Hey, You Dropped 500 Yen

When Shinnosuke got home, he found Misae lying in the bedroom, her face flushed red. His little sister, Hima-chan, was wetting a towel with cool water and laying it on their mother's forehead.

Hima-chan saw Shinnosuke come home and spoke softly to him.

"Big brother, Mom's sick..."

Shinnosuke hurried over and asked his sister, "How is she?"

"Is it serious? Did you give Mom any medicine?"

Misae heard her son's voice and weakly opened her eyes. She spoke to Shinnosuke.

"You're home, Shin-chan... Mom isn't feeling very well today... so, sorry for the trouble, but could you go to the convenience store and buy some ready-made boxed meals for dinner...?"

Shinnosuke pulled Misae's blanket up and spoke to his mother.

"Don't worry about that. Just focus on getting better. I'll take care of dinner."

With that, Shinnosuke got up and left the bedroom. Misae watched her son walk away, feeling more gratified than ever, and spoke to her daughter.

"Hima-chan, your big brother's all grown up now... He's been considerate since he was little. He often looked after you when he was five, and now he's become a real man!"

Himawari Nohara smiled at her mother's words and answered.

"Yeah! Big brother's really kind!"

Shinnosuke arrived at the supermarket with a flyer in his hand. He looked at the various vegetables and meats on it, thinking about what would make a nutritious meal.

Then he noticed a scruffy-looking guy standing nearby, also holding a flyer and muttering about how the discounted vegetables were almost sold out...

Shinnosuke paid him no mind and went into the supermarket to pick out ingredients. Many products in Japanese supermarkets had a time limit, and once it passed, they were discounted.

But it was already seven in the evening, and most of the products had been snapped up! Shinnosuke picked out some discounted vegetables, then walked over to the meat section and found that all the cheap meat had been bought.

Suddenly, Shinnosuke spotted a discounted package of pork tenderloin. He glanced left and right. No one around him had noticed it!

He hurried over and reached for the pork tenderloin. Suddenly, another hand grabbed it too. Shinnosuke looked at the owner of the hand and saw that it was the scruffy guy from earlier.

The guy wore a brown plaid shirt, and his long hair was tied back. It was obvious he hadn't washed it in a long time, and his face was covered in stubble.

Yinzhi pointed at the pork tenderloin in his hand and spoke to him.

"Hey, I saw it first."

The guy picked at his ear and said indifferently, "What are you talking about? I've had my eye on it for over ten minutes..."

Shinnosuke's lips twitched. Suddenly, he pointed at the floor by the guy's feet.

"Hey, you dropped 500 yen..."

The guy was startled and immediately looked down, searching the floor.

"It just rolled under there."

Shinnosuke pointed expressionlessly at the refrigerated display case.

Hearing that, the guy immediately got down on the floor and reached under the case, feeling around.

The corners of Shinnosuke's mouth rose. He casually put the pork tenderloin in his bag and went to the checkout.

Back home, Shinnosuke put down his basket of groceries and went to check on Misae first. Seeing that she was all right, he went to the kitchen to cook.

He had wanted to make a Huaxia meal, but he was afraid that Misae might not have an appetite while she was sick and wouldn't be used to the food. After some thought, he decided to make an ordinary Japanese meal instead.

Shinnosuke put on an apron, chopped the pork tenderloin, radish, and green onion, and tossed them into a pot. He stir-fried them briefly, added water and miso paste, and just like that, a simple pot of miso soup was ready. In the Northeast, this stuff was called soybean paste soup.

He took the leftover shrimp from the fridge and peeled them, then cut up some vegetables, preparing to make tempura.

The only tricky part was controlling the heat. He had been single and lived alone for more than ten years in his previous life, so something like that was no challenge for him.

A fine meal for four was soon ready. He called Hima-chan over to help carry the food to the table, then took off his apron and went to call Misae to dinner.

Shinnosuke had just reached the bedroom door and was about to knock when Misae came out, looking dazed. He went over and helped steady her.

"I'm not that weak yet..."

Shinnosuke looked at Misae's face and smiled without saying anything.

"Oh, you..."

Misae looked at him with a gratified expression, thinking that her son really had grown up.

Shinnosuke helped Misae to the table, pulled out a chair for her, and helped her sit down.

Misae stared at the food on the table in surprise. Just then, Hiroshi came home too.

He took off his shoes and hung up his coat, then walked over to the table. Looking at the spread, he swallowed and asked Misae, "What's the occasion? Why is there so much good food? There's even tempura."

"What's the occasion? Why is there so much good food? There's even tempura."

Misae looked at her husband and suddenly smiled. She said to him, "I didn't make it."

"I didn't make it."

Hiroshi was taken aback. Puzzled, he said, "Did Megu come over today?"

"Did Megu come over today?"

Misae shook her head. She looked at Shinnosuke with affection, patted his head, and said to Hiroshi, "No... Shin-chan made all of this."

"No... Shin-chan made all of this."

"You're saying Shin-chan made all this? The kid's got some skills..."

Misae looked at her astonished husband and said, "I've had a pretty high fever today. When I woke up, I didn't have any strength at all, so I wanted Shin-chan to go to the convenience store and buy some ready-made boxed meals. But he said to leave dinner to him. Oh, right, Hima-chan looked after Mom today too."

"I've had a pretty high fever today. When I woke up, I didn't have any strength at all, so I wanted Shin-chan to go to the convenience store and buy some ready-made boxed meals. But he said to leave dinner to him. Oh, right, Hima-chan looked after Mom today too."

Hearing that, Hima-chan proudly puffed out her flat chest. Hiroshi reached over and ruffled his daughter's hair, then spoke to his son and daughter with a gratified smile.

"You've both grown up... All right, let me have a taste of my son's cooking! Oh, this tempura looks really good!"

Meanwhile, a female clerk at the supermarket looked in distress at the man lying on the floor, feeling around under the refrigerated display case.

"Sir... you've been looking for two hours already... My shift is over... so could you please...?"

The man's eyes were bloodshot. He turned to the clerk and said, "That's 500 yen!! That's my food money for a whole week!!!"

"That's 500 yen!! That's my food money for a whole week!!!"

"But... my shift is already over... and if you don't leave, I can't leave either... Ah!! Sir, you can't lift the refrigerated case!!! Stop!!!!"