I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Father! I want to buy that!"

"Make way! Make way! A delivery cart is coming! If you don't want to get hit, move aside!"

……

Merchants busy opening their shops, laborers pushing goods in makeshift handcarts, vendors shouting their wares early in the morning...

Although Aoto Hara had seen countless similar scenes in his memories, he still couldn't stop the look of wonder from his eyes.

After patrolling his jurisdiction for most of the morning and enjoying the street scenes full of ancient charm and everyday life, Qingdeng felt that his depressed mood, caused by the series of thorny troubles, had been somewhat relieved.

How should we prepare for the "senior performance evaluation" that will take place in a month and a half?

The only way to make his current dismal record stand out in just one and a half months is to solve some high-value major and serious cases.

The "senior assessment" and two other crises weighing on Qingdeng's head: the threat to the lives of the "anti-foreign faction" and the threat to the property of the "Shimizu clan" are very different.

Faced with threats from the "Expel the Barbarians" and the "Shimizu Clan," Qing Deng is able to take the initiative to learn swordsmanship and rely on the system to replicate his powerful talent to protect himself from harm.

But this "senior officer assessment" is not like that...

Whether those major cases that could instantly make one's political achievements stand out, and whether one has the opportunity and ability to handle them... all depends on fate.

If high-value cases don't emerge, or if these high-value cases don't have the opportunity to be handled by Qing Deng... then Qing Deng is out of options.

In response, Qingdeng could only look on with a heavy heart and sigh: Let's take it one step at a time and focus on doing what we need to do each day first.

After inspecting the two other quarters where nothing major had happened, noon quietly arrived.

Qing Deng looked up at the sun that was about to reach its highest point in the sky, and silently took out the bento box that Jiubei had given him when he left home that morning—three rice balls wrapped in lotus leaves.

Let's find a place to have lunch...

Qingdeng looked around and immediately spotted a teahouse not far away.

The function of teahouses in the Edo period was somewhat similar to that of modern cafes; they were important social venues during that time.

Go to a teahouse, order a cup of tea, and you can leisurely stay for quite a while—it's the perfect place to rest.

Therefore, upon discovering this teahouse, Qingdeng walked towards it almost without thinking.

As soon as you enter the teahouse, the noisy sounds, the slightly stuffy heat, and the tempting aroma of tea and snacks rush towards Qingdeng like a tidal wave.

Looking at the huge crowd inside the teahouse, Qingdeng couldn't help but worry that there might not be any seats available.

Just as Qing Deng was looking around for an empty table, he suddenly heard a very familiar and pleasant voice beside him:

"Hmm? Tachibana-kun?"

Qing Deng quickly looked in the direction of the sound, his face showing surprise: "Okita-kun?"

*******

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New book launch!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please recommend this page! Please add this page to your favorites! QAQ

Thank you to readers 【Very Naïve Magician】 and 【L5? ?】 for being patrons!!!

As is customary for an author, once a patron is secured, a massive 12,000-word update should be scheduled for the following day. However, since this is currently the new book's release period, I cannot write too much at once, so the massive update will have to wait until after the book is officially published!

The author will first jot this down in a little notebook: 2 chapters owed.

[Japanese History Mini-Lesson Begins!]

The "townspeople's self-government system" in the Edo period was actually quite complex.

The content mentioned in this chapter has been simplified. Between the town head and the head of the household, there are actually various servants and organizations such as the "five heads of households." This chapter only briefly mentions the general personnel composition and operation of the "townspeople's self-governing organizations."

Chapter 26 Okita-kun is an idiot and a major case is coming!

With a handsome face, smooth black hair tied into a slender high ponytail with a purple ribbon at the back of his head, and a faint, gentle smile always on his cheeks, he was no different from yesterday except for the clothes he was wearing. He was the same beautiful boy he had met at the Shieikan yesterday: Okita Souji.

As Aoto cast a surprised glance at Okita, Okita, who was currently holding a steamed bun in one hand, was also looking at Aoto with surprise.

"Tachibana-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I was patrolling around here when I saw this teahouse, so I thought I'd stop here to rest and have lunch."

"Oh! What a coincidence!" Okita smiled and waved to Aoto. "I have an empty seat here. If you don't mind, you can share a table with me!"

The table Okita was sitting at was a small table that could only seat two people.

Okita sat alone at this small table, with an empty seat opposite him.

It's lunchtime now, one of the busiest times for places like teahouses and restaurants.

The teahouse where Qingdeng is currently located has almost no empty seats left.

Seeing that Okita had taken the initiative to invite him to share a table, Qing Deng respectfully accepted and rushed over to sit opposite Okita.

"Okita-kun, what are you doing here?" After ordering a cheap cup of tea from the teahouse attendant, Aoto asked Okita.

The handsome young man was stuffing two red bean-filled Japanese steamed buns into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster stuffing its mouth full of food for winter.

[Note: Japanese steamed buns are filled dumplings.]

"There wasn't much work to do at the Shiwei Hall today, so I took the opportunity to come out and get some fresh air."

“This teahouse is a ‘treasure trove’ I’ve been frequenting lately.” Okita swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth in one gulp and smiled broadly. “The steamed buns sold at this teahouse are sweet and soft, just to my liking.”

"Just a few pieces of steamed buns from here and all my bad mood will disappear!"

After saying that, Okita pushed the plate with three steamed buns left in front of him toward Aoto.

"Tachibana-kun, do you want to give it a try?"

Qingdeng also quite likes to eat sweets.

When faced with the steamed bun that Okita pushed towards him, Aoto didn't hesitate and readily took a piece of steamed bun from Okita's plate.

After putting the steamed bun in his mouth, Qingdeng's eyebrows immediately twitched slightly in surprise.

The taste is indeed quite good.

The texture and sweetness are just right.

Okita, who had been carefully observing Aoto's expression, excitedly asked him:

"Kid Orange, do you like sweets too?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm the kind of person who feels uncomfortable if I don't eat anything sweet for a few days."

“I love sweets too!” Okita said with a bright smile, her eyes forming two crescent moons. “I’m even worse than you. I feel uncomfortable if I don’t eat some sweets every day.”

"So I always carry this with me."

Okita reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a bit, then pulled out a half-eaten konpeito.

Konpeito is a type of small, star-shaped candy that is sweet and can be considered one of the most popular snacks among children of this era.

"Speaking of which—Tachibana-kun. If you were patrolling around here, where's your Okabiki?" Okita looked around with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t have a Gangyin,” Qingdeng said casually. “Our family owes the Yakuza an enormous gambling debt, so we don’t have the extra money to hire a Gangyin.”

"Gambling debts?" Okita's eyes widened in surprise.

The Okabiki system was the second major special system that enabled the South and North Police Stations to maintain public order in Edo with such a small police force.

Gangyin, also known as Muming, has many names, and its function is similar to that of a modern auxiliary police officer.

The shogunate also knew that it was a pipe dream to maintain order in such a large city with such a small police force.

Thus, with the tacit approval of the shogunate, the comrades of the Southern and Northern Bans were able to use their private wealth to hire others to work for them.

These people, hired by Tongxin with their own money to help Tongxin maintain public order, were called "Gangyin".

In modern terms, they were a group of unofficial staff without formal employment status.

No... they're not even as good as non-staff members. To be precise, they're just a bunch of employees who get paid by Tongxin.

Because they were not government employees, the position of Okabiki could be filled by either a samurai or a commoner.

Once you become a member of a certain organization, you can receive a jitte from the government as proof of your membership.

There are no restrictions on Gangyin's recruitment; it all depends on the personal preferences of the members.

If you wish, you could hire a beggar on the street as your guide.

Although occasionally a few exceptionally skilled individuals may appear who can assist and work together with Yuri to investigate and solve cases, such individuals are extremely rare.

Most of the officers can only do odd jobs and tiring work; the main case-handling work still depends on Tongxin himself.

The "Okabiki system" that helped share the workload and the "townspeople's self-governance system" that helped reduce the workload—these were the three systems that enabled Edo to maintain its security with such a small number of police officers.

The night before last, during the operation to wipe out the "Ren-gi-shu," the large group of people who rushed into the house with Arima, Aoto, Inoya, and Ushiyama were Okabiki, Inoya and Ushiyama's accomplices.

If Qingdeng remembers correctly, Niushan has 5 Gangyin (a type of animal), while Zhugu has slightly more Gangyin, with a total of 9 Gangyin employed by Zhugu.

When Aoto took over his father's position and entered the town, the Tachibana family was already in debt. Therefore, Aoto naturally did not have the extra money to hire Okabiki to do odd jobs for him, and he had to do all the work himself.

When the officers patrolling their own territory, they often have several of their subordinates, Okabiki, accompany them. That's why Okita just asked Aoto, "Where is your Okabiki?"

After briefly explaining to Okita his family's current predicament, burdened by his deceased father's gambling debts, Okita awkwardly apologized to Aoto.

"Sorry... I think I accidentally mentioned something I shouldn't have..."

“It’s alright, no need to apologize.” Qing Deng smiled nonchalantly at Okita. “I don’t mind.”

The tea that Qingdeng had just ordered has now been served.

With the slightly inferior tea in hand, Aoto began to nibble on the three rice balls that Kyubei had given him that morning.

"Okita-kun, what brings you here to eat steamed buns?" Aoto asked casually as he munched on a rice ball. "Don't you have the Shieikan to keep an eye on?"

“No need,” Okita smiled slightly. “Because Kondo-nii has already returned. With Kondo-nii in charge, I no longer need to help look after the Shieikan.”

"Kondo-kun is back?" Aoto exclaimed in surprise.

“Tama is very close to Edo, and Kondo-nii returned to Tama smoothly yesterday afternoon.”

"After visiting Mr. Hijikata and confirming that he was alright, he traveled overnight and returned safely to Shieikan this morning."

"Kondo-kun rushed back overnight..." Aoto asked, puzzled. "Why the rush? Couldn't you have just stayed overnight at Tama's place and come back this morning after dawn?"