Nếu Như Ở Okehazama Imagawa Đã Thắng ~ Chế Tạo Quốc Gia Không Đốt Cháy Của Tôi, Kẻ Xuyên Không Thời Chiến Quốc ~ - Chương 12: 】 Tính toán tiền nong

Gia đình Tuyết trai giao cho ta hai việc. Một là tìm mua mực và giấy, hai là đổi tiền cho temples.

"Đi ra thị trấn. Bring this money to exchange, the 'bitasen' (coins with holes) are piling up. While you're at it, buy some paper and ink too. Paper from Sugi-hara is fine. Ink can be cheap, it's a waste to use good ink for your calligraphy."

The last sentence was unnecessary, but I didn't argue.

The guard didn't stop me. He seemed to say, "Run away if you want. But you have nowhere to go." Sending me, a stranger, out alone. This must be another trial from Tuyết trai.

Walking down the slope of Linji Temple, I stepped into the market of Suruga.

It was the place I had passed by when I visited the Imagawa residence with Tuyết trai the other day. That time, I was so busy following behind Tuyết trai that I had no time to look around the town. Today, I was alone.

The market was bustling. The sound of selling fish, the noise of measuring miso, the crying of children. Narrow-fronted shops lined both sides of the street, displaying their goods outside. On the roadside, a used-clothes seller was calling out, while a peddler carrying a load walked quickly past. The density of people was several times that of the temple. Just walking, bumping into people, made me tired.

At the paper shop, I bought Sugi-hara paper and ink, then went to exchange money.

Next to the paper shop was a money changer. In front of the shop, the shopkeeper was busy with a customer. From the back, a girl holding a ledger came out.

"Welcome. Exchange money?"

She looked fifteen or sixteen. Like a merchant's daughter, her hair was neatly tied up, and the sleeves of her indigo-dyed kimono were rolled up to her elbows.

"Yes. I brought the temple's money bag as is. The Yongle coins and bitasen are mixed together. Could you please check the total and exchange the bitasen for Yongle coins?"

"Bring it out."

I spread the money from the bag Tuyết trai gave me onto the counter.

The girl quickly started sorting. She separated the Yongle coins and bitasen into separate piles, one by one. Her hands never stopped.

To avoid being tricked, I tried to calculate in my head. Thirty-one Yongle coins. Fifty-seven bitasen. The ratio was four to—

Before I finished my calculation, the girl had already finished using the abacus in her hand.

"One hundred and eighty-one mon. But, five of these bitasen are too damaged, so I'll deduct their value. Plus my service fee. That makes one hundred and seventy-five mon. In exchange, forty-three Yongle coins and three leftover bitasen. Is this okay?"

It was instantaneous. Appraising the quality of the coins, applying the market rate, subtracting the fee, and immediately stating the amount. I was speechless. The number "181" in my head seemed like a mere theoretical calculation. Was this what a real merchant was like?

"...No problem. Those damaged coins don't have enough copper weight. If you force them to be exchanged at the same value as good coins, everyone will hoard the good ones and only use the bad ones for payment. Bad money drives out good, as they say."

"Is that so? You're quite knowledgeable about economics."

The girl stopped packing the money and looked closely at my face.

Oh no, I thought. A cold sweat ran down my back after I spoke. That was clearly not the language of this era. My knowledge of medieval economic history had just slipped out.

"...I mean, if bad money and good money are treated with the same value, people will hoard the good money and only use the bad money. So, it's reasonable for a merchant to undervalue the bad coins."

The girl stared at me for a while.

Then, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

"Interesting. You're the first person I've seen who can say that so clearly. 'Bad money drives out good money.' Yeah, that's a good phrase."

She crossed her arms and smiled slightly.

"The logic is interesting. But whether that actually makes you more money is another question....though, it might be worth trying. Sounds like it could be a profitable idea."

"Where are you from?"

"From Linji Temple... I keep the ledger for Tuyết trai."

"Oh, the Taiyuan temple. For a monk, you know a lot about the movement of money."

The girl rolled up her indigo sleeves again and handed me the freshly exchanged Yongle coins.

"My name is Zayo. Our family runs a shipping and money-changing business here. My father and brother are both out at the port, so I'm often the one looking after the shop. Hey, if you know more 'logic' like that, teach me next time. If it's useful for business, I'll buy it at a high price."

"High price?"

"Who knows. Maybe it's money, maybe it's just good news."

Zayo said this casually as she walked back inside, waving her hand that held the ledger.

On the way back to the temple, holding the paper and ink, I felt a strange sense of excitement.

In front of Tuyết trai, there was always a suffocating feeling of being scrutinized. But Zayo didn't care about my true identity at all. She only cared whether my knowledge was "useful for business."

For the first time, I felt the heat of the real economy, the living people who drive it, with my own skin. It wasn't something from history textbooks.

As I walked up the slope, the roof of Linji Temple came into view.

Back at the temple, the ledger and Tuyết trai 's silence were waiting for me. But that wasn't unpleasant.