A night of silence.
Early the next morning, after Katsu Kaishu got up and had breakfast, he left the room and met Jiuzang and Heita at the door of the inn.
According to what they had discussed before, the three of them decided to go out on the street to buy an outfit first.
After Katsu Kaishu asked the innkeeper, he first went to a ryotaiya in the town and exchanged two small gold coins for one cent gold and some Kanei Tongbao; then he went to a second-hand Wufu store.
Don't think about buying new clothes, they have to be made to order; most of the ready-made clothes are second-hand, usually bought by shopkeepers at low prices from pawn shops.
Katsu Kaishu bought himself a 90% new Kosode kimono, a belt, an ancient long johns, a pair of footbags (socks), a new pair of cloth shoes, and then picked a haori (a piece of clothing worn outside the kimono). A short top, which was very fashionable at the time), and a silk embroidered purse.
Jiuzang and Heita chose two pieces of kosode that were 50% to 60% new, two pieces of half-gaiha (half-length short jackets worn by common people), two pairs of stockings, and two pairs of straw sandals. Choosing such clothes is also very suitable for their follower status.
The three of them bought clothes, shoes and socks, paid the bill, and asked the owner of Wu Clothing Store to give them change and write a receipt. After buying the clothes, I had to go back to the inn to take a shower before changing into them. So the clerk from the clothing store carried two packages full of clothes and followed the three of them back to the inn.
After entering the inn, Sheng Haizhou ordered the innkeeper to go to the street to find a barber to shave the heads and beards of the three of them and style their hair. The continuous exertion in the past period of time made Katsu Kaishu even consider shaving his head. His originally bald Tsukiyo head had grown quite a bit of hair, and he also had a little too much beard on his chin.
After the three of them took a shower and put on their newly bought underwear, the innkeeper had already called the hairdresser and was waiting outside Sheng Haizhou's room.
Sheng Haizhou didn't go into the house and just let the barber do it on the porch.
After the three of them shaved their heads, shaved their beards, and put on the newly bought clothes, they suddenly looked brand new. Under the respectful eyes of the innkeeper, we came to the main street of Matsushima Town again.
When they came yesterday, because it was too dark, they could only see a lot of refugees in the streets and alleys on the roadside; but when they looked again in the daytime, they saw that there were refugees under the eaves and walls on both sides of the roadside shop doors.
The clothes of these refugees are all in tatters, and many of them are in pieces and worn on their bodies. All of them have sallow faces, sunken cheeks, and dull eyes.
"Well, when the adults took me in, I was almost the same as them." Jiuzang murmured as he looked at the refugees in front of him.
He was originally a mountaineer of the Hirosaki Domain. After the disaster, his family who was digging wild vegetables was swallowed by a mudslide because they were unable to dodge. Kuzo escaped because he went to work as a coolie in the castle town. When he was rescued by Zhao Xin, he had not eaten for three days.
Some refugees saw Sheng Haizhou and the others looking at them. They also saw Sheng Haizhou dressed in gorgeous clothes and with two followers standing behind him. So they all turned around and pushed their girls in front of them, begging feebly: "Master, master, as long as fifty cents, the child will be yours."
"Master, I only want five hens of rice, and I will take this child away."
For a time, Sheng Haizhou was surrounded by refugees who wanted to sell their girls to survive, attracting the attention of many passers-by.
Sheng Haizhou looked at the hungry refugees in front of him and the girls with tears in their eyes and as thin as firewood sticks. He couldn't bear it. He was about to reach into his arms to get some coins when he heard someone beside him. He sighed heavily.
"Can't be saved."
Katsu Kaishu turned around and saw a middle-aged samurai. This man's hair is slightly gray, his Tsukiyo hair is meticulously groomed, and his beard is very cleanly shaved. He is wearing a light gray sleeveless sleeve, covered with a blue haori that has been washed a little white; a katana and a wakizashi are both It is inserted into the waist; wearing a pair of straw sandals on the feet.
"What did you say?" Sheng Haizhou asked after bowing in greeting.
"I said you can't be saved." The middle-aged warrior put his hands in his sleeves, turned around and said sternly to Sheng Haizhou.
"But, we can't watch them die. These are all human lives."
The young and passionate Katsu Kaishu no longer paid attention to the middle-aged samurai. He took out a dozen Kanei Tongbao left over from buying clothes from his arms, and put a few in the hands of each refugee girl.
"Take it, let's buy some stuttering food first to satisfy our hunger. I don't have any more." Sheng Haizhou said helplessly.
His current identity is just a young samurai traveling away from home. To put it bluntly, he is a ronin. He did not dare or could not give alms to the homeless people on the street, as that would attract the attention of interested people.
When Katsu Kaishu gave alms to the refugees, a smile appeared on the middle-aged samurai's face. He himself also took out a few Kuanyong Tongbao from his arms and handed them to several refugees.
"Thank you, master, thank you, master!" Several refugees who received the alms bowed to express their thanks. Now there was trouble. More refugees saw someone giving alms here and rushed over.
"Follow me." The middle-aged warrior saw the refugees approaching and quickly signaled to Sheng Haizhou. Several people quickened their pace, turned around and left.
The refugees who were selling their children followed Sheng Haizhou and the two for a few steps. Seeing that they had no intention of buying their children, they turned back one after another and continued to beg other passers-by.
After Katsu Kaishu followed the middle-aged samurai quickly on the street for dozens of steps, he saw that the refugees stopped following him, so he stopped and nodded to the middle-aged samurai in thanks.
"Over there..." The middle-aged warrior raised his head to point to a direction in the distance, and continued in a heavy tone: "Hundreds of corpses are pulled there and buried every day, but hundreds of refugees still come here every day. "
He glanced at the rice shop across the street again, with an angry look on his face, and whispered bitterly: "These evil businessmen! The price of rice is rising every day."
When Katsu Kaishu heard this, he felt that this middle-aged samurai was not bad, so he bowed formally and said, "I am Katsu Kaishu, do you know your surname?"
The middle-aged warrior also bowed and saluted, saying: "I'm surveying the military guards in Xia Kata Mountain."
Katsu Kaishu looked at the shadow on the ground and saw that it was already noon. So he enthusiastically said to Katayama Kanbei: "It's already noon now, why don't you let me be the host and invite Katayama-dono to come to the tavern for a chat."
Katayama Kanbei smiled and looked at Katsu Kaishu, who was gorgeously dressed and accompanied by two followers. He rubbed his head a few times embarrassedly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "That's fine. To be honest, I haven't drank in a while."
"I just arrived here yesterday. I wonder where there is a good wine shop?" Katsu Kaishu asked Kanbei for advice.
"Hmm. Please come with me." Katayama Kanbei said, extending his hand to invite Katsu Kaishu to accompany him.
The name of the tavern is Takasakiya, named after Mount Takasaki in the northeast of Matsushima Town.
Katayama Kanbei opened the door of the tavern, lifted the curtain and went in, followed by Katsu Kaishu alone. Heita and Jiuzang did not follow, and they went to a small food stall next door.
"It's Mr. Katayama. You haven't been here for a while."
The tavern owner who was greeting customers behind the counter immediately greeted Kanbei Katayama warmly when he saw him. He seemed to be a regular customer.
The proprietress in charge of the reception kindly invited the two of them to sit down in a separate small room, and then said to Katayama Kanbei very familiarly: "You haven't been here for more than a month. Is everything okay at home?"
Katayama Kanbei smiled and replied: "Thank you for remembering me, it's okay. Ever since I ate your kabayaki eel rice, nothing tastes good to me."
"You are really good at complimenting. Your wife will be sad if she hears this." The proprietress covered her mouth and laughed, then turned to Katsu Kaishu and said: "My kabayaki eel is very famous, many people eat it. agreed."
"Then let's have two portions." Katsu Kaishu said firmly. He hadn't eaten kabayaki eel in a long time. "Get two more bottles of good sake and some side dishes."
Katsu Kaishu felt that Katayama Kanbei's words and demeanor suited his taste, so he wanted to establish friendship with him, so he gave generous instructions to the landlady.
"Okay~ The food and drinks will be here soon." The landlady said happily, and then said to Katayama Kanbei: "Oh, you are such a good friend." As she said this, she exited the private room.
"I'm so sorry. It's our first time to let you spend so much money." As soon as the tavern proprietress left, Katayama Kanbei immediately leaned over and thanked Katsu Kaishu.
"You're welcome. It's strange to say that when I saw Mr. Katayama, I felt very cordial, as if I had known him for many years." Katsu Kaishu explained quickly.
"Then let me introduce myself again. I am Katayama Kanbei, a native of Matsushima, currently serving as a co-worker at the Honmachi Administrative Office." Katayama Kanbei laughed, then sat cross-legged and said very seriously.
If Zhao Xin were present, he would definitely blurt out, "Island country police!"
"I'm Sheng Haizhou, a native of Omi-Gamo County. I came out this time to practice martial arts and find famous teachers. I've heard for a long time that Songdao's scenery is famous all over the world, so I came here specifically to visit."
"Haha, the local scenery is indeed worth seeing." Katayama smiled and then frowned. "But you came at the wrong time."
The two chatted for a while, Katsu Kaishu asked about the temples and scenic spots here, and Katayama Kanbei gave a general explanation. Soon, the landlady brought the food and wine. Among them is the kabayaki eel that Katayama Kanbei mentioned when he entered.
As for eels, they are very expensive in restaurants in later generations. In the Edo period, it was considered a despicable food, and noble samurai and nobles would not eat it at all. The three most luxurious delicacies of the island country in this era were whitebait from the Sumida River, ayu and early summer bonito from the Tama River; and seafood were octopus and scallops; and Yanagawa hot pot made with boneless loach, which sold for two hundred and two hundred wen. ~~
As a lower-level samurai, it was rare for Kanbei Katayama, who had a small salary, to have such a feast, let alone Katsu Kaishu, who was just a royal accountant (ordinary accountant) before.
This involves the family salary system established by the Tokugawa family (the salary of a samurai is not given to the samurai alone, but to his entire family.)
For example, the annual salary of lower-level samurai such as Katsu Kaishu and Katayama Kanbei is "four two servants", that is, four taels in cash and ten taels of white rice - please note that the white rice here is just brown rice that has not been shelled, which is equivalent to five koshi; And gold is not pure gold, but 65%-67% miscellaneous gold.
Zhao Xin can sell a gold coin for hundreds of thousands of yen. That's because he sells antiques instead of gold.
The rated gold content of Yuanwen Xiaoban gold when it was issued was 65%, so a 13.11-gram gold coin actually contains only 8.52 grams of gold.
The annual salary is four gold coins. After deducting impurities and other additives, the total is only a little over 34 grams. How much will gold cost in future generations? Even if we take the high price of 500 per gram, it is only 17,000.
As mentioned before, a small gold coin worth one tael could be purchased for two bushels of rice, one stone, and two bushels in normal times during the Edo period; according to the calculation of two bushels and one bushel, "four two servants" could be converted into nine bushels of rice and eight bushels of rice. . If converted according to the weight of this era, it is about 1274 kilograms. Calculated based on the average yield of 75%, it is about 950-960 kilograms. If calculated as a family of three, the average daily rice is 2.6 kilograms, which seems to be enough. Basically, the whole family eats brown rice every day, and grows some vegetables in their own yard. It seems that there is no problem in eating enough, and they can also buy a piece of tofu every now and then. .
Wait! As a samurai master, you must have a servant, right? If you don't have a house in Fancheng, you have to rent a house, right? How about drinking tea and smoking a cigarette? Where are the clothes and shoes? Where are the paper, ink, pen and inkstone? This does not include the daily expenses of my wife and children.
Therefore, for lower-level samurai, that salary is not enough to support their families.
Not to mention lower-level samurai, many Hatamoto samurai are the same. For example, among the Tokugawa family's own Hatamoto samurai, there are many people who work night duty without quilts. It sounds like they are in trouble, the majestic Hatamoto samurai!
Not only was the salary set by the shogunate very low, but many samurai usually only had to work two or three days a month, and there were even some positions where they were on standby at home, essentially having nothing to do at all.
Well, under such circumstances, the samurai began to actively carry out various side businesses to earn money to support their families. There are those who grow flowers, raise goldfish, raise birds, raise crickets and grasshoppers, and even the Koga-gumi and Iga-gumi (ninjas), who are secret troops of the shogunate, have made paper umbrellas and raised azaleas respectively. sideline.
Under such a work system, Katayama Kanbei also had time to eat and drink at Wakatsu Kaishu at noon.
The reason is very simple. Firstly, I have a day off today. Secondly, someone is treating me to a treat, and I can’t refuse it with such enthusiasm.
