First I look through the general store in the village, trying to find something to bring to pops. As always, I don’t know what to buy. I always default to rice crackers or frozen meat.
It’s because of lack of sense? Leave me alone.
“Welcome Shou.”
I stop the mini truck, and see pops’ wife pulling weeds in front of their house.
“Good morning. Let me help.”
“Sure. Hum… Is that Tama? Good morning.”
Tama lightly bows. Well, more like, plunges its head forward.
“Get something to drink from the storeroom.”
“Yes.”
I go to the storeroom next to the house, and get beer and juice. The beer is for pops.
There’s a silk spider web in the space between the house and the storeroom. It’s startling, but it’s not hurting anyone, so let’s leave it be. I’m surprised by how big it is though.
“Good morning.”
I open the sliding glass door, and go in the house.
“Oh, Shouta. Come here.”
“Excuse me. I brought a pit viper.”
“You sure catch them a lot.”
I leave the drinks by the entrance, and go get the pit viper from the mini truck. And Tama is eating bugs next to pops’ wife.
“Shou, Tama is great. It even catches mosquitoes.”
Just how fast do my chickens move?
“Well then, let me go prepare lunch. Tama, do you want vegetable scraps?”
Tama lowers its head like it’s nodding. Apparently she doesn’t think much of the fact that Tama got bigger. I guess she doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
“Oh, chicken. You’ve gotten bigger again. I’ve never seen a chicken this big.”
He says, sounding perplexed.
“Right?”
And his wife is grateful when I give her frozen meat.
“Oh, this boy… I’m not even making anything special. What are you giving me this for?”
“Hahaha.”
She says, but she sounds happy. Apparently they get together with their friends a lot, so I think they can never have too much beer or food. Not counting vegetables.
“So thoughtful.”
She says, as she brings a lot of food to the table as always. A lot of pickled vegetables of this season. Some lightly pickled, some in rice bran, but all grown around here. And stuff like stir-fried meat and vegetables. It’s all really good.
“Shouhei’s been here for three months, uh?”
“Yes, about three months.”
“The rainy season’s almost here, so look after your home. And check the mountain road. You’re not gonna run out of food in the mountain, but it’d be trouble if the road couldn’t be used.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
If he didn’t remind me, I might’ve forgotten. There’s a rainy season in this country. The road is paved, but there’s mountain surface right next to it. If there’s a lot of rain, there could be landslides too. I need to check the most problematic spots.
But how am I supposed to stop a landslide? It’s not like I can put up a concrete barrier right away. And the only other option I can think of is laying sandbags by the road.
“Mountain road… What should I do?”
“First, get a good idea of what the most problematic spots are. A few years ago, a tree fell, and cut the road to your place temporarily. That’s all I’ve heard, but bear that in mind.”
“So it was blocked… For how long?”
“I heard they needed heavy machinery to remove it, so I think about ten days.”
Uwoah. I guess considering they needed heavy machinery, and the width and toughness of the road, ten days is probably about the best you could ask for. There were a few families living up there too. And it was probably nice that they went there to remove it, considering that was probably not all the damage that was done.
“Heavy machinery…”
“You can ask private companies in town and stuff like that.”
“Sure, there aren’t any in the village…”
“It’d be one thing if they were small, but we can’t maintain them.”
“Sure.”
Mountain life really is harder than I thought. Apparently someone in the village has a digger though, and there’s a mini loader. But for anything bigger, I’d have to ask somewhere else.
“I know I’m changing the topic, but I bought my chickens in the spring festival. Did anyone else buy colored chicks?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen any other big chickens. Have you?”
“Nope. There’s a poultry farm, but they don’t deal with chicks.”
“They don’t hatch them there?”
“They don’t go through the trouble. Chicks are imported, right?”
“Eeh!?”
Imported? So my chickens are foreign?
I look over at Tama, who’s eating vegetable craps on the dirt floor.
“Tama, you’re a foreigner?”
Tama raises its head and looks at me. I feel like it’s exasperated, and asking ‘what’s this idiot on about?’. Sorry.
“You say some funny things Shouhei.”
Pops’ wife says with a laugh. Sorry.
“Most of the chicks sold in stalls are the ones that can’t be sold for food. They’re typically male, but you got yourself two females. Lucky.”
“Do they lay eggs?”
“I heard they lay them after four months if they’re early bloomers, but typically after five.”
“So they’ll probably start in July?”
“I guess so.”
But I have Pochi, so won’t they be fertilized? I don’t want to use fertilized eggs.
“What about vaccines?”
“Eh? Mine?”
I got a tetanus shot and stuff like that.
“No no, your chickens.”
“Eeh!? Chickens need to be vaccinated?”
“Of course. They need it if they’re gonna lay eggs.”
I guess that makes sense. Humans get a load of them when they’re little. I have to vaccinate my chickens, since I’m planning to stay with them.
I’m glad they tell me about this stuff. But how am I going to vaccinate them? I don’t think they’re going to let me stick a needle in them.
I have so much to do. I should’ve gotten it done sooner, but I ask to be introduced to someone with a poultry farm.
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