death of hope

"With this thing, you don't have to go all the way to the recycling station in the suburbs. It's much more convenient."

As he spoke, Jinguji Takatoshi lifted the entire shopping cart and poured the cans inside into the machine.

A burst of electronic sound sounded: "Thank you for your contribution to environmental protection. The number is being counted. Please wait..."

The statistics on the screen froze;
"221 standard aluminum cans, 104 extended aluminum cans, 11 iron cans..."

"Why are there still 11 iron ones? Damn rice pudding!"

Jinguji Takatoshi impatiently tapped the red button on the panel:

"Give me the money! Is it broken?"

Finally, the sound of the rolling belt transporting banknotes and the sound of coins falling came from inside the machine.

Jinguji Takatoshi rubbed his hands ecstatically, opened the plastic cover, took out the money, counted it, and put it into his pocket:

"Hahaha! Good harvest today."

Yamato Tetsuya was also happy for him. He glanced at the all-night Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant not far away and asked:

"have you eaten?"

"not yet."

"I invite you."

"No, I've already prepared it."

Jinguji Takatoshi locked the shopping cart on the iron fence with a big rusty lock and walked to the park not far away.

There are dedicated people cleaning here, which is much cleaner than the street. When you come to the small pavilion in the middle of the landscape lake, there is a set of tables and stools made of granite.

He took off his old schoolbag, took out a stack of old newspapers, and placed it on the stone tabletop and stool:

"sit down."

Yamato Tetsuya sat down and looked at the stars reflected in the lake:
"This place has a nice view, but it's not blocked from the wind."

"It can protect me from the rain and have a place to sit, which is enough for me." Jinguji Takatoshi poured out the "luxury meal" from his bag, placed everything on the table, and explained the origin of each item.

"I collected the leftover steaks eaten by customers while working in a restaurant. I smeared them with black pepper sauce and sealed them with plastic wrap. They are a very high-quality source of protein~
A can of Red Bull sports drink and a can of sugar-free Coke. The restaurant patrons paid and left without opening them. I drank the cans and then sold them.

The last-minute food at the 711 convenience store was originally thrown away by the store manager, but I picked it up. There were self-heating oden, self-heating udon noodles, boxed sushi combos, natto, and corn sausages.

The only things I spend money on are fruits and vegetables, such as lettuce leaves sold at night in the vegetable market, and red Fuji apples with squeezed skins, which do not affect my eating and are used to supplement vitamins. "

After hearing this, Toru Yama started to applaud:
"It's amazing. It not only saves money, but also has balanced nutrition. It contains carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins. No wonder your kid is so strong."

"Of course, I have passed the nutritionist qualification certificate and can become a fitness instructor in the future."

Jinguji Takatoshi was starving after a busy day, so he set up a self-heating pot and attacked the table full of "delicious food":
"This Oden self-heating pot tastes very good. I soaked the sausage in it and heated it up. Try it."

"No, I've eaten."

"You are a young man from a rich family, so you must not be used to eating these cheap industrially packaged foods."

Shan Tetsu also wanted to refute, saying that he could endure hardships, but even though the words were on his lips, he still couldn't say them out.

If you think about it carefully, whether you come to Kurose Academy or eat these industrial junk foods, you can only experience the life of the poor.

He could just turn around and order a luxurious takeaway, or switch to a noble private school, but the other party had no choice.

Compared with Jinguji Takatoshi, he was indeed born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

While he was looking at the lake and thinking, the big guy had already wiped out a table of "delicious food" and patted his belly happily:

"I'm full. It's warm and feels good."

"You work so many jobs and don't give up food or clothes. You must have saved a lot of money."

After hearing this, the smile on the big man's face disappeared, and a gloomy cloud climbed onto his forehead:

"Students can only work as part-time workers, with short working hours, and they are all hard-working, low-level jobs. They can't make much money. If the price of aluminum cans continues to rise, I will forget about picking up garbage full-time in the future."