit. But in the end…”

The old man first clenched his fist, then suddenly opened his five fingers, making an explosion gesture.

"Boom!"

Jun Takasaki wanted to laugh at his grandfather's joke, but couldn't manage to.

“Yes, the bubble burst, everything was over. We had nothing left but ruins and bad bank loans. How much bad debt did Akita have? Was it hundreds of billions or trillions? And how much of that was my responsibility? I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.” The old man continued with a melancholy tone, “Yet no one held me accountable. Yes, why should I be held accountable? Everyone did it. Compared to Tokyo, Osaka, and other places, we were practically small fry. Yes, bad debts piled up, still eroding the budget here today, but nobody even knows my name, let alone holds me accountable.”

Takasaki Jun just smiled, but it wasn't just relief; there was also a hint of mockery in his expression.

“We have created trillions of dollars in bad debts, which are passed on to future generations year after year, until all those who were responsible at the time have passed away. Then it will truly become the ‘sin’ of the times, and no one will have to take any responsibility anymore. In fact, mentioning it seems shameful, and everyone avoids talking about it. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Although Grandpa spoke so casually, Jun Takasaki could detect a hint of... shame and unease in his voice.

why?

Could it be that the person who vowed to rise above others by any means necessary since his youth still harbors a trace of longing for his hometown deep in his heart?

If Grandpa simply wanted to profit from it, he might feel at ease, since the law doesn't punish everyone, and once it's over, it's over.

But he had ambitions, and he once thought that while pursuing personal success, he should also benefit his hometown. So when he looked back on his life and saw the ruins surrounding Tianze Lake, he felt ashamed.

Ultimately, which politician would willingly look back on their life with nothing but ruins as their "answer sheet"?

Ask about your life's achievements: bad debts, uncollectible debts, and dead debts.

Faced with the old man's inner turmoil, Jun Takasaki didn't know how to comfort him—he didn't even know if he should comfort his grandfather.

As a member of a vested interest group, the Takasaki family remains unscathed even though they were involved in creating this mess of bad debts—after all, the cost was borne by others.

"Don't take it too hard," he could only comfort his grandfather after hesitating for a moment. "What's done is done. Besides, that's just how things are. Even if you hadn't done it, someone else would have. You didn't do any worse than anyone else."

"Yes, that's right." Faced with his grandson's words of comfort, Takasaki Jun simply nodded.

Then, he changed the subject, "This country is dying, but it's dying quietly, slowly dying as everyone lives seemingly unchanging lives. Akita will perish... Jun, I'm so sorry to entrust such a dying country to you. You should have soared to great heights like me, but now you can only be a gravedigger, while I irresponsibly took my leave before everything was beyond redemption..."

“So what if I’m a gravedigger?” Jun Takasaki retorted. “Even if I’m just a gravedigger, I can do it comfortably. I can live to the fullest and enjoy everything I like until it ends… Isn’t that the kind of mono no aware we love? As for the problems that follow, let the unlucky ones after that have to deal with them. The old men of the Showa era could run away irresponsibly back then, so of course I can too.”

After saying that, the grandfather and grandson stopped talking and both looked at Tianze Lake under the morning light.

By this time, the sky was completely bright, and the brilliant spring sunshine had wiped away all the thin mist that shrouded the lake. The once blurred boundary between the lake and the snow-capped mountains was now clearly separated.

The desires and ambitions built on money will die and turn into ruins; the cities built by people will wither and disappear, but nature will never die. The mountains, lakes, snow, and every blade of grass and tree here will never perish.

Like dew and lightning, they should be viewed in this way.

34. An Unexpected Encounter

[Spring Akita large-scale tourism campaign]

Starting with Akita's signature spring mountain vegetable festival, the main dishes are seasonal bamboo shoot dishes, mountain vegetable tempura, and more.

Then, a strawberry buffet, afternoon tea, and limited-edition dessert event will be held in the strawberry growing area;

Next up are snow sports and hot spring experiences;

Next is the joint worship ceremony of gods and Buddhas, and traditional dance and music;

Finally, the event concludes with the Akita City Senshu Park Cherry Blossom Festival.

—The above is the proposal for a series of large-scale cultural and tourism activities planned by Akita Prefecture this year.

After reviewing the proposal, Jun Takasaki suddenly realized that this spring break was actually quite interesting.

He grew up and was educated in Tokyo. Although he returns to his hometown for a short period of time every year, life there is still very unfamiliar to him. That's why the full schedule of local cultural and tourism activities during this spring break gives him a unique sense of novelty.

More importantly, he doesn't have to pay for any of these expenses; someone else will take care of everything for him. He just needs to enjoy the food, skiing, hot springs, and cherry blossom festival.

Dad called it a "reward," and it certainly was.

"Won't this give people something to talk about?" He still had one last concern. "It wouldn't be good to openly take advantage of benefits and get criticized."

“Absolutely not, don’t worry.” Kenji Sakura immediately dispelled his doubts. “In the event planning, you are one of the specially hired volunteers. Since you are a volunteer, you should naturally experience all aspects of the event, and it is only natural that you enjoy some event discounts.”

excellent.

It seems they're already quite adept at this kind of thing.

What can Jun Takasaki say now that things have come to this? He should just enjoy this benefit.

Jun Takasaki then turned his attention to the end of the proposal.

—Special Tourism Ambassador Minami Mori.

The name stirred up Jun Takasaki's memories, and he finally remembered that this had happened.

Actually, the logic behind inviting big stars is understandable.

Planning such a large-scale event would certainly involve a high total budget. To silence any criticism, the more grand and solemn the event, the better (so that everyone can openly share the money).

Therefore, it's only natural to hire a big star like Minami Mori...

Although he wasn't particularly interested in following celebrities, Jun Takasaki had personally witnessed Mutsumi Wakaba's stunning beauty, so he wanted to see her mother up close what kind of charm she possessed.

Moreover, according to his father, he had tried to pursue her back then, but failed, which only fueled Jun's curiosity.

Anyway, I'll just watch the fun since I have nothing else to do—I'll just consider it part of the event.

"When will Ms. Mori arrive?" he asked Kenji Sakura casually.

Kenji Sakura picked up the event schedule, looked it over carefully, and then gave his answer. "It's the day after tomorrow. She'll be taking a flight from Tokyo to Akita, arriving at Akita Airport around 2 PM."

“Since he’s a big star, there must be a lot of people waiting for him at the airport…” Jun Takasaki frowned.

As expected of Kenji Sakura, who had worked for two generations of Takasaki family members for more than ten years, he immediately understood Jun Takasaki's unspoken meaning: "Don't worry, as a volunteer, we can arrange for you to be in the front row to pick her up at the airport, and you can even get her autograph."

To be honest, he wasn't surprised at all by his young master's idea.

Big stars, who wouldn't want to see them in person?

He had helped with similar things in the past, so now it was just a familiar routine for him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Kenji." Jun Takasaki expressed his sincere gratitude, even giving him a thumbs up. "I'll try to get you an autograph too."

At this point, Jun Takasaki remembered something else, "By the way, what's Minami Mori's family situation like? I remember she's married, right?"

“That’s right, she married Takafumi Wakaba a long time ago. He’s a very famous comedian.” Kenji Sakura had clearly been a fan of celebrities in the past, so he answered fluently.

No wonder that's what her daughter's name is Ruoye Mutsu.

No, that's still not right.

According to current Japanese law, married couples must share the same surname after marriage (but it is not limited to using either spouse's surname, so the Toyokawa family will change their surname to Toyokawa after taking in a son-in-law).

Therefore, judging from the name "Wakaba Mutsumi," it is clear that Wakaba Takafumi and Mori Minami used the surname "Wakaba" to register their marriage.

Of course, many famous female celebrities continue to use their real names in public after marriage in order not to affect their popularity, so it is not surprising that Sammi Nami did so.

After figuring all this out, Jun Takasaki felt relieved.

=====================================

The 2 PM flight arrived as scheduled. The Boeing 737, with its gentle roar, carrying tourists to Akita, suddenly landed on the airport runway.

However, unlike the usual passengers, there was a special passenger in the first-class cabin of this flight today.

Because they received the news early, a large number of Ms. Minami Mori's fans gathered at the airport exit, waiting for the moment when their idol would officially appear in Akita.

At this moment, Jun Takasaki was one step ahead of all the fans. He stood by the airport's jet bridge as a volunteer, waiting for the moment when the big star would appear.

The plane glided along the runway, slowing down as it approached the designated jet bridge, and finally came to a gentle stop.

Jun Takasaki knew that he would soon be able to see the big star up close—after all, first-class passengers had priority to disembark, so she would definitely be one of the first to come out.

Sure enough, almost a few moments later, a beautiful figure appeared in his line of sight.

She was slender and clearly dressed up carefully, wearing a light yellow trench coat over a pink shirt, white wide-leg pants, and a bowler hat, exuding the mature charm of a married woman.

Although she wore large brown sunglasses that covered half of her face, making it difficult to see her features clearly, her fair skin was enough to prove her beauty.

More importantly, Takasaki Jun could recognize her as Mori Minami almost without anyone announcing her name—because light blue hair cascaded out from under the gap in the bowler hat, and that signature hair color said it all.

With just one glance, Jun Takasaki could tell that Ms. Minami Mori was indeed a rare beauty, and Mutsumi Wakaba was her miniature version (or conversely, that Minami Mori was her enlarged, mature version).

Of course, that's not important.

Yes, that doesn't matter!

Because, beside this lady, there was clearly another small figure following closely behind Ms. Mori.

This little girl was much shorter than Ms. Mori, and naturally couldn't have the same curves and figure as the lady, but her fresh and ethereal temperament was enough to make up for this small shortcoming.

Like the lady, she was also wearing a sun hat, but because she wasn't wearing glasses, Jun Takasaki could easily see her face.

Yes, he still has that usual "it's none of my business" attitude, his eyes are blank, he seems oblivious to everyone around him, and he just keeps going on his own way.

What? Not only is the enlarged version here, but the original version is here too?

Jun Takasaki was greatly surprised.

Standing next to Takasaki Jun, Sakura Kenji chuckled inwardly, wondering why his young master, who was usually so worldly, was so out of control this time, staring at a celebrity so intently.

However, to his surprise, Jun Takasaki suddenly turned to look at him with a stern questioning gaze.

"She didn't come alone? She brought family members with her?"

Kenji Sakura was somewhat bewildered by Jun Takasaki's sudden question. "In order to make a good impression on the national audience, we have planned a lot of parent-child activities for this event, such as strawberry picking and skiing, so Ms. Mori brought her daughter along."

"Then why didn't you say so?" Jun Takasaki finally understood the whole story.

“You didn’t ask…” Kenji Sakura could only sigh helplessly, “It’s not important, is it?”

No, it's very important.

Jun Takasaki silently answered in his heart, then turned to look at the mother and daughter not far away.

At this moment, the two of them were almost out of the covered bridge. Because of the close distance, Takasaki Jun could feel the completely different temperaments of the two beauties, one big and one small.

Ms. Mori is bright and flamboyant, mature and charming. As a big star, she is very used to being in the spotlight. Every move she makes is photogenic, and almost every frame of her could be a magazine cover. Although she wears sunglasses on the surface, seemingly trying to hide her identity, her every smile and frown reveals a coy "Look, a big star is here!" attitude.

He's really good at manipulating people's hearts...

However, Wakaba Mutsu, who followed behind her, was quite different. Her gaze was lowered, as if she wanted to shrink into her mother's shadow, completely isolating herself from the noisy environment. Her pale skin and quiet pace gave her an air of purity at all times.

It must be said that beautiful women are pleasing to the eye. Although the mother and daughter have very different temperaments, the scene of the two of them together is unforgettable.

Both are stunning beauties, but if one had to compare them, compared to Minami Mori's flamboyant beauty, the fragile and pure quality of Mutsuka Wakaba is more to Jun Takasaki's personal taste.

He was, after all, still a young man who hadn't completely shaken off his boyish ways. He liked youth, and even more so, he liked the kind of endearing and protective qualities that could evoke a protective instinct.

I still prefer pretty girls, as expected.

He said to himself with a strange sense of pride.

Behind the mother and daughter were several people, including a makeup artist and assistant, acting like big stars. However, Jun Takasaki completely ignored the passersby.

"Young master, are you satisfied now? They've all left." Just then, Kenji Sakura whispered to him.

It was only at this moment that Jun Takasaki finally snapped out of his self-satisfied comparison.

He was a little embarrassed, but also a little excited.

Kenji Sakura didn't understand his idea and thought that the young master was fascinated by the aura of a big star, so he suggested to him, "Ms. Mori and her party must have a lot of luggage... You can help her get it, and you can also chat with her for a bit."

His idea was wrong, but his suggestion was excellent, and Jun Takasaki immediately adopted it.

After disembarking first, the first-class passengers went to the baggage claim area to collect their belongings, and Ruoye Mu and her daughter were no exception.

The mother and daughter did not speak to each other along the way. Ruo Ye Mu simply followed behind her mother step by step. The rhythmic clicking of her mother's high heels on the ground was like a drumbeat with hidden meaning, striking her heart and making her involuntarily nervous.

"Mu-chan."

The sound was deliberately lowered, as if it were a celestial melody.

The girl initially thought she was hallucinating, but soon she sensed something was wrong and instinctively glanced in the direction of the sound.

Then, she opened her eyes wide.

If she weren't so taciturn, she probably would have screamed.

Because she clearly saw an "acquaintance" standing in front of her, holding her suitcase in his hand.

Although he was wearing only a shabby volunteer uniform, his upright posture and sharp, assertive aura could not be concealed.

However, at this moment, he simply looked at me with a gentle smile, as if I were a long-lost friend.