Chapter 23 Section 23

It is clear to all internal employees that Dongxishang is at stake.The rats that Kuramochi referred to were ordinary temporary employees who resigned and left after realizing that the ship was about to sink.Many did not receive their last paycheck because of breach of contract, but the situation was pressing and they were fleeing business even without a paycheck. I also decided to resign on the day I found out that the gold in the vault was fake, and handed in my resignation three days later.Yamashita looked displeased, but he didn't keep me. In addition, I made another decision, which was to move out of Kuramochi's house.When I told Kuramochi about this, he shook his head unacceptably. "Do you have to do that? There's no law saying you can't stay here if you quit your job!"

"I don't like that. I don't want to owe you any more favors. If this goes on, I'm going to get worse and worse." "What went wrong?" "Human nature!" I looked at Kuramochi and said. "I wish I hadn't come to a place like this." "It's too much for you to say that." Cang Mo didn't get angry, but smiled wryly. "You have to know, I was also deceived." "So what?" "Oh, forget it. If you insist on moving out, I won't stop you. But, Tajima, you must at least remember this!" Kuramochi's eyes became serious. "Maybe this job is not voluntary, but the reason why you can live to this day is thanks to that company you hate. Besides, you have some savings in your hand now, and it is all because of that evil company." Other than that, who else has helped you? No matter how you argue, your body has been infected with the toxins of that company. But you don’t have to be ashamed, the graduate society is a big dye tank.”

"I don't think so." I shook my head. "I should be able to live without being judged behind my back." "Who is pointing at us? We just did what we should do to survive." "Stop talking." I started to pack my luggage. "I'm moving out now." Kuramochi didn't say anything more, just spread his hands helplessly, and continued watching the variety show on TV. After moving out of Kuramochi's apartment, it took me a lot of effort to find another place to stay.After all, no one wants to rent a house to a loafer. I first got a job with an outsourced trucking company for a large furniture store.The main work content is - moving furniture from the warehouse to the designated place, and then placing the furniture according to the customer's instructions.It's a demanding job, but I know how to be content, at least not to deceive anyone.

The new residence is an old apartment in Edogawa District, and the company can be reached by bus.In fact, it was a building that could not be called an apartment.In a mere one-story house, it is divided into many rooms with a size of one and a half pings, and the toilet and kitchen are shared.The toilet doesn't use a flush toilet, and the kitchen has only a sink with a tap.Of course, there is no bathroom here either.Most of those who entered and exited the apartment were daily wage laborers, and the rest were foreigners. At first, it took me a lot of effort to get used to this job. After about three months, I had free time and more money.I think of Kawamoto Fange, probably because I feel relaxed.

On that day, my driver and I went to Baogu to deliver a set of newlywed furniture.Three wardrobes, a wine cabinet in the living room, a bookcase, a dining table set, and so on. There are so many pieces of cargo that it is disgusting, but only me and the driver carry them. When we moved all the goods into the newly completed high-end apartment, the surrounding sky was already dark.Then just wait to go back to the company. However, I didn't get in the truck.I told the driver that I was going somewhere along the way. "Will you have a lover?" The driver started the engine and gave a little thumbs up.

"Nah." "Really? When you heard that you were coming to Baogu today, you seemed very excited." "Here lives a man who used to take care of me." "Yes. Well, let's just treat it like that. I'll check in for you." "Sorry to trouble you." As soon as the truck was gone, I looked around and started walking.Soon, a familiar street scene appeared. During my time as a salesman, I felt very depressed every time I left the company to visit customers.My mind is full of thoughts: "What kind of deceptive trick is this time? What kind of deceptive role will I play this time?"

Only when I come to this street, I will not feel depressed.I only walk on this street when I am going to Kawamoto Fange's house.We don't have to do anything to her, just visit her home, just drink tea and chat, she is also very happy. However, my only respite was also ruined.Kuramochi set the perfect trap for her with the cruelest means. I don't know how much money Cang Mo cheated out of her in the end.I am afraid to know the details of this matter. Fangjiang Chuanmoto's home is the same as when he came here before, quiet and low-key.The only difference is that there is a bicycle parked in front of her house.I don't remember her riding a bicycle, and I always feel that something is wrong in front of me.

I catch my breath and press a button on the intercom.I don't know if Fange Kawamoto is aware of Tozai Shoji's evil deeds, but I still want to apologize to her in person.I intend to advise her to take immediate legal action if she is not aware of it already. Soon, a man's voice came from the intercom: "Who is there?" I didn't expect a man to answer the door. I hesitated for a while, but I thought that if I kept quiet, the other party would feel suspicious, so I hurriedly said to the intercom: "My name is Tajima, is Ms. Kawamoto Fange at home?" "What's the matter?" The man's voice was calm.

"That... I was taken care of by Ms. Kawamoto before." The other party was silent.Probably thinking about who I am. "Please wait a moment." As soon as he finished speaking, the voice of cutting off the walkie-talkie came from his ear. After a while, the door of the entrance opened, and a middle-aged man appeared, with white hair mixed in his combed back hair, which reminded me of Kawamoto Fange's beautiful silver hair. "Is there anything?" he asked again. I nod to him.He must be Kawamoto Fange's son. "My surname is Tajima. I received a lot of care from Ms. Kawamoto before. I happened to be here today, and I want to come and say hello to her..."

"Is that so..." He looked at my chest in confusion. "Oh, you're from the furniture business?" When he said this, I remembered that the jacket I was wearing had the logo of the furniture store printed on it, and I forgot to take it off when I came here. "Well, yes, that... Ms. Kawamoto and I had a lot of conversations before I started working in the furniture store..." I don't want to bring up stuff business.The man in front of him exudes the characteristics of a shrewd and capable office worker, and he must be in a good financial situation.At this moment, no matter how much I emphasize that I have no malice in looking for Fangjiang Chuanmoto to buy gold, he will still find it hard to understand.

"How did you and my mother meet?" He asked me in a wary tone. "Well, um..." I scratched my head, unable to immediately come up with a set of explanations.If it was Cang Chi, there must be a way to confuse the past, but unfortunately I don't have that ability. I don't know if it was because Kuramo came to my mind, but I blurted out subconsciously: "It was introduced by a friend..." "Friend? Introduction?" He frowned.It was only natural that he would be surprised.Who would believe the nonsense that a man in his twenties met an old woman through a friend's introduction. "No, um, I don't know how my friend met Ms. Kawamoto," I continued scratching my head. "However, he said that there was an old lady who was very kind to him and would discuss things with him. I said I wanted to meet her too, and my friend introduced her to me..." I spoke incoherently, and the content seemed fragmented. I took a step back. "Ah... If she's not at home, I'll come back another day." I planned to turn around and run away. "Ah, wait a minute." He stopped me.I could have ignored his call and pushed on, but I stopped.Turning around, he leaned close to me and said, "My mother is gone." "I mean..." He closed his eyes lightly and shook his head. "It's not that she's not at home, but she's no longer in this world." "What?" My heart skipped a beat.I swallowed a mouthful of saliva and felt a large lump pass down my throat, followed by a bitter taste spreading in my mouth. "Did she die?" "Last month." After he finished speaking, he nodded, feeling as if his eyes were covered with a layer of fog. "It's like this. In that case, that..." I couldn't say "please forgive me". "Since you came here specially, can you offer incense for her? I think my mother will be very happy." "But……" "Are you sure?" There was an undeniable sense of oppression all over his body.I can't help but nod. I followed him into the entrance and took off my sneakers in a familiar place.However, there were no women's shoes there, only men's leather shoes and sandals. Walking into the house, it occurred to me that I forgot to ask an important thing. "Did she die of illness?" I asked Kawamoto Fange's son from the back. "No, it's not." He replied with his back to me. "Then it was an accident?" "Well, not really." He walked forward, seemingly not interested in answering me on the spot. He took me to a Japanese room about three pings separated from the neighboring room by a paper door.I know that the other side of the paper door is the living room, where I have had tea and snacks with Kawamoto Fange several times. There is a small Buddhist altar with a photo frame on it in the three-square-meter Japanese room. "Please sit down." He asked me to sit down on the cushion.I sat upright on it. He sat cross-legged and sighed. "This house was built by my parents. It is about forty years old. Although it has been renovated everywhere, it is still an old Japanese-style building." I don't know why he brought it up, and I stare into his face. "Is your house rare now?" He looked up over the paper door, and I looked up too. "My mother hanged herself there." His tone was flat, as if he was chatting.However, this sentence pierced my defenseless chest like a sharp knife.My body became rigid and I couldn't speak. "I don't know if you know that my family has almost no contact with my mother, only occasionally talking on the phone. But one day last month, after I got home, my wife said that my mother called in the evening. I asked her mother what was the matter , she didn’t know very clearly. As far as my wife said, the first time my mother asked what to cook for dinner, the wife replied that she hadn’t decided yet, and my mother said I like food, so let’s make that. The content of their conversation was probably like this. " I thought of the discord between their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, so they separated. "I was a little worried, so I called. It was past nine o'clock, but no one answered. I thought my mother might be taking a bath, so I called again, but no one answered. It was so late, she It’s impossible to go out. Although she is old, it’s still too early to go to bed at that time. Besides, there is a phone next to Jia Mu’s pillow. It is impossible not to hear the ringtone, so I called every 30 minutes. I called once, but still no one answered. I thought, I might as well call again tomorrow, and if there is still no answer, I would come and have a look, but I was still so worried that I didn’t care about the middle of the night, so I drove here.” I imagined the scene in front of him at that time, and the hairs all over my body stood on end. "Scared me to death," he continued quietly. "It's embarrassing to say that I couldn't help screaming. I'm fifty years old, I didn't expect to lose my composure like this. To be honest, I was really scared at the time. It took a while before I was shocked because of my mother's death. Feeling sad. Before that, I was just afraid, and the shame of being afraid of my mother's body came after a longer period of time." "What does she use..." I finally managed to say, subconsciously. "what?" "Well...what did she use..." "Oh." He had a knowing expression on his face. "She wears a dark red kimono obi." "yes?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing." I shook my head.I don't even know why I am asking that question. "It's going to be hard work. The police will make notes for a while, and there will be a lot of miscellaneous things for a while. However, there should be no doubt that my mother died of suicide. The police asked me if I had a clear idea of ​​the motive of my mother's suicide. I replied that I really wanted to." What I said was probably because of loneliness. Since we separated, my mother has been alone. She didn’t leave anything like a suicide note. The police can accept this statement after they have finished their notes. Anyway, for them, the police, if there is no There is no need to investigate the suspicion of homicide, so I want to close the case early." I whispered: "Please forgive me." The voice was really small, I don't know if he heard it. "However," he went on, "I heard a lot of strange things during the preparations for the wake and funeral. Like the neighbors said, young men came in and out of the house from time to time. I don't think my mother would bring a young lover into the house, but he was like I am concerned about the fact that they are office workers, and it seems that two people came together, and someone said that they heard their voices chatting happily in the entrance, so they should be quite familiar people." I feel hot all over.Although it is a cool season, I started to sweat. "There is another thing that is very strange. That is, a lot of money was withdrawn from my mother's savings, divided into several times, and several million yuan was taken away. Even the fixed deposit was terminated." I bowed my head and listened to him.If he thought I was a stranger, he probably wouldn't have said this to me.No, probably from the very beginning they wouldn't ask me to come in and offer incense.I wanted to escape from here, but it was as if someone cast a spell on my lower body and stuck to the cushion. "According to the deposit records, I found that the money was remitted to a company called Dongxishangji. To be honest, when I heard the name, I really wondered if my ears heard it wrong. Because I know that company is just a dream. I thought that my mother would have something to do with it. However, this finally let me know the reason for my mother's suicide. The large amount of cash withdrawn from the bank probably went into Dongxishangji's pocket. The money can be said to be hers All the property, when she found out that the money was cheated away, she probably lost the courage to live." After listening to his words, the guilt surged again.At that time, Fangjiang Kawamoto said that the money was only part of her savings, but that must have been a lie to reassure us. "I immediately contacted Dongxishangji, but it seemed like a chicken-and-duck discussion. Maybe it should be said that they didn't intend to deal with it at all. I thought to myself, since I can't get through on the phone, I might as well come to the door to seek justice. However, if you want to get back If you want money, you must have a receipt for the purchase of gold. I searched all over my mother's body, but I couldn't find anything like a receipt in the whole house. What's going on here?" No receipt - I thought to myself, why?Kuramo did give it to her. "I think so. My mother probably disposed of the receipt." I raised my head and met his eyes. "Ms. Kawamoto herself?" "right." "why……?" "I don't know. At this point, although the truth is unknown, there are two reasons I can think of. One is that she simply doesn't want the world to know that she was deceived. My mother is a very face-saving person. How to be ridiculed by others, I couldn't bear it, so I disposed of the receipt." I also think it's possible. "Another reason," he licked his lips. "She may want to cover up the other party." "shelter?" "Cover up the person who forcibly sells strange things to my mother. That person can gain my mother's trust, and she will probably be able to please her. Even if my mother knows that she has been deceived, she still can't hate that person. Not only does she not hate, she also annihilates All the evidence, so as not to cause trouble for that person, or make that person suffer. Only the records in the passbook are powerless for her to change." I thought to myself, impossible.Is there anyone in this world who wants to cover up someone who deceives him?But on the other hand, I also think it might be true.The face of Kawamoto Boe chatting with Kuramochi appeared in front of my eyes, full of happiness.Sometimes, she will smile at me. "I'm not going to give up, though," he whispered in a high-pitched voice. "I don't know how much my mother values ​​that salesman, but to me he's a demon tormenting my mother. I can't just ignore it. He may have his reasons, but it is impossible not to know the inside story, so he is also guilty of the same crime as the company called Dongxishangji. I want to tell him that it is best to be mentally prepared. One day I will tell him in some form revenge." This sentence was directed at me.He saw through me as one of the salesmen.At the same time, he asked me to tell this to another salesman. He sighed and smiled slightly. "I was emotional at the moment, and it seemed a little too much. However, it may not be useful to tell you this, after all, you are in the furniture business. When did you join this company?" "Three months ago." "Really?" He nodded as if knowing it. "I didn't expect you to come here." "I'm here because of work." "Yes. Then, since you came here specially, let's offer incense for my mother." He stretched out his palm and gestured in the direction of the Buddhist altar. I lowered my head and approached the shrine, clasped my hands together and prayed, feeling something pressing on my chest.After burning incense, I put my palms together again and looked at the posthumous photos in the photo frame.There is a nostalgic face there.Kawamoto Fange's beautiful silver hair was blown in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, I felt a violent dizziness, and my body was extremely uncomfortable. Even sitting was uncomfortable, so I ran away from the shrine. "What's wrong with you?" Kawamoto Fange's son asked me.I couldn't answer, I nodded to him and hurriedly walked to the entrance, I didn't wear my sneakers for a long time and walked out of the door. After walking a few steps out of the gate, a strong sense of vomiting hit me.I squatted down on the spot, and liquid vomit kept gushing out of my mouth.After the vomiting finally disappeared, I still couldn't stand up immediately, and sat down on the ground panting. Suddenly, a disgusting memory appeared in my mind - at my grandmother's funeral, I looked at my grandmother lying in the coffin, the smell of flowers made me feel evil, and I vomited it out.The feeling is exactly the same as it was then. A few days later, I headed to Higashi-Kurume.I want to meet someone.Needless to say, that person is the old man on the ranch.I was very worried about him and didn't know what happened to him. He's not the only one I'm worried about.Although I worked in Dongxishangshi for a short period of time, I cheated many old people.I didn't mean anything, everything was Kuramochi's fault—this kind of excuse shouldn't be justified.After all, I didn't quit my job despite my doubts about the process of the deal. Among the many poor old people, the reason why the old man on the ranch impressed me is that he is the most unlucky one.Originally, he was not targeted by Toshishoji, but because the old woman next door was not at home, Kuramochi spoke to him on a whim.If he hadn't met us, he should be able to continue to live a leisurely life. Also, I have to make a confession.That's why I miss Uehara Yukiko in my heart.We have only met twice, but her figure is always in my mind.Whenever I think of her resolute expression, I feel a surge of enthusiasm in my heart. I have only been to the apartment where the old man lived in the ranch once, but I remember how to get there.I made it to the old apartment without any problems.In the middle of the first floor, there is a house with the door plate of "Upper Village" hanging in front of the gate.We were supposed to sell gold to the old woman who lived in this house.She must have not noticed until now that she was saved due to great luck. Next door to her house is the house of the old man on the ranch.I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. There seemed to be movement in the room, the door lock was unlocked, and a thin, wrinkled head with thinning hair and a long, thin face protruded from the crack of the door. "Who are you?" The old man didn't remember me. I bowed my head and explained that I was a former employee of Tozai Shoji.The old man seemed to remember, and opened his mouth to let out an "ah". "I'm really sorry for causing you a lot of trouble because of the company's affairs." "Did you come here specially to say this?" "I wanted to say sorry to you." "Oh..." The old man looked confused. I took out the paper bag I had brought. "It's a little care of mine." I bought Japanese sweets from a department store. The old man looked at the paper bag and me, and touched his chin. "Let's talk first." "convenient?" "You can't just go back like this, can you? Or are you going somewhere else?" "No... then, I will interrupt." It was a narrow room with only a three-square-meter Japanese-style room and a kitchen.Probably because there are sleeping beds on the floor, it feels narrower than when I came here before.The old man moved the sleeping bunk aside to make room for two people to sit down. "Which company are you still in now?" "No, I'm out of work for three months." "Really, have you escaped?" said the old man.I couldn't figure out the real meaning of that sentence, so I kept silent.He continued: "How should I say that incident... It really hurt me." "I'm really sorry." I bowed my head again and apologized. "Forget it, it's useless for you to apologize to me. At that time, you didn't know much about the company's despicable methods, did you?" I didn't look up. "Are you just visiting the victim's house here and there?" "It's not the home of all the victims." "Really, thank you for your hard work." "Well, is your health much better? I heard Miss Uehara said that your health is a little sick." "Well, just sleep and wake up, it's much better recently." "That's good." "What you are doing now?" "I'm currently working for a freight company that moves furniture." "A job that relies on physical strength? Well, that's good. That's the best." The old man nodded frequently and scratched his neck.He has age spots on the back of his hands. "So, um, did you successfully terminate the contract?" I asked what I had been worried about. "Oh, that. Well, it's a big fight right now." "So you have consulted with a lawyer?" "No, it's not that exaggerated." For some reason, the old man faltered when he spoke.Just as I was about to ask for details, I heard a knock on the door. "Here we come." The old man replied. The door opened, and I saw Yukiko Uehara in a white sweater. -------------------------------- Note: