Chapter 8: Continuing the Story
The Four Islands, also known as the Four Island Chain, were originally called Iyo no Nimanoshima (Iyo Nimanoshima) in ancient times, later shortened to Iyo Island (Iyo-shu) and Nimanoshima (Nima-shu). According to Japan's administrative divisions, they include Tokushima Prefecture (Awa), Kagawa Prefecture (Sanuki), Ehime Prefecture (Iyo), and Kochi Prefecture (Tosa). (All belonging to the Nansei region of the Gokinan Shichido administrative division), due to the presence of four countries, it has been modernly referred to as the Four Islands.
In Japan's tobacco production, apart from Kyushu, the focus is on the tobacco industry in the Four Islands.
No wonder the butcher could smell the flavor from those tobacco leaves. After all, tobacco is grown from the soil, and both the leaves and the strands carry a trace of the original land.
Zhou Lin took out two more packs of cigarettes from his body, along with the ones on the table, and handed them to the butcher: "Keep these! If you miss home, have a smoke."
The butcher took the cigarettes, and his expression softened.
At this moment, he truly accepted Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin raised his glass: "Sato Saburo. From Hokkaido."
The butcher raised his cup: "Oshima Masao. From the Four Islands."
They both tilted their heads back, downing the sake in their cups in one gulp.
Zhou Lin wiped his mouth and spoke in Japanese: "That was refreshing!"
The butcher (Oshima Masao) also in Japanese said: "This is the only time in three years that I can drink like this."
Zhou Lin picked up the sake bottle, filled Oshima's cup, and filled his own. "Oshima-sama! You are a hero of the Yamato people. I salute you."
Oshima and Zhou Lin drank another bowl. After four bowls, a bottle of sake was gone.
Oshima brought two more.
Zhou Lin said: "We can't drink more. You still have to open your shop."
Oshima put away the sake: "Alright! We'll continue drinking tonight, and then we can rest after getting drunk."
Oshima went out to sell meat, while Zhou Lin lay in the room next to Oshima's bedroom.
At this moment, he had successfully infiltrated.
This made Zhou Lin excited.
However, after the excitement, there was worry.
The expression Oshima had when looking at those wounded soldiers earlier was filled with suspicion.
Also, the arrangement of Oshima's room.
When Zhou Lin came to this room, he had seen the adjacent room. He saw a straw mat.
There was a bed, so why use a straw mat?
That's because the owner of the house didn't have a bed at all and preferred to sleep on the floor. The straw mat was spread on the ground.
Japan is a world-renowned island nation with a very high population density, so the Japanese have a unique sleeping culture. In Japan, there is a habit called "Japanese-style sleep," which is sleeping on the floor. Many Japanese people like to lay a mattress or futon on the floor and sleep on it. This way of sleeping is very different from the way Westerners use beds, but it is a traditional culture of the Japanese.
Sleeping on the floor also helps maintain a relaxed and comfortable lifestyle. Sleeping on a simple mattress or the ground at home allows people to relax and feel at ease.
In addition, sleeping on the floor helps regulate body temperature and health. Japan has large climate variations, with cold and humid weather. In Japanese-style sleep, the mattress is thick and warm, making users feel warm and comfortable, and avoiding problems of freezing or overheating.
Zhou Lin analyzed that Oshima still slept on the floor every day.
However, the room Oshima gave Zhou Lin didn't have a straw mat.
No straw mat but a bed.
This was like giving Zhou Lin a choice.
Sleep on the bed? Or sleep on the ground.
Zhou Lin immediately made a choice. Of course, he would sleep on the ground.
If Zhou Lin slept on the bed, it would indicate that Zhou Lin's previous habit was to sleep on a bed. Then Zhou Lin's identity would be obvious.
If Zhou Lin, without a straw mat, still chose to sleep on the ground, then he was a person who had a long-term habit of sleeping on the ground.
Zhou Lin took the quilt from the bed and laid it out on the ground.
After setting it up, Zhou Lin lay down on the ground.
Before crossing, Zhou Lin slept on a hard bed, and the original owner also liked to sleep on a hard bed. Therefore, Zhou Lin didn't feel uncomfortable sleeping on the hard ground. And soon, he fell asleep.
In his dreams, Zhou Lin felt someone sneaking a glance.
It wasn't until the knock on the door woke him up that Zhou Lin rubbed his eyes and opened the door.
When he slept, Zhou Lin bolted the door.
After opening the door, Oshima smiled and said, "You slept for quite a long time."
Zhou Lin's room was relatively dark, so when Oshima entered, he turned on the light.
Upon waking up, Zhou Lin wasn't sure how long he had slept.
"How long did I sleep?"
"It should be about seven hours. It's already seven in the evening."
Zhou Lin stretched: "Slept for so long. But when people relax, they tend to fall asleep easily."
Oshima admitted to this statement: "I've never slept as comfortably as you did."
Zhou Lin nodded: "This is behind enemy lines. Being able to sleep well is unusual."
Oshima said: "I've prepared dinner; let's go eat."
Zhou Lin remembered something, took out a small package from his body, and handed it to Oshima.
"What's this?"
Zhou Lin smiled: "How long has it been since you received your funding?"
Oshima was stunned, thought for a moment, and said, "When I came here three years ago, I was given a hundred taels. I used fifty-five taels to buy this house. Spent another ten taels to renovate it and bought all the necessities. On the first day of business, I only had ten taels."
Zhou Lin asked, "How's business?"
"It's okay! I can earn ten francs a day."
"Ten francs a day, three hundred francs a month. Not bad."
"It's not that simple. Every month, I have to hand over a hundred francs to the gang. Living expenses are another hundred francs. If I can save up, it's only a hundred francs. If there's an unexpected situation, there's nothing left to earn."
Zhou Lin pointed to the cloth package and said, "Your funding, a thousand francs, plus three hundred yen."
Oshima opened the small cloth package, looked inside, took out the yen, and said, "This thing is dangerous. If someone sees it, it will bring me trouble."
Zhou Lin didn't understand: "In that case, just give more francs."
"You don't understand! This money is useful."
"Oh! Can you explain?"
"Since you'll be on this path in the future, I'll tell you."
"Thank you!"
Oshima whispered, "This money is used to buy people."
Zhou Lin's heart moved, but his expression didn't change: "Buy people? Can't you use francs?"
"Francs work, of course! In these three years, I've been using francs. But the yen is better. Those who have family or relatives in the empire have to pay the price to exchange francs for yen and then give the yen to their family to use."
Zhou Lin pretended not to know: "Qingdao can remit yen to Tokyo."
"Qingdao can! What place is that? It's the territory of the empire. Shanghai won't work. It's controlled by the Nationalist government, strictly restricting the free remittance of foreign currencies. Especially yen is under the strictest control."