Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 12 Buy, buy, buy

After slow bargaining, the two hard plastic bottles were finally sold for 18 kan and 5 pi, which also included Yuanye's leather wallet as a gift. The head of "Dokura" even wanted to buy his mountaineering bag and mountaineering clothes, but he had enough money for the time being and politely declined.

One string of Yongle coins weighs more than seven pounds, but fortunately it is not large and can be strung together, so it is not difficult to carry. Most of it is packed into two bundles and carried by Tao Liulang and Jing Qilang. Yuanye still carries his mountaineering bag with more than five strings stuffed into it - it would definitely be more convenient to exchange it for gold and silver. Tucang is also willing to trade with gold and silver, but Yuanye dare not accept it. He does not have the ability to distinguish the authenticity of gold and silver. A pawnshop-like place like Tucang is by no means a good place. Even if it is a bit heavy, it is safer to use copper coins. Even a fool can tell the real from the fake.

He was very satisfied with the deal. 18 kan and 500 wen could guarantee him and his silly son enough food and drink for a long time, long enough to ensure they could return to the modern era, long enough for him to find a way to gain a foothold in this era. Moreover, the amount was not too large, so that "Dokura" would not risk damaging his reputation and causing big trouble by robbing and killing a samurai whose background he did not know. He did not have to worry too much about safety.

To be honest, even if those two broken plastic bottles could be sold at a high price of one thousand and two taels of gold, he would not dare to sell them. Even if he was forced to sell them, he would not dare to accept all the money.

Any Chinese person with a bit of common sense knows what "a crime of possessing a wall" means. If a child holds gold in a busy city, it is a death sentence. The current situation is good enough.

Yuanye successfully completed the biggest task of the day, and then it was time for happy shopping.

He first went to the bookstore to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone. After all, he needed to copy down the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" in pinyin as soon as possible, so buying these was essential.

Everything went smoothly. They provided a "pen and horse bag", a thick cloth bag that could hold pens, inkstones, and inkstones. It could be hung on the saddle, making it convenient to carry these fragile stationery while riding. The whole set only cost 450 wen, which was quite cheap.

Well, actually it’s not that cheap. Buying mixed wheat is enough for a poor person to eat for a year.

The paper is Mino paper, which feels similar to Xuan paper. Probably because it is produced nearby, a stack costs only 87 wen.

Yuanye also spent 22 sen to buy a stack of local straw paper from Owari, which he planned to use to wipe his butt. He thought his chrysanthemum would not like leaves and sticks.

Then he looked for a ready-made clothing store, but couldn't find any, so he went to a weaving house to buy cloth.

He and Meng Ziqi needed clothes of this era. Although the current situation was good and their "strange clothes" strangely did not cause any trouble, he felt that for safety reasons, it would be better to adapt to local customs.

He picked the good ones to buy. The cloth was "Songjiang fine cotton cloth". Although the place of production may not be Songjiang, it should be the Jiangnan area of the Ming Dynasty. It is a light luxury product that is transported through Sakai-machi and sold. The high-end products in the store, such as brocade, silk, and finely printed and dyed cotton cloth, are all products of the Ming Dynasty. It seems that someone in the Ming Dynasty is engaged in smuggling, and the scale is not small, even rampant - it is sold to Owari Province, which is the central region of Japan. I think it is even more serious in Kyushu, Sakai-machi, and near Kyoto in Japan.

The shipment volume is very high, it must be large-scale smuggling, and there may be a large interest group involved.

Coarse silk, coarse cotton cloth, kapok cloth, and ramie cloth are produced in Owari, Mino, and Mikawa, and are very cheap. He spent more than 900 coins to buy some coarse cotton cloth and cotton wool, mainly because the clothes of his two followers were so torn that their buttocks were almost exposed, and he didn't want to see men's buttocks every day. He also wanted to make a few quilts to cover himself, especially his stupid son, who needed to pay special attention to keeping warm and must have a thick quilt.

He also wanted to buy an iron pan to try cooking, but there was no ready-made one and it needed to be custom-made, so he gave up for the time being. He did buy some seasonings and tea - the wine shop sold spices and tea, such as pepper, fennel, dogwood, tea cakes, loose tea, etc., but they were expensive and considered a luxury for ordinary people.

As for the wine, one stone cost nearly two guan, and it looked very turbid and of poor quality. He didn't drink, so he just glanced at the price and left.

He bought more and more miscellaneous things, and the money was too heavy for three people to carry. He simply went around to the horse market and spent 19 coins and fifty cents to buy a second-hand "rabbit horse carriage" to transport goods, and it could also be used as a means of transportation in the future. He couldn't ride a horse, and pack horses were not durable, and war horses were too expensive. He couldn't afford them now. Overall, rabbit horses were the most cost-effective.

As for what is a rabbit horse...

Rabbit horses are donkeys. There are few records about donkeys in ancient Japan, but in fact, donkeys were used a lot. Donkeys were used on a large scale in the Tang Dynasty in China. There were a large number of donkey stations in cities that rented donkeys for people to travel. In the Heian period, Japan fully learned from the Tang system and naturally introduced donkeys, which were also regarded as important livestock. However, they had never seen donkeys before, so after introducing them, they regarded them as a kind of horse, called rabbit horses.

For example, in the dictionary "Sekiyōji Ruisho" compiled at the end of the Heian period, donkeys were labeled as "rabbit horses", which were described as: rabbit horses, horse shape and horse appearance, rabbit ears, voice like thunder, likes warmth and dislikes humidity, eats little and can tolerate fatigue.

Therefore, in various ancient Japanese notes, donkeys and mules were included in horses and were considered a type of draft horses, rather than being listed as a separate category. That is why they are rarely seen in writings. At the same time, the price of draft horses seems so cheap - if donkeys and mules are sold as horses, the average price of draft horses will naturally go down.

Now in medieval Japan, I bought a second-hand "Rabbit Carriage" and officially became a car owner. Although the "Rabbit Carriage" is a little old and the car is a little broken, it still feels okay to sit in.

Finally, he drove to the rice shop and bought a stone of brown rice, half a stone of refined rice and three bowls of salt - the salt was coarse salt, earthy yellow, and occasionally flashed a strange glow. It was obvious that the heavy metal content exceeded the standard, but there was no way, he couldn't find refined salt, so he could only bite the bullet and eat it for the time being.

At this point, food, clothing, housing and transportation were all solved, the first step of the survival plan went smoothly, and he and his stupid son already had the foundation for a stable life.

…………

As a "senior samurai" with status, even if it was just an act, he naturally didn't have to do the rough work. Tao Liulang, Jing Shichilang and the rice shop clerk were responsible for moving the long barrel-shaped rice straw bales onto the cart, and he stood by with his hands behind his back to supervise.

I was just feeling bored when I suddenly heard the sound of a pipa not far away.

At the base of the dark and damp wall next to the rice shop, a little boy in his early teens was playing a Japanese pipa. The tune was slow and depressing, extremely eerie, and made people feel slightly uneasy and uncomfortable.

Well, the usual style of Japanese folk songs, too many semitones and too crowded, naturally gloomy, and even giving a sense of horror as if a female ghost is watching.

Yuanye listened attentively for a while. He didn't like the song. It made him feel uneasy, as if someone was trying to harm him. However, the playing skills of this little beggar were very high. If he were in modern times, he might become a small internet celebrity. It was a pity that he was born in this era.

No, he should not be called a little beggar. To be precise, he should be called a "blind wizard", a street artist who makes a living by playing the Japanese pipa. Most of them are blind and their skills are not very sophisticated. They usually put a bowl in front of them. Over time, they are classified as beggars.

Yuanye looked at the little boy quietly enjoying the local folk songs. The little boy seemed to notice something and turned to look at him. His eyes were white and lifeless. His clothes were very shabby and his body was thin. It seemed that he had not had a full meal for a long time. He looked very pitiful.

I don't know how long he can live...

Yuan Ye's good mood, which had just gained a stable life, had mostly disappeared. Under the influence of music, he even felt a little irritated. Even if business was still prosperous, this was still a bad era; even if he could survive here, this was still a bad era.

He doesn't like it here. Probably all modern people would not feel comfortable if they traveled to ancient times. They would not be able to adapt and would have an urge to escape from here as soon as possible!

The sound of the pipa gradually became low and stopped, leaving only the lingering sound. Yuanye took out the few cents he had just got from buying rice from his pocket, walked over and put them in the little boy's bowl, but did not say anything. He could not intervene in such matters, and it was not his turn as a passer-by in time and space to intervene.

That's all the kindness he has. Giving him a few coins to do some good and ease his mood is enough.

After the cart was loaded, he sat on the straw bale, and Tao Liulang led the donkey, while Jing Qilang followed on foot beside him wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a bamboo spear, and they went straight home.

…………

The way back was much easier. After all, he had become a "car owner" and could park anywhere without being fined. He was ten times better than he was in modern times. However, the speed was not much faster. It took more than four hours to get here, and it took almost four hours to go back by donkey cart. When he arrived at Yayoi's yard, it was already dark.

When Yayoi and her daughter saw that Hara had brought back so many things after just one trip to the castle town of Furuno, they were surprised, happy, and felt it was natural, so they hurried to help move the rice and cloth, and then lit a fire to cook.

Ah Ping was particularly happy. Yuan Ye did not eat her family's food, which really relieved her of a big worry. Don't blame her for being stingy. In this day and age, food is life. Who knows whether the next year will be a good year or a bad year?

If the family fortune is depleted, will the whole family die?
Sometimes people have to be stingy.

Yuanye moved all the copper coins to the earthen seat, then checked on Meng Ziqi's condition, and went to visit Jijiulang, saying a few nonsense words like "Are you still coughing?" and "How do you feel?". Jijiulang had already heard from his wife about how Yuanye rescued him, and he expressed his gratitude weakly.

Yuanye took the opportunity to express his desire to stay for a while, which was agreed without a doubt. He then thanked the owner twice and returned to the main house to eat.

He was indeed hungry. Although there were restaurants, whale restaurants, izakayas and roadside stalls in the castle town of Furuno Castle, so there was no shortage of food, he was unfamiliar with the place and had no intention of eating there. He went there and came back quickly, and did not eat lunch at all. He was so hungry that he ate with great relish.

Mainly because he used to eat refined rice, he finally ate white rice. The rice grains were still a little hard, but it was much better than eating brown rice.

Tao Liulang and Jing Qilang never expected that they would be able to eat rice on the first day after joining the master. This was completely the treatment for the elite Lang party. They had to fight hard to get the food. They held the ceramic bowl and dug into the food with pickled radish, like starving ghosts reincarnated.

Well, only Yuanye had three dishes and one soup in the doza, and could eat refined rice. They squatted in the doza and ate brown rice + pickled radish strips + rice soup. Given the strict hierarchy in the feudal era of Japan, if Yuanye was present, they wouldn't dare to enter the doza, so they had to at least become retainers.

Yayoi also got some brown rice, mainly because she was serving at the doza. Hara was not a demanding person, at least he was not used to treating others as if they were not human beings, so naturally he let her eat some. However, she was determined not to eat refined rice and had a clear understanding of her identity, which made her a hundred times more mature than children in later generations.

As for Ping, she was also sensible. After cooking, she went back to eat her own barnyard grass, buckwheat and beans. However, she was also very happy - Yuanye not only gave her money for daily groceries, but also handed over all the fabrics to her, asking her to help make clothes for four people, and to make a few pairs of shorts and quilts for him and Meng Ziqi. The remaining fabric and cotton wool were given to her as processing fees, and she could sell them or use them for herself as she pleased.

Yuanye had calculated carefully when buying the cloth, and Aping had made some profit, which could be considered a settlement and rent in a sense.

By the time they finished dinner, Tao Liulang and Jing Qilang were so full that they could not move. They had each eaten at least three pounds of rice. This was only because Yuanye noticed something was wrong and stopped them urgently, otherwise these two boys might have been fed to death.

After making sure that the two were not sick, Yuanye asked them to go home and sleep. Tao Liulang and Jing Qilang looked at each other in bewilderment. Now Yuanye was their home, where else could they go to sleep?

They planned to sleep in the dirt room, but Yuanye had to copy the "Barefoot Doctor Manual" on his mobile phone at night, and it was not convenient for someone to be in the house. In the end, they had no choice but to sleep in the cowshed with the donkey - Yayoi's family had no cows but they had a cowshed. After all, the village had to rent cows every year, and the cows were usually kept at their house, so they needed a broken shed to shelter the cows from wind and rain.

It is a bit cold, but if we pile up some straw and hug the donkey to keep warm, we can probably get by.

After Yayoi helped him wash up and left, Yuanye took a deep breath, turned around, took out the electric baton from his backpack, and silently checked the battery level. The gentle smile on his face that usually appeared on his face slowly faded, becoming calm and his eyes gradually became deep.

It is an old saying that one person does not enter the house, two people do not look into the well, and three people do not build a beam.

When going out alone, remember not to go into a house just because someone calls you in. Once you enter a house, the light changes suddenly, your vision becomes blurred, and it is difficult to guard against blind spots, making it easy for someone to hit you with a club or stab you with a knife.
Don’t go to a well with two people. If you stick your head into the well and someone holds your legs and looks down, you will be dead even if you have great abilities.
Three people should not lift heavy objects together. If the two people on your left and right have bad intentions and suddenly let go of your hands, you will either die or become a paraplegic and be at the mercy of others.

The Prime Minister has been cautious throughout his life. Whenever he goes out, he always takes caution as the best course of action.

Yuan Ye had a rough life when he was young. His alcoholic father not only treated him very badly, but also often fought with outsiders. As a child, he was forced to argue with the victims who came to ask for compensation many times. When he asked for help, he was subjected to cold words and disgust from many relatives. He suffered a lot of grievances for no reason. Even his uncle sent him to study in Japan to let him avoid these troubles as much as possible and not let his life be ruined.

Therefore, he can be considered as someone who has seen the evil of human nature and is by no means a simple lamb.

Of course, another reason is that the "Samurai Hunting" in Japan's Warring States Period was quite famous. Many well-known samurai were killed by villagers with dung forks after being left alone. Who can guarantee that he is not among them?

He had been on guard against Jijiro's family before, and he didn't dare to eat last night. He didn't dare to eat until Yayoi tasted it and confirmed that it was ok. Now he has made a small amount of money, although it is not much, it doesn't seem worth killing people for the goods, but in modern Japan, people robbed gas stations and killed clerks for a few thousand yen. Who dares to say that there was no such thing in ancient times?

You should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others, not to mention that he has two lives on his hands now!
Whether I can stay here for long depends on tonight.

In troubled times, you have to overcome each hurdle one by one!

(End of this chapter)