Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 81, Uesugi Family Dinner
After having a great time at the racecourse with Miss Minami in the afternoon and reaching a consensus on some key points, Uesugi Sosetsu returned to the Uesugi Hall in Bunkyo Ward in the evening. The family would have a regular dinner at home every Saturday night.

When Uesugi Sosetsu returned home, he was greeted by a strong smell of soy sauce and cooking wine.

He smiled and knew what to eat tonight.

Sukiyaki.

Sure enough, when they saw Uesugi Muneyuki coming back, his father Uesugi Hironori and his mother Uesugi Tomoko both came out to greet him. Uesugi Hironori happily held a large wooden box in his hands: "Clang clang! Xuesong, look! This is the good stuff that father got with great difficulty! We're eating this tonight!"

"It's beef hotpot, it's not like I can't smell it." Uesugi Sosetsu squinted his eyes and looked at his own father acting funny.

Different from his grandfather Kuninori Uesugi's serious personality, his father Hironori Uesugi is the president of the alumni association and the director of the cultural exchange center. He has a more lively and showy personality. But this does not mean that his father is a careless person. He just pretends to be stupid on purpose. This old guy is actually very smart.

"Hey, you don't understand this. Today's beef is different." Seeing that his son didn't listen to him carefully, Uesugi Yuxian had to emphasize it again, and then showed his son the purple and gold wooden box in his hand: "Look, this is special meat!"

WTF! Kobe?!
Uesugi Sosetsu was shocked when he saw the box with Kobe printed on it.

I looked more closely and found that it was Kobe marbled beef.

Yes, Kobe's name comes from Kobe beef. His father Joe Bryant became crazy about Kobe beef when he was working in Italy, so he named his son Kobe.

"How is it?" Seeing that his son finally understood, Uesugi Yuken said, "You have to give an attitude, right?"
"Okay, okay, that's great. I'm looking forward to it." Uesugi Sosetsu said a little perfunctorily.

"Really..." Uesugi Yuken saw his son's perfunctory response and muttered, "Oh, and don't just think about eating tonight. Grandpa has something to announce."

"Yes, Grandpa has something important to announce." Uesugi Tomoko also laughed and said, "Xedimuramaru, good things are going to happen to your brother!"

Grandpa has something big to announce?

At the end of October, the weather in Tokyo was already very cold. The family sat together around a hot pot and ate sukiyaki. The mother, Tomoko Uesugi, skillfully mixed the hot pot base with cooking wine, soy sauce, wine, sugar and other condiments, and cooked the meat and vegetables together.

In ancient times, Japan was very poor in resources. Not to mention the farmers, even the ruling class, the nobles and royal family, ate very ordinary food and advocated eating less and being frugal. From the second half of the Asuka period, the emperor issued an order banning the consumption of meat, and all cattle, sheep, and horses were banned (Japan used to have no domestic pigs, only wild boars). Only chicken and duck meat could be eaten, and rabbits, which were forcibly counted as birds, could be eaten.

The lack of meat caused many nobles and royal families to suffer from beriberi and poor health, while the samurai secretly hunted for meat under the name of "falconry". For example, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was known as a particularly frugal old tortoise, was himself a heavy enthusiast of falconry and actually ate a lot of meat. Just because he did not allow his servants to eat meat did not mean that he did not eat it himself.

Don’t ask, the answer is “mountain whale” and “mountain tit”, which are seafood from the mountains. We have not violated the ban on eating meat.

With the end of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the control on meat was gradually relaxed, and the first Japanese hot pot restaurant, the so-called "Sukiyaki", began to appear in the end of the shogunate.

My brother Uesugi Sadanori still looked very unhappy today and hardly ate anything. He looked like a man waiting to be executed.

Uesugi Sosetsu didn't care about that. He ate three bowls of rice in the cold wind outside and the heat inside the house, and ate Kobe meat. After filling his stomach, he waited quietly for his grandfather Uesugi Kuninori to speak.

Sure enough, after three rounds of wine and five dishes, grandfather Uesugi Kuninori, who was full after eating a little bit of food, signaled everyone to stop, so the whole family put down their chopsticks and waited for grandfather to speak.

Through the mist rising from the pot, Uesugi Kuninori coughed twice and said, "First, I have an announcement to make."

"Our grandson, your son, Xuesongmaru's brother, Uesugi Sadanori is officially engaged! You met her last time, she is the daughter of a general manager of Glico Company!"

Kuninori Uesugi announced the good news loudly.

The four remaining family members applauded together, except for the elder brother Uesugi Sadanori, who looked grief-stricken and helpless.

"There are so many European and American dads~" Uesugi Yuken laughed heartily.

"My sister is so cute~" Uesugi Tomoko smiled and gestured.

“Oh my god~” Uesugi Sosetsu clapped his hands very hard: “Happy wedding, Onii-chan!”

“Hehehe.” Grandpa Uesugi Kuninori smiled and nodded: “This way, I can rest assured.”

"I can see that Sentokumaru is not very willing, but marriage is a major event in life. Sentokumaru, only when I see you get married can I retire with peace of mind and die in peace." Uesugi Kuninori could see that his grandson was a little reluctant, so he could only comfort him: "And I have seen that she has a good personality and is a very traditional person. She will not affect your research." "Yes..." Uesugi Sadanori lowered his head helplessly. He was actually very reluctant to get married. It's not that he didn't like the blind date, he just simply didn't want to get married, but there was no way, and the woman was indeed very docile and well-behaved, and should not affect his work.

Grandpa didn't threaten to commit suicide unless she was the one, but if he rejected this one, there would be countless blind dates waiting for him in the future. Uesugi Sadanori thought it was better to suffer a short pain than a long one, so he just let it go.

"In this way, I can safely hand over the family to Yuxian, and then to Dingxian." Seeing that his grandson finally gave in, Uesugi Kuninori couldn't help but feel a little proud. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki. Seeing that his expression did not change, he nodded secretly in his heart: "Okay, the wedding date will be this time next year... Then the second thing."

"I am 72 years old this year. In three years, I will retire from my professor position at the Headquarters of Space Science at the University of Tokyo. This time will be different from the last time. I will retire completely," said Kuninori Uesugi seriously.

My grandfather was scheduled to retire at the age of 65, but was immediately re-hired by Tokyo University until he was 75. In another three years, he will retire completely.

"So, Sentokumaru and Xuesongmaru, you must hurry up." Uesugi Kuninori frowned and said, "You must hurry up and do more while I am still a professor. Make more achievements. While I am still alive, I will do everything I can to get you into the University of Tokyo."

"Listen to me! Sentokumaru, Xueshoumaru!" Seeing that his two grandsons did not react, Uesugi Kuninori shouted: "The Yonezawa Uesugi clan has been abolished in my generation. All the privileges of us feudal lords have been abolished. The reason why we can still exist as a prominent noble clan in Tokyo is entirely due to the foundation I laid as a doctor and professor of the University of Tokyo!"

"Yes." Uesugi Sadanori and Uesugi Munesetsu could only nod.

"I'm not saying anything bad about your father, but his current business and career are essentially still relying on my capital and the capital of our family." Grandpa went on to say, "Just ask him and you'll know how his club business got started. It's all thanks to my connections! Why are so many events held at his place? Why can he be the president of the Keio Alumni Association? Ability is not unimportant, but what's more important is that everyone will give our family some face because I'm still alive!"

Uesugi Yuken's face looked a little unhappy, and he could only lower his head and nod, because he knew that his father was right.

Uesugi Kuninori was of extremely noble blood. His great-grandmother was a member of the Ito family, a hero of the Meiji Restoration. His grandmother Uesugi Fusako was from the Takashi family, one of the five regent families. His mother Uesugi Toshiko was the daughter of Tokugawa Iemasa (the main family of the Tokugawa Shogun), and his grandmother Tokugawa Masako was the daughter of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last lord of the Shimazu domain.

It was precisely because my grandfather's blood was extremely noble, mixed with the blood of new and old aristocrats, samurai, and even heroes of the Meiji Restoration, and he himself graduated with a doctorate from the University of Tokyo and served as a professor at the University of Tokyo, the upper class had to give him face to a certain extent, so that my father Uesugi Hironori could keep his business going.

The current situation of the Uesugi family is a bit like the story in "Dream of Red Mansions" where at the beginning of the story, Jia's mother has passed away, but the second generation Duke of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Daishan, is still alive. As a seventy-year-old Duke, he sits in charge of Rongguo Mansion. Although his influence is no longer the top one, everyone has to give him face.

"Times have changed. There are no lands, titles or family businesses that can be passed down forever. So you must work harder and make achievements quickly. Show your abilities while I am still alive, while the higher-ups are willing to give me some face, and while I still have a say in the top management of the University of Tokyo." Uesugi Kuninori spoke sternly when he talked about serious matters. His cloudy old eyes opened, flashing with a sharp light: "Then I will try to arrange for both of you brothers to enter the University of Tokyo."

"If you can all enter the University of Tokyo and take up specific positions, the dignity and status of our family can be maintained for another three or four generations."

"As for what will happen next, I will have closed my eyes by then. Each generation has its own mission, and I can only trust the wisdom of you, the descendants." Uesugi Kuninori finished speaking with an unfinished thought. Grandpa seemed to have run out of strength and leaned back: "Sendomaru, the Uesugi family will be inherited by you in the future, you must protect it."

At this time, Uesugi Sadanori's eyes were already filled with tears. His brother stood up, stood at attention, then knelt on his knees, knocked his fists on the ground, and answered loudly: "Yes!"

After dinner, father Hironori Uesugi and mother Tomoko Uesugi returned to their room.

"Well, anyway, Sentokumaru's marriage is finally settled, and as a father, I am relieved." With the help of Uesugi Tomoko, Uesugi Yukenori changed his clothes that were stained with the smell of hot pot, and said with a little complaint: "Father, you are really embarrassing me in front of Sentoku and Xuesong, aren't you?"

"As if there's something wrong with what you said! Sometimes I really worry about what will happen if my foster father dies!" Uesugi Tomoko complained unhappily, but when she saw her husband's unhappy expression, she immediately gave in and tried to test him: "Okay, Sentokumaru's marriage is a done deal, but what about Xueshoumaru? Do you have any plans?"

"It's more difficult to deal with Xuesongmaru. We can only send him to another family as a son-in-law or adopted son, right?" Uesugi Yuken nodded, "The Ikoma clan in Akita asked about it before, saying that they only have daughters and there is no one to inherit the family."

"Ikoma clan? The one from Takamatsu Domain?" Uesugi Tomoko pouted when she heard this, thinking to herself, where did this country bumpkin come from to lay his hands on my precious son? "It has already been changed, right?"

"Yes, the descendants of Ikoma Shinma." Uesugi Yukenori nodded: "The family status seems to be a little inferior, but the Ikoma family is a large landowner in Akita, and they also have wine and real estate, so it is not an insult to Xuesong."

"Um..." Uesugi Tomoko said cautiously: "Danna, let me tell you something."

"what's up?"

"That afternoon, Michiko called me and asked me if Xuesongmaru was engaged. I told her no."

Uesugi Yuken was stunned for a moment: "Michiko... the wife of the current Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji?"

"Yes, that's her!"

　Guess who the protagonist will marry?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)