Chapter 5 Section five

Father brought the woman in the kimono home just once.But their relationship was not completely severed from then on. On the contrary, the frequency of father going out at night increased, and the number of times he did not return to camp at night increased, and I also got used to spending the night alone. The clinic's business even seems to me to be dull.Occasionally I go to the clinic for business, and the waiting room is often empty, only the lady at the counter is idle. Even so, my father at the time still had a cheerful face, dressed in style, and the number of visits to the barbershop increased.

One night, I heard my father talking on the phone, who seemed to be a woman. "I told you to quit your job in the store early. When are you going to quit?" Father said in a low voice, but I still heard the conversation. "It's not that I'm going to get married right now, but it will be sooner or later. I didn't lie to you, I was serious. So Zhimozi, quit your job as soon as possible! Do you hear me? Please." I was taken aback when I heard what my father said.It wasn't long before my mother left, but my father seemed to mean it. If I am now, I can give my father a lot of advice at that time, but as a child, I knew nothing about men and women.I guess, the other party should be like his father, he loves his father from the bottom of his heart.

One Sunday, I felt my father's growing love. "Hey, I'll take you to a nice place today." My father said while having breakfast later. I asked my father where he was going. "Ginza. Go shopping. I'll buy you something. Then go eat something delicious." I am overjoyed.My father hasn't taken me out for a while. I thought, that should be my first time to Ginza.Row upon row of high-end stores, well-dressed adults strutted about.The whole street is full of vitality, and everything looks resplendent and resplendent.I can't imagine that this is the same space as the world I usually live in.

"Why, isn't this street spectacular?" My father said as he walked. "After Kazuko becomes an adult, he must be able to shop on this street." I nodded and looked around.I thought, does coming here prove success? Although he said he wanted to go shopping, his father entered the coffee shop first.Leather chairs are lined up in the store, some happy-looking customers are chatting and laughing, and the waitresses are wearing fluffy aprons.It reminded me of something my mother used to say about how she couldn't understand what was going on in the mind of someone who paid hundreds of dollars for a cup of coffee.It was the first time I stepped into a coffee shop.

My father ordered coffee. Seeing that I was flustered and didn't know what to order, he suggested that I order orange juice. The orange juice that came was better than any juice I've had before.And it's incredible to me that the name of orange juice is also suitable for them, and the taste is completely different.I sip my sips through a straw. Not long after, a woman appeared in the store, the woman who was wearing a kimono before, but this time she was not wearing a kimono, but a light one-piece dress.Perhaps because of her hair down, she looked younger than when they met before.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She smiled and sat down across from us. "No, we have only just arrived." Father replied.His tone was lighter than usual. She ordered black tea with lemon.Father introduced us to each other again before the tea was brought.But it was an introduction, but she just told me that her name was "Zhimozi", so I still don't know what her last name is until now. My father would go on and on about me, like what subjects I was good at, what games I liked, and what my personality was like.Listening to what my father said, I had a strange feeling, because I was so different from me, I couldn't imagine that it was me.For example, I am good at subjects, I think my father's memory probably still stays at the stage of my lower grades in elementary school.He seemed to think of me as a twelve-year-old child who was still playing monster games.

My father probably wanted to introduce me to Shimako as an "innocent and easy-to-handle kid".Generally speaking, I kept my head down during the conversation, but occasionally I looked up at Shimoko's face while drinking a drink.I don't know how many times I met her eyes, and she smiled slightly, so I blushed and lowered my head in panic. "As long as you like, Dad will buy it for you." After walking out of the coffee shop, my father said to me. I said, I want a stereo.That's when I became interested in music. "Okay, I'll buy it for you." Father said sonorously, walking forward.

But his father's footsteps stopped in front of the high-end jewelry store first.Zhimozi hooked his father's right arm and whispered something in his ear. "Then, let's go and have a look." The father nodded vigorously, and then walked into the store with his arm hooked by Zhimozi. Inside the store is a dizzying world.The items on display in the display cases exude a divine radiance.The clerk also has a noble temperament that I have never been exposed to before.The store is filled with a sense of superiority that only the selected elite can be present. There is a place for reception sofas in the store, and my father asked me to wait there.The clerk brought me drinks and chocolates.Judging from the appearance of the shop assistants, it seems that this is not the first time that my father and the others have come to this store.

The male clerk in the gray-black jacket answered with his father, but it was the clerk and Shimako who were mainly talking.Father just nodded from time to time, listening to their conversation. Zhimozi asked the clerk to arrange the rings and necklaces on the display cabinet one after another, and tried them on one by one, and then asked his father if they looked good, but his father always replied in the same way: "Not bad." It took a long time for Shimoko to obtain jewelry such as rings, necklaces, and earrings.She just got a bunch of presents, and she was in a good mood, and her father also seemed to be satisfied after letting his lover see his majestic side.

Zhimozi had just finished buying a bunch of jewelry, but when he walked out of the store, he said to his father: "I really want the birthstone. I don't have any shabby ones in my hand." "Okay, I'll buy it for you next time I come." "Really? You are the best." She tightly hooked her father's arm. I have heard that Shimoko's birthday is May.But I don't know if my father kept his promise and bought the emerald for her afterwards. After leaving the jewelry store, I changed into a kimono store.I waited impatiently, wondering when my father would buy me a stereo, but my father didn't seem to take my matter to heart.At that time, the father may have been overjoyed at the success of introducing his lover and son to each other.

Shimako also dressed up in the kimono shop, and finally bought the most expensive-looking kimono and pockets.The owner of the kimono shop nodded and bowed to his father with a smile on his face, thanking him repeatedly. Then, my father's footsteps finally went to the electrical appliance store.But the amazing thing is, just when I was in the middle of choosing the stereo, Zhimozi whispered to his father: "He wants a new refrigerator." "Yeah? Don't you have a refrigerator?" "I want a bigger one. You know, I can't usually go shopping. People want to buy more things and store them in case you don't have anything to eat when you come suddenly." "I see." Needless to say, after buying my stereo, my father naturally went to the refrigerator store. I have no way of knowing how much my father spent on that woman.Her father reported to high-end hotels in Ginza almost every day, and he paid for her outfits, including luxury items.Converting one month's cost into today's prices, I'm afraid it will not be less than two million yen.In addition, there is alimony to the mother. It is conceivable that the financial burden on the father is not small.The point is that the business of the clinic is still not ideal. However, it is impossible for my father to tell the truth to anyone, so no one will give my father any advice.The only one who is aware of the crisis in the Tajima family is the maid Achun. "Sir, you can really hold on. He spends more time drinking and drinking at night than staying in the clinic, right?" Ah Chun often said sharply when preparing dinner. "But anyway, as long as my husband pays me on time, I have no right to speak." Every time I think back to that year, I feel hateful.It doesn't matter who it is, as long as someone reminds father.It may not be easy to awaken the father who is obsessed with young and beautiful women, but if someone stopped him from continuing to be absurd, maybe it would not have caused such serious consequences. More than a month had passed since I went shopping in Ginza, and my father went out that night.I listened to The Beatles on my newly bought stereo while reading mystery novels as usual. Around one o'clock in the morning, the phone rang.Since then, I've never been called at such a late hour, which really surprised me.I walked out into the hallway and tentatively reached for the black phone on the cabinet. "Hey." "Ah... Excuse me..." The man who called seemed confused, and only half-spoken.He probably didn't expect that it would be a child who answered the phone. "Is this Tajima's house?" "yes." "Ah, that's it. Is your mother home?" "she is not here." "So, are there any other adults at home? Grandpa or grandma is fine." "No, I'm the only one at home." "Only you at home?" The man didn't know what to do, and after talking to the people around him, he picked up the microphone to speak again. "Actually, I'm a policeman. Your father was injured and taken to the hospital." "Huh?" I was so scared that my whole body became cold. "There will be patrolling police coming to your house later, before that, can you help me check the contact information of relatives or acquaintances?" "Oh, good." My mind went blank as I replied. The man asked what my name was.It took me a lot of effort to tell him how to write Kazuko. I spent the next few hours in a panic.First the police officers came to the house, and then the relatives came and asked me a lot of questions and ordered me to do things and things. It was early morning when I arrived at the hospital where my father was taken.However, because I refused to receive visitors, I was still unable to see my father in the end. Afterwards, it was explained by someone, and based on what I know, the situation that happened that night is roughly as follows. Father went to the shop where Shimako worked as usual, drank until after twelve o'clock, and then left the hotel alone to go to another bar.He and Shimoko made an appointment to meet in that shop. However, on the way to another bar, the father was attacked from behind and passed out on the spot.There was no one passing by that road, so there were no witnesses.After his father passed out, passers-by thought he was drunk on the street, and never thought of calling the police.It wasn't until later that an uncle selling ramen at a stall noticed that his father's head was bleeding. Father's wallet and other belongings were still on him, and the police confirmed his identity from his ID card and business card, so they called home. A blood-stained wrench was found at the scene, and the blood on it was consistent with that of his father.The police believed that this was not a case of robbery, but a murder suspect who had a grudge against his father. After searching, it was found that the suspect was a bartender working in Xinqiao.The bartender was dating Shimoko, who spent half of the week at his place. Zhimozi's relationship with his father is purely for money.Her ultimate goal is to open a shop with her bartender boyfriend.For this dream, she seems to be able to endure temporarily handing over her body to a man she doesn't like. However, young lovers can't bear it.That night, he found the place where Zhimozi met his father, lay in ambush and waited for his father's arrival, and then attacked him from behind. After he was arrested by the police and made a confession, he also claimed that he had no intention of killing, but just wanted to make his father suffer, so that his father might be alert and stop approaching Zhimozi.The motive of the crime is so simple. The father regained consciousness shortly after being taken to the hospital.He suffered two serious injuries to his head.I saw my father on the fourth day after the incident.Father's consciousness is very clear, and he also remembers the incident clearly.Before the father was beaten, he saw the face of the man hiding behind the building, which enabled the police to solve the case early. During my father's hospitalization, relatives took turns staying at home.They kept asking Ah Chun about Zhimozi, a seductive woman, and the focus of their concern was how much money his father had wasted on her.The relatives who heard what had happened from Ah Chun all frowned. Meanwhile, relatives secretly held a family meeting at my house.At that time, I also found a tax agent who was in charge of the clinic's accounting affairs.He was like a defendant, sitting in front of the crowd and being questioned about my family's financial situation. At this time, everyone knew that the business situation of the dental clinic was going from bad to worse, and that the savings of the Tajima family had dropped significantly.Some people attacked why the tax agent let things go like this.The tax agent countered in a low voice, saying that he was only responsible for taxation and had no room for comment on the operation.Besides, the tax agent has no way of knowing how the customer spends the money in private. The relatives said in one voice: "If this continues, the Tajima family will be ruined. We must quickly find a solution." Let's talk after leaving the hospital. However, the seriousness of the matter was beyond their imagination. Three days later, my father was discharged from the hospital.My father's cousins ​​said they were going to pick him up from the hospital, but he went home by himself.He was in a terrible mood, and he didn't bother to answer his relatives who came forward to greet him. "He became angry from embarrassment. Money was cheated by a woman, and he encountered such unlucky things, so he felt embarrassed and ashamed to see everyone." The relative went home muttering. My father and I haven't eaten together for a long time.That night, Ah Chun cooked a big meal for us. However, halfway through the meal, my father stopped the chopsticks suddenly and stared at his right hand.I also noticed that my father's fingertips were twitching slightly. "Dad... what happened to your right hand?" Father didn't answer right away.After staring at his right hand for a while, he came back to look at me. "Yeah? Ah, oh, it's nothing." Father put down his chopsticks and walked out of the restaurant. A dentist is like a craftsman—that was my father's mantra. "Think about it! The dentist cuts and fills, and also fills the cavity with metal. Besides, he can't put the dentures made by the dental model directly into the patient's mouth to complete the work. Each person's situation, do the finishing touches. How is this not like a craftsman? A dentist will be a craftsman as much as a metal engraver, and a craftsman. The proof is that not only the work is better, but the price is also cheap. It all depends on Technical. It’s the same for gold teeth, the less gold is used, the cheaper the price will be.” Father is proud of his superb technology.As long as a patient came to my father crying, complaining about how uncomfortable the dentures made by other dentists were, my father would be happy all day. "The oral cavity is like an independent creature from the human body. If there are only a thousand and one tricks like the recent young dentists, they will not be able to deal with all kinds of patients. Only by thoroughly seeing the situation of the oral cavity, Only then can the disease be completely cured.” Father used anesthesia injection as an example to illustrate his superb technique. "Don't we often hear that someone has several injections of anesthesia but nothing works? That's because the technique is too bad. When injecting the anesthetic into the gums, you rely on concentration and intuition. The key is how to breathe in one breath. When inserting the needle into that point, it must be fast, accurate, and ruthless, and the hand must not shake." My father often used chopsticks as syringes and told me this.And after this passage is finished, he will almost always add a sentence: "In short, the person with one skill has the upper hand. As long as Dad still has this right hand, he will not be afraid of running out of food." I always look up at my father's right hand and feel very safe. However, there was something wrong with the right hand.For several days my father went to various hospitals and clinics of folk remedies.Sometimes, even a skilled masseur is found at home. Father never mentioned what was wrong with his right hand.He probably didn't want to upset his son.The more important reason was that he didn't want to admit that he had lost his only right hand that he could boast of.Therefore, I will not ask any more questions. However, I was still slightly aware of the symptoms of my father's right hand.From time to time, the part from the wrist to the fingertips of his right hand would be numb or twitch, accompanied by a lack of feeling and difficulty in exerting force.And this symptom always happened without warning, so I saw chopsticks, spoons, and pencils slipping from my father's hands several times.This is clearly a sequela of a head injury. It is no wonder that my father is nervous. In such a situation where his right hand will lose consciousness when he does not know when, it is impossible for him to continue working as a dentist.In fact, the clinic was closed for a while. Even after trying all the treatments, my father's right hand still didn't improve.After a while, everyone nearby knew that my father's right hand was no longer in control.Perhaps for this reason, there were even rumors that Tajima Dental was about to close down. From then on, my father simply stopped treating his right hand.It was a waste of effort to do anything anyway, so he gave up.He drank more and more from daytime to night, and took out his anger on Ah Chun and me. Not only that, but my father would go out aimlessly every night.He didn't say where he was going, but he seemed to be wandering around Ginza or Shimbashi.I once heard my father say this into the microphone: "How could you not know? When you were in the store, didn't you talk about everything? ... You said that, just to protect Shimozi? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Anything is fine, tell me you know! The address of her home, or her phone number, tell me where she might go!" After the incident, his father never mentioned the name Zhimozi again.I think he should really want to forget the name.But whenever the sequelae of the head injury occurred, he still couldn't forget it.I guess, my father should still want to see that woman again and yell at her. Later, my father hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit for damages against the bartender who let my father have it.Since it was because of sequelae that he was unable to continue working as a dentist, it was only natural to claim damages.But in conclusion, I don't recall what my father got out of this lawsuit.The bartender served time in prison for assault, and there was no way he would have money to pay when he got out. In this series of shitty things, I welcomed the Chinese New Year in the sixth grade of elementary school.There is neither New Year's food to eat nor red envelopes to take, only the cold is with me.My father probably wanted to escape the cruel reality. He was either drinking or getting drunk all day long, sleeping soundly under the quilt. Three months later, my country graduated from elementary school and decided to enter the local public junior high school.Originally, my father planned to let me enter a private middle school, but the family's financial situation did not allow it.Besides, the dental department had to close its doors, and my father didn't have the heart to think about my further study. Everything started to go off the rails because my father was injured, so I hid in the quilt and cried: "Why did things become like this?" At this time, I remembered the curse letter.Twenty-three postcards with only the word "Kill" written on them came to me.A postcard with twenty-three mantras... I thought, I'm cursed.