160 5.49 Aizuwakamatsu and Yonezawa Operational Costs.. (2/2)
The ambassadors thanked the property agent and made their way out. After they had checked that they never missed out a thing, they decided to head on to Shibata as it was closer for them to reach rather than the other two who would have to spend additional hours to travel.
They went to a Blacksmith shop and informed them that they are going to Shibata to meet the other Blacksmiths there. They also informed that they will process the orders for the [Refined Iron] and would drop by from Shibata here before heading back to Kitakata.
The Blacksmiths bade them farewell and Goodluck for the visit to Shibata. A messenger was located and was made to send a note back to Kitakata. The contents of the note simply said, Yonezawa to Shibata. Back in 3 days. The note then was addressed to Fasuto Japan KabushikiGaisha in Kitakata.
Before embarking, they checked their saddlebags and confirmed the necessary items for travelling such a long distance and got some raw supplies for the horse and themselves.
Once confirmed, they checked their pocket watch and it showed close to 11 in the morning. An 8-12 hours horseback ride that would be broken into 4 breaks were required if the horses were made to trot in order not to make them too tired.
Then the two ambassadors, Miroku and Kami set out to their journey towards Shibata.
+-==Meanwhile at Kitakata==-+
The next morning, the moment I woke up, I went straight to the warehouse, and closed the door behind me and pushed the 2 hand carts filled with Refined Iron plates and placed them near the working space of the storekeeper.
Then I went to the girls home and to meet me at the warehouse the moment they wake up to delegate the tasks. After each one of them had tried their hands to wrap the Karada Soap in their respective scent, they finally got the hang of it to properly wrap the Karada Soap using the onion skin paper wrapping.
The girls decided to stamp each individual scent after they had properly sealed the package and since 2 girls were assigned to each scent with their own respective stamp, nothing would go wrong.
I told them to do it after they had prepared their breakfast and lunch in advance and to ensure that they eat first before heading for work.
They nodded in acknowledgement and went back to the house to perform their daily morning task and I left to return to the house to shower, change and get ready to walk around town a bit.
It had been some time since the last trip to the trading district. I had with me some gold and silvers and decided to visit the monastery to give alms there in the name of Fasuto Japan KabushikiGaisha after we had the kurin and feroa kurina patented.
I waited at the garden area for Hiko-sama while enjoying steamed sweet potatoes and tea prepared by the girls. I handed Hanna and Izumi a herbal basket that had been lined by a cloth that was made to sieve the lemon Essense and I poured all my coppers and silvers there from the small chest that were given by Hiko-sama when I first made a change of some gold coins.
I told them that this charity box would be placed in our house in the living space. If they need money to buy groceries, they should take from there. Hanna and Izumi also took their balances from previous purchases and pooled it together.
The initial gold and silver that had been given by me still hung at their necks as a memento. I told the girls to take care of and close the main doors of both houses since we would be out for the day.
The raw sweet potatoes, yam, sweet corn and bananas were the last batch to be prepared and Hanna asked if they could use the money from the charity box to purchase the items. I told them to go ahead and use it since its for 2 household and the rest of the employees.
I advised them to get the shop's delivery boys to send over then they pay for the items upon arrival. The girls nodded and went about their marketing and told the delivery boys to send to Jiyu Residence or Fasuto Japan KabushikiGaisha since they heard and saw fireworks coming from the inner residential cluster last night.
The rest of the employee's arrived and the jobs and tasks were delegated and they soon took off to attend to it. As we had our breakfast, Hiko-sama and I went to the patents and trademark department to patent the kurin and feroa kurina.
The female clerk was excited as she entered the entry for the two patents and asked what's the purpose for these 3 items and I slowly explained to her that 1 is for laundry while the other 2 is for cleaning the floors.
Even if the package is closed, the scent that emanates from the sealed package entices the opposite gender and they inquired where to get it from and Hiko-sama directed to get it from the cosmetic shop from tomorrow onwards.
I nudged Hiko-sama and raised my eyebrows a few times and showed a thumbs up. I think he was getting more and more to be a hit with the ladies. Hahahahaha.
He frowned more with his permanent frown face and told him that women are after that frown look. I continually teased him because he would seem out of place when met with a lady he had not been acquainted with.
After making the patent, we walked to the east side of the village and there was a Buddhist monastery. We walked in and removed our zori and tabi before entering their sacred grounds. We walked and stopped beyond a Buddha statue and I walked up and rubbed its bare tummy. The monks there looked at me by surprise at what I had done since they had not seen anyone done that before.
I casually rubbed its head, rubbed its two cheeks and tummy again and the monks stared at me in disbelief. I took 3 joss sticks, burned it and cupped my hands as I blew them and raised it above my head as I bowed slowly 7 times and set it on the incense burner. I asked politely where the alms bowl was and was directed where I had taken the joss ticks from.
I dropped a few silvers and coppers and was about to walk out when I was stopped by a Monk who was carrying a staff with a round shape on top and some jiggly bells. He was wearing a yellow robe with the baqua shaped in front of it and a red shawl or sash across his shoulders. The moment I saw him, I knew who he was but I decided to remain silent first.
We bowed to him and the first thing Hiko-sama said was to ask for forgiveness for this kid who was beside him that seemed to have desecrated the Holy Buddha statue earlier by not only touching it but rubbed its head, cheeks and bare tummy!
The Monk walked towards us slowly and when he reached close enough, he held a hand and placed it on my shoulders and u can sense of tranquillity the moment it landed.
”You are the Light that brings hope and fortune, Phillip Morris and Marlboro, Winston and lucky strike. These are the brands that you light and causes cancer for those who smoke... Sccreecchhh..! Mr Director quit joking around and change the script! Quick!, revert it back to the original! This is not an ad for cigarettes!
A crew offscreen shouted ”Series 5, Chapter 49... Roooooooll... And ACTION!”
The Monk cleared his throat and continued, ”You are the Light that brings hope and fortune to those surrounds you. You brought joy and happiness and you are a fair and generous person. However, people will take advantage of your kindness and take it against it as your weakness. Forge the strongest bond through Trust and Friendship within the cluster of your new family members.”
”My disciples did not know that it was proper for you to do that to the Buddha statue because it is a” Smiling Buddha” and those who seek more fortune would do that, and since this monastery had been built, this is the first time they had witnessed such event except in Bencoolen Street.”
”Thank you for your kind words and enlightenment, Miroku-sama. We'd be on our way now.” I bowed, followed by Hiko-sama and we walked out of the monastery as the Monk smiled and walked back inside.
”You knew that high Monk? Furthermore, the moment you rubbed the bald head, rubbed the fat cheeks of the smiling buddha and then rubbed its tummy, I was thinking this kid is crazy or what!?! And when the high Monk approached us I thought Shit! We are done for this time! But never knew it turned out the other way round.”
”That's the way it should be, but you can't do that to a sleeping buddha. You could only do it to a” Smiling Buddha” for prosperity. And yes, I knew the high Monk and it seemed that he had not gotten the Kazana yet.”
”What's a Kazana? Is there a link in this series that you are not going to reveal and afraid of spoiler alerts, kid?”
”It may or may not have a link and by looking at the rate we churned this series around, we had already reached the maximum number of chapters! Would there be a continuation? How about the next Leap? Or a volume two in this novel? Who knows...just wait for it then!”
I walked down the steps and made Hiko-sama think that this series might even drag close to 100 chapters by itself. Well, the more chapters it is, the longer I am stuck in this era, and here we go again as the storyline broadens to other prefecture and towns! Wheeeee.....!
We had a brunch on the east side of the village and sat down in a tavern overlooking the eastern gate. We had steamed rice, grilled fish, stir-fried spinach with tiny shrimps and a sunny side up egg each on our steamed rice and a bowl of muso soup.
As we ate, Hiko-sama asked what my plans are for the next few days. I had a kind of thoughts of dismantling a blender so that I would be able to take a closer look at its design and implementations.
I took out my sketchpad that I had snugly fit on the small back of mine and looked at the current plannings for the week. The deposit slip showed the amount of 14720 and that would adds up the corporate account to as high as