Chapter 15 Section VI

Nagahori Jingoro saw that Kantaro and Dao looked very sorry, he smiled and asked them to back down, and he came to help re-attach the stickers of the sliding door and paper door of "Tone".Leaving aside the paper of the paper door, posting sliding door paper is quite difficult for laymen, but Jin Wulang has a pair of dexterous hands, he can master it as soon as he learns it, and he does things quickly and neatly, which amazes the craftsmen on the side. "Worthy of being an experienced Queen's Puppet." The Wubu teacher who came to help looked at it and sighed, but he seemed to be in the wrong direction.

The next day, Jin Goro packed his traveling bags and came to Fukan Longhouse. "You are leaving." "Thank you for your care these days." Jin Goro sat face to face with Shengzhisuke in a small room with four and a half couches, and bowed deeply. "Please don't be so polite. I can't really be of much help." Although Shengzhisuke blocked it, Jin Goro still kowtowed and saluted, then he raised his thin face and said with a smile in his eyes: "'Teegan's doing as well as it does today." "Even if there is no graffiti now, there is no problem." Shengzhisuke nodded.The remodeled "Tone" has a group of exclusive customers, who are very supportive of the meals made by Kantaro and Ado.

"That chef's name is Jinsuke, isn't he? He's a great cook." "However, it was Nagabori-san who injected Kantaro's vitality. It was because of your words that 'Tone' revived." ——What is your father's real hope?Jin Goro asked Kantaro in this way, and the conversation at that time was kept in Shengnosuke's heart. "After returning to the vassal state, I should not go to Edo again. I will work hard to let the old lord live in peace." Because the big stone resting in his heart has been removed - Jin Goro smiled. "I never thought that such a self-enclosed old feudal lord would still be haunted by the emotions of his youth. Mr. Furuhashi. I was so careless because..." People like me have forgotten the past one by one——Jin Goro Say. "Looking back on the past, I have always focused on my own life. Many of them are things that I can't remember enough, or things I don't want to recall, so I forget them."

For the samurai serving in Oshu Xiaofan, daily life is so serious and tense.This also means that Jin Goro, who is the lord and queen, does not rely on his own position to be arrogant, but often lives with people with weak positions.As Nagahori Jingoro said, I'm afraid we won't have the chance to meet each other in the future, Sheng Zhisuke stared at his thin face with deep feeling.Jin Goro picked up the small bundle beside him and handed it to Shengnosuke. "I've always been hesitant, wondering if it's appropriate to give you something like this as a thank you gift."

"Where is it? How dare I accept the gift." "Please don't say that, take a look first." Unable to resist his request, Sheng Zhisuke untied the burden, and there were two books in front of him. "Please pick it up and read it." It was an old manuscript, with loose bindings and torn paper.On the cover was a title label, half peeled off; the other was fairly new and felt solid to the touch.The old book is "Tianming 38 Wild Love Hometown Records", and the new book is "The Biography of Ten Thousand Treasures". Sheng Zhisuke blinked and asked, "This is..."

"Do you know?" "I remember seeing "The Biography of Du Bi An Yi" somewhere. But I'm not referring to the content, but the title of the book... It should be in Murata House." Had he seen it in the vast collection of rental bookstores, or had he seen other books that mentioned the title? Sheng Zhisuke hurriedly flipped through it, and found that there was a preface written by Tianbao four years (1833), that is, three years ago.No wonder it's so new. "Sanbaye's Hometown Love Record, as the title suggests, is a famine relief record written by the Sanbaye clan during the Tianming famine."

"The Great Famine at dawn—" For six years from the third year of Tianming (1783), an unprecedented famine occurred in Oshu.Known as the Tianming Famine.It is said that the weather has been bad since early spring, and the vast land has continued to fail.The hardest-hit area was the southern part of the Tsugaru Clan, where the hungry people gnawed on the roots of trees on the mountain and ended up eating human flesh, as recorded.One of the records is "Hungry Ghost Paper", which Sheng Zhisuke also read. The third year of Tianmei was also the year when the Asama volcano on the border between Ueno and Shinano erupted.In the books written at that time, even trivial readings will refer to this incident, and everything is dark and gloomy.The existing books are not the original books at that time, but manuscripts that have been copied and circulated by people. However, the anxiety and fear that enveloped the country are also vividly handed down in the manuscripts.

But it's only limited to the "bright" level.Sheng Zhisuke has no way of knowing what the fear of hunger actually is. "Fortunately, the Sanbaye Domain's disaster in Oshu is relatively light, but many people still suffer from hunger. I heard that the number of abandoned villages was double digits due to residents fleeing, but the truth is not that the villagers fled and scattered, but that most died of famine." Shengzhisuke looked at Jin Goro, and then turned his gaze back to the book. "It says how to make straw cakes." "I heard that when the Great Famine happened, all the rice and miscellaneous grains in the city were eaten up, and people ate straw cakes."

Jin Goro didn't remember that either. "Because it happened more than 50 years ago, I was still very young. But I remember that for a period of time, I didn't see rice for three meals, and I always ate miscellaneous grains. And almost every day, corpses were carried out from the victims' huts under the city. , It is simply a nightmare." Jin Goro was suddenly at a loss for words. "Not all the people in the victims' huts died of starvation. Many people died one after another because of hunger, weakness, cold or dysentery." Jin Goro's words were accompanied by a real feeling, which resurfaced in Shengnosuke's ears-some past events he didn't want to recall.

Maybe because there was something stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it, Jin Wulang coughed hard. ""Tianming Sanba Ye Aixianglu" records the situation at that time and the countermeasures taken against the famine in detail, but the word "copy" is added at the end to indicate that it is an excerpt, and then it is distributed to the people. To be clear, the above details It records the things we don't usually eat, and how to treat and eat things that are not considered food. It also mentions the identification and picking methods of tree fruits, mushrooms, and wild vegetables that can be collected in the mountains and forests of the Fannai. For poisonous plants, it mentions How to get rid of toxins..."

It may be because Sheng Zhisuke stood there blankly with a book in his hand.Jin Wulang stopped in the middle of speaking, and asked with a little scruple, "Mr. Guqiao, doesn't your feudal kingdom have a record of saving the famine?" "Maybe there is, but I haven't seen it." At least not in the library of "Yuexiang Pavilion".should not. "I don't know if there are any in my feudal kingdom..." "That couldn't be better. It's best not to use something like the Record of Rescue the Wilderness." "No, maybe I'm too careless to know that there is such a book." Sheng Zhisuke bit his lips involuntarily. "I heard that although the famine in the past few years was not as serious as the previous one, the harvest in the north continued to fail. My feudal kingdom is facing the same situation, and the rice warehouses in the feudal clan can only go in and out." That's why the succession dispute was shelved.It's ironic, but it's all thanks to a poor harvest—and East Valley said as much.Looking back now, such conversations were beyond careless, and even inappropriate. "Cultivation is completely influenced by the weather. The weather is indeed controlled by 'God', and it is difficult for people on the ground to change. All we can do is to be prepared in advance. Although it is so small and insignificant, it is the wisdom of people after all." Some people died because of the uncertainty of "God", while others easily survived because of their special status.No, some people can even ignore the elusiveness of "God" and stay completely out of it. "As for the other "Biography of Du Bi An Yi"..." As if to cheer up Shengnosuke, who was depressed, Jin Goro's voice became a little bit stronger. "This is a book written by herbalists and agronomists in order to prevent repeated crop failures and famines, and to let more people have relevant knowledge. It can be said to be the crystallization of wisdom. When there is not enough rice and wheat due to poor harvests, what to do? Look for food everywhere, it has easy-to-understand descriptions, even ignorant people can understand, and there are illustrations." There are indeed rich illustrations on it. "There are all kinds of multigrain rice recipes in it, which are very interesting." Jin Wulang smiled shyly. "For Furuhashi-san, it's also very interesting as a different cooking book. Oh, I'm so sorry." For half a month, during the conversation between Shengzhisuke and Nagabori Jingoro, he mentioned the work he took on from Murata House, and also mentioned the revenge story written by Oshigome Mimenro, as well as the popular cooking books in the rental bookstore. A book specifically about cooking that shows how extravagant it is, intended to please Kim Goro, who is curious about life in the streets of Edo, with a touch of ostentation, perhaps.He told Jin Goro many things.Sheng Zhisuke remembered that he said that cooking books are also a kind of literature and art, and he seemed to understand it very well. I should be ashamed. "Thank you, I accept it." Sheng Zhisuke accepted the two books.Jin Goro bowed down again. "What happened in the past half month will leave an unforgettable memory in the rest of my life. I hope I will always remember this time and always remember it." Jin Goro smiled.Sheng Zhisuke originally wanted to smile back, but suddenly his chest tightened and he couldn't smile.Although we only got along for a short time, I am glad to know this person. "Mr. Nagahori, take care of everything." "Mr. Furuhashi, too. I will sincerely pray for you in a corner of the Oshu countryside. May your path of pursuing knowledge in Edo go smoothly and broadly, and make contributions to the world." Nagahori Kingoro returned to the Sanyachino clan. Sheng Zhisuke was very devoted to reading two books.He also went to Murata House to discuss the matter with the cataloger Xun San, and found out where he had seen "The Biography of Du Bi An Yi" before.It turned out that I saw it from a "Summary of Famine Relief Bibliography" in the library of Murata House, which was an index book (library catalog) recording 63 famine relief books.He didn't have a special impression when he had a rough look at it before, which made Shengzhisuke feel ashamed.There are as many as 63 books written to save people from hardships.It's shameful that I don't pay attention to such things. "Brother Sheng." Zhibingwei couldn't bear to watch, and called out. "You have been dignified, how long do you plan to last? Enough is enough." This country is vast - Jihei said. "And there's a large population. No matter how hard you work alone, you still can't make famine disappear from the world. Everyone has a mission that they were born to shoulder. Your job shouldn't be to worry about whether God will reward the rice harvest, right?" Or are you going on a hunger strike? ——The more Jibingwei talked too much, Shengzhisuke felt displeased. "Okay, I'll show you." "Please." Jihei smiled wryly. "Mr. Nagahori must never have thought that you would always worry about this. He just wanted to give you a special cooking book." "I don't know. Mr. Nagabori may see that I have said and acted rashly, and wants to persuade me." "You think too much." While the two were talking to each other, Liusuke from Shengbundo came to Murata House.The pen-and-ink businessman has great instincts and is always there like the wind when help or mediation is needed. "Huh? How rare, are you arguing?" Since this is the case, I appreciate it—he put the luggage on his back next to the tent and sat down. "Fires and quarrels are the essence of Edo. Brother Sheng, do you know that?" "……enough." Seeing Liusuke's loofah face showing a smile, Shengzhisuke suddenly became weak all over.Normally he would not be able to hold back his laughter, but today was different.His whole body was exhausted and his anger was still lingering in his dantian.He suddenly became awkward, with a sullen face. "You look like a child with puffed cheeks. Ah, it's better to say like a mess." "Brother Shengliu, mentioning food to Brother Sheng is a big taboo now. Okay, let's get out the account book. How much do you charge this month?" The two were talking about business, while Sheng Zhisuke was staring at the bookshelf stubbornly, flipping through books everywhere.Soon, Jihei walked into the store, and there were only him and Liusuke left.At this time, Liusuke suddenly leaned towards him, leaning half of his body against Shengzhisuke, and whispered in his ear: "I said, the kimono shop in Tomiku-cho and Wadaya..." Sheng Zhisuke immediately pricked up his ears. "What, how?" "You know that, right? It's the shop where sister Axiu from Fukan Longhouse contracted to work." Liusuke's slender eyes like silk threads couldn't tell whether it was snickering or nervousness. "What's wrong with Wadaya?" "They're my clients, and they're also Murata's clients. Because seamstresses and waitresses all like to rent books." So what - Sheng Zhisuke responded, turned his face away again, but still listened carefully. Liusuke continued to whisper, "When I arrived at Wadaya yesterday, Miss Tatsuzu, the head maid, beckoned me to go over. I was a familiar face there, and her behavior was a bit strange. When I approached, she asked me something interesting. thing." Liusuke stopped suddenly.Shengzhisuke still stubbornly turned his back to him, but after all he couldn't help being curious and squinted at Liusuke. Liusuke also squinted at him, then the corners of his mouth slightly raised. "Miss Dozu asked me what, are you curious?" The corners of Sheng Zhijie's mouth drooped. "She asked me, Mr. Shengliu, you have a lot of people, so you should know about it? I heard that there was a young samurai in the Fukan longhouse who contracted the work of the Murada house. What kind of person is he? Do you know his origin? " Sheng Zhisuke still flaunted his bravery, the corners of his mouth drooping. "I asked her, Ms. Dozu, why do you want to know? She replied, Miss Hexiang, the daughter of Wada House, rarely went out alone a few days ago. Xiaofan from the store sent it to her when she went out, and Chief Fu Kan when she came back. The young samurai in the house sent the young lady back." Xiaofan is a clerk in the shop of Murata House.Shengliu mentioned that Hexiang was going out, which was the day when the mysterious woman Zhijinjiang appeared in "Li Genyi".After solving the mystery of the counterfeit characters, Shengzhisuke chatted with Jin Goro and Hexiang for a long time, and he sent Hexiang back to the Wada house when the sun was setting.When the two arrived at the back door of the courtyard, Kazuka said that it was enough to stop here, so Shengzhisuke left without greeting anyone in Wadaya.He Xiang returned home safely, and he completed the task. "Miss Tazu is the faithful head maid and serves as the guardian of the lady." Liusuke said. "She has always paid attention to the young lady. Although the young lady thinks she is invisible, Miss Dozu knows everything, so she will not ignore this young samurai." "This is so weird." Shengzhisuke finally fell for Katsuroku's trick. "Even if this waitress named Tatsu has sharp eyes and ears, if she only sees my face from a distance, she should have no way of knowing that I live in the Fukan long house and that I contracted work from Mr. Jihei." Liusuke grinned, opening his mouth almost to the ear.Although he has a pair of narrow eyes, he has a wide mouth. "That's right, so it was Ms. Duojin who questioned Hexiang." Shengzhisuke's heart felt cold, as if someone had poured cold water on it. "Miss Kazuka was scolded by the guardian maid?" Liusuke couldn't stop laughing. "I don't know." "Don't be sloppy. If she gets scolded, it's all my fault. I have to apologize." "So, Brother Sheng, you want to come to Wada House to apologize?" Liusuke immediately sat upright again and looked at Shengzhisuke. "This time you will go in the open and aboveboard? Isn't it sneaky?" "What, what?" "That's why I said." Liusuke grabbed Shengnosuke's shoulders firmly. "Cheer up, Brother Sheng. Miss Duojin is not angry, she came to me to discuss it because she was worried." Liusuke twisted his body, and said in a weird falsetto, "Our lady has been listless recently. The young samurai hasn't contacted me since then, and the lady must be very lonely." "what?" Shengzhisuke only uttered "Huh?" But he shouted several times in his heart.Huh?Huh?Huh?Huh? Liusuke continued to speak in a false voice: "If the other party is a decent person, then no one will hinder the lady. I would like to coordinate with Tazu and arrange for the lady to meet the young samurai again. He Shan, I came to ask you to lead the line." This time, Shengzhisuke grabbed Liusuke's shoulders and shook them vigorously. "How can I meet Miss Hexiang?" Liusuke stopped imitating women, and looked straight at Shengzhisuke with a pair of thin eyes, and said calmly, "Can't you just walk with your feet?" "That's not what I want to ask you." "By the way, if you also use your feet to walk, how about two people going for a walk together?" Let's talk about books——Six Assistants said relaxedly.