Page 84

Page 84

He has grown so big already. I haven't seen him for more than a year, and Yuchuan has become stronger.

Chapter 108 Snow White

Mikawa was not bred at Aki's family farm since childhood. He was originally the horse of the school equestrian club when Aki was studying at Ezo Agricultural High School in Hokkaido.

When he saw Aki, Mikawa did not make any intimate gestures. Instead, he snorted, and the air sprayed all over Aki's face.

"Ah, this little guy doesn't even recognize me."

When they were in agricultural school, Aki and Hachiken were both members of the equestrian club. When they first met, Mikawa was just over one year old. During the high school years, she and Hachiken took care of him together, watching him grow up little by little, and even won a place in the school's horse racing competition.

That was the joint achievement of her and Hachiken.

To her, Mikawa was different. How different, Aki couldn't tell, but it was very different.

It has been more than a year since they last met, and the person she has been thinking about all the time doesn't recognize her, which makes Aki a little sad.

"No, Yuchuan was just joking." Ling also interjected.

"joke?"

Lingye said it with great confidence, and Aki didn't know whether the girl was just saying it casually or if she really saw something.

"Because it feels abandoned."

"I didn't abandon Mikawa." After muttering this, Aki and Mikawa looked into each other's eyes. Although they were human and horse, she could really see the closeness in Mikawa's eyes.

Yuchuan lowered the horse's head, and just like she had done with it in the past years, Aki naturally reached out her hand and gently combed its mane from the forehead upwards.

It was really a joke, or rather, it was a little bit of a tantrum because it hadn't seen Aki for more than a year.

"How did you know?" Hachiken asked Lingye quietly.

“I always feel that way.”

It’s equivalent to no explanation, but Hachiken doesn’t really care. It’s enough for Aki to be happy.

When I was studying at the agricultural school, unlike other high schools, Ezo Agricultural High School had very few cultural courses and the teaching goal was not to get into college.

The subjects we usually study are animal husbandry, farming, management, and processing of agricultural products. Therefore, as a result of teaching, the school produces a lot more agricultural products and livestock every year.

It is a large farm with chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, rice, wheat, beans, cheese, and smoked ham, covering an area comparable to that of a small town.

These outputs can be sold in exchange for funds to buy seedlings for the next batch of students. Usually they are sold to middlemen. If students want to buy them themselves, there are also discounts for internal students.

So after graduation, Aki discussed with the school and bought Mikawa back - this was allowed and even encouraged in the school. So Mikawa became Aki's real horse.

The horse that Aki has been taking care of for a long time has long become a part of her that she cannot part with.

Mikawa is a purebred horse, so it's naturally expensive, but when Aki bought Mikawa home, her father didn't say anything. Because according to the market, its price is much more than that, and the school's discount is already a great benefit.

Aki's farm is a profitable place.

But as the years passed, Mikawa's golden age as a purebred racehorse was about to pass. In the first few years, her father wanted to sell Mikawa many times, but Aki pushed back. But more than a year ago, her father's attitude became tough, because the ten-year-old Mikawa had reached the final critical point of his golden age as a racehorse.

If he delayed any further, even a purebred horse would become worthless, and after he was old enough to participate in the race, Yuchuan would become worthless and could only be used as a plow horse in the fields.

Aki's father could not accept using a purebred horse as a plow horse, so he contacted the horse dealer directly.

A good girl who was used to listening to her father since she was young, this was the first time that Aki and her father had such a fierce quarrel. On the day when the horse dealer came, she ran away from home in anger and took Mikawa with her.

However, after riding Mikawa away from home on impulse, Aki didn't know where to go. The only thing she could think of was the phone number of his current workplace in Tokyo that Hachiken had told her in a letter.

She contacted Hachiken using the only pay phone in town.

Having not seen her classmate for several years and having only kept in touch through letters, Aki was actually not sure whether the other party would pay attention to her.

What's more, Hachiken is still in Tokyo. It's not the next town, nor the next city, and there's even a strait between them. If it were in Europe, this distance would span several countries.

The distance between them is more than a thousand kilometers, and it usually takes half a month or a month to get a reply through correspondence. Tokyo and Hokkaido are almost two worlds separated by the long distance.

But Hachiken came, in a hurry, driving his pickup truck from Tokyo in just one day, and arrived in Hokkaido without rest for 24 hours day and night.

For a journey of more than a thousand kilometers, one day is really too short.

But for a girl who was penniless, without even a change of clothes, and who ran out of the house in a rage, a day of waiting alone with Yuchuan in the deserted station without a drop of water was extremely long.

Hachiken really came. When she saw him roll down the window of the pickup truck and call her name, Aki wasn't sure if she cried. She probably didn't cry, she was very strong.

That day, she handed Mikawa to Hachiken. Just like the day they first met in the equestrian club at school, she handed Mikawa's reins to him and asked him to take care of it.

At the same time, when the reins were handed over and their fingers touched, the gap of several years no longer existed.

There was a legend among students of that era that cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters, so in ten years, the distance between hearts is as far as a world, and no matter how deep the feelings are, they cannot withstand the passage of time. However, Hachiken drove his pickup truck from the other side of the earth, across mountains, straits and forests, and the two met again.

The cherry blossoms are back on the branches, and something is different.

She and he both knew it, but perhaps because they were reserved or timid, they didn't say anything.

For those who truly love each other, the word "love" is very heavy, so heavy that it is hard to even say it out loud. It requires all your strength and a lot of time to prepare.

Because they have to prepare a whole world for each other.

But it doesn't matter, they can both wait for each other. They have plenty of time.

You see, Yuchuan is still the same Yuchuan as before, he hasn't changed at all.

She didn't get to eat the melon, but she got to eat dog food. When she returned to the castle, Ling was not disappointed, but smiled like an aunt the whole time.

"What's wrong, Miss? Did something good happen to you?" Maria asked in confusion when she saw the Miss's strange smile as she entered the door.

"Well, something good happened."

Simply admitted.

"Maria, what are the customs for getting married here? Do we need to book a hotel and hire a master of ceremonies?"

"What? Getting married?" Maria was shocked, but soon realized that Lingye was not talking about her, and certainly not Lingye himself, "Is Miss Aki here?"

"Yeah, I just met him at the horse farm. He's a nice guy, and seems to be a good match for Uncle Hachiken."

"Ah, what happened?" Women are naturally gossipy, and so is Maria. She smiled like an auntie, "Speaking of weddings, although Western-style weddings are popular now, the most common one is of course the white wedding dress. The wedding ceremony in front of the gods is held at the shrine by the clergy to bless the wedding."

"Are we going to the shrine?" Ling really didn't know. Maybe it was just like Westerners going to church.

"That's true, but shrines usually need to be booked in advance, and it may not be possible to book them for half a year to a year, so sometimes they are held at home."

"Am I considered a clergyman? How about Izumo Taisha?"

Maria was stumped by this question. She was a little surprised by the young lady's strange idea and couldn't help laughing.

The eldest lady presided over Hachiken's wedding? This scene was interesting to think about.

"However, there are no shrine maidens presiding over the wedding, only priests." It may not be nice to say this, but in this tradition, the status of women is indeed not high. "Also, Izumo Taisha is too far away, and it is not convenient for guests from both sides."

That being said, Izumo is indeed very far from Tokyo, and even farther from Hokkaido. It is almost at the northeast and southwest limits.

"Then we'll go to Yuefeng Shrine. Please ask Priest Tsurugi to come over as the host."

Although he looked a little unreliable, since he was a priest of Izumo Taisha, there should be no problem for him to preside over the wedding. In fact, Ling also knew that since Priest Tsurugi could accompany the master before and after, his status in the shrine should not be low.

Before the wedding was even started, the two girls, one big and one small, had already helped arrange the wedding privately. I'm sure Baxuan would be very touched if he knew about it, right?

Hachiken, who was feeding two foals in the stable with Aki, shuddered.

"By the way, have you fed Snow White?"

"Well, I fed it. I just let it go. Let it have some fun. It got suffocated in the cage a while ago. It seems that it likes it here very much."

There are forests and lakes, so animals will love it. Although Hokkaido is also good, with sparse population, high sky and vast land, the environment is definitely not as good as this mountain forest.

Hachiken glanced at Aki secretly, and seeing that the girl looked normal, he carefully organized his words.

"Um, Aki, are you planning to stay here for a long time? Ah, I don't mean to be unwelcome, but shouldn't I tell my uncle, otherwise he will be worried, right?"

Back then, I just went to work at Aki's house, but her father was so protective of his daughter that he treated me like a wild boar trying to get something for nothing. This time, my daughter came to Tokyo alone, and there was no news from her yet. I don't know how worried Aki's father would be.

Aki didn't answer, but just made a sound through her nose. I don't know whether it was to express understanding or dissatisfaction.

However, Hachiken didn't dare to ask any more questions and abruptly changed the subject.

"Snow White is not familiar with this place. Will she get lost?"

"Of course not." Aki said confidently.

She raised Snow-White since she was a chick, and the tacit understanding between her and Snow-White is unimaginable to others.

After feeding the foal, Aki took out a whistle from his pocket, walked outside the stable, and blew it towards the sky, producing a clear whistle sound.

However, more than ten seconds passed, half a minute passed, and the sky was still empty.

Aki blew again, but still no response.

"what happened?"

"Snow White is gone!"

Aki, who originally had a confident look on her face, now looked sad.

"what?"

Not far away, on the second floor of the castle, next to the open window, a snow-white dove was standing on Lingye's shoulder.

"Miss, where did you get this pigeon?"

"It just flew in from the window." Ling also stretched out her finger and tickled the pigeon's beak. The snow-white pigeon cooed with enjoyment.

In the distance, a slight whistle sounded in the evening breeze. The pigeon turned its head but ignored it.

Soon, a few more whistles were heard.

"Well, is your name 'Snow White'? It's time to go back. Your master is waiting anxiously."

Lingye said, stretched out her hand to take the pigeon from her shoulder and gently threw it out of the window. The snow-white pigeon cooed and flew in the direction of the whistle.

Chapter 109 Searching for the Carrier Pigeon

The lamp was on in the lake view room at the east end of the Ranger's Lodge.

To thank Hachiken, Aki cooked dinner tonight. Although her cooking skills were not superb, as a farm girl who had been trained to be independent since childhood, Aki could easily cook any ordinary farm dish.

Compared to Hachiken, who grew up in a big city like Sapporo and is a "city dweller", Aki's self-care ability is far superior to the other.

On weekdays, Hachiken prepared all three meals by himself. With his hands-on ability, he could only barely meet the standard of "no hindrance to eating". It was common for the food to be slightly overcooked or undercooked, too salty or too bland. Most of the time, he was too lazy to remedy the situation.

Now that he has Aki, his living standard will improve dramatically as expected.

There were many ingredients that Hachiken usually stored in the kitchen. Aki made full use of them according to local conditions and prepared a table of farm dishes. Hachiken had a full dinner, which was the flavor of his hometown in Hokkaido. Hachiken hadn't tasted it for a long time, and he soon fell asleep.