“You won’t make any profit, bringing it all the way up this mountain. Not that I don’t appreciate it, of course,” the chief of the Yusoku lineage said with a relaxed smile. Likely around the age of fifty, this man had a full beard and an air of magnanimity to him—as well as a physique so robust that it’d give Jikei a run for his money.
“Jikei here kindly gives us a discount on the cost of transportation, you see,” he then explained to Ko. “Goods cost thirty percent more for us than they do in the flats—and we have to sell our products for thirty percent less. Things effectively cost us sixty percent more than they would on the plains. The monopoly on salt has been a big help—nowadays, salt costs the same in the mountains as it does on flat land—but if you want goods transporters to carry it for you, they’ll charge a fee too.”
“I see…”
Since the monopolization system had set a universal price for salt, it received a fair share of criticism—but the fact that it now cost the same regardless of whether you were in the mountains or in a town was a godsend for those who lived in remote areas. That said, enlisting a goods transporter’s assistance incurred extra costs—and there was no real alternative for these mountain-dwelling tribes. Trekking down to a town to make purchases was laborious, and no salt traders would go out of their way to climb the mountain to peddle their excess stock—it’d cost them more than it was worth.
That in itself was a good example of how hard life in the mountains was.
“Our families have been trading with each other for generations. If it wasn’t for the wood that you sell us, we wouldn’t make a dime.” Jikei roared with laughter, then drank his last drop of tea. The chief refilled his cup for him.
“Are you disappointed to discover that you won’t make any money from us?” The chief shifted his gaze toward Ko. It felt as if he was seeing right through him, which gave Ko a fright.
“N-no… The honest truth is, I was being naive.” Ko smiled. “I’m the second-eldest, so I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet at some point. That’s why I considered offering to do business with you…”
“Why would you do business in a remote place like this? If you wanted to start trading with a new region, then why not somewhere between Ga Province and the imperial capital? It’d have to be somewhere wealthy if you wanted to peddle silk. Either that, or you could turn to foreign trade.”
“You know the flats well, don’t you?” Ko said.
“All I know is what Jikei has told me. We’re so grateful that he imparts his knowledge to us, being as ill-informed about the world as we people are.”
He must have been being modest as it was highly doubtful that the chief actually knew that little about the world around him. He was perhaps referring to other members of the tribe who were less worldly.
Ko said nothing.
If they were ignorant of the world around them, then they wouldn’t know how pointless staging a rebellion right now would be. Still, doing such a thing to members of such a wise chief’s tribe would be unforgivable.
After a pause, Ko spoke again. “Have you never considered living down in the flats? With all due respect, I think you’d have a much easier life there.”
Ko’s words brought a smile to the chief’s face.
“It is true that the flats are more affluent—but I can’t imagine us earning a livelihood there and living harmoniously with the local people. Life down in the flats can be grueling in its own way,” the chief explained.
Ko nodded. “You’re not wrong about that.”
Not everyone who lived on flat land was well-off. There were still some who never knew where their next meal would come from.
“That said, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of people leaving the mountains—especially from the younger generations. Some of them successfully manage to blend in and build a good life for themselves, and they invite members of their tribes to follow suit. That isn’t just the case for the Yusoku tribe, but for others as well. One day, there might be nobody left up here at all,” said the chief. He sounded appalled by the possibility.
“Is that right…?” responded Ko.
“How are things going for the Yukyu and Yukei tribes as of late?” asked Jikei, inquiring about two other tribes in the Northern Mountains.
“Not much has changed. The Yukei tribe have skilled woodworkers among their ranks, so their bowls and pots appear to have been selling for a good price. As for the Yukyu tribe, they had a quarrel with the Yuji tribe in the spring, so who knows what will become of that.”
“A quarrel?”
“About who owned which part of a burnt field.” The chief then turned to Ko to provide him with some more context. “In the spring, we set fire to the mountains to create ash. We then sell that ash to the ash sellers. Good ash is used as color fixative for dye, or for removing astringency from hemp. Ash is lighter than charcoal, which is why people prefer it.”
“Territory disputes are always a struggle—whether they’re about how much land comes with a property or about who owns which part of a paddy field.”
“That’s right. It’s a real burden.”
“What happens when tribes get into a dispute?” asked Ko. “Do they go to battle against one another?”
“Nowadays, they don’t use armed force so much… With all of the tribes dwindling in number, they can’t afford to lose any of their workforce. Instead, they discuss things in a civil manner. Most of the time, the chiefs of the other tribes stage an intervention and aid in negotiations. If that doesn’t clear things up, then that’s when we’re in trouble.”