CHAPTER 161: CHAPTER 107: WHALE WHISKERS_2

"That’s settled, then. If there’s anything you’re unclear about, ask them first. If that doesn’t work, come to me." Nozawa shook off the everyday matters and got ready to ponder the business of ships and sailors—he needed to head out to sea to look for saltpeter. If he couldn’t find any, he’d have to start piling manure to make it. Otherwise, if he didn’t have any results by the deadline, Oda Nobunaga would definitely have his head.

Right now, he couldn’t afford to anger Oda Nobunaga. As long as it wasn’t a matter of principle, he still had to go along with him. At the very least, he couldn’t give him any excuse to take this land back.

He patted his backside and left. Endo Chiyoda waited until he’d walked away before sitting down again, then called over the three little maids, aged seven, eight, and nine. She warmly asked their names, broke the ice a bit, and then prioritized opening up the list of project leaders to ask them about these people—who they all were.

From now on, she’d be handling the minor issues with these folks. Only the major problems they couldn’t handle would be reported up to Nozawa for the final decision. After mulling over Nozawa’s words, it was pretty much this arrangement. No wonder he’d appointed her as "Wanjin Magistrate."

She got the hang of it naturally, starting with personnel—carefully getting to know her colleagues one by one. By the end, she realized these people were either Nozawa’s clerks, seasoned Lang Faction members, or unattached Yoriki. She couldn’t help but ask, "Where are Lord Nozawa’s Household Retainers?"

The three little maids shook their heads in unison. "My lord doesn’t have Household Retainers."

"No Household Retainers? Why?" Endo Chiyoda was surprised—for Nozawa wasn’t short of money and had the big tree of the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family to lean on. It should be easy for him to recruit Household Retainers. The whole world was at war, and there were wandering Samurai everywhere—offer an annual salary of ten or twenty kan, and people would fight to the death over the job. So why not hire them?

The three little maids traded glances, shook their heads again, and showed that they didn’t know either.

Endo Chiyoda pondered a moment, then looked at these three obviously Commoner girls, already able to read a bit. She felt Nozawa was deliberately refusing to hire Household Retainers; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to patiently train these little girls who weren’t even worth half a donkey. He could have found many more, better options.

But this had nothing to do with her. Nozawa not having Household Retainers was perfect for her. If he had them, there was no way she’d be "Wanjin Magistrate."

She quickly tossed that little suspicion to the back of her mind and continued asking the three maids how things used to run. Finally, she picked up the big "Wanzhen Planning Map" and took another careful look at it.

This was the first time she’d ever seen a domain run like this, so meticulously organized—it had a beauty she couldn’t quite describe. And everything was interconnected; everyone supervised and urged one another along according to complicated rules, forced to move in unison. No wonder the Nozawa family youngsters always seemed to be running around tirelessly, never stopping for a moment.

But her understanding was still pretty shallow. She kept feeling there were new and fascinating ideas within, so she got up and said to the three little maids, "Take me to see the workshop!"

That place used to be off limits to her—she was never allowed near it. But now her status was different, so of course she wanted to go have a look.

Actually, that’s what intrigued her most about the Nozawa family. She’d always disapproved of her father’s way of running the village—especially after she’d secretly dyed some rough cloth, sold it to traveling merchants, and made her first bit of money. She’d had a hunch that just farming wasn’t the way forward. But even though her father doted on her, he’d scolded her harshly and banned her from ever doing such things again.

As it is now, Nozawa did just that—and did it openly, hauling in loads of soybean cake, cloth, and buckets like a magician, and soon enough sending out barrels of soy sauce and dyed cloth again in bulk.

Just counting the number of ox carts and horse carts coming and going at the workshop gates every day, she could sense a power far beyond what used to exist here. It was like she could hear the pulse of a new era, gathering strength, beating faster and stronger.

She didn’t really know why, but she just had this inexplicable feeling—that this would be the starting point of a new era, so she wanted to be a part of it. To share in that strength. She even hoped that one day in the future, she’d be able to use that strength to crush the Rokkaku family with ease, and finally avenge her parents!

......

Nozawa, free from chores, felt instantly more energetic. He fetched a Mother’s Robe he’d come by unexpectedly and went to find Ah Man.

Ah Man was lying on a bamboo recliner, dozing under a small quilt. She opened one eye at the noise, and Nozawa sat down beside her, asking with concern, "How are you feeling today?"

Ah Man pressed her chest and sighed weakly, "Still the same. Just can’t seem to catch my breath."

"Let me check your pulse again."

"No, no, that’s not necessary." Ah Man quickly pulled her hand back under the covers, grimacing. "I know my own body. However you slice it, I’ll need three to five—uh, at least a year or so to recover. So don’t waste your time. I know you’re busy, and you don’t have to come see me every day. I can manage just fine on my own."

Nozawa looked at her, speechless, at her now-rosy, chubby cheeks. It seemed that after more than a month of lying there eating and drinking, she’d almost grown baby fat. He’d racked his brains, carefully prescribed medicine and herbs as if tending a foolish son, spent a fortune to nourish her back to health—felt as though it had all gone to the dogs. The more she ate, the weaker she claimed to be, looking more sluggish by the day. Judging only by her words, it sounded like she was at death’s door.

It hadn’t mattered before—she really had staked her life, so letting her rest longer was fine by him, like giving her a paid vacation. But now there were pressing matters, and if she lay around much longer, he’d lose his patience.

Only problem was, she’d earned her merit, and now shamelessly played dead—could already move, yet still lay around, eating, drinking, and reading storybooks all day. (She’d hidden some storybooks bought via a friend from Atsuta Port under her seat as soon as she heard him coming.) Nozawa couldn’t very well call her out in public, so he just said, hesitantly, "No, I won’t feel right if I don’t check on you often. But I really am busy with something important. Here’s what—tomorrow, I’ll have A Qing come keep you company, so I won’t have to worry. What do you think?"

"No, no, just let A Qing... help you out more. I’m really fine!"

"No way. You’re hurt because of me. Your health is what matters most!"

Ah Man hesitated. If A Qing—so stiff and serious—really came over to watch her, she’d stare at her without blinking all day, and lying around would actually feel like prison. After some hesitation, Ah Man patted her chest, sat up, and muttered, "No, don’t bother. Actually, I feel... like I can breathe again."

"Don’t force yourself!" Nozawa still looked worried. He didn’t want to short-change his benefactor.

"Sigh, I’m not pushing myself!" Ah Man really did sigh this time, but after that her eyes started darting around, feeling maybe it was time to get up anyway. After all, lying around all day was killing her appetite—yesterday she’d barely managed two chicken legs. Such a waste.

Nozawa saw she was finally behaving, and decided not to press her. He didn’t embarrass her either, simply set the Mother’s Robe out in front of her, flipped it open, and pointed to the supports inside, asking, "Can you tell me if this is whalebone?"