Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 161 - 152: The Newly Rich Uesugi Is Broke Again

Chapter 161: Chapter 152: The Newly Rich Uesugi Is Broke Again

——————

The old man’s orange orchard is located in Ehime Prefecture, in the western part of Shikoku, Japan.

The unique geographical conditions of the "three suns" have made the tangerines here famous nationwide.

Ehime Prefecture borders the Seto Inland Sea, where you can see the endless sea horizon and feel the salty and humid sea breeze.

The camellias are in full bloom during the late autumn season there.

The Agricultural Association is an organization that controls the lifeline of farmers nationwide.

Nowadays, there are only over a million farmers nationwide, but the association’s membership exceeds that number by several times.

With over 5,000 branches across the country, they are involved in various social services such as healthcare, funeral services, education, insurance, and loans.

They provide farmers with a complete set of tools and experience, including agricultural tools, pesticides, machinery, and agricultural knowledge.

They offer wholehearted and attentive all-in-one service from start to finish for the farmers who join.

Engaging in agriculture requires no worry about procurement, processing, sorting, packaging, and sales; you just need to work according to their instructions and wait to harvest the fruits.

When farmers’ interests are infringed upon, they organize protests and demonstrations to put pressure on the government.

The bank run by the association is essentially Japan’s second largest bank, with countless deposits.

Its power is so immense that even the government is wary of it.

Of course,

this behemoth is far less glamorous than it seems on the surface.

——————

In the continuous drizzle, Uesugi Sakura held an umbrella with his right hand and talked to his father on the phone about his grandfather’s matter.

"Is the old man’s orange orchard going to be passed on to me?"

"Dream on, can you even grow oranges?"

"Well, I don’t know much, but I know a bit. After all, the old man did teach me."

"That was ages ago," Uesugi Kenichi thought of something and suddenly chuckled twice, "Haha, saying you’ll grow oranges, but all you did was lie on the chair sunbathing, refusing to walk more. I don’t know where you got that laziness from."

"Naturally born." Uesugi Sakura replied.

"Alright, alright, let’s not bicker about this. Regarding your grandfather, I’ll keep it short—he hit a wall this year by exiting the association."

Uesugi Sakura could roughly guess the outcome of this.

"Can’t sell the oranges?"

On the other end of the line, Uesugi Kenichi set down his teacup and sighed lightly:

"Sigh~ Although the association isn’t as powerful as it used to be in recent years, it still holds significant control over such agricultural products. Your grandfather’s orange orchard isn’t small, suddenly exiting without a word or notice will naturally face a lot of resistance from the association.

"Approaching July, the oranges are ripe, but no distributor or supermarket is willing to order your grandfather’s oranges."

"Even the sales partners we used to work with?"

"No, you should know as well, it’s not that they’re unwilling, but they’re afraid."

"How about selling online?"

"Hmm, by the second year, your grandfather’s orchard would be gone."

Uesugi Kenichi continued: "The old man is quite stubborn, Jiro and Shoko can’t persuade him, thinking that in order to make big money, he must shake off the association’s control."

Uesugi Jiro and Uesugi Shoko are the Uesugi family’s second son and eldest daughter, always farming and growing oranges in Ehime Prefecture.

Uesugi Sakura’s father is the eldest son.

"Cough cough, the main reason is to tell you, if your grandfather can’t sell the oranges by July, it will result in a huge financial loss, and we’ll need to help him out then."

"..."

Uesugi Sakura understood: "So, you need money?"

"Yes, which means your allowance might need some cutting down."

"..."

No problem, just earned two million.

On the phone, Uesugi Kenichi: "Jiro and Shoko have already bet their assets for the old man, but the total is still not enough to cover the losses, so...your two million might also be needed..."

"Got it."

Beep—

Uesugi Sakura hung up the phone.

"...Hmm?"

With a work badge hanging on his neck, Uesugi Kenichi paused for a second upon hearing the dial tone.

Then he turned off the phone screen, placed it on the desk, picked up the nearby cup and sipped some tea, closed his eyes, and said softly:

"This kid, there’s something else he didn’t mention."

——————

"Sakura-kun... did something happen?" Hanamaru Hanabi watched him talk on the phone for a long time.

The rain showed no signs of stopping; if anything, it intensified.

The tapping of raindrops on the transparent umbrella was short and sharp.

Uesugi Sakura’s hand holding the umbrella moved closer to her as he said helplessly: "I originally said I would treat little Hanabi to a nice meal, but Sakura-kun is broke again."

"Didn’t Sakura-kun just earn 2 million yen?" Hanamaru Hanabi cuddled up closer to his umbrella-holding arm, her petite frame leaning towards him and against him.

"Gone again." Uesugi Sakura could only say, "Little Hanabi, take care of me for a while."

Hanamaru Hanabi blinked at him, showing a pretty smile on her face: "Sure."

"You don’t mind me being useless?"

Hanamaru Hanabi wrapped her arms around his and rested her little head on his shoulder, saying with closed eyes:

"As long as Sakura-kun is Sakura-kun, that’s enough. Hanabi will work hard to take care of him."

"Little Hanabi..."

Sometimes Uesugi Sakura felt unworthy of her unconditional devotion, feeling a sense of guilt for not being as caring towards her.

"How about I cook today?"

"Hmm hmm..."

Hanamaru Hanabi quickly opened her eyes, shook her head, causing her hair to sway: "Sakura-kun should rest, Hanabi can manage on her own."

The sound of the raindrops was quite disturbing, causing many pedestrians to gather under the trees where the rain was lighter.

Cars sped past, splashing water noisily around.

Uesugi Sakura listened to these sounds in silence.

"..."

"Is it really not good?"

"Sakura-kun is always trying hard! Hanabi can feel it!" Hanamaru Hanabi sincerely encouraged him.

Uesugi Sakura was torn about whether to elevate his -9 cooking skills to a positive number.

Hanamaru Hanabi continued, her black sailor suit capturing the lively youthfulness:

"Sakura-kun, don’t worry too much. Hanabi is your fiancée; I’ll always be by your side, and I’ll do my best with the daily lunch boxes and dinners."

"As long as Sakura-kun doesn’t get tired of it and reject Hanabi, that’s enough."

Uesugi Sakura smiled at her, saying: "I’m more afraid of you rejecting me."

"No way, even though many people don’t like Sakura-kun, Hanabi will always like him."

After saying that, the girl smiled at him.

Once a person gets something, they forget the feeling of standing on tiptoe and peering through the shop window at it.

Even though that freshness of standing on tiptoe has long been forgotten, her heartfelt warm smile, this familiar smile that has accompanied him for twelve years, is worth cherishing and protecting for a lifetime.

"Today I’ll massage your shoulders."

"Sakura-kun... aren’t you trying to sneak in a touch..."

"No, I just sincerely want you to relax a bit."

"Hmm..."

"Actually... if it’s Sakura-kun... Hanabi wouldn’t mind..." Hanamaru Hanabi’s voice trailed off, so low that even Uesugi couldn’t hear clearly.

"What?"

Hanabi steadied herself, looking at the raindrops falling at her feet, and replied: "N-nothing... As long as Sakura likes it..."