Chapter 108: Whalebone
The next day, at a newly built independent courtyard in Wanjin, Endo Chiyo was preparing to go out.
Today was her first day “going to work.” She had specifically woken up early, carefully washed her face, and styled her hair. Her waist-length hair was tied up slightly at the very end, styled in a “tail-whip” fashion. She also specifically wore a kozode on top and hakama on the bottom, to facilitate quick movement.
At first glance, she looked somewhat like a kendo girl from a Japanese high school in later generations.
After repeatedly confirming that her mental state and attire were in order, she stepped out of her home to report to Yuan Ye’s residence.
Kotaro naturally followed her, continuing to act as her bodyguard. The two hurried along and soon met Yuan Ye.
As she had just taken office, Yuan Ye naturally had to guide her and explain the work she would be responsible for. Seeing her arrive, he immediately welcomed her politely, had someone pour her tea, and then spread a very large blueprint in front of her.
Endo Chiyo’s gaze was immediately drawn to this large and strange blueprint.
This map-like blueprint was different from all the drawings she had seen before. The ink lines were fluid and sharp, with varying thickness, perfectly horizontal and vertical, interwoven and combined to outline a space with distinct layers and exquisite proportions. It perfectly presented the spatial relationships between buildings, possessing a beauty of precision and simplicity, completely unlike the maps of this era, which were roughly drawn with ink, sometimes with scenery like trees or mountains added.
Even though she could guess what it was, she couldn’t help but ask, “What is this…”
“Wanjin, one year from now,” Yuan Ye said, also admiring his masterpiece with bright eyes. “One year from now, this blueprint will become reality.”
Endo Chiyo lowered her head to examine the blueprint again. Even though it was her first time encountering this drawing method, she quickly found the location of her new home and then imagined a small town.
Yuan Ye also pointed to the blueprint and explained to her, “Of course, it will still require our efforts to become reality. Look here, this workshop area is a priority construction zone. The specifications for buildings and roads also have corresponding blueprints, which you can examine slowly later. Then, pay special attention here; the walls and trenches here exceed the standard…”
As he explained in detail, the small town in Endo Chiyo’s mind became clearer, even giving her the illusion of a bird’s-eye view of the town. She could already see a beautifully managed territory with extremely strict planning and a constant flow of people. After the blueprint was explained and she had a grasp of the future plans, Yuan Ye took out a bound large book and instructed her, “This is the current work schedule and various management regulations for rewards and punishments. However, it is still in trial. You will definitely encounter various problems in the future. Use it for now, and make revisions as you go. Report any corrections to me regularly.”
“These are the ledgers and inventory. You can allocate the funds and supplies according to the actual situation, but be sure to keep good records. At the same time, you must also report to Yayoi, who will also keep records.”
“This is the list of heads for the current projects. If you encounter any troublemakers, you can suspend them first and then report to me for handling.”
“This is the list of special projects and pending projects. Prioritize tasks when faced with them…”
“These are the project acceptance standards…”
“This is the current household registration for Wanjin. Remember to update it at all times and do not miss anyone.”
Real life is not a game. Bases cannot appear with a click of a mouse, and laziness is human nature. Many people eat a lot of food but don’t want to do any work. Therefore, to truly build Wanjin and build it to one’s satisfaction, there are far more trivial matters than most people imagine.
Yuan Ye had been bogged down by these miscellaneous affairs before, having to handle planning, production in the workshop, and process improvements, wishing he could split himself in two. He couldn’t even start his plan to find saltpeter. But now, these minor issues, which wouldn’t affect the overall situation even if messed up temporarily, could all be handled by Endo Chiyo. If she was truly as intelligent as the folk legends claimed, after a period of adaptation, she would likely not cause any major disruptions.
Finally, Yuan Ye beckoned, calling over three little maids, and said to her with a smile, “These three are your assistants. They all recognize seven to eight hundred common characters and can help you find documents and run errands. When you have time, continue to teach them literacy and arithmetic.”
These three little maids were taught by Yayoi in her spare time last year. However, their study time was short, and they were too young to be of great use yet. But there was no rush; they could continue to be trained. Perhaps talent would emerge from them in the future, and at least they could serve as little secretaries.
Endo Chiyo hadn’t expected there to be so much work involved in building a territory from scratch. However, she had been a head of a family for several years, and Yuan Ye had laid a solid foundation and made plans for her, so she wasn’t particularly afraid. Instead, she felt a strong sense of trust. She truly hadn’t expected Yuan Ye to entrust such an important task to her; these were clearly things only men could do.
She took a deep breath and nodded seriously, “I understand, Lord Yuan Ye. Please entrust all these tasks to me.”
“Good, very motivated!”
Yuan Ye raised his hand to pat her shoulder as encouragement, but as he raised his hand, he realized it was inappropriate and could lead to gossip. So, he nodded and smiled, “Please rest assured and do it boldly. It’s okay if you make mistakes; we’ll solve them together then.”
“Yes!” Endo Chiyo immediately replied, feeling that the head of the Yuan Ye Family had a truly good personality, very magnanimous.
“Then that’s it. If you have anything unclear, ask them first. If not, then come to me.” Yuan Ye shed the general affairs and prepared to ponder matters of ships and sailors. He needed to go out to sea to find saltpeter. If he couldn’t find it, he would have to quickly make saltpeter from dung. Otherwise, if he had no results by the deadline, Oda Nobunaga would definitely not let him off.
He couldn’t afford to offend Oda Nobunaga now. As long as it wasn’t a matter of principle, he had to go along with him, at the very least, not give him a reason to take this land back.
He patted his backside and left. Endo Chiyo stood up and watched him leave before sitting back down. She then called the three little maids, aged seven, eight, and nine, over, kindly asked for their names, and bonded with them. She then prioritized looking at the list of project leaders and asked them who these people were.
From now on, she would handle the detailed matters and interact with them. Only when they encountered major problems they couldn’t solve would they report to Yuan Ye for his final decision. In any case, after carefully considering Yuan Ye’s words, this was likely what he meant. It was no wonder she was appointed as the “Wanjin Magistrate.”
She intuitively started with personnel, understanding each colleague in detail. After asking, she discovered that these people were either Yuan Ye’s subordinate officials, veteran followers, or independent allies with no affiliation. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Where are Lord Yuan Ye’s vassals?”
The three little maids shook their heads in unison, “The Lord has no vassals.”
“No vassals? Why?” Endo Chiyo was very surprised. After all, Yuan Ye wasn’t short of money and had the backing of the Oda Danjō no Chū family. It would be easy to recruit vassals. The whole world was at war, with plenty of rōnin. Offering an annual salary of ten or twenty koku, people would eagerly fight to the death. So why didn’t he recruit any?
The three little maids exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison again, indicating they didn’t know either.
Endo Chiyo pondered for a moment and then looked at the three little girls in front of her, who clearly came from commoner families but had already acquired basic literacy. She suspected that Yuan Ye deliberately refused to recruit vassals. Otherwise, there was no need for him to patiently train these little girls who were only worth half a donkey. He could have found many better candidates.
However, this had nothing to do with her. It was good that Yuan Ye had no vassals. If he had vassals, there was no way she would have been appointed “Wanjin Magistrate.”
She quickly put aside this small doubt and continued to ask the three little maids how things had been run here before. Finally, she picked up the large 《 Wanjin Planning Map 》 and examined it again.
It was the first time she had seen a territory managed in this way. The planning was incredibly detailed, possessing an indescribable aesthetic. Moreover, it was a chain of interconnected systems, where everyone was supervised and urged by complex regulations, forced to move in unison. No wonder she had always seen the Yuan Ye Family’s retainers moving swiftly, always running around as if they could never stop.
However, this feeling was still too superficial. She felt there was a very novel field of study within it. She immediately got up and said to the three little maids, “Take me to the workshop area!”
Before, that area was forbidden to her, and she wasn’t allowed to go near it at all. But now her status was different, so naturally, she wanted to see it immediately.
In fact, that was the place she was most curious about regarding the Yuan Ye Family. She had strongly disagreed with her father’s way of managing the village. Especially after she secretly brought people to dye coarse cloth and sell it to traveling merchants to earn her first sum of money, she had vaguely felt that simple farming had no future. Even though her father loved her dearly, he had severely reprimanded her for it and strictly forbidden her from doing such things again.
As a result, Yuan Ye was doing it now, and doing it openly. He brought back large quantities of bean cakes, cloth, and wooden buckets, and like magic, within a short time, he would ship out barrels of soy sauce and dyed cloth again.
Just by counting the ox carts and horse-drawn carriages entering and exiting the workshop gates every day, she could feel a powerful force different from before, as if she could hear the pulse of a new era beginning to beat, from slow to fast, growing stronger and stronger.
She didn’t know why, but she had this inexplicable feeling that this would be the starting point of a new era. That’s why she wanted to become a part of it, to share in this powerful force, and even hoped that one day in the future, she could use this powerful force to easily crush the Rokkaku Family and avenge her parents!
…
Yuan Ye felt much better after shedding his miscellaneous affairs. He found a Horo he had unexpectedly acquired and went to find A Man.
A Man was lying on a bamboo lounge chair, covered with a small cotton quilt, dozing. However, upon hearing the movement, she opened one eye and glanced over. Yuan Ye sat beside her and asked with concern, “How are you feeling today?”
A Man pressed her chest and sighed weakly, “It’s still the same. I always have trouble breathing.”
“Let me take your pulse again.”
“No, no need,” A Man quickly pulled her hand back under the quilt, looking uncomfortable. “I know my body. It will take at least three to five… uh, at least a year or a half to recover. Don’t waste your time. Also, I know you’re very busy, and you don’t need to come see me every day. I can manage on my own.”
Yuan Ye looked speechlessly at her already very rosy round face. He felt that after lying down for over a month, eating and drinking, she had almost developed baby fat. He had racked his brains, deliberated repeatedly, and put as much care into her as he would his foolish son. He had prescribed a formula, gathered precious medicinal materials, and spent a fortune to nourish her. He felt like he had fed it all to the dogs. This woman was getting weaker and weaker, less energetic each day, and just listening to her speak, she sounded like she was on her deathbed.
It hadn’t been a problem before, as she had truly risked her life, and he didn’t mind her lying down for a while longer. He considered it a paid long vacation for her. But now, with important matters at hand, he couldn’t stand her continuing to lie there like this.
However, she had rendered meritorious service, and shamelessly pretended to be dying. She could move but still lay there all day eating and drinking and reading storybooks (she had storybooks bought from Atsuta Port hidden under her, which she hid upon hearing him arrive). Yuan Ye really didn’t know how to expose her directly. He could only ponder, “No, I won’t be at ease if I don’t see you regularly. However, I am indeed very busy, and I have a very important matter that needs urgent attention. How about this: tomorrow, I’ll have A Qing come to keep you company. That way, I can be at ease. What do you think?”
“No, no, let A Qing… help you more. I’m fine!”
“No, you were injured for me. Your health is the most important thing!”
A Man wavered. With A Qing’s rigid personality guarding her, she would truly be like a prisoner lying there, watched without blinking for a whole day. After hesitating for a moment, she patted her chest and sat up, pondering, “Then perhaps not. I think… I seem to be able to breathe again.”
“Don’t force yourself!” Yuan Ye still looked worried, not wanting to mistreat a meritorious subject.
“Sigh, I’m not forcing myself!” A Man truly sighed this time, but after sighing, she let it go. Her eyes began to dart around. She felt it was time to get up and move around. After all, lying down all day had caused her appetite to decrease significantly. Yesterday, she couldn’t eat after just two chicken legs, which was a bit of a loss.
Seeing that she had finally behaved, Yuan Ye decided not to dwell on it and not to embarrass her further. He placed the Horo in front of her, opened it, and pointed to the support inside, asking, “Help me see, is this thing whalebone?”
