"Wow! A head of silver hair; this boss is quite trendy!"
Under the lights, that obviously dyed silver hair was quite dazzling, causing the group to exchange glances, the corners of their mouths twitching with suppressed smiles.
Regardless of East or West, the elderly always fall into two factions: one conservative, stubborn, and cautious; the other partial to the new, trendy, and acting like old urchins. Sometimes, their boldness can even make their descendants feel second-hand embarrassment~
The four of them arrived at the stall and sat down, while Little Black squatted on the ground a bit further away. It sat quietly like a stone lion statue, and due to its fur color, one really couldn't spot it without looking carefully.
"Mister~ Are you still open for business?"
"Hmm? Oh, oh, what cute little customers~"
The owner raised his head, revealing a middle-aged face that would be very suitable for a mystery thriller. Seemingly not noticing Little Black, he chuckled at Chika.
"My noodle stall rarely gets visited by young people. You are the first batch of customers tonight, so of course I'll take your business.
"Look! The moon has just risen, and it's a full moon, too~"
"Then I'll have a large portion of Soba!" Chika declared generously, "It's my treat today!"
Everyone ordered one after another. This outing counted as a rural tour of sorts, and since they rarely had the chance to patronize such roadside stalls, the high school girls from the big city were a bit excited, chattering away while waiting for their food.
Mieruko, being half a host, was naturally the target of a barrage of questions. However, since she only visited her elders during festivals, she soon became embarrassed.
"Haha, you're going to stump the little girl. She obviously isn't clear about the affairs of this small town."
The stall owner turned around, wiping his hands while chuckling, "But you can ask me. I am clear about everything that has happened on this land."
"Has Mister set up a stall here for a long time?"
"Hmm, how should I put it? Long enough that I don't remember how many years it's been~" The stall owner spoke with a mix of melancholy and nostalgia, "Back in the beginning, this small town didn't even have streetlights. Once night fell, the village was pitch black..."
"Then how did you do business, Mister?" Chika asked curiously.
"There were lanterns, little girl." The owner stirred the noodle soup with long chopsticks. "Lanterns, stars, bonfires. Back then, walking by the pond, the light on the water surface looked as if it were flowing~"
"That sounds so beautiful~" Chika was intoxicated by the description. "Where is the pond? I want to go see it too."
"The pond... Sigh, it's already gone!"
The owner seemed a bit angry. He arranged the overturned large bowls one by one, making a thump-thump-thump sound, then skillfully fished out the noodles and placed them in sequentially.
"It's been gone for ten years—does this little girl have any impression of it?"
"Umm..." Mieruko hesitated for a moment, trying hard to recall. "I do remember... there used to be a lotus pond behind Grandma's house?"
"Yes! The lotus pond!"
The owner excitedly knocked on the pot. "That was a very beautiful lotus pond! I always sat in the pot, sliding slowly to the center of the lake to pick the lotus pods there to eat.
"I would eat all the lotus seeds, leaving only the empty shells and the lotus hearts inside, watching the little brats go back happily and return crestfallen, ho ho ho ha!"
"Boss, you have such a bad heart~" Chika didn't notice anything wrong at all and retorted with a giggle, "But people can't sit inside a pot. There should be a limit to bragging."
"You don't know; my pot can become very, very big~"
The owner and Chika chatted happily, while Mieruko was recalling if she had been tricked by empty lotus pods in her childhood. Only Ruri noticed the anomaly of the person beside her—
Ryu had not spoken a single word since sitting down.
He sat there quietly with a smile on his face, his posture looking relaxed. But the familiar Ruri understood that her Master was actually guarding against something, ready to get up and respond quickly at any time.
Is there something dangerous about this noodle stall?
A trace of suspicion flashed in the maid's heart, but she remained calm on the surface.
Although their group appeared to be just four people and a cat, they were visiting as guests, so it wasn't convenient to make a big fanfare. In reality, there were people protecting them in the dark.
The maid believed that if the noodle stall owner before them made any strange moves, there would be more than one sniper rifle aiming at him from the shadows.
It's just... looking at Ryu's appearance, it didn't seem like he had encountered any danger. It was simply pure tension and alertness, without any intention to make a move—Ruri temporarily put aside her doubts, fearing a misjudgment, and planned to observe Ryu's actions and follow suit.
"How could such a good lotus pond just disappear?" Chika was still chatting there, becoming more and more familiar with the stall owner.
"It can't be helped; residents need to build houses too. That lotus pond was in a position that blocked the construction of roads and houses."
The uncle pulled out a short stick from somewhere and pointed into the distance: "Right there... it's already a building now."
"What a pity~" Chika expressed regret.
"There are too many things to pity. Little girl, you are still young and can't appreciate it yet. You must cherish the things before your eyes properly. Don't wait until they leave you to regret it, understand?"
"Hehe~" Chika smiled nonchalantly. "Of course I know this kind of principle; I don't need you to teach me, Uncle!"
"Mmh~"
"Are there any other fun places in this town? We probably can't stay for two days, so we want to stroll around as much as possible."
"...Not many left." The stall owner became sorrowful when mentioning this. "And there will be fewer and fewer."
"Hmm?"
"Ah, right. Regarding this... let me explain."
Mieruko finally encountered a topic she could participate in. Out of dignity as the host, she began to explain the sequence of events to Chika.
simply put, this land had been contracted by a developer. Planning was currently underway, and construction of various large-scale facilities would likely begin in a year or two—though given Japan's infrastructure efficiency, dragging it out for three or four years wasn't impossible.
"I heard they want to build an amusement park, but some say it's a garbage incineration plant."
"Building an incineration plant in such a beautiful town... An amusement park would be acceptable, though." Chika was puzzled. "Did all the villagers agree? This will affect the surrounding environment, right?"
"I don't know about that." Mieruko shook her head. "I wasn't here when everyone made the decision."
At this moment, Ryu finally spoke: "Presumably, they obtained the consent of the local government and also had the villagers vote on it."
"...I see."
Needless to say, upon hearing the word "vote," Chika nodded with understanding.
"Eh?" Mieruko, on the contrary, was completely confused. "What's going on?"
"This is a very common tactic, Yotsuya-san." Ruri glanced at the owner, who also revealed a curious expression, and then explained to Mieruko: "From a legal perspective, building large-scale facilities around residential areas requires considering the impact on the surrounding environment, undergoing strict reviews from various aspects, and obtaining the residents' consent before construction can begin.
"For example, lighting, water quality, air... These are the legitimate rights and interests of the residents, and contractors cannot infringe upon them at will—in theory."
"In theory?"
"Contracting the same piece of land to build an amusement park versus building a garbage dump gives the residents a completely different perception. The former is far easier to pass through a general assembly than the latter.
"Therefore, first coax the residents with good news, secure the consent forms, and promise compensation money, then negotiate with the government to secure the contracting rights—it's just that, on the formally submitted documents, the project to be built may not necessarily be the one promised to the residents."
"Isn't this fraud?!"
"It's just plans not keeping up with changes."
Ruri smiled as if speaking to a child: "This tactic used to be very common, but now it's slowly becoming less effective, especially as urban planning for large facilities becomes stricter.
"Therefore, many companies would rather spend a bit more on infrastructure costs and are willing to move to the countryside where things are easier to handle."
Because of the declining birthrate and the hollowing out of rural areas, many Japanese villages and towns are dominated by middle-aged and elderly people. These people find it hard to resist the company's propaganda offensive, and after discovering something is wrong, they lack the energy to fight against it.
Plus, having received the compensation money, the matter usually ends up unresolved~
"Won't the government investigate the issues inside?"
"You just need to handle the local councilors."
"It's... that simple?"
"Occasionally, out-of-control situations occur," Ruri said indifferently. "But that would be a problem for the government and the banks. A mature enterprise should learn to control costs and plan for a rainy day."
"This is really..."
"Hey, hey, guests. This 'consent form' and 'contractor' you mentioned just now... Does it mean that as long as you request the land from the Daimyo, you can decide what to build on it?"
Unlike Mieruko, the owner looked very excited.
"In other words, if I don't let them build anything, that is also possible?"
Hoarding land? No one has done that for twenty years!
The first thing Ruri thought of was some long-outdated operation, but looking at the owner's 'wise' eyes... he probably wasn't talking about that.
"It's normal to leave a plot of land for a few years; some can even be left for decades... But when it comes down to it, it depends completely on what agreement is reached with the government."
Speaking of which, you still say Daimyo? Are you a person from the Edo period!
"Government... that's the Shogunate, right?" The owner scratched his ears and cheeks, unable to think of any good solution.
"Umm... actually, just becoming a councilor will do. As long as there is someone who can speak up locally, enterprises can't be unscrupulous either." Chika came up with an idea at this moment.
"Uncle, you should go run for councilor! Haha~"
Councilor? A Daimyo?
—The Soba owner seemed deep in thought.
"How does one do that?"
"You have to stand under the sun every day and spout a bunch of nonsense that even you don't believe in front of many people."
Chika said with a smile: "Being able to do that provides the foundation for climbing up."
"..."
Can't do it!
The owner shook his head: He liked neither the sun nor crowds!
"No good? What a pity. Actually, it's not difficult at all. Several of my relatives do this; once you do it a lot, you get used to it."
The Fujiwara family has been a top-tier noble family since ancient times, with luxuriant foliage and numerous factions.
In modern times, Chika's branch had even produced a Prime Minister. Although her father was currently only a diplomat, according to the ranking, he had a very good chance of becoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs in two terms, which is the so-called "Foreign Minister"—a figure with real power ranking among the top few in Japan.
And among her relatives, there were quite a few councilors and the like... She might not know people wherever she went, but as soon as she announced her family name, she could establish a connection.
"I'm a bit afraid of the sun..."
"Then there's no way!" Chika shook her head decisively.
Being afraid of the sun won't do!
Never mind family status or factions, if you want to be a high official like a councilor or Governor, you must establish a pro-people image. Whether in the scorching summer heat or the howling cold wind, you have to rush to give speeches. Soliciting votes in the rain is a basic operation.
Regarding this point, a certain Prime Minister who gave open-air speeches would have something to say—no matter how high your profile, big shots can't be exempt from vulgar customs!
"Sigh!"
The owner sighed, completely giving up the idea, and said hatefully: "In the final analysis, it's all the developer's fault!"
"Mm-hm!"
"The local Daimyo also has problems!"
"Exactly~"
Chika was just blindly agreeing with him: "I also hate profiting merchants the most!"
"By the way, which company is the contractor?" Ruri asked Mieruko. "Do you know, Yotsuya-san?"
"This... the sign at the construction site seems to say 'New World Heavy Industries.'"
"..."
Hearing this, Ruri blinked her eyelids and subconsciously looked at her own Master, while Ryu also slightly widened his eyes and instinctively straightened his back.
"Merchants are the same everywhere, but the prefectural councilor definitely took some benefits. I'll check it out, hehe~"
Chika turned on her phone and swiped on the search engine—
Suddenly, she wasn't 'hehe-ing' anymore.
"Eh, guests, why aren't you talking anymore?"
"It's nothing... We just think these noodles are quite delicious."
"Delicious, right! My stall is a time-honored brand! Haha~"
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