Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Just borrowing money? At least not now. We have to wait until the hundreds of acres of alfalfa on the sandbar are planted and Kato Nobunaga takes notice. Then it will be easy to borrow ten or twenty kan. Even if Shichibei can't pay it back, he can still harvest the alfalfa and feed Atsuta's horses, with collateral.

Fortunately, the horse-carrying business brought in money every day, and they could always make some money. Furthermore, the Kawamura family had no debts or loans; they simply needed to pay their employees.

We can't be too ambitious. We need to quickly identify the sandbars and, where they can be stabilized, build dikes and fill the fields. If we plant alfalfa early, we can harvest two crops this year. Besides what we use for ourselves, we can also sell horse feed in the city and make a few cents.

Just as Shichibei had expected, there were indeed two types of sandbars at the mouths of rivers and seas. One type, dug five or six meters down, only brought up soft, rotten sand that couldn't hold its own, existing one year and disappearing the next, drifting between the river mouth and the coast.

But digging deeper reveals solidified loam beneath, and in one case, sandstone. This fixed-root sandbar, while still seemingly shifting, might stretch 30 meters east this year and retreat 30 meters west the next, its center has already taken root.

This kind of sandbar can be used to establish polder fields. All you need to do is determine the area around the central root, build embankments to retain water, and then dig ditches and sluices.

The problem was still a lack of manpower. Shichibei's men were primarily responsible for the management of the household. They couldn't easily be pulled out for farm work, and neither could they simply ask the few people in his territory to serve without any reason. The levy of taxes and labor was the power of Oda Nobunaga, and had nothing to do with Shichibei.

All I can say is that those who have money have their own ways of dealing with the situation, and those who don’t have money have their own ways of dealing with the situation.

The dikes will not be repaired for the time being, and the waterways will not be opened for the time being. So we will sow seeds on the sandbars where the foundation has been established. Whatever we can harvest is profitable, and if we harvest more, we can sell it.

Furthermore, it was previously estimated that there were only 200 to 300 mu of usable sand on the sandbar at the river mouth, but now it appears that there may be more than 1,000 mu. If they rest and recuperate properly, they could even add several hundred mu.

First, the sandbar wasn't empty land; it was covered in thatch, and workers were needed to cut it all off. These days, especially in rural areas, nothing is completely useless. Thatch can be sold for money, otherwise why would Zhu Yuanzhang have been herding cattle as a child?

Isn't it just letting the cows eat thatch?

As long as the cost of delivering grass to the cows is the same as hiring someone to herd them, most people will choose to buy fresh straw directly for their cows. As the most important productive tool in rural areas, keeping cows under one's own supervision is definitely the most reassuring thing.

Can it be sold? That's easy. Tsushima is full of people who come to worship. These people, as later generations called them, are "backpackers." They go to a place, work for a few days, save up some money, and then travel on a budget.

Hire these people and pay them according to how much grass they cut. The more they work, the more they earn. Shichibei will be responsible for transporting the grass to the village and the city to sell it. We are in the transportation business, so this is not a difficult task.

The second step is also improvisation. After cutting the floating grass, set it on fire. The remaining dead grass and grass stems are burned directly to serve as ash for fertilizing the fields. Yes, someone will definitely ask, what do you do with the grass roots?

What should I do? Nothing. I'm broke and can't afford to mobilize people to dig up the roots. Alfalfa is grass, too. Just let it survive.

Depends on God!

We harvest as much as we can. Alfalfa seeds are free for Shichibei, who grows alfalfa all year round. It doesn't take several people to scatter them. We can do it ourselves and it doesn't cost any money.

The third step was to sow the seeds and wait for them to grow for over a month. Alfalfa was ideal for horse feed, but no one wanted it loose. It had to be cut, dried, and then bundled for easy sale.

At this point, Shichibei had no choice but to ask Mr. Kato from Atsuta for a loan. Seeing the alfalfa covering the ground, Mr. Kato would surely be happy to lend him the money. After all, he had many horses, and although he also mowed his own fields, it was likely not enough to feed them.

Once the plan is in place, get to work.

Fortunately, the Kawamura family is a well-established and reputable shop in Tsushima. Tourists visiting Tsushima are willing to work for the Kawamura family, pulling people to the sandbar every day.

Oh, I forgot. There is another problem. We need to hire a few small boats to pull the cut grass to the shore.

10. Borrowing a boat for free

Kato Nobunaga, who was also chasing Murai Sadakatsu to settle his debt, heard a rumor from the castle: Kawamura Shichibei, who had come to collect the debt earlier, had not accepted Murai Sadakatsu's money and had asked Murai Sadakatsu to allocate the sandbar at the confluence of the Tenno River and the Kiso River to the Kawamura family's reaped land.

They were all dry horses, and Kato Nobutaka guessed at the first moment that Shichibei wanted to grow alfalfa.

He and Shichibei's father were of the same generation, having both served Oda Nobuhide. As a seasoned veteran, he had no problem guessing. Just as Shichibei had guessed, Kato's horse-breeding house was also short of sufficient horse feed.

It is true that Mongolian horses can tolerate rough feeding, but the Mongols also knew that before going to war, they had to feed their horses with autumn grass seeds, so that they could ride them south to invade while the horses were fat.

Horses that work in the transport industry every day, whether carrying people or goods, need to be fed with some feed. What good is it to just eat straw and hay? In need, they even need to eat millet, beans, and salt.

Therefore, Kato Nobunaga was in great need of alfalfa, a reasonable substitute for horse feed. However, his land was only 60 kan, presumably acquired through plundering the imperial court centuries ago, just like the Kawamura family. Later, he accepted the support of Oda Nobuaki and Oda Nobuhide, becoming a royal merchant and samurai for the Oda family.

Why didn't I think of that?

Muttering to himself, Kato Nobunaga and Murai Sadakatsu continued to argue. In the end, Murai Sadakatsu paid half of the money, and the other half would be paid after the autumn harvest.

This is quite normal and not unusual. A merchant once lent grain to the Mori clan for their attack on Harima Kamitsuki Castle. When the Mori clan delayed returning the money, the merchant filed a lawsuit against Mori Terumoto.

He peeled off Mori Terumoto's face and asked the Mori family to pay.

In the end, Mori Terumoto had no choice but to pay the money, and even had to pay interest. The mutual constraints between the various classes in feudal society were actually quite strong, and this kind of thing was not uncommon.

After sending his servant back to Atsuta with the money, Kato Nobunaga hurried to Tsushima. Meanwhile, Shichibei was calculating on his abacus how to squeeze out the money to hire a boat to transport the grass the backpackers had cut back to the town.

Seeing Kato Nobunaga, Shichibei immediately went to meet him. It was only natural that two colleagues would be jealous of each other, but since they were each in their own area, there was no reason for them to clash.

If it was Shichibei's stepfather who was here, Kato Nobunaga might have been more serious, since they were of the same generation. But Shichibei was a simple man, and since he was considered a senior in the same field, he didn't pretend and directly asked Shichibei if he was planning to plant alfalfa.

Yo, yeah, what's up?

Our two families will make a 50-50 split. No matter how much you grow, you can sell half to me, and we'll pay you by the pound.

Eh? Isn't this a ready-made pillow for someone who's ready to sleep? Shichibei subconsciously rubbed his hands together. "While both our families served Oda Nobunaga and have a bit of a relationship, I can't just sell this alfalfa to you."

With so many samurai families living near Komakiyama Castle, who wouldn't need alfalfa hay to survive the winter? Shichibei was certain that if he could bundle it up and bring it to the castle, there would be plenty of sales.

A horse is a warrior’s second life on the battlefield. Whether it is possible to charge into battle on horseback is not discussed for now, but it is 100% possible to run away on horseback.

What warrior wouldn't want his horse to be well-fed and well-maintained so it can go with him into battle?

The key point is that most of Japan's wars took place between the autumn harvest and the spring planting season. This period was a time when farming was slack and crops were harvested, making it the perfect time for war. It was a good time for war, but the horses had nothing to eat.

In the middle of winter, there is no grass growing on the ground.

This cleverness made Kato Nobunaga think Shichibei was a good businessman. He had thought the Denma Kawamura family, which was going from bad to worse, was in a state of disrepair, but he hadn't expected this generation to be any less stupid and even know how to bargain.

A small amount of money, right? It's nothing. Alfalfa is useful to Kato Nobunaga, so he's naturally willing to pay upfront. But Shichibei doesn't want his money, he wants his ship.

I'm leveling the sandbar and need to remove the thatch. Could you lend me your boat and boatman for a few days? I'd consider selling you alfalfa later, or even letting you handle half of the shipping and sales.

Atsuta Town is also close to the river and the sea. Without water transportation, how could it achieve a prosperous trade these days? Whether it is war or freight transportation, water transportation is the most convenient transportation method with the largest capacity, the lowest freight rate, and overall convenience.

What is the difference between the two?

The difference is that the deposit is included in the future total price, which is like spending money in advance, not really a big benefit. Even with the money, you still have to rent a boat. But if you rent a boat, you don't have to pay for the boat or the boatman, Shichibei, and only need to provide food.

At least you can save some money, and saving is earning.

As he spoke, Kato Nobunaga felt a slight pang of emotion. This Shichibei was a natural businessman. Knowing how much he wanted alfalfa, he'd made a proposal. And it wasn't the kind of proposal that was too expensive or too difficult to pass up.

Lending his boat and boatman to the Kawamura family wasn't a gift to them, so how much could it be worth? But Shichibei got the shipping capacity he wanted without spending any money, so that was a win.

"I remember you were engaged." Kato Nobutaka also has a daughter.

"Yes." Shichibei has a fiancée.

She was the daughter of a retainer of the Ohashi clan, the head of the four families and seven factions of the Tsushima clan. Her deceased adoptive father probably hoped that Shichibei would settle down and survive in Tsushima, so he arranged the marriage for her before his death.

But she is only eleven years old now. This is not a question of whether to get married or not. This is a question of being worse than an animal.

Not to mention that Shichibei didn't mention this matter, everyone felt that it was too early to discuss it, and that they had to wait until Tiankui arrived before discussing it.

"Has your sister made a reservation with him?" Kato Nobutaka was quite familiar with the information of his colleagues.

"Not yet..." When their cheap dad died, Ai was only seven years old and Shichibei was ten years old, they were both little kids.

It’s good enough that Shichibei has been arranged properly, but Ai hasn’t been arranged yet, kick your legs.

"The ship will arrive tomorrow, I'll wait for your alfalfa!" Kato Nobutaka smiled and patted Shichibei's shoulder.

Are you so proud of your 1.52m height that you look down on me, who's 1.42m? If Nobunaga had come to pat me, that would have been fine. But why did an old man from the same profession also pat me?

With a grumble in his heart, Shichibei smiled as he escorted Kato Nobunaga out the door. After all, they lent us their boat, so it was a favor, so of course we had to show due courtesy.

Seeing Kato Nobutaka walking away, Shichibei turned around and called a waiter, asking him to go to the street to ask whether Kato Nobutaka's son was married.

11. Burning the wasteland will attract people to fight

That night, the servant came back after finding out the truth and joined Shichibei in feeding the horses. Kato Nobunaga's son was already married; this was public information and could not be concealed.

While daimyo and feudal lords would take in many concubines, ordinary samurai families would only marry one wife. They wouldn't have many children, usually stopping when they had two sons. One would be the heir, and the other would be a backup.

In the Edo period, it was even better, as one son was enough. After all, the family estate was only one share, and if you had too many sons, the estate would have to be divided, and the smaller the share, the lower your social status would immediately be.

Or to put it more clearly, the family name may not be passed down.

How can the family name be passed on without territory, knowledge, and property to support it?

The Shichibei family was considered deformed because they only had one son, so they gave birth to many children, and ended up with seven daughters, two of whom died young.

Why did Kato Nobutaka ask my sister if she was married? Shichibei suddenly got married, which was a very outrageous situation, but it was not impossible in this era.

Kato Nobutaka wants to be my brother-in-law!

If Ai were to marry Kato Nobutaka, she would definitely not be able to be the principal wife and would definitely end up as a concubine. In today's era, such an operation is very reasonable and is the best way to maintain the intimate relationship between the two families.

Anyone of his generation would have been happy to do so, but Shichibei wouldn't agree. Marrying someone in their forties at sixteen, and then becoming a widow in a few years, wouldn't that be pushing someone into a fire pit?

No, we have to find a way to find a husband for Ai and marry her off in a formal manner to avoid any trouble.

In this day and age, any village chief in Owari would likely become the lord of a country or a city in the future. Really, I'm not lying. With Oda Nobunaga's massive expansion, all of Owari's local samurai and servants would enter the historical stage. Almost all of those who survived the battles became prosperous.

Just like Tokugawa Ieyasu's Mikawa 500 Riders, they didn't even have proper names until the shogunate finally solved the naming problem by granting them the common character "忠". This is also the reason why everyone in the shogunate was called a loyal minister. The coverage rate of "忠" among the hereditary lords and large-scale hatamoto was over 70%.

Now these five hundred riders are just the village chief’s territory.

Marrying blindly with your eyes closed is not a big problem given the probability of dying in battle during the Japanese Warring States Period.

Keeping this firmly in mind, Shichibei got up the next day and headed for the sandbar at the river mouth. "I'm short of money. Please, God, let me harvest a crop of alfalfa quickly so I can marry my sister off. No matter what, I can't force my sister to marry an old man."

The Kato family's boats arrived in the afternoon, seven or eight small boats. They were a wealthy family after all. With all these boats, it was easy to hire travelers to cut grass on the sandbar and then bring it to the town and village to sell.

Naturally, grass was cheap, but human life was even cheaper these days. Unskilled laborers could only earn enough to cover their daily expenses. "No work, no food" was the truest expression of the times.

In the future, if I work daily, I can work one day and have three days off. Now, if I work daily, I have to work every day. If I don’t work, I won’t even have a rice ball to eat at night.

There were many people and boats, and after roughly cleaning up a few sandbars, the first step was completed.

Set fire, set fire, setting fire is always a beautiful thing.

Because the bridge city on the other side hadn't been notified, someone from the city was sent over to inquire, thinking something had happened. There's a game called Mount & Blade where if you want to trick the lord out of the city, you just need to go to the village below and ask the village chief to set it on fire.

There was a fire, so the lord would definitely ask what was going on. Upon learning that Shichibei had set the fire to plant alfalfa, the man nodded and ran back to report the incident.

Not long after, the man came back and asked Qibingwei who he was serving or whose orders he received. The sandbars were ownerless, so even if they were developed, they could not be considered Qibingwei's.

The land is barren and no one cultivates it; but once it is cultivated, people fight for it.

Fortunately, this was a document of land cession signed jointly by the Oda clan elders and the magistrate, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble would have followed. After learning of the document, the man could only run back to report.

However, this time, Qibingwei added a little more information, saying that no matter how much alfalfa was harvested in the future, he would send 500 bundles of alfalfa to Daqiao City.

I'm not a clueless young man. These days, we don't live in a society ruled by law. If there are too many flies and mosquitoes, they won't kill people, but they will be annoying.

Seeing that Qibingwei was so obedient, the man patted him on the shoulder. Damn, another one who takes advantage of his height to pat my shoulder. Just wait.

After that, things got much easier. The Kato family's boat and boatman were returned, and Shichibei didn't need to sow the seeds himself; he could just pick two of his men to do it. As the saying goes, survival of the fittest. This was the first year, so we had to make do with whatever we had.

Three to five thousand years ago, ancient people also used slash-and-burn farming, planting one crop and harvesting two, and they thrived to this day. Even today, there are still tribes in South America that cut down forests, burn vegetation, and migrate after farming for three to five years.

I have to go back and ask about another thing: are there many fishermen in Ise Bay? If there are many, then they must be catching a lot of fish.

At that time, Japan's offshore fishery resources were very rich. The tuna eaten by the Kai people was caught nearby in Suruga Bay, and the clam soup drunk by the Edo people was also caught nearby in Edo Bay.

The sardines eaten by the people of Owari were also caught in Ise Bay. Without having experienced the devastating fishing nets used by humans, the coastal waters at that time were truly full of fish.

However, Shichibei was not very interested in eating fish. Instead, he thought that the unwanted excess fish could all be used to rot and make compost.

Rotting fish and any other messy seaweed are sources of high-quality phosphate fertilizer. Since we can't find an island covered in guano, we have to make our own phosphate fertilizer.

To grow alfalfa well, you need fertilizer. Of course, Shichibei doesn't have the money to do it right now, and fertilizer is quite expensive if you buy it. If you do it yourself, you'll need space and money.

Everything will have to wait until this crop of alfalfa grows. Only with this crop of cash can we do anything.

After all, they say a penny is enough to make a hero; without money, nothing can be done effectively. However, the shop's revenue had increased slightly, thanks to Shichibei's purchase of ten more draft horses, which were now in good use.

The originally tight liquidity began to recover.

This naturally made Shichibei in a good mood, and he hummed a song as he returned to the house. He saw Ai was settling accounts with a boy of about fourteen or fifteen. Upon asking, he found out that the man was a servant of the boss Ito, and he was here to help settle the bill for the gunpowder he had previously delivered to Oda Nobunaga.

12. Purely for publicity

That look is not even as good as mine.

This was Shichibei's first impression of Xiaozhu. He was just an errand boy, so what did he need to look like? Perhaps the only thing that was better than Shichibei was that he was now almost 1.5 meters tall.

He had no surname or given name, simply Kotake. Born in Owari, he was an apprentice in Mr. Ito's shop. He signed a "sell-indenture" agreement, obligated to toil for seven years without a penny's salary.

This is my fifth year, and I'll graduate in two more years. Depending on the situation, Ito will either give me a small salary or keep me employed.

"Hey! No, that's not right," Shichibei said, turning to look at Ai. "He's fifteen, you're sixteen. You're not childhood sweethearts, are you? Otherwise, you'd know everything so well."

Hearing this, Ai was so amused that she almost laughed out loud. If you want to talk about childhood sweethearts, it's better to talk about the teenage guys in the store. They are the ones who really eat and live together every day.