Chapter Eleven Harukami Jiro

Harukami Jiro dragged his tired body back to the village. When he saw his own yard, a smile appeared on his face. He tried to straighten his back to make himself look more energetic, as if he had just strolled around the castle town and was not tired at all.

"Junko, I'm back! Look what I bought for you and Yako!" Pushing open the rickety wooden gate to his yard, the spirited Haruka Jiro awaited his family's flattery like a victorious samurai.

"You're back! You even bought pickled fish. You must be tired. I've already prepared dinner, we can eat right away." Chunzi, Chunshang's wife, threw down the wet clothes she was holding and took the pickled fish from Chunshang's hands.

Japanese women have a low status at home, but Haruka treats Junko very well and has never hit or scolded her, which moves Junko deeply. At home, Haruka is hers, her territory.

Haru sat on the floor, and Junko placed a large bowl of rice and a dish of dried radish on the table. The simple meal was incredibly delicious for Haru, who was starving after a long day of work, but he didn't pick up his chopsticks immediately.

"Junko, you and Yako come and eat with us."

“We’ve already eaten. This is for you,” Junko said, trying not to look at the white rice on the table. She swallowed silently, her saliva only intensifying her hunger. There was only half a jar of grain left at home. Haru had to go to the docks to make a living every day. If her health collapsed, she and her daughter would have no one to rely on.

"I couldn't finish it all by myself. That guy Matsushita treated me to two barley cakes! I was so full I was burping just now." Matsushita Jiro was Haruka's best friend, and they used to work for a daimyo in Hizen Province.

Matsushita was young and quick-witted. He learned Otsuka language within a year at the docks and then found a job as a shop assistant in Otsuka Rao's shop in Chinatown, earning a decent wage each month. In addition, he was all alone and had no future, so he often treated Chun to something to eat.

"Thank you so much. Ya Zi, come and eat." Chunzi called out to her daughter Ya Zi, and the three of them shared a large bowl of white rice. Although they were still poor, the taste of home filled the air, and they were all very happy.

"Chunshang, Chunshang, are you home?" An anxious voice called from outside the door. Before Chunshang could respond, the person had already pushed the door open and rushed in.

"Let's relax and cook together. We can eat some together. Junko's pickled radish tastes pretty good." Haruka Jiro was a generous person, so there wasn't much difference between three people sharing a bowl of rice and four people sharing it.

"Haru, I've already eaten. Did you see the notice in Chinatown today?"

"What notice? I went to buy pickled fish today and came back. Are you hiring a helper?" Tangren Town is a place where Daxia people live. The shops there do very good business, and the bosses are very generous, paying well. However, Chun Shang doesn't understand Daxia language, and after going there several times without finding a job, he stopped going.

"They are hiring, but this time they're not hiring laborers, they're hiring ronin." Matsushita's face was full of excitement, like a country bumpkin seeing a huge pile of money.

Haruka's face, which had just regained its luster, immediately dimmed, and he said dejectedly, "I'm not a ronin, what does this have to do with me!" A ronin is a samurai who has lost his lord, and samurai is not a title that can be used casually. It is a special class. Haruka, who was born a commoner, had no background and no money, so it would be very difficult for him to become a samurai.

“But you are stronger than those samurai. They are just born into better families. I asked those people from Daxia. They don’t necessarily need ronin. They mainly look at your martial arts skills when recruiting. You will definitely be selected.” Matsushita was full of anxiety. He knew Haruka’s predicament. His eldest brother had inherited all the family’s land, and Junko was pregnant. Soon there would be another mouth to feed in the family. Relying on Haruka to do hard labor at the docks would not be enough to support a family of four.

Harukami Jiro fell into deep thought. His elder brother had been harsh to him, sending him to Hizen Province as a foot soldier at the age of fourteen, where he farmed in his spare time and fought in times of war. Through his bravery and perseverance, he fought dozens of battles over a decade, honing his skills to a high level.

But what good is it? Born of humble origins, he couldn't become a samurai. Over the years, he hadn't saved much money. After the daimyo died, he returned to his hometown, married Junko with the meager sum he'd accumulated from his spoils, built this house, and lived a very hard life. That's bad enough, but what about the future? Would his sons and grandsons follow in his footsteps?

"Tomorrow... I'll go take a look." Chun Shang made up his mind. He knew that the Great Xia Kingdom was recruiting ronin samurai, not because they wanted him to go to Great Xia to enjoy life, but because they wanted to fight. And Chun Shang's greatest skill was fighting.

The next morning, Harukami Jiro arrived in Chinatown and saw a large crowd surrounding a guild hall run by people from the Great Xia. Startled, he quickly squeezed through the crowd, no longer caring about asking questions, afraid that this opportunity would slip away.

"His Highness the Crown Prince of Heng of the Great Xia Kingdom is recruiting three thousand mercenaries. Samurai and ronin are both welcome. Anyone with martial arts skills equivalent to a samurai may also apply. The best will be selected, and the pay will be generous." A Japanese man stood on the steps of the guild hall and read the notice on the wall aloud every now and then.

Hearing that the other men could also sign up if they had martial arts skills equivalent to those of a samurai, Haruka's heart was at ease. He was very confident in his abilities. Back in Hizen Province, several old samurai had instructed him in martial arts, but none of them were his match. He had an extraordinary aptitude for martial arts.

"Look carefully, this is a roll of Songjiang cloth from the Great Xia Dynasty. Once you are selected, you will be given a roll as a settlement allowance. Once you arrive in the Great Xia Dynasty, you will be provided with food and lodging, and will receive three zhang of Songjiang cloth as your monthly salary. The proceeds from your harvest will be calculated separately."

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