I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Tomorrow is a day off! I'll go to that Thousand Things Shop tomorrow morning and ask."

Being able to do things promptly and act on ideas immediately is one of Qingdeng's most prized strengths.

As a reward for successfully defeating the "Renyi Zhong," everyone who participated in this operation will be given a day off tomorrow, which will be a good opportunity to make good use of the holiday.

"Kyubei, do you know where that Senjiya is?"

Kyubei nodded: "It's quite close to here."

……

……

The following day (May 13th), early morning—

After hastily eating the breakfast cooked by Kyubei, Aoto quickly put on his clothes, fastened his katana and wakizashi (symbols of samurai status) at his left waist, and rushed out of the house.

Qingdeng's house faces a dirt road that is neither too narrow nor too wide.

It was a little past 7 a.m. when Qing Deng turned onto the dirt road directly in front of his house and saw groups of samurai, some of whom were idle like him, while others looked anxious, probably rushing to "work".

In Edo-period Japan, samurai and commoners generally did not live together in order to distinguish their social status and avoid disputes.

Samurai lived together in the "Samurai Quarter," while commoners lived together in the "Commoners Quarter."

Hatchobori, where Aoto lived, was one of the samurai settlements. Therefore, samurai carrying swords could be seen everywhere in Hatchobori.

In terms of numbers, there were far fewer samurai than commoners in Edo, but the samurai occupied most of Edo's land, and the land they owned was the best in Edo, leaving the vast majority of commoners to crowd into the worst-located areas.

Such unfair distribution of resources makes one want to lament with a heavy heart, "The evil ruling class!"

Having no time to appreciate the street scenes of ancient Japan, Qing Deng immediately headed to the Senjiya (Thousand Things Shop) following the address that Jiubei had mentioned the night before, as soon as he left his house.

Kyubei was right—the Senjiya was indeed not far from Aoto's house.

Qingdeng jogged along and in just over 10 minutes, he saw a rather simple wooden house at the edge of his field of vision.

Above the door of this wooden house hangs a plaque with the three large Chinese characters "千事屋" (Senjiya).

Like ancient China, houses in ancient Japan were primarily made of wood.

Since Japan launched the Taika Reform in 645 AD and fully adopted the advanced culture and systems of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Japan directly adopted Chinese characters. Before that, Japan did not have its own writing system.

Following the Taika Reform, the use of Chinese characters remained high in ancient Japan; a formal government document might be entirely written in Chinese characters.

"Is this the job agency...?" Qing Deng stood in front of the shop, looking at the rather plain-looking job agency.

"Are you open for business now...?"

As Qingdeng muttered this to himself, he strode toward the shop door.

As I reached for the door handle, preparing to open the door—

"Oh my, Mr. Kiryu Kazuma, you can even repair kimono?"

"Yes, because I used to study the making and repair of kimono in the Muromachi region."

"Kiryu Kazuma-san! You're amazing! You can do everything!"

"You flatter me. These are just some minor strengths that are not worth mentioning."

Two simple conversations reached Qingdeng's ears from behind the door.

wow-

Qingdeng pushed open the wooden shop door.

The first thing that caught Qingdeng's eye was an old lady with somewhat thick lips.

The old woman was kneeling in front of a low counter.

Behind the counter sat an elderly man who looked to be 8 or 90 years old, wearing glasses and a warm smile. He appeared quite gentle and refined.

*******

*******

The status has changed! This book is now under contract, and you can give it a reward and vote with monthly tickets!

So I'm begging for all kinds of votes! I'm begging for monthly votes! I'm begging for recommendation votes! QAQ

Chapter 8 Kinoshita Mai

As soon as Qingdeng opened the shop door, the old man and the thick-lipped old woman inside immediately turned their heads to look at Qingdeng.

"Oh dear, it seems we have a guest. Well then, Mr. Kiryu Kazuma, I won't bother you any longer. I'll take my leave now."

"Mrs. Izumi, please take care." The bespectacled old man smiled and bowed gracefully to the old woman. "If your clothes get damaged again next time, please feel free to come back to me."

"Oh! Mr. Kiryu Kazuma, if only my old man had half of your talent and gentleness." The thick-lipped old woman, like a young girl in love, covered her face with her hand, twisted her body a few times, and then, carrying a large cloth bag containing a woman's kimono, quickly walked out of the shop.

As she left the store, the old woman repeatedly turned her head to cast affectionate glances at the bespectacled man, who smiled and watched her go.

Only after the old woman had completely disappeared from the old man's sight did he turn his attention to Qingdeng.

May I ask who you are?

"Is your shop open now? I have something to ask you," Qing Deng said.

"Of course we're open for business." The bespectacled old man nodded. "Please have a seat."

He knelt behind the counter and gestured for people to come to the counter.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Kiryu, my given name is Kazuma, and I am the owner of this Thousand Things Shop. What can I do for you?"

While the old man who called himself "Kiryu Kazuma" was introducing himself, Aoto had already walked quickly to the counter and sat down.

After getting closer to the old man, Qingdeng subconsciously looked at his face.

He was very old, at least 8 or 90 years old, but his eyes were still bright and his spirit was quite good, so he must be in good health.

Although his face is marked by the passage of time, one can still vaguely tell that this old man must have been quite handsome when he was young.

Japan has been open to the world for seven years and has had extensive dealings with other countries. People like Kiryu, who wear glasses, are no longer a "rare species" in Japan.

The old man introduced himself, and Qingdeng, out of politeness, also introduced himself.

"My surname is Ju, and my given name is Qingdeng."

After a brief self-introduction, Qingdeng got straight to the point:

"I've heard that your shop can help people get recommendations for sword clubs. Is that true?"

Kiryu nodded with a smile: "Yes. This is one of our shop's important signs. Are you asking about the sword-making hall?"

"Yes!" Qingdeng nodded vigorously.

"So, what kind of fencing school would you like to visit?"

"I want to go to a fencing club that meets these three conditions."

Qingdeng held up three fingers.

"First: I can afford it with this amount of money."

"Secondly: the sword techniques taught are highly practical, not just for show."

"Third: It is best to have a large number of apprentices in the school, the more the better."

"As long as these three conditions are met, any kind of fencing school is acceptable."

After saying that, Qingdeng took out his money bag from his pocket, which contained the only remaining wealth of the Ju family.

After taking the money bag out, Aoto placed it on the counter and opened it so that Kiryu could clearly see the amount stored inside.

Kiryu glanced down at the money in his pocket, then calmly asked Aoto:

"Sir, in order to help you find the most suitable sword club for you, please allow me to ask you a question."

“I understand the first two conditions you mentioned. But I don’t quite understand the third condition.”

Why do you insist on finding a sword club that's crowded?

"I love sparring with others, so I thought I'd go to a sword club with lots of people and spar to my heart's content," Qing Deng casually made up a lie.

"Oh, I see." Kiryu nodded gently.

"Please wait a moment."

As Kiryu spoke, he pulled a large booklet from under the counter and then spread it out on the countertop.

"What is this?" Qing Deng asked in confusion.

“This is the most valuable thing in my job placement agency,” Kiryu said with a smile. “It contains detailed information on all the sword-fighting schools in Edo. The information covers everything from tuition fees to the number of apprentices in each school.”

"Oh! This thing is indeed very valuable."

"I put in a lot of effort to make this book." Kiryu said with a look of reminiscence, and then began to flip through the "Edo Sword Museum Collection".

"The swordsmanship you teach is extremely practical... and you also need enough sparring partners... then this sword school is very suitable for you."

As Kiryu finished speaking, his fingers, which were turning the pages of the book, stopped.

"The Test Hall of Natural Rishin-ryu".

"Natural Mind-Body Flow?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow.

He skillfully searched through his memories of "Yuanju Qing Deng".

The results showed that there was no memory of "Yuanju Qing Deng" about the Natural Rishin Ryu.

Kiryu smiled slightly at Aoto, as if he could read Aoto's mind.

"This is a relatively niche school of thought. So you may not have heard of it."

"But I can assure you that this school is in no way inferior to renowned schools like the Hokushin Itto-ryu and the Shinto Munen-ryu in terms of practicality."

Kiryu opened his mouth, about to say something more—

"Mr. Kiryu, I'm so hungry, is there any breakfast?"

Suddenly, a clear, melodious young female voice, as sweet as silver bells, came from the back of the shop.

Qing Deng subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound—a small figure slowly walked out from behind a corner deep inside the shop.

She was a very cute girl who was holding a small orange kitten in her arms.