Daily life in Zongman

Miyamizu Ichiha brought the wooden box, closed the jade box, and placed it back inside. He then packed it up. He found a pen and paper and looked at Fujiwara Haru: "If I remember correctly, your name is Fujiwara Haru, and you're from three years later, right?"

Fujiwara Haru nodded, and Miyamizu Kazuha asked for the address again, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and stuck it on the package.

"If there is a subsequent connection, it will pass the test of time and come to you."

Writing and packing the letter took some time. Fujiwara Haru was already very sleepy, pecking at rice like a chicken. Miyamizu Ichiha looked at her and chuckled: "Go to sleep. And thank you."

The aftermath of the meteorite had long since subsided, and the surviving villagers had begun setting up tents nearby, often discussing the meteorite. Fujiwara Haru lay asleep on the side. Miyamizu Ichiha dug out her needle and thread and cloth, examined the message on the package, and sewed the knotted cords that had been stored at Miyamizu Shrine for years onto the cloth.

In the hazy air, Fujiwara Haru seemed to emerge from the deep waters of a lake. The hazy light shone down from the lake, bringing a faint orchid-like feeling. Accompanied by ripples, he floated to the surface of the water.

I opened my eyes and saw Sister Shendong.

His consciousness was a little hazy after waking up, making him think he was at home: "Good morning, Sister Shendong."

After being carefully placed on the ground, I realized that I was not at home, but in a cave. Two porcelain wine jugs rolled on the ground, and there was a stone shrine at the end of the cave.

"Haru-kun?"

"Well, what happened to Sister Shendong?"

Fujiwara Haru was a little confused when he saw that Yukino Fuyu was obviously relieved.

"You were possessed by a girl just now. I was shocked. Fortunately, it's okay."

"Girl? Possessed?"

Fujiwara Haru felt that these two words were very familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't remember why they were familiar.

The memories after the body swap, just as Miyamizu Ichiyo said, disappeared quickly like the memories after waking up from a dream.

Yukino Shindong picked up Fujiwara Haru and said, "Okay, let's go home first. Don't run around again next time. It's very dangerous."

Although Fujiwara Haru was still a little confused, since Sister Shendong said to go home first, then she would go home first and sort out what happened when she got home.

———October 2013, 10———

Miyamizu Ichiha woke up from her sleep and was shocked when she looked at the meteorite crater in the distance.

What happened last night?

All traces are fading rapidly, not only the memories, but also the traces left when the body was exchanged and the impact on the people nearby. Everything is like footprints on the beach, smooth again after the tide passes.

She noticed the unfinished piece of cloth in her hand. On it was an address, a time, and the character "藤" (vine), with half of the original character still unfinished.

Why did she sew this? It is made with the shrine knot, which represents the medium of connection with the gods.

Miyamizu Kazuha stood up and wanted to take a closer look at the meteorite crater in the distance. A package fell out of his arms with a piece of white paper stuck on it, which seemed to be sent somewhere.

———October 2016, 10———

Fujiwara Haru still remembers that he explored the Purple Star Gate two days ago. He also remembers that he stayed in a hotel for one night and slept in the lobby on the first floor. The owner was very nice.

I can’t quite remember what happened at the Purple Star Gate afterwards.

The vague and hazy memory made people feel extremely uncomfortable. Fujiwara Haru decided that next time he must use a small notebook to write down what happened in the Purple Star Gate so that he would not be afraid of forgetting it.

After arriving at school, he greeted Nishimiya Glass and began to attend classes seriously. He has always been very serious about studying.

Thanks to his good memory, Fujiwara Haru's grades have always been good. He is always in the top ten in the grade in every major exam, and occasionally he is in the top three.

After school in the afternoon, Fujiwara Haru took Nishimiya Glass to buy some materials. He planned to go home and make an ice cream pen holder. This was the latest thing he learned from Uncle Neil. It looked very cool and much more interesting than an ordinary cup pen holder.

Arrived home: "I'm back."

“Welcome home~”

"By the way, Haru-kun, you have a package."

------

Fujiwara Haru lay in bed, looking at the magatama in her hand. Sister Shendong said it was a treasure rich in spiritual power and extremely valuable. Its specific function was unknown, but simply wearing it could subtly nourish the body and be beneficial for growth.

It's a treasure~

Why would you give it to him?

I don't understand.

Forget it, go to sleep. Next time I go to Tokyo, I’ll go to the sender’s address and ask when I have time.

In the bedroom, an ice cream pen holder is drying on a shelf. It will take some time to perfect. But besides this, the shelf is already filled with various works. It took Fujiwara Haru two years to complete the whole shelf.

There were pieces he learned from Uncle Neil, as well as animation props he tried to make himself, and a black piece of clothing hanging on a hanger, which was his outfit for playing Ichihu.

These are treasures that Fujiwara Haru has spent a lot of effort on. The fastest one took a week to make, while the slowest one took more than half a month. After two years of work, he has made more than fifty pieces.

After finishing this ice cream pen holder, Fujiwara Haru decided to set up a stall at a festival and sell them all.

He still remembers his original purpose - to make money.

Although he is not as capable as Sister Shen Dong and does not earn much, he always wants to help Sister Shen Dong to the best of his ability.

He never breaks his word and never forgets his original commitment.

He will work hard to grow and become stronger, and when he is strong enough, that will be the time for him to take care of Sister Shendong in return.

Now, let’s start with the basics and try to make money.

Then, he has to keep running, keep learning, keep growing, and work harder on everything!

41. Earn money for the first time

Yukino hummed a melody softly as she placed a half-cooked egg on the rice. Using chopsticks, she pried open the egg core, letting it ooze out and soak into the rice. After placing the meal on the table, she looked towards the living room and said, "Haru-kun, time to eat~"

Fujiwara Haru was packing up his works one by one, carefully separating them and standing up. "Here I come."

Sitting at the dinner table: "I'm starting to eat." ×2

Today's lunch was as hearty as ever: scallion-oil chicken cutlets paired with a soft-boiled egg provided ample protein. The cold cucumber and shredded radish salad provided vitamins, and the pork rib and winter melon soup provided a welcome boost of nutrients while relieving greasiness.

Fujiwara Haru has no concept of balanced nutrition or healthy eating yet. When he sees these nutritious dishes, he has only one thought: they are delicious, I love them, and I want to eat more!

He ate three bowls of rice and most of the dishes, and finally had a bowl of winter melon and pork ribs soup to smooth things over, which made his stomach feel comfortable.

"Haru-kun, your appetite has increased recently."

Fujiwara Haru thought about it and felt that he had grown older. In the past, he was full with just one bowl of ramen, but last year he had to eat two large bowls of rice. Now, he can have three large bowls of rice and a bowl of soup.

Sister Shen Dong went to the kitchen and fried another piece of scallion chicken fillet. Then she took out her lunch box and put the remaining food into it. "Take your lunch box with you later. You can eat it when you get hungry in the afternoon."

"Okay~ Thank you, Sister Shendong!"

Fujiwara Haru didn't refuse. He was indeed getting hungry quickly recently, and he would get hungry at three or four in the afternoon. This caused him to have to buy some food to fill his stomach when he occasionally went out to explore the bright spots.

After eating, I had enough energy to move all the works onto the cart. During this time, I heard the doorbell ring and Nishimiya Glass walked in.

"Xigong, you are this cart, and I pull this cart."

"Ah."

"One, two, three, four, five..." After another careful count, Fujiwara Haru was full of energy: "Okay! Let's go! This first sale of works by a great artist will definitely be a success!"

With great anticipation, he set off pushing the heavier cart, while Nishimiya Glass followed behind pushing the lighter one. This time, they didn't ask for help from Sister Fuyuki, as she didn't really like going out. Fujiwara Haru also felt that he and Nishimiya Glass could handle it alone.

However, after he chose the park, Yukino Shindong poked her head out from behind an empty tree in the distance, quickly took out her cell phone and typed the address to Nishimiya Yaeko, asking her to help first.

The reply was: "That's a good thing. If no one buys their works, they will know that making money is not easy. I won't find anyone to buy them."

Yukino Shindong pursed her lips, thinking that Yaeko was still too harsh on Nozomi. It was okay for her to be harsh, but she shouldn't bring her daughter Harujun into the relationship!

There was no other way, Yukino Shendong decided to wait and see. If no one bought anything near dinner time, she would ask Xuesha for help and ask her to bring some people over to buy some.

She only knew these two people and hoped everything would go well.

Xue No is in the deep winter, and today she is also secretly paying attention to her child's growth.

------

“Put the big works on the floor and the small ones on the table.”

After a few trips back and forth, they laid out their work under a maple tree near the park entrance. Nishimiya Glass looked at Fujiwara Haru and said, "Fujiwara-kun, how much do you want to bury it for?"

"How much does it cost?"

Nishimiya Shoko nodded, indicating that this was what she meant.

Fujiwara Haru reacted: "Yes, I forgot the price."

He was so excited about making a lot of money by selling things that he forgot to confirm how much each work would sell for.

“How should we set the price?”

This was his first time selling something, and he really didn't know how much to sell it for.

Nishimiya Glass also didn't understand: "I don't know."

"Hmm...hmm..." Fujiwara Haru nasally thought about how he should set the price.

He remembered a quote: "If there's a 10% profit, capital will be used everywhere; if there's a 20% profit, capital will be active; if there's a 50% profit, capital will take risks; for 100% profit, capital will dare to trample on all human laws; if there's a 300% profit or more, capital will dare to commit any crime, even risking being hanged."

Fujiwara Haru decided to use this knowledge to price his work, ensuring a 20% profit, which would allow him to make a small profit.

The first step is to determine the cost. Most of his works are made from waste newspapers and cardboard, which are free. Some are newspapers at home and some are picked up from the roadside. The main expenses are white latex, paint, tissue paper and other materials.

If you divide it evenly among each work...

Then take into account my own labor. Although I am the greatest artist, I am not famous yet, so there is no premium and I can only be regarded as cheap labor?

Fujiwara Haru, who had already learned some political economics in the second year of junior high school, estimated the price, found paper and pen, and put price tags on each work.

The average price of small works such as stone paperweights is 300 yen, while the average price of large works is around 1000 yen.

When the prices were posted, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time that Fujiwara Haru and Nishimiya Shoko had sold something, and it was also the first time that they had tried to make money. They were not familiar with the process and were stumbling along.

After confirming that the work could be sold, Fujiwara Haru began to imitate the hawking voice he had recently heard: "Stone paperweight, blue quality, 100 yen each, first come, first served~"

"Ice cream pen holder, blue quality, 100 yen each, first come first served~"

"Sword in the Stone Throne, gold quality, 1,000 yen each, first come first served~"

Fujiwara Haru has created a different slogan for each of his works, and then recites it in a loop.

Nishimiya Glass listened for a while, and when Fujiwara Haru grew tired, she began to follow suit, saying, "Stone paper, blue quality, one yen each, first come, first served."

"Ice Qilin Pen Holder, blue quality, one yen for free..."

After lunch, the two of them went out to set up a stall, starting at about one in the afternoon and continuing until around three in the afternoon, and sold two works.

Fujiwara Haru was a little discouraged. He was still thinking that even if he couldn't sell out all the goods today, he could at least sell more than half. Now it seems that if he sells one per hour, he won't be able to sell all the goods by tomorrow.

I'm hungry, so I want to eat something first. Fujiwara Haru rummages through the lunch box.

Nishimiya Glass was still trying to shout, "Stone Sect Sword Throne, gold quality, 1,000 yen each, first come, first served."

When he took out the lunch box and was about to call her to rest and eat together, three people came over. They were wearing the uniforms of a nearby high school. One of them was wearing glasses and looked familiar to Fujiwara Haru.

The man with glasses suddenly stopped in front of the stall when he passed by. Nishimiya Glass was very happy and asked, "What do you want to bury~"

The other two also stopped and looked over.

42. I thought it was normal at that time

He reached out and pushed the bridge of his glasses, and asked seriously, "How much is this?"

He pointed at the Sword in the Stone Seat. Fujiwara Haru put down his lunch box and asked seriously, "Are you asking about the Sword in the Stone Seat or the Sword in the Stone?"

Glasses replied seriously, "Of course it's the Sword in the Stone!"

"As the label says, this Sword in the Stone is priceless!"

A friend of the man wearing glasses, a young man with golden hair, came over and said, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be obtained. Even a priceless treasure can be obtained as long as a certain price is paid. So, what is the price to obtain it?"

Fujiwara Haru was very serious: "There is no price. There is no price to get it, but you need to be able to pull it out. This is the sword in the stone. As long as you can pull it out, you can take it away."

Another ordinary-looking boy also came over: "Oh! Then let me try first!"

He walked to the front of the Sword in the Stone, grasped the hilt, and then lifted it up with force!

Lift it up! Lift it up! Lift it up!

He yelled, "Humph! Get up for me, ahhhh!"

Dozens of seconds later, he stood there panting, saying weakly, "I failed, Jizhu, it's up to you!"