Chapter 81: Uesugi Residence Dinner

After having a blast at the racetrack with Miss Minami in the afternoon and reaching a consensus on certain key points, Uesugi Muneyuki returned to the Uesugi Hall in Bunkyo Ward in the evening; the family held a regular dinner at home every Saturday night.

By the time Uesugi Muneyuki returned home, a thick, pungent aroma of soy sauce and cooking wine rushed to meet him.

He revealed a smile, knowing what was for dinner tonight.

Sukiyaki.

Sure enough, seeing Uesugi Muneyuki return, his father Uesugi Hironori and mother Uesugi Tomoko both took the initiative to come out and greet him; Uesugi Hironori was holding a large wooden box with delight: "Ta-da! Yukimatsumaru, look! This is the good stuff Father went to great lengths to get! We're eating this tonight!"

"Beef hot pot, it's not like I couldn't smell it." Uesugi Muneyuki squinted, watching his own father show off.

Unlike his grandfather Uesugi Kuninori's serious and earnest personality, his father Uesugi Hironori, being the president of the alumni association and the director of the Cultural Exchange Hall, had a more lively and outgoing personality and liked to show off, but this did not mean the old man was a fool; he was just pretending to be silly, for the old guy was actually quite shrewd.

"Hey, you don't understand, today's beef is different." Seeing that his son wasn't listening to him seriously, Uesugi Hironori had to emphasize it once more, then showed the purple and gold wooden box in his hand to his son: "Look, this is special meat!"

Holy crap! Kobe?!

Uesugi Muneyuki looked at the box printed with "Kobe" and was startled.

Taking a closer look, oh, it turned out to be Kobe Beef.

It made sense; Kobe's name came from Kobe beef, as his father Joe Bryant had become crazily obsessed with Kobe beef while working in Italy, so he named his son Kobe.

"How about it?" Uesugi Hironori saw that his son finally understood and indicated that he should at least give a reaction.

"It's fine, it's great, I'm looking forward to it." Uesugi Muneyuki was a bit perfunctory.

"Really..." Uesugi Hironori saw his son's perfunctoriness and muttered: "Oh right, don't just think about eating tonight, Grandfather has something to announce."

"Yes, Grandfather has a big announcement." Uesugi Tomoko also smiled and added: "Yukimatsumaru, your older brother has good news coming!"

Grandfather has a big announcement?

At the end of October, the weather in Tokyo was already very cold, and the family sat together around the hot pot eating sukiyaki; his mother Uesugi Tomoko skillfully mixed the cooking wine, soy sauce, sake, sugar, and other seasonings for the hot pot base, and cooked the meat and vegetables together.

In ancient Japan, produce was very scarce; let alone farmers, even the Court Nobles and imperial family members who were the ruling class ate very plainly, and they advocated for a light and frugal diet. From the latter half of the Asuka period, the Emperor issued an order prohibiting the consumption of meat, and it was a total ban on cows, sheep, and horses (Japan previously had no domestic pigs, only wild boars), with only chicken and duck meat being edible, as well as rabbits that were forcibly classified as birds.

The lack of meat caused many Court Nobles and imperial family members to suffer from beriberi and poor health, while the Samurai secretly hunted to get meat under the guise of "Falconry"; for example, the notoriously frugal "Old Turtle" Tokugawa Ieyasu himself was a heavy enthusiast of Falconry and actually ate plenty of meat—just because he didn't let his attendants and maids eat it didn't mean he didn't eat it himself.

Don't ask, if you ask, they were "mountain whales" or "mountain sparrows," seafood from the mountains, and we did not violate the ban on eating meat.

With the end of the Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the control over meat was gradually relaxed, and the first Japanese-style hot pot restaurant, the so-called "Sukiyaki," appeared at the end of the Shogunate.

His older brother Uesugi Sadanori's complexion was still very ugly today, and he barely ate anything, possessing a beauty akin to waiting for the execution ground.

Uesugi Muneyuki didn't care about that much; amidst the cold wind outside and the heat inside, he polished off three bowls of rice, ate the Kobe beef fiercely, and after filling his stomach, waited quietly for his grandfather Uesugi Kuninori to speak.

Sure enough, after the wine had gone around three times and the food had been tasted, his grandfather Uesugi Kuninori, who was full after eating just a little, signaled everyone to stop; the whole family put down their chopsticks, waiting for Grandfather to speak.

Through the mist rising from the pot, Uesugi Kuninori coughed twice: "First, I have an announcement to make."

"Our grandson, your son, Yukimatsumaru's older brother, Uesugi Sadanori, is officially engaged! You have met the target last time; she is the daughter of a Managing Director at the Glico Company!"

Uesugi Kuninori announced this happy news loudly.

The remaining four members of the family, except for the older brother Uesugi Sadanori who had a pained and helpless expression, all clapped together.

"Congratulations~" Uesugi Hironori laughed heartily.

"Congratulations~" Uesugi Tomoko smiled and gestured.

"Congratulations~" Uesugi Muneyuki clapped hard, very forcefully: "Happy wedding! Onii-chan!"

"Hehehe." Grandfather Uesugi Kuninori nodded with a smile: "This way, I can finally rest easy."

"I can see that Chitokumaru, this child, is still not very willing, but marriage is a major event in life. Chitokumaru, only by seeing you married can I retire and close my eyes in peace." Uesugi Kuninori could see his grandson was a bit unwilling and could only comfort him: "And I have checked, she is a person with a very good, very traditional personality, and she won't affect your research."

"Yes..." Uesugi Sadanori hung his head helplessly; he was actually very unwilling to marry, not that he didn't like this blind date partner, he just simply didn't want to marry, but there was no other way, and the woman was indeed very gentle and obedient, so she shouldn't affect his work.

Grandfather hadn't forced him with death to be her, but if he rejected this one, there would be countless blind dates waiting for him in the future; Uesugi Sadanori felt that a long pain was worse than a short one, so he just let it be.

"This way, I can also safely hand the family over to Hironori, and then to Sadanori." Uesugi Kuninori saw his grandson finally yield and couldn't help but feel a bit smug; he raised his eyebrows and glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki, and seeing his expression unchanged, he nodded secretly in his heart: "Alright, the wedding date is this time next year... and now for the second matter."

"I am 72 years old this year, and in three years, I will retire from my position as a professor at the University of Tokyo's Space Science Research Headquarters. This time is different from the last; I will retire completely." Uesugi Kuninori said seriously.

Grandfather had reached the mandatory retirement age of 65, was immediately rehired by Tokyo University until 75, and in three more years, he would retire completely.

"Therefore, Chitokumaru, and Yukimatsumaru, you must hurry." Uesugi Kuninori's brows twisted into a knot: "You must hurry and do more things and achieve more results while I am still in the professor position; while I am still alive, I will do everything I can to get you into Tokyo University."

"Listen to me! Chitokumaru, Yukimatsumaru!" Seeing that neither grandson had any reaction, Uesugi Kuninori shouted sternly: "The Yonezawa Uesugi Clan has passed down to my generation, the Peerage system has been abolished, and all the special privileges of us Feudal Lords and Daimyo have been revoked. The fact that we can still exist in Tokyo as a prominent Peerage family today relies entirely on the foundation I laid as a Tokyo University Doctor and Tokyo University professor!"

"Yes." Uesugi Sadanori and Uesugi Muneyuki could only nod.

"Your father, I'm not saying he's bad, but his business and career are essentially still living off my old capital, living off the main family's capital." Grandfather continued: "Ask him and you'll know, how did his hall business get started? Wasn't it by relying on my connections and introductions! Why are so many events held at his place? Why can he serve as the president of the Keio Alumni Association? Ability is not unimportant, but more importantly, everyone gives the main family some face because I am still alive!"

Uesugi Hironori's face looked a bit unpleasant, and he could only lower his head in agreement, because he knew his father was right.

Uesugi Kuninori's bloodline was extremely noble; his great-grandmother was a member of the Ito Family, a meritorious official of the Meiji Restoration, his grandmother Uesugi Fusako came from the Takatsukasa Family, one of the Five Regent Houses, his mother Uesugi Toshiko was the daughter of Tokugawa Iesato (the main Duke family of the Tokugawa Shogun), and his maternal grandmother Tokugawa Masako was the daughter of the last Feudal Lord of the Shimazu Family, Shimazu Tadayoshi.

Precisely because Grandfather's bloodline was extremely noble, mixed with the blood of new and old Peerage, Samurai, Court Nobles, and even meritorious officials of the Meiji Restoration, and he himself was a Tokyo University Doctor and professor, high society had to give him face to some extent, which allowed his father Uesugi Hironori's business to stay afloat.

The current state of the Uesugi family was a bit like the beginning of "Dream of the Red Chamber," where Grandmother Jia had passed away but the second-generation Duke of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Daishan, was still alive, sitting in the Rongguo Mansion at the age of seventy; although the influence was no longer at the top level, everyone had to give him face.

"Times have changed; there are no longer land titles or family businesses that can be passed down forever, so you must work harder, you must quickly achieve some results, while I am still alive, while the upper echelons are still willing to give me some face, and while I can still speak in the upper echelons of Tokyo University, show me your abilities." Uesugi Kuninori was stern when talking about serious matters; his cloudy old eyes opened, flashing with sharp light: "Then I will find a way to arrange for both of you brothers to enter Tokyo University."

"If you can both enter Tokyo University to hold specific positions, the dignity and status of the main family can be maintained for another three or four generations."

"As for what happens after that, I will certainly have closed my eyes by then; each generation has its own mission, and I can only trust in the wisdom of you descendants." Uesugi Kuninori finished speaking with lingering intent; Grandfather seemed to have used up his strength and leaned back on the chair: "Chitokumaru, the Uesugi family will be inherited by you in the future; you must hold onto it."

At this moment, there were tears in Uesugi Sadanori's eyes; the older brother stood up, stood at attention, then knelt on both knees, knocked his fists on the ground, and responded loudly: "Yes!"

After the dinner was finished, his father Uesugi Hironori and mother Uesugi Tomoko returned to their room.

"Sigh, anyway, Chitokumaru's marriage is finally settled, and as a father, I've finally breathed a sigh of relief." Uesugi Hironori changed out of the clothes stained with the smell of hot pot with Uesugi Tomoko's help, while complaining a bit: "Father is really something, isn't this making me lose face in front of Chitokumaru and Yukimatsumaru?"

"As if what he said was wrong! I sometimes really worry about what will happen if Father passes away!" Uesugi Tomoko complained irritably, but seeing her husband's displeased expression, she immediately softened and probed: "Alright, Chitokumaru's marriage is set in stone, so what about Yukimatsumaru? Do you have any arrangements?"

"Yukimatsumaru's case is more difficult to handle; can we only send him out to be an Adopted Son-in-law for another family?" Uesugi Hironori nodded: "Previously, the Ikoma Clan of Akita asked, saying they only had a daughter and no one to inherit the family."

"The Ikoma Clan? The one from the Takamatsu Domain?" Uesugi Tomoko pouted as soon as she heard this, thinking where did these bumpkins come from, trying to scheme against her precious son: "Weren't they already abolished long ago?"

"Yes, the descendants of Ikoma Chikamasa." Uesugi Hironori nodded: "The family status feels a bit lacking, but the Ikoma family is a big landowner in Akita, and they have sake production and real estate, so it wouldn't be a disgrace to Yukimatsumaru."

"That..." Uesugi Tomoko said cautiously: "Husband, let me tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Just this afternoon, Michiko called and asked me, asking if Yukimatsumaru was engaged yet? I told her no."

Uesugi Hironori was stunned for a moment: "Michiko... the wife of the current Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji?"

"Yes, that's her!"

Guess who the protagonist will marry?

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(End of this chapter)