Chapter 209: Having Ideas Isn’t a Bad Thing
A few days later, shortly after lunch.
Okabe Igen’s wife, A Hu, alighted from the carriage in front of the “Wanjin Theater.”
Today was a rest day in Xin Wanjin—they only learned that such a thing as a rest day existed after coming to Xin Wanjin, or rather, after coming to Wanjin, they learned that commoners could also rest. On rest days, Xin Wanjin was always lively, and the plaza in front of the Wanjin Theater was crowded at this moment.
There were small vendors doing business, street performers entertaining, and tourists from other places coming to watch the excitement. In short, the people were diverse and chaotic, making a lot of noise, but it exuded a vibrant energy that was absent elsewhere and wasn’t unpleasant.
A Hu looked around and felt a slight fondness for the place, but she quickly called out to her younger sister, A Cao—also Okabe Igen’s wife; the two sisters shared one husband—and her daughter, A Ju, urging them to stay close. Then, with dignity, she followed the Inu-hime’s little maidservant through a side entrance into the theater.
Indeed, today the Wanjin Theater was premiering a new play, and Inu-hime had invited them to watch.
This was already their second visit to the theater, but they still felt that Wanjin was truly grand, building such a dedicated large house just for watching plays. It was almost like a small rock fortress, and its design was quite peculiar.
The theater was open-air, and viewed from above, it was oval, or rather, like a capsule. The center was divided into eastern and western semicircles by a passage and backstage, with tiered seating arranged on the eastern and western arcs.
This building was originally designed by Yuan Ye, but with his modern mindset, he had intended to build a square, roofed structure, similar to a cinema from the 1980s or 90s. Later, Uozumi Hikoshirō, the “theater troupe leader,” couldn’t stand it and boldly asked A Man to convey his suggestion to Yuan Ye—if there was a roof, natural light couldn’t be used during performances.
If they kept using torches for lighting, regardless of the effect, the lighting costs alone would be a significant expense for their troupe over time.
Only then did Yuan Ye realize this was the Middle Ages. He vaguely recalled that when Shakespeare was a playwright, the troupe he served seemed to perform in the open air, with the audience standing.
He wasn’t the type to refuse to admit his mistakes, and knowing he wasn’t cut out to be an architect, he readily withdrew his design draft and let Uozumi Hikoshirō handle it. The construction team of Xin Wanjin was only responsible for building the house; the type of theater needed would be decided by Uozumi Hikoshirō and the actors. He would only offer minor suggestions on things like acoustics.
In the end, after Uozumi Hikoshirō’s efforts, the Xin Wanjin Theater became what it was. However, he was also considerate enough to publicly attribute the design of the grand theater to Yuan Ye.
The new play today was premiering in the east section. A Hu, with her sister and daughter, made her way to the private box in the east section and met Inu-hime.
Before she could even bow and greet her, Inu-hime proactively took her hand and invited her to sit down, also gesturing for A Cao and A Ju to sit. A Hu had met Inu-hime several times recently and knew her disposition was rather gentle, so she didn’t stand on excessive ceremony and sat down as invited.
Inu-hime was now twelve or thirteen years old and had some of the demeanor of a young girl, though she was still quite small. After pulling A Hu to sit, she smiled and asked, “Madam A Hu, is everything well at home?”
A Hu replied with some gratitude, “Thanks to Your Highness, everything is well… Ah, I haven’t thanked Your Highness yet. Sajiro and A Ju have both enrolled in school; it’s truly been a bother to Your Highness.”
The main point was gratitude for her daughter A Ju’s enrollment. Okabe Igen felt it didn’t matter if his daughter studied or not; it was better for her to learn household management at home. However, Inu-hime, without much fuss, had enrolled both her children. Currently, these two children were in the first grade at Wanjin Third Elementary School and were doing quite well. They would likely be able to skip grades in a month or two once they adapted to school life. These two children already knew some characters and were both ten years old, giving them an advantage over typical students of the same age.
Inu-hime didn’t take credit, merely covering her mouth and laughing, “That’s nothing, Madam A Hu. Children should go to school; that’s what my Lord Saburo says.”
“We also have to thank Lord Yuan Ye,” A Hu said sincerely.
“You’re welcome, Madam A Hu. Lord Okabe has also helped Wanjin a great deal. Lord Saburo has always told me to take good care of you all.”
Inu-hime’s lack of shyness was a result of Yuan Ye’s diligent training over the past two years. However, she still spoke rather directly. Yuan Ye had told her to take care of Okabe Igen’s family when she had free time, and she had honestly done so, sending various food and daily necessities and stating her intentions directly.
A Hu didn’t mind. She found people like Inu-hime quite easy to interact with and not at all intimidating. She then turned and pulled her daughter, A Ju, over—a ten-year-old young girl—encouraging her to show herself more to Inu-hime to deepen their acquaintance.
Indeed, at ten years old, she was no longer considered young. She was already concerned about her daughter’s marriage prospects. Now, she felt Wanjin was very good and was considering having her daughter marry into Xin Wanjin in the future. From any perspective, it would be good for her daughter to gain more favor in Inu-hime’s eyes.
She and Inu-hime chatted about A Ju for a while longer, only letting her go when A Ju became so shy that she started to stammer.
A Hu then turned to Inu-hime and asked curiously, “I heard Lord Yuan Ye… will be coming today as well?”
This wasn’t prying into secrets; it was something the theater itself had advertised. Uozumi Hikoshirō had been loudly proclaiming it for days, as if afraid others wouldn’t know Yuan Ye would be attending the premiere. It was estimated that after the premiere, they would further advertise it as “A Play Deeply Loved by Lord Yuan Ye” to boost ticket sales.
A Hu found it a bit outrageous. Nowadays, even an ordinary theater owner dared to use the lord as a gimmick. It seemed a bit disingenuous. She asked out of curiosity, while Inu-hime, unfazed, pointed to the side and smiled, “Lord Saburo has already arrived; he’s in the adjacent private box.”
A Hu was surprised, not expecting it to be true, but immediately said apologetically, “Then should you…”
Inu-hime immediately shook her head and smiled, “There are many people with him over there; I’m fine here.” After a pause, seeing A Hu’s confusion, she pointed to the audience seats below the private box and patiently explained, “Many old Wanjin residents have come today. Many have been with Lord for six or seven years. They all went to the next box to greet him, and Lord Saburo is chatting with them.”
A Hu followed her gaze to the audience seats below and noticed that they didn’t seem to be ordinary spectators. Judging by their attire, they were at least well-off. They were indeed a group of “old Wanjin residents”—she had learned this term in her month-plus stay. Most of these people were those who had started with Yuan Ye, or at the very least, were among the first family retainers Yuan Ye had purchased in Old Wanjin. All of them were veterans.
Typically, this group was also the most successful in Xin Wanjin, at least holding positions as workshop supervisors, key technical personnel, or successful merchants.
Of course, there were many among the earlier batches who hadn’t fared as well, but those individuals had naturally blended into the masses and wouldn’t be here, no longer having the status to seek an audience with Yuan Ye.
A Hu was quite keen to socialize with these “old Wanjin residents” at that moment, but it wasn’t convenient for her to go over, which was a bit of a regret.
…
Yuan Ye was indeed in the adjacent private box, meeting with some of his former “subordinates.” All the old Wanjin residents had worked for him; even digging ditches back then was for him. Even though most of them hadn’t fought with him, or even been directly commanded by him, they still liked to say things like “Back then, I and Lord Yuan Ye XXX…” and insisted on posing as his “old subordinates.”
Hirajima Kichijiro, standing before him, was one such example. He had been bought by Maeshima Shichiro from Atsuta Port as a family retainer’s servant. Because he was so short, he wasn’t selected for military service even though he worked diligently in the workshop.
After completing his term of service, he gained his freedom and left the ironware workshop. Relying on the skills he had learned and his diligent work ethic, he took out an interest-free loan from Yuan Ye, hired a few helpers, and opened a private ironware workshop specializing in farm tools, then began to identify himself as an “old Wanjin resident.”
He was worthy of the title. His workshop had grown considerably, and he was now a well-known workshop owner in Xin Wanjin, gradually expanding into the manufacturing of weapons, armor, and matchlock guns, making him one of the leading figures among Xin Wanjin’s private ironware workshops.
He had specifically sought a premiere ticket from Uozumi Hikoshirō upon hearing that Yuan Ye would be attending the play, just to get a chance to see Yuan Ye and offer some suggestions. Otherwise, trying to meet Yuan Ye through official channels was no longer as easy as it used to be. For internal affairs, it was good enough if he could see Endo Chiyo. Even if suggestions reached Yuan Ye, they would likely become insignificant text.
After waiting in line for a long time, he quickly offered his greetings and cautiously presented his suggestion. Yuan Ye listened, slightly surprised, and pondered, “You mean you want to sell your goods directly to Hokuriku? You don’t plan to sell to Wanjin anymore and intend to cancel the previous contract?”
Wanjin’s economy was currently dominated by “Government （ Yuan Ye ）.” Profitable industries such as dyeing cloth, salt production, ceramics, gunpowder, and ironware were all controlled by the “Wanjin Government.” Ordinary people had no way to get involved. Private workshops either handled tasks the “government” didn’t bother with or scavenged the leftovers from “state-owned government” operations.
The same applied to foreign trade. Since Wanjin’s main export relied on Atsuta Port, which was controlled by the Oda Family, without Yuan Ye’s banner, the “ship tax” alone would be a heavy burden for small businesses. Wealthy merchants would also directly place orders with Wanjin. Therefore, small workshop owners in Wanjin generally sold their goods directly to the “Wanjin Government,” which then sold them abroad.
This trading method had been in place for several years, and Yuan Ye had even provided many implicit benefits to those small workshop owners. Unexpectedly, someone suddenly had an issue.
A Man, who had been idly standing nearby, asking A Qing for more pocket money, immediately looked over upon hearing this. She began to scrutinize Hirajima Kichijiro from head to toe, with a look of suspicion and examination, as if contemplating whether he was a conspirator.
The more she looked, the more he seemed like one. If he dared to prevent Yuan Ye from earning a profit margin today, he would likely rebel tomorrow. She thought she should have him arrested and interrogated…
Hirajima Kichijiro noticed A Man’s “living devil” gaze, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. However, after a moment of hesitation, he thought about how Yuan Ye, over the years, had never killed a civilian except for a brief period of beheadings in the Wanjin Army. He mustered his courage and said with difficulty, “Yes, Your Highness, that… your contract is very good, but… Wanjin’s current iron price is too low, and Lord Endo’s purchase price is also very low… that… so, we… we…”
A Man moved closer and asked, “But you should still be making a profit, right?”
Hirajima Kichijiro swallowed and said softly, “We are still making a profit, but over the past year or so… we’re almost not making any.”
This was likely Yuan Ye’s fault. During the famine, Yuan Ye had ordered the full development of iron fields on the Chita Peninsula and found several small riverbed iron sand deposits. They dug up vast amounts of iron sand accumulated by nature over thousands or tens of thousands of years, causing Wanjin’s iron price to plummet overnight.
At the same time, after the disaster relief, Yuan Ye ordered “state-owned iron workshops” to sell various ironware at low prices to quickly replenish funds. This resulted in the market becoming nearly saturated for a time, and private small ironware workshops struggled to cope. Endo Chiyo’s orders for ironware decreased in quantity and price month by month. They also had workers in their workshops to support!
Therefore, they had united and planned to end the consignment contract with Yuan Ye, hoping to sell their products elsewhere to earn more money.
There was no other choice…
A Man’s Dou Dou eyebrows twitched. She had already determined he was problematic, her gaze becoming dangerous. She said unceremoniously, “It’s good enough that you’re making a profit. If it weren’t for Wanjin, even the excrement you produced would not make oil when thrown into water. Now that you have some ability, you want to go solo? I’m telling you, there’s a limit to ingratitude…”
“Shut up!” Yuan Ye, finding her a nuisance, reached out and pulled her aside. He then said gently to Hirajima Kichijiro, “Don’t listen to her. I’ve noted this matter. I indeed didn’t consider this aspect before. However, with your current capabilities, it should be very difficult and dangerous to transport your goods to sell elsewhere yourself, right?”
He paused, thought for a moment, and then said, “How about this, I’ll discuss it with Miss Endo later and see if we can set up a separate sales point for you at Atsuta Port. What do you think of that?”
“But the iron price at Atsuta Port is also very low, and the money is all earned by those wealthy merchants. Moreover, we can’t possibly sell as well as your workshops; your prices are lower than ours…” Hirajima Kichijiro instinctively blurted out, then immediately realized his mistake. Looking at Yuan Ye’s gentle expression, he felt ashamed. They were truly too greedy. The more they spoke, the more ungrateful they sounded.
Indeed, without Yuan Ye, he would still be a family retainer’s servant or would have died prematurely. Now that Yuan Ye was willing to let them make money and live comfortably, they were still being picky and felt they weren’t earning enough. They were truly greedy, and their deaths would be deserved.
Moreover, after saying so much and making such a request, his courage was exhausted. He immediately changed his tune and said repeatedly, “Your Highness is right. I think that sounds great… Let’s do as Your Highness says!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up to take his leave. “Your Highness, please excuse my rudeness. I shall not delay your time.”
“Don’t rush. And you don’t necessarily have to do as I say.” Yuan Ye had been busy with disaster relief and then focused on shipbuilding and territorial expansion. He hadn’t paid much attention to commercial matters in the past two years. He pondered, “I’ll think about this matter carefully first, and then I’ll discuss it with you all later.”
“Yes, yes! I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!” Hirajima Kichijiro now just wanted to leave quickly and had no intention of considering what Yuan Ye was saying. He hastily agreed and exited the private box.
A Man watched him leave, then turned to Yuan Ye and asked, “Do you want me to deal with these people?”
Yuan Ye glanced at her and said speechlessly, “Behave yourself. This isn’t a bad thing!”
Unknowingly, Wanjin’s industrialists and merchants had also developed. He hadn’t paid much attention to it before. Perhaps since he had nothing else to do, he should focus more on them.
It wasn’t a bad thing for these people to have their own ideas. The development and establishment of Wanjin were not solely his responsibility.
