Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 607 Morning Market in front of Jinya

When the room became warmer, Shangzi picked up the doll again and continued sewing.

Naruse was sitting next to him, not disturbing, just watching.

By the time she finished the puppet, it was already ninety o'clock in the evening.

It was dark and quiet outside the window facing the river. After nightfall, there was not much difference between this place and the countryside in front of Jin.

"Is it done?"

"Ah."

"Are you going to continue today?"

Naoko shook his head.

"Then rest." Naruse said.

"Ah."

The two of them went downstairs to wash up. As soon as they left the room, they felt the cold coming on their faces, which was daunting.

"It's so cold..."

"Because I've been in front of the electric heater for too long."

Naoko also shrank her body and plunged into the darkness and cold. "The nights here are still warmer than those in Aomori."

Naruse followed, forcing himself to adapt to the coldness of being away from the electric heater.

"What time will the restaurant be open in the evening?"

"It will close around nine o'clock, and at the latest it will be nine-thirty."

"When Shangzi helps, will he be busy like this?"

"sometimes."

"Ms. Zhizi and the others live upstairs over there?"

"Ah."

When he got downstairs, he saw that the light in the bathroom was not turned off. Shangzi turned to look at him, but saw that he was shrinking his neck and freezing to death, so he still swallowed his words.

"This is the house they originally lived in. Later, they built a new house next to it. They lived there and ran a restaurant. This place has always been empty... I passed by here and asked while eating. I found out where I could rent a house nearby, and Ms. Zhizi let me stay."

"Ms. Zhizi is such a good person."

"Ah."

The two of them had already taken a shower in the evening. After a brief wash, they returned to the warm room upstairs.

Naoko packed the things on the floor, and Naruse took out the bedding and spread it on the tatami.

"What a thick quilt..."

"Because there's no air conditioning."

The bedding was so thick that it was even a little heavy. Naruse got into the bed. Naoko glanced at the electric heater that was still working, but didn't do anything for the time being, and got in after him.

"The lights haven't been turned off yet..." He originally just wanted to lie down and feel the weight of the quilt.

"I'll come to lock you up later." Shangzi said, wrapping himself tightly in the quilt and squeezing towards him, "Are you cold?"

"It's okay." The quilt was a little cold, but her body pressed against it, soft and warm, completely eliminating the chill behind her.

Shangzi was still adjusting his posture when suddenly there was nothing behind him. She turned her head and he climbed out of bed and turned off the light.

"Do you want the electric heater to be on?" he asked in the darkness.

Shangzi pulled the quilt and said, "Turn it off."

The fiery red light gradually dimmed, and he got back into the bed, pulled the quilt, and hugged her again.

Before the electric heater was completely dimmed, Shangzi turned over and hugged him tightly.

"Is it cold?" He asked the same question this time.

She pressed against his chest, "It's okay."

"What about when Naoko sleeps alone?"

"...It's not bad."

Naruse hugged her tighter and rubbed her back.

"At this time yesterday, I had just arrived in Gaoshan City."

"Did you come from Tokyo?"

"Well, I went to Tokyo the night before yesterday."

Shangzi was silent for a while, but before he spoke, he took the initiative to explain the whole process of discovering this clue.

"At the beginning, I didn't expect that Shangzi would open a store on Amazon..."

When she heard that he had traced the package's address all the way to Tokyo, she remained silent for a longer time, and then said:
  "If you hadn't seen me coming out of the post office that day..."

"It's only a matter of time before you let me know what Naoko is doing and think of going to the post office." Naruse said.

She pursed her lower lip and said, "Yeah."

"And this is not the second time I have come to Gaoshan City."

He lowered his head slightly and kissed her on the forehead.

"I stayed here for two days on the weekend last week, but I just couldn't find Shangzi's place... So even if I don't have this clue, I will still come here to look for it, because I remember Shangzi said before that he wanted to live in This way."

"..."

She lowered her head, and Naruse quickly noticed the moisture on her chest.

He rubbed her back, and her sobs soon became uncontrollable, and the shaking in her shoulders became more pronounced.

"Everything is my fault."

Hot tears wet her pajamas, and Naruse took a deep breath, letting her vent her long-held emotions.

"I ruined everything for us."

In the darkness, time flowed silently. After an unknown amount of time, Shangzi slowly calmed down.

Raising her hand to touch the large patch of moisture on his chest, she turned over, facing away from him.

"I want to sleep."

"Yes." Naruse put his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. She didn't resist, and they pressed closer together.

"Good night."

Shangzi closed his eyes and said, "Good night."

Returning to the co-sleeping state she had shared more than a month ago, she thought she would not be able to adapt and find it difficult to fall asleep. However, from closing her eyes to falling asleep, it was so fast that she did not react at all.

The sense of security she wanted to resist gave her no chance to resist.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already dawn.

She didn't know when she turned over and faced him, but he had his eyes closed and was still sleeping.

"..."

Staring at his face, Shangzi slowly raised her hand and touched his cheek.

We haven't seen each other for more than half a month. She cut off her long hair that represented the past, but his hair was much longer than before, almost covering his eyes. It was obvious that he had never been trimmed.

What has he been doing in the past half month?

Have you been looking for her?

still is……

The faces of the other three girls appeared in his mind. Naoko took a breath and expelled them all.

She looked at the phone next to her pillow again.

From when he found her yesterday to now, his cell phone has not rang once. It seems that like her, he has discarded all past contact information.

This is obviously unlikely.

After looking at it twice, Shangzi moved towards him without touching his phone, and leaned against his chest with slight movements.

His hand suddenly came up.

"..."

"What time is it?" he asked with his eyes closed.

"I don't know." Shangzi didn't move and slowly distanced himself.

"Well……"

Holding her closer, Naruse picked up the phone and looked at it, then put it down.

"It's only around seven o'clock."

"Ah."

"Today is Friday..." He closed his eyes again and counted the days in his mind.

Shangzi didn't think too much about the date. He lay against him for a while and then sat up from the bed.

It was already bright, and she looked out the window, her body shrinking unconsciously.

Outside the bed, it was still a little cold.

"Want to get up?" Naruse lay on the pillow and looked at her.

"Ms. Zhizi may go to the market to purchase ingredients." Shangzi said, "You can continue to sleep, I will help."

He yawned and sat up.

"Then let's go together. I also want to visit the market."

Shangzi didn't say anything. They both got up. He went down to wash up first, while she put away the bedding and opened the window.

The morning breath drifted in through the window, cold and crisp, and it also made people wake up quickly.

Naruse quickly finished washing and came up, "Do you want to go over after breakfast?"

"No, that's a little late."

Shangzi also went downstairs to wash up. When he came out of the bathroom, he was standing at the door, chatting and laughing with Ms. Zhizi.

"Ms. Zhizi, good morning."

"Good morning, Miss Dongyun."

She lowered her head, "Just call me Shangzi."

"Okay, Naoko."

Ms. Edako laughed and looked very happy, and then said: "Naruse-kun said that he wanted to go to the market with us."

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

Ms. Edako's husband, Mr. Sakahara, was in charge of driving and took the three of them to the market. The minivan drove along the river for a while and then crossed the river on the bridge.

"Huh?" Naruse looked out the car window, slightly surprised.

"We're going to the morning market in front of Jinya."

Naoko understood what he was surprised about and explained, "Compared to the Miyagawa Morning Market, locals prefer to go there."

"I see."

Ms. Edako, a local, also turned around to explain a few words. After crossing the bridge, the morning market in front of Takayama Jinya was not far away.

Whether it is here or at the Miyagawa Morning Market by the river, a large number of fresh and affordable agricultural products are set up for sale every day. The Sakahara couple came here to purchase ingredients for the restaurant. Naoko said that in order to keep the ingredients fresh, they basically shop every day. Will come here in the morning.

The restaurant's menu is not completely fixed, and the deciding factor is what they bought at the morning market in the morning. Naoko and Naruse followed behind carrying baskets. Ms. Edako and her husband were picking and buying ingredients, and the two of them were responsible for carrying things.

While walking and shopping, just as Shangzi said, there are more locals wandering around in the morning market here, and there are basically few outsiders looking around like him.

"Tourists from outside prefer to go to the riverside." Shangzi said, "There are basically only agricultural product stalls here, unlike there, there are sushi restaurants and other shops."

Naruse nodded. A few months ago, they were among the tourists who liked to go to the morning market by the river early in the morning.

Seeing him staring at the yellowed old pumpkin on one of the stalls, Shangzi stopped, pointed at the pumpkin and asked the price.

Naruse also stopped, "Do you want to buy it?"

"Well, you can buy it and steam it to eat."

The pumpkin was quite heavy, and Naoko's hand sank when he took it. Naruse took it again and put it in his own basket.

Ahead, Ms. Zhizi and her husband also stopped in front of another stall, which was filled with red apples.

Naruse looked around and said, "There are also many fruit stalls here."

"Yeah." Shangzi walked to the front, "Want to buy apples?"

Ms. Zhizi smiled at her and said, "We can make apple pie."

Naoko also smiled.

"Naoko, do you want to buy some? The apples in Takayama City taste great."

She looked down, then looked at Naruse who was following. He picked up an apple, turned it around in his hand, and looked at it with a critical eye.

"Okay."

Obviously I don’t understand anything…

They had only been separated for more than half a month, and she knew very well that he actually didn't know much about Apple.

"Want to buy some?"

"Then buy some."

After buying some "okay" apples, the two of them continued shopping.

The morning market in front of Takayama Jinya is not as big as the Miyagawa morning market, but the stalls are more concentrated. Walking through the aisle under the tent, the stalls on the left and right are filled with various vegetables and fruits produced locally in Takayama, as well as There are all kinds of pickled products, and there are many things to choose from.

【Excellent product! The strongest miso! 】

Naruse stopped in front of a stall full of condiments, picked up one of the boxes of miso and looked at it.

"You can have a taste." The stall owner inside said, pointing to an opened box of miso next to it, with a small cup and a small spoon for tasting.

Naruse scooped a little into a small cup and tasted it.

"Well……"

Shangzi stopped when he stopped and looked at him, "How about it."

He scooped up a little more and brought it to her mouth.

She opened her mouth, took the small spoon in her mouth, and sipped it a little.

"How do you feel, Naoko?"

She nodded.

"There are several flavors, all at the same price." The stall owner introduced enthusiastically.

"Then let's have a portion of each." Naruse said.

"okay!"

"No need." Shang Zi glanced at him and then looked at the stall owner, "One portion is enough. If you want more, you won't be able to finish it all."

The stall owner remained enthusiastic, waiting for her to choose the flavor and pay the bill.

Homemade miso was [-] yen per serving, packed in a palm-sized transparent box. Naruse took it and looked at it twice, "It's not much per box."

"That's enough." Shangzi said.

"Okay." He didn't say much, put away the miso, and followed her forward.

The stalls are connected to each other, and the morning market, which is not too big, can be browsed for a long time, but Naruse's stomach does not suggest that he just continue shopping like this.

goo—

Naoko looked back at him, and Naruse touched his stomach, "Actually, it's okay, I'm not that hungry."

Without saying anything, she pulled him through the gap between the two stalls and came outside.

There was a stall selling steamed buns not far away. The two went there and Shangzi asked for three steamed buns, two of which were for him.

"Well……"

Naruse took a bite, and the rich aroma and meat juice filled his mouth, "It tastes really good."

Shangzi responded and took a bite.

"Is one enough?"

"enough."

After finishing the bun in his hand in two or three bites, Naruse divided the remaining one into two and gave half to her.

"It would be great if there were bun shops like this in the countryside. We wouldn't have to get up to prepare breakfast in the morning."

Shangzi glanced at him and took the half bun.

“It tastes really good and the portion is quite generous. One and a half is just right.”

"Ah."

After the two finished eating the steamed buns, they returned to the morning market, found Mr. and Mrs. Sakahara, and continued shopping.

"Wait a minute, is this the Pu Ye who makes Pu Ye Yaki?"

"Ah."

"Buy some and go back and try it."

"Ah."

After shopping for half an hour, Mr. Sakahara and Ms. Eko bought a lot of vegetables, and Naruse also had a lot of mountain specialties that he wanted to try.

"Shangzi also gained a lot today." Ms. Zhizi smiled at the two of them, "Let's go back."

"Ok."

After returning to the car and the restaurant, the old couple began to prepare for today's business. Naruse and Naoko returned to the nearby residence and sorted the things they bought.

"Do you want to eat more?" Shangzi asked.

"I'm almost full."

She nodded and said nothing more.

It was only around eight o'clock in the morning. After packing their things, the two of them didn't go to school. There was nothing to do. Naoko went back to her room to sew dolls.

Naruse still sat aside and watched without disturbing.

buzz-

The phone vibrated. Shangzi picked it up and looked at it twice. After putting it down, he got up and looked around again. He took out a ready-made puppet, carefully checked it up and down, then put it in a transparent bag, and then put it into In a cardboard box.

"Are there any new orders?"

"Ah."

She filled out the shipping form she had prepared in advance and pasted it on the carton.

Naruse looked on from the side, "Send it now?"

"Go again at noon," Shangzi said. "Go once at noon and once in the evening, if there are still packages to send."

After finishing an order, she continued to sew the dolls on hand.

Before noon, she received two more orders, one of which was a reservation for a medium-sized puppet worth [-] yen.

Naruse came up from downstairs and looked at the contents of the order.

"The larger puppets don't use much more materials, but they can earn twice as much money."

"Ah."

"How long will it take to make the order just now from scratch?"

"It will take a whole day, and I will spend a little time adjusting the details the next day."

"so……"

Naruse nodded and smiled at her again, "It's noon, let's eat first, it's already done."

Only then did Shangzi know where he had gone after disappearing for a long time.

"You don't need to prepare."

"If I cook, Naoko will have more time to make puppets, right?"

Is the point here?
  She looked at him, but didn't say anything after all, and went downstairs to eat together.

"I originally wanted to eat at Ms. Zhizi's place, but I bought so many ingredients and I can't keep them in the refrigerator all the time."

"Ah."

"what about the taste?"

Shangzi took a bite of his rice and looked at the dishes he had prepared on the table, "Very good."

Naruse smiled, "That's good."

After lunch, he insisted on washing the dishes by himself, but Shangzi didn't insist.

Going upstairs to take down the two packed packages, she said she was going to the post office.

"Wait for me, I'll come over too."

"Ah."

After washing the dishes, Naruse wiped his hands and went out with her.

Arriving at the post office soon, Naoko mailed the things, and the two walked back. When they reached the intersection, Naruse stopped.

"I almost forgot, I have to check out of the hotel and bring my luggage."

"..."

"It's the hotel where we stayed when we came over during the summer vacation. It's over there from the station, a bit far away. Shangzi, go back first, I'll go there by myself."

She didn't speak.

Naruse turned around at the intersection and walked toward the hotel, and she followed.

He smiled and took her hand.

After walking for half an hour, they returned to the hotel and the two of them sat down in the room to rest for a while.

"How many days did you originally book?"

"Until tomorrow morning."

Shangzi sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window, "How long do you plan to stay here?"

"Until Naoko is willing to go back with me," Naruse said.

"..."

She closed her eyes.

He sat over, she opened her eyes and looked at him, and they fell on the bed together.

　big chapter

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)