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The hustle and bustle in books, on TV, and in imagination only feels real when you step into it. Surrounded by steel and concrete, there are also living people here, and the people living here also have their own joys and sorrows. Maybe it is a completely different life from the life in the mountains, but no one can tell which side is happier.

"Thanks for bringing me to a nice place, Reiya."

"You're welcome. In return, take me to see the deep mountains of Shimane in winter. I haven't been there yet."

Kuze was stunned for a moment, and after realizing the implication of Reiya's words, she stood up and bowed deeply.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to such a presumptuous request. I'll take care of it from now on."

Chapter 103 Shattered Tokyo Dream

While Kuze was talking, she simultaneously searched in her skirt pocket for a moment and handed over a card.

Ling also took it and found that the card was a very exquisite business card printed in this era.

Although I know that business cards were popular in Japan in later generations and were a standard way of greeting people, was it popular in this era?

“Is this the shrine’s business card?”

There is no name on the business card. It is the business card of the shrine, so you can also call it an advertising card.

The shrine is outlined in black and white sketches. Below it is the full name of Izumo Taisha Shrine, as well as the words "Okuninushi Blessings", and finally the shrine's landline phone number. On the back is written a series of services such as blessing of incense, home purification, and funeral services, with a fairly comprehensive range of business.

The reason why "Okuninushi's Blessing" is used is because in addition to the three noble children, the main deity worshipped at Izumo Taisha is Okuninushi. There are many shrines that worship the three noble children, but the Izumo Shrine that worships Okuninushi is the fundamental source.

Okuninushi is similar to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in Chinese mythology, and is the origin of this state power in mythology and legends.

Okuninushi underwent the test of Susanoo, married Princess Suseri, and finally established Awahara China here. There are also allusions such as the Inaba White Rabbit, but the ending is that in order to rule Awahara China, Amaterasu Omikami sent Takemikazumi and other gods with the Ten-fisted Sword to surrender, and Okuninushi had no choice but to give the country to Amaterasu.

But after all, he voluntarily gave up the country before fighting broke out. Amaterasu promised Okuninushi to build a temple here as his residence so that he could continue to live there and share the worldly life with her. The temple that was built was Izumo Taisha Shrine.

Therefore, Okuninushi is still the orthodox deity of Izumo recognized by Amaterasu. Izumo Taisha is Okuninushi's palace on earth. By analogy with Chinese mythology, it is probably the Fire Cloud Cave of the Human Emperor? Japanese mythology borrows from China, so it is not surprising that there are similarities.

After handing over his business card, Hisayo felt a little embarrassed.

"This is the seal from the Lord God. He asked me to take it with me when I came out. It's a bit inconvenient to pass the message through the TAC team, so if you need to contact me, you can call this number. Tell the receptionist who answers the phone that you want to see me, and I will reply as soon as possible."

That’s right.

Since Ling has already agreed to participate in the "Hatsumode" of Izumo Taisha Shrine, it is indeed inconvenient without contact information. We can't go through the TAC team.

Ling then gave her home phone number.

"This is my home phone number, but there is no business card."

"It's okay, I'll write it down." Hisayoshi and Tsurugi looked around and found that neither of them had brought a pen, so they finally borrowed one from the boss.

After eating and drinking (tea), although Kuze insisted, Ling finally paid the bill. The reason for this was that Kuze didn't insist too much. After looking at the bill, she closed her mouth in embarrassment.

Because this meal is too expensive!

To be honest, this late-night canteen is very affordable compared to the surrounding restaurants. But it is really incomparable to Izumo. This is Tokyo, the administrative and financial center of the entire country. Even a radish on the street stall in the vegetable market can be sold at the price of ginseng in Izumo Mountain.

"Is this the price in Tokyo?" Kuze silently put away her wallet which only had tens of thousands of dollars in it. If she really insisted on paying the bill, she and Tsurugi would have to go begging to get enough money for the train ticket home.

Zhemu nodded woodenly. Although he often went out to take on business and was well-informed, he was usually in Shimane and this was his first time in Tokyo. This place also made him feel incredible.

Watching Lingya go home in his own driver's car, Jiuze just felt that the evening breeze was a little chilly.

"That car is very high-end, right?"

"Well, this is a Mercedes-Benz, S-Class, and it costs more than 10 million yen." After all, it is not a niche brand, so Zemu still recognizes Mercedes-Benz.

"What?"

Jiuze didn't have time to think about her entire fortune. This car was enough to sell her many times. She just felt that this Reiya priestess was completely beyond her imagination. She had previously contacted through the TAC team, and she actually knew nothing about Reiya.

No wonder she didn't care at all about becoming an official shrine maiden and getting the full amount of tribute. Thinking back, when they were chatting just now, the other party didn't mention the treatment after wearing the Chihaya robe, and Kuze subconsciously ignored it.

Perhaps, whether it is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands a month, it makes no difference to her and she doesn't care at all.

"Wait, Oshima Reiya, it can't be that Oshima..." Tsurugi said uncertainly.

"Which big island?"

Tsuge pointed to the opposite side, not far away at the Shinkansen station, and on the largest billboard were the words "Oshima Group".

A Tokyo financial tycoon, he not only owns many financial investment companies, but also has a private bank. He has financial relationships with all major financial groups.

Because of the accident at the beginning of the year, the president of the consortium and his family were killed in a plane crash, the stock market fell, and the whole of Japan was in turmoil for a while. Even if Tsurugi was in Izumo, the price of buying cigarettes increased during that period.

Although the consortium declined afterwards and there were rumors that the Oshima family was going to sell off its shares, the outside world ultimately had no idea what happened next. Perhaps the shares were subscribed and absorbed by other internal shareholders?

After all, the economy is so developed now, especially in finance and real estate, you can make money even if you sell a piece of paper. No one doubts that if you sell Tokyo, you can even buy the entire United States. If you step into the financial industry, the money is rolling and doubling every day, and no one will give up such a high-quality share.

The value cannot be measured by cash at all. You make as much as you take in, and you don’t know who is getting the benefit.

Kuze stared at the billboard for a moment, not quite believing it. If it was really the eldest daughter of the Oshima family, why would she be a shrine maiden? The money leaking from her fingers could buy the Izumo Shrine.

"No, probably just the same last name."

After all, the surname 'Oshima' is not uncommon. Compared to this, Kuze wanted to know where they should stay tonight.

I originally thought that as long as I had money with me, I would be able to find a hotel in Tokyo.

Of course, she could find a hotel in Tokyo, but the price seemed a little different from what she had imagined. It was the difference between the first and last decimal places.

"Let's buy tickets back home. We can sleep on the bus."

The two looked at each other in silence, and Tsurugi nodded. Kuze had no money, and neither did he. Even though he had taken on many commissions in Izumo and thought he had saved some private money, his small wallet could not withstand the prices in Tokyo.

Kuze's dream of Tokyo, which he had intended to take advantage of as a rare opportunity to enjoy a good trip, was extinguished as soon as he arrived.

Hisayo wasn’t the only one whose Tokyo dream was extinguished.

"I miscalculated. I didn't expect the rent in Tokyo to be so high." Aki looked at her emptied wallet. After paying this month's rent, there was not much left in her wallet. Even if she didn't consider her daily food and clothing expenses, she would be out of money by next month.

As for finding a job, she didn't have any skills. Should she apply for a job at a convenience store? But would the salary at a convenience store be enough to cover her living expenses?

"Hachiken, are there no cheaper houses for rent here?"

"Except under the overpass, I think there is no place like that. I say, you dare to come to Tokyo with 200,000 yuan? If you are just traveling, it's fine, but are you serious about settling down here?"

In fact, Hachiken doesn't agree with Aki, especially when he knows that she ran away from home after a quarrel with her father.

Many times, it is indeed a refreshing thing to just walk away in anger, but it is just an escape, and the unresolved problem is always there.

"Go back and have a good talk with your uncle."

"No." Aki refused.

This is the single apartment that Aki rents. It is a single room of more than 10 square meters. Apart from the bed, there is almost no room for any other furniture. Even the bathroom is shared. The wall paint in the corner has fallen off due to moisture, and it looks mottled. Compared to sleeping on the street, this place only has an extra ceiling to protect from wind and rain. There is really no house more shabby than this one.

But even a house like this would cost tens of thousands of yuan a month to rent. For many people, this is just the cost of a meal, but for Aki, it is enough to empty her wallet.

It would be wrong to say that this single room only had a bed and no other furniture, but at least there was a chair. On the chair was a pigeon cage with a snow-white pigeon cooing inside - animals were not allowed in ordinary apartments, but the landlord did not say anything when handing over this apartment.

In fact, he didn't bother to care about anything, just paying the rent on time.

This cage of pigeons was the only luggage that Aki brought with him, besides his 200,000 yuan fortune and some spare clothes.

Aki picked up some grains to feed the pigeons, and the pigeons pecked at the grains casually.

Hachiken knew this pigeon, its name was 'Shirayuki' and it was a carrier pigeon.

The lifespan of a pigeon is generally between ten and fifteen years. Snow White was raised by Aki herself from a squab seven years ago. After spending seven years with Aki on the farm in Hokkaido, she is already middle-aged.

In fact, even if Bai Xue is not in the cage, she will not get lost. She often goes outside to have fun. The cage is just a place for her to stay. Aki's treatment is not much better than that of the pigeons. This single dormitory is not even as clean as the pigeon cage.

At least she cleans the pigeon cage every day, but this room is so difficult to clean even if one wants to.

As a homing pigeon, Bai Xue has received professional training and even won a place in the 1,000-kilometer competition organized by the National Homing Pigeon Association. Even if it travels from Tokyo to Hokkaido, it will not get lost.

Hachiken didn't know whether Aki had such considerations when she brought Shirayuki to Tokyo. But as long as a letter was tied to its feet, it could indeed fly to the farm in Hokkaido and deliver the letter to her family on the farm.

This is much more reliable than calling the town's general store - that's the only pay phone in town.

After all, it would take more than ten to twenty minutes to walk from her farm to the town, even for a young man. The round trip would take more than half an hour, which made it inconvenient to answer messages.

This is also the reason why Aki always contacted Hachiken by phone in the past, and it was difficult for Hachiken to contact the other party by phone except by letter.

But Shirayuki can do it. Once the letter paper is tied to its feet, it will fly over the mountains, fly over Tochigi and Fukushima all the way north, across Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori, then fly over the Tsugaru Strait all the way to Hokkaido.

There were some crumpled up letters piled up in the trash can next to the public toilet outside the apartment stairs. Hachiken didn't look at it carefully, but subconsciously thought that it was Aki who threw it away.

But what position does he have to speak?

After all, he himself was a runaway. For so many years, since he went to study at the agricultural school, he has never had a good conversation with his family.

Chapter 104: Flowers That Never Fade

"Miss Maria."

"Good morning, Nao, what's wrong?"

Maria was taking out the clothes that the eldest lady had changed after her morning bath from the bathroom, preparing to send them to the laundry room.

The person she met was the maid Nao. Maria stopped in her tracks because Nao's tone didn't sound like she was saying hello but rather like she was asking her something.

"Oh, sorry, you were busy."

"No, it's okay. I'm just sending the clothes in my hand to the laundry room. If it's not something that will take too much time, we can talk about it now."

Maria, the head maid, has always been like this. She will solve any problem that needs to be dealt with immediately on the spot. Nao has also gotten used to it.

"It's not a problem actually. Well, do you remember the decorative flowers in front of the eldest lady's bedroom door? At that time, the eldest lady said that those flowers did not need to be replaced. She preferred flowers that grew naturally in the soil, and did not like to be placed in vases."

"Well, of course I remember. You told me about it before. Do you have any questions?"

Maria said this, and Nao was a little confused about the situation.

"But... weren't you the one who exchanged the flowers?"

She came to Maria because she thought she had forgotten about it and was still constantly replacing the flowers.

"Ah? Of course not. I always take into account the care given by the young lady. Did something happen?"

"Well, it's nothing. It's been more than a month since that incident. Today I noticed that the flowers in the corridor are still very bright, so I thought you had replaced the decorations with new ones recently."

Those were real flowers, plucked from the soil, and they should have withered in more than a month. Now it was the turn of summer and autumn, and the flowers in the flowerbeds outside were beginning to wither, not to mention these rootless bouquets. Even if there was some nutrient water in the vase, a week or two would be the limit.

But the vase of flowers in the corridor outside the eldest lady's room was still blooming brightly, as if they had just been picked early in the morning.

It wasn't a big deal. Nao was just worried that Maria had forgotten the eldest lady's instructions, so she just gave her a reminder.

"Okay, I understand. I'll take care of this. Thank you, Nao."

"No, you're welcome!"