When I started Suspecting my Wife of Cheating, I Somehow Ended up Living in the Middle of Nowhere - Episode 14

Anyway, since I got a job, I decided to start mowing the land behind the village chief’s house. But “behind” in the countryside means really far away. Even though it was just “at the back,” it still required a car to get there!

“This is the place…”

What lay before us was a plot of land wide enough to build a baseball field.

“Here, huh…”

A grass cutter is supposed to cut grass, right!? But this isn’t just overgrown grass—it’s basically a jungle!

“Well, this is the only grass cutter we have, so just take your time.”

There were only two grass cutters. I brought my daughters with me, so we had three people. Not enough equipment. Should we buy another? Borrow one from somewhere? While I was considering that, the village chief’s wife came over.

“Are the three of you gonna be okay?”

She had a smirk on her face.

“Dad.”

My older daughter came over and spoke to me in a slightly hushed tone, so I bent down to hear her better. By the way, there’s quite a height difference between me and my daughter.

“What’s up?”

“I’ll start cutting the grass first, so you can…”

Ah, I see. I noticed it earlier too.

She smoothly poured mixed fuel into the grass cutter, turned on the choke, flipped the switch, gave the starter cord a strong pull, and the engine roared to life. Then she turned the choke back off.

“How can you start that engine so easily!?”

The village chief’s wife asked in a surprised voice—well, the engine was loud, so she had to shout.

My daughter calmly put on her goggles and replied:

“I like this kind of thing.”

She had the most refreshing smile on her face.

The village chief’s wife stood frozen, her mouth wide open. Meanwhile, my daughter began cutting the grass from a safe distance so the village chief’s wife wouldn’t be in danger.

She aimed for the edges, the very edges.

My younger daughter Chieri and I got in the car and left. We decided to follow my older daughter’s idea and left the site temporarily to get something.

○●○

About an hour later, we returned to the village’s grassy battlefield. The village chief and his wife were either bored or just very caring—they were sitting and watching my daughter mow the grass.

She had worked her way in from the edges, leaving the central area completely untouched.

“That thing you’ve got…”

The village chief noticed our return and asked.

“This is ‘Masao.’ We borrowed a demo unit from the home improvement center!”

Unlike before, we came back in a light truck borrowed from the store. And on the back of that truck was Masao.

“Masao, huh…?”

Chieri and I unloaded it from the truck and started the engine.

Masao is a buggy-type grass cutter. You just ride it and mow as you go—super efficient. Its full name is actually “Kusakariki Masao” (Grass Cutter Masao). It’s not a joke or a pun—it’s a real product.

The hardware store was offering demo loans. Since one of these machines costs over a million yen, only wealthy people can afford to buy them impulsively.

That’s probably why they let us borrow one for free. I told them honestly that I wanted to test it, and the store clerk said, “This is exactly the kind of opportunity where we want people to see what it can do! Please use it to your heart’s content!” That was some good salesmanship.

Chieri isn’t very good at the detailed work of trimming grass with a handheld cutter. But she’s excellent at operating buggy-type machines.

Of course, she doesn’t have a driver’s license. Where did she even learn to drive?

She started mowing the central area, where the vegetation had turned from grass into thick brush. But Masao the buggy-powered grass cutter plowed through it like a champ.

Once again, the village chief and his wife stood there, mouths agape.

While Chieri mowed the middle section, my older daughter had finished her initial work. Then, she picked up an electric chainsaw—also borrowed from the home improvement store—and began cutting down small trees that the grass cutters couldn’t handle.

Chainsawing requires a bit of know-how. First, you make a notch called the “undercut,” then make a cut from the opposite side called the “back cut” to guide the tree to fall in the desired direction. Even small trees aren’t easy to bring down without experience.

But she handled it perfectly. Even the way she cut them would make them easy to use as firewood later. I felt a real sense of confidence in her. She made sure her work didn’t interfere with where the buggy was mowing, too—great coordination.

I pitched in by gathering up any obstructive grass to help the buggy move more smoothly and clearing space around the trees my daughter was planning to fell.

Naturally, we didn’t even need to speak to coordinate. We just read each other’s body language and atmosphere to get the job done.

It was a big plot of land, but we managed to finish mowing in a single day. That was thanks to my older daughter handling the spots that the buggy couldn’t reach in advance.

Eventually, I joined in with a handheld cutter too, so you could say it was a three-person job.

We received a pretty good payment for our work. The collected grass and trees would be gathered later after they’d dried out—and we’d be paid separately for that too.

“You three… You better come back tomorrow. We’ve got another job.”

Looks like the village chief’s wife has more work for us. We still want to fix up our house, but we definitely need money more right now.

So we decided to prioritize this job.

Looks like we’ll have to lay out three futons in the living room and sleep there. Living indoors like we’re camping. If it were winter, we might’ve frozen to death.

“Alright, let’s head home.”

“We’re taking Masao back to the home center, right? I wanna go too!”

My older daughter really loves home improvement stores.

“I want something too.”

“What do you want, Chieri?”

“Fiber internet and Wi-Fi!”

Why Wi-Fi!? That’s your top priority!? The walls literally have gaps in them—there are more urgent things!

“By the way, Chieri, you drove that buggy like a pro. Where’d you learn?”

I asked Chieri as I drove the truck. We don’t even own a motorbike, and being able to handle a four-wheeled buggy that well just didn’t add up.

“Umm, from Mari-Kart.”

Mari-Kart? A friend, maybe?

“Dad, she means Mario Kart—the game.”

By the way, my older daughter was sitting in the truck bed to keep an eye on the equipment. The window was open just enough for us to talk.

Even I know Mario Kart. But is “Mari-Kart” a common abbreviation!? Sure, they’ve got arcade cabinets in game centers… maybe it really does help you learn?

…Knowing my daughter, I wouldn’t be surprised if she could do hairpin drifts or even “ditch drifting” like in rally racing.

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Musings of Village Chief’s Wife, Toiko Kunizaki (58)

Why do those girls from the city know how to choose 2-stroke fuel!? When I married into the countryside, I didn’t even know what a grass cutter was!

And they just fire up the engine like it’s nothing! How does a girl that age even know what a choke is!?

And that pig of a girl!? She’s got the face of an idol or actress—unbelievable!

Did he snatch her from somewhere!?

And where the hell did that pig get such a fancy grass cutter!? They finished in one day what I thought would take a month! Even cut down the trees in the way. The quality of their work was way better than I expected!

Unreal! What kind of mischief should I pull on them next!?

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Lament of Kiyomi Zenpuku (divorced, hasn’t changed back to her maiden name because paperwork is a hassle)

When I got home, the girls were gone! Lately, they’d been holed up in their rooms, so I didn’t notice. On the desk, I found a letter.

“I can’t be a daughter to that man. I’m going to live with Dad.”

Tomoko, what do you mean you can’t accept him!? He’s got a graduate degree and isn’t poor! We live in a huge mansion—what more could you want!?

“I’m going to live with my real father.”

Chieri! You hardly ever interacted with your father before! Why don’t you like him!? He always tried to talk to you!

He doesn’t come home much either. Now the girls are gone too… What even is my life!?