20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 622
"Jingle Bell--"

South Railway Annex, Nakamura Photo Studio.

The glass door was gently pushed open, causing the sound of wind chimes.

"welcome--"

Ichiro Nakamura leaned out from the counter and greeted the customers with a smile on his face, speaking fluent Chinese.

Takeda Nobuyuki frowned slightly, and stood at the door hesitantly for a moment, but asked in his native language: "Eh? Isn't this a Japanese photo studio?"

"Oh, sorry." Nakamura Ichiro stepped forward and quickly apologized with a smile, "I thought you were Chinese. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, don't take it to heart."

Takeda Nobuo waved his hand, looking quite easy-going. He then walked into the photo studio, looked around and said with a chuckle, "Although this is the Nantetsu dependency, it is not the Empire's territory after all. Most of the guests you usually entertain are Chinese, right?"

"Of course."

No matter what, it is always a happy thing to meet fellow countrymen in a foreign country.

Ichiro Nakamura was no longer in a hurry to ask the guests about their needs, but stood respectfully aside, waiting for instructions.

"Your Chinese sounds very good." Takeda Nobuyuki turned around and asked, "Have you lived in Manchuria for a long time?"

"Well, it's almost sixteen years."

"Did you never return home during this period?"

"No."

"Really?" Takeda Nobuyuki raised his eyebrows, seeming surprised. "Then you are my senior. My last name is Takeda. Please take care of me in the future."

Ichiro Nakamura quickly declined, "No, no, I just came a few years earlier. Since we are compatriots, we should help each other."

"That's great. I feel relieved when you say that."

“Is this your first time in Manchuria?”

"No, but I haven't been here much before."

Takeda Nobuyuki remained polite and his eyes swept across the walls of the room.

The photo studio is filled with portraits of people and natural scenery, which are dazzling and countless.

There are mountains, rivers, plants, famous places of interest, and urban life. The black and white colors, just by the changes in light and dark, seem to bring a sense of vicissitudes.

Finally, a landscape photo caught Takeda Nobuyuki's attention.

The picture shows a quiet and remote ancient temple. The temple has long been abandoned, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. Only an old tree is still there, sprouting new buds indifferently.

"I haven't seen the cherry blossoms in my hometown for nearly ten years." Takeda Nobuyuki suddenly felt emotional.

After hearing this, Nakamura Ichiro naturally asked, "Where is Takeda-kun's hometown?"

"Fukuoka." Takeda Nobuyuki turned around and asked, "Senior, how about you?"

"No, no, no, please don't call me senior."

Ichiro Nakamura felt a little embarrassed. He could guess from the other person's clothes that he was either rich or noble, so he became more humble and low-key.

After thinking for a while, he said, "My hometown is too small. I'm afraid it can't be found on the map. Even if I tell you about it, Takeda-kun has definitely never heard of it. Then again, if you live well at home, who would come to Manchuria, right?"

"Oh? So Nakamura-kun doesn't like Manchuria?"

"I like it, of course I like it, but... it's not as good as the country advertises."

Ichiro Nakamura couldn't help but recall the time when he first arrived in Manchuria on board the ship.

At that time, he was full of hope, even as ecstatic as the white people landing in the "New World".

The government claimed that Manchuria was a vast fertile land with no one’s land everywhere, and there was countless wealth waiting to be excavated, just like a paradise on earth.

However, when he arrived in Fengtian, he realized that he had been deceived.

It is true that Manchuria has thousands of miles of fertile land, but it has nothing to do with him.

If you want to take root here, without an official background, you will have to start from scratch on your own in the end.

All he could rely on was his identity as a Japanese.

The strange thing is that although this identity brings many conveniences to the Chinese, it always carries with it some subtle discrimination in the eyes of compatriots.

Maybe I was overthinking it - in the first few years, Ichiro Nakamura often comforted himself with this.

"You should understand the country's difficulties." Takeda Shin reminded, "If you think Manchuria is not good enough, you should build it for the emperor instead of complaining."

The sudden escalation of the situation caught Ichiro Nakamura off guard.

He just had a hunch that the person who came was not simple. His tone and expression were official, especially when he heard the word "Emperor", he immediately shouted "Hi" subconsciously.

Takeda Nobuyuki's expression eased slightly, and he immediately walked towards the chair for taking photos.

Just after taking a few steps, he suddenly caught sight of a few Japanese magazines scattered on the windowsill, then turned around and asked, "Can I take a look?"

"Well, please help yourself."

"Thank you."

Takeda Nobuyuki had a clear goal. He immediately pulled out a copy of Black Dragon Monthly and asked with interest while flipping through it, "Is Nakamura-kun a member of the Black Dragon Society?"

"Ah, how is that possible?" Nakamura Ichiro quickly waved his hands to deny, "I'm just a photographer, too far away from those big shots."

Takeda Nobuo didn't comment. He turned to the page with the publication number, checked for a moment, shook his head and smiled, "The article in your magazine is several years old."

"I can't buy them. There are too few Japanese newspapers and periodicals in Manchuria. I bought these few books at a used bookstore."

"I see. If you're interested, Nakamura-kun, I can get you the latest version."

"Then why are you embarrassed..."

"It doesn't matter, even if it's for the sake of our friendship."

As soon as Takeda Nobuyuki finished speaking, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the attic.

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little boy running down the stairs.

The boy had just reached school age and was playful. He seemed to have just gotten into trouble. He was asking his father to intercede for him, but when he saw a guest downstairs, he suddenly hesitated. "This is..."

"Oh, this is Inuko Yashi."

Ichiro Nakamura waved his hand at his son and scolded him in Japanese: "Go back upstairs, we have guests here now."

Shizhi stopped in the middle of the stairs, glanced up at the attic, and seemed to be in a dilemma.

"It's okay." Takeda Nobuyuki squatted down, smiled and waved at the boy, "Come here, come here, your name is Yazhi, right?"

Yashi nodded and walked over curiously.

Takeda Nobuyuki seemed to like children very much. While introducing himself, he gently stroked Yashi's head, then stood up and gave him some praise.

"Nakamura-kun is so lucky to have such a lovely son."

"No, no, he's just a useless fool."

"Hey, Nakamura-kun, please don't destroy the child's self-confidence. After all, he has the blood of the Yamato people flowing in his body, which is different from those Chinese."

As he spoke, Takeda Nobu couldn't help but smile and encouraged: "Yashi, study hard. The future of the empire is on your shoulders."

"What empire?" Yazhi didn't quite understand and spoke haltingly in Japanese.

"Of course it's the Great Eastern Empire. That's your homeland."

"But I am Manchurian?"

Upon hearing this, Takeda Nobuyuki's face immediately became gloomy, but he did not blame the child. Instead, he turned to look at Nakamura Ichiro.

"Nakamura-kun, it looks like there's something wrong with your education."

"Uh... I'm so ashamed."

Ichiro Nakamura gradually felt unhappy. The other party's words were suffocating, but they were also absolutely correct and unquestionable official arguments.

At the same time, he felt that the other party's statement was not without reason, so he could only nod and smile bitterly.

As he was speaking, another person came down from the attic.

A woman in her twenties came up to him, grabbed the back of Nakamura Yashi's collar, and yelled, "You little bastard, I'll let you do that today!"

After saying that, she picked up the broom and was about to hit her son.

Unexpectedly, when the broom was about to fall, it was suddenly stopped by Takeda Nobuyuki.

He could tell at a glance that the woman was not of Oriental descent, so he said in Chinese: "Madam, it's just a child, forget it."

The woman was startled and turned to look at her husband.

Nakamura Ichiro frowned and pouted, scolding in a cold voice: "Go upstairs, there are guests here."

The woman seemed to realize that the person was Xiao Dongyang, and immediately said in stiff Japanese dialect, "Sorry to bother you", and then hurriedly dragged her son to the attic.

Takeda Nobu looked at the backs of the mother and son and muttered softly, "You married a Chinese?"

Ichiro Nakamura was stunned for a moment.

In the past few years, he never felt there was anything wrong with marrying a Chinese woman.

After all, for his group of first-generation immigrants, it was not easy to find a single Oriental woman in Manchuria.

However, after hearing Takeda Nobuyuki's question today, Ichiro Nakamura suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of shame.

He couldn't tell where this feeling came from. It seemed to be caused by some subtle influence, but it was difficult to trace the source for the time being.

Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, Takeda Nobu smiled and explained: "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to condemn you, but that woman should be more polite to your son."

"She is the child's mother."

"But she is a Chinese. As a vessel, she gave birth to a more noble race. She should feel honored for this."

Takeda Nobu said with a smile: "Co-prosperity is a great cause, and helping the people here to optimize their race is one of them."

Nakamura Ichiro frowned, but said: "I have never heard of such a statement."

"If you always read those outdated magazines, your thinking will easily become outdated. I'll give you a few tomorrow. Nakamura-kun, find more women. This is also a way to repay the emperor."

"You are so offensive!" Nakamura Ichiro finally burst into dissatisfaction, "After all, this is my family matter, right?"

"Really?" Seeing that he was a little annoyed, Takeda Nobuyuki bowed and apologized: "I'm really sorry, I said too much, please forgive me."

Ichiro Nakamura suddenly lost his temper. The other party's attitude made him unpredictable. The joy of meeting his compatriots was gone. He just wanted to get this deal over with.

"Forget it, what kind of photos do you want to take, Takeda-kun?"

"Oh, a half-length photo will be fine, for work purposes."

"Then please take a seat!" Nakamura pointed to the chair on the stage, "Where do you work?"

Takeda Nobuyuki sat down and replied, "Nanfang Railway Co., Ltd."

Ichiro Nakamura secretly felt lucky that he did not chase the visitor away, as this company was extremely powerful.

"Are you an engineer?" he asked while fiddling with the camera.

"No, I work in a clerical position."

"Click——"

Takeda Nobuyuki straightened his clothes, and accompanied by a flash of strong light, he walked down from the stage and shook hands with Ichiro Nakamura.

"Senior, if there is anything I need help with, please feel free to ask. As we are brothers, you will help me, right?"

Nakamura Ichiro nodded curtly.

After seeing off this strange guest, the next morning, the postman suddenly delivered a stack of parcels.

When he opened it, he found it was a set of the latest issues of Black Dragon Monthly tied together with straw ropes.

Along with the package was a note written in brush: From Takeda Nobuyuki, for Mr. Nakamura Ichiro to keep.

(End of this chapter)