"There's no need to take off your clothes."
As Ah-Ming spoke, he raised his left and right palms and pressed his chest muscles towards the middle.
"Now it seems that this is my own problem... I may have gained weight..."
Just now, A-machi told Ogata seriously that she felt some of her clothes no longer fit her.
The fabric around the chest became much tighter.
In order to verify whether the problem was with the clothes or with A-machi's body, Ogata asked A-machi to put on one of the clothes that no longer fit her.
After confirmation from Ogata, Atachi's chest muscles are indeed a little more exaggerated than when they first saw it a few months ago.
Ogata just asked Atachi to take off his clothes casually, so he didn't feel regretful even if Atachi refused.
After all, he can see Ating's chest muscles every day. And he has seen them many times.
"That's not the case." Ogata waved his hand. "At your age, it's normal for those parts to continue to develop."
A-Machi is only 18 years old this year - in modern times, this age is still the age of a high school girl.
For girls of this age, those parts may still continue to develop.
"There has been no change here since the middle of last year." Ating patted the fabric on her bulging chest, "I thought there would be no more changes from now on."
Listening to what Atachi said, Ogata said silently in his heart.
——The reason...could it be related to me...
In his previous life, Ogata had heard that touching and kneading certain parts of the body more often would promote the production of hormones, thereby promoting development.
Previously in Edo, Ogata and Atachi had exercised some restraint because they lived under the same roof with the people from Hyūga.
After leaving Edo, with no one to get in the way, Ogata and Atachi were engaging in negative-distance contact every night.
Ogata raised his eyes and took another serious look at the bulging piece of fabric on Atachi's chest.
“It’s New Year’s Day now.”
"Since some of our clothes no longer fit us anymore, why don't we just take this opportunity to buy two new ones?"
“Go buy it now.”
"Now?" asked Ating.
"Yeah, now." Ogata nodded, "Anyway, I'm free now."
"And there just happens to be a clothing store open right now."
"If we delay for a few more days, the owner of the clothing store might have to close the store because he is going to celebrate the New Year."
"Okay then." Ah-Ming nodded, "This dress is a bit uncomfortable for me, I'll change my clothes and come over to help."
Kimono is a kind of clothing that is much more efficient when worn by two people together than by one person.
Some kimonos cannot even be worn by one person.
After Akizuki, who called himself "Seven Spears of Senshu", left, Obunaga received news the next day that the Sendai Domain army stationed near Kinno-cho had left.
After the Sendai clan army stationed near Kinno-cho left, Akizuki never appeared again.
I guess he left with that army.
Where this Sendai army is going - no one knows.
During this period, the movements of the Sendai Domain army became one of the important topics of conversation among the residents of Kinno-cho after dinner.
Everyone was speculating on the movements of the Sendai Domain army.
Some say that this Sendai army was sent to quell the peasant uprising.
Some say that this Sendai army was going to join forces with the armies of other feudal states to wipe out bandits in various parts of the Ou region.
Some said that this army of Sendai Domain would go to Ezo to assist the Northern Army currently stationed on the northern border in guarding against Russia.
In short, there are all kinds of opinions.
Ogata was not interested in the missing Sendai clan army.
What kind of life did Ogata live before he went to help the villagers of that village fight against the bandits, and what kind of life did Ogata live during this period.
In the morning, I went to see the rehearsal of Formosa Boulevard.
Then go to the Hosho Sword Hall to gain experience.
After dark, I went back to the hotel and learned the common expressions of the Yezo language with Atachi, holding the "Yezun Language Teaching Guide".
When night fell, he would hold Ating in his arms and do things in various places in the hotel room that would make some people who don’t even have a lover or a wife extremely envious.
Ogata has been living this regular life - until yesterday.
Yesterday, Hosho Sword Museum officially announced its temporary closure.
Ogata can no longer gain experience.
The reason for closing the museum is very simple - it’s the New Year.
Japan also celebrates New Year's Eve and New Year.
New Year's Eve and New Year are one of the most important festivals in Japan throughout the year.
At the beginning of December, the townspeople of Kinno-cho began preparing for the New Year.
In mid-December, some apprentices started to take leave for the Chinese New Year.
As the number of apprentices taking leave increases every day, Ogata's efficiency in gaining experience is also decreasing day by day.
Yesterday, on the 24th, because Director Baosheng also had to prepare for the Chinese New Year, he announced that the museum would be temporarily closed and would reopen on January 4th of next year.
With the closure of Hosho Sword Hall, Ogata has lost the only place where he can gain experience points.
Since there was no way to gain experience for the time being, Ogata simply gave himself a few days off and spent the New Year with Atachi, relaxing his body and mind, which had not been relaxed since the beginning of the year.
Ogata has been helping Atachi take off her clothes every day recently and has become very familiar with it.
Thanks to Atachi, Ogata is now adept at wearing many types of civilian women's clothing.
After he and Ating skillfully helped her change her clothes, they walked out of the room and the hotel side by side.
As soon as we stepped onto the street near the hotel, the festive atmosphere hit us.
Although the New Year is still a few days away, the atmosphere of the New Year is already everywhere in Kinno-cho.
Some people have already placed brand new kaminari trees in front of their homes.
People can be seen everywhere holding the kagami-mochi (mirror cakes) and kadomatsu (kadomatsu) items they just bought.
Although Japan also celebrates New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the customs of Japan's New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are quite different from those of China.
In Japan, it is customary to place mirror cakes at home during the New Year.
In Japan's traditional culture, rice cakes have always been sacred food offered to gods, and rice cakes can often be seen in various celebrations and festivals.
Kagami-mochi is a kind of flat, round rice cake offered to the gods.
Because it is a sacrifice to the gods, mirror cakes are usually placed deep in the house, away from the front door, which is equivalent to the "seat of honor".
In addition to placing kagami rice cakes at home, Japan also has the custom of placing kadomatsu in front of its doorsteps during the New Year.
Because pine trees are evergreen, they are considered auspicious trees in traditional Japanese culture, and legend has it that gods live in them.
During the Chinese New Year, people would place pine trees outside their homes.
In addition, there are various other customs .
Of course, whether it is Kagami-mochi or Kadomatsu, they are only purchased and decorated by families with a little spare money.
Families who are so poor that they can't even afford to eat every day naturally don't have the energy to go through these customs. At most, they can just clean their homes a little bit and make the New Year's Eve dinner as sumptuous as possible.
Atachi glanced at the pedestrians around her who were holding the kagami-mochi, kadomatsu and other items they had just bought, thought for a moment, and then pulled Ogata's sleeve.
"Let's buy some mirror-mochi and shimenawa later."
Before Ogata could reply, Atachi continued:
"This is the first time we've celebrated the New Year together. It would be a shame if we just messed around like this."
“Although I can’t put up a kadomatsu, I can still put up a kagami mochi in the hotel room, decorate it with some shimenawa, and give the room a thorough cleaning.”
Although many of Japan's New Year traditions are different from those of China, there are some similarities.
For example: During the New Year, you have to do a thorough cleaning of the house.
There was no reason to refuse Ating's proposal.
So Ogata responded without hesitation:
"Then after we buy the clothes, let's go buy some mirror-mochi and shimenawa."
The clothing store that Ogata and Atachi were going to was located in one of the most prosperous commercial streets in Kinnocho.
If you want to go to that commercial street, you must pass by the only shrine in Kinno-cho: Kinei Shrine, which enshrines the famous god, Inari Omikami.
The period between the beginning and end of the year is one of the busiest times of the year for all shrines.
Japan has two major religions: the imported "Buddhism" and the native "Shintoism".
Shrines are to Shintoism what temples are to Buddhism.
Every New Year, samurai and common people would go to the nearby shrine to pay homage to the gods, make wishes, and pray for divine protection in the new year.
Kinei Shrine is the only shrine in Kinno-cho. When the New Year comes, people from all over the town will come to Kinei Shrine for New Year's worship.
With such a large influx of people, one can imagine how much pressure the priests and priestesses of Jinrong Shrine would be under.
Therefore, as early as the beginning of December, the priests and priestesses of the Kinei Shrine began to get busy preparing for the upcoming New Year.
At this time, when passing by Kinei Shrine, Ogata happened to see two shrine maidens in white clothes and red hakama hurriedly leaving Kinei Shrine.
Ogata always thought that the shrine maiden costume with white clothes and red hakama was very beautiful. He quite liked this special costume.
I once thought about buying a set of shrine maiden costume for Atachi to wear.
It’s a pity that Ating rejected it without hesitation.
Atachi can be considered a half-Shintoist.
Her faith is not devout, but she has always held a respectful attitude towards Shintoism.
No matter what Ogata said, Atachi firmly refused Ogata on the grounds that "I am not a shrine maiden and cannot wear shrine maiden clothes."
Because of being rejected by Atachi, Ogata had to give up with regret.
At their pace, they soon arrived at their destination - the largest clothing store in Kinno-cho.
Although there is no custom of "wearing new clothes during the New Year" in Japan, many people come to buy clothes with the idea of ​​"a new look in the New Year".
Therefore, this largest clothing store in Kinnocho is still doing very good business, and a large number of customers can be seen coming in and out of the store.
Because she was born a kunoichi, there is not a single bit of pampered nature in Atachi.
She is not picky about clothes.
After entering the store with Ogata, I bought two new pieces of clothing in no time.
However, a small incident occurred when buying clothes.
When Ating told the store staff the size she wanted, the staff member's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
Although the look of surprise in the staff's eyes was fleeting, Ogata still noticed it sharply.
Why was there a look of surprise in this person's eyes? Ogata could guess the reason.
Compared to most women of this era, Ating's height, chest muscles and hips are well developed.
A-Ming is 1.55 meters tall. This height is nothing nowadays, but in this era, it is a height that can be regarded as outstanding among women.
As for Ating's chest muscles and hips, let alone her.
A-Ming's chest muscles are well developed, and her hips are even better developed than her chest muscles. Their development is far beyond that of her peers of the same era.
The staff member was probably shocked by the size that Atachi wanted, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes uncontrollably.
After quickly buying clothes, Obuntu and Atachi strolled around the commercial street where the clothing store was located, preparing to purchase kagami-mochi, shimenawa ropes, and other items.
Just as the two were about to enter a shop selling mirror cakes and other items, a shout suddenly attracted their attention.
"Attention! Attention! On the evening of January 1st, Takarajima-ya will be performing Kabuki at 'Chiyoza'!"
"It's a brand new story you've never seen before!"
"A story based on the unrivaled Ogata Yoshisei! Don't miss it!"
This shouting could not fail to attract the attention of Ogata and Atachi.
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man.
It was this young man who was shouting with all his might.
Many people had gathered around him, asking him about the details of the Kabuki play he was talking about.
What is noteworthy is that this young man has a large flag tied on his back.
On the right side of this big flag is written: The unrivaled sword in the world.
On the left is written Ogata's full name: Ogata Yose.
Looking at this young man who was carrying a large banner with "The Unrivaled Sword - Ogata Issei" written on it and working hard to advertise the upcoming film "Ittosai", Ogata and Atachi both smiled bitterly.
"I have a feeling," Atachi said softly, "you see, it seems that many people are very interested in this Kabuki."
"Of course." Ogata smiled, and then continued in a half-joking tone, "After all, it is a kabuki based on Ogata Issei, who has the unrivaled sword in the world."
As soon as Ogata said this, Atachi raised his hand and patted Ogata's head in annoyance, and said to Ogata with his eyes: Why are you so arrogant?
The first public performance of "Ittosai" is scheduled for the evening of January 1st.
As expected of a businessman’s son, Jiro Nishino also knows a lot about marketing.
You know, publicity and promotion are very important for Kabuki.
More than ten days ago, Jiro Nishino began to promote "Ittosai".
Jiro Nishino had a considerable amount of savings, and he used all of it to hire a number of people with loud voices, flexible tongues, and clever minds, and asked them to do publicity work in various places in Kinno-cho.
Jiro Nishino's goal is to let everyone in Kinnocho know that on the night of January 1st, Takarajima-ya will perform a brand new play: "Ittosai".
Jiro Nishino also knows a little about calligraphy.
In order to attract more attention, Jiro Nishino bought a large number of nearly 1-meter-long white flags, wrote "The Unrivaled Sword of the World - Ogata Issey" on them, and then asked the "publicity and marketing staff" he invited to carry these flags to promote the product.
And tell the invited "publicity and promotion personnel" not to simply shout "Ogata Issei" or "Executioner Ittosai" as this is not loud enough and not eye-catching enough.
You should shout "The unrivaled one, Ogata Issey!" or "The unrivaled sword, Ogata Issey!".
Only by shouting out such a loud title can we attract everyone's attention.
At first, Ogata did not agree with Jiro Nishino's approach.
Because he was called "unparalleled in the world", Ogata always felt that he was not worthy of the position, and he did not think that his sword had reached the level of unparalleled in the world.
So he told Jiro Nishino in a tactful tone that it might be a bit exaggerated to call Ogata Issey "the unrivaled sword in the world".
But Jiro Nishino explained that this was just a promotion to make it more memorable. Without this promotion, it would be difficult to impress the people of Kinno-cho.
Ogata also hoped that "Ittosai" would be a great success and become famous overnight, so as to change people's impression that "Ogata Issey was the only one who participated in the assassination of Matsudaira Gennai."
So after listening to Nishino's explanation, Ogata finally agreed to Nishino Jiro's publicity strategy and asked the publicity and promotion personnel to carry a large banner with "The Unrivaled Sword - Ogata Issey" written on it and shout the slogan "Unrivaled in the World" to promote "Ittosai" everywhere.
I have to say - Jiro Nishino's publicity technique is quite skillful.
Carrying the banner of "The Unrivaled Sword of the World - Ogata Issey", these publicity and promotion personnel are very conspicuous wherever they go.
Some people saw the flag from afar and out of curiosity would go over to see who was carrying the flag.
Compared with names like "The Executioner Ichitosai" and "The Killer", "The Unparalleled" is undoubtedly much more famous.
As long as you shout "Unparalleled in the World", 7 out of 10 passers-by will turn around out of curiosity.
Thanks to Jiro Nishino's publicity campaign, Ogata felt that most people in Kinno-cho should now know about the existence of the play "Ittosai" and that it will be performed for the first time on the evening of January 1st.
It was natural that Ogata and Atachi could not miss the first performance of "Ittosai".
At Ogata's request, Jiro Nishino has reserved two of the best seats for Ogata and Atachi. On the evening of January 1, Ogata and his partner will be able to enjoy this premiere performance from the best seats.
…
…
Because they had plenty of time, Ogata and Atachi leisurely bought kagami rice cakes, shimenawa ropes and other items, and used them to decorate their hotel rooms.
Shimenawa is also a very common item during the Japanese New Year.
Shimenawa is a decoration in front of a shrine, symbolizing the separation between the world of gods and the world of men. During the New Year, people usually hang Shimenawa on their doors, on the kamonaka outside the door, on the mirror cakes at home, and other places.
After placing kagami rice cakes, shimenawa ropes and other items in the hotel room, Ogata and his friends' hotel room also had a more festive feel.
After decorating the room, Ogata and Atachi spent the rest of their days leisurely, waiting for the arrival of the New Year.
When there was always something to do every day, Ogata felt that every day passed very quickly.
Now I am either playing or having fun every day, and time passes even faster.
In the blink of an eye, December 31st - New Year's Eve has arrived.
On this day, the lively atmosphere directly raised the temperature in Kinno-cho by several degrees.
The weather is nice.
The weather was very good that day.
There was no annoying snow falling, it was a sunny and beautiful day.
When you go to those commercial streets, you can see artists performing various shows and all kinds of vendors everywhere.
Businessmen and artists probably have a love-hate relationship with the New Year.
The period around the New Year is generally considered one of the best business periods of the year.
Whether you are setting up a snack stall or selling various small gadgets, as long as you set up a stall, you will always be able to do some business.
Because of the good business, many businessmen and artists are unwilling to miss this great opportunity to make money, and work harder to do business and perform during the period around the New Year, making it impossible for them to have a good New Year.
On New Year's Eve, after lunch, Ogata and Atachi excitedly went out for a stroll.
Ah-Ming put on the new clothes she bought a few days ago.
Although Ogata did not have new clothes, he washed his clothes carefully and wiped Daishakuten and Daijizai as if they were new swords.
Although Kinno-cho is a small town, its liveliness far exceeded Ogata's expectations.
Those vendors and artists are basically concentrated in the commercial streets with the largest flow of people.
After casually walking onto a commercial street closest to the hotel, Xu Fang saw a dense flow of people.
The space on both sides of the street is filled with small vendors and artists.
There are all kinds of performances.
There are performers performing an animal show: one man and one monkey. No matter what orders the man gives, the monkey will do it obediently.
There was an artist performing a magic show: he was holding three rings that seemed to fit together perfectly, but when the artist wiped his hands, the three rings were connected.
There were artists performing acrobatics: they used their hands to catch and throw down more than a dozen balls.
There are so many different performances that it's hard to keep up.
As soon as they stepped onto the street, all kinds of aromas rushed straight into Ogata and Atachi's nostrils.
These aromas are emitted from the food stalls.
In terms of culinary diversity, this era is certainly far inferior to later generations.
Apart from anything else, things like kebabs would never appear in this era.
Although there are no grilled skewers, there are grilled oysters, grilled squid, and grilled rice cakes.
Ogata and Atachi knew that there would be a lot of delicious food on the street, so they didn't eat too much at lunch. They only ate about 30% full so that they could enjoy these snacks.
Ogata and Atachi were wandering around aimlessly while eating snacks.
In addition to snack stalls and vendors selling things, there is another type of vendor, and that is the game stall.
There are also many stalls on both sides of the street for tourists to interact and have fun.
Ogata saw a game that looked very familiar to him in his previous life.
…
…
Ating narrowed his left eye and aimed with his right eye.
The thumb, index finger and middle finger of his right hand held an arrow without an arrowhead, and his right arm was tilted backward.
After aiming well and accumulating strength, Atachi swung his right arm forward with a force that was neither light nor heavy.
The arrow flew away from Ating's fingers, flew straight forward, and then hit a porcelain fortune cat steadily.
"well!"
"That's amazing! I hit it again!"
"Shoot one more! Shoot one more!"
Cheers broke out all around.
Hearing the cheers, Ating felt happy and a bit of complacency appeared on his face. He picked up another arrow and then, like before, he narrowed his left eye and leaned back with his right hand holding the arrow.
As for Ogata who was standing aside, he glanced at the stall owner not far away - he looked like he was about to cry.
The game that Atachi was playing was a similar game that Ogata had played in his previous life.
Use money to buy arrows, and then throw the arrows at the various items placed on a wall. Whatever the arrow hits belongs to you.
A-Machi is a female ninja.
Ating is quite good at things related to shooting.
What's more, she has practiced shuriken throwing techniques since she was a child.
So far, A-Ming has collected more than a dozen items of various kinds.
From lucky cats to kettles, there's everything.
Ating's extremely high hit rate directly attracted a large group of people to watch the fun.
Every time Ah-Ming hit something, the people who gathered around to watch would cheer and applaud, as if it was their own destiny.
The owner of the game stall, a middle-aged man, looked like he was about to cry and looked quite pitiful.
Because the stall owner looked so pitiful, Ogata couldn't help but whisper to Atachi: Let the stall owner go.
In fact, Ogata didn't need to remind Atachi.
Ating was not interested in any of the things displayed on the stall.
After having a great time, Ating said to the stall owner: I can return all these things I ejaculated to you, but you have to pay me.
After a brief negotiation on the price, the stall owner nodded hurriedly in agreement and then stuffed the money into Ating's hands.
Just like that - Ah-Ming, who was just playing a game, actually earned an unexpected income.
There are also many interesting game vendors.
Some of them Ogata had seen similar things in his previous life, while others he had never heard of before.
The two of them ate a variety of snacks while visiting the game stalls one after another.
Before I knew it, it was dark.
As there were no conditions to prepare New Year's Eve dinner, Ogata and his friends could only eat it in a restaurant outside.
After dark, Ogata and Atachi turned into a noodle shop and prepared to eat "Toshikoshi Soba".
There are also big differences between China and Japan in what to eat during the Chinese New Year.
In northern China, dumplings are eaten during the Chinese New Year.
In Japan, people eat buckwheat noodles on New Year's Eve, commonly known as "Toshikoshi Soba".
The reason why we eat buckwheat noodles on New Year's Eve has many meanings.
One reason is that buckwheat noodles are long and thin, symbolizing longevity.
The second reason is that in traditional Japanese concepts, buckwheat noodles can remove the five poisons.
Third, because buckwheat noodles are easy to cut, eating buckwheat noodles during the New Year symbolizes cutting off all the troubles of the past year.
Because they had eaten too many snacks in the afternoon, Ogata and Atachi had no appetite in the evening.
After a simple bowl of soba noodles, I returned to the street and continued wandering aimlessly.
They kept making noise until the number of people on the street thinned out, and then Ogata and Atachi, who had had their fun, returned to their hotel room.
…
…
"ha……"
After drinking the wine in the cup in one breath, Ating sang.
“This sake tastes really good.”
After licking his lips, Ating picked up the wine bottle beside him and refilled the glass in his hand.
"Don't drink too quickly," Ogata reminded, "You'll get drunk easily if you drink too quickly."
After saying that, Ogata scratched his hair.
"We forgot to buy some food and drinks... Never mind."
On the way back to the hotel, Ogata and Omachi bought a few bottles of wine.
They don't want to spend the New Year's Eve once a year in such a simple way.
After changing their clothes, Ogata and Atachi sat face to face by the window of the room, drinking the wine they had just bought and chatting about everything under the sun.
Because of the alcohol they drank, Ogata and Atachi now felt hot, and they didn't feel cold at all even though they were wearing only a thin kimono.
A-Machi's alcohol tolerance is not as good as Ogata's. Ogata's face is just slightly red now, while A-Machi's face is already red.
"Your hair seems to have grown a little longer."
A-Machi looked at Ogata's hair carefully.
"Really?" Ogata touched his hair.
Ogata is not wearing a bun now, and Atachi is not wearing her hair tied up either. Both of them have their hair down.
After letting all her hair down, Ogata's hair can be draped over her shoulders.
After touching his hair, Ogata discovered that it did seem to have grown a little longer.
"I'll help you trim it later." said Ating.
"I think it's okay not to trim it. Thicker and thicker hair can keep out the cold better."
After making a little joke, Ogata drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
"Now that I think about it, it really feels like a dream..."
Ogata put down his wine glass and looked at Atachi in front of him.
"Last year's New Year's Eve, I spent it alone in the wild."
"I never thought that after only one year, I would have a wife to spend the New Year with, and then spend the New Year with my wife in a hotel."
Last year, on New Year's Eve of the first year of Kansei (1789 AD), Ogata, who had just left the Hirose Domain, celebrated the New Year in the cold wilderness.
At that time, Ogata didn't even know that day was New Year's Eve.
Because I stayed in the wild for too long, I had lost track of time. It was only after several days that I realized that it was already the New Year. It was already the second year of Kansei (1790 AD).
Such great changes have taken place in just one year.
Not only did he have a group of friends who had been through life and death with him many times, but he also had a wife.
The changes were so great that Ogata couldn't help but feel as if he was dreaming.
Hearing Ogata's words, Atachi, who shared the same sentiments, also sighed:
“Me too…”
"I never thought that in just one year, my life would change so drastically. I never imagined it."
The two of them drank and chatted, and the topic could change several times in just 10 minutes.
As they drank more and more wine, their faces became redder and redder.
Different people will have different reactions after getting drunk.
Some people will start talking nonsense.
Some people are no different from when they are sober - like Ating.
Some people will become more and more excited - such as Ogata.
Ogata feels very energetic now.
"Ayi, do you have a way to get up on time before the sun comes out?" asked A Ting.
"Hmm? What are you doing?"
"I want to watch the New Year's sunrise." Ating said, "Let's watch the New Year's sunrise together tomorrow."
"New Year's sunrise... You should have told me earlier." Ogata said with a wry smile, "If you had told me earlier, I would have drunk less."
"I'm not guaranteed to get up early now that I've drunk so much."
"I just thought of watching the New Year's sunrise..." Ating muttered in a low voice with some grievance.
"New Year's sunrise?" Ogata poured another glass of wine into his mouth, and he smiled meaningfully after drinking. "If you want to see it, you can still see it."
"Huh? Didn't you say you couldn't get up early? I'm going to be frank with you. I can't get up early."
"You don't understand this." Ogata's smile became even brighter. "Since you can't get up early, then why not just stay awake?"
After saying that, Ogata came forward and embraced the hot body in front of him, which had also drunk a lot of alcohol...
With the hot body in his arms, Ogata felt like he was about to melt in the heat.