I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As he uttered the words "Heaven protects against famine," the burly man seemed to recall some unbearable past events; his face turned pale, and his body trembled violently a few times.

A moment later, he sighed again.

"Sir Samurai, you seem like a kind person, so I'll speak from the bottom of my heart..."

“In recent years, there haven’t been any major disasters or calamities, but life has become increasingly difficult.”

"Things in the market are getting more and more expensive. Not to mention the luxury goods used by the rich, even salt, bowls and plates for eating... all the necessities of daily life are constantly rising in price, and I have never seen them fall."

"At this critical juncture when money is needed more than ever before, the rice and vegetables I painstakingly grow, as well as the cloth my wife weaves, are becoming increasingly difficult to sell."

"To be honest... if this continues, I'm really afraid that one day my family and I will starve to death because we can't afford food..."

"I'm just a rough man, I can't read a single word, I don't understand any of those grand principles or profound knowledge. The only skill I know is farming, so I don't dare to offer any opinions to the officials..."

"Sigh... I just hope that the officials can quickly implement some benevolent policies so that the lives of us poor people can improve as soon as possible..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh.

"..." Tokugawa Iemochi fell silent with a complicated expression. He raised his gaze blankly and inadvertently cast his eyes into the distance, his cheeks filled with unfathomable emotions.

Why does the old man feel that life has become difficult these days?

Due to limited cognitive abilities, even in the most culturally and technologically advanced West, economics is still a relatively new field. Therefore, let alone a mere farmer, even across Japan today, whether a learned scholar or a seasoned government official, very few people could probably answer this question.

As a time traveler, Qing Deng, who had learned in middle school history class about the methods Western powers used to exploit their colonies and semi-colonies, roughly knew the answer.

Countries and regions invaded by Western powers generally suffered similar fates.

The old man was actually wrong.

This country has not been without major disasters in recent years—just over seven years ago, the so-called "Black Ships Attack" plunged the country into an unprecedented upheaval.

After Japan opened its doors to the world, its foreign trade surged.

Large-scale exports of economic commodities such as raw silk, tea, silkworm eggs, and cotton led to price increases.

Leaving aside other commodities, let's take raw silk as an example: due to insufficient quantity and rising prices of raw silk, the silk weaving industry in various regions, led by Nishijin in Kyoto, is struggling to survive.

The soaring prices of exported goods have also affected general commodity prices; for example, rice prices have been rising year by year for the past few years.

Because the price of gold in Japan was far lower than the international price, Western merchants and embassy staff took advantage of the difference to acquire Japanese gold, causing a large outflow of gold and a drop in the price of gold. This also led to a sharp rise in the prices of daily necessities such as rice, wheat, and salt, further exacerbating the hardships faced by ordinary people and lower-ranking samurai.

In short, the semi-colonial and semi-feudal social environment has caused Japan's economy to decline further.

If we want to solve this problem at its root... simply relying on so-called benevolent governance and issuing a few so-called policies to benefit the people is far from enough.

Qing Deng thought to himself: Tokugawa Iemochi probably also understood the crux of the problem, which is why he had that look on his face as if he had swallowed a fly.

About two minutes later, Tokugawa Iemochi let out a long breath and then slowly withdrew his gaze from the distance.

"Sir, thank you for your reply. Could you please help me pick out 10 of the freshest cabbages? I'd like to buy them."

The old man perked up immediately when he heard that Tokugawa Iemochi wanted to buy his vegetables.

He beamed and loudly agreed, "Okay!"

The wrinkled and dusty old face showed no trace of the bitterness he had just expressed when describing his current difficult life.

For people at the bottom of society, happiness is both simple and difficult.

……

……

Qingdeng and his group left Kanda in silence, each carrying 10 large cabbages.

After leaving Kanda, under the instructions of Tokugawa Iemochi, they headed straight west to their next research site: the Koishikawa Health Resort.

Koishikawa Health Center – In 1722, after receiving a petition from the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Ogawa Shōfū who had submitted suggestions to a public opinion box, the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate ordered the establishment of a medical facility for the poor, namely the Koishikawa Health Center. Initially, it could accommodate about forty patients, which later increased to more than one hundred and fifty.

Even now, this century-old hospital remains the most famous charitable institution under the Edo Shogunate.

The most distinctive feature of Koishikawa Health Center is that it offers free medical treatment.

For the poorest people who struggle to even afford food, the Koishikawa Health Center, which offers free medical care, is a lifeline.

Tokugawa Iemochi probably wanted to take a closer look at the current state of operation of this charitable hospital, which was on which countless poor people placed their hopes.

Aside from the period immediately after he transmigrated, Qing Deng, who never lacked money for daily expenses, naturally never visited the Koishikawa Health Center, which specifically served the poor.

In Qingdeng's imagination, the entrance of such a charitable hospital should be crowded with poor people waiting to see a doctor.

But who knew... that upon arriving at the Koishikawa Health Resort, Qing Deng suddenly realized just how conservative his assumptions were...

At this moment, an indescribable scene unfolded before Qing Deng and the others' eyes.

The sun was shining so brightly today—but even such brilliant sunshine, when it shone on the area surrounding the Koishikawa Health Resort, was momentarily dimmed by the surrounding environment.

The red soil road near the Koishikawa Health Center is covered with a thick layer of greasy, mixed colors.

The colors that make up this variegated area include: dark brown, burnt black, dark green... In short, all the ugly colors that can cause physical discomfort can be found here.

If you look closely, you'll find that these colored blocks are actually individual, living people.

There were men, women, young and old, and roughly estimated to be over a thousand people.

They gathered on the street, in the middle of the road, and on every inch of ground around the Xiaoshichuan Health Center.

A pungent stench, a mixture of sweat, excrement, urine, and the smell of a body that hasn't been bathed in a long time, permeated the crowded and oppressive space.

The sounds of children crying, weak groans, sobbing comforting voices, and heart-wrenching screams filled Qing Deng and the others' ears with an overwhelming presence.

"Mommy... my tummy hurts so much..." a little girl said weakly.

"Sweetie...we'll see the doctor soon, just bear with it a little longer...just bear with it a little longer..." The young woman holding the little girl gently patted the girl's back with one hand and quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with the other.

Although she said she would see the doctor soon, there were at least 200 people in line in front of her... It was already afternoon, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the mother and son would definitely not be able to cross the gate of the Koishikawa Health Center today.

"Gentlemen! I beg you!" A middle-aged man knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to the crowd in front of him, tears streaming down his face. "My mother... my mother is dying! Please, have mercy! Give me my place in line so my mother can see a doctor first! Please!"

A young man in front of him in line turned around impatiently and snapped, "Your mother is dying, but my son is also dying! If I give you my place in line, what will happen to my son?"

With this young man taking the lead, others immediately joined in the condemnation.

"Exactly! You can't be so selfish!"

"Is your mother's life precious, but my daughter's life isn't?"

"I started queuing here before dawn! You think you can steal my spot with just a few words? Dream on!"

……

Faced with a torrent of rebukes and insults, the middle-aged man did not offer any rebuttal.

He silently continued kowtowing, silently pleading with everyone to give him their place in line, silently striving to secure as much of a chance of survival as possible for his mother.

Similar scenes and similar situations appeared everywhere in this not-so-large space.

Looking at the scene before them, Qingdeng and his group displayed different expressions, but the underlying emotions were remarkably consistent.

Sae's lips drooped.

Yae lowered her head and eyes.

A hint of sadness flashed across Tenshōin's eyes.

Tokugawa Iemochi remained expressionless, but his hands, which had been hanging naturally at his sides, were now clenched tightly.

As for Aoto... like Tokugawa Iemochi, he had little expression on his face.

But in reality, his heart was far from calm at that moment.

At this moment, for some reason, the following thought suddenly appeared in Qingdeng's mind:

This is the true picture of the impoverished lower classes in feudal times...

As soon as this thought arose, a strange, unknown emotion began to grow in Qingdeng's heart...

Suddenly, a furious shout drew the attention of Qingdeng and his group.

"Hey! What are you doing here, you filthy Edo? Hey! You vile woman, get out of here right now! This is a clinic for treating patients, not a place for filthy Edo! Your evil aura will pollute this place and make everyone sick!"

*******

*******

The author's biological clock and life rhythm are gradually returning to normal! Look, the word count is starting to increase every day! We'll soon be back to our usual update pace!

Please be sure to vote for this book with your monthly tickets, considering how hard the author has worked!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 337 Benevolent King vs. Mob! Talents Merge Again [5600]

A loud shout echoed through the Koishikawa Health Center, drowning out almost all the other voices present.

Qing Deng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a ragged warrior glaring at a pair of girls amidst layers of dirty "color blocks".

The two girls look extremely alike; they must be sisters.

They all looked quite young. The slightly older one was at most 15 or 6 years old. The younger one was about 11 or 2 years old.

Both sisters were extremely thin, their faces were deathly pale, their cheeks were deeply sunken, and their arms, calves, and fingers exposed outside their clothes were as thin as dry twigs, with only a thin layer of skin covering their bones.

Her hair, showing no signs of care, was dull and tangled, resembling autumn weeds.

If the samurai glaring at the sisters... or rather, most of the patients and their families waiting to see a doctor were merely dressed in tattered clothes, then the sisters' clothes... could hardly be called clothes! They were rags that would be rejected even as rags!

Large patches of fabric and color have peeled off the clothes due to their age. The remaining fabric has turned dull and black, making it impossible to recognize what color the clothes were originally.

There were countless holes, large and small, but very few patches.

The winter wind kept blowing through the holes and into their clothes, causing the two sisters to shiver. Their dark, rough skin was covered with layers of goosebumps that never seemed to subside.

From head to toe, every part of these sisters silently proclaimed to outsiders the fact that they were Eta, the lowest stratum of society in the Edo period, and even more so, the Eta among Eta who struggled to even get enough to eat.

How can you tell if someone is a jerk?

This is actually very simple.

Just by observing their appearance, temperament, and clothing, one can basically guess their identity with a high degree of accuracy.

Anyone with a certain level of social experience and life experience can easily recognize that these two sisters are Eta; there's no mistake.

Many people have a misconception that all Eta live a miserable life where they can't even afford to eat.