At 5:30 in the evening, Yasuki Domon, who had just finished taking a shower, came out of the bathroom and smelled a fragrance. He went to the living room and saw that the aunt had already set up the pot and was placing burnt charcoal blocks at the bottom of the pot.
Fresh shiitake mushrooms, scallions, enoki mushrooms, tofu, fatty pork and broth are mixed in the pot, bubbling with hot steam and smelling delicious.
"Come on, come on, sit down and eat!"
The village chief warmly greeted Sakaki Makoto and his companions:
"I heard you were coming, so I went up the mountain this morning and picked some fresh vegetables. I was lucky enough to even kill a wild boar!"
“Did you find these on the mountain?”
Sitting cross-legged at the table, Conan once again showed off his acting skills, staring at the pot with a pair of big, innocent eyes that only a child can have, and he seemed to be drooling at any moment.
"The tofu was ordered by Zhong Guang's family, and the scallions were picked in the yard. Apart from these two, all other dishes are from the mountains!"
What bad intentions could a little kid have?
The village chief didn't know, and neither did his three sons. They all thought Conan was a naive and curious elementary school student, and a well-behaved and sensible one at that.
Even though there was a strong wind and rain outside, there was still a peaceful scene in the house.
Everyone sat around a table with candles lit on it. The dim candlelight shone on everyone's smiling faces, creating an atmosphere of harmony.
"Xiaofu, go get some bottles of juice."
While the pot was still boiling, the village chief skillfully tore open the packaging of the Black Dragon Daiginjo and poured the clear liquor into the cup while saying:
"Children should not drink alcohol."
The taciturn Yukio nodded, stood up and walked into the kitchen, and came back with a few bottles of orange juice in a few minutes.
"Thank you, big brother!"
Conan took the orange juice with both hands and said with a smile.
"Um."
Yukio responded in a muffled voice, his tense expression relaxing slightly.
Who doesn’t like cute kids?
certainly.
It would be better if Conan was a girl...that's called an angel.
Weighing the can in his hand, Conan calmly stretched out his arm and placed a few bottles of orange juice in front of Miss Miyano, Hattori Heiji and Kid.
As soon as they got the can, Miss Miyano and the others noticed something strange.
All served chilled.
This proves that Uncle Hirai has a refrigerator at home, and it is not a small one.
While no one was paying attention, Kidd turned over the can and looked at the production date printed on the bottom. It was January 15th, and there were still three months before the best before date.
In order to confirm his guess, Kid raised his eyebrows at Conan and sent a secret signal.
After receiving the signal, Conan understood what she meant, and ran to Aunt Hirai holding a bottle of orange juice, blinking his big eyes, and said in a childish tone:
"Auntie, drink orange juice!"
"What a good kid..."
Aunt Hirai's heart melted. She raised her hand and scratched Conan's nose, smiling:
"Just drink it. Auntie has a bad stomach and can't drink these iced things."
"Then...the three big brothers, do you want to drink?"
"Don't worry about them. They only drink alcohol and rarely even water."
"oh...."
Conan lowered his head, his eyes flashed, he slipped back to his seat, and opened the can with a "puff".
On the other side, Uncle Hirai was toasting with Domon Yasuki, and he did not forget to bring Sakaki Makoto along as well. Their conversation was full of gossip and it was a lively occasion.
but...
Talking aside, laughing aside, we must collect all the information we need... without missing a single one.
As they chatted, under Sakaki Makoto's deliberate guidance, the topic turned to the development history of Okutama Town.
As an old man who had witnessed the rise and fall of Okutama Town, the village chief talked about this incessantly, drinking one glass of wine after another and smoking one cigarette after another, gradually getting drunk.
"Back then... our Okutama town was also glorious!"
The pale cheeks turned rosy, and the village chief's eyes were blurred under the stimulation of alcohol. He raised his thumb and stammered:
"When it comes to wood, we are number one!"
"Do you know the giant tree?"
The village chief danced and gestured:
"A tree with a circumference of more than 3 meters at a height of 1.3 meters from the ground is considered a giant tree!"
"There are 60,000 giant trees in Japan, and our town of Okutama has 891 of them, the most of any town or city in the country!"
"And the Tama River...Tokyo uses 6.3 million tons of water every day, of which 1.26 million tons come from the Tama River, accounting for 20%!"
"Okutama covers an area equivalent to 10% of Tokyo, but its population is only 0.04% of Tokyo. It is an abandoned land..."
The topic was very heavy, and the village chief sighed, with a hint of blame in his words:
"If the government had been willing to develop Okutama more, the village wouldn't have declined to this extent..."
"What is the current source of income for Pingjing Village?"
Sakaki Makoto suddenly interrupted:
"In the past, we relied on wood. What do we rely on now?"
As soon as the words came out, the table suddenly became quiet.
The three Hirai brothers were eating their food, their faces shrouded in mist and their expressions could not be seen clearly, but Sakaki Makoto could still feel their wary and scrutinizing gazes.
"Hasn't a hunting ground been opened in the past two years?"
The village chief drank the expensive sake in his glass, smacked his lips twice, and said:
"The village's funding mostly comes from ticket fees and tourism subsidies from the town, which is barely enough to make ends meet..."
"I see..."
Nodding, Sakaki Makoto stopped asking questions and buried his head in eating. The lively atmosphere at the table returned to normal.
After dinner, everyone stayed in the room chatting. The rain showed no sign of abating, but instead became heavier.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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