Chapter 234: Black Fox Fur
“Achoo!”
On Ezo Island, A Man sneezed while sitting on a snow sled. She looked around, found nothing, grumbled, “Which dung beetle is cursing me?” and then looked up at the distance.
The distance was still a vast expanse of white, nothing but snow. Not even the continuous pine forests showed much vibrant color, all covered by heavy snow.
Winter on Ezo Island is an island of snow.
It was only after coming here that A Man realized such an unlucky place existed in the world. The snow didn’t fall in fine, scattered flakes; instead, snowflakes the size of palms fell from the sky in fluffy clumps. It was incredibly soft, and when blown by the wind into low-lying areas, people would disappear upon stepping on it, leaving only a dark, gaping snow hole.
As for the cold, it was extremely cold at the beginning of winter, but after adapting, it was bearable as long as there was no wind. When the wind blew, it chilled one to the bone, making her, who had lived in warm regions since childhood, feel like life was not worth living.
After spending a winter on Ezo Island, she even broke her bad habit of laughing heartily.
Here, one couldn’t laugh too vigorously, or the face would sting, and the corners of the mouth would crack.
She deeply regretted listening to Yuan Ye’s deception and agreeing to this unlucky mission that was clearly meant for someone else. She planned to advise Yuan Ye upon her return that he need not invest more energy in Ezo Island. In this era, the natural conditions of Ezo Island were too harsh. Even with initial development, it would take at least three to four generations. In the short term, it would not benefit Wanjin but would be a significant burden.
The key issue was that the people of Wanjin also found it difficult to adapt to Ezo Island’s climate.
Yuan Ye had left her dozens of subordinates, and before the winter was over, six had already died. Another dozen were bedridden and not recovering, and a few more would likely die later. The attrition rate was simply too high, unacceptably so.
Unless they could forcibly immigrate people here at the cost of losing twenty to thirty percent of their population, like the Kakizaki family, they could not establish a foothold here.
Ezo Island probably only had value for its fur, at least in the short term.
However, after enduring so much hardship, A Man’s mission had indeed made some progress. At least she had befriended some Ainu tribes.
It’s just… visiting these friends can be difficult. The Ainu people have no farmland; their food primarily comes from gathering, supplemented by fishing and hunting. Each tribe needs an area of land dozens of times larger than an agricultural village to sustain itself, and their settlements often move seasonally. Therefore, each tribe is separated by a great distance, and they sometimes like to venture into the mountains, making them hard to find.
A Man, leading an exploration team, had been traveling by horse-drawn sled for nearly two days in the wilderness. If she couldn’t find the tribe she was looking for soon, to ensure the horses could survive the return journey, she would have to turn back, rest for a few days, and then try again from a different direction.
But perhaps thanks to being on someone’s mind, A Man and her exploration team traveled northwest for another half-day and finally spotted a few hunters—hunters from the Zhai Er tribe.
Zhai Er is a transliteration. If translated directly, it would roughly mean “people who live in lowlands and mountains.”
These hunters were ambushing Ezo deer, the local species of sika deer. Seeing A Man and her sled team approaching through the snow from a distance, they were slightly wary and instinctively prepared to evade. However, they soon noticed the “Gourd Flag” planted on the sled, and their expressions relaxed.
One of the elder hunters, as the sled approached, laughed heartily and greeted her, “A Man, what good things have you brought this time?”
“Nothing good, we’re almost ruined! Where’s the black fox fur you owe me? If you don’t give it to me soon, don’t blame me for not saving your face and just slapping you!” A Man spoke fluent Ainu language, dressed in bulky clothing, wrapped up like a ball. She got off the sled, grumbling, and didn’t forget to casually greet the younger hunters, “Utari! Utari!”
Utari means “friend” and can sometimes be used as a habitual greeting, similar to short phrases like “Hey, buddy!”
She truly had an excellent talent for languages and an even more exceptional memory. In less than half a year, she had learned Ainu, and she was self-taught. If she were born in the Modern Era, she would undoubtedly be a “Sacred Body” of a foreign language institute, and mastering seven or eight foreign languages would be no problem. She had been teaching her subordinates, but even with instruction, her subordinates still spoke haltingly after half a year, struggling with daily communication. This showed that people are different; talent exists, and she was indeed the best candidate for this mission.
Of course, her self-study was out of necessity. Initially, she wanted to find an Ainu language teacher and secretly brought an interpreter from the trade post in the Kakizaki family’s “Observation Post” （ immigrant village ）. However, this interpreter was also incompetent. After A Man beat him for ten days, she only learned phrases like “how much,” “cheaper,” and “too expensive,” which were of little use.
In the end, she learned it by bringing wine, going undercover at the Kakizaki family’s trade post, and actively seeking out Ainu people to chat with. She had even started learning to write.
She used to think the Ainu were savages who ate raw meat and drank blood. After interacting with them, she discovered that the Ainu also had a written language, a pictographic script with a clearly ancient history. After writing about it to Yuan Ye, he suspected it was a local script from the Spring and Autumn period, influenced at least by the Wu and Yue regions.
Of course, this was just a suspicion. He wasn’t an expert in ancient scripts, so his judgment might not be accurate. However, he found these characters very familiar. For example, one character that the Ainu often drew on their bodies resembled an early version of “Su,” roughly translating to “virtue” or “land of virtue.” Many characters also resembled inscriptions on the Terracotta Army, at least in their radicals, suggesting they originated from the same source or had influenced each other.
However, the Ainu do not look like Chinese people. They have fair skin, are hairy, and the men’s beards are often curly, making them look somewhat like Russians.
Perhaps they were mixed-race?
Yuan Ye couldn’t determine the origin of the Ainu, and A Man was even less able to. But she didn’t care about these things. She didn’t care where the Ainu came from; she drank and made friends with them. The elder hunter from the Zhai Er tribe before her, Zha Ping Nong, was one of the first Ainu she met. Much of A Man’s Ainu language was learned from him, and her accent was very similar to his.
When they first met, Zha Ping Nong, who was selling furs at “Observation Post,” was very wary of A Man, even showing a hint of disgust. He only spoke to her because he wanted to drink her wine. However, after A Man explained that she was not “Wa people” but “Wanjin people,” and Zha Ping Nong saw that her clothing was indeed quite different from that of the “Wa people,” at least not like the people of the Kakizaki family, his attitude softened.
Once they became familiar, especially after A Man learned some Ainu, Zha Ping Nong, when drunk, would curse the “Wa people” vehemently. He accused them of migrating indiscriminately, encroaching on the land they relied on for survival, and also accused the “Wa people” of breaking their promises, often selling inferior goods, and having no reverence for oaths to the gods. He called them a bunch of terrible people.
After all, the first major conflict between the Kakizaki family and the Ainu occurred when the Ainu ordered an iron short sword but were dissatisfied with the goods, believing they were shortchanged. The shopkeeper casually stabbed the Ainu, who then, enraged by the constant deception, gathered together and launched a fierce attack on the Kakizaki family, destroying over a dozen immigrant villages. Unfortunately, they were turned back by Takeda Nobuhiro, the son-in-law of the Kakizaki family, and failed to capture the Kakizaki family’s stronghold, Hanazawa Castle, ultimately falling short of their goal.
Afterward, the Kakizaki family, under the guise of peace talks and border demarcation, invited nearby Ainu tribes for a meeting. However, they poisoned the wine, incapacitated and slaughtered the attending Ainu, and then launched a counterattack. This forced the Ainu in the area to retreat, ceding this territory to the Kakizaki family.
This happened about a hundred years ago. Since then, the Kakizaki family has continued its questionable actions. Relying on the Ainu’s need for necessities like ironware, grain, salt, and cloth, they bought low and sold high, constantly passed off inferior goods, and breaches of contract were commonplace. They basically didn’t treat the Ainu as human beings, and their reputation in the area is now infamous; there isn’t an Ainu who doesn’t hate them.
However, it is easy to go from simple to luxurious, but difficult to go from luxurious to simple. After using ironware, the Ainu found it difficult to revert to bone arrows and bronze daggers, and could only endure the disgust of being exploited by them for so long.
After A Man understood all this, she immediately cursed the Kakizaki family along with Zha Ping Nong, calling them scoundrels who lacked any sense of trust. She then patted her chest and promised that it was just some trivial goods like salt and iron. Wanjin had plenty of these, so much so that they couldn’t even sell them. Their leader was worried about the salt and iron in the warehouse every day, losing hair over it for a long time. Bringing Zha Ping Nong some “junk” would be no problem at all!
At the time, Zha Ping Nong was already tipsy from the taro shochu A Man had brought. He thought she was just talking nonsense due to too much alcohol and didn’t take it to heart. However, the next time he went to the Kakizaki family’s village to trade furs, A Man intercepted him on the way and gave him a sack of salt, a good knife, a large bag of arrowheads, and a large barrel of wine.
The salt was pure white, with no sand mixed in, and tasted only salty, not bitter. He had never seen such good salt before.
The knife was made of fine steel, well-made and heavy. The arrowheads were of the heavy arrow standard, fully tempered iron, and very sharp. When fitted with an arrow shaft and fletching, they would make a good arrow capable of hunting bears and wolves.
Zha Ping Nong was overjoyed at that moment. He felt that despite A Man’s small stature and lack of thick hair, she was very righteous. He didn’t take her gifts for nothing and immediately gave her the deer hides and bear hides he had brought.
Thus, the two parties became acquainted. Zha Ping Nong visited the Kakizaki family’s immigrant villages less frequently. He would often save his furs, waiting dozens of days longer to give them to A Man. He also introduced her to other Ainu tribes. Once, when A Man visited, after they drank heartily, he promised to give A Man a black fox fur in return for the good wine she brought.
However, while there were many foxes in Ezo, their fur color was mainly light brown and coffee-colored. Black foxes were a mutated species, quite rare. Some hunters might not encounter one in their lifetime. He was bragging while drunk.
He was bragging, but A Man remembered it. Knowing that black fox fur was precious and rare, she planned to make a fur collar to show off when she returned to Wanjin. She asked him for it every time they met, and Zha Ping Nong, unable to produce it, felt very awkward.
It was the same this time. Zha Ping Nong had hunted a few foxes this winter, but he hadn’t seen a single black fox fur. He laughed a few times and quickly changed the subject, looking at the snow sled: “It’s just one black fox fur, I’ll give it to you sooner or later. I’ll definitely give it to you when I encounter one… We’ve accumulated quite a lot of fur recently. Are the things you brought enough?”
A Man didn’t press the issue too much. After all, Zha Ping Nong would give her that black fox fur eventually. If he didn’t, she’d kidnap his daughter back to Wanjin as compensation. There was no rush. She directly went over, lifted the mat on the sled, and said confidently, “I brought three times more than last time. Our leader is the richest person in the world, and Wanjin has plenty of good things.”
Wanjin’s supply ship had arrived, delivering three full boats of goods to A Man’s temporary camp, according to Ezo Island’s needs. This was enough for the few small tribes A Man had contacted to use for a long time.
The hunters immediately stepped forward to examine the goods. They found a large amount of grain and cloth on the sled, bundles of arrows, and some wine. There was also a little salt, but not much. After all, A Man had already traded a considerable amount of refined salt in the vicinity before, and the demand for salt in nearby tribes had significantly decreased in the short term.
Zha Ping Nong took out an arrow and rubbed it for a moment, feeling that Wanjin was still as reliable as ever. All the goods were of excellent quality, as always. Even these arrows were identical, with the arrow shafts having the same length and thickness, as if cast from the same mold, which was very rare. This was crucial for a hunter, as they didn’t have to worry about variations between arrows, saving them considerable effort and improving their hit rate significantly.
As for grain and other items, they were even better. This could be stored long-term, serving as a reserve for famine and disaster. It was also a precious resource for gathering and hunting tribes. High-quality, brightly colored cotton cloth was unique to Wanjin and was very popular among women. With this cloth, even more people in the tribe were willing to wear fabric.
“These are all good things!” Zha Ping Nong exclaimed after examining them. However, he felt that the furs his tribe had accumulated wouldn’t be enough to trade for so many items, and he felt a bit regretful.
A Man was perceptive and could tell what he was thinking by looking at his expression. She generously waved her hand and said, “Alright, Old Zha, don’t be like that. I’ve brought it all. It’s all yours. The price will be an additional 20% off the last time. If it’s still not enough, you can pay it back slowly. Use the goods first.”
“Really?” Zha Ping Nong was overjoyed. He slapped A Man heartily on the shoulder and said joyfully, “You are truly a good friend to us Zhai Er people. On our Zhai Er land, you can always travel freely, and everyone will respect you as a distinguished guest!”
“Alright, alright, enough of this useless talk, let’s get to the practical stuff!” A Man, having been generous, was also direct. “Let’s not talk about furs for now. Give me everything you have. I also need feathers. If you have any spare feathers, give them to me too. And what about the… Iku people you mentioned last time? You said they have gold sand. You have to help me find them, I want to trade for their gold sand!”
“The Iku people? They are further north. You have to cross the big mountains and go near the big river to encounter them,” Zha Ping Nong didn’t think A Man’s conditions were excessive. They were far better than the Kakizaki family. At least A Man always provided goods of sufficient quality and quantity, and was very generous and sincere. Therefore, they, the Zhai Er people, couldn’t be too stingy and had to help their friend get things done.
Besides, the Iku people were not doing as well as them. Gold sand couldn’t be eaten or drunk. If they traded it for grain, arrows, cloth, salt, and wine, they would surely be happy.
He thought for a moment and said, “Stay here for a while, check the weather, and then I’ll accompany you over the mountains. I’ll definitely help you find them.”
“Then let’s go, to your place first!” A Man climbed back onto the sled, gesturing for Zha Ping Nong to lead the way. She added unhappily, “I say, next time you move, can you send someone to inform me? It’s always a hassle to find you.”
Zha Ping Nong stopped hunting deer. It was more important to transport the goods back first. He also got on the sled and squeezed in with A Man to keep warm, casually saying, “There are only three or four places like this. If you stay here for another year or two, you’ll know them all. Most of our wintering places are in that valley.”
“I don’t want to stay here for another year or two. There’s nothing here but ice, snow, and wild beasts. It’s so boring!” A Man said frankly, openly criticizing Zha Ping Nong’s hometown as a boring, terrible place. She took out a small hip flask from her pocket, took a sip, and handed it to Zha Ping Nong, muttering, “You really should visit Wanjin. It’s much more comfortable there than here, and life is better than yours. The only advantage here is that you can drink freely; everything else is terrible.”
Without A Qing and Yuan Ye to restrain her here, she could drink to her heart’s content. She even took a few barrels of the wine cargo shipped from Wanjin to her room, under the guise of “taste testing to prevent spoilage,” indulging in a little embezzlement. But after drinking for half a year, she started to find it uninteresting and missed the intellectual sparring with Yuan Ye and A Qing.
Only the wine she could drink with Yuan Ye and A Qing’s restraint tasted exceptionally sweet. Easily accessible wine was less appealing.
“Wanjin…” Zha Ping Nong didn’t get angry either. He took the hip flask and took a sip. He felt the new wine had a stronger kick and exhaled a white mist with a good feeling.
Friends could curse each other without taking offense. Moreover, A Man had often mentioned Wanjin to him before and always wanted to go back. She had even told stories of Wanjin to the people of the tribe on previous visits, and many children had begun to yearn for Wanjin. Even if they couldn’t imagine what spring-like weather was like, they couldn’t imagine what prosperity was.
They chatted and drank as they traveled, with Zha Ping Nong leading the way. They wound their way through the wilderness and hills, entered the mountains, and after traveling for more than an hour, they arrived at the Zhai Er tribe’s wintering valley. In autumn, they would store food in caves and live there during winter, only leaving when the weather warmed up to go to places more suitable for gathering food.
They usually went to the mountainside, riverside, wetlands, and other places according to the season, making it convenient to gather berries, wild vegetables, or to fish and catch otters.
Unlike before, when A Man brought goods, this tribe of nearly a thousand people, men, women, and children, always welcomed her warmly… or rather, they would all come out to watch the excitement. But this time, only some women and children heard the commotion and came to the valley entrance, their expressions not looking very happy.
This was easily discernible. According to Ainu tradition, women would paint their lips in various colors, making them appear larger. Young girls had light red lips, married women had bright red lips, and older women had light purple or the deep purple that only shamans could use. When they smiled, everyone had a huge mouth that could occupy nearly half of their face, which was somewhat frightening. One could tell their mood at a glance.
Now, the women at the valley entrance had relatively smaller mouths, looking much more normal, indicating that not a single one was smiling.
A Man’s Dou Dou eyebrows immediately began to furrow. Something had clearly happened here.
