Chapter 39: The Farmland Situation in the City

Day 58 of living in another world

The next morning, as I was working on logging toward the village, I saw Rad and the others from the shadows of the forest. They were all together and waving cheerfully.

“Welcome back everyone, glad to see you are doing well.”

“I’m back, chief. The trade went well.”

Everyone had baskets full of luggage on their backs, and it seemed that the trade had gone well this time. I am relieved that we are back on schedule.

“I can’t believe we’ve come this far already,…….”

“I want to reduce the burden on Rad and the others as soon as possible. Everyone is working hard.”

“I’m grateful for that. I have a few things to report. Can you come with me to the village?”

“No problem. Touya, I’ll leave this to you.”

“Oh, you can go back to the village at your leisure.”

Leaving the logging work to Touya and Roa and the others, we returned to the village. After packing my belongings, I sat down with Rad at the table in the garden.

“Rad, aren’t you tired? We can talk a little later if you want.”

“No problem. I had a good rest in the village yesterday.”

“Well, I’ll get right to it.”

Rad says sales have been brisk as well. As for his purchases, he was able to buy them on time and brought the surplus back home in coins.

“Oh, and I also bought a set of ax, carpentry tools, and sewing tools that weren’t in the instructions…is that okay?”

“Oh! I was just talking about asking for them on the next trade.”

“Good, let me know if there’s anything else you need. I have two important things to report.”

I nodded and urged him to continue.

“The first is that the crops growing on the outskirts of the city are not growing well, and food shortages are likely to continue.”

“Do you know the cause of this?”

“From what I’ve heard, it’s due to the skills of the Japanese working in the city.”

(What is it? Did some guy get carried away and  do something wrong?)

When I asked him about the cause in detail, this is what he told me.

Food had always been in short supply, but with the arrival of the Japanese, the amount consumed increased even more. Then, the Japanese with “farming” skills appeared on the scene. The crops they grew, grew very fast and the harvest increased. This seemed to solve the food problem.

However, the situation was different after the second cultivation. Diseases and poor growth of the crops led to a sharp decline in the harvest. Now, the farmers have managed to maintain the yield by expanding into new cultivated land.

“…… I see. Maybe, but the soil strength of the fields has not recovered. I think the soil is lacking in nutrients.”

“The Japanese don’t seem to be blamed for this, partly because it was decided at the initiative of the Union Congress, but it’s not as if it’s not going to happen.”

“Our village is fine because of the ‘rich soil’ effect, but I don’t blame them for what would have happened under normal circumstances.”

By the way, there are more than a hundred people in the town who have farming skills.”

“Do you think we’ll run out of food now? And will it look bad if we bring in food from the village?

“No, we have the first harvest. Wheat and other crops will keep well for a while. Besides, the amount of food we can transport from the village is small. It will be noticeable in terms of taste, but I don’t think there will be a problem with the quantity we bring in.”

“Certainly, if we continue to trade in small quantities, there seems to be no problem.”

“We are grateful for the village’s bounty, we are lucky to have found …… the chief, despite everything.”

“That’s mutual, so what’s the other part of the story?”

“Oh, this is the main issue: Have you ever heard of the skills of “alchemy” and “blacksmithing”?”

“I haven’t seen them directly, but they do appear in Japanese stories. It’s one of the production cheats and it’s a pretty famous skill.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by “cheat” …… The alchemy magic is a magic that turns ores into ingots, and it is instantaneous.”

“Both are very attractive skills. I would love to have them in the village. –But what’s the problem with that?”

“There is a new Japanese trading company in town. They are buying up mining slaves and starting a business in mining, smelting, and processing weapons and armor.”

“How could the United Congress approve such a thing as giving power to the Japanese?”

“The large amount of tax payments to the territory and the weapons for the people were the two decisive factors.”

“Oh, and the second report is that we should be wary of the Japanese trading company?”

“Of course, yes, but the important thing is the person who gave me this information.”

Apparently, there was more to the story. Rado looked at me, straightening his posture.

“I got this information from a blacksmith in the city. The blacksmiths in the city have been hit hard by the establishment of the Japanese trading company, as I mentioned earlier.”

“Is it because of the difference in selling prices?”

“Yeah, the Japan trading company sells at less than half the market price. They said they couldn’t compete.”

What is this Japanese, an idiot? Are you too reckless? Or do they have some clever countermeasure or special ability to deal with problems later on?

“He was also fed up with Congress allowing such an outrage. So, while we were talking, he said he wanted to come to our village.”

“But wouldn’t it be more normal for them to go to another town or find another job instead of coming all the way here?”

“I’m not sure about that, i brought some potatoes with me from the village ……. he’s addicted to the taste of them. I hear it’s so popular that the whole town is talking about it.”

“You only sold them twice, right?  Rad, are our potatoes really that good?”

The size is big, and the taste is certainly good, but… no matter what, I don’t think it’s that good . My sense of taste may be different from that of beastkins, but–.

“If you eat what’s made in towns and villages, you’ll know right away. It’s a sad story, but I already don’t want to eat anything other than potatoes from the village. I’m fascinated enough to think so.”

(Is the food in the city not very good?)

Well, if you think about it, all Japanese varieties have been improved upon and improved in taste and quality. Maybe we are so used to eating them that we just don’t recognize them.

“I would love to have someone who can do blacksmithing, but can I trust him to begin with?”

“I’ve known him since my parents’ generation. He’s definitely not a bad guy.”

“If Rad says he’s not a bad guy, he’s not a bad guy at all.”

The blacksmith had just taken over the blacksmith shop after his father passed away. He is a single man with no mother or siblings. It would not be unnatural under the circumstances for a single craftsman to leave town. If that was the case, I was more than willing to accept it.

“The village is supposed to be growing potatoes, by the way, he doesn’t even know the village exists yet?”

“I told him to wait until the next trade session to give him an answer. I haven’t even told him about the village yet.”

“If so, can you bring him to me on your way back from the next trade? Then you can tell him about the village after you leave town.”

“I’ll tell him all about the goodness of the village. There’s also the matter of loyalty.”

“Ah, if it’s Rad, I can leave it to you with peace of mind.”

“That’s all I have to report.”

The food problem, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and the city’s trends are becoming a little tense.

After the meeting with Rad, I told everyone else about the situation and shared the information with them. There was no opposition to accepting the blacksmiths, but several of them said that we needed to be careful about the presence of the Japanese trading company.

“They may not be a trading company that deals in food products, but they are Japanese, too. They will soon find out that the potatoes are from Japan.”

“It’s still fine if the existence of this village is exposed. I’m more worried about the trading lads being attacked or detained.”

“We’ll keep an eye on things, but if there are any suspicious signs, it would be better not to go to the city for a while. ……”

“We’ve got a certain amount of salt in stock, so there’s no need to push things too hard.”

That afternoon, I helped harvest potatoes for the third time. Having learned more about the city’s farmland situation, i was more aware of the effects of the ‘rich soil.’

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter