National Tide 1980.

Chapter 930
The Japanese celebrate the New Year, which is New Year's Day.

In addition to the difference between the New Year's Eve and the Chinese New Year, many customs and habits are also different.

For example, the habit of eating dumplings and glutinous rice balls in Chinese New Year is not found in Japan.

On New Year's Eve, the Japanese must eat "New Year's Eve Soba Noodles".

There are two points in the picture. One is that the buckwheat noodles are thin and long, which symbolizes longevity.

The second is that soba noodles are not elastic and can be easily cut.

It also symbolizes a clean break with the misfortune and unhappiness encountered in the past year.

Therefore, "New Year's Eve Soba" is also a bowl of "heartbroken noodles" for many people who have lost their love.

Chinese New Year is also to "forget the year".

For another example, on New Year’s Eve, one of the must-watch TV programs for Japanese is the Red and White Song Concert of NHK TV.

Unlike the Spring Festival Gala, which was just a few years after the rise of China, the Red and White Song Festival has been held every year since 1951 and has a long history.

And there are no cross talks, sketches, operas, juggling, or dance performances, just a pure singing competition between the red group and the white group.

In addition, the Red and White Song Festival is broadcast live in the NHK concert hall every year. The [-] viewers who watch the program are not officials or celebrities, but just ordinary audiences.

They were finally selected to participate in the Red and White Song Festival through their own registration and lottery.

Also, when the New Year comes, our Chinese like to set off firecrackers and fireworks, but the Japanese do not have this habit.

Japanese people go to temples to listen to the New Year's bell, or to visit shrines and shrines.

Respecting the sky is deeply ingrained in Japanese New Year culture.

Even today, this tradition is still preserved in major cities in Japan.

And because since ancient times, the Japanese have divided life into "formal" and "everyday" occasions.

Traditional festivals of the year and rites of passage are considered "formal" occasions, and ordinary life outside of this is considered "everyday" occasions.

During the New Year, the official holiday period from January 1 to January 1 is considered a "formal occasion".

So regardless of adults and children mostly dressed up, women also wear kimonos.

Even when they officially go to work on January 1, young women still wear kimonos.

These are very different from our customs of celebrating the Spring Festival in China.

Of course, having said that, since China and Japan are separated by a narrow strip of water, Japanese culture is deeply influenced by Chinese civilization.

In the culture of celebrating the New Year, it is inevitable to follow many traditional Chinese elements.

First of all, the Japanese also eat rice cakes, and they have to prepare hearty New Year dishes.

Just like our New Year's Eve, we have to prepare a sumptuous and festive New Year's Eve dinner to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Rice cakes symbolize "every year is high", fish and vegetables imply "every year is more than enough", pickled meat with preserved vegetables imply "fullness", pig ears imply "smooth and smooth", and pig tongues imply "to attract wealth and treasure".

The Japanese will also prepare "Osechi dishes" of the same nature to celebrate the New Year and bring good luck.

Japanese "Osechi Cuisine" is said to have originated in China and is a dish prepared to welcome the "Nian God".

It not only brings together all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas, but also has bright colors and balanced nutrition.

And the Japanese all believe that the Nian God will bring everyone New Year's blessings.

For example, Japanese rice cakes represent tenacity and hope, black beans mean "hard work", chestnut sweet potato mash means "prosperous fortune", "date roll" means "success in studies", etc.

Secondly, even the Japanese also want to give money to their children.

The Japanese call the pressed money "お年玉", which is the same as the original intention of our Chinese to suppress evil spirits and help children celebrate the New Year safely.

The Japanese money is also regarded as a gift from the "Nian God" to children.

Because it is contaminated with air, it can make children healthy, auspicious and safe in the new year.

In addition, whether it is a rich family or a poor family, the standard for Japanese families to distribute money to their children is almost uniform.

It is about [-] yen for high school students, and [-] yen for junior high school students and below.

Moreover, after Japanese children receive "Nianyu", they will also be confiscated by their parents under various names.

As for the last point of similarity, every new year is a day for parents to ask their children of marriageable age "when will they get married". This point also has the same origin as China and Japan.

So for Matsumoto Keiko, the New Year has gradually become an important "pass" that makes her very entangled.

At this time and this season, her "fear of marriage" is particularly prominent, which is in sharp contrast with her parents' impatient "urging marriage".

Even at this time of year, when even her mother sided with her father, making an alliance of unanimity, it was even more of a headache for her.

Although on December 12st she was able to avoid her parents' accusation by virtue of her performance on the TV station, but on January 31st she couldn't escape anything.

Had to face such admonitions from my mother.

"You're going to be 34 years old this year. If you're not married, you might have a child at 40. When you get older, everything will only be harder. And the longer you delay, the greater the risk you may face..."

Or a similar accountability from the father.

"Look at the neighbor's so-and-so, the youngest daughter is in kindergarten, and she is about your age. I really don't understand, such ordinary girls are all married. Why haven't you met a suitable partner yet? Don't look too high, the most important thing for a man is character..."

To be honest, in the face of my father's unhappy lesson, and my mother's insinuation and sighing, even the best New Year's mood will be bleak, I really can't afford it.

In the past few years, Matsumoto Keiko could only pass this test by pretending to be deaf or dumb, or by working diligently.

Her principle is that you can control me or urge me, but whether you urge you or not is my business.

But the problem is that as the age increases, the parents become more and more nagging, and they love to take this matter more and more seriously.

This made her more and more painful.

In recent years, she almost wanted to go home for the New Year, but she couldn't do it if she didn't go back.

After all, the father and daughter rarely see each other, and the days when the whole family of three can really sit together are only a few days during the New Year every year.

Keiko Matsumoto didn't want to bear the charge of unfilial piety, and couldn't bear to make her parents sad, so she had to wrong herself, keep smiling in the suffering, and accept the spiritual whipping.

But this year, things have changed again.

Because of the appearance of Ning Weimin in her life, Keiko Matsumoto seemed to feel that her parents' words were not so heart-wrenching.

She even listened to some words, and even vaguely felt that there was some truth to them.

So the smile she showed to her parents became much more sincere, and her attitude was not as perfunctory as before.

But because of this, she missed Ning Weimin even more.

Since the morning, I always go to the entrance to call when people are not paying attention, hoping to get a reply from Ning Weimin.

And her anxiety shifted from bearing the pressure of her parents to urge her to marry to the fact that Ning Weimin didn't respond.

As a result, around five o'clock in the afternoon, I finally received a call back from Ning Weimin as I wished, but what I didn't expect was that Ning Weimin was still sick.

She didn't think about it at all, she just succumbed to her emotions, immediately became worried, and couldn't wait to visit him immediately.

Because it was Chinese New Year, she was wearing a gorgeous kimono today, so she didn't drive a car, and immediately called a taxi service.

After that, I went to say goodbye to my parents.

The excuse she made was that a foreign actor friend came to Tokyo.

For the sake of career, I have to socialize and meet up.

Then she didn't even eat dinner at home, she just went to the kitchen to bring some food in a food box and set off.

Only the dumbfounded parents were left at home looking at each other, muttering for a while.

"Really, why did you leave without eating dinner? This kid didn't even stay at home enough for a day..."

"It's not because you spoiled her. You can do whatever you want since you were a child. You have more ideas than men, and you have never listened to me..."

"How can you blame me? Don't you know who your daughter's stubborn temper is like?"

"According to what you say, I should be blamed?"

"Isn't this a matter of course. You are a man who can chatter better than me and a woman. My daughter was obviously stimulated by your words today, so she left. Think about it, don't foreigners celebrate the New Year? 1 The 1st is an international holiday, right? Who would bother anyone on such a day? Obviously an excuse."

"Hmph, how can this kind of thing be blamed on me? What's more, who am I doing it for? It's because you moaned and sighed all day long, so I said a few more words. Speaking of it, the daughter's marriage is obviously the responsibility of the mother." Responsible. I want to ask you, what have you done for your daughter? "

"Aren't I doing enough? Even recently, I've been looking for a blind date for my daughter. It's only because your trading company doesn't have a good subordinate..."

"What? What is this called! My business company has more than 100 people. Young people who don't have a family are at least sixty or seventy? Have you read the information?"

"What's the use of having a lot of people? I just want a son-in-law who is not ugly, not short, not too educated, and not too capable, but I don't even have one. Either it's not good here, or that deficiency, even me If you don't like it, how can you tell Qingzi?"

"Oh, you, you, how can you be so picky? I'm afraid there are no men in the world who are qualified."

"Nonsense, I think the congressman surnamed Maeda in the news is pretty good. And the prosecutor who handled the Osaka live-broadcast murder case last summer seems to be okay..."

"Don't be ashamed to say such things. I think my daughter is always living in an unrealistic dream because of your influence..."

"Oh, is our Qingzi bad? The most beautiful female star in Japan, shouldn't she marry well?"

"She's a 34-year-old woman!"

"What's the matter? Even a 20-year-old girl is not as pretty as her."

"What's the use of being beautiful? Women want to have children. No matter what, you can't compare with young girls in this aspect..."

"Ah! How could anyone say that about his daughter? Did he curse her that she would not be able to have children? No wonder her daughter has no relationship with you, and you are too cruel."

"Where is this saying! I'm just telling the truth, not to mention not in front of her..."

"That's not okay, that's not what a father should say. Bah, bah, bah..."

I don't know what's going on at home, and I don't know that my parents are messing with me.

After getting into the back seat of the taxi, Keiko Matsumoto just handed the note to the driver anxiously and put the food box on her lap.

Want to rush to the location where she recorded the address.

The address Ning Weimin told her was not Ginza, which was different from what Ning Weimin had said in her memory.

But she doesn't care.

She didn't even want to think about whether Ning Weimin lied to her, but was just worried about his body and wanted to get over as soon as possible.

So much so that the driver recognized her and frequently looked at her from the rearview mirror along the way, always trying to find an excuse to talk to her.

She also turned a blind eye and was indifferent.

It has to be said that the traffic on the streets on the first day of the new year is obviously much less than usual.

Perhaps because the driver was distracted along the road, the taxi ran through a few red lights, and it took only 10 minutes to reach Akasaka.

When the taxi turned around the Akasaka Subway Station and began to turn into the side road along the wide street, the apartment was already in sight.

And here it is even more silent.

A few minutes later, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the car came to a complete stop.

The driver said softly from the driver's seat, "This is the apartment, here you are."

Keiko Matsumoto looked out the window and could tell that it was a high-end apartment.

At this time, she was a little surprised, she didn't expect Ning Weimin to live in such a high-end place.

So I couldn't help asking the driver again.

"Aren't you mistaken? Is this here?"

"It can't be wrong. I know this place very well and come here often." The driver said firmly.

"Well, how much is it?" Matsumoto Keiko no longer doubted.

"[-] yen." The driver tried his best to show the meter to Matsumoto Keiko.

And Matsumoto Keiko paid the fare in a hurry without looking at the meter at all.

But just as he was about to open the door and leave, the driver begged again.

"Matsumoto... Are you Ms. Matsumoto? Can you sign me? Since today is the New Year..."

Only then did Keiko Matsumoto realize that the driver was her fan.

Seeing his shy look, Keiko Matsumoto even understood that it was not easy for this driver to summon up courage.

After thinking about it, it was inconvenient to refuse, so I had to sign him with a pen and paper.

And a good person did it to the end, she even asked the driver's name, and patiently wrote the words thank you for the service and "Congratulations to the New Year".

For this reason, the driver was overjoyed, then collected his signature, and ran down to open the car door for Matsumoto Keiko like a private driver.

Then he bowed and said "Happy New Year" a few times, and watched Keiko Matsumoto walk into the apartment building.

Only then did he get back into the car and drove away.

For him, this should be a surprise gift for the new year.

Also because this is a special day, the apartment building has no doorman who usually guards the door, and even the voice control is not turned on.

This allowed Keiko Matsumoto to open the door very smoothly and walk in.

From the lobby to the elevator, and from the elevator to the corridor, she never saw a single person.

Only the sound of her own walking could be heard everywhere.

It stands to reason that it is a bit scary.

But maybe because she just fulfilled the wish of a movie fan, she is also happier, and she doesn't have such bad feelings at all.

In this way, she walked all the way to Ning Weimin's door, and after confirming the room number, she lightly rang the doorbell.

No one answered.

Knocked a few more times, still no answer.

In the end, Keiko Matsumoto had no choice but to slap the door harder, only then did she finally hear movement inside.

Someone came towards the door.

(End of this chapter)