Apartment From Hell

Chapter 36 Puppet Master

Lie always regretted that she shouldn't have gone to Kamakura with her elder brother.

Rie's hometown is in Kamakura.

She just wanted to pay homage to her biological father. In previous years, she would worship at home.This time, I thought of Kamakura to worship in person.

She raised this matter with Brother Ji Yan.

"Well, okay." Ji Yan agreed very readily, and said, "Then go!"

"I...worry that my parents won't agree..."

"How could it be? Worshiping to one's biological parents is a matter of course. Sachiko and I will persuade the parents, so don't worry. Do you want to invite someone to do some rituals? There are also many ancient temples in Kamakura."

"No need..."

Odagiri's family lives in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and the distance to Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is located on the coast of Tokyo, is not close.At first, I planned to go by Shinkansen, but at that time, Norihiko just bought a Honda sedan and decided to drive there.

"Brother, don't you dote on Rie too much?" Sachiko was dissatisfied during the discussion: "From Nagoya to Kamakura! Why don't you drive Rie there?"

"Well, it's rare to have a car. I don't feel relieved when Rie runs to Kamakura alone."

"Then you don't have to drive and take her there!"

"Anyway, I bought a new car, and I want to show off my driving skills in front of my sister," Ji Yan said to Lie with a smile, "That's right?"

"Brother, is it really okay? You won't be too tired, right?" Lie was also a little worried.

"It's okay! You can rest assured."

If Rie knew earlier, he should have stopped Ji Yan at that time.

Kamakura is a coastal town located on the west side of the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa County, near Yokohama City. It is regarded as a residential area in Tokyo and a famous tourist attraction in Japan.

Rie's father, Shinozaki Yoshiyasu, died in Kamakura.

In the past, Shinozaki Yoshiyasu, as a puppet master, can be said to have inherited a very good craft, and the dolls he made are very delicate.

Figure art is a traditional Japanese folk art.It has a very long history, probably originated in the Edo period of Japan, and first appeared as a child's toy.After hundreds of years of changes, the exquisite, gorgeous and diverse hair accessories of human figure art are very popular.In the middle of the Heian period in the 8th century, there was already a game about changing clothes on dolls more than 1000 years ago, and later there was a record of the custom of throwing dolls into the river for auspiciousness.

The doll is a unique traditional handicraft in Japan, but it is different from the Chinese puppet. It is not only a decorative toy, but also has a deeper cultural significance.In Japan, dolls can also be taken away as part of a woman's dowry for marriage.Since dolls can be passed down from generation to generation, there is no need to buy new dolls.Dolls from some famous families have been handed down from generation to generation, and there are dozens or even hundreds of dolls, which are displayed every year in a spectacular scene.

Therefore, the Japanese are also very fond of dolls as interior decorations today.When Shinozaki Yoshiyasu was alive, because the dolls he made were extremely delicate and impeccable in workmanship, he opened a doll shop in Nagoya based on this handicraft.Marrying Rie's mother was when the store's business became more and more prosperous.

At that time, the Odagiri family was one of the regular customers of the Shinozaki doll shop.Because Shinozaki's dolls are very popular with Sachiko's mother, Odagiri Junhui.Therefore, I often choose to buy dolls at Shinozaki's house and give them to relatives and friends as gifts. By the way, I also introduced Shinozaki Doll Shop.

When Shinozaki's wife was pregnant, Junhui was also pregnant at about the same time.When she came to the doll shop occasionally, she also said that if she gave birth to a daughter in the future, she would definitely come to Shinozaki's house to buy dolls during the Doll's Day.

However, at that time, strange things gradually happened to the Shinozaki family.

On that day, Shinozaki's wife Eiko entered her husband's studio, but saw the finished dolls destroyed by her husband all over the floor.The husband was looking at the puppet on the ground in pain, his eyes were bloodshot.

"I...I don't want to make dolls anymore..."

This shocked Yingzi!You must know that her husband has no other skills other than making dolls, and his education is not high, and he is a full-time wife at home. A child will be born in the future. If he does not open this shop, it will mean cutting off his source of income!

"What are you talking about? How can you not do it?" Yingzi picked up a puppet on the ground and said, "I think you did a good job!"

"No, that's not right..." Shinozaki suddenly grabbed the doll, threw it to the ground again, and said, "Didn't you notice? They're looking at me... laughing at me, they, they're all alive coming!"

Yingzi was totally caught off guard by her husband's sudden change.Her hometown is in Kamakura, and she doesn't have any relatives or friends in Nagoya, so she doesn't know who to talk to.No matter how much I persuaded my husband, he seemed unwilling to be a puppet anymore.

Yingzi began to feel that her husband had a mental problem.In desperation, she wanted to take him to see a psychiatrist, but her husband always yelled at her to make her terrified.

Of course, it is said that it will not be done, but the doll shop is still open for the time being.After all, there are still a lot of dolls in stock, but if you encounter customers who need to order dolls, it will be very troublesome.My husband's current state of mind makes it impossible to make dolls.And Eiko doesn't know anything about making dolls. Now that her belly is getting bigger and bigger, what should she do after the baby is born?
One day, Jun Hui passed by the Shinozaki doll shop, so she went into the shop to have a look.And Yingzi was already very haggard at this time, which surprised Junhui very much.It was only when I asked that I found out that such an accident had happened.

"Continuing like this is not an option," Junhui said to Yingzi, "Mrs. Shinozaki is pregnant with a child. If you continue like this, I'm afraid it will be bad for the child."

"Well, of course I know that too. But my husband's appearance..."

"Well," Jun Hui moved her heart. After all, she is also pregnant with a child, so she can understand Yingzi's feelings and said, "Come and live at my house before you give birth. Anyway, our house is very big, and there are empty rooms." It’s also empty, and it doesn’t matter if there is one more person.”

"Small, Mrs. Odagiri?" Eiko was very surprised: "You said to let me go to your house? How can this be..."

"It's nothing, just like Mrs. Shinozaki, we are all mothers, so naturally we don't need any mistakes for our children. Mr. Shinozaki's situation is so unstable now, I'm worried about you..."

Junhui's kindness moved Yingzi very much.She discussed this matter with her husband later, and she was worried that his husband would be furious, but he didn't respond and didn't take care of her much.

Strange to say, although her husband said that he would no longer make dolls, he started making dolls again in the past few days. As soon as he made one, he would destroy another one, which made Yingzi feel distressed: This is money!
In the end, she temporarily moved into Odagiri's house.Junhui's husband, Odagiri Akira is also an easy-going person, and their son Ji Yan also likes him very much, which makes Yingzi feel relieved.

In the days that followed, life at Odagiri's house was quite pleasant, and the relationship between Yingzi and Junhui became better and better, and they even became like sisters.Yingzi also likes Ji Yan very much, and hopes that she will have such a cute boy.

Although I call home every week, my husband's situation is getting more and more unstable every day.

He always said: "Dolls, dolls, they are going to kill me! They are going to kill me!"

"Those puppets are possessed by evil spirits and cursed... I, I want to destroy them!"

Yingzi became more and more worried about her husband, but at this time she was pregnant with Liujia, and she was very worried that her husband's mental disorder would cause disputes with her, which would endanger the child.After mentioning this matter to the Odagiri family, the Odagiri couple also felt that the situation was very serious.

"It seems that Mr. Shinozaki needs to be checked, he seems to have a very serious mental problem." Akira thought for a while and said: "And if the situation continues to deteriorate, what should you do after the child is born? "

"If it doesn't work, I'll take my husband back to my natal home in Kamakura first, and then make plans. But my father seems to be getting worse and worse recently. After the child is born, I have to go back to Kamakura no matter what. .”

A few months later, both Junhui and Yingzi were admitted to the obstetrics and gynecology hospital.Later, Junhui first gave birth to a girl, namely Sachiko.Eiko was about three weeks late and also gave birth to a girl.

That girl is Riei.

When Eiko returned to the Shinozaki doll shop with Rie, she stared dumbfounded at the empty doll shop!

When I got home, no one was there.

Contacted the mobile phone, only to find that the mobile phone number has been completely changed!This put Yingzi in a very difficult situation. She had just given birth to a child, but she encountered such a thing!
Out of helplessness, she had no choice but to go back to Kamakura temporarily.It was only after contacting my father that I found out that my husband had also returned there!Knowing his whereabouts, Yingzi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When I came to my hometown in Kamakura, I found that... my father's illness was getting worse and worse, but I didn't contact her because I didn't want to make pregnant Eiko feel sad.It seemed that he could only live for a month at most.

After her father passed away, after the funeral, Yingzi became more and more miserable.The husband was very strange. While saying that he would no longer be a doll, he continued to make a doll and destroy it.Later, in order to be able to make ends meet, Eiko persuaded her husband to continue making dolls for others to make a living. After all, they now have Rie.

However, Shinozaki Yoshiyasu was unwilling anyway.But without making dolls, there is no source of income.My father’s funeral expenses were borrowed from some neighbors, because both Shinozaki’s and Eiko’s parents had passed away, and other relatives would just evade it when they heard the word “money”.In order to earn money for milk powder for Rie, Eiko had to go out to find a job.Finally, after a lot of hard work, I found a job washing dishes in a restaurant.

But her husband's condition became more and more serious.The dolls that he broke would be piled up all over the room. Those dolls were obviously well made and could definitely be sold for money, but he broke them every time!I don't like nursing painting either, and never help to look after her.Yingzi could hardly bear it anymore.

And then, something even more terrifying happened.

In April 1985, Shinozaki and Eiko were found dead at home. Both of them died tragically, but their daughter, Shinozaki Rie, survived.After investigation of the scene, it was preliminarily determined that this was a robbery murder case.What's weird is that at the scene of the two's deaths, a large number of broken dolls were piled up on the ground...

This incident also caused a sensation, and the Odagiri couple in Nagoya also saw the news in the newspaper.Junhui was also very sad because of this, and later went to inquire about the situation of the only surviving Rie.In the end, it was learned that other relatives of the Shinozaki couple did not want to take Rie in for various reasons.If this continues, the only option is to send her to an orphanage.

Junhui made up her mind to adopt Rie!At first, her husband didn't approve of this matter, but because Jun Hui persisted, he had to agree.

In the end, Rie was brought from Kamakura to Nagoya, and she was registered with the Odagiri family.

Both Ji Yan and Sachiko sympathize with Rie's experience, so they dote on her extraordinarily.

"Speaking of which," Xingzi said suddenly, "I heard people say that no one dared to live in that old house in Kamakura after the murder case. Moreover, there would be horrifying sounds for many nights afterwards." The sound made the nearby people move away in fright.”

"Haha, Sachiko, why are you so superstitious?" Ji Yan didn't care. "It's the 21st century, how could there be ghosts? Curse, ghosts and so on are all caused by human beings' fear of death. It's just a hint. How can you believe such rumors!"

So, a few days later, Ji Yan took Lie and drove to Kamakura...

(End of this chapter)