Chapter 58: It’s hard, it’s really hard in my heart!
The reserve head shopkeeper A Man woke up the next morning with a sore back and aching waist.
She had been too intoxicated the night before; the money piled together seemed to possess a magical allure. She couldn’t help but ruin A Qing’s hard work, then unearthed all the money and slept amidst the pile of cash.
She had been through hardship since childhood, never having enough to eat. Deep down, she lacked a sense of security and harbored a deep resentment for the unfair distribution of wealth, questioning why she was born a broke person. Seeing so much money, even Yuan Ye’s, unexpectedly awakened her miserly talent. She wanted to stay with the money, even considering asking Yuan Ye to let her move in permanently. She had once aspired to save money to buy a matchlock gun, but at most, she only had a little over one kan of money on her. These two hundred-plus kan, piled together and gleaming gold, had a profound impact on her, as if opening a new world.
So, nothing in this world could bring more peace of mind than guarding money!
She touched the money beside her, increasingly feeling that the Kōka Life Preservation Style and the inheritor of the Sun Technique were foolish dung balls who worried about their next meal. She felt that being a head shopkeeper was more promising, allowing one to guard money peacefully every day. Moreover, she knew Yuan Ye’s character well; he was extremely extravagant and didn’t treat money as money, letting it slip through his fingers like water.
If she, a loyal, intelligent, wise, sharp-eyed, understanding, and resolute head shopkeeper, didn’t help him keep an eye on it, even if he had a very profitable workshop, it would only benefit those broke people outside.
Rather than benefiting those broke people outside, it would be better to benefit her. She could help him guard the money and, in the meantime, enjoy good food and drink with him.
She pondered this and went to find Yuan Ye, preparing to deliver some “unpleasant advice that is beneficial for action, like bitter medicine that is good for illness.” She wanted to give him a heads-up, telling him not to get carried away with a little money and start doing foolish good deeds. She wanted him to prioritize his own people first when there were benefits, and absolutely not to give them to strangers.
Meanwhile, Yuan Ye had already woken up and was once again full of vigor. After all, he was only twenty years old, an age of boundless energy. Even if he was exhausted, a short nap could restore him, let alone a full night’s sleep.
He was having a special meal when he saw A Man and his eyes lit up. He quickly waved, “Have you eaten? I was just looking for you. If you haven’t, you can eat with me!”
A Man also smelled the aroma of food and immediately felt hungry. She thought that it wouldn’t be too late to give him bitter advice after eating. She immediately called out to Yayoi to bring her a bowl and chopsticks and sat down to eat with him.
After Yuan Ye watched her eat a couple of mouthfuls of chazuke, he asked with concern, “Where can I get armor?”
“Anywhere, really. These things are everywhere now,” A Man replied vaguely with food in her mouth. “If it’s nearby, go to Atsuta. It’s not as good as Shimazu, but there are still plenty of good things.”
“What about the price?”
“That’s hard to say. It depends on what kind you want to buy. The difference in materials, the craftsman, the style, and the design can vary greatly in price,” A Man replied casually. Finally, she realized and asked in surprise, “You want to buy armor?”
“Of course!” Yuan Ye wanted to earn money to quickly improve his ability to protect himself. Otherwise, after working from dawn till dusk, sleeping only three to four hours a day, and agreeing to be exploited by monks, what was the point of working hard for half a month? It was just that iron material was hard to find, and fine iron was even harder to find. He was completely clueless about how to manufacture armor, otherwise, he would have already started forging plate armor and wouldn’t be asking A Man about the way to get Japanese armor.
A Man couldn’t understand what he was thinking. She looked at him for a moment and said incredulously, “Although it looks like there’s going to be a war, war is a common thing! What year isn’t there a war? Are you that afraid of dying?”
Yuan Ye showed no shame on his face. “I want to live well, to live a good life.”
Just in case, he felt it was better to be fully armed. After all, money could be earned again, but life was only one. Even if he was laughed at as a coward for it, he didn’t care. What use was face after death? One could die for principles, but not for a meaningless death!
“But a full set of modern armor isn’t cheap, and there are quite a few miscellaneous parts. A good set can easily cost over a hundred kan, and even a used one is tens of kan,” A Man hesitated. She had come to persuade Yuan Ye not to be wasteful, but before she could even start, Yuan Ye was already planning to be wasteful again. “You’re not a vassal to someone, so you don’t need to charge into battle. If something happens, we can just run away beforehand, right? Why do you need to wear another layer of armor?”
Are you afraid of being shot and killed by stray soldiers on the way? Looking at your face, you’re not that unlucky, are you!
She was reluctant to spend the money in the storeroom and couldn’t adapt to Yuan Ye’s spending habits at all. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively suggested, “How about getting a set of paper armor first? Ordinary ones are only a few kan, and good ones are only seven or eight kan. That should be enough, right?”
Paper armor?
Yuan Ye knew that paper could be made into armor and that its defensive power was decent. However, he had never seen a physical example. He also heard that paper armor was cumbersome, had a short shelf life, and was inconvenient to use, feeling it was not as reliable as proper iron or leather armor. After a moment of thought, he said, “We’ll see when the time comes, but I think since we’re making the trip, we should definitely buy something better.”
“Then can we buy it after some time?” A Man was still reluctant. She hadn’t even warmed up to the money yet. Moreover, as a reserve head shopkeeper, she was also considering Yuan Ye’s long-term plans. “You’ve only acquired over two hundred kan now. If you sell this money as soy sauce again, it will be over two thousand kan! Sell it as soy sauce again, and it will be over twenty thousand kan! Sell it as soy sauce again, and it will be over two hundred thousand kan! Spending it now is truly a pity. You must be cautious!”
“What two hundred thousand kan? What a pipe dream!” Yuan Ye was speechless. He felt she, an amateur, dared to imagine such things. He said directly, “We don’t have enough bean cakes and… other raw materials right now, nor do we have enough stoves and manpower. Two hundred-plus kan this month is the limit. If we try to get more, Yayoi will be the first to die, and the Momoi Brothers won’t live long either.”
He had earned over two hundred kan in the past half-month, but it was an emergency situation, the result of extreme exploitation. He had consumed most of the bean cakes from Takeuchi Manor, and sulfur, alkali, and other materials needed to be collected again.
Furthermore, he only had a single residence and no territory of his own, so he didn’t have enough space to build a large number of cooking stoves and collect enough fuel. Moreover, the brewing process itself involved a lot of heavy physical labor, and manpower was even more insufficient. He was currently employing a group of “child laborers,” and within ten days, they would be exhausted. If he pushed them harder, there was a high chance of death, just like during the Industrial Revolution in England, where child laborers were driven into factories, and their mortality rate within two years was 100%.
Therefore, unless he wanted his “veteran employees” like Yayoi and the Momoi Brothers to die prematurely, he didn’t dare to be too greedy and would stop as soon as it was enough.
“Ah, we can only earn up to over two hundred kan?” A Man was greatly disappointed. As head shopkeeper, she had already planned how to dig out the backyard to hide the money. But if they only earned over two hundred kan a month, what was there to hide? Moreover, from the sound of it, they would have to go far away next month to purchase various raw materials, and they might not even get two hundred kan. This…
Over two hundred kan wasn’t a small amount, actually. In a year, it could rival nearly half of the Aragiko Maeda Family. For a small workshop, it was practically a miracle. But compared to two hundred thousand kan, it seemed insignificant.
If they truly had two hundred thousand kan, they could directly kill Oda Nobunaga and start brewing soy sauce throughout Owari!
She was very unwilling, so she became even more hesitant. “Then with only this much money, do we still need to buy armor? It’s easy to buy those things, but selling them again will result in a huge loss. Let’s wait and see the situation. What if there’s no war? It wouldn’t be good to lose money for nothing!”
“No! We need to buy armor, and we need to equip weapons. And we need to buy horses! Good horses!” Yuan Ye didn’t care what she thought. He wanted to be fully prepared and not regret it later. His mind was made up. If he had money, why not spend it quickly and turn it into armor, weapons, and mobility, instead of waiting for it to become someone else’s spoils of war?
He wasn’t that foolish. Keeping money unused in the house was just scrap copper of insufficient purity, worthless!
“Ah, you also want to buy horses and swords? And good horses? These aren’t cheap either. Two hundred-plus kan might not even be enough!” A Man was at a loss. She had tried her best to persuade him, but it was Yuan Ye’s money, and he was the head of the household. If he insisted on spending all his money recklessly, she couldn’t stop him. She could only get up and leave in frustration. “Then do as you please. Spend your money however you want. I’ve already advised you!”
“We can earn money again if it’s gone. Why are you so worried? What’s wrong with you today?” Yuan Ye didn’t understand why she had suddenly become so stingy. He spent a little money, and she kept complaining. However, at a time when he needed her, he was afraid of truly upsetting her, so he quickly comforted her. Then, he called out from behind, “Hey, go out and scout around again today. Confirm if there’s any action expected in the next couple of days. If not, we’ll quickly head to Atsuta!”
“Got it, got it. I don’t need you to teach me how to do my job!”
A Man left with a bad attitude, thinking that Yuan Ye indeed lacked the “countenance of a wise ruler” and couldn’t listen to any “unpleasant advice,” always acting autocratically. It was a waste of her excellent talent!
Perhaps this is what the books mean: there are many thousand-mile horses, but few discerning patrons!
She walked to the room where the money was temporarily stored, intending to take a look before going to carry out her task. After taking a look, her heart felt heavy.
This was her nature. If a manure truck passed by her door, she would quickly come out to scoop a ladle to taste its saltiness. She was someone who only took things in and never gave them out. Now, having just seen so much money, her heart was filled with joy, and she had even fantasized about the money growing more and more, allowing her to live a life of luxury with Yuan Ye. But in the blink of an eye, Yuan Ye was going to spend all this money…
It was hard, truly hard on her heart!
