Translator: Flowingcloud Editor: Arocks141
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TERMS/THINGS TO NOTE:
Japanese units of measurement
Feeling Depressed While Looking Up at the Autumn Sky
September, 24th Year of the Tembun era (1555), Hishine Village, Kitsuki-no-Oyashiro, Izumo
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
“Wow, we have an abundant harvest this year thanks to Princess!”
“You’re right. Princess, putting Kando District and Shuto District together, there’s at least 70,000-koku!”
“Fwahahaha! Right!? Right!?”
I laughed out loud as the sea of golden ears of rice spread out in front of me.
Who can hold back this laugh?
No one! Absolutely no one!
Even if it wasn’t me, they wouldn’t be able to hold back their laughter.
Huh? I’m feeling a sense of deja vu… 1
This year, the majority of Izumo changed their rice planting method to the Princess Tama method. As a result, the harvest increased by more than 40 percent in Kando District and Shuto District, the territories entrusted to me as a Gundai. This led to an increase in rice production of more than 20,000-koku in total. You can see the smiles on the faces of the farmers harvesting the rice!
The more rice they harvested, the less barnyard millet and foxtail millet they need to eat, so of course, they must be very happy.
I also tried barnyard millet and foxtail millet… Yeah, that’s bird food. I was reminded of how blessed I am to be in an environment where I don’t have to eat those things and can eat rice every day.
Also, in other districts in Izumo, rice harvests increased by more than 20 percent in the rice fields where the Princess Hime method was used. If this is the case, the Princess Tama rice planting method will spread even further next year!
It’s embarrassing to keep calling it the Princess Tama method myself…
By the way, the person who named the Princess Hime method is Tako-jii.
“Strictly speaking of Hishine, Princess’s 50-cho has secured you 800-koku.”
“However, there’s still more to come. There’s still more and more things to do.”
That’s right, there’s still a mountain of things left to do.
The first step is to nurture the wheat for fall sowing in the rice fields that have been harvested. This has been done for a long time in a fair number of rice fields, but my goal is to grow 1.5 times? the crops in a cycle of two years: rice → wheat → soybeans → lying fallow → rice → wheat → soybeans → lying fallow.
I don’t remember the official name of this method, but it was written in some isekai tensei (different world reincarnation) novel I read in my previous life. For the time being, I think I want to experiment with a portion of my rice paddies first. 2
However, even if my experiment with this method succeeds for example, every crop will be harvested once every two years, so naturally, I will need to adjust the cycle.
I’d like to experiment with rice → wheat → rice → wheat, of course, rice-only as well, soybeans → wheat → buckwheat → wheat → soybean → wheat → buckwheat, and various other methods in the fields! Let’s start on a small scale because I’m afraid it’ll fail.
“Hmm. Nonetheless, I feel a bit that Princess is living life fast?”
“Is that so? However, humans live around fifty years. Tako-jii is already over fifty years old so you need to be careful, you know?”
“I am greatly obliged by your concerns. However, this Tako Tokitaka won’t lose to you youngsters yet.”
“If you’re using words like “yet”, then doesn’t that mean Tako-jii is the same as me?”
“Hahaha, Princess one upped me there.”
In order to get us a little closer to the Japanese diet of the 21st century, there’s no room for compromise when it comes to food! I can’t wait to eat soba! The most pressing issue at the moment is the production of mentsuyu. 3
“However, as expected when you look at it like this, this five-mon coin is similar to the ear of rice’s color and beautiful.”
Haru-nee, who was doing things at her own pace, pinched the privately minted copper coin with her fingers and held the coin up over her head at the sun. The shining sunlight reflected off the coin, showing off its beauty. 4
“You’re right. I still find it hard to believe that there is less copper used in this than a one-mon coin.”
I was planning on privately minting the Yongle Tongbao, but what I got was a pseudo-five-yen coin.
Well, of course, I told them, “It’s a waste of money to make it 100 percent copper, so let’s add some zinc!” Thus, it resulted in a pseudo-five-yen coin with a color similar to that of gold. 5
How did it come to this?
In other words, it’s brass. It’s true that brass is beautiful. If I may make an excuse, I had no choice. Because zinc is also removed along with copper! By the way, zinc (倭鉛) is zinc (亜鉛). 6
So, with the techniques of this era, the only use for zinc is to make brass. Well, the temperature at which it melts seems to be low, so with a bit of trial and error, galvanizing (亜鉛メッキ) might be possible. But, what can I use zinc plating for?
I can’t think of anything with my half-baked knowledge. At any rate, it’s called “plating” (メッキ), so why don’t I just try applying it to anything and find a use for it? I’m going to get serious! 7
Wait, I’m getting off-topic, I received permission from Father, began producing shichusen, and started testing out various things.
100 percent copper → Rejected because it’s a waste.
80 percent copper, 20 percent lead → Rejected because it’s too heavy. Additionally, it will become necessary in large quantities for gun bullets sooner or later.
80 percent copper, 20 percent tin → Rejected because Izumo barely produces any tin. The main production area of tin is in Tajima. An enemy province. 8
After trying this and that, it resulted in a mixture of zinc mixed in. The golden color was unmistakenly close to brass. Brass itself has been around for a long time, but the idea of using it in coins never occurred to them.
Thus, at the end of the flood control work right before the rice planting season, some of my minted coins arrived just in time, so I handed them over to test it out…
“This is the most beautiful coin I’ve ever seen!”
“Yeah! Yeah!”
“It’s not gold, is it?”
“It looks just like gold!”
“+1!”
“Princess, can I have some too!?”
For some reason, the color of everyone’s eyes was scary.
“There’s enough for everyone’s daily wage, so calm down!”
“““Whoa!”””
“We get 15 of these beautiful coins!?”
Princess, can I trade them for the ones I have?
“Yes, in time, you will be able to exchange five old Song coins for one of these new Yongle Tongbao. However, there are not enough of them yet, so this is a matter for the future.”
“““““Ohhhhh!!”””””
***
The next day.
“Princess, we are unable to sell the rice balls, alcohol, and dried goods…”
“Let’s see…”
From today onwards, when shopping at the worksite, one can only use the Yongle Tongbao I gave them yesterday, then almost no one ate lunch or bought alcohol after work!
How did it come to this?
According to a farmer, “It’d be a waste to use this new coin!”
Money is only money because you use it!
“The rice ball was one-mon up until yesterday, but today it’s five-mon. It’s too expensive and I don’t feel like buying it.”
Wait!? It’s not five-mon! That Yongle Tongbao is one-mon!
“If that is the case, how about I hand over three pieces of the new coin for all of your daily wage?”
When I said this, although unwilling, everyone used their coins. At any rate, they’re buying the rice balls!
“Princess said that you would exchange it for five worn-out Song coins. If you do so, three pieces is 15-mon, so I don’t really care.”
Why is it like that!?
“Even if that’s fine for you guys, that’ll trouble me! I want this new coin to be one-mon per piece!”
“Even if you say that, this coin is beautiful. It is worth five-mon.”
Just because it’s beautiful, don’t increase its worth to five-mon on your own accord!
“+1.”
“I’d even want to exchange ten bad coins for one!”
If that’s the case, that may sound like a profitable story for me—the bookmaker—but… in this case, that temptation is a trap!
If I exchange 10 bad coins for 1 new coin, the Yongle Tongbao becomes 10-mon, doesn’t it!?
“+1.”
“When I returned last night and showed it to my mother, she was so surprised she was unable to stand up.”
This is bad, this is getting bad…
By no means, just because the exchange ratio was 1:5, would I just straightforwardly accept the value of the coin to be five-mon. In other words, are you saying that you want to save the Yongle Tongbao you received yesterday without using it?
If this is the case, would it lead to the loop: Five bad coins → One Yongle Tongbao → Don’t use it → Shop with bad coins → Five extra bad coins → One Yongle Tongbao → Don’t use it
Perhaps, wait, no need to guess, this is a law which is called bad money drives out good money.
I never thought that I would see this law come into effect in front of me…
Contrary to my expectation, the good coin destroyed the bad coin. That was the plan. After all, maybe it means that I can’t go against the principles of human psychology and market economy.
Is this the gateway to the invisible hand of God? Is it? But, rather than Adam Smith, this era is more Keynes! 9
Not that I know much about either of them, mind you!
I failed. Maybe I should have released them all at once after producing a large amount.
***
Because of this incident, the prototype Yongle Tongbao was collected and temporarily suspended, then it became an awkward situation where I had them hurriedly remade as Yongle Tongbao five-mon coins.
I was so pissed off that I had them engraved on the back with the words “Tama” and “Five-Mon”. I have no regrets nor remorse. Well, it’s necessary to engrave [Five-Mon] to display its value.
Thus, I started the mass production of the five-mon coin, and at the same time, there was a completed coin a color similar to a ten-yen coin in the prototype stage, so I felt compelled to mass produce that coin as a one-mon coin. I’ll spare you the story of the chaos and confusion that ensued.
What was everyone’s reaction when they saw the new prototype one-mon coin?
“Beautiful it is, however, it is no match for the five-mon coin.”
“That’s right.”
Hey!?
“That one-mon coin has 30 percent more copper than the five-mon coin!”
Haru-neesan, you’re being deceived. Please wake up. The production value of the one-mon coin is higher, you know!
“Princess, no matter how much copper is in it, its appearance is important, you know?”
The appearance over the copper’s worth, is it? Is that really it?
“What’s inside is more important than appearances for humans,” is what my teachers said! Was that a lie? 10
As expected, human beings, money, gems, and appearance are all important!
During this incident with Haru, I struggled hard and well to get the necessary money for the flood control work that would officially begin in the fall. It wasn’t me but mainly the casters that were exhausted though. I appreciate your hard efforts.
“Haa…” I sighed and looked up at the autumn sky.
“How did it come to this?” I muttered.
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
- Cloud: She did the same thing in chapter 4.
- Slothmaster (Arocks): Crop Rotation.
- Slavemaster (Cloud): Mentsuyu is soup base for noodles. Most of the time, you can get them in a bottle at an Asian supermarket. This recipe site explains mentsuyu very well: https://www.justonecookbook.com/mentsuyu/
- Slavemaster (Cloud): Lol, Tama was actually serious about calling her Haru-nee?
- Cloudy Fun Facts: The term she used for zinc here was ‘倭鉛’, which is the Chinese reading for zinc, instead of ‘亜鉛’, the modern term. Japanese people were obsessed with Chinese culture at the time, thus many terms they used were Chinese terms. Many modern Japanese terms only developed later. Also, a 5-yen coin currently is bright golden, thus the coin she created seems a lot like the modern 5-yen coin.
- Slavemaster (Cloud): Refer to previous footnote about zinc.
- Slavemaster (Cloud): Galvanizing is 亜鉛メッキ which is literally zinc plating.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajima_Province
- Slavemaster (Cloud): Adam Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith
John Maynard Keynes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maynard_Keynes - Cloud: Never trust what teachers tell you in school.
Thanks for all the footnotes. XD