Chapter 4 The transfer student with shiny leather shoes

I transferred to elementary school in Saga. Saga is centered on the ruins of the old city of Saga, surrounded by moats on the north, west and south sides, and the county government, museums, art galleries, etc. are scattered along the streets. When I first arrived, I was amazed at the country-like landscape, but the place where my grandmother's house is located is actually the downtown area of ​​Saga! And the river in front of grandma's house, which she called the "supermarket", is a tributary of the Dobusch River, connected to the moat. The main building of the old city of Saga has disappeared, only the stone walls and door openings of the old city gate remain.

The Chisong Elementary School I transferred to was on the site of the old city. On the first day of school, I put on the gold button uniform and the pair of shiny leather shoes that my cousin gave me, and went to school with my grandmother.As a result, what I saw in front of me surprised me again. Because Hiroshima was completely destroyed, all the buildings are new, and the elementary school is no exception. They are all modern school buildings newly built after the war.But in Chisong Primary School, I was taken into an old weird building as soon as I entered the door. The teacher and grandma looked calm, chatting while walking in the dark building, I followed behind, thinking: "Is this really an elementary school?"

The teacher forcefully opened the door of the classroom. There used to be a tea room with tatami mats inside, and the students were kneeling.I suddenly felt that time was turned back to many decades ago. I'm surprised.Everyone was surprised, too, and looked suspiciously at me in my gold-buttoned uniform. "This is Tokunaga Akihiro-kun from Hiroshima, everyone should get along well!" The teacher introduced me to everyone. At that time, Hiroshima was considered a metropolis in the eyes of the people of Saga, and my unfashionable gold-buttoned uniform and leather shoes made me look like a bumbling city kid, which made them uncomfortable.

After the teacher urged me to sit on the seat, the child next to me said to me: "Your mother is so old!" I bow my head. I wanted to say: "She's not my mother, she's my grandma!" But I felt a little sorry for the grandma who sent me to school and was still standing in the classroom, so I didn't say anything. Grandma smiled at me embarrassingly, and after greeting the teacher attentively, she went back. At first, my classmates kept me at arm's length, but that was only for a short time.A month later, I have fully integrated into the new school. In the muddy chasing romp, the leather shoes quickly fell to pieces, so I donned clogs like the neighborhood kids.

Without my mother around, I was still very lonely.However, although life in the country is poor, it also has a different kind of fun.Although you can't go to the store to buy snacks, the fruit on the tree is enough for snacks.The first thing I ate in Saga was hackberry.The small, dark fruit may seem unpalatable at first glance, but it tastes sweet and sour, a bit like an apricot. There was a big hackberry tree by the river, the trunk branched off in two, and there was a tree burr, which made people want to climb up after seeing it.Everyone climbed up together to pick the fruit. The fruit is very small, and each person will not be full if he eats hundreds of them.Often seven or eight of us climb up the tree together, cling to the branches, pick the fruit and put it in our mouths.

It was a happy leisure time combining tree climbing games and snack time. It was autumn, and Saga also produced cornel fruit, persimmons, etc., which were new to me who grew up in a big city.Of course, these games don't cost money. Climbing trees, chasing along the river, and the day passes in the blink of an eye. The toys are also homemade, and we will build a secret base in the tree, or make a bamboo raft, and paddle on the river.As the material of wood, you can have as much as you want, and you don't need money at all. Such days were simple and happy, but soon, kendo became popular.

There were a few children here and there who went to the dojo to learn swordsmanship, and I also sneaked to see it with the wild children nearby. Those companions who usually chase and run with us, covered in mud, are wearing Taoist uniforms in the dojo, waving bamboo knives solemnly.That appearance is handsome for no reason, which makes people tempted and wants to learn kendo.I hurried home and told my grandma: "Grandma, I went to see Kendo today." "Oh." "It's so handsome!" "yes." "I also want to learn kendo." "It's good to study."

"real?" "If you want to learn, learn." "Really? Then accompany me to the dojo to register tomorrow, and they will tell us which protective gear and masks to buy." "Huh? Does it cost money?" "Well, I want money—" Before I finished saying the word "money", my grandma's attitude suddenly changed. "Then stop learning!" "what?" "Stop learning." "But you just—" "Stop learning." No matter what I said, she just said the words "stop learning". I'm so disappointed.

Although he reluctantly accepts the reality, he always fantasizes about being handsome while wearing protective gear and wielding a bamboo knife. A classmate said to the dejected me: "Tokunaga-kun, shall we learn judo?" So after school, I hurried to watch it again. Although it is not as charming as kendo, you only need to buy judo uniforms.I ran home out of breath and pestered my grandma: "Let me learn judo, it doesn't cost as much as kendo." "Is it free?" "It's not free—" "Stop learning." Normally, I would not say anything willful, but at that time, I just had the vision of learning a sport.I tried my best to let my grandma know that I wanted to learn a kind of exercise. After listening carefully to what I meant, my grandma nodded vigorously.

"I understand. In this case, I recommend a good exercise to you." "What sport?" "Let's start running tomorrow." "running?" "Yes, there is no need for protective gear, and the road for running is free, so just run." That might sound like something was wrong, but I was just a kid and I readily agreed to go for a run.However, there was no track team in the school at the time, and I was just running around the campus by myself.After school, when everyone was happily playing ball or other activities, I silently ran 50 meters at full speed, over and over again.I may be a weirdo in the eyes of others, but I take my running seriously.How serious am I?I used to run to the river with my friends to play as soon as school was over. Since I started practicing running, I was always late for thirty or forty minutes.

Just run every day. "I ran very seriously today." I proudly reported to my grandma. But grandma said: "Don't run so hard!" "Why can't you run as fast as you can?" "Because the stomach will be hungry." "Oh……" She still wants to say something.When I left, she grabbed me and said: "Also, do you wear shoes when you run?" "yes." "Fool, run barefoot, or your shoes will wear out!" But I didn't obey these two instructions, I still ran desperately every day, and of course I continued to run with my shoes on. Taking tree fruits as snacks, making toys by myself, and running is just a sport. It is really a very simple and poor life. But when I was a child, I didn't think it was too hard or sad.One day, on a whim, I said to my grandma: "Grandma, although our family is poor now, it will be nice if we have money in the future." But my grandmother answered me like this: "What do you mean? There are two kinds of poverty: the poor are depressed and the poor are cheerful. Our family is poor and cheerful. Besides, we are different from the people who change from rich to poor. You don't have to worry, you have to be confident. Because our family My ancestors have been poor for generations. It is very hard to be a rich person. You have to eat good food, go on a trip, and you are so busy. Moreover, you have to worry about falling when you walk on the road wearing good clothes. Just from this point See, the poor are used to wearing dirty clothes, and it doesn't matter if they get wet, sit on the ground, or wrestle. Ah, how good it is to be poor!" ... I can only say: "Grandma, good night."