Chapter 159 - 106 Magistrate of Wanjin

Harano wrote a letter to Niwa Nagahide, Maeda Toshie and others, asking them to help find Endo Chiyoda’s aunt. The relationships among these local noble families were deeply intertwined and very suitable for searching for people. Then, he arranged for Endo Chiyoda and her servants to stay as guests first, and stopped focusing his attention on them, turning instead to continue pushing forward his plans. After a little more than half a month, charcoal kilns, soy sauce workshops, and Harano’s laboratory were roughly built, and the Nozawa family regained the ability to self-sustain financially, no longer in a state of only spending but not earning. Another half a month later, the dyeing workshop was also roughly completed and started experimenting with dyeing some colors easy to collect, like blue and black, though output was still not very high at this point. Endo Chiyoda lingered in the Wanjin camp, watching all this curiously, feeling that this was a pioneering method she’d never seen before. No one here was working on any farming, letting precious spring plowing time slip away just like that. Not a patch of wasteland had been touched. Most people were endlessly bringing in all kinds of raw materials or sending out strange new goods. The rhythm was odd, yet it had a different kind of vibrant energy. The number of people in camp was also growing. Whenever a team went out and came back, they always brought back a few or even a dozen people. These lost souls would soon get a hot meal, then be assigned into work teams to start doing heavy labor like building houses, digging ditches, or chopping wood. Camp management was even more strict—everyone seemed to be given clear requirements about where they needed to be at what time, and what they should be doing. Everything was tightly linked together, as if an invisible whip was always lashing at them, sending them hurrying back and forth. Even eating seemed like a race against time, far from the relaxed freedom of the countryside, where working in the fields depended entirely on instinct. Even she, as a guest, was gently reminded about the limits of where she could go; there were many places she couldn’t enter freely and could only gaze at from afar now and then. And so she idled around for over a month, watching with her own eyes the rise of many rough, ugly houses, seeing thick smoke rising day and night, and the steady purchase of new people making the camp ever busier. Only at this point did Harano seem to remember her again, sending someone to invite her. As soon as they met, she saw that Harano looked very serious, and a bad feeling instantly crept up on her. Sure enough, she had just sat down when Harano spoke with deep regret: "I’m sorry, Miss Chiyoda, but I must bring you some bad news—your aunt... passed away from illness at the end of last year." Endo Chiyoda was stunned for a moment, but she wasn’t too sad—after all, she’d never met this aunt and it was impossible for them to have a deep bond. Still, after all that searching, to have it end this way was a bit discouraging, and after a pause, she quietly asked, "Then what about my aunt’s family..." "No need to worry about that; everything else is fine with your aunt’s family. Your uncle, Yamanouchi Iyemon, and your two cousins are currently serving the Iwakura Oda family. I can send someone to escort you there." This was also recent news to Harano. In modern times, a few phone calls would solve it in half an hour, but in the old days, exchanging letters took more than a month. Still, as long as the matter could be resolved, a little delay didn’t matter. But after saying this and waiting a moment, Harano didn’t hear any thanks from Endo Chiyoda and couldn’t help asking, "What is it, Miss Chiyoda? Is there still something unsatisfactory?" He felt he’d already done his best, all bases covered and nothing really to criticize. After hesitating a bit, Endo Chiyoda seemed to make up her mind and suddenly asked, "Lord Nozawa, I hope this isn’t out of line, but... could I live here on your territory?" "Live here? You’re not going to your aunt’s?" Endo Chiyoda gently shook her head. "Since my aunt is gone, there’s... no real reason for me to go." Harano was surprised for a moment, then suddenly realized—before, she had nowhere to go, not even enough to eat, so she thought of relying on relatives. Now the situation had changed: she held fifty kan in cash, and next year could earn another thousand kan—a rare little rich lady in Owari. So there was really no need to plead at a relative’s—who knows what it’s really like there. From this angle, it actually made more sense for her to stay here. Here, even with a fortune, she’d have no threats to her personal safety—a wise choice, undeniably. Besides, right now in Wanjin, aside from Ah Man, Ah Qing, two Yoriki forcibly planted by Oda Nobunaga, and thirty temporary Oda Family Lang Faction on loan, there really aren’t any outsiders. Even if people keep getting added, they’re all bought servants, personally dependent on him, two ends of the feudal loyalty chain. If he suddenly took her in, she’d actually become the first free resident here. But that didn’t matter—a new resident was good, too! More people means more economic activity, right? As for Yamana Ichitomu losing his wife... Well, he could find another. It’s not hard to find a wife, is it! Harano, not being harsh by nature, understood well why she now wanted to stay and had no objection. He just smiled and said, "Of course! If you like it, you’re welcome to stay. Mm, when we sell plots of land in the future, just buy one for yourself—there aren’t really any restrictions on this." "Then, my lord, could I work for you?" Endo Chiyoda seemed to have thought about this before; she immediately pressed her luck, looking at him expectantly. "I saw Miss Qing working for you—could I do the same?" After her family was destroyed, she had wandered from East Omi all the way to South Owari, painfully aware that these are chaotic times and peace is hard to come by. As soon as war breaks out, anyone with no value will be abandoned, money or not, so working for Harano became a very good option. He was honest, reliable, and capable. Most importantly, from her month of observation, he never cared whether his appointments were men or women. Like that cold-faced girl named Ah Qing by his side, and the group of little Maids headed by Yayoi—these were often assigned to be in charge of certain tasks, like registering new arrivals or checking quality of completed work, things like that. She believed she could do it, even do better, be even more valuable than them. As long as she had value, no matter what happened to the Nozawa family in the future, she would not be abandoned easily and would still have shelter. She looked at him expectantly, even with a bit of eagerness in her eyes. Harano was a little surprised—he didn’t expect someone so young to have such guts, openly asking for a job. But as a pragmatist, he really didn’t care about gender. If you’re actually good, he wouldn’t mind even if you were a transvestite. And he genuinely needed more literate people right now—otherwise he wouldn’t have sent Ah Qing, Yayoi, even the Momoi brothers out as foremen. This immediately piqued his interest. He became even more enthusiastic and asked, "It’s truly my honor. May I ask what skills you have, Miss Chiyoda?" If she wanted a job inside the household, though, forget it. He didn’t need any more Maids. What he needed now was cows and horses! "I’m literate, know a little arithmetic, and can dye cloth." "You know arithmetic and can dye cloth?" Harano was surprised. Reading was normal for a Samurai’s daughter—even without formal schooling, you’d still need to read—but math and dyeing weren’t something a young girl was supposed to know. Endo Chiyoda’s face dimmed a bit. "My mother... was unwell for years, so I’ve managed the house since I was young. I taught myself arithmetic, and our village was rich in lake indigo, so... I sometimes led others to dye coarse cloth and secretly sold it to itinerant merchants to help with household expenses." So that’s it! Hardships really do make a person strong. No wonder she’d eventually take over Yamana family’s finances and even sway their family’s stance. She’d been this capable from childhood! Harano looked at her with growing admiration—but he didn’t trust her blindly. He gave her a topic and had her write a document, then posed two math questions: estimate the area of a parcel of land and estimate how much earth, labor, and time it would take to dig a canal. Though Endo Chiyoda had no idea what a job interview was, she knew this was important, so she focused, sat at the low desk, carefully wrote out the "exam," and checked it several times over. When Harano saw her work, his eyes lit up: her handwriting was excellent, far ahead of the likes of Ah Man, Ah Qing, Yayoi, and the Momoi brothers, all of whom had learned at night school. She was also quite able at arithmetic—despite no abacus, she had solved even the harder of the problems through mental math. For this era, that was very rare—she could even be called a professional. Many true Samurai couldn’t match her. Harano instantly became even more friendly, nodding repeatedly as he viewed her answers: "Not bad, not bad!" He pondered briefly, then said seriously, "If you don’t mind, Miss Chiyoda, why not become Magistrate of Wanjin? How does an annual salary of ten kan sound?" Magistrate of Wanjin was a position he just invented—basically a clerk to handle various chores. No one was doing the job now. Ah Man was still recovering, lying in bed. Ah Qing was too cold-natured, always trailing after Ah Man (a wild child full of crazy ideas) since childhood, making her bad at taking the initiative. She could only follow orders, and was no good for this either. The Momoi brothers and Yayoi lacked ability and judgment, also making them unfit. Maeshima Shichiro was now busy as "Transport Captain," running around collecting raw materials and delivering goods, so he didn’t have time. As for the two Yoriki dispatched by Oda Nobunaga... they couldn’t be trusted. They’d max out as foremen; it wasn’t wise to let them handle important affairs. So everyday chores had all fallen to Harano himself—and he was swamped. With Chiyoda suddenly appearing, he could give general chores to her. After all, she used to manage the Endo Family, small though it was, but at least she was experienced talent. If it didn’t work out, he could always demote her—he really was short on people right now. Harano made the decision. Endo Chiyoda hadn’t expected that simply trying to ask would lead to true acceptance and an actual salary. She was being hired as a Clerk and given the power of Magistrate—an extraordinary display of trust. For a moment, it felt like her heart skipped a beat, something sprouting inside her chest—she was even a little excited. But she controlled herself quickly, calmed her feelings, gave Harano a proper smile, and bowed low: "Thank you so much, Lord Nozawa! I will work hard and never let down your trust!"