Chapter 634: I Am Here, the Ship Is Here

Pan Yun's heart stirred, and she gave him a copy of the Dao De Jing.

When Nosaka Taro received the book, he was overjoyed; he leapt past Xue Shao and became his second-best friend, ranking just below Wang Cong.

He opened the book and read it word by word—of course, in Japanese—but he recognized characters, though not all of them.

Nosaka Taro went to fetch the dictionary, the most precious book in his family.

He invited Wang Cong, Pan Yun, and Xue Shao into his study; among all these people, only these three were worthy to enter.

The study was small, lined with mats, with no bookshelf at all, because all the books were carefully stored in boxes.

There were only five books total; apart from the dictionary, the others were thin, no thicker than a finger joint.

Nosaka Taro happily told them the origins of these books.

One was the Biyan Lu: "This was bought by my grandfather at great cost; only when my father came of age did he hire a passing monk to teach him, and only then could he understand this book."

The Biyan Lu was written in Hanzi, with no Japanese annotations; those who could not read could not understand it.

Neither Nosaka Taro's grandfather nor his father could read at first; they only knew these were books, and they wanted to read them.

But in Japan, class rigidity was far worse than in Great Ming; even though their family gradually grew wealthy starting from his grandfather's generation, they struggled to transcend class.

Only when Nosaka Taro's father spent a fortune hiring a monk to teach him the Biyan Lu did things change.

Though it was merely a Buddhist sutra, with just this one sutra, his father successfully entered the upper class of Izumo Province, spending years of effort until he finally bought their dictionary.

Oh, books exported from Great Ming to Japan did not circulate freely.

After drinking, Nosaka Taro spoke bitterly of this: "All books, the moment they reach shore, are seized and divided among the daimyo; they forbid books from leaving their hands. To buy even one book, I must flatter many people!"

Moreover, teaching monks in Izumo Province were hard to hire; ascetics refused to earn this money, seeing it as a waste of cultivation time;

monks seeking wealth looked down on Nosaka Taro's meager payment.

So Nosaka Taro greatly envied Yi Jianren.

"Yi Jun was born into wealth; even his retainers can read and write and speak Han language. I am jealous."

So when Wang Cong met him and said, "I observe your face: you have the countenance of a carp leaping the dragon gate, destined to revive your family," he was instantly won over like a fool.

Pan Yun asked casually: "How many years has the Yi family been operating in Kōchi Prefecture?"

Nosaka Taro: "I heard they rose to prominence since the Kamakura Shogunate."

Pan Yun smiled: "Three hundred years. It's no surprise their family has such depth. Nosaka Jun, don't grieve—you will be the founding ancestor of the Nosaka clan; three hundred years from now, others will envy your descendants."

Nosaka Taro's eyes crinkled with laughter: "Thank you for your auspicious words, thank you for your auspicious words."

Pan Yun's face turned serious: "This is deduced from your character and fortune. You should thank yourself."

Wang Cong immediately nodded: "Yes, yes! The moment I saw you, I sensed radiant glory—I knew at once you were no ordinary man."

Xue Shao sat aside, watching his two junior disciples coax Nosaka Taro into laughter so wide his eyes vanished, and he couldn't help smiling faintly.

Nosaka Taro liked them very much, and with his idealized view of the Celestial Kingdom, when Pan Yun and the others hinted they planned to travel overland for trade and that their ship was hard to manage, he immediately patted his chest and offered to guard it for them.

Nosaka Taro said: "This harbor is used only by our fishermen; few outsiders come here. Leave your ship here—I'll have someone care for it. I guarantee it will be exactly as you left it when you return."

Pan Yun was deeply grateful: "This is too much trouble for you."

Nosaka Taro's eyes welled with tears: "Friends, you gave me such a precious marble, and I merely guard your ship—how could this be trouble?"

Had it not been fishing season, Nosaka Taro would have preferred to travel with them and leave the ship in his family's care.

He truly wanted to play with his new friends.

Pan Yun wanted to buy carts, but unfortunately, within fifty li, there were no large cart shops; and Nosaka Taro said: "Even the largest cart shops don't have that many carts."

The Nosaka family owned two ox-carts; he was willing to give them both to Pan Yun, oxen included.

Pan Yun firmly refused; Nosaka Taro insisted on giving them; finally, they compromised: Pan Yun accepted one ox-cart.

Knowing they still needed to transport goods, Nosaka Taro went out and bought all the handcarts from his village and three nearby villages, then gifted them to her.

Twelve!

Pan Yun could hardly believe it: altogether, four villages had only twelve handcarts.

Even their own Shanxia Fen Shui Village had more than twelve—not to mention every household owning one, at least eighty percent of families had one.

After all, a handcart was truly convenient.

Nosaka Taro said: "A single-wheel handcart costs two hundred jin of dried mackerel; a two-wheel handcart costs five hundred jin. They can't afford them."

Pan Yun: "Don't you have craftsmen in your family?"

Pan Yun's gaze swept over the fishermen helping load and tie cargo, and she smiled faintly: "If your family has craftsmen, why not lower the price and make a batch for them? Let them supply the wood—you'd only pay for the carpenter's labor, and you could even pay in installments.

Once they have handcarts, their work efficiency improves, and as their master, your profits will rise too."

Nosaka Taro had never considered this; after a moment's shock, he said: "My family has a father-and-son pair who can do simple carpentry—repair carts, fix furniture—but I've never heard they can make carts."

Pan Yun smiled: "With blueprints, half the work is done. Let me draw you two handcart designs."

When Nosaka Taro saw her actually draw blueprints for the single-wheel and two-wheel handcarts, complete with measurements, he froze in place.

For Pan Yun, this was no difficulty; the principles of single-wheel and two-wheel handcarts were simple, and exact dimensions could be found with a quick query in the Spirit Realm.

Pan Yun marked them all clearly and handed them to Nosaka Taro.

Nosaka Taro received them with both hands, eyes slightly red, and whispered: "Why are you so kind to me, Pan Jun?"

Pan Yun paused, startled, then smiled: "It's nothing."

She paused again, pointing at the ragged fishermen: "Please, Nosaka Jun, do the same—just a small act."

Nosaka Taro carefully tucked the blueprints into his robe, bowed deeply, and solemnly replied: "Hai!"

Pan Yun reached out and helped him rise.

Tao Yanbai ran over: "Little Master, everything is tied down."

Pan Yun nodded: "Then let's set off."

She said to Nosaka Taro: "Nosaka Jun, we entrust our ship to you."

Nosaka Taro's face was solemn: "Pan Jun, rest assured—I am here, the ship is here!"

Pan Yun's lips twitched slightly, and she quickly said, "Focus on yourself; the boat is merely an external possession."

Nobara Taro wore a serious expression, whether he had taken it to heart was unclear. (End of Chapter)