Chapter 39

"Good morning, sir."

"What are you doing up so early, Hako?"

"Yes, I'm gathering edible wild plants!"

Hikaru had married into the Sanjōnishi family, a ministerial household.

Her name was Hako, and though she was small, standing less than 150 centimeters tall, she was a lively and energetic young woman.

It seemed that the Sanjōnishi family had no daughters of marriageable age, so she was adopted from a poor relative and then married into the Shinchi family.

Nobunaga also had adopted a daughter from his relatives and married her off, so this was not an unusual story.

Despite growing up in a difficult environment, Hako was remarkably proactive and resilient, unlike what one might expect from a noblewoman.

She had even gone to the grasslands near Shinchi Castle early in the morning to gather edible wild plants.

"Edible wild plants?"

"Yes, I grew up in a poor family, so it's a habit."

Upon hearing this, it turned out that Hako used to collect edible wild plants whenever she had the time before she was married.

"If I didn't gather wild plants, there wouldn't be any side dishes for meals."

"Is that so..."

Hikaru thought it was unnecessary in the Shinchi household.

Moreover, Hako was Hikaru's third wife and should not be going out of the castle alone.

At the edge of Hikaru's vision, a soldier assigned to guard her was holding a basket of wild plants, looking rather dejected.

He probably hadn't expected to be helping with the gathering of wild plants.

After all, he had joined the Shinchi household to advance his career and hadn't anticipated being tasked with such a job.

"You've done well."

Hikaru thought about rewarding this soldier with some sake later.

"I've gathered quite a bit."

The wild plants included mugwort, fuki, violets, black-eyed peas, mugwort, plantain, and daylilies, all of which she had collected in large quantities.

Hako seemed to have extensive knowledge about edible wild plants.

"We have a book in our family that lists edible wild plants. It's not a family tradition, but if you don't memorize it, you can't add ingredients to the soup."

They also grew vegetables in the garden, but the quantity was insufficient, so gathering wild plants was essential.

"But they're not that delicious."

"I don't have much experience eating wild plants..."

The only time he had eaten wild plants was when he and Kyouko had tried tempura made from tara no me and fuki no to at a Japanese restaurant on the planet Gunma.

The restaurant had mentioned that the ingredients were cultivated in a hydroponic factory.

Due to their popularity, they had to be cultivated artificially to meet the demand.

Upon hearing this, both of them felt that the taste was somewhat diminished.

"Let's try them for breakfast."

"I'll help with the cooking."

The wild plants Hako had gathered were prepared in various dishes such as simmered, stir-fried, and tempura, and served at the dining table.

She also helped with the cooking, and her skills were quite impressive due to her experience.

"They're surprisingly fresh and not bitter at all."

"They seem healthy too."

Hikaru and Seikichi ate the prepared wild plants with relish.

Hikaru thought that while they were delicious as an occasional treat, he wouldn't want to eat them every day.

"Umm, it reminds me of my old home."

Seikichi's wife, Takako, ate the wild plant dishes with a somewhat awkward expression.

"Now that you're married into the Shinchi family, you don't need to go to such lengths to gather wild plants, Hako."

"It's different here in the Shinchi domain. There are plenty of vegetables, and they're all delicious. Even when cooked the same way, they taste much better here."

The large amount of oil used for tempura and the variety of seasonings, as well as the refined cooking methods, made Hako realize that the dishes were far superior to what she had prepared at home.

"Snacks are made with fresh mugwort. It has a nice aroma."

Kyouko made yomogi mochi with the leftover mugwort and served it as a snack.

"At home, even if we had mugwort, we never thought to make sweets. We just chopped it up and added it to congee."

Hako said that it was almost impossible for lower-ranking nobles to obtain sugar.

The only way to get it was to receive it from a higher-ranking noble, but even they were poor and had never tasted it.

"What about the Sanjōnishi family?"

"I was adopted and married quickly, so I don't know much, but I heard that at a renga poetry meeting, the nobles fought over who would take the sweets home."

Hikaru was speechless upon hearing about the poverty of the nobility from Hako.

"I used to gather edible wild plants too."

Takako, also from a lower-ranking noble family, mentioned that she used to gather wild plants when she was at home.

"Since we are nobles, we have to be careful about our appearance, so we go in disguise. When we go to places where wild plants are abundant, there are often other disguised noble children."

"It's common. Even if we recognize each other, we pretend not to know each other."

No matter how low-ranking, it was shameful for nobles to mix with commoners to gather wild plants, so they never spoke to each other even if they met.

"Sometimes, there are people from prestigious families, which is fine, but when it's someone from the Hachin family, it's awkward."

People from the Hachin family were gathering wild plants because they didn't have enough food.

It wasn't something they could talk about openly.

"Surely, the head of the family and his son don't gather wild plants, right?"

"Yes, they pretend it's a hobby and go fishing."

Hikaru was disheartened by Hako's response.

Nobles couldn't eat fish unless it was served as a side dish, which was rare.

"Is this really okay for nobles?"

Hikaru became a bit worried, but Hako was still a noblewoman who had received proper education.

Her level of cultivation was even higher than that of Oichi.

"Autumn pond, frog jumps in, sound of water, plop."

"No, brother, no plop! Besides, it sounds like someone else's work!"

Seikichi completely rejected the poem Hikaru had finally composed.

"Too many syllables."

"What are you going to do with an extra syllable!"

Hikaru was always like this, showing no interest in the culture of this era and refusing to learn anything.

He probably lacked the talent, and he didn't want to end up having to face his hated rival, Akechi Mitsuhide, by learning too much.

However, Seikichi wasn't particularly cultured either.

He increasingly left such matters to Takako and Hako, and the Shinchi household managed to function smoothly.

"Seikichi, you're wrong!"

"Brother, you should realize your mistake!"

That day, the two brothers were having a more intense argument than anyone had ever seen.

"Lord, please calm down."

"Shōshin, this is a matter between brothers. No one else should interfere."

"Yes, this is a fight between me and my brother. We both have principles we won't compromise on."

The retainers, who had never seen the brothers argue, were all flustered.

"If the argument escalates..."

Ikkō, who was serious, was extremely worried.

If the brothers' conflict led to a split in the Shinchi household, the stable days as a senior retainer of the Shinchi household might be lost.

"Lord, Seikichi-sama, please calm down."

"Ikkō, I am always calm. Seikichi is the one who is wrong."

"No, brother, you are the one who is wrong!"

The two continued to glare at each other, sparks flying.

"Huh? Mitsu and Kiyoshi are fighting?"

While Ikkō was trying to hold them back, Seishō brought Kyouko, who had a good sense of timing.

"Brothers fighting? What's the cause?"

"It's completely unclear..."

"I don't know either..."

Seishō and Ikkō tilted their heads, not understanding the cause of the argument.

"Kyouko-sama, please do something."

"It will be a big problem if this leads to a grudge."

"Alright, why are you fighting?"

Asked by the two, Kyouko inquired about the cause of the argument from Hikaru and Seikichi.

"Thank you for asking, as expected of my wife."

"In this matter, my sister-in-law should be on my side."

"Hmph, before family ties, I am the mainstream."

"No, I am the mainstream."

"Explain! I don't understand what you're arguing about!"

Kyouko, who didn't understand what they were arguing about, asked for a detailed explanation.

"Look, sister-in-law. The pig farming is finally on track, right? It's still small-scale, but..."

There was something they wanted to eat.

The brothers had started developing pig farming.

They didn't rush production but focused on increasing the number of pigs, considering future expansion.

They imported (smuggled) pigs from Satsuma, Ryukyu, and Ming, crossbreeding them to improve the breed.

They divided the pigs into two groups: one for mass production, which could eat anything, and another for improving meat quality, with specialized feed and breeding methods. The latter was consumed only by the Shinchi family.

They also started dairy farming and poultry farming, increasing the production of meat, milk, and eggs.

They tried raising goats, but the taste was peculiar, so they sold all of them in the market.

They also implemented a method of using ducks to eat weeds in rice paddies and started experiments with raising carp in irrigation ditches and ponds.

"So, but why are you fighting over pig farming?"

"No, sister-in-law, why did we start pig farming?"

"Um... for ramen?"

Yes, they wanted to make delicious ramen, and they needed pork for the broth and char siu.

"The pig farming is on track, and we have the bones and meat for char siu, right?"

"We also have eggs for the boiled eggs and to mix with the noodles."

"Then why are you fighting?"

Kyouko was confused.

"The noodle-making technique is already learned from soba. We've also started producing menma. We have green onions and naruto..."

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Hikaru loudly interrupted Seikichi.

"What is it, brother?"

"Naruto is not needed in ramen."

"Huh? What are you going to put in ramen if not naruto?"

"Laver."

"Brother, that's ridiculous! Laver will get soggy in the broth and won't taste good!"

"Naruto doesn't make sense! It's just something that old-school ramen shops insist on because it's been there since the beginning. Laver is soaked in the broth and then eaten with rice, wrapped in a roll. Weak!"

"What about people who don't eat ramen rice? Naruto is delicious!"

"These brothers..."

Kyouko was thoroughly exasperated.

Here were grown men arguing over what to put in ramen.

"Everyone should just put in what they like."

"If Kyouko says so..."

"Well, it's Kyouko's opinion..."

The brothers stopped arguing over the toppings, not wanting to anger Kyouko.

"It's been a while since we had ramen. What kind of ramen do you want?"

"Soy sauce!"

"Miso!"

Again, their opinions diverged.

"Huh? Ramen is soy sauce, right?"

"No, it's definitely miso!"

Just when the argument seemed to be settling down, Kyouko inadvertently reignited it.

Hikaru wanted soy sauce ramen, and Seikichi wanted miso ramen, neither willing to compromise.

"Saying that naruto is a relic of the past while insisting on soy sauce is ironic."

"Miso only tastes like miso no matter what you eat! Soy sauce is versatile, from light to rich, and it goes well with any broth, whether it's seafood, chicken, pork, or beef!"

"Miso is the same! There are many types of miso ramen! Brother, maybe you have a poor sense of taste?"

"Are you kidding me! You miso-brain!"

"You said it! You soy sauce-blood!"

"..."

Kyouko was speechless at their childish argument.

Ikkō and Seishō, unable to understand some of the terms, gave up on making a judgment.

"Let's let Kyouko decide! She'll probably say soy sauce."

"That's good! She'll probably say miso."

Hikaru and Seikichi, confident in their victory, asked Kyouko for her preference.

"Salt."

"Huh?"

"I like salt ramen."

Honest to a fault, Kyouko said she liked salt ramen.

This unexpected third option only made Hikaru and Seikichi more agitated.

"Damn! My wife likes salt..."

"Salt, the flavor that makes you think you're sophisticated when asked about your taste in food!"

"Like sprinkling salt on tempura and looking down on those who use tempura sauce."

"That's true. Like eating steak with just salt and pepper and pitying those who use steak sauce because they can only afford low-quality meat."

"Yes, salt is sinful."

"Sinful, brother."

The brothers, who had reconciled, now started provoking Kyouko, who had chosen salt.

Ikkō and Seishō, noticing Kyouko's trembling, turned pale, fearing what might happen if she exploded.

To think that their lord would be such reckless brothers.

"Taste is personal, and mocking it is unacceptable! What about ramen?"

"Any flavor is delicious!"

Kyouko's rising aura of anger made Hikaru and Seikichi immediately back down and retract their opinions.

"In the end, we made various types..."

"We need to taste them to see."

They decided to differentiate the flavors using different sauces.

They made several types of broth, including vegetable-based, seafood-based, chicken-based, and pork-based, and combined them to create the final broth.

They also made different types of noodles, with and without eggs, and in various thicknesses.

For toppings, they prepared char siu, boiled eggs, naruto, menma, laver, green onions, spinach, and pickled ginger, allowing everyone to freely combine them to make their own ramen.

Hikaru made a light chicken broth soy sauce ramen and a rich pork broth soy sauce ramen.

Seikichi made a traditional Hokkaido miso ramen and a miso pork broth ramen.

Kyouko made a salt ramen with vegetables and seafood.

While not yet on par with specialized ramen shops, Hikaru was determined to continue his research.

"You, the food is delicious."

"Wow, is it a dish from Ming?"

"Being able to eat something unique and delicious is amazing. The Shinchi family is impressive."

Oichi, Takako, and Hako also enjoyed the ramen.

"I see, the combination of broth, noodles, and toppings creates an infinite variety of dishes."

The chef, who had completed the ramen almost entirely on his own after receiving materials from Hikaru and Seikichi, was once again moved by the taste of the ramen he had tasted.

However, upon hearing from Hikaru that it could be made even more delicious, he decided to continue his research.

"I want to learn this dish and open a ramen shop in Shinchi."

"I'll come to eat, so do your best."

This chef, not a samurai, retired from the security force after years of ramen research and opened a ramen shop in Shinchi.

He was the young Iseya Denjiro, who would later be known as the founder of ramen.

"Huh? Again to Kiyosu?"

"I've heard that you fed something quite good to Mitsuhide. Oichi wrote in her letter that the ramen was delicious. I will eat both."

By Nobunaga's order, Hikaru was once again sent to Kiyosu to make ramen, this time bringing a chef who could prepare fugu.