Test room, kitchen——
"Soji, who are those three people?" Abi asked Okita who was helping her next to her while preparing tea with skillful techniques.
A Bi is at a loss now.
Just now, she had been staying in the bedroom on the second floor, sorting out the account books of the Sword Hall, summarizing and calculating the income and expenses of the sword hall in the past month.
Just when she was feeling dizzy, Okita suddenly knocked on the door and told her: A guest is here, please help her make tea.
Among all the people in the imperial examination hall, except for Gensaburo Inoue, who has stayed in his hometown because of something else and has not returned to the imperial examination hall, only Abi can make good tea.
We rarely have visitors, so why did we suddenly have visitors? Abi went down to the first floor in confusion and took a sneak peek into the living room - three young people he didn't know at all came in.
"Those three people are Tachibana-kun's Okabiki." Okita explained while passing the washed teacup to Abi, "Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke and Toudo Heisuke."
"Okabiki?" Abi frowned slightly, "Why did Tachibana-kun's Okabiki suddenly come to our place?"
"Ah..." Okita reached his hand behind her head and played with the slender ends of her short ponytail, "Yes... I seem to have forgotten to tell Auntie about this."
"Ahem, it's like this-"
Okita cleared his throat, and then told Abi in a concise and concise manner the plan they had drawn up at the celebration banquet last night to rely on the "celebrity effect" to further develop and expand the Trial Guard Hall.
As soon as Okita finished speaking, Abi's eyebrows suddenly stood up, and she yelled quickly like a conditioned reflex:
"What? Inviting diners? No! I don't allow it!"
"Shh..." Okita quickly raised his right index finger and put it against his lips, "Auntie, please keep your voice down..."
The kitchen where Okita and Abi are currently located is on the first floor of the bathroom hall where Aoto, Kondo, and Nagakura are located. The two rooms are not far apart. If Abi's voice is heard by Nagakura and the others, If you go, that would be embarrassing.
Abi also realized that his voice might have been too loud just now, so he pursed his lips, suppressed the urge to roar in his heart, lowered his voice and scolded Okita:
"What are you thinking? Why do you invite a few people who are not related to us to stay with us for no reason?"
"Aunt, listen to me." Okita said patiently, "If a sword hall has famous disciples or diners, it will have a strong 'attraction' to others..."
Okita relayed to Abi exactly what he heard from Hijikata last night about the benefits of bringing celebrities into the sword hall.
Abi, who was still angry and confused at first, slowly became better after listening to Okita's explanation.
But her eyebrows were still twisted.
"...No, I still can't accept it." The corners of A Bi's mouth drooped downwards, and the whole mouth curved into a sharp arc, "If you are here to be an apprentice, then that's it."
"But if you want to stay with us as a guest...I can't accept it!"
"After letting Mr. Tachibana and the others move in, we will have enough residents here."
"If we let more people move in, you won't be too crowded, but I will be too!"
"Besides - how can we have so many places for people to live in our trial defense hall?"
"There is a place to stay." Okita was still playing with his ponytail, "Auntie, have you forgotten? There are quite a lot of empty seats in the 'diners room' where Tachibana-kun and Saito-kun are staying. "
Hearing Okita's response, Abi choked.
When Zhou helped him build the Trial Wei Hall, he considered that the Trial Wei Hall might attract some diners in the future, so he built a large room on the second floor of the Trial Wei Hall specifically for diners to live in.
However, since the establishment of the test hall, this "diners' room" has been abandoned because it has not successfully attracted diners.
It wasn't until more than three months ago, when Aoto, Saito, and Kubei moved into the Imperial Guard Hall that this large room that had been abandoned was finally put into use, freed up for Aoto and the others to live.
The "diner room" is quite spacious, and it is more than enough to accommodate even 10 people. After subtracting the current three tenants, Aoto, Saito, and Kubei, it can accommodate at least 7 more guests.
A Bi, who had forgotten that there were quite a few empty seats "among the diners", had a trace of embarrassment on her face, but she quickly suppressed it.
With her eyebrows still tightened and not loosened, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something more.
But Okita took the conversation one step ahead:
"...Auntie, let Brother Kondo try it."
Okita put down the hand playing with his ponytail, and slightly pulled up the corners of his mouth, revealing a peaceful smile.
"This is the first time that Brother Kondo has used his own will and ideas to run the sword gym."
"In the past, he always followed the master step by step."
"How the master usually runs the sword hall, he will copy the master's business methods exactly."
"I'm not saying that this method of completely copying the experience of our elders is bad."
"But I feel... if you only know how to rigidly copy the experience of your elders, it is not a good thing after all."
"This is the first time that Brother Kondo has tried to improve the current management method of the sword hall based on his own thoughts and ideas, which is very different from the experience of his elders in the past."
"Whether this move is successful or unsuccessful in the end, I feel that Brother Kondo should be encouraged."
"I guess Master thinks so too, that's why he let Brother Kondo do it."
After finishing speaking, Okita stopped talking.
He just smiled and stared at A Bi quietly in front of him, waiting for A Bi's response.
The emotions on Abi's face changed rapidly.
The wrinkles on his face were piling up and loosening. His lips were constantly opening and closing because he wanted to speak but stopped talking.
It lasted like this for quite a while... A Biben's frowning eyebrows finally relaxed slowly.
"...Hmph!" Abi, whose mouth was still drooping, snorted heavily through his nose, then turned his head and looked at the kettle on the stove instead of looking at Okita, "You young people... Since I've grown older, I've become more and more fond of confronting old people like us, and I've become more and more sharp-tongued."
"You can do whatever you want! Make this sword hall whatever you like! I don't care!"
Okita, who knew Abi's temper, did not feel angry or embarrassed because of Abi's strange behavior just now.
"Thank you, Auntie!" Okita smiled so hard that his eyes turned into a pair of crescent moons.
Woo--the kettle on the stove just made the sound of boiling steam at this time.
Abi grabbed the boiling kettle, made tea with very skillful movements, and then poured scalding hot tea into the teacups that Okita had just washed.
The kitchen suddenly became filled with the aroma of tea.
Okita sniffed hard, and after taking a few sips of the alluring tea fragrance, he put his hands on his waist.
"It smells so good... Auntie, why is the tea you brew so much more fragrant than the tea we brew?"
"It's just a matter of chance." Abi put the empty kettle back to its original position, and then placed the teacups filled with tea on the tea tray, "Let's go and give them tea."
Even though there were so many tea cups on the tea tray in his hand, A Bi still walked very steadily.
What did Nagakura and the others say? They were also guests of the Trial Guard Hall.
As the hostess of this home and this sword hall, Abi would be a little rude after all if she didn't meet and say hello to guests like Yongcang and others.
We still need to show our due respect to landlords, and we still need to be polite.
Together with Okita, they quickly came to the door of the living room. After opening the door, Abi and Okita saw Qingto, Kondo, Nagakura and others sitting opposite each other.
Nagakura, Harada, and Toudo sat in a row, while Kondo and Hijikata sat side by side opposite them - Hijikata happened to be staying at the Trial Defense Hall today. After Ayoto brought Nagakura and the others, as a The local members of the core members of the Trial Guard Hall also came along to join in the fun.
As for Aoto and Saito, they sat in front of Nagakura and the others one behind the other, facing Kondo and Hijikata.
Zhou Zhu happened to be out of town for something right now and was not in the trial defense hall. So this time, Kondo’s plenipotentiary representative will come to interview Nagakura and the others.
After A Bi held the tea tray and opened the hall door, everyone in the hall immediately focused their attention on A Bi.
"Ah, please introduce me." Kondo immediately spread his palms towards Ah Bi, "This is my mother: Kondo Pen."
"Mother, these are Tachibana-kun and his Okahiki: Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke and Toudou Heisuke."
"This is our first meeting." Todo, who is highly educated and knows etiquette, took the lead in bowing to Abi and saluted, "I'm Todo Heisuke, please forgive me for the intrusion!"
Nagakura and Harada, two idiots with little education, only belatedly imitated Todo after Todo's salutes were over, and saluted and said hello to Abi in the same way.
Maybe it was because Yongcang and others were much more polite than she thought, Abi raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Squeezing out a smile and responding to the greetings of Yongcang and the others one by one, Ah Bi took off the tea cups on the tea tray one by one, handed the right number of tea cups to everyone in the hall, and then walked out quickly holding the tea tray. They left the living room, leaving enough room for Qingto and Kondo to talk.
Okita stayed and sat in Kondo's vacant right-hand seat.
After watching his mother Abi leave, Kondo turned his attention back to the Nagakura trio in front of him.
"Sorry, the topic was interrupted just now."
"Let's get on with it."
Kondo picked up the tea that Abi had just handed him, took a sip of the still hot tea, moistened his slightly dry throat, straightened his back, and continued speaking seriously.
"What I just said is the whole reason why I want to invite you to join the Trial Guard Hall."
"I wonder what you think. Do you want to join my trial training hall?"
After saying that, Kondo looked at Nagakura and the others openly with sincere eyes.
Just now, while Abi was still preparing tea in the kitchen, Kondo and Hijikata had already introduced themselves to each other with the Nagakura trio, who had never had the pleasure of meeting each other before.
Last night, after learning about the situation of the Nagakura trio from Aoto, Kondo became extremely interested in the Nagakura trio who fit his requirement of being "somewhat famous in Edo."
Therefore, after both sides introduced themselves, Kondo went straight to the point with great initiative and enthusiasm - without any deception, he explained all the purposes and reasons why he wanted Nagakura and others to join the trial defense hall.
When Abi came in with tea, he had almost finished talking to Yongcang and the others.
Now, all that is left is to wait for the reply from the Nagakura trio.
The first person to reply was Todo.
With an embarrassed look on his face, he stretched out his right index finger to grab the hair on his right temple, and then bowed towards Kondo with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry, Mr. Kondo, I am still studying at the Ito Dojo. Mr. Ito does not allow our names to become disciples or diners of other sword halls while our names are still on the student book of the dojo..."
Todo politely declined Kondo’s invitation.
Faced with Todo's rejection, Kondo was not annoyed at all. After laughing a few times, he said "It's okay" to Todo several times.
"Speaking of which, Todo-kun, I have heard of your name a long time ago." Kondo grinned with his big mouth that could fit an entire adult fist, and changed the topic, "I heard your name a long time ago. I’ve heard that from the famous Ito Dojo, a young man named Toudo Heisuke was born, who was both talented and powerful in swordsmanship.”
"You are much more handsome than I thought! Hahaha!"
"Thank you for the compliment..." Todo smiled shyly.
Kondo's sudden words, "I've heard of you a long time ago," made Todo feel flattered, and a very conspicuous joy appeared in his eyes.
Todo, who is still only 16 years old this year, has the unique youthfulness and rashness of a teenager in his every move, and his emotions and anger are all evident in his expression.
At this time, Nagakura, who was sitting in the middle seat among the three people and had been pondering just now, suddenly said:
"Um...please excuse me."
Nagakura crossed his arms across his chest, looked at Kondo fearlessly with his eyes, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Introducing famous people into the sword hall to attract outsiders to join... Wouldn't it be a little too aboveboard to use such small tricks to develop the sword hall?"
Hearing Nagakura's somewhat sharp question, Qingden, who was sitting in front of him, couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Although he has not worked with Nagakura and the others for a particularly long time, Qingto already has a certain grasp and understanding of the temperaments of his three subordinates.
Nagakura... can be summed up in one word - he is very upright, and he is a bit stubborn and a bit stupid. He says whatever comes to his mind, never making convoluted words, and is so outspoken that people often feel that he is a bit unobtrusive.
He is extremely disgusted with people or things that are not aboveboard. Whether fighting or doing other things, Nagakura likes to be aboveboard and upright, so Nagakura's usual style of doing things... is "frontal and reckless".
Never mind that much! Directly speaking - this sentence perfectly sums up Nagakura's style of dealing with people.
And Nagakura's fighting style is also like this - don't worry about him! A head-on confrontation! Just keep cutting and you’re done!
Although he was used to Nagakura's quick words, after hearing Nagakura direct such a sharp question to Kondo and the others who had just met just a short time ago, Aomori couldn't help but smile helplessly.
Kondo was stunned when he heard Nagakura's question. Just when he was about to say something, Hijikata next to him took the lead and smiled:
"Nagakura-kun, you are wrong."
"The plan we have for developing the sword hall happens to be the most aboveboard."
"Huh?" Nagakura's eyes widened and he cast doubtful gaze on Hijikata.
"Look, are we hiding this plan of ours?" Hijikata curled up his lips and spread his hands, "We invited you here openly, and then told you all about our plan without any concealment. I’ll tell you everything.”
"We are openly inviting you. If you are willing to join our Trial Guard Hall, we will openly publicize it to the outside world in the future: Our Trial Guard Hall has successfully made several very powerful warriors willing to join us."
"Isn't this fair enough? Isn't this honest enough?"
After hearing Hijikata's explanation, Nagakura was stunned.
Then he lowered his head, raised his hand and held his chin, thinking deeply and racking his brains to digest Hijikata's explanation just now.
Judging from his frown...he is having a hard time digesting it now.
Nagakura has a weakness, and that is his brain... not very smart.
I don't know if it's because of his upright temperament, but Nagakura's brain is very dull and he doesn't know how to adapt his thinking.
Nagakura's stupid head and rigid thinking are also one of the important reasons why he is often simple and rude in doing things, and can only do things head-on and recklessly.
At the same time, because he has a rigid mind and is not good at thinking, he is often easily fooled by others and easily persuaded.
As expected - after thinking seriously for a while, he nodded slightly in understanding: "Well... it seems to be true..."
Just when Nagakura's muttering finished——
"...I just want to specialize in my spear skills, so I don't need to be your disciple."
Harada, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
He crossed his legs casually, put his right elbow on his right leg, raised his right arm, supported his chin, and continued with a smile:
"But if I am a diner in your restaurant, I would welcome you."
Harada's words immediately cheered up Kondo and the others.
Kondo asked in surprise: "Are you willing to join our trial gym as a diner?"
"I'll be accommodated and fed. I don't need to do any work. I just need to stay here as a 'diner of the Trial Guard Hall' - such a beautiful job, I can't think of any reason to refuse it." Harada grinned with a naive smile, stretched out his right index finger, and poked his head, "I don't like to use my brain."
"So I actually don't quite understand why you invited us to join the Trial Guard Hall."
"But it doesn't matter. As long as you can provide me with accommodation and food, then I am willing to be your diner!"
After speaking, Harada reached out and patted Nagakura's shoulder.
"Yongcang, you can stay here too."
"Aren't you saving money now so that you can save enough travel expenses to continue traveling around the world and carry out 'warrior training'?"
"Now is a good opportunity to save money."
“Being a diner here means you no longer need to spend money on accommodation, food and accommodation every day.”
“You can save a lot of money every day.”
Money——Hearing the word mentioned by Harada, Nagakura's expression changed slightly.
He pursed his lips, then crossed his arms to his chest again, buried his head slightly, and once again seemed to be thinking.
Everyone present was not in a hurry, they were all quietly waiting for Nagakura, the only one who had not yet expressed his opinion, to think and answer.
The fast-talking Nagakura didn't keep everyone waiting too long.
In just a short moment, he quietly raised his gaze and secretly glanced at Qingdeng next to him with a subtle movement that no one noticed.
"...I understand." Nagakura let out a long breath, then put his hands on the tatami, leaned over and saluted Kondo opposite, "Then, I will cause you trouble!"
Listening to Nagakura's more tactful reply than Harada, Kondo was subconsciously stunned for a moment, and then the expression on his face quickly changed to joy.
While being happy, Kondo couldn't help but feel surprised that he had so successfully persuaded Nagakura and Harada to join their trial camp.
Among those who were surprised by this was Qingdeng.
"Have you all thought about it?" Qingden turned his eyes and glanced back and forth at Nagakura and Harada.
"I've thought about it, I've thought about it." After laughing a few times and shrugging his shoulders vigorously, Harada replied without thinking, "If I have a place to live and something to eat, why wouldn't I do it."
"Anyway, my legs are longer than mine. If you feel uncomfortable eating here, I'll just leave as soon as possible."
Nagakura didn't talk as much as Harada.
He only nodded firmly towards Aomori and Kondo.
…
…
Originally, it was only with the attitude of giving it a try that Qingto brought the three of Nagakura and invited them to "join the trial defense hall".
Unexpectedly, the invitation to them went so smoothly. Among the three, Nagakura and Harada both agreed to become part of the Trial Guard Hall as diners.
In order to welcome these two new members of the sword hall, Kondo decided to hold a lively celebration tonight.
For this reason, Kondo handed Okita a sum of money and asked Okita to buy more good wine and food while the market was still open.
As a core member of the Trial Guard Hall, Hijikata was naturally suggested by Kondo to stay at the Trial Guard Hall tonight to celebrate the joining of Nagakura and Harada with them.
But who would have thought - Hijikata actually said that he would not attend tonight's celebration.
"A Sheng, I won't be attending this celebration. You guys should have fun tonight."
"Why?" Kondo asked in confusion, "Asui, do you have anything to do tonight?"
"...There is indeed something important to do." After saying that, Hijikata smiled intriguingly, then raised his hand and patted Kondo on the shoulder, "Akatsu, we successfully recruited famous people. This is just the first time. Just a step."
"Next, we have to find a way to let as many people as possible know that 'a famous person is willing to join our trial gym'."
"All in all, I will be responsible for handling this work."
"A Sheng, just have fun tonight."
After leaving these words, Dougang waved his hands to Kondo and walked away under Kondo's blank sight.
When Hijikata left the trial defense hall, it was dusk when the sky was half dark and half bright.
After taking a deep breath of the air that became increasingly dull as the weather gradually turned hotter, Hijikata supported his wakizashi on his waist and strode eastward.
Hijikata, who was born as a farmer rather than a warrior, was not qualified to wear a katana, so he usually only carried a wakizashi around his waist.
The Edo shogunate had clear regulations: only samurai could wear swords, but there was no ban on wakizashi, so many civilians would keep a wakizashi at home or on their bodies for self-defense.
After turning the corner of a deserted alley, Hijikata suddenly discovered a cherry blossom tree on the roadside in front of him.
It is now the end of April, when the cherry blossoms are still in full bloom.
Hijikata quickened his pace slightly and stood next to the roots of the cherry blossom tree he accidentally discovered.
He raised his head and looked thoughtfully at the delicate flowers on the cherry blossom tree for a few times, then withdrew his gaze and looked to his left and right.
After confirming that no one was around, Hijikata stood up on tiptoes, skillfully broke off 9 of the most beautiful flowers from the branches, carefully stuffed them all into his arms, and then quickly escaped from under the tree.
After turning around a few more streets, Hijikata stopped in front of the door of a medium-sized teahouse. Then he was seen swaggeringly opening the door curtain and entering the teahouse.
"Welcome...ah, Mr. Hijikata!"
The owner of this tea house, a young girl in her prime, heard the sound of someone coming in. She immediately subconsciously shouted "Welcome" and cast her eyes in the direction of the shop door.
After discovering that the visitor standing at the door was Hijikata, her "Welcome" quickly turned into an excited shout.
"Aqian, it's been a long time." Hijikata showed a gentle smile to the girl and casually found an empty seat to sit down. "As always, bring me a cup of herbal tea."
"Okay!" A Qian, with a cheerful smile on her face, flew back to the kitchen like a butterfly.
Within a moment, she was holding a cup of herbal tea ordered by Hijikata, and she jumped up to Hijikata's table.
"Mr. Hijikata! Your tea!"
"Well, thank you."
Hijikata stretched out his hand to receive the tea A-Qian handed him. While holding the tea cup with his palm, he quietly stretched out his fingers to dig into A-Qian's palm.
Feeling the tickling sensation in her palms, a shy blush swept over Aqian's cheeks. She looked at Hijikata deeply with affectionate eyes, then quickly left Hijikata's table and returned. Arrived at the kitchen.
Hijikata watched Aqian's departure with tender eyes, then picked up the herbal tea, drank it all in one gulp, poured the tea money on the table, and left the teahouse.
At the same time, Ah Qian returned to the kitchen and told her boss that she felt uncomfortable in her stomach and wanted to go to the toilet.
After getting permission from the boss to use the restroom, A-Qian took off her apron and rushed out of the tea house, then turned into a remote dark alley not far from the tea house with ease.
As soon as he entered this dark alley, Aqian saw Hijikata waiting here.
"Mr. Hijikata!" Aqian, who couldn't hold back his feelings, jumped into Hijikata's arms in three steps at a time.
"Aqian!" Hijikata also lovingly hugged Aqian who threw herself into his arms.
"Mr. Hijikata... I miss you so much..." Aqian rubbed her forehead against Hijikata's chest, "Why haven't you come to see me for so long?"
"Sorry, there's been a lot going on lately." Hijikata rubbed Aqian's hair with his cheek.
The two of them exchanged a lot of disgusting words, and then they saw Hijikata put his hand into his arms with an "Ah, I almost forgot" expression on his face.
"Aqian, this is for you."
"Mr. Hijikata, what is this?" Aqian blinked doubtfully at the delicate cherry blossom that Hijikata took out.
"This is a cherry blossom that accidentally fell on my shoulder when I went for an outing in Kanagawa yesterday." Hijikata said with a gentle smile without blushing.
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This chapter has a total of 7,500 words, which is quite a lot. Please vote for me! qaq
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