Chapter 28 second quarter

This was four years ago.In early spring, a fire broke out in Honjo Aioi Town.In addition to burning dozens of small shops and businesses, many homes were also knocked down to extinguish the flames. The disaster was very serious. In the house that was all burned down at that time, there was a large courtyard that the neighbors called "Jinyuan Dazayuan".Jinyuan is the name of a snack shop run by the landlord of Dazayuan, which is why Dazayuan got its name. The fire in Aioi Town completely burned down the Jinyuan Courtyard, and the tenants temporarily scattered in various places, waiting for the landlord to rebuild the Courtyard.However, shortly after the fire, there was news that it could not be rebuilt.Because Jinyuan's family was in decline, they couldn't find enough money to rebuild the two large courtyards facing the street and adjacent to the two shops, and the two large courtyards in the back alley.

Now that the landlord's family is in decline, the tenants are helpless.As a result, the manager of Jinyuan Dazayuan acted as a guarantor and arranged for the tenants to move to a new residence.After all the tenants settled down, the ruined Jinyuan Courtyard was still an unattended space. Not only did it become the most suitable playground for children nearby, some women also laid stakes and tied ropes to dry their clothes there. Also very convenient. There are all kinds of flowers and plants growing in the open space. If you ignore them, it will not only affect the appearance, but also mosquitoes flying in groups in summer will be unpleasant.Originally, the neighbors would come to pull weeds, but soon, someone—probably someone with a certain elegance—wanted to plant rapeseed here.If you grow vegetables, you have to take care of them, but rapeseed flowers can grow well if you don’t care about them; the flowers are beautiful, and the flower stems can be picked and eaten when they are tender.The man thought he could kill two birds with one stone.

Therefore, the ruins of the Dazayuan in the Yuan Dynasty became a rapeseed field.In the town of Aioi, which is full of houses, this place is unique.The landlord, Jinyuan, didn't complain too much.Thanks to that person, some people even come to visit it after hearing about it. In this way, spring is here again, and it is the season of rape blossoms.After discussions among the nearby residents, a rule was drawn up, stipulating how much to pick and eat. As a result, the moderately picked rapeseed fields bloomed more beautifully than last year. Not only the nearby residents, but also those who passed by Aioi Town were pleasing to the eye.

Xiji is one of them. The door and window shop where Gokaku Bathhouse buys fuel is located in Aioi Town.Because it is a shop that manufactures doors and windows, there are not many layers of wood chips, but the wood chips are wholesaled to the Bliss Bathhouse every other day, and it is one of the most frequent shops for Bliss Zaotang. Every time Xiji went to this door and window shop, he would pass by the rapeseed field in the ruins of Jinyuan Dazayuan.He loves flowers and really enjoys watching and admiring them here.It's so beautiful, so he once took Mao Qitouzi to come here to enjoy the flowers.At that time, a woman nearby happened to be weeding. He praised the beautiful flowers to her, and she even picked a bag of tender stems for the head wife, asking her to take it home to make cold salad.Xiji thought to himself, even if Jinyuan restores his family, it is best not to build any buildings here, and let the rapeseed field maintain the status quo.

Xiji fell in love with this rapeseed field.Of course, this is just another way of putting it. In fact, the other party is a real girl, but when Xiji first met her, he felt that she was like a rapeseed flower essence. She was a fair-skinned, slender girl.Although she is thin, the bright yellow rapeseed flowers reflect very beautifully on her cheeks.The girl is wearing a light green dress, a black belt and a yellow belt rope.In this dress, she stands floatingly in the field of rapeseed flowers, submerged in the sea of ​​yellow flowers below her knees.She was facing Xiji sideways—that is, facing the road—with her hands lightly placed on her chest like palms together, and she lowered her head slightly.

Xiji stopped, blinked, and stood there for a while.The scenery was so beautiful that it can be said too much.Before she had time to think about who she was and what she was doing, Xiji was already stunned by the scene that made her want to be cut out. Then he suddenly felt embarrassed.Staring so intently, if the girl suddenly turns around, she will feel embarrassed.Xiji left the rapeseed field in a hurry, and looked back when turning a corner, but she was still standing where she was just now.Xiji's heart was pounding. On the way back, Xiji quickened his pace and returned to the rapeseed field, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.He was very disappointed.It wasn't until this moment that he began to wonder who the girl was.He had never seen her around here in Aioi before.Such a beautiful girl, the young Xieji will definitely remember it once she sees her.

That night, Xiji always found it difficult to fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he vaguely saw the fair side face of the girl in the rapeseed field. The next day, when he didn't need to go to the door and window shop, Shikichi still went to Aioi Town.He figured out the exact hour yesterday before going out, but he was disappointed again when he didn't see the girl.Xiji strolled around the rapeseed field, dawdled for a while before returning to the Bliss bathhouse. On the third day, Shikichi headed to Aioi Town full of energy.He felt that the girl might be in the rapeseed field, although there was no basis for it, he thought so.Just thinking about it made Xiji very excited, and he laughed as he walked.

But the girl was not there.Xiji suddenly didn't want to go to the door and window shop, but today was the day to bring back the wood chips, so he couldn't go.Xiji pretended to be looking at the rapeseed flowers, and after waiting for a while, the girl still did not appear, so he had to go to the door and window shop. Xiji chatted with the masters of the door and window shop everywhere.That's because he didn't want to go back so soon. Passing through the rapeseed field without a girl, he felt that as long as he passed some time, the girl might appear.However, while chatting, Xiji suddenly thought that maybe the girl was going to the rapeseed field, and came to the rapeseed field when he was away.Thinking of this, Xiji hurriedly got up and left.

The girl appeared. Today she was standing on the side of the road, facing the rapeseed field, still lowering her head slightly.Her clothes today are the same as the last time I met Xijiguo, she is the embodiment of rapeseed flowers.Then again, why is her complexion so white?Xiji couldn't help feeling his cheeks getting hot. Because the girl was standing by the side of the road, Seji could stare at her closer than last time.Her bun is a bit loose, and short hair that doesn't fit hangs down at the temples.Xiji was secretly taken aback. Having done various jobs, Seiji, who is now helping Moshichi, has seen all kinds of women with different styles even though he is young, and of course he has also met very beautiful women.However, this is the first time that Xi Ji can be so tempted, especially for a woman with such drooping hair.Although the saying goes that no matter how old a woman is, as long as her hair is wet and unmovable, she is very attractive, but Xiji doesn't like it very much.He always felt that it was sloppy, and even if it was provocative, he felt that it was done on purpose to attract men's attention.

However, the hanging hair of this rape flower girl is different, and there is an urge to help her tie it up quietly. I don't know if the girl didn't notice Xiji, she just stood there gazing at the rapeseed field, without any sign of turning back.Xiji had also been standing six feet away from her, not only unable to speak to her, but also unable to look into her face, he stood there like a wooden man. At this time, the girl's body suddenly moved, and she took a step forward, as if she wanted to walk into the rapeseed field. "Hey you!" Such a voice came from the right.So the girl looked over there, and Xiji also turned her head.At the door of the house next to the rapeseed field, there was a woman with her sleeves tied up with a belt, leaning out her upper body and glaring at the girl angrily.

"You can't walk into the rapeseed field! Last time you went in too, right? We took care of it so beautifully with great difficulty, you can't just trample the flowers to death like this." The girl visibly panicked.She stepped back and almost bumped into Xiji, who quickly took a step back.The girl turned her heels and ran towards Okawa at an astonishing speed.Xiji didn't respond, just blinked and watched her go. "Hey! You can't step into the rapeseed field!" The woman also yelled at Seji.Xiji didn't look back at the woman until the girl's small back disappeared. "Auntie, do you know that girl?" "do not know!" The woman put her thick hands on her hips, and after gritting her teeth, she slammed the door shut.The door was tilted, and the walls of the house facing the rapeseed field were all nailed with boards of different shapes.It looks like it was refurbished with existing wooden boards after the fire. Xiji turned his head to look in the direction the girl ran away, but the girl had already disappeared without a trace. That night, while having dinner at Moshichi's house, Nokichi tentatively brought up the topic of rapeseed fields in Aioi Town.He thought maybe the boss knew about that girl. However, Mao Qi didn't seem to know anything about it, only the head wife happily said that this year's rape blossoms probably bloomed beautifully again, so I'd better go and see it another day. "You don't seem to have much energy today?" Mao Qi asked as she watched Xi Ji eating. "Don't you like grilled earthfish the most?" "Yes, it's delicious." "You don't look very tasty. Xiji didn't add more food, maybe there will be hailstorm tomorrow." When Xiji ate, he kept shrinking his neck.He felt as if his chest was blocked, and he really didn't know what to eat tonight. On the second and third days, Seji went to the rapeseed field.But I haven't seen the girl for two days.It is impossible for the busy Xiji to guard the rapeseed field all day, so he has to go back and forth to the Bliss Bathhouse frequently.Xiji, who is obviously happier than ever when eating, feels like he doesn't know what to eat every day. However, when Seiki went back on the third day, he wondered if visiting the nearby Inari Shrine had worked. He found the girl standing in the rapeseed field.Today she is wearing a yellow patterned dress on a dark blue background. This dress matches her fair face very well, and she looks more and more like the embodiment of rapeseed. Because Xiji was so happy, he hurriedly approached the girl desperately.The girl noticed it, raised her head in surprise, and met Xiji's eyes. The girl is crying.Those beautiful phoenix eyes were weeping. "Oh, I'm sorry..." Xiji blurted out in surprise. The girl bowed quickly to Xiji, then turned and ran away.Xiji stood still and watched her leave.However, when the girl turned into the corner of Aioicho and disappeared, Seiki suddenly remembered and ran after her.Just at the corner of the street, I saw the girl slowing down, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand, and then speeding away again. Xiji was careful not to let the girl notice, and followed behind.The girl walked towards Okawa for a while, then went south and crossed the Ichimoku Bridge.She walked feebly along the waterway beside Mifunkura, and when she came to the Shinohashi bridge, she passed through the crowd and turned left.Xiji hid in the crowd of people coming and going, and kept following the girl. This area is Fukagawa Motomachi.Beside the street to the east of the new bridge, there are many small restaurants or small dressing shops.The girl walked into one of the soba noodle shops with the "Aoi House" signboard. The aroma of buckwheat noodles wafts from the gaps in the latticed window lattice next to the latticed paper door.Normally, the smell would definitely make people feel hungry, but when Shiji smelled the smell, he just stood there in a daze at a loss.At this moment, a man who looked like a businessman opened the door, and Xiji stopped him. "Excuse me, but a young girl entered this soba noodle shop just now..." "Ah, you mean Ah Shi." "Miss Ah Shi? Is she the daughter of this shop?" "That's right. Everyone came here because of her reputation." After the man finished speaking, he bit the toothpick by his mouth, frowned and said, "I heard that I have been in poor health for the past year, and I seem to have no energy at all. For a while, I heard that I don’t know where to recuperate, and I haven’t seen anyone.” Xiji thanked the man, and after the man left, he thought for a while.He originally planned to go to the soba noodle shop, but finally gave up because of hesitation.Breaking in now will probably only scare her. If she waits patiently, she will definitely go to the rapeseed field again. In fact, it did.The next day, Seji went to the rapeseed field at the same time as the day before, just in time to see the girl walking down the street.Xiji smiled so that the girl would not run away when she saw him. She lowered her head and kept walking while looking at the ground, so she didn't notice Xiji right away.Almost at the same time, when she saw Xi Ji, she stood there in a daze, and Xi Ji greeted her loudly. "Girl, no, don't go." Xi Ji said as gently as possible. "I'm not a bad person, you don't have to be afraid. I've seen you here a few times, and you seem to have some troubles, so I want to talk to you." Because she was too nervous, Xi Ji stammered.He couldn't say a word he was going to say when he met the girl. "Here, Otoki-san, are you Otoki-san? Are you the daughter of Aoiya, a soba noodle shop in Motomachi, Fukagawa? My name is Ishikichi, and I work at a bathhouse called Gokuraku in Kitamori Shitamachi..." The girl shrank her neck, as if planning to run away when Xieji was unaware, and Xiji felt even more anxious when she saw this. "However, besides the bathhouse, I actually also help the head of Huixiang's yard. It's to help the shogunate catch criminals. So I'm not a bad person, do you understand?" The girl frowned slightly.Her fair face spoke for the first time. "The shogunate..." she muttered to herself. "Yes, yes." Xi Ji nodded fiercely. "So, maybe I'm nosy, but when I saw Miss Ah Shi seemed very troubled, I thought to myself, I don't know if I can help you." The girl tilted her head to look at Xiji, then said in a trembling voice, "Yes, I am Ashi, the daughter of Kuiwu. How do you know?" Xiji bowed to his nose with one hand, apologizing as quickly as possible. "I'm really sorry, I followed you last time. Please forgive me." Xi Ji bowed, then raised his head, only to see Ah Shi blinking slowly.She no longer looked like she was about to run away at any time as before, and Xi Ji breathed a sigh of relief. "Miss Ashi... I'll call you Miss Ashi... Is there something sad about you? The customer from the sunflower house who told me your name was also worried about you. He said that your health is not good. Besides, Did you cry when you came to the rapeseed field last time?" Ah Shi suddenly lowered his shoulders and looked at Xi Ji.She hesitated to speak, then turned her head to look at the rapeseed field, and then turned her head to look at Xiji. "Will you believe what I say?" "Well, I believe so." "I hate people who promise lightly." "No. I'm... I'm just worried about you." Xiji didn't know what to do, and broke into a cold sweat. "Every time I see you here, I'm always worried." Ash lowered his head.Xiji thought she didn't trust him anymore, and was disappointed.However, after a while, Ah Shi raised his head and said in a small but clearer voice than before: "In this case, I will tell you. Please help me." Xiji took her to a nearby glutinous rice dumpling shop, and the two sat on a stool in the corner, Ah Shi whispered her thoughts.Afterwards, Seji was so surprised that he almost fell off the stool. Ah Shi said: "Under the rapeseed field, a poor baby who was killed by his parents was buried. Although I know about it, it's the same thing. No matter what I say, no one will believe me, so I feel very sad .”