I am a writer in Tokyo

Oshima Kazuya was thinking about a problem.

In fact, this old man is an urban legend, and when they entered the store, he replaced Ju.

So, according to this logic, the person sitting next to him eating was not Ju himself, but a... strange thing.

As for why he said this, the reason was very simple. He had never met Ju who talked so much, especially he would complain about the people of Kansai.

He still doesn't know where Ju is from, but he knows that he has been living in Tokyo since he met him. He used to live with Ito's family, and later when he got better, he started to buy a house in Tokyo.

But this period of time is not that long. For someone who has only lived in Tokyo for a year or two, it is unlikely that he would tell the joke with such dark irony just now.

This is very Tokyo, or rather, very Kanto.

At the same time, Mr. Oshima, who thinks he has rich social experience, has never encountered anyone giving food to someone casually when they have a good chat.

At least in the way he and Boss Ito got along, he had never gotten the upper hand from him. It's not that Boss Ito was not generous enough, but for the Japanese, their thinking would not consider such a way of dealing with things - generous gifts and so on.

The old man is very old, and he always looks lifeless no matter what he does, including the laughter he just had which cost him a lot of physical energy. Now he looks like a flower that wilts in the middle of the day, looking dejected.

However, because of Koma's strange behavior, Oshima Kazuya felt something unusual, or he had a dog's sense of smell - he smelled a story.

He did not choose to wink at Ju, because Ju would not understand, but instead changed his posture to face away from them, so that his ears could better hear the content of their conversation. At the same time, his body direction showed that "he was not interested in this at all."

After resting for a while, the old man seemed to have recovered his strength. He curiously asked Kitajima Koma why he chose his shop.

In his opinion, young people like Kitajima Koma would rarely choose to eat at a shop like his, even if it is just a shop to get by with daily meals.

After saying this, he looked at Oshima Kazuya who was eating nearby. The old man's meaning was very clear. Only elderly people like him would choose this place.

Oshima Kazuya answered in his heart, because he has a story, but it is obvious that he did not see the old man pointing at him. If he knew, he would probably criticize this urban legend old man in his heart.

Ju thought about it, his eyes quite serious, he looked straight at the old man: "Maybe I prefer old shops. I always think that old shops have a lot of heritage. No matter where they are, they are far superior to other shops."

He saw the old man's eyes light up, but he didn't say this just to take care of the old man's emotions: "The attitude towards cooking determines the nature of the food, otherwise it is just a large aggregate of energy. I think you are a person who takes cooking seriously, boss."

The old man was very happy after saying this, and even danced with joy as if he had met a close friend. He felt that he had met someone who understood him.

He suddenly started chattering about how he processed the ingredients and how he cooked the oden sauce, and even talked about where the kelp he used came from.

"Obviously, this is not what I want to hear." Oshima Kazuya was drinking the soup from his portion of oden, feeling like he was waiting for someone to keep him in suspense but the other person died halfway.

The old man kept talking, and his logic didn't seem very strong. But when he mentioned that this pot of soup had been boiled since the store first opened, Oshima Kazuya's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Actually, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about this matter." The old man moved a chair from the innermost compartment and sat opposite Ju, next to the two big pots.

Ju was a little worried that his saliva would enter the old soup and become an ingredient that was not very important but would always be there.

But it was clear that they didn't need to worry about this matter. The old man took out a mask from somewhere and put it on: "I pay a lot of attention to hygiene. I usually don't chat with customers, and I also ask customers to stay as far away from these two pots as possible when talking."

He looked as if he was still uneasy, and after thinking for a while he finally closed the lids on the two bites.

"My father is not a native of Tokyo, but he made a decision that went against his ancestors. He sold all his properties in the countryside and bought a small house in Tokyo." The old man pointed to the ground and then to the sky. Ju knew that he was talking about this house.

"After arriving in Tokyo, my father started looking for a job. He didn't have any education, and neither did I, so he could only work as a laborer. But at that time, working as a laborer could still provide enough food and clothing. So our family lived a fairly normal life. Although it was not as comfortable as living in the countryside, we were still in the fascinating city of Tokyo."

Ju didn't interrupt, but just listened quietly and occasionally responded.

The old man went on to say, "But people will eventually grow old. When my father lost his strength, and I myself have a weak constitution, the question of survival seems to have once again become our most urgent problem to solve."

"At that time, there was no other way except to work as a laborer, so what could we do? Going back to the countryside was impossible. The Tokyo people who were high and mighty in the eyes of others once again returned in disgrace. So, the family decided that if they really couldn't hold on any longer, they would die in Tokyo."

The old man had a very calm attitude towards the word death. Even though his face was full of wrinkles and grooves, he still thought it was very normal.

"At that time, we really lived every day as if it were our last. Until one day, when the whole family could no longer hold on, we ran into obstacles everywhere and could not even afford to eat, my father cried and told everyone that he wanted to die. He was very incompetent and if there was an afterlife, he hoped that they would not come looking for him because he would definitely be retaliated against."

"He got a stove and a pot from somewhere. He said that after we drink this bowl of soup, we can lie down at home. When the carbon inside burns to a certain degree, we will die without knowing it and without pain."

The old man's eyes were dim... (End of this chapter)