NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: The Voice I Hear From the Hole is Probably Just Within my Imagination
There was a sudden increase in the surplus excavation soil and construction demolition waste.
[I wonder if this is because of Director Tsuchiya…… Geez, forcing the unreasonable on others……]
When Hiroki talked to the person who brought those wastes to him, they told him that Director Tsuchiya was using his connections as Construction Contractor to distribute information about him to other companies within the same industry.
There is even a construction company that drove to his home with a 10-ton truck instead of a mini-truck.
Hiroki wants them to stop though.
Because of their deeds, Hiroki’s main business, recycling, is now closed.
He is now throwing garbage into the hole from morning to night.
He isn’t forced to the red because he accepts their garbage for a fee, but he eventually reached the limit of carrying the garbage by hand.
Thus, he asked a nearby metal worker to set up a simple conveyor belt and installed it in his workshop.
It was then attached to a simple conveyor about 10 meters wide, matching the full diameter of the hole.
Hiroki would then ask the dump trucks to dump the trash they brought on the conveyor, and later he would use a shovel to load the trash that had spilled out and cram it into the hole.
This made his job much easier.
The problem though, is the eyes of his neighbors.
Although Hiroki lives in the countryside and his neighbor is more than a hundred meters away from his home, when a suspicious dump truck———— which actually is related to suspicious business———- but anyhow, with a dump truck like that around, it becomes a rumor in the neighborhood.
The hole will quickly dispose of the garbage they brought, but Hiroki doesn’t want to hear complaints about the noise from the dump trucks and conveyor.
[I think you better get a license for waste disposal. I’ll introduce you to a guy who had influence with the prefecture and is good with permits.]
When Hiroki went to complain about this to the corrupt Construction Contractor, they introduced him to someone else.
[I’ve heard rumors about you. I’m Kaneda from Kaneda Asset Management Finance. I’ll do my best to make sure Hiroki-san won’t be disadvantaged.]
He is about 180cm, a little taller than Hiroki, and of slim build. He speaks politely, but the way his hair is all gelled up and the tortoiseshell glasses over his narrow eyes give him an eerie impression.
[Finance? You’re from the bank? I don’t need your offers.]
[No, no. We do invest in good businesses, but our forte is in real estate and permits. We’re well-acquainted with those in the prefectural government after all……]
[Huhh……]
In short, it seems that he has relatives in the relevant departments of the local government.
That’s pretty common in businesses in the countryside.
[It’s very easy to get a waste disposal license as long as you have the proper paperwork.]
Even though Kaneda said such a thing with a smile, the eyes behind his tortoiseshell glasses weren’t smiling at all.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I originally planned to start a private recycling business, but before I knew it, it had become a waste disposal company.
Officials from the prefectural government came to inspect the site, but the inspection went off without a hitch.
At any rate, there was hardly any waste left on the site.
With the paperwork in order, there was nothing left for them to inspect.
I bought up more land around the site, expanded it and put up high walls made of galvanized iron. Thereupon, I decided to accept a large amount of industrial waste with open arms.
At the same time, my account started to show an amount of money that I had never seen before.
At any rate, all Hiroki had to do was accept the garbage and send it to the conveyor connected to the hole.
It was a no-cost business with no inventory to keep track of, no risk to take and no employees to pay.
It would be strange if Hiroki doesn’t make any profit.
It is said that if garbage is piled up for a long time, it may cause problems like combustibles suddenly igniting, but in Hiroki’s case, he had no such risk at all.
All he had to do was throw the trash in the hole, and it would be gone the next morning.
It’s a great business that brings zero pollution.
Recently, Hiroki decided not to worry about where the hole leads to.
What is important is the amount of money accumulating in his account.
Even if his home were to collapse because of the hole, he already had enough to move anywhere he wants.
[……Giii…… Giii……]
[Ginyaaa…… yaaaa……]
That’s why, he decided to think that the little screeches he sometimes heard coming from the hole were just the sound of garbage scraping together.
His mental health was safe and sound.
At any rate, since Hiroki started this job, his body has been feeling unusually good.
The tiredness he used to feel every morning when he wakes up even disappeared.
With his current body, Hiroki feels that he can run faster than when he was a student.
The amount of money accumulating in his account must have been revitalizing his mind.
That was what Hiroki tells himself.