Owari Yumeki Golden Day

I've never heard of any big merchants in Kai who are so generous as to stockpile hundreds of horses and wait for customers to come.

What made Niwa Nagahide even more confused was that when he asked Shichibei about the price of the horse, Shichibei spread his hands and said that he didn't spend a penny and it was all thanks to the generosity of Kai's brothers.

Niwa Nagahide, who had been so happy just five minutes ago, suddenly lost his composure. Where did such a good thing come from? Why didn't I have such a chance? He was about to ask when Shichibei and his men began checking the horses' condition. Several of the old servants were examining the horses' hooves and mouths, examining them very attentively.

Unable to find out the reason, Niwa Nagahide could only keep it to himself for the time being. After all, there was still a long time to come and there was plenty of time to figure out the matter.

The key point was that he had already completed the main tasks of this mission to the Takeda clan: first, to try to conclude a marriage alliance with the Takeda clan, and second, to purchase a batch of horses to replenish the Nakanō post station. Now that both tasks were completed, he hurried back to Japan to report to Nobunaga that Shingen had agreed to the marriage.

Niwa Nagahide also noticed something unusual about the atmosphere at Tsutsujigasaki-kan. Initially, when the Oda envoys arrived, some of the Takeda samurai simply ignored them. Now, with the news of Shingen's marriage to the Oda clan spreading like wildfire, some unfriendly glances were directed at Niwa Nagahide.

The Japanese have a long history of such things as subjugation, going it alone, and divine punishment. Even if Niwa Nagahide was only thinking about himself, he had to pack up and run.

31. There is something to do in April

Before running away, Shichibei bought fifty more horses. He had carried so many copper coins all the way from Owari, and if he carried them back, he wouldn't be able to take care of so many horses.

The guys had to carry more than 100 kilograms of copper coins every day and go through mountain valleys, and they were exhausted.

So Shichibei now had 106 horses, including the warhorse. The dozen or so servants who had come with him to Kai were almost overwhelmed and in a panic.

In addition, since the price Kai paid to Shichibei for his horse was two kan and five hundred mon, Shichibei did not spend a penny of the twenty gold pieces he exchanged before leaving, and only spent all the copper coins.

Wrapping the twenty gold pieces tightly, Shichibei walked without caring about his relatives and followed the group back to Owari.

Kato Nobunaga, on the other hand, had a gloomy face the entire way. He had only bought a dozen horses in Kai. Even the vast Atsuta Katoden Horse Farm had a hard time getting business going since the start of spring. If they couldn't find a horse dealer with a large number of horses in May or June of this year, Katoden's reputation would be tarnished.

If we cannot complete the old orders from old customers over the years, it will lead to a collapse of our reputation.

He had come to Shichibei to ask for help, but would asking help be enough? Borrowing money was fine; lending was normal in the business world. But borrowing means of production was outrageous. Shichibei was a stable boy himself; there was no reason for him to lend a horse to anyone else.

You are unlucky, so don't blame me.

Everything was fine at home, especially after seeing Shichibei return with over a hundred horses. The few people from the old family who had stayed back home were worried, but now that they had seen him, they all praised Shichibei for his ability to enhance the reputation of the Chuanma Kawamura family on the Otsushima Road.

Thank you!

Keep the money. Without horses, there's no business these days. Shichibei then asked if the alfalfa and barnyard grass had been planted since the spring. Now that Shichibei had money, he could hire horses to plow the soil (shallow tillage) in addition to burning the wasteland.

At least the grass roots and other things could be turned over and allowed to rot, serving as fertilizer. When Shichibei made another fortune, he'd enclose the entire 1,000 mu (approximately 1,000 mu) of sandbar with earth walls and really make a killing.

Fortunately, Ai had her eye on Xiaozhu, who still had more than a year to go before "graduating" from Itoya. This gave Shichibei plenty of time to prepare his dowry, allowing him to indulge in some extravagance.

If you really can't afford to waste money, at least you can earn 200 strings of cash by selling alfalfa twice a year.

Before, I thought a dowry of 20 kan per person would be enough, but now look at how Nobunaga spent at least 3,000 kan marrying his sister to Asai Nagamasa and another 5,000 kan marrying his adopted daughter to Suwa Katsuyori. We can't compare to him, but 20 kan doesn't seem very generous either.

Furthermore, Shichibei also wanted his sisters to invest in a few future city lords and country lords, so that they could start a business together. After all, a deep love between husband and wife is the key to long-lasting marriage.

I don’t ask for Maeda Toshiie and Osomatsu, but at least Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Chiyo.

When Empress Ma married Zhu Yuanzhang, her dowry was half the Guo family's army. Since we don't have any troops to bring with us when we marry my sister, we can only be more generous financially. Giving these future city lords and state rulers some start-up capital might help them raise their own troops sooner and become wealthy sooner.

After instructing his family to take good care of the warhorse, Shichibei prepared to wander the town, seeking to understand what had transpired in Tsushima during his month-long absence. The market conditions of various industries were crucial, as they could reveal hidden business opportunities.

When he arrived home, he stopped Shichibei and told him they'd signed two more free laborers this year—well, apprentices in the trade. In Japan, they're called "xiaohuozha" or "xiaoseng," which basically means apprentice. One is nine years old, the other eight. Both are on seven-year contracts, with room and board provided, but no salary.

Don't report trivial matters to me. This is the industry's usual practice. We recruit apprentices every year. Those with savvy are retained, while those without savvy are still free laborers for seven years.

Seeing that Shichibei wasn't really interested, he sent the two apprentices back home to feed the horses with hay. Speaking of which, the old man who had planted two acres of safflower on the sandbar outside the town had come into town a few days ago to ask when Shichibei would be back.

Something? It seemed like something, but the old man didn't say anything more when he saw that Shichibei was not at home. He also said that it was not that urgent anyway and he would come to the town again in half a month.

Counting the days, it's already been seven or eight days. Has anyone come back? No.

Okay, the next day, Shichibei took a boat to the sandbar to look for the old man. He didn't see the old man, but he heard dogs barking. After not seeing him all winter, the three dogs he had given the old man had grown up, and their barking was quite fierce, which scared Shichibei.

The fellow who had followed Shichibei to the island was also startled and kicked him. The dog, which had been barking cheerfully, saw that it was a familiar figure and not only stopped barking, but instead rolled over from a distance to sniff the foot.

Dogs really do act differently depending on who they are...

Because of the dog barking, the old man ran out with several children, big and small. The oldest child was holding a dog and looked at Shichibei warily. It's only been four or five months since we last met, and the owner doesn't even recognize him?

I will also send someone to deliver rice to you every month.

The old man was quite attentive, and upon seeing Qibingwei, he quickly bowed and called him "Master." He also kicked the dog, forcing it to make way for Qibingwei. The small village consisted of only two acres of land, planted with red flowers, so there wasn't much room to step.

"Tell me, what's the situation? Why did you have to go all the way to Tsushima to find someone?" Qibingwei's question stumped the old man. The old man said slowly, "Didn't I tell Qibingwei before the New Year last year that we would collect the safflower in April this year?"

Now the buds of the red flowers have all popped out, just waiting to bloom next month. Once the bees, sparrows and butterflies pollinate them, they will be picked.

Could it be that you forgot, boss?

Oh my god, I forgot. Shichibei thought it wasn't ready for harvest until May or June. He spent the winter building stables and hay sheds for Nobunaga, and in early spring, he went to Kai to teach economics to a bunch of roughnecks. He'd completely forgotten about the safflower harvest in April.

After all, it was only a small experimental plot, so Shichibei wasn't particularly concerned about its success. It was much less impressive than the hundreds of acres of barnyard grass and alfalfa outside. After all, barnyard grass and alfalfa could be sold immediately after harvest, making them fast-acting and reliable crops.

"Please hire two people to pick them when the time comes." Safflowers are best picked early in the morning, and the old man was afraid that he wouldn't be able to pick them all.

The flowers come in batches. There may be ten days in April when you have to get up early every day to pick the flowers. Without three or two people, it is impossible to take care of them all.

Only after the flowers are picked can safflower cakes be made for Shichibei.

32. How about my younger brother be my dowry?

In addition to two temporary flower pickers, the old man also needed buckets, gauze, a stone mortar, a roller, bamboo baskets, and a thatched hut for him. With so many children crammed into his hut, it was difficult to even stand still, let alone use it to make cakes.

Shichibei took note of every reasonable request. He also asked the old man if he had enough food to eat and if he needed salt and fish. Besides, this was a bay area, very different from Kyoto. If the wind picked up, the thatched huts would have to have horizontal bars nailed to the roof and large rocks placed to hold down the grass.

Lest your thatched hut be destroyed by the autumn wind and the triple layers of thatch on your roof be blown away.

While Shichibei was inspecting, he could tell them what he wanted. If any of the seven or eight children were clever, they could be apprenticed to Kawamura-ya. Shichibei now had over a hundred horses, and with the expansion of his business, hiring more free child labor was essential.

Speaking of this, the old man said that there was no need to work as a clerk in Kawamura-ya. If you grow safflower well, you can dye red silk for your boss in the future. Isn't that the same thing?

Yes, these are children from Kyoto dyeing families. If the imperial court had not expelled Kyoto Bantenren, they would probably have been apprentices in the dyeing workshop by now.

There is no demand for purple robes in Owari, but there should be many people who like red robes. After all, Japan admires the culture of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty liked purple and red, not the kind of earthy red, but the yellow-red of safflower.

Yellow-red is brighter and more suitable for use as a dye and in rouge and powder. Later, more advanced lipsticks also used the red color collected from safflower.

As for the madder, its red is a kind of earthy red, a little bit not presentable. Of course, it has a wide range of uses, such as being used to make flags for "Red Guards".

After Oda Nobunaga captured Inabayama Castle, he would form the Akameshige and Kuromeshige groups. At that time, the Akameshige group would have to use a large amount of red dye to print and dye flags, haori and armor.

In addition, Hideyoshi's yellow-clad troops will use a large amount of withered yellow dye to dye their troops, and the entire army will be stained with yellow.

The most ostentatious one was Date Masamune. When he entered the capital, he covered the helmets of his two thousand soldiers with gold foil. He was so showy that all the daimyo secretly cursed him for being extravagant.

That’s all in the past. There’s no sign of the safflower cake yet.

Looking at the safflowers, Shichibei asked the old man how many flowers he could harvest from one acre of land. He wanted the dried kind. It was like growing tea trees. You couldn't report the yield based on the amount of tea leaves you'd just picked. You had to roast them before you could calculate the yield.

"Probably not," the old man shook his head. "It's mainly because the ground is too thin." "Thin" doesn't mean the soil is thin, but rather its fertility. Although this is a sandbar formed by the river mouth, it's only recently formed and hasn't brought much nutrients from upstream.

Besides, Shichibei only planted one crop of alfalfa, which didn't fix much nitrogen in the soil. To achieve a high safflower yield, he'd have to continue applying phosphorus fertilizer. He could just use the rotten fish and shrimp he'd been collecting since last year, or even kelp, and then just add human and animal feces and let it ferment and rot.

Fermentation is slow in winter, so it is better to do it in summer. However, the odor is too strong in summer, so it may not be possible to do it in the town or nearby, and it has to be moved to the sandbar.

By applying more fertilizer for a few years and planting a few more rounds of alfalfa, the land will slowly change from "raw land" to "cultivated land", and the yield can be stabilized to achieve a good harvest in this era.

Don't worry, don't worry. How could Shichibei not understand? Last year, when we were planting alfalfa, we discovered that the yield on the sandbar was about half that of the alfalfa on the cultivated land outside. This difference clearly stemmed from the land being undeveloped and still maturing.

For example, when planting alfalfa this year, Shichibei had horses plow the fields, turning over decaying plants and roots, providing space and food for earthworms. The earthworms gnaw and burrow through the soil, producing earthworm feces. This is one of the sources of the soil's "vitality," something we'll probably call organic matter in the future.

It took years of collaborative effort between humans and nature to finally create this sandbar. Humans invest their energy, and nature rewards them; in a sense, this is a harmonious coexistence with nature.

When egrets begin to appear on the sandbar, it means that this land is "cultivated land" and "living land" and can be continuously cultivated and developed.

On the contrary, the land described in "Silent Spring" (the spring here is quiet) will become dead land within three to five years, and the ground will be as hard as stone.

After saying goodbye to the old man, Shichibei inspected the alfalfa and barnyard grass fields again. There were several sandbars, all of which had been sown with seeds. The first crop of the year would be harvested in a few days.

In addition to raising dowries for his five younger sisters, Shichibei also had to prepare a betrothal gift for himself. It was not right to be stingy when marrying a daughter of a samurai family; he had to prepare a grand ceremony and buy some extra things for her.

It’s so stressful!

The thought of getting married makes the pressure even greater!

The three tenants hired from Inuyama and one farmer originally from Shichibei's domain had all relocated to the sandbar and were doing quite well. The small village was already feeling quite familiar; if it had a rice barn and a waterwheel, it would have become a true rural Japanese village.

Planting alfalfa and barnyard grass was the easiest thing for them, and it did not require any assistance from Shichibei. Apart from purchasing farm tools and providing plow horses, there was nothing else to do.

When it's time to harvest, just bring the backpackers from Tsushima Tenno Shrine with you. Expecting these four farmers to harvest hundreds or thousands of acres quickly is unlikely.

The place was thriving, and Shichibei, feeling satisfied, wandered around for most of the day before returning to Tsushima Town. After instructing his family to prepare the items the old man on the sandbar had requested and to deliver them the next day, Shichibei returned to his shop and began preparing dinner.

While they were eating, Horida Uma, the Oda clan's chief of liaison and governance for Tsushima Town and the one who announced Oda Nobunaga's orders, strolled in. He petted this horse, then that, and Shichibei's heart was lifted.

To be honest, as soon as this guy showed up, he was going to make money for Nobunaga.

Last time, Nobunaga married his sister Ichihime to Asai Nagamasa, and he made 500 kan on Tsushima. This time, he wanted to marry his adopted daughter Toyamahime to Suwa Katsuyori, so he had to make another fortune.

If he just wanted to get a free meal, it would be fine. A bowl of rice porridge in tea is not worth much.

Smiling on the outside, he was terrified inside. Shichibei quickly dusted off his butt and pants and went to meet Horida Uma. While the guy wasn't particularly impressive, his father, Horida Michikū, was Oda Nobunaga's matchmaker, so he was quite useful.

He ushered them into the house and prepared to eat. As expected, Hotta Uma said he was in no hurry to eat, saying he had come to visit on business. As expected, Nobunaga was going to ask Tsushima Town to produce 600 kan of gold coins to make up a dowry for Toyama-hime.

There was no way around it. Takeda Shingen was asking for too much, and Nobunaga needed to stabilize Takeda Shingen for the time being. Five thousand kan was five thousand kan, and everyone had to share it.

When Shichibei heard about the six hundred kan of arrow money, his eyes narrowed. He only took three kan. In the past, the entire Kawamura family would have worked for nothing for at least half a month, but now that there were more horses, it was better, so maybe four or five days would be enough.

It's all in vain. At least while Nobunaga was fighting everywhere outside, our Tsushima Town has not been involved in war for many years. This is also thanks to the efforts of Nobuhide and Nobunaga, father and son.

The most recent invasion was during the Battle of Okehazama, when Hattori Tomosada, the lord of a nearby territorial island, led his navy to plunder. However, he was repelled by the townspeople, and later, Imagawa Yoshimoto was defeated and killed, and Hattori Tomosada fled.

However, this temporary collection of arrow money should be announced publicly in the town hall, and then discussed and voted on internally by the Tsushima people, and then publicly raised funds. Why are you running over to talk to me about this?

"Nanabe, I never realized that you have such talent in business before." Hotta Uma took advantage of his height and patted Nanabe's shoulder.

"Ah?" That would definitely not be discovered, because Shichibei had been in charge of Kawamuraya for more than a year.

Before that, it was Nanabei's mother who managed the business for eight years, and before that, it was his stepfather's business. Nanabei, who just turned 20 this year, wants to show his business talent, but he doesn't have the time.

"Haha, I heard that you taught several students in Kai, and they even gave you fifty horses." Hotta Uma began to talk about the purpose of his trip.

"Well, while I was waiting to buy the horse, I did have some interactions with a few warriors from Kai." Shichibei didn't say too much.

"Kai Takeda Daizen has rewarded you, right?"

"Yes, there are some rewards."

"Then how about sending you to Kai to serve as Princess Toyama's attendant?" Hotta Uma suddenly said something that made Shichibei very resistant.

When Aichi married into Omi, she brought several samurai families as her dowry. Otherwise, she would not have been able to send her confidant to deliver a bean bag tied at both ends to Oda Nobunaga overnight.

Now that Princess Toyama is getting married, the Oda clan should also give her a few samurai as a dowry. These samurai will become retainers of Princess Toyama's son, and can be considered the original team.

"No, no, no, the Kawamura family's assets are all in Tsushima." Shichibei's refusal came out without hesitation.

When Princess Toyama got married, theoretically, Toyama Naoyoshi should have sent his retainers, and Nobunaga could have sent two more households as a dowry. But how could Shichibei, who was completely unfamiliar with Princess Toyama and had no connection to her, have the right to be the one to give the dowry?

"Oh..." Uma Horita looked at the busy Kawamura-ya. He had also managed some business and knew that Shichibei couldn't just move away like that.

But since the words were spoken, there must be a reason. We are all people in the public eye, so why would we make jokes for no reason?

Shingen quoted Nobunaga 200 kan for the land and asked for Kawamura Shichibei Nagakichi. He was a horseman in the main road anyway, and the job would be the same in Kai. There were pastures and alfalfa fields readily available, making it easier to buy horses.

Nobunaga was stunned by this additional condition. He paused for a moment before remembering that it was the samurai he had previously instructed to build the stables. Initially, Sakuma Nobumori had mentioned this man as a skilled horse breeder, supplying alfalfa to the castle. Later, during the Battle of Inuyama, Nobunaga bought all the horses from Kawamuraya, hoping to see if this man had any talent.

After all, the horse-carrying business was failing, so they had to find a way to keep Shichibei afloat. Later, Niwa Nagahide reported that the streets and post stations had been repaired, but because the marriage alliance with Takeda was a more important matter, Nobunaga forgot about this man.

Now I suddenly remember that it was Takeda Shingen who specifically asked for Shichibei.

A retainer who is very good at repairing horse stables, growing horse grass, and has some ability in calculation, planning and construction is definitely not worth Shingen asking for.

When Niwa Nagahide was summoned and questioned, it was discovered that Takeda Shingen greatly admired Shichibei and had gifted him with fifty horses when he left Kai. Even if pack horses were worthless in Kai, they would still be worth at least a hundred kan.

Further questioning revealed that Shichibei was in Kai, teaching the samurai how to farm and make candles, and had more than a dozen students. Many of the Kai samurai considered Shichibei a close friend and respected him as their teacher.

Why not teach Oda's warriors how to make candles in Owari?

I was about to ask, but when Niwa Nagahide said it was made with inedible fruits from the mountains, Oda Nobunaga shut up. Indeed, where would the vast forests and abundant fruits come from in the Owari Plains?

After some understanding, it happened that Uma Hotta came to look for Shichibei.

"Uma-sama, please explain to Lord Gotate that the Kawamura family has been vassal of the Oda clan for generations."

I shed blood for Nobuhide, I was injured for Nobunaga, I am a loyal retainer of the Oda family, I want to see Nobunaga, I want to see Nobunaga.

"Please write down in detail the candle-making method that you taught to the Kai samurai, and I will come to pick it up tomorrow." Hotta Uma did not respond, but instead asked Shichibei to write an instruction manual for making wood wax.

"I understand. I'll send someone to deliver it to you tomorrow morning." Shichibei nodded repeatedly.