Chapter 11 3

Masahiko found out about this incident two months after he came here to take office, in other words, it was an early morning in June. Akiko has been in good health since moving here.The hyperventilation never flared up, and I wasn't as moody as I used to be.Probably the work of translation gave her a sense of accomplishment.Perhaps focusing on something can lock in psychogenic diseases. Under Akiko's stimulation, Masahiko also started a new daily class.Although I don't expect to join the team anymore, I hope to at least get back to my former self, so I decided to jog and exercise an hour before going to work.

Masahiko is used to getting up early (because there is absolutely no place to spend the night), so he can make good use of this time.Go out at 6:30, run to the hill where there is a strange iron pillar mentioned last time, stretch the whole body or practice swinging (he left the bat in the warehouse of the town council, but it never disappeared), exercise the whole body After sweating profusely, I went home to take a shower at 7:30, and then had a leisurely breakfast with Akiko.I go out around 8:20, and I can easily go to work in time. After living such a healthy life for a month, I lost three kilograms easily, and my body has recovered. I feel good about everything I eat, and I sleep very well at night.

It might be a good thing to be blinked here. This morning, when Masahiko rushed up the slope as usual, he couldn't help but think so. Even in June, Jiujiuli Town is still cool, even slightly chilly in the morning. After a while, he ran to the dizang nunnery, and then rushed up the hill.Stopping suddenly is not good for your health, so Masahiko walked towards the center of the square while adjusting his breath. At this time, he suddenly found someone who arrived earlier than himself in a corner of the square. While running, I often meet elderly people walking, and Masahiko doesn’t know any of them, but everyone will take the initiative to say hello, so I also say hello to them.In this way, there are already four or five old people who can be called familiar faces.

But Masahiko never met anyone in this square.Although he thinks this should be an excellent walking route, the old man is obviously not interested. Perhaps the slope to Jizang Temple is a bit too steep. The person who arrived first seemed to be an old woman.From a distance, she can be seen with beautiful silver hair, and a white woolen coat on top of a brown skirt.She was standing right in front of the iron pillar, her shoulders drooping and her head bowed, looking troubled. Huh?No way! Going a little closer, Masahiko found a white rope wrapped around the old woman's neck.Masahiko couldn't help but stop, as if his feet were suddenly nailed by darts.

He narrowed his eyes and studied it carefully. The old woman's neck was strangely long, and there was a white rope around her neck.The white rope extends upwards and is knotted in a ring at the top of the inverted L-shaped iron post. Yayan suddenly felt the cold air on the ground crawl up from the soles of his feet.He stood there blankly, squeezed out a few words from his dry throat, and didn't know who to say to. Hang yourself! He approached cautiously from behind and confirmed again.That's right, the old woman hanged herself from the iron pillar! Masahiko's mind suddenly went blank, and his heart beat much faster than when he was running.He desperately resisted the urge to scream, and quietly stretched out his hand to the old woman hanging in front of him from behind, because he thought maybe the wife was still angry.

(Is it really hopeless?) When he touched the smooth and cold back of the old woman's hand, there was a sudden strong pulsation from his fingertips.Masahiko was sure she was still alive. Put her down now!But the knot tied to the top of the iron post was too tight to untie due to the weight of the old woman. Or cut faster! Masahiko rushed into the town hall's warehouse.Because he remembered that when he went in and out to get the bat privately, he saw several scythes inside.Masahiko rushed into the warehouse, grabbed the sickle and immediately returned to the old woman, and cut the rope from the knot to the middle of the neck.

The old woman's body immediately fell, and she fell straight forward. Masahiko quickly supported the old woman with her arms.Her body was stiff and heavy like a doll carved from roughwood, and her face was heavily made up.An extremely unnatural strong perfume smell came straight to the tip of the nose. Masahiko let the old lady lie on the grass. Sure enough, he was dead. It seemed that there was still a pulse at the fingertips just now, but it was probably his own pulse that was beating.Not only was I healthy, but my pulse was beating faster than usual. It must be my desire to save others in time that led to this illusion.

(Who must be notified immediately.) Masahiko never brought his mobile phone with him when exercising, so he rushed down the slope to find someone for help. Masahiko started to run, but stopped after running a few feet. He walked slowly back to the old woman, took off his sports coat and covered her face.No matter how old you are, a woman is a woman after all, and she definitely doesn't want her face to be seen after death, Ya Yan thinks so. Masahiko rushed down the slope, and rushed directly to the bungalow in front of the Jizo Temple.The main entrance of the house is a large glass door, and there is also a signboard of Tianzhong's furniture store.Masahiko knocked on the glass door.The curtain, which was light brown due to the sunlight, was opened, and a bald old man poked his face out.

Excuse me, let me borrow your phone. What the hell happened? The old man let Masahiko enter the house without any doubt.The business of the stationery store seemed to have ceased for a long time. Inside the glass door was a spacious space with no floor, and only two bicycles were placed there. Masahiko quickly told him that an old lady in the square had hanged herself. Was it a man or a woman who hanged himself? It's an old lady. Is there anyone else here? No, no one else was there. The old man didn't seem particularly shocked, but nodded solemnly to Masahiko.The composure of that attitude is really a bit unnatural.

The old man fetched the phone from the floor inside. Hello, is the town council president? Ya Yan was puzzled when he heard this sentence.I thought he would definitely call the police station, but I didn't expect him to call the town council chairman Nagano first.What is he thinking? No problem, just tell him and he'll take care of everything and bring the police with him. The old man who used to run a stationery store put the phone back where it was, and at the same time said this to Masahiko, as if he had seen through Masahiko's doubts at a glance. Maybe that's the way things are handled in this area.But no matter how the countryside is, it shouldn't be such a big circle.

Are you new here?I've been running here a lot lately.The old man lit a cigarette while speaking calmly. It seemed that someone hanged himself was completely innocuous to him. (It's better for me to stay at the scene until someone arrives.) Masahiko thought so, bowed his head to the old man who wanted to chat for a while, and walked out. Back in the square, I found a girl squatting next to the old woman's body.Seeing this unexpected figure, Masahiko couldn't help but stop.The girl looked up when she saw someone approaching. Isn't this Miss Mihashi? Yahiko was shocked.Because in front of him was Tomoe Mitsuhashi who worked at his own office.She tied her long hair into a ponytail and wore glasses. Was this covered by the deputy director for grandma?Thank you very much.Chie slightly raised the sports coat covering the dead body and said.You are so considerate, grandma must be very happy. Huh?that is you Yahiko couldn't speak anymore.If it's Zhihui's grandma, isn't it the old woman I met when I was walking in this town for the first time? Masahiko carefully looked at the face of the old woman on the ground. (Is that what the old woman looks like?) Masahiko tried hard to recall the scene of their first encounter, but couldn't remember clearly.The appearance of the corpse in front of him was too impressive to be taken away from it. Deputy Director, I would like to ask for two or three days of funeral leave starting today. That's absolutely fine. Grandmother committed suicide, Zhihui's reaction was too calm.Luckily she still had tears in her eyes. Good morning Mr. Muto. Masahiko was describing to Zhihui how her grandmother's body was found, when a greeting came from behind him.Turning around, it turned out that the president of the town council and a policeman wearing glasses and uniform were climbing up the steep slope. I heard that Mr. Muto was very nervous when he found out, right?This is Police Officer Nonomura from the police station. Please advise. The older police officer solemnly took off his hat under the introduction of the chairman of the town council. Ah, Zhihui said so, today is your grandma.The president walked towards the body and said. Zhihui continued to sit next to her grandmother, but nodded slightly. (Did he just say today?) The words blurted out by the chairman of the town council attracted Masahiko's attention. He did mean today. today today. What he meant was, does this kind of thing happen often in this small town? Masahiko wanted to confirm with the chairman of the town council, but he was squatting next to Chie and whispering to her.Masahiko only hears waka paper, how about it?But don't understand it at all. Then please describe the situation when you found it. The police officer asked so, so Masahiko repeated what he had just said to Zhihui.The police officer seemed to have no intention of taking notes, but nodded as he listened. So, did Mr. Muto think that the deceased was still alive, so he cut the rope with a sickle to save her?After Masahiko finished the ins and outs, the police officer asked him seriously. Yes. Maybe you think I shouldn't destroy the scene?But as long as it is a human, no matter who it is, it should be like this.If you are punished for this, you must make a serious protest. After putting the granny down, he put his own sports coat over the dead man's face, is that right? Can't this work? No, no, you are very young, but you handle it very well.The police officer said calmly. Masahiko felt strange to be praised in such a strange way. I also think you must be very kind. Probably because he heard the conversation between himself and the police officer, the chairman of the town council said so in retrospect.A gratified smile appeared on his face, however, there was an old lady whose neck was strangled by a rope, after all, lying beside his feet This scene is really weird, Masahiko thought. I arrived at the company two hours late that day. Although the director said that it is okay to ask for leave, it is always not good to have two people in the office ask for leave at the same time (one of them is of course Tomoe Mitsuhashi), even though the office is very idle. You are really good and very responsible. Seeing that Masahiko still came to work, the director praised him like this.Why do you always get compliments at strange times today? The business office is also normal. Although most of the employees live in Jiujiuli Town, the suicide of Zhihui's grandmother has not become a topic of discussion. (How weird.) Masahiko couldn't help being so puzzled while dealing with the unhurried work on the table. There should be at least a whisper at a time like this, no? Why on earth did he commit suicide? I don't know if there is a suicide note? Must be health issues or relationship troubles? It stands to reason that everyone should raise such speculations or unsubstantiated news one after another.Although this kind of behavior shouldn't be done, everyone can't help discussing it enthusiastically, isn't it generally the case? Or was it the characteristic baseness of urbanites, who were too virtuous to make another's misfortune a subject of idle chatter? If you think about it from another angle, let’s think of it like this.But having said that, wouldn't it be too indifferent to not express concern to Mitsuhashi Tomoe at all?My colleague's grandmother obviously chose an abnormal way of death, but she still pretends not to know? (no, still say) Masahiko suddenly thought of a possible situation. (Will they have a normal reaction when I'm not around?) By the way, maybe they haven't regarded themselves as friends yet, but also regarded me, the young boss transferred from the city, as a guest. Thinking about it this way made me feel even more uneasy.Masahiko didn't want to face the work on the table anymore, so he got up and went to the bathroom, and went to the repair department to have a look. A video projector was placed on a workbench-like table. The artist Momoi was taking it apart, and another repairman seemed to be out for service. Momoi should be over forty years old, but still unmarried, living in Kukuri Town with his elderly mother.This burly man weighing more than 100 kilograms has a very gentle personality, which reminds people of elephants in zoos. How is it going?Masahiko asked nonchalantly. No big deal you see, take it out. Momoi said and put a small building block played by a child on the table.As soon as he took it, the building block appeared even smaller. When there are young children in the house, projector failures are usually due to these things. In addition, there are monsters and things that look like toy parts when you buy candy, and there are four items in total. I see.Children find it amusing to stuff anything into the mouth of the cassette. Because they are all stuffed when adults are not paying attention, so parents will not find out.As a result, the machine is stuck and cannot be loaded or unloaded. Masahiko saw the words on the repair sheet: The video tape could not be taken out, and there was sound inside when shaking.The sound was actually the sound of toys hitting inside, but the customer must have thought it was the sound of machine parts malfunctioning. ah!This model is really nostalgic. Masahiko was familiar with the projector that Momoi was repairing. Not long after joining the company, Masahiko went to various electrical appliance stores as an intern.At that time, this model was just launched, and that was more than ten years ago.When I was promoting this type of machine, I never dreamed that I would be transferred to such a remote countryside. Miss Mihashi's grandma is so pitiful. Masahiko brought up the topic nonchalantly.Momoi apparently paused for a few seconds in assembling the projector. Although I don't know why she committed suicide, but there is no need to go to a dead end.Are you right? Masahiko's view on suicide is simple: as long as there is something good to do in life, suicide is the most stupid no matter what the situation is. This is how he viewed suicide since he was a child. After Masahiko finished speaking, Momoi looked at Masahiko with his small eyes, with a hesitant expression. That's because the deputy director just moved to this small town. Momoi stared at him for a while before saying this, and then turned his gaze back to the projector. It's sad.Is there something wrong with this? Sorry, I do not have it. Masahiko felt that Momoi's attitude seemed a little displeased.It sounded as though suicide was not a bad thing in this small town. Momoi refused to let go, trying to focus on the projector, as if she didn't want to talk to herself anymore.After Masahiko said some words of consolation, he was about to leave the repair department. Deputy director Masahiko had just put his hand on the doorknob when Momoi finally spoke.Are you going to the wake tonight? Of course, I have to go. Then, please ask the chairman of the town council when the time comes. It's the town council president again!Is that person the ruler of the whole town? Just ask him what Waka Paper is.Momoi said. Waka paper? After he mentioned it, Masahiko remembered that he seemed to have heard this term when the president of the town council and Tomoe Mihashi were talking next to the corpse this morning. Just ask him that, and you'll understand. Momoi just said that, and then returned to the work of repairing the projector. Masahiko glanced at the wall clock on the wall.Just now Zhihui called to inform her that her grandmother's wake will be held at seven o'clock. (What the hell is it, waka paper?) Masahiko looked at the second hand of the quartz clock, wondering. Masahiko leaves work on time.While driving, the phone rang.Because different settings have different ringtones for incoming calls, you don't have to answer it to know it's Akiko calling.Masahiko parked the car on the shoulder of the road and picked up the phone. Xiao Yan, I have to go out to attend the wake. Why?Wouldn't it be better if we go together? The lady next door invited me to go with me.She said that female friends should go to help first.To be honest, I don't want to go first, but I have to. She was right.Mitsuhashi Tomoe is his subordinate, since it is the practice of the town council, he must participate.Masahiko recalled that his mother had asked him to remember that if he didn't understand the rules of weddings and funerals, he would attract ten times more disgust than usual. no problem?They're all people I don't know. It's okay, I'll always cling to the lady next door. That's good.If you don't understand something, ask the lady next door.Have my funeral clothes out for me? It's all taken out for you.Then I'm going out. After Masahiko hung up the phone, he went back on the road.I remember that all the funerals of my grandmother were handed over to the funeral home, and the place was also in the funeral home, and the meals were all settled by a phone call, so I didn’t even have to worry about the funeral of my loved ones.But in this rural place, the situation may be very different. Finally, he drove into the road near his home.The hill where the wife hanged herself is within sight on the left.It was pitch black around there, so the iron pillar was also hidden in the darkness. (I really hope I don't see that iron post again for a while.) The daily exercise program that I have finally gotten used to, I am afraid that I will have to change it starting tomorrow.Try not to get too close to that area. Thinking about it this way, the scene of the old woman hanging herself reappeared in front of her eyes. The small bench that fell at her feet seemed to have been stored in the warehouse.It was a wooden bench with four legs, like a platform for a mikoshi, and it also seemed to directly enlarge the wooden platform for birds to perch.Zhihui's grandmother seemed to be standing on the small bench, stepping her feet, and then stretched her neck into the rope ring. Hey, wait a minute!Masahiko was talking to himself while driving. She could step on the bench and put her neck into the rope loop, but could she have tied the rope to the top of the iron post beforehand? The height of the iron pillar is 230 centimeters, the small bench is at most 30 centimeters, and the height of the old lady should be less than 150 centimeters.Deduct fifty centimeters, no matter how hard you stretch your hand, you won't be able to touch it, right?Not to mention the hunchbacked old lady who had to rely on Zhihui to support her when she was walking. Now when I think about it, I wonder why I didn't notice it before. Yes, it is impossible for the old lady to tie the rope to the top of the iron post by herself.Someone else must have tied it for her. Who is it?