Chapter 630: Longing
When Tamura Nichigetsu finally got to eat a ham sandwich that left its fragrance lingering in his mouth, he came to understand the world for the first time.
For the first time, he learned that this world contained more than slightly undercooked rice balls with pickled plums, or rabbit legs and chicken legs his father traded from the neighbors.
He learned that there was a kind of meat called ham, cut into big, thick slices. For the first time, he understood how delicious soft, freshly baked bread was, and how good it tasted with ham inside.
He wolfed it down, all the while warily watching his parents. His instincts told him that his parents would come to take his food.
And after his parents finished the bread in their own hands, they almost instinctively looked toward Tamura Nichigetsu.
Rural people were not equals.
Especially when the head of the household had to take responsibility for farming and expend enormous physical effort, most rural families that lacked food and clothing would prioritize food for the family head, the one who consumed the most energy.
When clothing was scarce, the limited garments had to be given first to the household head who went outside and represented the family's dignity.
That was why, during rural poverty alleviation efforts, there were cases where two brothers shared one pair of trousers and only one of them could leave the house each day.
Because they needed to save face.
And although this extreme allocation of resources guaranteed the family's standing in society and social circles, it also fostered the domineering, dictatorial nature of rural patriarchs, whose word was law.
Precisely because of that, if his father wanted to take his food, he would have no way to resist.
Perhaps he would only be