Chapter 2 Farewell
As for going to college, it actually has nothing to do with the current Shirakawa Kaede. Everything is the result of the efforts of the previous life.
In his vague memory, when he was very young, he would lean against the door, with his head held high under his mother's lap, listening to his mother reading books.
Perhaps because of his weak body, or perhaps because of his quiet nature, he did not have the wildness of a mountain boy at all. On the contrary, he had always been fascinated by books.
It is precisely because of this that he became the first young man in the mountain village in hundreds of years to rely on education to go out, especially to a big city like Tokyo.
So when they learned that the Shirakawa family was having trouble paying tuition, the neighbors in the village all spontaneously supported them to varying degrees. This also prevented Shirakawa Hayato from being criticized unnecessarily when he visited the house.
They don't understand what Tokyo and big cities are, but they know that it is good to study more, especially to go to university.
Early in the morning, Shirakawa Kaede was still eating breakfast at home when he heard Kotaro's loud shouting outside the door.
"Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng! Hurry up, the farewell ceremony is about to begin!"
Hearing Kotaro's urging, Shirakawa Feng, who was originally not in a hurry, became eager to try. He glanced at his father who had no reaction and his mother who looked a little blaming.
In the end, Baichuan Feng couldn't hold back any longer. He ate a few mouthfuls of rice, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and ran out the door.
Today is a rare day of good weather, and the white snow is dazzling under the shining sunlight.
Crunch, crunch, the sound of the deerskin boots rubbing against the snow became more pleasant.
As his name suggests, Kotaro is a stocky man with a pair of thick black eyebrows on his dark face that seem to come alive and move back and forth whenever his emotions change.
Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro are like two opposite sides of the same coin. If Kotaro is a real mountain kid, then Shirakawa Kaede seems to be from the city.
Not only is her skin fair, her eyebrows and eyes are delicate like a girl, and she is even a head taller than Kotaro. Although she usually wears rough clothes, her beauty cannot be concealed.
The villagers all said that Shirakawa Kaede inherited his mother's noble blood. After all, more than 30 years ago, when the war had just ended, the Hezi family was a real landlord family, which meant they were nobles.
However, these two people who seemed to have nothing in common unexpectedly became playmates who could talk about anything.
"Xiao Feng, do you think there's really money everywhere in Tokyo? I heard that no one would pick up a 10 yen coin on the ground?"
Hearing Kotaro's silly question, Shirakawa Kaede couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Who told you that?" Shirakawa Feng turned around and looked at him speechlessly. Without waiting for Kotaro's response, he continued, "Then don't look for a job in Tokyo. Just follow him and pick up money in Tokyo with a sack."
"Uh" Kotaro's eyebrows twitched like a caterpillar, and he also realized that this statement was unreliable.
But this still couldn't stop his yearning for Tokyo. Along the way, he kept talking about the various colors of Tokyo that he had heard from others.
"Take Yingji Village over the mountain for example. A village that doesn't even have electric lights or girls will not visit it. Any efforts you make will be in vain."
Kotaro waved his hand, his disgust evident on his face.
Shirakawa Kaede had heard a little about Yinger Village . It was separated from Xiaolu Village where he lived by a mountain, but Xiaolu Village was outside the mountain, while Yinger Village was inside the mountain.
Although the local economy has developed well in recent years, that is mostly reflected in the cities. As for rural areas like Xiaolu Village, the fact that every household has access to electricity is already the most significant manifestation of economic growth.
As for televisions, sorry, they are too high-end. No one in the village has one except the village chief. But radios are not lacking.
Therefore, compared to Eiji Village, where even electricity is not yet popular, Kotaro feels that he is superior.
The two talked as they walked, following the path in front of the village towards the only station outside the village.
Besides the two of them, there was also Da Huang, a native Akita dog. To be more precise, Da Huang from Kotaro's family.
Dahuang is the name given by Shirakawa Kaede. In Torataro's eyes, Nekotaro has always been like a brother.
Oh, Nekotaro is Da Huang. That was the name given by Kotaro. As for why he was called Nekotaro, it was because Kotaro felt that tigers and cats were more like brothers.
In his words, besides Shirakawa Kaede, Nekotaro is his only two brothers.
Of course, Baichuan Feng would never admit this. He would never associate with beasts.
He kicked away the approaching Da Huang, who whimpered and ran away with his tail between his legs. As he ran, he would turn his head back from time to time to look at Baichuan Feng with grievance.
Hey, this beast is really smart. Could it be that he really treats me as a brother?
"We're here, we're here, wow, there are so many people!"
Kotaro pointed to the station not far away. There were more than a dozen people gathered there, which made Kotaro, who liked to join in the fun, very excited.
It is called a station, but it is more like a shed. Only a red brick wall looks solid and reliable, providing a shelter for travelers in the cold winter.
The three black characters "Zi Lu Station" on the white iron plate looked weathered and blurred in some places. The mottled station sign hung on the red wall, creaking with the whistling north wind.
This is the only passage connecting the village to the outside world, and it is also the only reliable means of transportation for Shirakawa Feng to travel back and forth between the village and the city high school every day.
Now, the "Zilu Station" that has been through my entire student life is about to welcome its last train. From today onwards, Xiaolu Station will officially close and will no longer operate.
In fact, JR had been planning to close Kodeka Station two years ago due to a sharp drop in passengers that resulted in a fiscal deficit, but the villagers who learned the news petitioned to suspend the closure.
Because there is one last passenger at this station, that is Shirakawa Kaede who takes the train to school every day. "At least operate it until Shirakawa graduates from high school", so JR Akita decided to maintain this line until Shirakawa graduates.
In the past two years, there were still many passengers at the station. However, as more and more people left the mountains and headed for the city, the number of people in the village decreased. Kotaro and his schoolmates who went to school with Shirakawa Kaede felt that they were not cut out for school, so they dropped out one after another.
By the last year, Shirakawa Kaede was the only one waiting for the train at this station. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was his special train.
So Shirakawa Feng took this train every day to travel between the mountain village and the city. Although he was almost the only passenger on the train, the station was still cleaned every day, and the driver on the train always reminded passengers to pay attention to safety every time he closed the door.
Now that Shirakawa Kaede has graduated from high school, the station is about to close. For this reason, the villagers spontaneously prepared to hold a farewell ceremony for Xiaolu Station.
Although it was not a holiday or New Year, people were still dressed quite formally. Perhaps people were grateful to this old station that had served the village for decades.
Soon, Shirakawa Feng's parents also arrived at the scene in kimonos. Just as everyone was greeting each other, the sound of whistles came from a distance.
The yellow and green car body is full of traces of time. It came slowly from a distance and slowly stopped in front of us.
The car door opened with a creak, and a uniformed driver stepped out of the cab.
"Yamada, thank you for your hard work."
"Yamada, this is some game I hunted in the mountains. You're welcome. Keep it."
…
The moment the driver uncle appeared, the crowd burst into greetings, and it was obvious that he had a harmonious relationship with everyone.
Baichuan Feng also stepped out and bowed to the driver, and his parents behind him did the same.
"Yamada-san, thank you for your care for so long."
"That's not true," said Uncle Yamada, smiling and waving his hand. "It's quite remarkable that you, Shirakawa, were admitted to Meiji University. For this reason alone, it's definitely worthwhile to keep Xiaolu Station running until today."
"Yeah, the boy from the Shirakawa family is also very competitive."
"Maybe a great writer will emerge from Xiaolu in the future."
"Idiot, it doesn't mean that you can become a great writer just by getting into university. That's two different things..."
The bustling crowd erupted into agreement and debate.
Shirakawa Feng found his neighbors' thoughts funny, but at the same time he thought they were cute, with a faint warmth lingering in his heart.
Uncle Yamada also watched all this with his eyes narrowed, and then suddenly seemed to remember something and returned to the car. When he appeared again, he had a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Under Shirakawa Kaede's surprised gaze, Uncle Yamada handed the flowers to him.
"Now, even if you leave Xiaolu, don't forget to love your hometown."
The cold wind made Baichuan Feng's nose a little sore. He blinked his eyes and accepted the bouquet with a smile. "Well, I will definitely not forget it."
