Chapter 321 People abandoned by the times [two] 5000-character chapter
The man looked at the young man with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe that the young man he had brought up since childhood dared to resist his decision so fiercely.
"Even the youngest child has time to grow up... Qingshui, judging from your vigorous momentum, you are already a qualified samurai, enough to inherit the name of your Qingshui family. Unfortunately, the era of samurai is over...
"The man thought with relief and sadness.
Seeing the young man's stubborn gaze meeting his, the man's eyes felt a little sore, but he gritted his teeth to resist this show of weakness, his eyes became wider and wider, and his breathing was so heavy that it seemed like he could blow away the straw from the roof.
.
He stabilized his body with a wooden stick and swayed slightly. The man suppressed his emotions and lectured in a low and low voice: "If we die, there will be no one to take care of the family! Okay, put aside the so-called samurai justice... I ask you, will you steal?"
Do you know who can steal and who cannot be messed with? If you steal something, do you know where to sell it? Even if you succeed a hundred times, or if you fail and are caught once, do you know what the policemen from Satsuma will say?"
The man hit the young man on the forehead with a wooden stick, and said in an increasingly stern tone: "They will say, 'Sure enough, there are thieves in Aizu, a group of guys who only let women go to the battlefield and run away secretly...' Are you willing?
Do you want to bear this insult?"
"Brother Kato, I don't want to run away this time. Instead of starving to death, it's better to fight to the death." Letting the wooden stick hit his head, Qingshui burst into tears and sobbed: "I should have fought to the death with those rebellious people like the whole city.
…”
"Shut up!" Kato's voice trembled, with a hint of choking, "You have to grit your teeth to survive, swallow blood and tears to survive! As long as you live, you will have the opportunity to take revenge on those rebellious people!"
Kato threw away the wooden stick and pushed away the water, collected the coins one by one, took out the three coins he was carrying to buy food, tied them together on a hemp rope, and handed them to Kazuyo Sorayama respectfully.
Kazuyo Sorayama watched all this quietly.
It has only been a few hours since we got off the ship, but it feels like we are in two different worlds.
One group is composed of well-dressed gentlemen who are feasting and feasting. Even the relatively "poor" Fuze can drink tea and drink, and eat Western food until he gets tired. Their daily work is to talk about people's livelihood, the country, and the general situation of the country; the other group is full of fighting and struggle,
A world where he would fight to the death for a full meal.
In this world, there are no gentle scholars, no majestic officials, and no sweet-smelling girls; there are only eyes full of ferocity and dilapidation, and noses full of decay and stench.
Which one is real...
Ichiyo Sorayama was immersed in his own world, turning a blind eye to the copper coins raised in front of him.
When Kato saw this, he didn't say anything. He just bowed and raised the money without moving. The scene was frozen for a long time.
"Creak" "Creak" A gust of wind half-lifted the roof of the house and the broken wooden boards blew with a tooth-piercing sound. Only then did Ichiyo Sora come back to his senses.
Glancing at Kato, who was still motionless, Kazuyo Sorayama said slowly: "My martial arts skills are good, so why should I do this?"
"It's a reward. It's not as good as your Excellency. Please take your money back." Kato was expressionless and secretly relieved, knowing that the master in front of him, dressed as a gentleman and carrying a long sword, had no intention of pursuing the matter.
"Just take the money, I don't need this." Ichiyo Sorayama
What?! Then you came all the way to chase me because you were full... No! You must have some plans for the two of us.
The picture is definitely not a foreign object. The house was abandoned by the villagers. There are only some things made of thatch and bamboo inside and outside. They are nothing more than coir raincoats, straw sandals, and bamboo baskets and shoulder poles. The craftsmanship is so crude that it doesn’t add up to anything.
Worth it... He glanced at the shiny leather shoes on Kongshan Yiye's feet.
Then... Kato's thoughts changed quickly, and he suddenly said vigilantly: "Sir, the two of us have only learned some rudimentary self-defense techniques, and are not qualified for jobs such as assassins."
Kongshan Yiye was dumbfounded, and he chuckled: "Don't worry, I have never borrowed the help of others to kill anyone I want to kill."
"What on earth are you going to do!" Qing Shui couldn't help but get up, wiped away his tears and asked stiffly. He had no good impression of this "weirdo" who had followed them all the way.
"The money is not given to you for free. Take me to familiarize myself with this place and it will be counted as the cost of employment."
After listening to Kazuyo Sorayama's words, the two couldn't help but look at each other. This kind of request is really strange... You need to hire guides. There are many in Yokohama. They only cost three or fifty ren a day, so why go all the way?
come to them.
"Okay then..." Kato was mature and prudent after all. He knew that he could not refuse Kazuyo Sorayama's request. The best way was to accept it first and then check the situation. "Shall we start from tomorrow? Which hotel should we go to find you?"
"Hostel?" Sorayama Kazuyo blinked, "Since I hired you, of course the food and accommodation are yours. I will eat whatever you eat, and I will live wherever you live."
Kato staggered, the copper coin in his hand fell to the ground, he opened his mouth but no sound came out.
The young man Qingshui choked up and blushed at Kazuyo Sorayama's words. He pointed at Kazuyo Sorayama in disbelief, "You, you, are you going to lie down in the thatch dressed like this?"
"Why not?"
This person is a madman - Kato, Qingshui thought at the same time.
Sorayama Kazuha pushed Kato away who was in a daze, took off his shoes and walked into the room, found a slightly clean floor, gathered the thatch and sat cross-legged on it, "Don't you want to have dinner? Go and buy it quickly, we have been walking for so long.
On the road, I’m also a little hungry.”
Kato worriedly went out to buy a meal with his money. Qingshui looked at Kazuha Sorayama who closed his eyes for a while and did not dare to talk to him, for fear that his words would make this person unhappy and make some weird requests...
After sitting scratching his head for a while, he finally decided not to pay attention to Ichiyo Sora. He secretly opened a corner of the floor, put the money underneath, carefully covered it with thatch, and then reluctantly left the house.
After a while, Qing Shui walked in carrying two huge bamboo tubes. It seemed that he was going to collect water from a nearby creek.
After a while of busy work, a bonfire was lit in the hearth of the house, making the already dim room a little more popular. Qing Shui grabbed a large handful of unknown grass roots, broke them into sections with his hands, and threw them into the bamboo tube near the fire.
inside.
"What are you doing?" Kazuyo Sorayama was curious.
"Make tea."
"Make...tea?" Looking at the grass roots in Qing Shui's hands, Kazuo Sorayama was a little surprised.
"Yes, sir, you don't think we can afford tea, do you?" Qingshui smiled mockingly, "There is a shortage of everything here, except for the thatch all over the ground. Pull it up, wash it and dry it, and the roots of the grass can be
To satisfy hunger and keep warm, straw stalks are one of the few gifts God has given to people like us."
A leaf on the empty mountain is silent.
Qingshui smiled mockingly: "I don't know what your purpose is in coming here, but anyway, we already have nothing, so you can do whatever you want."
"You have a fiancée."
"You!" Qingshui gritted his teeth angrily, stood up and glared at Kazuyo Sorayama, but when he saw Kazuyo Sorayama still had the same calm expression, he sat down angrily, staring at Kazuyo Sorayama fiercely, while tearing the grass roots with all his strength.
"Kato is good at martial arts and can be considered a master." The silence lasted for a while, and Sorayama Kazuha spoke again.
As if he had finally found a topic that made the young man proud, Shimizu immediately replied proudly: "Brother Kato is our number one master in Aizu. Mizoguchi's sword is passed down to many people. He was awarded the Genius Swordsman at the age of seventeen."
"Then why are your martial arts so poor?" Ichiyo Sorayama asked calmly.
"You..." Qingshui's forehead was throbbing with veins. He wanted to question Sorayama Kazuha: You haven't even seen me take action, how do you know the strength of my swordsmanship?
But the sound of an empty stomach that sounded like frogs calmed him down. He rubbed his flat belly, looked at Kazuyo Sorayama bitterly, and retorted: "What do you know! I was also very strong in martial arts back then!"
"Among peers." He explained again.
"It's just that later on, Crane City was captured and we wandered around. We couldn't even fill our stomachs. How could we find the energy to practice swordsmanship? Brother Kato once praised me as a genius..." Qingshui's voice became lower and lower, and he looked at the flames with his eyes.
, his dim eyes had no brilliance even under the firelight. It was obvious that he had completely lost confidence in the future.
"It's no longer an era when swordsmanship reigns supreme." Kato's footsteps sounded outside the door, and he reluctantly walked in with a large bag of still slightly steaming food.
"Brother Kato! You're finally here." Qingshui threw away the straw, stood up and carefully held the big bag Kato brought, swept the straw from the floor with his feet and put it on top.
By the light of the fire, Sorayama Kazuyo saw several neat characters on the package of food - "Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun". It turned out that it was wrapped in newspapers.
Qingshui swallowed her saliva and hurriedly opened the newspaper. She reached out to grab the rice inside, but was stopped by Kato, "We are not barbarians. How can we grab food with our hands? Go and get bowls and chopsticks!"
"Ouch~" Qingshui wailed, "We haven't eaten in a long time, where are the bowls and chopsticks?" But he couldn't resist Kato's stern gaze. Although he was extremely reluctant, he still reluctantly got up and picked up half a piece of meat from the courtyard.
of bamboo, holding a hatchet full of gaps but polished extremely bright, ready to be made on site.
"Please wait a moment." Kato leaned over and apologized to Sorayama Kazuha.
Sorayama Kazuyo shook his head, "No need to go to such trouble, just throw the bamboo over here."
"Ah?" Qingshui glanced at Kazuyo Sorayama in confusion. Following Kato's gaze, he saw that the long knife was placed firmly beside Kazuyo Sorayama, with no intention of unsheathing it.
What! I thought it would be like those swordsman legends. If I threw it over, he would "swipe" it a few times and cut the bamboo into a bamboo bowl in the air. It seemed that he was not going to do this. There was only a fire pit across the way.
, I threw the bamboo over, but his knife was only long enough to pull it out.
Qing Shui complained in his heart and threw the bamboo to Sora Ichiyo.
Sure enough, the stories told by those storytellers in my childhood were just stories. How could there be such a powerful person... Ugh!
He didn't know how Sorayama Kazuyo drew the sword. He only saw the long sword draw a semicircle and hit the bamboo. However, the bamboo was not cut off. Instead, it was stabilized by the back of the sword in the air. The light of the sword stood upright in front of his eyes.
After a few flashes and then a few sideways flashes, the bamboo bowl and bamboo chopsticks appeared in Sorayama Kazuyo's hands.
The remaining bamboo fell from the air into the fire, throwing up a cloud of sparks.
Yiye in the empty mountain holds the blade horizontally with one hand and holds the bowl and chopsticks with the other hand, looking as awe-inspiring as a god or Buddha in the flickering firelight.
Qing Shui rubbed his eyes and inhaled hard through his mouth. He felt that he was dreaming...
"Good swordsmanship!" Kato clapped his legs and stood up, bowing respectfully to Kazuyo Sorayama without any reluctance.
This is not the unwilling respect of a subordinate to a superior, but the worship of a master of swordsmanship to a master of swordsmanship!
"It's nothing." Sorayama Kazuyo threw the bowl and chopsticks into Qingshui's arms and said lightly: "Even this kid can do it after practicing this trick for several years. It's just about chopping firewood."
"Senior, you are being humble, Qing Shui will never be able to practice this move in his lifetime." Don't talk about Qing Shui, even he himself can't do it.
Facing the randomly thrown bamboo, just a slight tap with the back of the knife can make it stop in the air. What a wonderful way to transport bamboo!
If it were me... I could only save this step, because I can't do it! Directly in the air... I used three knives to cut the bamboo into four sections. Then I divided the bamboo into six even chopsticks, and even finally...
He had enough energy to catch the bamboo bowl... No, he had already calculated the landing point of the bamboo bowl and chopsticks before making the move... It was a magical skill!
With Qing Shui's current level of cultivation, it is estimated that he can only draw the sword out of its sheath.
Kato sighed inwardly and drank towards Qing Shui who had been in a daze: "Hurry up and serve the rice!"
No matter how exquisite the swordsmanship is, the attraction is no match for the hunger in the belly.
Shimizu quickly filled the rice and watched eagerly as Kato handed the rice respectfully to Kazuyo Sorayama. He couldn't help it anymore and buried his face in the bamboo bowl and ate it all. He said it was eating, but in fact, his teeth were just decorations.
, but dumped it directly into the belly!
Sorayama Ichiyo picked up the bamboo bowl. Based on his status as a restaurant owner and main general for many years, it was not difficult to tell that the rice, which had a disgusting black-yellow color, a pungent smell, and was mixed with vegetable leaf residues whose original shape could not be seen, was not at all
It’s not a serious meal. You can even see obvious teeth marks on a bit of the vegetable stem!
He frowned and looked at the second bowl of water and Kato who was devouring it, not knowing what to say.
Kato looked up and saw Kazuyo Sorayama's expression, but he still didn't understand. He put down his rice bowl and scratched his head, "Senior, can't you eat? I'm really sorry, I..."
"What kind of meal is this?"
"The best leftover rice sold by Taketoriya."
"Remnant food? Premium?"
Kato was ashamed and didn't know how to answer. Qing Shui picked up the third bowl of rice and finally began to slowly taste the sweetness of the rice grains.
Seeing this situation, he explained while eating rice: "The leftover rice is the leftover food eaten by the diners in the restaurant. Don't worry about eating it. The best leftover rice is usually collected on the same day, and it is very rich! Taketoriya is here
This generation is very famous. There is only one bucket of high-quality leftover rice every day. One penny can be exchanged for three bowls. You can’t get it if you go later! Those second- and third-class leftover rice have been washed with water and taste nothing but rancid.
Any flavor, very light!”
The more Qing Shui explained, the more nauseated and unbearable Kushan Yiye became.
"Do you guys usually eat these?!" Kazuyo Sorayama felt a little incredible.
Even though he has experienced several worlds and has almost become a master of swordsmanship, he has never understood the underlying state. In his opinion, the life during "Seven Samurai" has reached the limit. Even if the peasants are not hungry, they can still make ends meet.
Rice invites warriors, and can even hide food such as wine, beans, and sweet potatoes.
Is this life after the Restoration...
"Normally?" Qingshui didn't care what Ichiyo Kuyama thought, and continued: "I would like to eat these every day. The last time I tasted the taste of rice grains was a month ago, even if it was third-class leftover rice! Normally we can only eat grass.
Seedgrass roots, and occasionally I’ll be lucky enough to catch some fish and shrimp.”
He swept around with his hand and said, "Do you see any traces of snakes, insects, or mice outside? We have already eaten them all!"
"Living on these? Don't you work?"
"What do you know!" Qingshui swallowed a mouthful of food and shouted angrily at Kazuha Sorayama: "We have been in Yokohama for a few months and we haven't done anything! Cleaning the river, digging soil and laying foundations, moving the docks... we are the most tiring to do.
For a job, you can only earn more than 20 cents a day at most. Even so, work is not available every day, and many jobs are only for one meal, not even a penny."
He glanced at Kato secretly and continued: "As farmers, we have no land, and in business, we have no capital. Even if we are bodyguards, they will not hire foreigners like us who speak with an Aizu accent! Although we are literate and know martial arts, we
I don’t even want to work for the government…”
Kato sighed guiltily, and continued: "Actually, there will be some money left over from working, but my sister in Dounan Fan is young and weak. Without us sending money home, she can't support herself even if she works hard.
, this is my duty, it’s just that I suffered from Qingshui..."
"Brother Kato! Stop talking. Suzuko is also my fiancee. What you say will only make me more ashamed!" Qingshui filled Kato's rice and handed it to him. "If it weren't for Brother Kato, our whole family would have died long ago.
To Crane City."
Kato waved his hand and asked Sorayama Kazuha: "Senior, you already know our origins. We are just two people who luckily escaped from the government's sword. What are your plans to suffer with us?"
Sorayama Kazuyo stared at the remaining rice in front of him without saying a word. When Kato asked, he slowly said: "My name is Sorayama Kazuyo. I come from the United States. I have been away from Japan for a long time. I don't think I have many acquaintances here."
Kato was surprised and said: "Senior Sorayama, with your swordsmanship, you will certainly be able to do great things in the Bakumatsu era... I'm sorry, senior, I'm rude."
Ichiba in the empty mountain waved his hand.
Kato secretly thought that the so-called great cause is nothing more than killing people - whether it is "killing people" for the reformers or "picking up traitors" for the shogunate. It seems that this senior is not a person bound by fame and wealth, maybe this is the only way
Only then can you develop an earth-shattering swordsmanship.
Qingshui didn't care about so much. He looked at Kazuyo Sorayama and said seriously: "Anyway, the money has been given to us. We will send it all back to Dounan tomorrow without leaving a single copper plate, so this meal is the last one in the past few days."
A chance to have a full stomach, Senior Kongshan, are you really not going to eat?"
Kazuyo Sorayama looked down at the bowl of cold leftover rice.
Now that you have made a decision, you have to move forward without hesitation and just make a living...
The hands that picked up the dishes and chopsticks were as steady as before, but it was obvious that Sorayama Kazuyo's eyelids were beating and his jaw muscles were trembling slightly.
He held his breath, put the rice in front of his eyes, raised his neck, and poured it into his stomach faster than water...
The bamboo bowl fell to the ground, and it was empty inside. This was also the case in Yiye's mind.