Happy New Year♥!　4

【A message for golf and baseball lovers!】

Act 9 [Ken and Jin's part-time job] During spring break in his first year of high school, Ken was invited by Jin to work part-time at a futon shop. The boss loaded the futons into the Town Ace and went to sell them to farmers in the countryside. Many of the farmers in the countryside are wealthy, collecting matsutake mushrooms and cultivating shiitake mushrooms. When they went to sell the futons there, they bought a large number of sets of futons. It's not uncommon for them to buy wedding futons worth over 300,000 yen for their daughters who are getting married. Ken and Jin waited at the Town Ace and chatted about things like "How's school going? Are you doing well in your clubs?"The boss said,"Hey, tea! Hey, we sold some, carry them." The two of us carried the new futons wrapped in plastic to the farmer's tatami room. They were quite heavy. We also had a job loading old futons into a car, stuffing them with cotton, and transporting the futons that looked like new. One day, our boss said to us."You guys, there are apartment complexes around here, right? Go out and make sales and sell at least one pillow!" We climbed the stairs to the five-story public housing complex, rang the doorbell at each house, and tried to make a run for it, but"No good, we're here to make sales today. We can't run away."It seems like our old habits won't die."Hi."A young wife from the apartment complex came to the front door. "Excuse me, this is Saito Bedding Store.Can I buy just one pillow?"The pillow was a character pillow that girls and boys like."Oh, this is a pillow that my daughter Megu-chan would love.How much is it?""2,400 yen.""Hmm, is it okay if I pay it on credit?""Of course, that's fine. Can I pay it in six installments?""Sure, then, 400 yen, is that okay?""Yes! I'll leave the pillow here. Thank you very much!!" Jin, pleased with his first sale, returned to the store,"Boss, I sold it!""Really? How many did you sell?""I sold a pillow to a customer on the fifth floor.""A pillow, huh? Well, that's fine. Well done. Have you collected the money?""Yes."Jin handed four 100 yen coins to the boss."Why is it 400 yen?""The customer asked me to take out a loan, so I paid it off in six installments.""Are you stupid? You're only doing this part-time in the spring, so can you go and collect the money from me every month for the rest of the year? Plus, I have bad knees up to the fifth floor." The housing complex had no elevator.During the summer vacation of his third year of high school, Ken invited Jin to do a part-time job cleaning the elevated water tank of an apartment building. Tsuru-san was the son of a yakuza who lived in Nara, and was a carefree guy, but somehow he and Ken got along well and often helped him find a part-time job. He also ran a used car dealership and drove a yellow Sunny with an expired inspection."Tsuru-san, the inspection of this Sunny has expired, and there's no sticker on the windshield."Tsuru-san cut the paper bag of the Seven Stars he was smoking with scissors and stuck it to the inside of the windshield."The expiry date is in July.""This guy's crazy." Six part-timers showed up, and Tsuru appointed Ken and Jin to clean the elevated water tank on the roof, and the other four to clean the septic tank in the basement. Everyone was very Hapi because they were paid 5,000 yen a day. The septic tank team was doing dirty work underground, where rats crawl around and it smelled bad. They used brushes to scrub the floors, covered in sweat, sludge and shit. The elevated water tank team went to the rooftop of the apartment building and used sponges to clean the grime that had built up in the elevated water tank where drinking water was stored. Tsuru went to the management office, told them that the water would not be available for an hour, and came up to the roof. We put on swimming trunks and waited. We opened the hatch of the tank and jumped in, and it felt great because it was summer. The inside was quite spacious, and we could swim standing up. It was deep enough that we couldn't touch the bottom with our feet. It was midsummer afternoon, so the clean drinking water tank was the perfect indoor pool. While swimming, I used a sponge to lightly scrub the tank walls, PVC ladder, water inlet, and drain. It was originally a drinking water tank, so it wasn't that dirty. After cleaning for about an hour, Tsuru-san said. "Let's go for lunch!" We got changed and got into the Sunny, which had an expiry date of July. We arrived at a high-end restaurant in Arashiyama."Tsuru-san, this isn't one of those famous restaurants, it looks really expensive!""Leave it to me, it's a life experience." The kaiseki meal that was served was so high-end that neither Jin nor Ken could remember much about the taste. When we returned to the apartment, the septic tank team had finished their work drenched in sweat, and we received our daily wages and dispersed. At this time, I experienced the disparity between rich and poor. After that, there was a complaint that the sponge was clogged in the tank of the elevated water tank and drinking water was not coming out, and Tsuru-san was fired from his subcontract work. "Sorry, Tsuru-san!!" I've had a lot of part-time jobs up until now, but this was the easiest one. Kidzania, a place for children to experience different jobs, is good, Life is short, and many people only experience one or two jobs until they retire unless they get a job and change jobs, so these part-time jobs that allow them to experience other industries are valuable practical experiences for their current lives, and I feel like I got a glimpse of the joys and sorrows of life. After three years in prison, or rather high school life, Ken and Jin were released, or rather graduated. In School Wars, which is based on rugby at Fushimi Technical High School, the school seems to be quite rough, but the two who were enrolled at the same time had relatively peaceful high school lives, so it was probably exaggerated.



Act 10 [Costume Parade] Today is the town's annual festival. The neighboring city of Uji also has a festival called the Agata Festival, Agata Shrine is located just southwest of Byodo-in Temple. The shrine's deity, Konohanasakuyahime-no-mikoto, is revered as the guardian deity of good relationships and safe childbirth.The Agata Festival, which takes place every year from June 5th to the early hours of the 6th, is the largest festival in Uji, with stalls lined up in the streets from around noon and over 100,000 people attending. In particular, the Bonten Togyo festival held late at night on the 5th is also known as the "Strange Festival of the Dark Night"because all lights from surrounding shops and houses are prohibited and the festival is held in the dark. Although not as big as the Kenmatsuri in Uji City, Ujitawara Town also has a festival where people carry a portable shrine and pray for a good harvest of tea, rice, wild vegetables, mushrooms, etc. At the front of the parade are young men carrying the shrine, followed by the tea-picking bunny girls, and the best part is the parade through the town with everyone in costume. Any costume is OK, from grandfathers and grandmothers to children. It's like Halloween, with a tea-picking fundoshi and an old man wearing a happi coat, a Hyottoko doll, an old man wearing a okame mask, a man in a wedding dress, an old woman in a crested hakama, and a guy dressed as a maid cafe employee; it's just crazy. Everyone on the baseball team also comes up with their own ideas and dresses up as they like. Center fielder Makoto was dressed as a cowboy. He seems to like western movies."I really like Clint Eastwood. He's cool.""Kurikinton! What's that?""Don't you know Clint Eastwood?""He's a really fast shooter, and he beats up tuhuhuroes and villains.""Is it like Kogarashi Monjiro from Shitoshito Pitchan?""Are you stupid? Shitoshito Pitchan isn't like Lone Wolf and Cub or Kogarashi Monjiro!""I see, I don't know why, but it's cool." Takeshi, the second left fielder, was dressed as a bus girl. I don't know where he borrowed those high heels, but it looks like he's having trouble walking."What's with that cuckoo?""All set!""What are you talking about?""All set! No free rides.""That's enough!"Rintaro, the third baseman, was wearing a plastic Nissei soft serve ice cream sign that he had made from an old sign for matcha soft serve ice cream, with the vanilla part spray painted green."He's a real business enthusiast!""How about some matcha ice cream?" The fourth catcher, Gantan, was wearing a headband, bellyband, blue happi coat, red pants and tabi socks, and carrying an empty carpentry tool box on his shoulder, imitating Gen-san the carpenter, the original pachinko player. Everyone seemed to be advertising their family's business."Hey, master carpenter! You're so Inase(Cool).""Yanase? Dad's car isn't a foreign car, it's a Town Ace and a light truck." "Are you stupid? I'm saying it's cool!"Number 5, first baseman Tetchan's dad is a police officer.Tetchan was cosplaying as a police officer."You can't ride two people on a bike, you'll be arrested!""What's that?""Shoplifting is not allowed, you'll be arrested!" Number 6, shortstop Masaya, loves sumo, and is naked but wearing a mawashi"Dosukoi, hakushon!""It's still cold, but you're doing it.""Dosukoi, hakushon! Thank you!" Number 7, second baseman Mar-chan, loves the Checkers, and is wearing a bright red tartan stage costume, and walking around singing the lullaby of Jagged Heart, holding a home karaoke microphone that her grandfather bought at Don Quijote with a 12-month loan."Everyone's acting weird. I can't keep up." Number 8, right fielder Akaboshi-chan, is small but fast.He's called Red Star, but he doesn't know anything about the rules of baseball.When he first bunts, he runs towards third base, overtaking the runner in front of him, with one wish."Please don't come to me, even if the ball flies towards me~"For some reason, Akaboshi-chan is wearing a tuxedo and holding a baton. "What's that?""I'm Tchaikovsky.""Cha, chai, do you like tea? I'm good at skiing!""Don't you know any classical composers or violin concertos?""Plastic? Biosyn? Ah, NHK's morning drama." No matter what you say on Gantan, no one will understand. Akaboshi-chan walks around waving his baton to the sound of the Tea Picking Bunny Girls' "Pi~hyarara, don-do-ko-don." Pitcher Kyuji, number 9, can only throw slow balls that even flies can stop. He has no power, so he loses speed just before home base."Did you see my forkball?""Are you stupid? It didn't reach the catcher and bounced once." The pitcher was wearing a headband and dressed like an Itamae."I'm going to be an Itamae at a sushi restaurant!""Why an Itamae?""Sushiro's salmon and tuna dishes are the best.""Why, you can go and eat there without being an Itamae.""Yeah, that's true.""He's doing great, I can't take it.""This team will never win," Hapi was sure."Why are you dressed up as a ballerina, Hapi?""I'm a prima donna.""Are you related to Pudding A La Mode?""You bring anything for food, huh?""Oh, I know, Swan Lake, Shimura Ken.""I'll kick you in the shins with my toe shoes!" Gantan ran away from Hapi.Hapi walked away dancing ballet. Moni-chan learned taekwondo when she and her family lived in Korea. She wore a white martial arts uniform with a pink belt, and walked while punching and kicking, shouting"Taekwondo!" Gen-san was wearing a Hanshin Tigers uniform and a flag on his back saying"We won the Central League"and "We're the best in Japan." Gantan's mother Tora-san was dressed as a cheerleader for the Tea Picking Bunny Girls. Behind the cheerleaders, the Tea Picking Bunny Girls carried drums and flutes (Pee-hara-don-do-ko-don♪). Tomo-chan, the mother, was wearing a borrowed national costume worn by a Singapore Airlines cabin attendant that Natsu-san had bought on a trip to Singapore with Ken a long time ago."Attention please!" Tomo-chan, with her amazing figure, posed as everyone whistled. A lively parade of over 100 people in costume slowly marched through the town with the mikoshi, and the festival drew to a lonely close in the evening.



Act 11 [Employment] After graduating from high school, Jin became an apprentice carpenter at a construction company. His boss was very strict, and whenever he made a mistake, he would hit him in tuhuhuad. The sawdust that the boss was shaving looked like grated kelp. When uhuhuld the sawdust up to the sun, the sunlight was visible through it.When he pulled the saw, the cut was a work of art, and the way he expertly crafted the tenons with a chisel and hammered the nails in one after another from his mouth looked like a speed gunman, and Jin was fascinated. At first, Jin was only given odd jobs, but the boss gradually gave him more and more to do, and after he had trained for about a year, the boss said to him."Jin, you've been patient for a year, but most people who do this kind of tough work don't last a year, so take this!" The thing the boss handed to Jin was a toolbox that the boss had made himself."Open it." He slid open the lid and found a brand new saw, hammer, chisel, plane, and whetstone."Dad..."Jin was speechless, his nose running and tears dripping down his face."It's so dirty, you can either cry or blow your nose!"For Jin, it was a lifelong treasure, and from that day on, he slept with it by his bedside. The boss was as strict as ever, and whenever he couldn't sharpen the plane blade properly with the whetstone, a fist came flying at him and the Big Dipper flew in front of his eyes. When he hit his index finger with the hammer instead of a nail, a fist came flying at his finger and head, and Halley's Comet flew by. His index finger was swollen and red. If he couldn't cut straight with the saw, a double fist came flying and the sky was filled with stars like the Milky Way. But in reality, he was very kind, and after work he would take him to a bar for drinks. Jin was now 20 years old."Jin, the foundation and base of a house are important. No matter how great a house you build, if the foundation and base are poorly made, it will collapse in an earthquake." The boss sips his barley shochu on the rocks."Once the walls and roof are completed, they will be the stars that you can show off to the world forever." Jin sips his draft beer and munches on yakitori."The foundation, base, pillars, and trusswork are supporting roles that will be hidden by the exterior walls and roof once the house is completed." The boss sips his barley shochu on the rocks and Jin gobbles down his yakitori."But Jin, no matter how big a star actor is, he can't act without some modest supporting actors.It's the same with a house. It's the hidden foundation and pillars that support the walls and heavy roof." The boss sips his barley shochu on the rocks and Jin gobbles down his yakitori."Hey, dad, can I have another on the rocks? I'll have this yakitori too.""Yes! Is the yakitori good, big brother?""Yes, it's really good.""I'm so Happy, here's a complimentary edamame.""Thank you, it's been a while, no, it'll be a treat." It seems that the Gantan slip-up was inherited from Jin-san's blood. Jin is more interested in eating than drinking. The boss was strict and sometimes kind, but he raised Jin to be a full-fledged carpenter. The boss had one daughter. She was born when he was older, and the boss loved her very much. The boss named her Tamaki. Tamaki's mother died of an illness when Tama-chan was in middle school, so she lived with her boss. Tama-chan still doesn't like her name and complains to her boss about anything."I'm not a cat, so I'll definitely change my name when I get married!""What a fool! My surname will change, but my first name won't!" Tama-chan, who is one year older than Jin, began to take a bit of notice of Jin, who was training diligently. Around the same time, most of Ken's high school classmates had gotten jobs, but he wanted to study design further, so he applied to a junior college for interior design. Those who got jobs were highly valued in the industry, which was short of staff, and most of his classmates got jobs, some going to furniture companies, others becoming furniture craftsmen, with the salary offered being the same as the starting salary for university graduates at the time. Ken's friends Katsujiro and Tamotsu also got jobs. In their class, only his friends Yoshimitsu and Ken, and three or four others, went to university. Ken graduated from junior college after studying design and engineering, and got a job at a company called Sanko Store Design, near the nearby Kokura Station. The office was small, with about eight people including the director, and tuhuhuadquarters and factory were in Osaka. In Kokura, Yamazaki Bread's factory was located, and Yamazaki Bread's salesmen would bring cases to the design office for customers who wanted to open new bread shops or convenience stores, or to renovate existing shops. Ken and his staff would go to the site with the salesmen, take measurements, listen to what the customers had to say, and draw up plans in response to their requests. Customers can't get an image just by looking at plans. That's where perspective drawings come in handy. Ken has been drawing cartoons since he was a child, so he's good at drawing people. Ken's perspective drawings showed bread on a shelf and French bread in a baguette. He even drew a picture of a mother and daughter choosing the bread, so it looked like a real store and was easy to understand. He managed one store by himself, from blueprints, estimates, schedules, arranging for contractors, on-site supervision, opening preparations, and collecting payments. It was a very difficult but rewarding job. If the measurements are off by even 1cm, the bread tray or furniture will not fit. They have to cut up the furniture or tear down the walls, but either way it takes time and money to repair, causing trouble for the client and earning distrust. Like Jin, Ken made mistakes but gradually learned the job. Time passed, and one day about six years later, Jin's boss suddenly collapsed and was hospitalized. Tama-chan stayed by his side to look after him. The boss called Jin to the hospital and said,"Jin, I don't have much longer to live, my liver is in ruins!""Eh...""Hey Jin, I have a favor to ask you.""What is it, Dad?""What do you think of Tamaki?""Tama-chan, I think she's a good girl.""You idiot! I'm asking if you like her!""I like her.""Tama is in love with Jin too.""Really?""No doubt about it, I know because she's my daughter.""You've become a full-fledged worker, so when I die, I'll leave this construction company and Tamaki to you. Is that bad?""Dad..."After a while, the boss passed away. After the funeral went smoothly, Jin made up his mind after seeing Tama-chan looking completely exhausted. "Tama-chan, I want to take over this construction company. Also, I like Tama-chan, will you be with me?" Tama nodded slightly. Jin then took over the construction company in the house next door to Ken where Tama lived.