第72話: 冨美は自家製小麦粉ガムを用いて兄のオサムとの和解を試みる

72

Deputy Director of the Arts and Culture Department, Tomio Tomii, tries to invite members of staff out drinking, but they all decline except Yamaoka and Kurita. Tomii then reveals he's meeting his younger brother Osamu who is a CEO of a construction company. Their relationship is strained because during the post-war period when the family was very poor, Tomio received a college education while Osamu had to work. Tomii recalls when their father made chewing gum from flour for Osamu, but he doesn't remember and Osamu claims their father was unkind. To prove his statement, Tomii tries to make chewing gum from flour but fails. Later, when Yamaoka is eating nama-fu he realizes wheat gluten can be chewy, and invites the Tomii brothers out to dine again. This time, Yamaoka washes flour under running water until all the starch is dissolved, leaving only the gluten and protein. The brothers try it, and Osamu recalls the smell, taste and texture from his childhood and realizes that his father had in fact created the gum for him, and the brothers are tearfully reunited. (Source: Wikipedia)