Tokyo: The story begins with a confession.

Page 114

"This is for you."

Just as Uesugi Rinka was in a daze, a voice suddenly rang in her ears, and then she saw her hand being held by her son, and a jade bracelet was put on her wrist.

Chapter 216 Current Situation

"This, this, this..."

She wanted to say it was too expensive, but compared to her son's previous attitude towards her, she felt somewhat flattered.

She reached out her left hand to take off the bracelet, which looked extremely valuable, but it was grabbed by another hand, and she immediately felt a warm embrace.

"Please wear it. I was so immature before, and I caused you so much worry." Uesugi Kenichi smiled gently, then reached out and hugged Uesugi Suzuka.

It felt both light and heavy. The person I was holding was trembling slightly, as if they hadn't quite reacted or were in disbelief.

Yes, I can't believe it.

Uesugi Suzuka could hardly believe that Uesugi Kenichi would hug her.

Her son has never hugged her since she was 10 years old. Even if she tries to hug him, he will scold her.

Before she knew it, her eyes had become a little moist.

After realizing what she was doing, she became a little embarrassed. "What are you doing, child? Hurry up and don't block my way. I still need to cook."

She turned around in a panic and went into the kitchen, chopping vegetables again and again, feeling extremely happy.

Parents' love for their children is never given in return.

Even a simple thank you can bring them indescribable comfort.

Kenichi Uesugi sat back down, while Erii had already eagerly connected the game console to the TV and happily started playing the game cartridge she had inserted.

Mashiro and Keiko also gathered around to watch, while Uesugi Nogo returned to his room, changed out of his suit and watch, and carefully put them away in a safe place.

Kenichi Uesugi's gaze shifted for a moment, and in a daze, he began to completely accept this family and truly regard himself as their son.

He could clearly feel the deep bond of blood between Uesugi Nogo and Uesugi Suzuka, and the void in his heart was instantly filled.

He looked around for a while and then sat down in the entryway by the yard, quietly observing everything in the house. When Xiao Ba saw him sit down, it immediately ran over and circled around his feet, wagging its tail rapidly.

Uesugi Kenichi scratched Hachi's chin, and Hachi immediately felt comfortable and its eyes narrowed. Hachi then pawed at Uesugi Kenichi's hand with its two front paws.

He held Hachiko in his hands and examined him. Although he hadn't taken good care of him, Hachiko was quite handsome and could be considered one of the most handsome dogs among Akita Inu.

Kenichi Uesugi played with Hachiko and seemed to like it. Mainly because Akita dogs are naturally good-looking, and he himself likes dogs.

I had the idea of ​​raising a dog in my previous life, and I wanted to raise a medium to large breed, such as a Border Collie or a Siberian Husky.

However, I never had the time, so this idea never came to fruition.

He sat down and looked around his house. To be honest, his house was quite large, more than twice the size of the detached house he was currently renting. Judging by the size of the house, it must have been several hundred square meters.

The house was divided into several parts, with the living area in the middle and the left side of the house filled with fertilizer and various agricultural tools.

On the right is a shed where miscellaneous items are piled up, and next to it is a chicken coop facade where many chickens are kept.

He also noticed that one room was filled with all sorts of mountain produce and wild game, such as dried fish, cured meat, dried mushrooms and fruits, which almost filled the entire room.

What interested him most was that he noticed there were quite a few wild rabbits and birds among these things, so it seemed that Uesugi Nogo wasn't joking when he said he was hunting rabbits.

Thinking about it, he suddenly remembered that there were indeed many wild game in the mountains around here.

There are plenty of forests here, and the environment hasn't been damaged. There's no one coming here to hunt or kill animals indiscriminately.

The main problem is that these things aren't worth much money here, so there are not only a lot of wild animals, but they've become so numerous that the village even has to go into the mountains to hunt them regularly.

It serves as a deterrent; otherwise, wild animals would frequently come down from the mountains to damage crops, and there have even been instances where they have wandered into other people's yards.

In Kenichi Uesugi's memory, there were instances of brown bears and wild boars running down and even injuring many people.

The yard was quite large, divided into a front yard and a back yard. Several tall trees were planted in the front yard, with lush branches that blocked nearly 8% of the sunlight. He looked closely but still couldn't identify what kind of trees they were, as he didn't know much about plants.

A three-wheeled motorcycle, a well, and several clothes racks were parked by the wall of the yard, with many clean quilts drying on them at the moment.

The backyard is planted with flowers and plants, making it look very exquisite and beautiful.

The entire house, including the two courtyards, is no smaller than some private luxury villas.

However, land in the countryside isn't worth much money. Even if you sold all that land, you couldn't buy a house of a few dozen square meters in Tokyo.

The house in the very center is the largest. In addition to entering through the main gate, you can also enter through the gates on all four sides of the courtyard.

The house is about 40 centimeters off the ground, and there is a seating area in front of the main house. This architectural style is unique to Japan and is very distinctive.

The living room inside the house is very large, but there is not much furniture. An old-fashioned wall clock hangs on the north-facing wall.

To Kenichi Uesugi's surprise, there was a fireplace on the other side, which was used for heating in winter.

In the middle of the living room was a fireplace, surrounded by a table and blankets—the kind of fireplace that appeared very frequently in the Japanese anime he used to watch.

Everyone sat together, their feet could be put inside, and behind the fireplace was a television, where Erii and the others were currently playing the 697 game.

Then there are two cabinets, on which are placed some wooden statues of gods, as well as some daily necessities such as kettles.

There was a refrigerator in the right corner, and what made him feel a little ashamed was that one side of the wall was covered with his and Erii's certificates of merit.

The living room doesn't have a lot of modern furniture, and the decoration isn't particularly exquisite. The tatami mats on the floor aren't all the same color, and they're not all the same age. However, the whole house is very clean.

Overall, the architecture and layout have a distinctly 1990s feel, and it's clear that the family isn't well-off.

Kenichi Uesugi found everything quite novel; the old-fashioned Japanese-style house had a unique charm.

Just like the ancient houses and buildings left behind in the water towns of Jiangnan in China, those who have never seen them will find them very beautiful, making them want to stay in such an environment for a few days.

He feels much the same way now. People who are used to living here might find it all very boring, but it's different for someone like him who has never experienced it before.

He found it very interesting when he first started sleeping on the tatami mats.

Although I slept in it for a few days, I started to miss my bed.

The two best-decorated rooms in the entire Uesugi household were probably his and Erii's room.

After observing for a while, Uesugi Kenichi looked away and sat down by the fireplace.

Chapter 217 Does Onii-chan like stupid people?

"By the way, speaking of which, do we have any unique local specialties?"

Uesugi Nogo picked up his tea, took a sip, and pondered for a moment. "We produce quite a lot here, with rice being the most abundant. However, the quality isn't up to the level of the Jade Relic; it's only considered slightly above average."

"The rest are mostly various mountain products. We have many mountains here, so these resources are relatively abundant. The best-selling items are probably various kinds of dried wild game and other mountain products. Why are you asking about these?"

In ancient times, rice production in Japan was very limited, and only wealthy families could afford to eat it. Therefore, the finest rice was also known as "jade relic" in ancient times.

Uesugi Kenji nodded and said, "I was wondering if I could help sell some things in the village. The things here seem quite unique, so they should sell very well."

“You’re very kind, but the biggest problem here is the inconvenient roads. Even grain merchants are not very willing to come to our Sakata Prefecture.”

Uesugi Nogo felt very gratified after hearing Uesugi Kenichi's words. His precious son had indeed grown up and knew how to come up with ideas to help everyone generate income.

"How have these things been sold in our town in the past?" Uesugi Kenichi continued to ask.

He was well aware of the poor road conditions in Sakata Prefecture, but there was a solution; ultimately, it came down to not having enough money.

The government must have wanted to build the road for a long time. He plans to ask them about it later, and if the shortage isn't too great, he'll cover it.

This wasn't just for the villagers; it was also for himself. Otherwise, every time he came back, he would have to endure such a bumpy ride, which would be extremely uncomfortable for him.

“In the past, our village had a unified sales system, which was managed by the village chief. After the harvest, all the surplus products were transported to the town, and then from the town they were transported to the city to be sold.”

Seeing that Uesugi Kenichi was interested, Uesugi Nogo told him everything at once. In his opinion, Uesugi Kenichi had indeed grown up, was capable, and could take on the responsibilities of the family.

After listening, Kenichi Uesugi thought for a moment and realized that there was a lot of room for maneuver. After all, in this era, the capabilities in logistics and other aspects were already very strong, and there were also various methods for sales channels.

While this unified and centralized operating method saves time and effort, it obviously cannot maximize efficiency.

"By the way, the county head's secretary contacted me today. Our county head will be coming to inspect the area in a couple of days. And there's the matter of helping with publicity, are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Uesugi Kenji nodded to show he understood. He also had some ideas in mind that he could discuss with the county magistrate later.

Now that he has replaced the original owner, he would be happy to help Uesugi Nogo improve his status here, especially since these things are not difficult.

As for spending money, he didn't care too much. As long as it wasn't too much, he didn't feel it was a big deal. If he could help, he would still try his best to do so.

He thought a lot about it. Of course, he could ignore all these things, turn a cold face and refuse them all, and no one could do anything about it. But he didn't want to become so indifferent, with nothing in his eyes but money, and unable to suffer any loss.

Regardless of what the future holds, he still hopes to be a responsible man, since it's a fact that he replaced the original owner, and there's no going back now.

Even if it was just to make up for the guilt he felt for causing them to lose a son, he wanted to do his best to help them, at least to ensure they lived a better life so that he could feel at ease.

Of course, this decision was made based on the premise that Uesugi Nogo and Uesugi Suzuka genuinely cared for him.

Next, Kenichi Uesugi chatted with Nogo Uesugi for a while, and Nogo Uesugi felt extremely gratified by Kenichi's changes.

It's clear from the conversation that Qianyi has truly grown up. What he says makes a lot of sense, and some of his ideas have even made him ponder for a long time without being able to give an answer.

What pleased him most was Uesugi Kenichi's demeanor when facing him. Unlike before, when he spoke, his eyes did not constantly dart away. He sat upright on the cushion with his back straight, giving people a very composed feeling.

"Come on, dinner's ready." Uesugi Reika placed a large bowl of steaming chicken soup on the table, then turned to Erii, "Eri, stop playing and take your younger siblings to wash their hands."

Kenichi Uesugi stood up and went into the kitchen to help bring out all the food.

It's clear that Uesugi Reika takes her son's return home very seriously, having prepared a variety of dishes, including fried shrimp, pork cutlets, saury, and chicken soup with wild mushrooms—almost a table full of different kinds of dishes.

Even during the Lunar New Year, this feast is not this lavish.

After all the dishes were served, everyone sat down and waited for Uesugi Nogo to tell them to start eating.

Everyone could only begin eating after Uesugi Nogo spoke and took the first bite of his chopsticks.

This custom originated from the Celestial Empire and was mainly used in large families during the feudal period to help maintain the status of the patriarch.

However, the Japanese have learned these practices very well, while the Chinese have rarely retained this custom anymore.

But there's nothing wrong with that; when a family eats together, why do they need so many rules?

Uesugi Reika's cooking skills are excellent. The dishes she served were not only beautiful to look at, but also tasted amazing. In addition, the ingredients she used were all very natural, mostly produced by her own family (Wang Nuo Zhao) or picked from the mountains. Everyone was hungry after a day of traveling.

Everyone immediately began to eat heartily, including Mashiro, whose mouth was covered with rice grains.

"...Eat slowly." Uesugi Kenichi reluctantly put down his chopsticks, reached out and removed the rice grains from Mashiro's mouth, then wiped her mouth for her.

"Mmm." Masahiro nodded quickly, but his hands didn't stop moving at all.

Erii, sitting to the left of Uesugi Kenichi, looked over in astonishment.