The next morning, at sunrise.
On a second-hand donkey cart at the entrance of Hibi Village, bags of grain, jars of dicinal herbs, books, coin pouches, and other miscellaneous items were tied up securely. Nozawa’s dim-witted son was nestled among the baggage to keep out the wind, a sign that Nozawa was ready to move to Takeshige Manor.
Now that his personal safety was assured and he’d basically adapted to this chaotic era, he wanted to start improving his quality of life. Hibi Village was no longer suitable for him. Even though this was the closest place to where he’d transmigrated, he’d finally decided to leave—he’d stuck around so long and still hadn’t seen the slightest hope of going back. He couldn’t just be a fool wasting his whole life in this impoverished village.
It was a tough decision, kind of like choosing between "If I just keep buying lottery tickets, I’ll definitely win five million one day and live large," and "I feel like winning five million isn’t happening, so maybe I should just go out and actually make so money and keep myself fed." After much thought, in the end, he picked the latter.
In a sense, this was a relatively rational choice—a decision made after shaking off wishful thinking. Otherwise, if the lottery only paid out once every thousand years, his whole life would end up a joke.
Of course, you always want to keep a sliver of hope. Soone else could buy your lottery tickets for you. He temporarily entrusted the "second daily task" to Yayoi’s father, Jiulang, asking him to check the mountain ridge at sunrise every day, and if he saw anything unusual, to run like mad to Takeshige Manor and tell him. That way, he and his silly son could hurry back and try their luck again.
At the very least, he’d be able to figure out the timing pattern and prepare for the next ti thick mountain fog appeared.
This would have to do for now. Once he had money, he’d get a few horses and assign soone full-ti in Hibi Village just for this job.
"Head on ho, everyone!" Nozawa waved at the villagers of Hibi Village who’d gathered to see him off, indicating they didn’t need to be so polite. Then he turned and thanked Jiulang, his landlord: "Sorry for all the trouble these past days, and thank you so much. If you ever need anything, just co find at Takeshige Manor."
"I wouldn’t dare, sir! I wish you a safe journey!" Jiulang looked very serious, not feeling like Nozawa had actually bothered him much—after all, he hadn’t even repaid his debt of life. The villagers all started talking at once, saying their reluctant goodbyes; nobody wanted to see him go.
Nozawa really had done a lot of good in Hibi Village, curing many people’s illnesses. Even if his true intention was just self-preservation—afraid the villagers would pull off a "samurai hunt" and stab him with a dung fork—it still counted as doing real good. The honest working folks were truly grateful. Otherwise, there’s no way the entire village would turn out early in the morning to see him off—you wouldn’t get a crowd like this even at a funeral. A rare thing, indeed.
Yayoi slung a small bundle over her shoulder and stood next to Nozawa. It was her first ti leaving ho, so she was anxious, but tried to stay calm. As the mont of farewell neared, she quickly knelt and bowed deeply to Jiulang and A-Ping, whispering, "Father, Mom, I’m leaving. You two take care of yourselves."
Jiulang glanced at her, sighed, and nodded. A-Ping’s eyes were red; she helped her daughter up and, choking back tears, gave her another round of advice—even though she’d said it a dozen tis the night before—"Work hard for Nozawa, don’t be lazy. Take care of yourself. If sothing happens, just endure it—don’t argue with people, rember..."
Her words trailed off as she grew too choked up to continue. She really didn’t want to part, eyes getting wetter. But it had been her decision to let her daughter leave with Nozawa. She firmly believed there was no future for Yayoi in Hibi Village—she’d likely go hungry her whole life if she stayed. So however tough it was, she’d asked Nozawa for a "position" for her daughter—now Yayoi would be his house retainer, just like the Tao brothers: if Nozawa prospers, so does she; if he fails, so does she.
Of course, Nozawa didn’t see it that way—he didn’t care much for feudal loyalty chains. He wasn’t one to believe in loyalty that ca out of nowhere. To him, the three of them were more like "employees", and Yayoi was probably a "junior housekeeper personal secretary". If she wanted to quit one day, he’d never stop her, let alone see it as betrayal—he’d probably even send her off with a classic "amicable breakup."
He watched the mother and daughter say their goodbyes and didn’t rush them at all, just waited patiently. Different tis, after all—the walk would take over three hours, and the roads weren’t really safe. In this era, that was a long way. Plus, Yayoi was just a young girl. After leaving, it might be years till she got to visit ho again. No harm in a few more words.
Yayoi soon realized this, though, and didn’t drag her mother into more farewells. She wiped her eyes, gently let go of her mother’s hand, put on a brave little face, and, under Nozawa’s direction, climbed onto the donkey cart.
This was where the farewell ended. Goodbyes are always a part of life. At Nozawa’s signal, their little group set out, off to a new ho.
Barring anything unexpected—like the mountain fog coming back—he’d probably never return again.
After they’d gone a ways, he looked back and saw the villagers still watching them leave. He waved once more, then looked toward Ise Mountain.
He’d co to this strange era from there, and now he was finally heading away. He might go further and further, until he was wholly rooted in this age and left his own mark. He had no idea what the future held.
But one thing never changed: no matter how rough or miserable things got, he’d fight to live—and not just survive, but live well. Live happily and freely.
Yes, no matter what, he’d do his very best to live on, and to live well, to chase the aning of his own life!
"Hey, do you really like this crummy little village that much?" Ah Man was walking beside him, saw him looking back with shining eyes and a complex expression, and felt it was strange. She couldn’t help but get chatty again: "What’s so good about this crummy village anyway? You’re acting all sentintal—what, you want to squat by a chamber pot like a dung beetle and recite poetry or sothing?"
Nozawa went quiet for a mont. He didn’t recite any poetry—literary talent wasn’t his thing, and his feelings about leaving and the future were instantly wrecked by her nonsense—Can you please stop talking about poop all the ti? Is this really the ti for poop talk?
He slowly shifted his gaze to her, deeply regretful: "I really shouldn’t have taught you to read..."
People can’t see the future—ever since this wild kid learned to read, her language skills got sharper, and she’s picked up a whole arsenal of poop jokes. She just wouldn’t quit, drove him nuts.
Ah Man cackled and didn’t care about his complaints. She was just excited: "When we get to the new house, I want to see if there are any wild ducks around—let’s catch a few and roast them for dinner, okay?"
"Sure!"
"And how about sending those two idiot Lang Faction guys to catch so fish? The fish in the lake should be fatter than the river—they’ll taste better!"
"Sure!"
"I kind of miss bamboo shoots and spinach—should I have Ah Qing dig up so for us?"
"Sure!"
"Have you decided how to fix up the house? Bet it’s not comfortable to live in as it is."
Nozawa couldn’t take it anymore. "Would you just shut up? Do you have to talk this much while walking? Can’t you let think quietly for a minute?"
Ah Man was in a great mood—she loved running around, and moving house was a huge novelty, her first ti ever. She really wanted to talk, so she pouted: "I was just trying to plan things out with you! I’m just looking out for your future. Your brain’s not exactly the best, you know!"
"Well, I don’t need your concern, and I don’t want to plan anything with you. Just shut up. And my brain works just fine, thank you very much!"
"Such a bad attitude! You really don’t respect like you used to..."
"Then you should be soone actually worth respecting!"
Nozawa wanted to put a donkey muzzle on Ah Man to shut her up, but he couldn’t, so he just had to bicker with her the whole way. Still, after this round of noisy chatter with her, he looked at the scene around him: Ah Man bickering and shouldering the iron cannon, Ah Qing vigilant and chilly, carrying a stick with the little monkey, Tao Liulang leading the donkey and humming, Jing Qilang silent under a bow and bamboo spear, Yayoi at the back of the wagon, swinging her legs and curiously watching the scenery—plus a whole cartload of supplies. Farewell sadness was gone, replaced by excitent for the new life ahead.
It was a thousand tis better than when he’d first arrived. Back then he just had his silly son, life was brutally hard, he was anxious every day, on edge, nerves shot. But now—crew, wagon, supplies—they were set. Life at Takeshige Manor would only get better and better!
Yep, he was sure it would be a peaceful, steady, high-quality, and lucrative life—as happy as a little landlord. He truly believed it!
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