Ep. 39: Ohara faints from stress and heat, prompting Yamaoka to prepare high-quality rice porridge for his recovery.

39

The employees of Touzai News are alarmed to learn that an uncrupulous businessman is buying up shares in the company and attempting a takeover. To make things worse, President Ohara is feeling poorly because of stress and the hot weather, and is unable to put up a fight to protect the company. Yamaoka recommends a diet of rice porridge (okayu) but Ohara flatly refuses, and says that kind of food is disgusting. One day, Ohara faints and is taken to a hospital. Yamaoka makes a porridge in the hospital kitchen with rice he acquired in Miyagi prefecture. Ohara reluctantly tries it and is surprised how tasty it is and asks for another serving. Yamaoka explains that to make good porridge, the rice has to be of high quality. It has to be sun-dried and carefully milled, and most importantly, properly stored, as the rice available in the middle of summer is from the previous year's harvest. Ohara regains his appetite and health, and successfully convinces a large shareholder to not sell his shares in the company and so thwarts the takeover attempt. (Source: Wikipedia)