Kyoto: I just want to be a gentleman

I can only watch Chiharu-chan practice dancing at home."

March 2020, 4

Tuesday (Sunday), light rain

Nothing to do today, just watching people practice dancing

March 2020, 4

Saturday (Tuesday), sunny

No, dance

March 2020, 4

Sunday (Sunday), sunny

舞」

March 2020, 4

Monday (Sunday), sunny

Let’s go shopping tomorrow.”

4 month 21 day.

Tuesday, Fire Sunday, sunny.

Nishiki Market in Kyoto.

"Take a walk, take a look, take a look at these treasures passed down from the shogunate era!"

"Qiudou Sack! This jadeite rough stone is definitely not to be missed."

"Baked sweet potatoes! Freshly baked sweet potatoes!"

"Hatsune Miku Collectible Figure! Autographed photo of the AKB49 girl group!"

Watanabe Hideyuki looked in the direction of the voice, and as he expected, the last person setting up a stall was a fat 2D otaku wearing glasses.

Regardless of the country, the slogans shouted by vendors at flea markets are almost the same when translated.

Hideyuki Watanabe likes to go to flea markets very much, because he has a collecting habit and always likes to collect some strange and weird things, and flea markets fully satisfy his special hobby.

In Japanese, there is a word specifically for "flea market" called "闇（an）市場", which can also be translated into Chinese as "black market". The development of the "闇市場" is inextricably linked to the history of Japan as a country.

After Japan surrendered in World War II, the domestic economy fell into chaos. Faced with a severe shortage of daily necessities, "dark markets" were extremely active throughout Japan.

People took out their own belongings at home, or exchanged various items with American troops stationed in Japan for various resales. For example, there were stalls everywhere in Shinjuku, Shimbashi, Akihabara, Ueno, Kichijoji and other places in Tokyo, forming a major "dark market".

As local stall owners began to move in, some started to set up simple shops, so these stalls gradually evolved into a commercial street.

To this day, although the "dark market" has disappeared, the street stall culture will never disappear. Some street vendors put their goods on sale in places where people gather.

Generally speaking, due to the development of all walks of life in Japan and the small difference between the rich and the poor, everyone sets up stalls on the street, most of which are "joining in the fun" rather than "making a living", especially in the "flea market", many people are sent out by their families to make delicious rice balls, soak them in the market for a day, and sell what cannot be sold. In the end, half of them are given away and half are sold. In this way, the so-called "human fireworks" atmosphere is formed.

At this time, Watanabe Hideyuki and Kitano Chiharu were holding hands and walking through the crowd.

Hideyuki Watanabe wore a simple white shirt and dark jeans today, looking fresh and energetic. His hair was casually combed to one side, revealing a bit of casualness.

Kitano Chiharu was wearing an elegant floral dress that she had just bought two days ago. Although Watanabe Hideyuki thought that this dress was something that would be worn by his mother's generation, Chiharu Kitano couldn't help but like it.

The hem of her skirt swayed gently with Kitano Chiharu's steps, her long hair fell softly on her shoulders, the breeze blowing through her, and a happy smile was on her face. It was obvious that she was immersed in this atmosphere.

The flea market is bustling with people, and the stalls are filled with all kinds of items, from antiques to second-hand books, from accessories to toys. The air in the market is also filled with various smells, such as the ink scent of old books, the agarwood scent of antiques...

Watanabe Hideyuki's eyes kept moving among the stalls, looking for something he liked...until he saw a familiar object.

It was a huge wardrobe, which was placed alone on the small truck by the stall owner and was not taken down.

Watanabe Hideyuki took Kitano Chiharu's hand, walked forward and took a closer look.

"What do you need?" The middle-aged man standing next to the stall saw the two approaching and hurriedly stood up and greeted them warmly. He followed Watanabe Hideyuki's gaze and saw the wardrobe, and then introduced it, "This wardrobe is an old item, passed down from my ancestors. Although it looks a bit old, it is of high quality and very sturdy."

As he said that, he jumped onto the pickup truck and patted the surface of the wardrobe hard.

The wardrobe also cooperated by making a dull sound. It seemed that it was indeed as sturdy as the middle-aged man described.

Watanabe Hideyuki looked at the wardrobe, then at the somewhat thin middle-aged man. It was hard for him to imagine how the thin middle-aged man had moved it onto the pickup truck. Of course, this was not his concern.

He also walked to the side of the van and stroked the slightly rough surface of the wardrobe with his hand. In order to make it more consistent with his memory, he even sniffed it.

That’s right, it’s the wardrobe in Chiharu Kitano’s house.

The color, texture, and feel are all the same...just without that mellow woody aroma.

But why does it appear here?

Before Watanabe Hideyuki could figure out the problem, Kitano Chiharu noticed something was wrong with Watanabe Hideyuki and asked softly, "What's wrong, Watanabe-san? Is there anything special about this wardrobe?"

No wonder she had this question.

Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that the wood of this wardrobe is not very good. It is the hardwood used by ordinary farmers in the past, which is also the wood used for burning firewood. The only feature of this wardrobe is that it is too old. It is a century-old thing.

Watanabe Hideyuki took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and replied, "I seem to have seen an identical wardrobe at a friend's house... I always feel a sense of familiarity..."

After that, he turned his head to look at the middle-aged man and asked softly, "How much is this wardrobe?"

"One hundred thousand yen?" The middle-aged man called out a number cautiously.

Without any hesitation, Watanabe Hideyuki pulled Kitano Chiharu and was about to leave.

Are you kidding? 100,000 yen? He thinks 20,000 yen is too expensive.

If he didn't want to buy one to study it, he wouldn't even look at this broken wooden cabinet.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man hurriedly shouted: "Wait, the price can be negotiated!"

Watanabe Hideyuki stopped, turned around, and said calmly: "This wardrobe is a little bigger and looks a little older, but it is useless. Who still uses wooden wardrobes these days? They just take up too much space at home. Even firewood is not used nowadays."

Every word he said was true. Most families in Japan use storage racks made of textile fabrics, which can store more things and are easy to disassemble, so they are very convenient.

The middle-aged man looked embarrassed. He knew that the price was indeed a bit high, but he was not willing to give up the opportunity of this transaction easily.

If his family wasn't really short of money and everything that could be sold was almost sold out, why would he go to the trouble of moving this broken wooden cabinet out to sell.

So he gritted his teeth and said, "Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

"20,000 yen, no more. I have to pay for someone to deliver such a large cabinet home myself."

"Twenty-five thousand. Wait for a moment and I'll send it to you."

Watanabe Hideyuki calculated in his mind...Twenty-five thousand, it didn't seem unacceptable. This kind of solid wood wardrobe only costs between twenty to thirty thousand on second-hand platforms. With twenty-five thousand, he didn't have to find someone to transport it, so it was a good deal.

Just out of habit, he still called out a price: "Twenty-three thousand."

"make a deal."

It's over... He bid too high. He should have tried bidding 22,000 first.

Watanabe Hideyuki's heart couldn't stop bleeding. This thousand yen was enough for him to eat four moving expenses.

But the deal has been made, and there is no point in regretting it.

When Watanabe Hideyuki thought of the fate between him and this wardrobe, his bleeding heart didn't seem to be so painful anymore, so he took out his wallet, tremblingly took out a few lovely banknotes from it, and handed them to the middle-aged man.

By the time the middle-aged man moved the wardrobe home, it was almost dinner time.

The afterglow of the setting sun filled the bedroom, giving the quaint wardrobe a layer of golden luster.

Kitano Chiharu looked at the additional wardrobes in the bedroom, examined them curiously, touching here and there.

The same was true for Watanabe Hideyuki. He turned his closet upside down but couldn't find anything special.

In the end, the two of them sat in front of the wardrobe, staring at each other.

Kitano Chiharu was the first to break the silence. She frowned and looked at Watanabe Hideyuki, and asked in confusion: "Watanabe-san... why did you buy this? I don't have that many clothes at home... it takes up a lot of space..."

"..."

With just one sentence, Watanabe Hideyuki was silenced.

If one had to say so, the main culprit for him buying this wardrobe was Chiharu Kitano, who was sitting in front of her, looking at her with pure and questioning eyes.

If there wasn't going to be such a big thing in her future bedroom, why would she spend a huge sum of 23,000 yen to buy it!

He has no brains.

However, under the banner of making the best use of things, Watanabe Hideyuki thought that this wardrobe seemed to have other functions.

"I'll buy you a few more clothes so that your wardrobe can be put to good use."

"Ah?" Kitano Chiharu was stunned, her eyes swept back and forth in the empty closet, and then looked up at the huge size of the closet, "How many clothes do we need to buy to fill this big thing..."

"It doesn't seem like I need a lot..." Watanabe Hideyuki was really thinking about the feasibility of this problem, "I can just buy all the styles in that store, and that'll be enough..."

To make his words more rigorous, Watanabe Hideyuki added: "Including those on the front shelves."

Kitano Chiharu's face suddenly turned red.

If she remembered correctly, the front row of shelves in that store were filled with...

Some bold outfits kept popping up in Kitano Chiharu's mind. It turns out that Watanabe likes that kind of style...

If it's Watanabe-san, she can change one set at a time...right?

It's not like he can't do cosplay or something, but it's just that it really doesn't hurt to put the tail in that place...

But if that kind of thing can be stuffed in, then there should be no problem, right?

As she thought about it, Kitano Chiharu was already immersed in the fantasy in her mind. She subconsciously said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "I do..."

After saying that, she looked at Watanabe Hideyuki firmly.

What does she want?

Watanabe Hideyuki looked at Kitano Chiharu in confusion.

His thoughts could not keep pace with the eccentric Chiharu Kitano. God knows what was going on in her mind all day long.

After leaving Kitano Chiharu's bedroom, Watanabe Hideyuki sat on the sofa in the living room, took out a black diary from the cushion underneath, and wrote.

"April 4st.

Tuesday (Sunday), sunny

I went to the flea market to buy some things today, and after a round of searching, I found the wardrobe that gave me my life back.