Chapter 11 Picking up trash
In the Nippori area of Arakawa District, Kashiwagi brought Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro to a warehouse made of iron sheets.
Due to wind and sun, the originally silver iron surface has long become rusty, and as the wind blows from time to time , it makes a creaking sound that makes your teeth ache.
There wasn't even a wall around the warehouse. They just used a few wires to surround the site and that was it.
The Arakawa area in the late 1970s was far from being as modern as it has been since then, especially in the Nippori area, where low-rise houses were everywhere.
Most of the people living here are ordinary working class people, and the streets are far less prosperous than Shibuya and Kichijoji.
The ground was littered with cigarette butts and garbage. Baichuan Feng could say responsibly that the environment in RB at that time was completely different from that in later times.
He can even use a very contemptuous tone to criticize the Japanese people, saying that Tokyo is synonymous with dirtiness and is far worse than its American father.
Look at the tone, he is really an old RB public intellectual.
While Baichuan Feng was stunned, Kashiwagi had already led them directly into the warehouse. The sign on the wall outside was useless.
Along the way, not only the inside of the warehouse, but also the open space outside was filled with all kinds of electrical waste.
Kashiwagi stood in a corner of the warehouse covered with waterproof cloth, pointed at them and said, "Look, if you want to find something useful, you can only look here."
As he spoke, he lifted the tarpaulin and said, "Those outside have been piled up in the warehouse for too long. There is no room for the new ones, so we have to move them out and wait for the recycling company to take them away."
"Of course, if you're lucky, you might be able to pick up fresh produce at the fence gate. Those are just thrown there by nearby residents for convenience."
As the waterproof cloth was removed, the true appearance of the mountain underneath was revealed.
There were all kinds of home appliances neatly arranged together, from refrigerators and washing machines to radios and hair dryers.
"That's amazing!" Seeing such a wide variety of electrical appliances, Baichuan Feng felt as if he had seen a mountain of gold.
Hearing Baichuan Feng's sigh, Kashiwagi couldn't help but smile, "Xiao Feng , these electrical appliances are basically unusable. They have some minor problems."
"But..." He kept it a secret.
"But what, Uncle Kashiwagi."
Seeing that Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro were looking at him like curious babies, Kashiwagi nodded with satisfaction. "But if we want to find something valuable, there are ways."
After saying that, Kashiwagi waved to Shirakawa Feng and the others, and led them to the back of the warehouse, where there was another door.
Kashiwagi patted the iron door and said, "Matsumoto-san, it's me, Kashiwagi."
There was a rustling sound from inside the iron door, as well as faint complaints.
After waiting for less than two minutes, an old man in his sixties or seventies opened the door. "It's you again, kid. Didn't you come here last month?"
As the old man spoke, he looked at Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro who were beside Kashiwagi.
"Hehe," Kashiwagi smiled uncomfortably, "I just came to visit my dad." As he spoke, Kashiwagi had already attentively handed over the shopping bag in his hand, which contained beer and cigarettes.
"Oh, right. These two are the younger generation from my hometown. They just came to Tokyo and are in need of some daily necessities. Let's see if dad has anything they can use."
Matsumoto took the bag and glanced at it casually. It was OK, a little more than last time.
He nodded to Kashiwagi with satisfaction, and called to Shirakawa Feng and the others, "Come in."
The room was bigger than Shirakawa Kaede had imagined. It not only had shelves but also separate small rooms.
There were also various electrical appliances on the shelves, but they were obviously in much better condition than outside. They were also roughly sorted into categories.
This is not a room, it's more like a small warehouse.
Matsumoto casually put the things on the table and said, "You two brats didn't study hard and came to Tokyo to make a living at such a young age. Be careful to suffer."
Just as Kashiwagi was about to explain, Shirakawa Feng signaled him to be patient.
"Dad, please take care of me in the future." Shirakawa Feng bowed to the old man politely, and Torataro followed closely behind.
Matsumoto shook his head and said nothing more.
"The items are all on the shelves. Whether you can find something usable depends on your luck."
After saying that, Matsumoto took out his beer and lunch box and started drinking by himself.
"My father has just this kind of temper." Kashiwagi was afraid that Shirakawa Feng would think too much, so he explained in a low voice.
Baichuan Feng shook his head, indicating that it was okay. What attracted him more at this moment were the treasures on the shelves.
He walked over and the more he looked at it, the happier he became. This was the new TV that Panasonic had launched last winter. Shirakawa Kaede had seen the advertisement, and a brand new one cost 148,000 yen.
There are also Sanyo audio systems, Hitachi vacuum cleaners, Sony Sharp, and so on.
He wanted to take all of them, but he knew it was impossible. Although Matsumoto told them to pick whatever they wanted, if he really took them all, he would be ungrateful.
After some careful selection, Shirakawa Kaede finally chose a Panasonic TV and a Hitachi food processor.
In fact, he had his eyes on a set of Sony speakers, but the three of them came empty-handed today and had no car. There were too many things to move.
Seeing that Baichuan Feng picked a TV, Matsumoto reminded him, "Boy, let me remind you that although that TV is as good as a new one, it only has sound but no picture."
Baichuan Feng was stunned for a moment, then said it was okay, he was just tinkering around, purely out of hobby.
After picking their things, they prepared to leave.
"Dad, Kotaro and I will come to visit you next time. We will definitely let you taste the best sake we have in Akita."
When Matsumoto heard the words "Akita Sake", his throat moved noticeably.
He did not comment on Baichuan Feng's words, but nodded to show that he understood.
Shirakawa Feng mentioned sake on a whim when he saw the various beer bottles in the small warehouse.
From this alone, we can tell that Matsumoto is a wine lover. However, sake is much more expensive than beer, and most people can only drink it a few times a month.
But these are not a problem for Shirakawa Kaede. Akita sake is famous, but it is a local specialty of his hometown. What else is there to lack? Even his mother brews some every year and keeps it for her own drinking.
After leaving the warehouse and listening to Kashiwagi's explanation, Shirakawa Feng finally understood that Matsumoto was the manager and guard here.
Although it's called a warehouse, it's actually a dumping ground for household appliances. No normal person would come here, and only poor people like would come here to look for things.
So whenever people like Kashiwagi came to shop, they would bring something for Matsumoto, such as beer, cigarettes, bento, etc.
Matsumoto also turned a blind eye to these things. We are all ants. Life is already difficult enough, there is no need to make things difficult for each other.
Anyway, this place is almost a no-man's land, and the government will not count how much garbage there is.
Over time, Matsumoto even picked out some things that looked good and stored them separately, but they were only open to people he knew well.
When leaving here, Baichuan Feng ran back to the large warehouse and brought back a TV that was exactly the same as the previous one.
"Hey, Xiao Feng. The stuff outside is real trash. Why are you picking it up?"
Baichuan Feng smiled and didn't explain further.
"Mysterious" Kashiwagi looked at the joyous Shirakawa Feng, wondering why he was so happy.
Kotaro was even more stupid. He followed Shirakawa Kaede around and around. When Shirakawa Kaede laughed, he laughed too.