133 5.22 More Ideas of An Entrepeneur Than A Battousai (1/2)

The next morning, the moment the rooster began to crow to signal the break of dawn, Hiko-sama and I awoke at the same time. I went to the bathroom to check on its water level and decided to let the tap trickle.

Instead of using the Kamehameha, I used the Fire Release instead because I don't know how is the effect of using Kamehameha induced water over a long period. I then gathered Psi energy spheres and drop twice into it.

”Sensei, you can take your shower first. Let me prepare breakfast and heat up the sweet potatoes and bananas that I had steamed last night.” I called out to Hiko-sama and he walked into the bathroom in his yakata. Soon I heard water splashing as well as part singing and humming.

I lifted the lid of the steamer and saw the banana skin was still yellow and had not turned completely brown when steamed. I fired up the stone stove and refilled the water in the steamer. I stoke some firewood in the stove and started a fairly large fire to boil the water in the steamer. I covered the steamer snugly and went about to touch up on the housekeeping in Hiko-sama's house.

”Whoo...! That was refreshing. My body felt light and I don't feel slight sleepiness at all! Kid, it's your turn now...” Hiko-sama exclaimed loudly as he stepped out from the bath and tippy-toed back to his room.

Before I reach the bathroom, I stoked more firewood and added water in the steamer and proceeded to shower. Another idea sparked when I was showering because there was no soap to be found in the bathroom except for the hard yellowish one used for the laundry. I wondered how to make soap and make it available for the general public to use.

I searched my memory bank and discovered making soap would need perfume. Since I was attached to the Philippines in my other life and was in Isabela Livelihood Centre, where I learnt how to make soaps and shampoos.

There are two kinds of oil that have to be used. Coconut oil and olive oil. Then I may need lye that would prove hazardous if handled carelessly. Perfume would be added as well as colouring. That's it, simple as I had regained back its memory. Same product as the yellow laundry soap but where could I find these items.

This would be my next project in mind. So first things first, the metal hangers and the portable washing machine would be the first entry in the Patents and Trademarks Department. I would love to churn out ideas but then, too many too fast would make us an easy target for annihilation. So I would need to buy some sketchbooks and proper writing tools, to begin with.

I left the bathroom and I could smell steamed bananas that were ready to be eaten. I lifted the steamer and I removed the firewood and dropped it into a bucket of water just beneath the stone stove. This way, the firewood could be reused again after drying it in the sun for a while bit.

I wore my gi with my hakama and tabi after I had served breakfast for both of us. We had our breakfast out in the terrace as there were not much space as Hiko-sama had moved all the 12 jars of sake there. I peeled the steaming skin of the banana and used a chopstick to stuff it in my mouth. The taste was so sweet that I had a jawlock and kept blowing the heat from my mouth.

Hiko-sama was doing the same thing too. It seemed these little comfort food had not been tasted for a long time. He was closing his eyes as the savoury sweet natural steamed banana salivate in his mouth and he took his time to munch on it.

”Oishi! Simply delicious...! Its been so long since I had eaten steamed bananas that I almost have forgotten how it tastes like!”

”There's so much we can do with bananas, Sensei. We can make glutinous cakes and place a slice of banana inside it. Then steam using banana leaves. Or we can deep fry them in a batter and eaten them crispy and hot for afternoon tea.”

”Yes, normally once these type of bananas are ripe, they would eat it by its own. Unlike the other yellowish ones, these bananas could be made into delicacies for afternoon teas. That I agree to it.”

After we had finished 2 bananas each, we had a sweet potato next. The skin was paper thin and the flesh was purplish and it tasted just right.

”Steamed sweet potato can be eaten with a pinch of salt or sweet caramel too... Hmm, this is just like the baked ones but much better because it costs nearly nothing.”

”I am glad you liked them, Sensei. I see what I had in mind if we were to make afternoon snacks. Even we can make yakiniku if you wish, but the process would be a hassle as there's a lot of ingredients I may need to find though.”

”Arch... Don't worry about that yakiniku. We can buy off straight from the yatai. Don't hassle too much for our supper, kid. So after I'm gone to the Governmental District, do you need anything else? You are going to register as a resident of Kitakata, am I right?”

”That's right, Sensei. After you show me the place, then I'm going to scout the business district and the trading district before I proceed to Hide-sama's house to perform my obligations. Could you get more weapon parts for us? I intend to make some more hangers today and keep them in store first.”

”Sure thing, kid. I could borrow a hand cart and carry off those useless weapon parts strewn all over the duelling ground. No one wants them and the repairs would weaken the weapons. Might as well we turn it to something useful, right? I find the hangers extremely useful. My clothes are constantly aired rather than sitting folded on the floor.”

”I am glad you liked it, Sensei. Alright, time to go to the Governmental District. You need to show me where I should register myself.”

Upon saying that, I cleared the breakfast and brought it to the kitchenette and closed the door after me. I slipped on my only pair of zori and intended to get another pair, a few pairs of gi and yakata and some more tabi.

As we walked past the trading and business district, I made a mental note on which shops I'm going to visit later on my way back before going to Hide-sama's house for cleaning.

Hiko-sama showed me the building where I need to open up a bank account in the governmental district. It was a large three storey stone building and there were 2 armed guards guarding the entrance. There was a tower clock that worked on the weight and pendulum system in the middle of the district and it showed slightly over 7 am.

”That's the registrar's building over there. You can head down there and register yourself under Hiko Seijuro's household. Just mention that you are my nephew. Nothing to it, register as a new resident won't take much. They will issue you with an ID within the hour, depending on the number of people in the queue there.”

”I am going to head to the draftsman's place to get this drawing into a blueprint and then I would head to the Patent and Trademarks department. Be seeing you at the house later for lunch, OK?”

As soon as Hiko-sama had said that he went to another adjacent building to have someone create a blueprint on the portable washing machine.

I then headed to the registrar's office and went inside. There was no one in line and I was the first. I told the registrar what I wanted and was asked to fill a form which requires my name, date of birth, gender, and my affiliation and relationship plus marital status. After completing it, I handed it back to the registrar and the registration was at the cost of 2 coppers for administrative charges. I paid up and was told to wait in the waiting area.

After waiting for around 15 minutes, I heard my name being called and I went to the registrar. I was handed an ID with all the details that I had filled up earlier in the form. It was on a piece of palm-sized ID and it was protected with some sort of waterproof resin, that acts like a lamination during that time. I checked the ID before thanking the person that everything was in order and left.

With the ID in hand, I had officially become a resident of Kitakata. I walked back alone and reached the business district. I looked around and noticed that this would be the place to conduct exports to other towns and villages. The stone buildings looked neither splendour nor plain and every building was marked with a bright sign over their main entrance, stating their nature of business. Basically, these district controls the trading district in their prices and stock level et cetera.

There were signs on the buildings that stated their core of business such as ores and minerals, semi-precious and precious stones, spices and herbs, raw leather and furs, local commodities like sugar and salt, grains, livestock, lacquerware and sake.

The interesting little village that would prove to be a boom in the next half century or so.