I was lost in thought when I heard the door open. I worried it might be another visitor, but it was just Pochi, thankfully—though he was holding something in his beak. That’s a pretty big one...
“Whoa! Nice going, Pochi, that’s a yamakagashi! Thanks!” Yumoto-san commended him.
Pochi didn’t come inside, probably because his wings were dirty. Just where were you patrolling?
“My, they really do catch snakes! Pochi-chan, good job!”
The snake was too big for the usual plastic bottles. Yumoto-san led Pochi outside, went over to the shed, and brought a hatchet. I don’t think you can make snake wine from these, so I guess instead of drowning it, he’s just gonna kill it the quick way.
As for what became of it after he gutted it...
“Looks like we’re having tempura tonight.”
“I-I see...”
He said he’d been thorough in removing all the venomous bits—he placed those parts carefully into a bag, which he’d throw out on garbage day.
Pochi went out on patrol again. Such a hard worker. I wanted to see what he was up to, but Katsuragi-san had already finished doing the dishes. She sat down again at the table, leaving me stuck in my seat as a barrier between my two neighbors.
“Thank you for the meal—it was fantastic. I should get going soon,” Aikawa-san said after tea time.
“Oh my... Already? But then, I guess you shouldn’t keep your girlfriend waiting too long. Here, take this.” Machiko-san handed Aikawa-san a package she had prepared with onigiri and tempura vegetables.
“Thank you very much.”
“Next time, tell your girlfriend she’s also welcome.”
“Thank you, I’ll let her know,” Aikawa-san replied with a smile—even though that was most certainly not happening. He was just being polite, of course.
We’d also talked about how Yumoto-san wanted to see Ten-san. After some deliberation, Aikawa-san said, “He’s not always home, so even if you did come, you might not be able to meet him...”
“Is it okay to let him roam free?”
“Oh, he’s still nearby. We have an entire mountain, after all.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“If you let me know a couple of days in advance, I’ll try to do something about it.”
“I’ll go see him after the rainy season ends, then. You’re coming too, right, Shohei?”
“Well, yes, I suppose. I’ll try to bring some crayfish too.”
“Oh, that might help.” The snakes were big into crayfish.
Aikawa-san grabbed the package and stood up. I took a quick glance at Katsuragi-san—she had lowered her gaze. I stood up as well and went outside to see him off, with Yuma next to me.
“Let me know if anything else comes up,” Yumoto-san told him.
“Thank you. I really enjoyed the meal. Please contact Sano-san when you want to come over.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
I waved to Rin-san, and she waved back at me in a stiff motion, which was kind of amusing. After Aikawa-san’s truck drove off, Katsuragi-san came out, looking somewhat spaced out.
“Oh, are you leaving too?”
“Yes, I should get going... I...see Aikawa-san has a girlfriend...”
It seemed she hadn’t caught sight of Rin-san in the passenger seat when she’d arrived. Of course, normally you wouldn’t think that someone stayed behind in the car.
“There was someone in the passenger seat, yeah.” I neither confirmed nor denied the “girlfriend” part.
“To be honest, I’m all about looks, so someone like Aikawa-san is dangerous for me... I should be careful to avoid him.” She was red in the face. “Plus, I fall in love easily, so... Um, anyway, thank you for today...”
“No problem...”
Yeah. Whatever. I know I’m unremarkable anyway. I don’t care whether Katsuragi-san finds me attractive. But still...
Yuma stood by my side and cuddled up to me after Katsuragi-san hurriedly drove away, which helped soothe me.
“Ah, jeez... Thanks, Yuma...”
By the way, just where has Pochi gone off to? As I was petting Yuma, I grew worried and wondered when he’d come back, but it didn’t take long for him to return with yet another yamakagashi. Yumoto-san lavished him with so much praise that he immediately tried to run off again to look for more snakes, but I held on to him. I got a good pecking, naturally, especially after I mentioned how his beak stank. Jerk.
“We’ve got a few people coming over tonight, so I’ll show this to them and discuss what to do about it. Pochi, thanks again.” Yumoto-san was in a really good mood thanks to the snakes. I understand where you’re coming from, but I wish you’d stop praising him, or he’ll get carried away again.
“Pochi, we’re leaving!” I said sternly. I tried to put him in the truck, but he was way too dirty, leaving me no choice but to give him a quick wash using the faucet outside. I scrubbed him with a towel, and we finally left for home. I still had a lot on my mind, though.
“Pochi... You stink...”
Maybe I should’ve made him rinse his mouth too. He was prudent enough to refrain from pecking me while I was driving, but as soon as we got home and I stepped out of the truck, he pecked me again. Why?!
It was all damp everywhere due to the rain. I spent that day checking the house for any humidity-related trouble. I need to remember to let the charcoal dry in the sun next time we get good weather.
The next day, I got a call from Yumoto-san late in the morning.
“Hey, lend me two of your chickens for a while starting tomorrow. Can you come here so we can discuss the details?”
“Okay, I’ll be there.” Not like I’ve got anything better to do in this weather.
“Yuma, can you bring Pochi and Tama here? We’re going to Yumoto-san’s place.”
It didn’t take too long for Yuma to come back with the other two in tow.
I explained to the chickens that two of them would be going on a business trip tomorrow, and that we were going to the Yumotos’ to hear the details, and they all understood and came along. It’s a good thing they’re so dependable. As only two could fit in the passenger seat, I covered the truck bed with a blue tonneau so that one of them could ride under it. At least, that was what I thought would happen, but both Pochi and Tama hopped beneath the tonneau.
“You don’t prefer the passenger seat? There’s room for one more,” I asked them, and Tama pecked me. Why?!
I thought it was good to shake things up, so I decided to bring the Yumotos some jelly candy instead of the usual stuff.
“I see everyone’s here,” said Yumoto-san. “Thanks. Come in. Pochi, you don’t have to go hunting today. I’ll be counting on you starting tomorrow.”
Pochi was just about to run off like he usually does, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard that.
“You can wait in the garden if you want,” I told Pochi.
I got pecked. Again. Whyyyy?! I worried I might have to start looking for new work clothes soon.
“Shohei, you gotta choose your words better.” Yumoto-san laughed. Maybe I do, but that doesn’t justify all the pecking. It hurts, you know.
“I showed the guys from the village the snake Pochi caught yesterday,” he explained. I straightened. The chickens, sitting on the earthen floor, were listening attentively. What a surreal sight.
“He caught two of them in a pretty short span. There’re probably a lot more around.”
“Was the collection that large...?”
“No, no—what I mean is that they released the snakes last spring, and summer is the spawning season for snakes, so we have no idea how many are actually out there.”
“That’s...pretty worrying. Wait, but didn’t that pest control guy pass away more recently than that?”
“They started releasing the snakes when he was still in the hospital—they were told his chances were slim. They said they only started doing it after he died, but that was a lie.”
“That’s awful.”
“Right? Anyway, yamakagashi usually mate before hibernation and spawn in the summer, though not always.”
“Which means it’s almost spawning season, right?”
“Yup... Having a few around is not a big deal, but too many of them is trouble. That’s where the chickens come in. Can you lend them to the villagers for about a month? Of course, they’ll pay you.” He bowed his head, which surprised me.
“Eh? Um, no, don’t worry about the money...”
“I can’t do that.”
“Huh?”
“You gotta do these things properly. The chickens must be doing a great job at keeping your mountain safe. I’m asking you to lend two of them. It goes without saying that this will cause a harder time for you. That’s also included in the money, so you should accept it.”
“Okay...”
He did have a point. Having only one chicken for a whole month would be tough. They would probably be taking turns, but taking them to the village and picking them up every day wasn’t feasible, so they would probably stay at Yumoto-san’s place. I would only bring them home once every few days.
“I need to pay you for their accommodations, then,” I pointed out.
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll be a big help for me too—especially if they eat bugs in the fields. I should be the one paying you, actually.”
“Oh, no...” I scratched my head. I didn’t know he thought so highly of my chickens.
“They’ll get weekends off.” He turned to the chickens. “I know this is sudden, but I’ll be counting on you guys from tomorrow on.”
Pochi clucked loudly. Looks like it’s a deal. I didn’t want to stay until the evening and impose on the Yumotos, so I went home after having tea. Incidentally, the present Aikawa-san had brought them the previous day was a box of sweets from a famous patisserie. Can’t compete with a ladies’ man. No, I’m not jealous or anything.
The old lady also gave me some food to take home and eat for dinner, which I appreciated.
The sum I was offered for a month’s worth of the chickens’ labor was quite respectable. I did protest, saying it was too much, but Yumoto-san persuaded me to accept it. This is probably a one-off thing, but at least I have a notion of the price in case something like this ever happens again. True, you can always negotiate lower, but asking for more can be pretty difficult.
“Shohei, this isn’t just about you. Take the money.”
“Okay, I understand.” I couldn’t argue with that.
I’d happened into a source of extra income, and I figured it was a good time to give some more thought to the chicken vaccines. I mean, I still need to think about it, even without the extra income.
Pochi and Tama would be on duty the next day.