My Japanese story is a bit sweet

Chapter 182 The [Soga] cafeteria by the Kamo River.

When Monk Kong Wu woke up, his head was still dizzy and it was difficult to focus his sight.It was a cloudy, gloomy summer afternoon, as could be discerned by the gloomy light in the house.

He struggled to sit upright, and as far as he could see, everything in the meditation room seemed dull and lifeless.

Is this what it feels like to be dead?
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a little sad.

Suddenly, the sound of a man and a woman talking came from the tea room next door.Monk Kongwu crawled over slowly, and looked with his head. When the sunlight outside the window barely passed through the thick and low dark clouds, it was like being whittled into fine powder, struggling feebly in the drizzle.

On the tea table against the wall, the red flames in the stove illuminated the silhouettes of two people.

So familiar~~
Monk Kongwu rubbed his eyes, woke up suddenly, and said sadly: "Fujiwara!"

Fujiwara Xingkong, who was making tea, was startled, and looked back, "Kongwu, why are you crying?"

"Woooooo~~ I didn't expect that we would meet again after we died."

Monk Kongwu stood up holding the screen in the middle of the Japanese-style room, stretched out his hands, and walked towards him staggeringly.But when his gaze swept over Makoto Niijima who was sitting opposite Fujiwara Starry Sky, it was obvious that he froze for a moment.

Then he cried even more bleakly.

"Miss Xue Ye, why are you dead~~"

This sincere cry is really pitiful.

Niijima blinked, then rubbed his forehead, looked at the Fujiwara starry sky, and said angrily: "Look at what you did, a good little monk, you beat him into a fool."

Fujiwara Xingkong spread his hands innocently, "I didn't hit him on the head."

"What are you two talking about?" Monk Kong Wu walked towards the tea table, Niijima got up and gave way to him, and he naturally came to Fujiwara Xingkong and knelt down.

Fujiwara Xingkong made a gesture of invitation: "I'm sorry to meet you in this way, please sit down, and I will explain to you slowly."

After Monk Kongwu sat down, Fujiwara Xingkong took the teapot off the stove, poured out hot water and scalded three tea bowls, added some tea leaves into the teapot, and put it back on the stove to make tea.

While rolling the tea bowl in the hot water with a clip, he asked, "Kong Wu, why did you become a monk?"

Monk Kong Wu touched his bald head: "I have been bald since I was a child, what should I do if I don't become a monk?"

Fujiwara Xingkong froze, opened his mouth, and was speechless for a while.

Niijima, on the other hand, smiled playfully and said, "Master Kongfu is honest."

"Amitabha." Monk Kongwu clasped his hands together, looked at her, and asked doubtfully, "Why is Miss Xueye so much younger?"

"This is not Miss Yukino." Fujiwara Xingkong distributed the hot tea bowls in front of the three, "She is Miss Yukino's younger sister, Makoto Niijima."

"New island?" Monk Kongwu was even more puzzled.

"That's right, Miss Yukino's surname is Niijima."

"Then why is it called Xue Ye?"

Fujiwara Xingkong replied: "Because Yukino belongs to me alone, and Niijima belongs to everyone."

Monk Kong Wu's face turned bitter, and he always felt as if he had been shown another face invisibly.

Niijima pursed his lips, and whispered to the side: "Why don't I change my surname to Yukino, and you can call me Yukino from now on."

"Xue Yezhen?" Fujiwara Xingkong said it once, and shook his head directly: "This name doesn't sound good."

"What about Fujiwara?"

"Even worse."

"What about Fujiwara?"

"Good to hear."

"Brother-in-law, you have double standards!"

"You all know that I am brother-in-law, isn't it normal to have double standards?"

After saying a few words, the tea in the teapot was boiled, and Fujiwara Xingkong ordered a bowl of tea for the three tea bowls respectively, with simple and serious gestures.

"Please." He stretched out his hand to Monk Kongwu and said with a smile.

The new green tea is served in a rough ceramic bowl, and there are wisps of soft tea fragrance.

Monk Kong Wu smiled relievedly, took the tea bowl with both hands, and sipped lightly.

The core of the tea ceremony is to connect people and hearts through tea.In the simple and unadorned tea room, the host and the guest are equal and respect each other, and people show their hearts to each other and have a long talk.

Fujiwara Xingkong has no interest in the tea ceremony, but after staying with Xia Xilin for a long time, he knows a thing or two about it.

Taking advantage of the tea break, he explained all the reasons for the whole incident.

After listening to his words, Monk Kong Wu was speechless for a long time, just drinking tea quietly.From time to time, he looked up at Fujiwara Xingkong, with a little anxiety, like a nocturnal animal pacing back and forth anxiously because of the arrival of dawn.

"Are you sure Brother Kong Ning wants to open the Rashomon?" He asked.

"I'm not sure if he wants to do this, but I can be sure that he is not the brother you saw." Fujiwara Xingkong replied clearly.

Monk Kong Wu picked up the tea bowl, took a sip of the tea, savored it carefully, and then looked up at him for a moment.

"I used to like to drink tea by myself in the summer afternoon. After drinking tea, I read a book, then lay down and took a nap, and fell asleep without knowing it. When I woke up from sleep, it was dark and the heat was gone. It will subside a little, and the whole person will not have a trace of trouble."

He lowered his head slowly, put his hands on his knees, looked at the potted plants with a few small yellow flowers on the tea table, and then slowly spoke.

"At night, the master will let the brothers come over to supervise my recitation. I am very incompetent as a monk, and I don't like to recite sutras at all. So I always beg my brothers to take me to the Kamogawa cruise, buy shaved ice and watermelon. eat."

"My brother actually bought those comics for me. Master is very strict with me and basically doesn't give me pocket money."

Monk Kong Wu whispered some messy things, his mood was not high, the air seemed to be mixed with rough particles, and even breathing felt choking.

Fujiwara Xingkong listened quietly, occasionally picking up the tea bowl and taking a sip.

He doesn't like drinking tea very much, but he drinks tea quite often.The slightly bitter taste envelops the taste buds, and after swallowing, there is a slight aftertaste of sweetness in the mouth, which is somewhat similar to bitter melon.

Is it okay to be a human being without bitterness?No, this is mostly the beauty that you can't see when you are young, but as the years grow, the taste of bitterness and sweetness will make people more and more memorable.

The sky was getting dark gradually, and although the window leaked a ray of yellow light from the corridor, instead of increasing the brightness of the room, it highlighted the darkness of the room even more.

Monk Kongwu stopped talking, the room was so quiet that even the sound of spittle could be heard.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Fujiwara Xingkong stood up and said goodbye: "You digest it yourself, I will not force you to help me. So if you think about it, come to me. If you don't want to, we are still friends."

Monk Kong Wu nodded slightly, and after watching the two leave, he lay down on the tatami, closed his eyes and meditated.

Walking out of the Kinkakuji Temple, Fujiwara Hoshikora let out a long breath, a flock of crows flew by in front of his eyes, and the night wind blew through the cedar forest, he seemed to hear the sound of distant waves.

Niijima walked side by side with him until he reached the road outside and saw rows of street lights before asking, "What if he doesn't help us?"

"What else can we do? If you don't help us, try your best." Fujiwara Xingkong's voice was very relaxed, without any tension.

"Why don't you be tougher?" Niijima cast a glance at him, "Monk Kongwu showed a very unstable mentality just now, if you are tougher and ask him for help, he won't refuse."

"This method is the method of your nine subjects, and it is not suitable for me."

"But it's the most effective way."

"Maybe." Fujiwara Xingkong narrowed his eyes and was silent for a moment, "But I still hope he can face it by himself."

Makoto Niijima looked displeased with his lips curled up at an odd angle, but then returned to normal.

As a member of the Nine Divisions, she is more accustomed to simple and effective methods.

Fujiwara Xingkong thought for a while, and said in relief: "There is one more person who can help us."

"Who?"

"Masato Ono from the Rikyu Academy."

"Who is that?"

"do not know."

The two walked along the road for a while, and when they turned a corner, they saw a river.There are many people walking by the river, walking their dogs, picnicking, jogging...

This river is Kamogawa, the origin of Kyoto, which becomes a central axis of the city from north to south.As long as you take two steps in Kyoto, you will definitely come to it.

Fujiwara Xingkong walked on the river embankment, and on the tatami terrace set up on the second floor of the wooden machiya house opposite the river, there were couples of couples cuddling each other. Their soft love words added a bit of romance to the night.

After a while, Niijima bought a box of bean cakes at a roadside shop, and the two sat by the river and ate slowly.

There are more and more people by the river, old people running, girls dancing by the river, tourists wearing bathrobes taking pictures, father and son playing catch...

Not far away, there were people singing, which attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

The evening wind blows slowly, and the lights on the other side are reflected on the river, adding a bit of life to this thousand-year-old capital.

After eating the bean cakes, the two of them were about to get up when they suddenly saw someone holding up a camera to take pictures. Fujiwara Xingkong was taken aback for a moment, and then he was dragged by Niijima to sit down and pose for the photo.

"Crack!"

When the flash light came on, the moment was frozen.

"Thank you." The girl who looked like a high school student in a JK suit ran over and bowed to thank you after taking the photo, "You two look so well matched and so good-looking, so I couldn't hold back."

"You're welcome." Niijima asked for a photo from JK, and smiled so hard that his teeth could not see his eyes.

Fujiwara Xingkong muttered on the side: "You'd better not let Miss Risa see this photo."

The sister-in-law chuckled and looked at the gurgling water of Kamogawa casually.

After walking a little further, we came to an area full of old buildings, with yellow lanterns hanging on both sides of the alleys, dotted on the quaint stone roads.

Women in kimonos walked by in twos and threes on the street. They were as gentle as the breeze blowing by the rising sun, full of Japanese delicate beauty.

When passing by them, an inadvertent bow, shy and smiling style makes people feel like they have traveled to the Heian era described in "The Tale of Genji".

Fujiwara Xingkong was attracted by the rushing nostalgia, and even slowed down his pace.

Niijima tugged at his ears, and said dissatisfiedly: "Don't look, my wife has gone away!"

"I'm not looking at that lady just now."

"Then what are you looking at?"

Fujiwara Xingkong said seriously: "I'm just looking for a place to eat!"

You just stared at his ass just now, and Niijima let go of his hand in disbelief.

Turning around, there are many simple and exquisite century-old shops on both sides of the road, and the cloth noren curtains with the name of the shop fluttering gently with the night wind.

It seems that there are restaurants everywhere, but it is a pity that there is a wooden sign hanging in front of these restaurants, with the words [No first-time customers] or [Reservation reception] and other words written on it.

That means they don't accept first-time customers or customers who don't have an appointment.

From this point of view, the city of Kyoto really feels a bit superior.

"If you don't accept customers who visit the door for the first time, how can there be a second visit?" Niijima was really unhappy, and cursed in a low voice.

In her opinion, this kind of store that does not solicit customers openly and can only enter through the introduction of acquaintances is simply self-defeating in terms of business model.

If this kind of store is opened in Tokyo, it will have to go bankrupt and liquidate within three months.

"But one thing is strange." Fujiwara Xingkong swiped the screen with her mobile phone, "There are more than 10 century-old stores across the country, and [-]% of them are in Kyoto."

Niijima was really surprised: "You know this kind of thing?"

"Google search told me."

"Cut! I thought you really knew everything."

Looking around along the stone path, Fujiwara Xingkong glanced at the door of a small shop with dim lights on the side of the road, and then he was stunned.

Inside the curtain of the wooden lattice door, in the corridor 15 centimeters above the entrance, a lady was kneeling and sitting there.The base color of the kimono on his body is a light khaki color similar to guava, and the color scheme of the pattern is black stripes.The properly exposed undergarment collar is cherry pink, which looks elegant and dignified.

And she also looks very nice, with a graceful beauty on her fair face, a small and delicate nose, a little red lips, a calm temperament, and a little bit of orchid-like nobility.

The words [Soga] are printed on the noren, and it doesn't say that no first-timers are accepted or only reservations are accepted.

Without any hesitation, Fujiwara Hoshizora directly pulled Niijima into the store.

The wife kneeling there saw someone coming in. She gracefully lowered her towering Japanese-style hairstyle, put her hands on the porch wood in front of her knees, and said in a soft Kyoto accent: "Ah, you are here, thank you very much."

Compared with the dry "welcome" in Tokyo, this style of welcoming language is more cordial.

Led by his wife, the two walked through a short entrance made of dark brown wooden boards and came to the lobby of the store.

It is said to be the lobby, but it is actually a larger room with only ten seats in total.

These ten seats are arranged side by side in front of a 1 meter wide and 8 meter long white wood bar.Sitting in front of the white wood bar, guests can watch the owner's cooking process while tasting the food.

When Fujiwara Xingkong walked in, there were already two customers sitting on the left side of the bar.A man and a woman, they are tasting a piece of sashimi, occasionally whispering a few words.

The man, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, was wearing a gray monk's robe, with a string of Buddhist beads hanging around his neck.

And that woman, wearing a purple hip-covering skirt, looks very noble when viewed from the side.

Fujiwara Xingkong glanced at her from the corner of her eye, and the woman seemed to sense his gaze, and looked over from the air.

The eyes of the two met in an instant.

At this moment, Fujiwara Xingkong thought for no reason that he might have found what he was looking for during this trip to Kyoto.

(End of this chapter)