After the Black Ship Incident, the Edo shogunate concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States and was forced to open the two trading ports of Shimoda and Hakodate. In the fifth year of Emperor Komei's reign, the two sides signed the "Japan-U.S. Agreement" on the "Powhatan". Treaty of Friendship and Commerce", adding ports such as Kanagawa, Nagasaki, Niigata, and Hyogo, and also allowing foreigners to stay and do business in Edo and Osaka.
Although Kyoto is not among them, it is very close to Osaka, only a day's journey away. Now, nearly ten years have passed since the Treaty of Friendship and Trade between Japan and the United States. After the Forbidden Gate incident, the King-Resisting and Barbarian Faction has rethought its strategy. Now they only mention respecting the king, and set the goal of overthrowing the curtain. They no longer mention the matter of resisting the foreigners, and have begun to actively cooperate with the West. Therefore, the scope of Westerners' activities has also become larger.
As the most important river in the Kansai region, the Yodogawa River originates from Lake Biwa and connects the Kyoto Basin and the Osaka Plain. It was an important transportation channel in Kyoto during the Edo period. Most foreign merchants from Osaka also came to Kyoto along this river. Zhang Heng asked passers-by around the store about the nearest pier and got there before sunset.
The liveliness here is no less than that of Soichi. There are machiyas everywhere along both sides of the river. The monogram tiles are neatly arranged on the roofs. The signboards and curtains move with the wind. The first floor has thin convex lattice and the second floor has insect cage windows. , this is a building with a strong Japanese traditional style, using a wooden structure, with a narrow entrance but extremely long depth. Generally, the part facing the street is used as a shop, and the rooms behind are used for living. The advantage is that the shops are more densely packed. One room next to the other.
There were boatmen unloading goods on the pier, and there were also ladies preparing to take a boat trip on the river. There was a shrine not far away, and many believers gathered outside the door to pray for blessings or seek protection.
Zhang Heng didn't spend much time finding a Western businessman who was interested in hiring a translator. The latter's name was Gabriel, a Frenchman. He came to Kyoto with the business group and negotiated with a local businessman about the sale of a batch of cotton yarn. However, he is obviously not satisfied with the cotton yarn business and seems to have other plans. However, it is not convenient to tell other people in the business group what he wants to do, so he cannot use the business group's translator.
When he was worried about where to find Japanese people who could understand French, Zhang Heng came to his door. Gabriel was overjoyed and with a wave of his hand, he directly offered him a salary of one small sentence per day. The so-called small salary was common in the Edo period. A kind of gold coin, a small coin is about one tael of gold, and one tael of gold is about sixty cents of silver or four guan of money. At this time, the daily income of a craftsman in Kyoto was about seventy cents. In other words, Zhang Heng's current income in one day can almost equal that of a craftsman working for two months.
Zhang Heng is not ignorant of the translation market. He consulted people at the dock before coming here. There is now a huge gap in professional translators in Japan, but those who can communicate with foreign businessmen are no longer what they were before the Black Ship incident. So few. In fact, even when the shogunate closed the country, Satsuma, Changzhou and other feudal lords secretly did some business with outside countries.
The Japanese Iron Cannon (actually a matchlock gun) originated from the Satsuma Domain. At that time, a Portuguese merchant ship was blown by a typhoon to Tanegashima Island south of Satsuma, so the Japanese Iron Cannon was also called the Tanegashima Iron Cannon.
Now that the shogunate has opened up to trade for more than ten years, many Japanese have traveled to Europe to study, and translations are no longer so valuable.
The price offered by Gabriel was already more than double the market price. This was despite the fact that the two parties were not very familiar with each other. Moreover, Zhang Heng also asked for an advance payment of a small amount. However, even so, Gabriel did not hesitate. It didn't take long for him to agree, so Zhang Heng also knew that what the French businessman was going to do in Kyoto might not be simple.
However, with Zhang Heng’s sword skills at level 3 and the experience accumulated from the previous dungeons, he is not too worried about the danger he will encounter. What’s more, now that the sun has set, he may not be able to find another employer, so in the end both parties still An employment agreement was reached.
After paying Zhang Heng a small fine, Gabriel asked the latter to meet him at the teahouse next to the pier tomorrow morning. By the time Zhang Heng left the pier, it was already completely dark.
Zhang Heng was not very hungry because he had a meal before the dungeon, but now he had to find a place to stay quickly.
In the Edo period, in order to control the daimyo lords in various places, the shogunate specially established a duty transfer system, which required the lords of each domain to go to Edo every once in a while to perform government affairs for the shogun. Of course, this was the reason, and it was mainly to facilitate the shogunate. The daimyo were walking and playing, reducing their time in the territory, and at the same time, it also prevented them from messing around in the territory, otherwise they might be captured directly the next time they go on duty.
However, Tokugawa was kind enough and built a lot of sleeping quarters along the way. Later, Hatagoya was developed, which was somewhat similar to the inns of later generations. Not only did it provide one night and two meals, but many Hatagoya also had dedicated maids to take care of them. The daily life of tourists, but by the end of the Tokugawa period, more and more people were traveling, and Hatagoya began to become a mixed bag. Not only did rogues provide gambling equipment and help recruit tricks, but Hatagoya also asked maids to sell sex directly.
Afterwards, businessmen in Osaka were the first to organize the nigiri, which was roughly equivalent to a hotel chain and unified service standards, so travelers could stay at hotels with the guild sign outside the door.
However, whether it is Hatagoya or Langhuadao, it is just an excessive choice for Zhang Heng. Considering that the time for this dungeon is not short, Zhang Heng still prefers to rent his own house. Seeing that there is still some time, he also He was not in a hurry to go to the hotel. Instead, he found a dentist nearby and asked him to show him the room.
The tooth man is a young man of fourteen or fifteen years old. He looks very smart, and he is also a local in this area. He is well-informed and knows the affairs of each household. Zhang Heng paid him one hundred coins in advance and promised After giving him another hundred coins, he immediately became energetic and took Zhang Heng for a walk, regardless of missing dinner.
However, the Ronin patron next to him didn't seem very satisfied with the houses in prime locations that he highly recommended. The two of them walked further and further away and had to put up lanterns. Zhang Heng had already planned to give up and wanted to We will continue to look at it tomorrow, but the place where the two of them ended up was something that made Zhang Heng's eyes light up.
There is a small courtyard at the entrance. There is a cherry blossom tree in the center of the courtyard, which is in full bloom. The well under the tree is clear and sweet. The whole courtyard has a square layout, simple and beautiful, and the shoji door is very spacious. There is also a tea room. At the same time, the furniture is also very complete, and in later generations' terms, it is a standard for move-in with a bag.
