Chapter 4 On the Road
There is no direct train from Akita to Tokyo these days. As for JR lines, it will probably take more than a decade before they can go directly to Tokyo.
Therefore, it takes several changes of trains to get from Akita in the northeast to Tokyo. Shirakawa and his friends first took the train to the city, then boarded the train to Yamagata Fukushima, and then transferred from Fukushima to Tokyo.
A journey of about 500 to 600 kilometers would only take half a day in later times, but given today's traffic conditions, it might take a whole day and night.
After a whole day of buying tickets, waiting for the train, and transferring trains, they finally boarded a train to Tokyo .
"Ha~ Yawn~" Kotaro opened his mouth and stretched. "Xiao Feng, why is Tokyo so far away?"
"Because it's Tokyo," Shirakawa Kaede responded boredly. The continuous travel made the initial excitement gradually fade away.
As the train headed south, the scenery outside the window became more distinct. The most obvious difference was that the number of aluminum-clad huts in Shirakawa Kaede's hometown had decreased significantly, and they were replaced by orange and yellow pyramid-shaped cabins.
The tin-roofed warehouses gradually became motels and various grocery stores.
The cities you encounter southwards become larger and larger, and even the number of pedestrians on the roads increases significantly.
It’s nothing like the Northeast, where there are few people every few miles, and some fields are even abandoned.
Coming all the way from the Northeast, it feels like returning to civilized society.
You can tell where all the people have gone by looking at the large and small bags filling the workshop.
Young people have been attracted to the cities, and most of the people left in the countryside are now elderly.
One time, Shirakawa Kaede heard the host on the radio discussing the changes in Northeast China, the most obvious of which was population loss.
Currently, the population of the six northeastern counties only accounts for 8% of RB’s total population, but their land area is close to 30% of Honshu Island. What a huge disparity.
Because of these reasons, six prefectures including Aomori, Akita and Yamate have become one of the most backward areas in RB.
This reminded Baichuan Feng of the wave of migrant workers in his hometown in the 1980s and 1990s in his previous life. As soon as spring came, people migrated to the big cities like ants.
Only during the Chinese New Year does the atmosphere of life in my hometown become stronger. Later, young people settled directly in the city, and the village became more and more desolate.
Compared to RB in the late 1970s, it is very similar.
As more and more people move from the countryside to big cities like Tokyo, the group of "East Drifters" is gradually growing.
They play a role in various industries and look back to their hometown from time to time.
As the influence deepens, the north has a deep attraction for many Japanese who travel around the world. It is a symbol of their hometown and the influence of tradition still exists.
The most obvious of these is the theme creation in the entertainment industry centered around the phenomenon of people drifting eastwards.
"I'm Crying" by Hiroshi Moriya and "Waving Love" by Hiromi Ota are both songs of the people who moved to Tokyo. This type of song is also known as "Kyoto Ballads".
Of course, the best among them is "Spring in the North" which became popular last year, and Qian Changfu became famous again with this song.
Someone in the carriage has already started singing this song spontaneously, perhaps because he was inspired. The singing is not beautiful, but it is full of sincerity.
"White birch trees, blue sky, and a southerly breeze.
Magnolias bloom in the north
Ah, the spring in the north…"
Halfway through the song, it had already turned into a chorus throughout the carriage. Some people clenched their fists and sang loudly, while others burst into tears...
Baichuan Feng also followed the beat and sang along softly, feeling that no matter where you are, it is always true that you can never leave your hometown. The word hometown is always filled with sadness.
However, for a carefree person like Kotaro, his hometown is his hometown and there is no such thing as homesickness.
This guy loves to join in the fun and watch everyone sing along. Even though he has never heard of this song, he is the one who sings the loudest.
Baichuan Feng, who was sitting next to him, saw the veins bulging in his neck and was worried about whether his vocal cords could withstand it.
"Hey! Stop singing, you idiots. Don't you know I'm sleeping?"
The sudden roar interrupted everyone's singing, and everyone turned their eyes to the owner of the voice.
I saw a figure with dyed yellow hair standing up from the seat in the back row, and with him were a few people who looked like followers. Most of them had strange and unrestrained appearances.
"What are you yelling about? You guys have ruined Mr. Ota's sweet dream."
The yellow-haired man who called himself Uncle Ota didn't care at all about the reproachful looks from everyone.
Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and put his arm around a skinny young man in his thirties in the front row, "Hey, you were really into your voice just now, but do you know that it's very rude to disturb others?"
The young man's eyes were involuntarily attracted by the arm draped over his shoulder, or to be more precise, by the pattern on the arm.
The other people in the car obviously noticed this detail as well, and those who wanted to scold him subconsciously shrank back.
"S...Snimase" With the idea that less trouble is worse than more, the young man could only timidly bow his head and apologize.
The yellow-haired man sneered and looked up, just in time to see a salesman with a box on his shoulder selling things in a carriage in the distance.
His smile became more and more obvious. "Well, since we are apologizing, we should take some practical actions. It just so happens that we brothers are hungry. You see..."
As he spoke, Huangmao looked at the salesperson not far away and smiled, his meaning was obvious.
The few younger brothers nearby also laughed triumphantly, their voices unrestrained.
"This..." The young man sitting there looked very embarrassed. He just went to Tokyo to work and didn't have much money on him.
The lunch boxes on the train are not cheap, not to mention that for several people combined, it would be a considerable expense for him.
The uncle next to him couldn't bear to watch it anymore and was about to speak.
"Kuai la!" The yellow-haired boy's tongue click made the carriage quieter, and the uncle sat back silently.
Huangmao narrowed his eyes indifferently, took the radio from his follower, turned it on, and started to tune into other channels, seemingly not in a hurry at all.
When the thin young man saw this scene, he seemed to know that he would not be able to get through this stage without heavy bleeding.
"Hai..." He nodded silently, ready to admit defeat.
"Baga, what's the point of you bastards bullying others?"
The yellow-haired man was startled by the sudden roar. He seemed to have not expected that even though he had laid out his intentions clearly, someone would still be so blind as to provoke him.
Baichuan Feng, who was quietly hiding in his seat and watching what was happening, was also stunned. It was because the roar came from beside him.
He turned his head blankly, and sure enough, Kotaro's dark face was full of anger, and his pair of black eyebrows were almost standing up.
Good man, you... You were clearly planning to stay out of other people's business and stay safe until you reach Tokyo.
Having lived two lives, he is well aware of the complexity of society. As for doing things like helping others when seeing injustice, it is destined to be something he will never do.
But I couldn't resist my teammates' overflowing sense of justice...
"Ha!" The yellow-haired man seemed to have just come to his senses, and his first reaction was to grin and laugh with an ambiguous meaning.
"I met a great hero."
“Haha”, “I’m so scared”
Huangmao's teasing made his followers laugh so hard that they fell down.
Everyone in the car looked at their exaggerated performance with disgust, but everyone remained restrained.
To be honest, at this moment Baichuan Feng still has the leisure to wonder why anger and patience can appear on their faces at the same time. It is really a contradictory and difficult to understand national character.
The yellow-haired man who called himself Ota showed a pair of arms covered with tattoos. He staggered away from the thin young man and walked towards Shirakawa Kaede and the others.
The thin young man who had just been bullied by these Yakuza had a visibly relieved expression on his face.
Seeing them walking towards Kotaro who spoke up for justice, he wanted to say something several times but stopped himself. After struggling for a while, he finally lowered his head and sat in his seat silently without moving.
Ota, holding a crackling radio in one hand, staggered over to Kotaro and glanced at him casually with a look of cynicism on his face.
But Kotaro did not show any weakness and glared at him.
"Oh, you're a young hero again." Ota turned around exaggeratedly and greeted his younger brothers, as if he had made a great discovery.
"Ha ha"
"This pair of thick eyebrows is even darker than Hongo Takeshi's."
"Maybe he'll transform into Kamen Rider."
After that, there was another round of laughter. As for Shirakawa Kaede next to Kotaro, they just glanced at him casually and didn't care.
I can beat up ten of these pretty boys with delicate skin and tender flesh!
Looking at their arrogant look, Kotaro clenched his fists and tried several times to teach them a lesson, but was quietly stopped by Shirakawa Kaede.
"Hey, boy from the country, do you know who I am?" The yellow-haired Ota looked at Torataro arrogantly.
"I don't care if you are..."
Before Kotaro could finish his words, he was pulled back by Shirakawa Kaede. Seeing Shirakawa Kaede walking in front of him, he subconsciously wanted to protect his good friend behind him.
He is not as good as Baichuan Feng in studying, but he has never lost in a fight.
Shirakawa Feng patted Kotaro gently, signaling him not to worry.
"Mr. Ota, judging from his accent, he is from the north." When these suspected Yakuza people first appeared, Shirakawa Feng began to sizing them up.
It's hard not to notice his authentic northern accent.
"Little friend, don't you think it's too late to make friends now?"
Although Huangmao Ota continued to speak rudely, he was not in a hurry to take the next step.
"I believe you are all planning to go to Tokyo, and since we are all from the north, we should help each other when we are away from home."
"Of course, I am really sorry for disturbing Mr. Ota just now. Please forgive me."
Shirakawa Kaede was telling the truth. Most of the people in this carriage were from the north of Fukushima, and to outsiders they were all northerners.
We all go to Tokyo to make a living, and there is no deep hatred between us, so there is no need to fight to the point of no return.
"What? You think you can get away with just a few words? I'm still hungry."
Ota looked at Baichuan Feng with amusement, wondering whether this guy was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid.
"However, I wouldn't mind if this little friend treated us. We are all from the same hometown, so it's not too much to have a meal together."
Ota's eyes rolled and suddenly an idea came to his mind.
Shirakawa Feng smiled and said, "Ota-san also said that I was a kid. How could a kid have money?"
Ah, this...
Not only Huangmao and the others were stunned, even Kotaro was staring at Shirakawa Feng in a daze.
Did this guy take the wrong medicine? And he has lost all his dignity?
You don't want face, but I do.
Kotaro was about to roll up his sleeves as he thought about it. It turned out that taking action was the fastest way to solve the problem.
"But..." Before everyone could react, Baichuan Feng continued, "Although I can't treat Ota-san to a full meal, I can help with a little favor."
"Hmm?" The yellow-haired man looked at Baichuan Feng in confusion, unable to follow his train of thought for a moment.
Kotaro stopped rolling up his sleeves halfway...
"Mr. Ota, could you please lend me your radio?" Shirakawa Feng smiled as he looked at the radio in Ota's hand that was still making a crackling sound.
The yellow-haired Ota was a little confused, but he still handed him the half-dead radio.
Baichuan Feng took the radio, immediately took out a set of small tools from his backpack, and began to disassemble it skillfully.
He had noticed before that the sound of the radio in Ota's hand was a little abnormal, and Ota had adjusted it many times but there was no improvement.
Baichuan Feng didn't know why he was so persistent, holding the radio in one hand and posing in a gypsy pose.
Maybe... maybe he wants to be a man with his own BGM~
Under everyone's fixed gaze, Baichuan Feng easily opened the back cover, took a look and immediately understood.
A set of disassembly tools flew up and down in his hands, and his movements were indescribably graceful.
In less than two minutes, the front speaker was disassembled and spread out. Then he fiddled with his backpack for a while and actually took out a small bottle of quick-drying glue.
With skillful glue application and installation, the radio was soon restored to its original state. It took less than five minutes in total.
"Try it." Baichuan Feng returned the radio to its original place.
Ota took the radio and looked around, as if he couldn't believe that in just a few minutes it had changed from a radio to a pile of parts and then back again.
He turned the knob doubtfully and gradually turned up the volume.
“Ah, when can I return to my hometown?
Ah, the spring in the north…"
The clear and mellow singing voice coming from the radio made Ota's eyes light up.
"That's awesome!" Ota grinned and fiddled with the radio, looking at Shirakawa Kaede in admiration.
As for the "little friend" he often mentioned, he no longer appeared.
Baichuan Feng didn't care. After all, he was still a minor. What's wrong with calling him a kid? He was still young.
"The voice coil of the speaker is a little loose, but I have already glued it back on, so there is no need to worry about it for a while."
He knew all the problems with the radio. Not to mention the various electrical appliances he had disassembled in his previous life, he couldn't even remember how many times he had disassembled and reassembled the transistor radio in his hometown in Akita.
This is a small problem, easy to solve.
"Interesting." Ota handed the radio to his younger brother behind him and looked at Shirakawa Kaede with interest.
"I don't know what to call you, little brother?"
"Shirakawa Maple"
"Shirakawa-kun" Ota slapped Shirakawa Kaede on the shoulder, forcing the latter to try hard not to grimace, the slap was really heavy.
"I guess this is your first time in Tokyo too. How about it? Are you interested in joining me? There's a lot of fun to be had."
Seeing Baichuan Feng's skillful movements just now, Ota vaguely thought of some tasks in his mind, which might be useful.
Baichuan Feng quietly moved his shoulders to escape from the opponent's clutches.
"Thank you for your care, Ota-san, but I have other important things to do in Tokyo, so please forgive me."
"Oh~ Is that so?"
"Of course." Kotaro stepped forward and stood next to Shirakawa Kaede. "Xiao Feng is a student of Meiji University and will register soon. Meiji University, you know Meiji University, right?"
Hearing that Shirakawa Kaede was a student of Meiji University, not only Ota , but everyone else in the carriage couldn't help but look at Shirakawa Kaede with higher regard again.
Nowadays, the reputation of college students is still very useful, especially those who graduate from prestigious universities are more respected.
"So Shirakawa-kun is a student of Meiji University, no wonder he is so powerful, I am sorry for being rude.
This is my business card, please take care of me in the future."
Ah~, even Yakuza have business cards these days? Shirakawa Feng took the business card stupidly.
When I saw the words "group xx" above, I felt that it was truly Neon, so strange and bizarre.
