Chapter 29 Section 1

The steak restaurant in Sannomiya, which I have been to many times before, has been moved to a place about 100 meters away from the original place. Fortunately, the sign is still the same, which made Soga feel a little relieved.The roads are still marked by signs of the earthquake, but signs of revival are finally beginning to show. "Only took out this iron plate." The proprietress said proudly.Her plump body and ruddy complexion were the same as the last time we met, but it must have taken her a long time to regain this expression. "This is the treasure of our family." The proprietress said while stroking the silver iron plate.

"You guys are amazing. It took only one year for the steakhouse to recover to this level." Zeng Wo looked around the shop with a glass of red wine in his hand.It was almost ten o'clock in the evening, and there were no other guests.The store was originally closed at 9:30, but I had made an appointment in advance, so I extended the time specially for him. "Glad to hear that. We still want to go back to where we came from, though it will take a little longer, of course. Old regulars will be sorry to see this." "I think it's pretty cool here, too." "Thank you." The proprietress smiled and took a sip of draft beer.That look seemed to say, I know it's a compliment.The previous store was twice as big as it is now, and the most important thing is the quaint atmosphere, which is difficult to reproduce now.

She said that the previous store did not collapse in the earthquake, but the surrounding houses caught fire one after another, and everyone was helpless. In the end, all the houses burned down, and only the iron plates weighing tens of kilograms were barely transported out.There should be no exaggeration in these words. "It seems that the previous houses are still solid. It was rebuilt from the old houses of foreigners, and the new houses around them all collapsed." Zeng I echoed.In fact, houses that use the latest prefab technology are the strongest, but there's no need to argue with the landlady.

"Mr. Zenga, you have gone to Tokyo now, will you never come back here again?" "Yeah. I guess I'll stay there for a while." So I worked for a trading company headquartered in Osaka.He was born in Saitama Prefecture and worked at the headquarters three years ago before being transferred to the Tokyo branch.Although it is a branch, both the size and business scale of the company have surpassed the headquarters, and it is planned to change the name to the Tokyo headquarters in the near future.Therefore, this transfer can be said to be a promotion. He is mainly responsible for industrial machinery.I had a business meeting in Osaka today, and came to Kobe after work.This is what he had already planned.

"Live here today?" "Well, go to Nishinomiya tomorrow." "Nishimiya? What are you doing?" "There are acquaintances there." He shook his head, "It should be said that there used to be. Boss, do you still remember Xinhai?" "Xinhai?" She thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "Ah, you mean the one who lives in Sanjo, Kyoto..." "Yep." "A very temperamental person with all white hair and gold-rimmed glasses." "He lived in Nishinomiya and died in the earthquake last year." "Oh." The proprietress frowned, but she didn't show any surprise.For those who lived through that earthquake, victims' deaths were not uncommon. "It's unfortunate that he should..."

"His wife has died too. I want to go and lay flowers." "You seem to have said that he once took special care of you." "It was he who taught me how to work. After he resigned, he lived with his wife. I didn't expect this to happen." "Most of the people who died were old people. It's hard to reach the time when you can live a leisurely life, but...it's really cruel." Perhaps thinking of someone, the proprietress wiped the corners of her eyes with her apron. Leaving the steakhouse, So I went to the hotel that did not collapse in the earthquake.When I got to the hotel room, Soga opened the curtains.The once beautiful night view of Kobe is now basically pitch black.The uninhabited buildings and the neon lights that fell on the ground were all submerged in this darkness.

He took a shower, went to bed, and was about to turn off the light on the bedside table, but found a small crack on the wall next to him, maybe it was caused by the earthquake.Even so, it should have been judged to be no problem during the post-earthquake inspection. Just a few days ago, the "Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake Victims Memorial Ceremony" was held in Kobe.The Prime Minister was present, but the aid to the victims was far from enough. Nearly 100,000 people are still living in simple houses, schools or parks.A friend of mine just bought a house that was no longer liveable, but still had to pay the mortgage.It appears that the government has no intention of seriously helping them at all.It is said that the government will allocate 700 billion yen in financial funds for housing financing institutions that are heavily indebted. So I thought, can't we allocate a few percent of it to the victims of the disaster?

He has worked in the Osaka headquarters for seven years. He has many friends here. He knows that there are more than ten people who were affected by the disaster. Only the Xinhai couple have been confirmed dead. He got the news from TV.The announcer read out the names of the deceased plainly, among them were Takeo Shinkai and Sumiko Shinkai. Shinkai was Zeng I's minister when I was in Osaka, and since he graduated from the same university, he took good care of him.I heard that he resigned suddenly when he was two or three years away from retirement.The matter was not made public, but almost everyone in the Osaka headquarters at the time knew that Minister Xinhai was forced to resign.

It was the heyday of the bubble economy.A large automobile factory wants to build a new factory, and Zeng My company is responsible for purchasing most of the production and processing machinery.Such a huge project is almost unimaginable under the current downturn. Correspondingly, the amount of benefit fee is also surprisingly large, and more and more people are involved.One of them has revealed his secrets, and it is likely to follow the clues to find out about the bribery.Where exactly is the thread cut off?In the end, Xinhai was chosen as the victim. So I don't know the details, but it's impossible for the president and directors to be ignorant of it.Every time I see these people still in high positions and domineering, I feel righteous indignation.

Rumors have also been embellished.One of them is the hush money. There is a saying that the amount Xinhai received was twice the normal pension, and some even said that he took advantage of his resignation. The authenticity of the rumors cannot be discerned.Even if it is true, Zeng I am convinced that it is definitely not what Minister Xinhai wanted.Xinhai often said that the shortcut to becoming an outstanding company employee is to work sincerely and down-to-earth.Zeng I can imagine that Xinhai must be extremely regretful that he was forced to resign due to the suspicion of injustice.He agreed to resign, but it was only for the company's consideration; he lived a hermit-like life, but also to escape improper investigation.

He was hit by an earthquake.Knowing that he was dead must have made some people happy.Thinking of these, Zeng I couldn't bear it. He turned off the light, closed his eyes, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time, maybe because he thought of Xinhai, he was a little excited. The next morning, after leaving the hotel, he went to Nishinomiya and got into a taxi.He is holding a New Year's card.After resigning, Xinhai still sent him New Year's cards every year, each time with his own handwriting.Xinhai writes well, and the content is humble and kind, revealing sincerity.Zeng I took out the New Year's card to ask the driver to confirm the address.I had been to the apartment where the Shinkai couple lived once before, but the memory is useless now, because the street has changed beyond recognition. The driver checked the map and started the car. "That area was devastated. I had friends there who got caught in the fire and became homeless." "Are you from here too?" "I... am in Amagasaki. Fortunately, the house I live in is okay, but the car broke down. I can't work for a long time, so I'm really worried." Only then did I notice that this was a private taxi. "Is the person who wrote the New Year's card okay?" "Oh, passed away, the couple together..." "Sigh." The driver sighed, and had the same reaction as the steak shop proprietress. "To say something that shouldn't be said, it might be better for the couple to die together. If there is only one person left, it will be even more uncomfortable. The husband is left, what housework?" I don’t know how to do any work; my wife is left, and I have no future life, and I can’t forget the dead.” Zeng I don't think there is anything wrong with the driver saying that.You can always see relevant reports, saying that after the earthquake, the elderly who were alone died of exhaustion in the temporary shelter.What they need is not just money and food, the key is to regain the courage to survive. When I heard the news of the death of the Shinkai couple, Soga wanted to go to the scene immediately.But it was impossible to go under that kind of situation, and because of the impact of the earthquake, the work was even busier, so in the end I couldn't go, and a year passed in the blink of an eye. So I opened the purse and put the New Year's card in the inner pocket.There is one more important thing in there.He touched and closed the purse. This time I came here specially, in addition to presenting flowers, there is another important purpose: to give something to the daughter of the Xinhai couple. The thing was discovered late last year, and happened to pop up while tidying up the company desk.It was not something Zeng I should have held, it was stored by Xin Hai in his place before, and he never took it away. He thought, no matter what, he should return this thing to Xinhai's daughter.It's meaningless for him to hold it, and he can't dispose of it without authorization.The main thing is that it must be very important to her. Her name seems to be Meidong.I haven't seen it before, but I have been to the store where she works. "My daughter found a job in a fashion store in Nanqingshan. It is a store called 'WHITE NIGHT'. I don't know what it sells. Help me to see her when you are free. You don't need to buy anything." Formerly Xinhai Said this on the phone. Zeng I thought, since the store is in Nanqingshan, it must be full of high-end products.He went there after get off work and, as expected, the glass-paneled shop front was stocked with expensive items that were out of his reach.That day Meifu had to rest.The person who received him was the female owner who ran the store. She looked about thirty years old, and her calm conversation revealed an elegant temperament. "I'm really sorry that you came here specially. Xinhai seldom asks for leave, but she said that there is something she can't get away from today." The woman seemed to feel sorry from the bottom of her heart, "She has done a good job, please be sure to tell her parents .” "I'll pass it on." Soga promised.That night he called Xinhai. That was his first and last trip to WHITE NIGHT.This time, in order to find Meifuyu, he went there again, but he didn't expect that it had turned into a restaurant.It seems that the elegant female boss has not withstood the impact of the economic downturn. Once I hoped to find Mifuyu's residence, but I couldn't think of an effective method, so I had to go to the place where Xinkai and his wife lived for the time being. "It should be around here." The driver slowed down. So I looked around.There were no sights that could recall his memory, and everything had changed beyond recognition. "Just get here, and then I'll walk and look for it." "Oh. I'm sorry it wasn't very helpful." When I got out of the taxi, I took out a paper bag with my purse.This time, the driver nodded suddenly: "No wonder there is a scent." I smiled at him once.Paper bags contain flowers intended to be placed on site. After the taxi drove away, Zeng I stood there blankly for a long time.There are not only places where the rubble has been cleaned up and basically become vacant, but also many places that have not been cleaned up and are in a mess.You can see houses that were lucky to avoid that disaster, but the traffic is still inconvenient.The road to revival is still very serious, and it seems that there is a lot of waste waiting to be done. There are few pedestrians, and the ones that can be seen occasionally must be construction workers.It seems quite difficult to find the place where the Xinhai couple lived. In front of a small house, a middle-aged woman is watering flowers.The house doesn't look like it's newly built, it should belong to the lucky category, the cement walls are re-patched. I greeted her once.She turned her head slowly, and Zeng I showed her the New Year's card. "This address should be behind that building." She pointed to the gray building, "but the houses over there basically collapsed." "I know." After thanking you, Zeng Ga left there. Several are starting to build new homes.In order to build a city with strong disaster resistance, some areas want to rebuild after a unified planning. It seems that everyone here is not in the same pace.But it may seem cruel to make those who have lost their homes wait until the administrative plan is in place, because every home is different. The place the middle-aged woman mentioned was indeed mostly vacant.In my memory, there are many buildings that are smaller than residential buildings.In some places, foundations have already been laid, and workers in hard hats are operating cranes. A sign fell to the ground.So I stopped immediately.It says "Suwon Factory".Something stimulated his memory.Takeo Shinkai's voice echoed in my ears again: "After passing the traffic light, go forward for a while, there is a factory called Suwon Manufacturing on the left, and the apartment I live in is the apartment on the second floor without any special features. building." When I went there last time, Xinhai said this on the phone.That's the factory, yes. The Suwon Factory barely collapsed. Although the steel frame was slightly tilted, it still stood firmly there, but there was nothing inside except the empty concrete floor.There are traces of various shapes on the ground.Soga, who was in charge of selling industrial machinery, immediately saw that it was a trace of a processing machine. After walking for a while, there was an open space ahead.So I stopped.That long and thin horizontal space must be the apartment where the Xinhai couple once lived.There is still a part of the concrete stairs left at the left end. I remember that I went upstairs from here. "Yeah, welcome. It's farther than expected, isn't it?" "It's good of you to come, we've both been waiting." The faces of Xinhai and his wife appeared in his mind.That night, they were looking forward to Soga's arrival, which can be seen from Mrs. Xinkai's elaborate meals. Zeng I took out the flowers from the paper bag, put them in a corner of the open space, folded my palms together, and closed my eyes.Can hear the wind, almost like the whispers of the dead. He stood for a while, and suddenly felt that there seemed to be someone behind him, and when he turned his head, an old man was looking at him.The old man wore a thick overcoat over a sweater and a woolen hat. The old man seemed to say something.The voice was too low, I couldn't hear clearly, so I asked him to repeat it. "Is it Asahi Apartment?" The old man said and approached. Once I reacted.That was the name of the apartment where the Xinhai couple lived. "Yes. An acquaintance lives here, and I heard it collapsed." "Ah, it's out of shape. It wasn't built very well in the first place." "Old man, do you also live near here?" "I live at the front. Luckily the house just slopes a bit." "There is a person named Xinhai living in this apartment, do you know him?" "Xinhai? I don't know him, I haven't heard of it." The old man shook his head, "But I know the landlord." "landlord?" "His surname is Sakamoto, and he is building a new house just around the corner." Maybe it was the house under construction that I saw just now. "It's under construction, it shouldn't be lived in yet." "Not sure, maybe." After I thanked Zeng, I returned along the way I came, and came to the house under construction that I saw just now.A man in a winter suit was standing on the road staring at the drawings. "Sorry to bother you." Zeng I greeted.The man looked up. "This is Mr. Sakamoto's house?" "yes." "Excuse me, can you tell me Mr. Sakamoto's contact information? I want to inquire about Mr. Sakamoto's rented house. This is my business card." Zeng I said and handed over a business card. The man alternately looked at the business card and Some with a puzzled expression. "You mean the apartment building that was originally built in front?" "Yes, Asahi Apartments. I have an acquaintance who lived there." "Oh... wait a minute." The man walked into the house under construction.Soon, he came out, holding a small note. "Only know the phone number." "Ah, that's enough." The area code of the phone number is 06, and it seems that Sakamoto lives in Osaka. Called at Nishinomiya station, luckily the person happened to be home.Soga cut straight to the point and said that he wanted to ask about Xinkai. "Are you an acquaintance of Mr. Xinhai? I happen to have something to do." "What's up?" "I am looking for Mr. Xinhai's daughter again, but I am suffering from not knowing the contact information." I was greatly disappointed, which is exactly what he wanted to know.Hearing what he said, a disappointed sigh came from the other end of the phone. "Oh. Sorry, like I said just now, I don't know either." "Can you go to the city government to find out?" "I guess not. I asked, don't know his daughter's address, but I heard she was in the apartment with her parents when the earthquake happened." "She also suffered an earthquake?" "should be." All three members of the family were hit by an earthquake—what a surprise. "Mr. Sakamoto, can I visit you now? I want to ask more details." "Of course, but I don't know much, that is, what I just said." "That's okay, please." Zeng Wo put the microphone close to his ear and lowered his head. About thirty minutes later, Soga arrived in the Fukushima district of Osaka.After walking for a few minutes from Noda Station on the Osaka Loop Line, I saw the apartment that Sakamoto told him about.It is a rental apartment. I heard that it was introduced by a friend who was a real estate agent after the earthquake. "The house that was just vacated before the earthquake hadn't been tidied up, but it was good to live in, so I moved here quickly. At that time, there were many people vying for a house. I don’t even have a place to live.” Sakamoto said while making tea for Soga. His house was burnt down, and the apartment he ran collapsed. It is said that he could not laugh, but his tone was not melancholy.I heard that he still runs a coffee shop in Umeda. "My Asahi apartment has become like that, and I have to return the deposit to everyone. Everyone else has returned, only Mr. Xinhai's." "You went to the city hall to check?" "Yeah. I said it on the phone, but I didn't find out in the end." Sakamoto stroked his thin-haired head.He seems to be shrewd. Since he took the initiative to return the tenant's deposit, he should be a good person. Maybe he is also a victim of the disaster, so he can't do anything improper. "Xinhai's daughter also suffered an earthquake, is it true?" "It seems that I evacuated with my parents' bodies in the gymnasium. We were in Hiroshima that morning, and we were particularly worried about the situation at home and the apartment, but the trains and cars were blocked, so I was really anxious." "Then you haven't seen his daughter either?" "No. But the person who lives next to Mr. Xinhai said that he greeted his daughter at the shelter. The person also said that his daughter came to the apartment the night before the earthquake, and there was noise that could not be heard normally. laughing." "The night before the earthquake? Why is it so..." Zeng Wo swallowed the word "unlucky".He remembered that Sakamoto was also a victim. "That's why I'm also looking for his daughter's address at the moment. I'm sorry you came all the way here." "No, I'm the one who wanted to disturb you." Zeng Wo waved his hand, "Do you still have a lease agreement with Xinhai?" "Of course." Sakamoto opened the flat leather bag next to the chair, and took out a folder from it, "This is it." "Thank you." Zeng I reached out to take it. He hoped that the column for the guarantor would contain the names of relatives, but that column was empty. Fortunately, the column for emergency contacts was filled in: 2-xx-306 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Shinkai Mifuyu (eldest daughter) Phone number: 03-xxxx-xxxx "Have you been in touch with this place?" Zeng I looked at Sakamoto. "I called, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore. The phone said it was an empty number." So I took out the notepad from the inside pocket of my jacket. "Can I copy it down?" "Of course, but it's probably useless if you go." Sakamoto shook his head, "If you find his daughter, can you let me know?" "Of course." Zeng Wo smiled at him while transcribing.