Atami is the name of a small coastal town located at the end of the Yinzu Peninsula. It is a famous hot spring town. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogunate, liked to bathe in Atami after the war, which made Atami famous.
A winding and wide road winds up the mountain. The mountain peak is close to the sea, with steep sea cliffs behind it.
On the top of the mountain stands a castle-like building with red tiles and blue bricks, majestic and artistic. Falling cherry blossoms fly out from the high black wall and float into the black sea. This building is full of ancient meanings
It's like God built a palace at the highest point closest to Him.
In ancient times, this was the official residence of the shogun. Later, the shogun gave it to a friend and turned it into a private villa. Although it is no longer the shogun's forbidden area, due to its topography and layout, it is still the only hot spring villa in Atami.
The most luxurious and elegant among them.
For hundreds of years, countless people have coveted the "throne" in this hot spring villa, either to enjoy a luxurious life, to reflect their extraordinary status, or to seek astonishing profits.
But the strange thing is that no one has been able to successfully purchase this villa over the years, and they have never even met the real owner of the villa... It is always an old butler who invites them into the outer reception room.
The old housekeeper is polite, but he can always make the guests give up their thoughts and ideas of buying a villa over a cup of tea.
First, the owner behind the villa has amazing financial resources!
The surname of the owner behind the official residence has not changed since the shogun gave the official residence to a friend. There is no doubt about the financial strength and power of a family that can last for hundreds of years.
This official residence has a public account at Citibank, which is used for the daily maintenance of the villa and the payment of wages and benefits to the housekeeping staff. The money in that account alone exceeds the entire worth of many potential buyers!
Second, the economic benefits of purchasing a villa are far from being as high as imagined.
The official residence stands on the sea cliff, witnessing the rise and fall of the entire Rehe. It is not only a private villa, but also a precious cultural relic, protected by the Department of Culture.
The stone used must come from the mountains of Kobe, the wood must come from distant Hokkaido, and the carving must be done by craftsmen who are proficient in traditional Japanese crafts to maintain the original flavor.
Every year, the official will dispatch a professional team to inspect whether the protection of the official residence is up to standard. If there is any damage, a high fine will be imposed. In extremely serious cases, it will be confiscated and put under official protection...
Therefore, the maintenance cost of this building is astonishingly high. The maintenance cost in a few years will be equivalent to the house price. No one will buy such a money-losing villa just to use it for hot springs...
The old butler is over eighty years old and has lived in this villa for more than fifty years. But he is only the fifth butler of this centuries-old villa, because the previous butlers all performed their duties until they were ninety.
Retired only when I was more than 10 years old...
He firmly believes that the feng shui of this villa nourishes the people, because during the leisure time in the villa, the medical staff work more boringly than the housekeeping staff, and they have almost no business throughout the year.
The old housekeeper performs boring tasks every day. When he was young, he would be upset and yearning for the outside world, but as he gets older, he becomes more peaceful.
The reasons why he can stick to this job are simple: stability, leisure and high salary.
His annual salary after tax can reach three million U.S. dollars, and it increases year by year in line with Japan's national conditions. Even when Japan's bubble economy burst in the 1990s, he could still receive a full monthly salary.
salary.
He lives outside the villa and only sets foot in the central area belonging to the owner during routine inspections in the morning and evening. He has lived here for more than fifty years and has never trespassed once. Even the rights of a housekeeper can make him half the owner...
…Because as his working years increase, he becomes more aware of the power of the real owner of the villa.
The owner of the villa is very mysterious. In the decades he has been working, he has only met the owner twice, once more than fifty years ago and once yesterday.
When the sun rose in the east yesterday, there was a knock on the door of the villa. It was a group of young people, to put it simply, a man and three women...
The housekeeper personally received them, probably because the work in the villa was boring, repetitive and monotonous, and every time someone came to visit, it became a surprise at work.
The host and guests sit separately, with the old butler sitting on the left side, the guests sitting on the right side in turn, and the middle seats being vacant.
The old housekeeper looked at the men and women without any curiosity. The villa is the brightest pearl among Atami cultural antiquities. Countless people visit it every year to appreciate its charm. For example, last year, students from the Department of History of the University of Tokyo came to inspect and were also attracted by it.
The butler accompanied us to visit many places...
But when he looked at the man's face, he was heartened. The old housekeeper had met many people in his life, but even though he got along with some people for a short time, his memory was so profound that it could not be erased...
After tea was served, the old man was still organizing his words. Among the young people, the red-haired woman casually threw out an ancient knife. On the handle of the knife, there was a badge of intertwined bows and arrows, which was exactly the same as the pattern behind the main seat in the living room.
The old housekeeper looked at the group of people who suddenly arrived in shock. The men and women were so impressive, they looked like an emperor traveling with his concubines!
…
Jiang Yi was soaking in the blue hot spring water, with wooden pallets floating on the water.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the old butler personally put a pool of water for Jiang Yi to take a bath. Breakfast was served while taking a bath. It was a traditional Japanese breakfast, porridge, pickled radish and a piece of grilled cod... plus a glass of fresh milk. The butler saw that
The new owner is still growing older.
The hot spring pool is a natural bluestone trough. Stonemasons used copper pipes to introduce hot spring water to form this warm and jade-like pool.
A tall ancient cherry blossom blooms above the bathing pond. This kind of cherry blossom is called "Hanzakura". The shogun's gardener transplanted it here from the courtyard of Shuzenji Temple.
Behind the hot spring pool is a clump of bamboo, which is rising steadily and full of vitality. The breeze blows through the bamboo leaves and makes a rustling sound, which makes people feel peaceful.
Looking through the green gap, there is an open wooden window with a tatami under the window. Two beautiful women are even more charming in their sleep. The quilt is a little messy, revealing the beautiful spring light.
Nono doesn't like to sleep with others. It was Xia Mi who refused to leave last night...
Jiang Yi leaned against the pool and closed his eyes, concentrating. The more memories he had, the more chaotic they became. Many dust-laden memories came back involuntarily when he returned to his old place.
For example, when he leaned here and drank fresh milk, he remembered that he and the shogun were soaking in the pool and drinking soju. On the other side, the most famous girl in Atami at that time was singing a song.
He still vaguely remembered the tune. The female concubine's voice was moving and sad.
Suddenly a cherry blossom fell on his hand, and Jiang Yi raised his head slightly.
Hanzakura blooms earlier than other cherry blossoms, and its bloom heralds the "sakura tide" sweeping across Japan.