CHAPTER 681: CHAPTER 419 A DAY OF MISSING HANABI MIGHT BE QUITE ORDINARY

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the silver watch on his wrist. It was already 7 PM.

"Good job, how do you feel about today?" The manager, Yanagi Shiiru, dressed in a sharp vest suit, stood behind the counter, recording today’s earnings and expenditures with a calculator and pen.

"It feels like there were more people today than yesterday." Uesugi Sakura hung his work apron on the wall hook behind the counter.

Towa Rina slumped over a table in the store, resting her head on her outstretched arm, muttering, "So tired, so tired..."

Tashiro Yuuri and Tashiro Yuno, the two sisters, were tidying up the last dishes in the restaurant, with Kobashi Rikai helping them.

Uesugi Sakura found this kind of life unexpectedly fulfilling, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

"Uesugi, here’s your pay for today."

Uesugi Sakura counted it, totaling 15,000 yen.

This amount was a bit beyond his expectations.

"So much?"

"You broke a drip cup this morning and ordered a cup of coffee, so after deducting those costs, this is what you got."

Only?

Uesugi Sakura still found this income to be much higher than he anticipated.

His hourly wage was 1,200 yen, so even if he started being paid from 8 AM, it was only 13,200 yen for 11 hours.

Not to mention, he broke a very expensive drip cup.

The manager didn’t look up, still writing today’s accounts:

"Business was slightly better today, with a lot more female customers. Usually, they only come by every few days, but surprisingly, the ones who came yesterday returned today. What do you think the reason is?"

"..." Uesugi Sakura didn’t answer.

...

7:12:30

It was time to get off work.

"Good job, Senior Uesugi."

"Okay, remember to review the details I taught you today when you get home."

"No problem!"

"Then I’ll head out first."

"Alright."

Kobashi Rikai and a few maids still had to stay behind to do the dishes, while Uesugi Sakura left first.

Downstairs, he rode his pink bike leisurely back home.

Halfway through, he realized he hadn’t sorted out dinner for the night.

So, he turned back to a nearby supermarket and bought the last beef bento box left in the fridge.

"Still quite lucky."

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the relatively fresh beef and rice inside, paid, and left the supermarket.

Upon arriving home, he retrieved a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

"Brother’s back."

Uesugi Sakura heard the sound of footsteps approaching from inside the house; it turned out to be a little girl who came running over and hugged his waist.

"Aei."

"Brother, you’re home this late?" Aei looked up, speaking in a lazy tone.

"Brother was working a part-time job; just got off now." Uesugi Sakura pushed her a bit away, noticing she seemed to have grown taller lately, though still petite.

"And what about Hanabi sis? Aei waited so long and feels so hungry."

"What time did you arrive?"

"Three o’clock~"

"Then it indeed has been quite a while."

"Nini, what did you get?" Aei noticed the bag in his hand.

"A bento box." Uesugi Sakura took out the beef bento.

Aei glanced at it and looked up, "Is Hanabi sis not here today since brother bought a bento to eat?"

"Well, she’s... staying at school tonight. She has an important match to participate in."

"Where will sis stay tonight?"

"They have a research lab; it has living facilities and even a kitchen."

"I see~"

Aei came over by herself today, saying she wanted to see brother and Hanabi sis.

Chiaei is busy preparing for school entrance, studying hard at night.

Even elementary school students nowadays have to work hard to get into a good school, which is quite sigh-worthy.

With an extra little girl in the house, a single bento wouldn’t be enough.

There was still an egg in the fridge; Uesugi Sakura pondered, should he make egg fried rice for her?

Taking care of kids can be quite draining, as they always find unexpected ways to make adults worry.

Serving them a meal, they take a bite before racing around, messing up things you’ve tidied, and after a while, they’ll say they’re hungry again.

Luckily, Aei was not troublesome and quietly watched TV, letting him relax a lot.

There was leftover rice from yesterday. He poured some oil into the pan and cracked in two eggs.

Using his right hand to flip the eggs until they turned golden and fragrant, he added the leftover rice and stirred it.

Then he threw in some diced luncheon meat to enhance the aroma and texture of the egg fried rice.

Finally, he added a little bit of chopped green onions.

He grabbed the pan with one hand and transferred the fried rice onto a plate.

Done, he set the pan aside.

Uesugi Sakura looked at his creation and, for the first time, felt confident in his cooking.

He went to the fridge for two bottles of milk and sat with Aei, eating and watching TV.

"How is it?" Uesugi Sakura saw Aei take a bite of the dish he made.

"Uh~" Aei was visibly trying hard, "Not good....."

"..."

How could this be!

Uesugi Sakura felt it was perfect.

"Can you tell me what doesn’t taste good?"

"Nini probably put a lot of salt~"

"That’s not right, I remember using only a little... Do you still want to eat?"

"Yes."

"Isn’t it too salty?"

"A little bit."

"...Don’t force yourself, if it’s too salty, you don’t have to eat it."

"Okay then." Aei immediately put her chopsticks down.

"..." Uesugi Sakura thought it was only a little salty; he didn’t expect it to be so salty that it was inedible.

A spoonful of salt, is it too much?

Seems like he should use even less next time.

"Do you want some ochazuke?"

"I do~"

"Then you’ll have to wait a little while, I need to cook some rice first, you watch TV for now."