Gu Nanji and others also nodded.
Shizuka warmly invited everyone into the house.
Because Senmu Kingdom is located in the east, it is the place closest to the sun and is hot there, so the people living here planted many trees and developed many lakes to reduce the temperature and provide shade for future generations. As so many trees were planted, the country was called Senmu Kingdom.
The people here live by the sea, and their livelihood depends on the sea. However, because everyone lives by the sea, seafood is not very valuable. These people have no problem surviving, but to live a prosperous life, they need to rely on the accumulation of wealth from generation to generation, or have power and influence to gain a lot of wealth.
So basically they were all poor families. When Yamashita took out his savings, he saw that Yamamoto had already left. Seeing that Shizuko was going to entertain guests, he went to their house to get things.
Most of the buildings here are made of bamboo or wood. I forgot to mention that there are frequent earthquakes here, so the people of Senmu Country are used to living in this kind of light houses. Although they look a bit simple, they will not crush people to death when a disaster occurs.
Yi Yami and others followed the local customs and took off their shoes and wore socks, which was considered as entering the room without wearing shoes. There was a low coffee table on the ground and several cushions next to the coffee table. Everyone sat down in a meditative manner.
After seeing this, Jingzi wanted to say something, but after thinking about whether the guest was a benefactor, a stranger, or even a foreigner, she had to hold back what she wanted to say.
"Dear guests, please sit for a while, drink some tea and eat some fruit. I will cook for you." Shizuka smiled.
Fukutaro was about to go help, but Shizuko told him to stop and talk to the guests.
"Yes, mother." Fukutaro sat down obediently.
Gu Beijian and the others looked at each other and asked, "Ah Fu, who is the biggest one on your side?"
"The king is the biggest, and the second biggest is the general." Fukutaro said.
Gu Nanji heard this and said, "So, if we want to reach a distant place, what tools do we use?"
"Here we usually travel by boat," Fukutaro said after thinking for a moment.
"But if there is no sea in that place, we can take an ox cart. We can also take horses, but horses are relatively rare in our country, and only samurai can ride them. If you are a foreigner, it is recommended to rent a horse carriage. We are quite xenophobic here and are not very accepting of foreigners." Fukutaro said.
Yi Yami understood what Gu Beijian was thinking and nodded with a smile, "If a foreigner rides a horse, will there be any punishment?"
"There is no punishment, but you just have to make sure you are not seen by samurai or government officials. Otherwise, you will be held accountable by the samurai. The samurai are very skilled in martial arts, so they may just chop people down without asking any questions." Fukutaro answered, touching his chin.
Several people asked some other questions.
In the kitchen, Shizuka was worried because there was not much rice left in the rice jar. At this time, Yamashita walked in with a rice jar in his arms, "Shizuka, I guess you don't have any rice at home. You can use it first, and then return it to me when you have more." Yamashita was afraid that Shizuka would refuse, so he immediately said that it was a loan.
"You, Yamashita, you, you really don't have to be so nice to me. It's impossible for me to be with you. You are still young. You should find someone else!" Shizuka said embarrassedly.
"Shizuka, whether I look for someone or not is my business. I am willing to live like this. Please don't interfere with me. I also plan to come to your house for dinner. You can just consider it as my meal fee. Is that okay?" Yamashita tried to comfort her.
"Hey, I won't argue with you for now. I'll cook first." Shizuka started cooking.
At night, Jingzi brought the meal. Everyone looked at the simple meal: a bowl of white rice, a dried fish, a plate of pickles, and a bowl of black soup.
Gu Beijian and the others looked at each other and smiled politely.
"Everyone, this is just a simple meal. It's not a courtesy. Please enjoy your meal." Shizuka stretched out her hand and motioned for them to eat.
"Thank you." Yiyami nodded and began to taste the food slowly.
Although it is a simple food, it has its own flavor.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Jingzi went to boil some water and prepared for them to wash up.
While the water was boiling, Shizuko went to make the bed. Because the room was small, the four of them had to sleep in one room with Fukutaro and his mother. Since there were not enough beds and quilts, Yamashita helped a lot.
While Gu Nanji and others were resting, Gu Beijian quietly slipped out.
Yamamoto was drinking and chatting with his sister when he said, "Sister, I have already got Fukutaro's pension back for you. Now you can have an extra two taels of money."
"Thank you, brother. I don't know what I would do without you!" Sakashima Keiko smiled and poured wine for Yamamoto.
"Tell me, what's the good of marrying a short-lived guy like Sakashima? Listen to me, you should marry the left guard. Isn't a samurai much better than a businessman?" Yamamoto said, looking at the sweet face of Sakashima Keiko.
"Brother, please stop talking. I won't agree. I just want to raise A Tao well." Sakashima Keiko glanced at her daughter who was sleeping inside.
"I won't tell you, young widow. Do you think you have nothing to do? Listen to me, how can I harm you? You marry the guard from the left gate. The guard from the left gate is both a samurai and a favorite of the general. If he hadn't been obsessed with you, do you think you, a married woman, would marry him? How many people want to marry him, but you don't!" Yamamoto said impatiently.
"Brother, I'm very grateful to you for helping me get the pension back today. Please don't worry about other things." Sakashima Keiko's face was a little cold.
"I have a way to help you get more money. Do you want to hear it?" Yamamoto said, looking at the wine in the glass.
Sakashima Keiko became interested and said, "Besides marrying the left guard, I'll consider other things."
Yamamoto began, "I noticed today that the four people that Akita Fukutaro brought back aren't from our country. They're probably foreigners. Our country is very xenophobic. But I noticed they're dressed very lavishly and spend money very generously. We could use our brains on them and make some money. What do you think?"
Gu Beijian leaned against the wall outside and listened with his ears perked up. When he heard this, he was still glad that he had followed along, otherwise he would have been assassinated by this bastard.
Sakashima Keiko refused at first, but Yamamoto said, "If you want to be a saint, then do it, but you are not alone. If you don't marry the left guard, can you raise Tao safely with the money left by your dead husband? If you don't think about yourself, think about Tao too!"
When Sakashima Keiko heard this, she lowered her head. When she raised it again, she said to Yamamoto, "What do you think we should do?"
"In my opinion, that's it..."
…………
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