novelraw Chapter 108: Mobile phone mailed to Kumamoto Prefecture! The shocked Koyama family!
Chapter 108: Mobile phone mailed to Kumamoto Prefecture! The shocked Koyama family!
Kumamoto Prefecture, Aso City.
Here, there wasn't Tokyo's suffocating steel jungle, nor Ginza's never-ending prosperity.
What it had were rolling emerald mountains, vast boundless fields, and that Mount Aso standing quietly between heaven and earth, covered in heavy snow, like a sleeping giant.
Time seemed to slow down its pace here, carrying a pastoral-like leisure and tranquility.
In the Koyama family residence, the air was filled with a fresh scent mixing tatami and earth, along with a few traces of the enticing roasted aroma belonging to yakitori.
"Ha—! This is the taste!"
Koyama Yoshiharu, the patriarch of the Koyama family, was currently leaning comfortably against the low table, downing a glass of chilled Asahi draft beer in one gulp, letting out a sigh of satisfaction reaching deep into his soul.
On his face, which looked somewhat stern due to years of serving as a Head Teacher, was currently written the purest happiness belonging to a middle-aged man.
"I say, mother of the children, your yakitori grilling skills are getting better and better. Pairing it with this cold beer is simply... simply the supreme enjoyment of life!" As he spoke, he pinched another skewer of chicken skin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, eating until his mouth was oily.
"You just have a sweet mouth."From the kitchen came the voice of his wife, Koyama Takasae, carrying a few traces of playful reproach but unable to hide her smile.
She walked out carrying a plate of freshly made, still steaming red bean mochi. Those white, plump mochi pieces were dotted with a few full red beans, looking incredibly appetizing.
"Freshly made mochi, you try some too. That child Masae likes this the most, I wonder when she'll be back." Koyama Takasae put the plate down and naturally sat beside her husband. On her face, which always bore a gentle smile, an instance of maternal worry surfaced.
"Speaking of which, that child Masae... recently, she seems to have not contacted that child from the Fujiwara family for a while."
This topic, like a drop of ink falling into a calm lake, instantly added a trace of heaviness to the leisurely and comfortable atmosphere in the living room.
The smile on Koyama Yoshiharu's face also retracted a bit. He frowned, a flash of bewilderment crossing those eyes that always carried a few scrutinizing meanings.
"Oh? What's going on? That child from the Fujiwara family, I've met him a few times, he's a very nice person. The family conditions are also good;
his father is even a county council member. He's polite and has a decent job. Why would they stop contacting each other?"
"How would I know." Koyama Takasae sighed, those gentle eyes filled with helplessness: "Our family's Masae, it's not like you don't know her. She looks emotionally stable and gentle, but in her bones, she's more stubborn than anyone else. I asked her a few times, and she always said it's nothing, just that she's been busy recently. But I always feel things aren't that simple."
"This won't do!" Koyama Yoshiharu's tone became serious, and that majesty belonging to a Head Teacher naturally leaked out: "This marriage, it took quite a bit of effort to make the connection in the first place. Our Koyama family is just an ordinary civil servant family. Being able to marry into the Fujiwara family, that's considered child Masae marrying up! Thanks to her own striving, good personality, good job, and pretty looks, that they even took a liking to her. If... if something goes wrong with this, then it'll be..."
He didn't finish speaking, but that anxiety belonging to the head of the family was already overflowing in his words.
In this society where social classes had long been solidified, a good marriage alliance was enough to change the fate of a family for decades to come.
"I know, I know." Koyama Takasae nodded, her face also written full of agreement: "When she comes back, I'll have a good talk with her. We can't let her follow her own temper and let her imagination run wild."
"Sigh." Koyama Yoshiharu sighed and didn't say anything more.
After all, regarding children's marriages.
It was often the parents, who had already experienced the sour, sweet, bitter, and salty tastes of life, who had the most right to speak.
They no longer had their past ideals.
Nor those impractical fantasies.
Even equipped with the calculations belonging to their age and era, to seek... long-term happiness for their children.
Sometimes, listening to parents' arrangements regarding marriage wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Right at this moment, a crisp doorbell ring came from the entryway.
"Ding dong—"
"Hmm? Who is it? At this time." Koyama Yoshiharu stood up somewhat confusedly.
"Hello! Mail! There's an urgent package from Tokyo, please sign for it, Koyama family!" Outside the door, the mail carrier's respectful and loud voice came through.
A package from Tokyo?
Koyama Yoshiharu and Koyama Takasae exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of confusion in each other's eyes.
"We... haven't bought anything in Tokyo recently."
Koyama Yoshiharu muttered, but still went over and opened the door.
The mail carrier respectfully handed over a square-packaged box. When Koyama Yoshiharu saw the sender field, with those two vigorous characters writing "Nohara", he instantly understood.
His face unconsciously softened a few degrees.
"Oh, it's a package from that child Hiroshi."
He signed for it and brought the package into the house. Even his movements were a bit gentler than usual, as if what he held in his hands was some rare treasure.
Koyama Yoshiharu didn't even need to guess.
It was definitely a gift mailed over by his son-in-law-to-be, the one from his family who made him feel very reassured about Misae.
After all, when they were in Tokyo previously, Nohara Hiroshi was very well-mannered.
Saying he would send gifts from time to time.
Thinking of this, Koyama Yoshiharu also revealed a smile, feeling somewhat curious and expectant: "Then, what could be inside?"
He carefully unwrapped the outer packaging, revealing a silver box full of a sci-fi feel, with the Panasonic logo printed on it.
Opening the box, a small and exquisite silver creation exuding a metallic luster was lying quietly on the velvet lining.
"What... is this?" Koyama Yoshiharu took it out, turning it over and over. That expression was like an archaeologist studying a mysteriously unidentifiable artifact just unearthed.
"Looks like... a remote control? No, a remote control isn't this complicated." He fiddled with the buttons on it, feeling his brain entirely unable to comprehend the purpose of this object.
He couldn't even figure out the old-fashioned refrigerator at home, let alone this new gadget that looked "very expensive".
"I'm back."
Just then, the entryway door was pushed open, and a crisp, pleasing voice came through.
The Koyama family's youngest daughter, Koyama Musae, who attended a local high school, walked in dragging a body full of exhaustion.
However, when her gaze fell upon that silver block in her father's hand, those eyes that always carried a bit of liveliness and playfulness instantly burst with an unbelievable radiance!
"Mobile phone?! Panasonic's P100?!"
She almost dashed over, snatching that silver creation from her father's hand. Those fair, slender, piano-playing fingers operated it adeptly, her face written full of amazement and fondness.
"My god! Dad! Mom! Where did you get this? This is the latest portable mobile phone! I've only seen it in TV commercials! They say... they say one unit sells for four hundred thousand yen!"
"What?! Four... four hundred thousand?!"
This number, like a thunderclap, ruthlessly struck Koyama Yoshiharu and Koyama Takasae on the head!
The beer glass in Koyama Yoshiharu's hand dropped onto the tatami with a "clang". A lot of cold liquid spilled out, almost flooding the floor, but he was completely oblivious to it.
"Aiya! Aiya! Something this expensive?" Koyama Takasae was even more frightened, her face going pale. Cladting her chest, she felt her heartbeat skip a beat.
Four hundred thousand yen!
This sum of money was almost nearly half a year's pension for both her and her husband combined!
"This... this is too precious!" Koyama Takasae was the first to react, her voice changing pitch from anxiety: "That child Hiroshi, how could he send something so precious?! No! We absolutely cannot accept this! Yoshiharu, hurry! We have to find a way to return this!"
"Yes, yes!" Koyama Yoshiharu also woke up as if from a dream, nodding repeatedly, "This... this is simply nonsense! We haven't even officially become in-laws yet, how can we accept such a heavy gift?!"
Looking at her parents' panic-stricken appearance, Koyama Musae instead laughed.
She held that mobile phone in her palms like a treasure, a trace of slyness sparkling in those bright eyes.
"Dad, Mom, stop worrying." She advised: "Since it's a gift from Brother-in-law Nohara, then you can accept it with peace of mind. You guys don't know, Brother-in-law is now truly incredible!"
She paused, using a tone almost like telling a story to describe the legendary deeds of Nohara Hiroshi she heard from her sister Misae, adding colorful details to the description.
From the rating miracle of "Tales of the Unusual", to the phenomenal explosive popularity of "Yamishibai", to him becoming TV Tokyo's hottest famous director at such a young age...
"So ah, a mere four hundred thousand yen is basically nothing to Brother-in-law." Koyama Musae concluded, her tone filled with worship and admiration for this future brother-in-law.
As she spoke, she delightfully played with the new toy in her hand. That novel touch, that futuristic design, made her unable to put it down.
"Wow, really amazing! None of my friends' families have bought one yet! I'm actually the first to use it!"
Fiddling with it, she suddenly discovered that inside the phone's address book, two numbers were already pre-stored.
[Nohara Hiroshi]
[Koyama Misae]
Seeing these two names, Koyama Musae almost didn't hesitate at all and pressed the call button.
A novel and sci-fi-feeling "beep—beep—" sound rang out in the quiet living room.
That sound, like an invisible silk thread, instantly crossed the barrier of space and time, tightly connecting this serene little city located in a corner of Kyushu island with that bustling and noisy empire heart located in the center of Honshu island.
The call was picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Is it Mom?" From the other end of the phone, Misae's voice filled with pleasant surprise and vitality came through.
"Misae! It's really you! It's me! Musae!" Koyama Musae was also extremely happy. Holding the phone, like a child who received a beloved toy, she paced back and forth in the living room: "My god! This mobile phone is too miraculous! The sound is so clear! It's as if... as if you were right beside me!"
The two sisters chattered away, sharing each other's joy across hundreds of kilometers.
Koyama Takasae watching from the side, finally couldn't hold back anymore and took over that "hot potato" from her youngest daughter's hand.
"Hello? Is it Misae? It's Mom." Her voice was filled with curiosity and a bit of caution.
"Mom!" Misae's voice became even more cheerful.
"Ah, Misae ah, tell that child Hiroshi, this... this phone is too precious, we cannot accept it. Having a landline at home, making calls is also convenient, there's no need to spend this unnecessary money." Koyama Takasae still couldn't help but complain.
"Aiya, Mom, just don't worry about it!" Misae acted spoiled on the other end of the phone: "This is Hiroshi's kind intention! He said, in the future it'll be convenient for our two families to contact each other. Besides, he's a big producer now, he doesn't lack this bit of money!"
Listening to her daughters' intimate conversation on the phone, Koyama Yoshiharu, who had been silent the whole time, unknowingly had those habitually furrowed brows unfurl.
He picked up that unfinished glass of beer on the table, downed it in one gulp again. On that serious face, a smug smile that couldn't be suppressed no matter what, quietly surfaced.
"Hmph, really, young people just like to spend money recklessly, too wasteful." He said so with his mouth, but his heart had already started calculating.
Tomorrow, when gathering with his old brothers, he definitely had to "casually" bring out this treasured lump to show those old fogeys in the Dean's office who always liked to compete with him.
Especially that vice-principal who always loved to show off about his son working at Sony!
He felt as if he could already see the other party's face twisted with jealousy, and saw the colleagues' gazes filled with envy and shock.
Koyama Yoshiharu felt that his heart, which was somewhat tired from years of hard work, at this moment, was completely filled by an unprecedented, powerful force named vanity.
"It's really good to have money." Koyama Yoshiharu sighed emotionally.
He decided.
At the meeting tomorrow, he definitely must place this mobile phone located at the most prominent spot on the beer table!
This will be, for him, Koyama Yoshiharu, the most glorious moment of his life!
Thinking of that son-in-law-to-be of his, the corners of Koyama Yoshiharu's mouth couldn't be suppressed even more. After all, during this time, reading the newspaper, he discovered many newspapers saying that this son-in-law-to-be of his had also started heading towards the direction of producing variety shows!
Although Koyama Yoshiharu didn't understand what the difference was between producing TV dramas, producing animations, and producing variety shows.
But he knew, being able to be trusted by the leadership.
That meant taking on more burdens.
Being able to be relied upon!
Wasn't the current Nohara Hiroshi being entrusted with important tasks, being relied upon by his leaders, by TV Tokyo?