In Japan, many things do not need to be communicated, or even discussed. Therefore, when He Rui was studying in Tokyo, Morita Mitsuko, the only daughter of his landlady Mrs. Morita, did not know that many big shots who could crush the Morita family with a flick of their fingers had exerted effort in the process of her being admitted to the university.

Morita Mitsuko was even less aware that the predecessor of the medical department of Tohoku Imperial University, where she was studying, was the Sendai Medical School. The Chinese man Zhou Shuren (Lu Xun) had studied at the Sendai Medical School and was Morita Mitsuko's senior.

Monday, July 29, 1918. In the morning light, students of Tohoku Imperial University gathered on the playground according to their departments.

Located in Sendai, 'Tohoku Imperial University' was the third imperial university founded by the Japanese government. Perhaps it was because the first lord of the Sendai domain was Date Masamune, who was rumored to shout all day about 'taking the world as easy as turning over a hand', or perhaps it was because Sendai firmly supported the alliance between the court and the shogunate during the Boshin War and fought a bitter and bloody war against the anti-shogunate Satcho Alliance.

In short, in the second year of the Taisho era (1913), adhering to the educational philosophy of "open door", Tohoku Imperial University resolutely accepted four women to participate in the entrance examination. Even though the Japanese Ministry of Education issued a document prohibiting such shocking behavior, Tohoku University still withstood the pressure and arranged the entrance examination. In the end, three women passed the exam and successfully enrolled in Tohoku University, giving birth to the first batch of female university students in Japan proper.

Male students of the Imperial University had specialized uniforms. Due to the small number of female university students, Morita Mitsuko was still wearing the uniform of Tokyo Women's High School. This uniform was not much different from later Japanese girls' school uniforms: a standard long-sleeved top with a sailor-style boat neck, a long skirt reaching the calves, long socks, and small leather shoes. The style of girls' school uniforms pursued dignity and tranquility, remaining almost unchanged for a hundred years from 1870 to 1970.

The expectations for excellent women in the country of Japan were very consistent: quiet and reserved in personality, gentle and considerate, and possessing a noble and virtuous temperament. Although her back was straight, Morita Mitsuko and the other fourteen girls lowered their heads slightly, their gazes looking diagonally downward. They walked in the morning campus with steps as unhurried as possible.

The boys' gazes naturally gathered on these fifteen female university students. If there were only fifteen girls in all three grades of a university, it would be strange not to have such a reaction.

As the Japanese national flag rose slowly against the morning sun, the students lined up neatly and sang the Japanese national anthem 'Kimigayo' together with the accompaniment from the loudspeakers.

After the routine Monday flag-raising ceremony ended, the president delivered his daily admonition on the podium. Since entering school a year ago, the content of the admonitions Morita Mitsuko heard had hardly changed. They all required students to focus on their studies, master knowledge, and serve the Great Japanese Empire after graduation.

The president said with a serious expression, "Fellow students, the Imperial Government has issued an order. The Imperial Army is about to attack Russia, which has betrayed the Entente Powers, to punish Russia for its treacherous behavior..."

Hearing that Japan had actually launched a war, a murmur of surprised sighs first came from the students, followed immediately by boys shouting: "Long live the Great Japanese Empire!"

...The admonition finally ended, and the boys immediately gathered together to discuss the war. The girls maintained their 'quiet, reserved, gentle, and considerate' demeanor and walked quietly to their classrooms.

Arriving in front of the teaching building, Morita Mitsuko looked up at the plaque at the entrance, 'Tohoku Imperial University Teaching Department', and lowered her gaze again. Seeing 'Tohoku' (Northeast), Mitsuko felt a destined sense of intimacy.

There is often a strange opposition, subtle showing off, and jealousy among girls. A girl from a declined family among a group of young ladies needed spiritual support even more. 'Manchurian Tiger — He Rui', 'Surprise Attack — General He Rui Recovers the Chinese Eastern Railway', 'Dragon of Manchuria and Mongolia — He Rui'. Seeing news reports about He Rui, who was like her own brother, appear in Japanese newspapers time and again, Mitsuko gained the strength to ignore all strange gazes in her heart.

Compared with classmates from Tokyo Women's High School, the status of female classmates in the university was more prominent. Mitsuko, however, only considered how to interact with them politely.

In the classroom, the boys excitedly discussed the Great Japanese Empire's war against Russia, while the girls quietly prepared their items for class. Morita Mitsuko felt somewhat fortunate in her heart; to obtain inner comfort, she had developed the habit of reading newspapers.

He Rui's name didn't appear often in the newspapers, but statements about Manchuria and Mongolia being Japan's lifeline were frequently seen. Even in news where He Rui's name appeared, the content often discussed whether this guy He Rui would become an enemy of the Great Japanese Empire. The target of this war was Russia, not China, which made Mitsuko feel relieved.

At lunch, the girls got their food and returned to the dormitory, closing the door tightly. The girls lowered their voices, discussing what had happened while eating.

When they didn't have to face boys, the young ladies didn't need to maintain the appearance that others must admire. In the atmosphere of war, the young ladies naturally talked about the soldiers they knew. The upper-class circle was actually not big; the high-ranking officers the young ladies heard about and knew were just those few, over and over again.

Suddenly, Saionji Miyabi turned to Mitsuko. "Mitsuko, I wonder what kind of person General He Rui is."

Mitsuko's chopsticks stopped unconsciously. Looking up at this group of young ladies, she saw no surprise on their faces, only curiosity. But Mitsuko had never told anyone that she knew He Rui.

Seeing Mitsuko had no intention of answering, Saionji Miyabi urged, "Many people say He-kun is a very formidable figure. Is he good at fighting?"

Mitsuko was then certain that the young ladies had long known her family background, including He Rui who had changed Mitsuko's fate. So Mitsuko shook her head, still not answering. Mitsuko couldn't accept showing off He Rui.

Seeing Mitsuko like this, the young ladies didn't press further, but their expressions became cold.

Seeing this, Mitsuko had to speak up. "He-kun is a very kind person."

Finally hearing someone who had lived under the same roof as He Rui for several years talk about him, the young ladies' expressions immediately returned to a friendly appearance. Although they didn't dare speak loudly, they still asked all sorts of questions about He Rui.

Regarding He Rui being kind, Mitsuko answered reluctantly. But when it came to questions involving evaluating He Rui, Mitsuko didn't answer. Having managed to satisfy the young ladies' curiosity with difficulty, it was also almost time for class. The female university students packed up their bowls and chopsticks and hurriedly prepared the textbooks and notes needed for the afternoon. After the dormitory door opened, a group of elegant and quiet female university students appeared before the students and teachers.

The sky gradually darkened. The sweltering day was nearing dusk. As the scorching summer sun sank into the gray surface of the Sea of Japan and twilight enveloped every household, the astonishing sound of alarm bells suddenly rang out on the streets. More than 300 fishermen's wives and daughters from Nishimizuhashi Town, a fishing village in Toyama Prefecture, walked onto the streets from all directions and surrounded the rice shop.

Toyama Prefecture and Sendai were at almost the same latitude on the map, only Sendai was on the east side facing the Pacific Ocean, while Toyama Prefecture was on the west side facing the Sea of Japan.

Compared with the female university students, these fishermen's wives and daughters didn't have elegant 'sailor suits'. They wore short-sleeved tops with patch upon patch, and the skirts at their waists were also very short, only reaching above the knees, exposing thick, short thighs tanned by the sun.

After the women surrounded the rice shop, other women continued to surround the rice shop on the narrow street. Women who arrived late shouted with loud voices, "The rice shop's rice hasn't been shipped away yet, right?!"

Entering July, Japanese rice prices had been skyrocketing. In fact, not just in July; during the past so-called 'era of prosperity', Japanese rice prices had been rising continuously.

Originally, a family of three could get by with an income of 21-22 yen. With the continuous rise in rice prices, such income could no longer meet the needs of normal life.

The Japanese people in the fishing village of Nishimizuhashi Town in Toyama Prefecture were even more affected. The men in the family went out to sea to fish during the fishing season, and after the fishing season passed, they worked as sailors on ships sailing between Tsuruga and Vladivostok.

As the war's negative impact on Russia grew larger and Japanese rice prices grew higher, to earn more money, the men in the fishing village had to spend more time on ships, yet the money the women at home received didn't increase.

Now hearing that the owner of the local rice shop wanted to ship the rice in the shop to other places to sell at a high price, the women immediately rushed over to stop this.

Among the women surrounding the rice shop, someone shouted, "As long as the rice isn't shipped away, even if it's on credit, there's still food to eat. If we let them ship the rice away, we can only starve!"

Other women echoed in agreement. At this time, the shopkeeper walked out pretending to be menacing, shouting at the women surrounding the rice shop, "What do you want to do? Leave immediately!"

Seeing the shopkeeper come out, the women quickly pleaded, "There is a shortage of rice locally now; don't sell the rice elsewhere."

The shopkeeper had been a bit uneasy at first, but seeing the women only pleading, he immediately glared with round eyes and shouted rudely, "The rice is mine; I'll sell it to whoever I want."

Perhaps preparing to help her husband drive away these poor people, the shopkeeper's wife rushed out from the shop and shrieked, "If you think the rice is expensive and you can't live, go die then!"

The atmosphere underwent a subtle change in this angry rebuke. Unlike those young ladies, these women who didn't even know what an ivory tower was fell silent. The evening wind, wrapped in the smell of salty seawater and sweat, blew through the crowd, making the air feel different.

The shopkeeper thought the silence would continue and was about to turn around. Suddenly, a shout came from the crowd, "Sisters, we can't wait to die on empty stomachs; let's divide his rice!"

"What!" The shopkeeper turned back, preparing to scold these women angrily.

However, what met the shopkeeper's eyes were thick arms. The women rushed up and pushed the shopkeeper backward so that he tumbled; he rolled several times without stopping.

Those sturdy legs strove forward. Someone grabbed the shopkeeper's wife's rather exquisitely combed hair and pulled, causing the woman to scream shrilly.

"Take all the rice! Don't leave a single grain!" Angry shouts rose one after another in the crowd.

The hand grabbing the shopkeeper's wife let go. In the angry crowd striving to smash the main door, someone inadvertently bumped into the shopkeeper's wife, sending the woman flying.

The couple fell to the ground. No matter how they howled and cursed, before the sound emitted by that angry stream of people, it was insignificant, and no one paid attention.