The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

Author:Hiroko Oyamada
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811228862
Publisher: New Directions
Published: 2019-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Forest Pantser dresses the part. Under a mantle of coypu fur, he wears a gray jumpsuit, an old design that no one wears anymore. His uniform is on the baggy side, a little too large for him. He tucks his pants into his black rubber boots. Age has made a smaller man of him.

“Like I said last time, the first thing you should do is walk around the factory to see what kind of moss you can find. It’s really not my area of expertise, so I can’t help you any more than that.” No one could. The hike came to an end, and so did the first moss hunt. Following that, though, there was a nebulous stretch of nothing but time, but I suppose that was the same at the lab at my university. Spring, summer, fall, winter. A never-ending cycle of seasons. Back then, everything was easy for me — it was a time of happiness. At the factory, I wake up, eat breakfast, walk around, maybe ride around on the bus, grab lunch at the usual cafeteria, take another walk, go back home to work on samples or plug data into my computer. Then I eat dinner, take a bath, go to sleep, and get ready to start the whole thing over again. How long can this go on? My live-in lab next to the cleaning facility has a kitchen and a bath. The cafeteria is a five-minute walk. It’s close enough to the residential areas that once in a while you’ll see married couples or families there. “This cafeteria is a little ways from HQ, and not many of you work in the area, I’m sure, but it doesn’t hurt to know it’s here. The lunch special is highly recommended. Personally, I enjoy the, uh, croquette . . . What is it? Koban croquette? Aoyama-san, do you remember?” “Waraji.” “Waraji croquette?” “The waraji croquette lunch special. With ground beef inside. It’s sweet and spicy. You’ll love it!” “It’s the PR Department’s favorite. We’ll ride the bus over just to eat here.” It’s not ground beef, though. It’s pulled beef cooked in sweet sauce. They serve breakfast between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., and if you sign up for the breakfast plan, you can eat something a little different every morning — grilled fish with rice and miso, an omelet with a side of toast — all for just 5,000 yen a month. They’re closed on weekends and holidays, whenever the factory is closed, so that makes it about 250 yen per day. It’s a cheap alternative to going grocery shopping, getting up early, and fixing your own breakfast. Most days, I’m there for lunch and dinner, too. Still, when I’m out searching for moss around the factory, I’ll make a point of trying out the local cafeterias and restaurants. Some places are awful, with rice like glue or watery ramen. But the factory has a handful of places that are amazing — if this were a real town they’d be legendary, with lines running around the corner.

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