The chapter opens with a flashback to a time when the narrator was a "former delinquent farmer" . The narrator tells us that he and his friend, the artist chiaki, have returned to the house where they grew up. The two of them are now happily married and have a son, daigo, whom they call "cousin." The narrator laments the fact that he did not have children when he was a child, and he wishes that he could have them now. He also laments that he has become a "pretty strong stomach" because of the meals he has prepared for the family. He tells the children that they are welcome to visit anytime they want. The children are delighted to see him, and the narrator tells them that he will soon be returning home.