This is a girl with a very petite figure... or to be more precise, in Ogata's eyes, a very petite figure.
According to Ogata's visual estimation, the girl was about 1.43 meters tall.
This height was considered normal in Japan during the Edo period.
She was wearing a loose black robe with a hood, which was quite rare in this era. The black robe was wide enough to wrap up the girl's body.
She was very young, probably only around 15 years old. Although in the eyes of people of this era, a 15-year-old girl was already an adult woman, for Ogata, who had not completely gotten rid of the age and ethical concepts of his previous life, a girl of this age was still a proper young girl.
She can be described as cute in appearance, with pretty facial features and fair skin. She is the kind of girl who will be praised as "very beautiful" no matter who evaluates her.
At this moment, the girl was huddled in a corner of the cabin, holding a pipa that was almost half her height, and playing music.
Ogata knew nothing about music, so he had no idea what song the girl was playing, nor could he tell how good she was. He only knew that the girl played very well.
Judging from the reactions of the other stowaways in the cabin, Ogata was not alone. Many people present had the same idea.
Almost everyone was attracted by the girl's piano playing.
Although no one knew why the girl suddenly started playing the piano, they all remained silent and listened attentively.
The girl played for only a short while.
Only about half a minute later, the girl stopped plucking the strings, and then -
"Does anyone want to buy some straw sandals?"
The girl put down the pipa in her arms at lightning speed, then moved a large cloth bag beside her to the front and untied it.
Inside the cloth bag, there were straw sandals piled up like a small mountain.
"If anyone wants to buy straw sandals, then you need to come and take a look!"
The girl grabbed a straw sandal, grasped the left and right corners of the sandal with both hands, and then pulled hard.
"Look! I pulled the sandals so hard, but they are still intact!"
"Such good quality straw sandals for only 10 cents!"
The girl held the straw sandals in her hands high up, as if she was holding some treasure.
Ogata's expression right now... can be described as dumbfounded...
Just now she looked like a fairy playing the pipa.
In the blink of an eye, he put down his pipa, held up his straw sandals and started to sell them, turning himself into a straw sandal merchant.
From a fairy to a straw sandal merchant - the girl's "role change" was so fast that Ogata was dumbfounded.
——So what was that performance just now about? Was it just to draw our attention there?
Just as Ogata was silently complaining in his heart, the girl put down the straw sandals in her hands.
"If you don't need straw sandals, I have another good thing here..."
The girl said as she picked up another package that was placed beside her.
But suddenly—the door of the cabin was flung open.
A ferocious-looking young warrior with a sword on his waist strode into the cabin.
They are the "security guards" responsible for protecting the safety of the ship. Ogata guessed that they were probably hired ronin.
What is most in short supply these days is ronin. As long as you can afford the money, there are many ronin who are willing to serve you like a slave.
After boarding the ship, Ogata counted the number of guards, a total of 8 people. This number was more than enough to guard a ship carrying more than 30 illegal immigrants.
"Were you playing the pipa and selling straw sandals just now?" The guard turned his gaze to the girl after entering the cabin. "Don't you know the rules of this ship? You are not allowed to make loud noises while on the ship, and hawking goods like you are is strictly prohibited."
“Is there such a rule?” The girl opened her eyes wide in confusion.
"Well now you know."
"Why can't we sell goods?" The girl seemed unconvinced and started arguing with the guard.
"Because once someone like you was hawking goods in the cabin, and he had a disagreement with a guest on the price of the goods. In the end, the two of them fought and the merchant was almost beaten to death." The guard said seriously, "People like you who hawk goods in the cabin are not only noisy, but also easy to cause trouble. Therefore, this kind of hawking of goods has been strictly prohibited since then."
"We have just left the shore for a short time. If you still want to take a boat, you must obey our regulations."
"Otherwise, we'll turn around and return to shore right now and put you back on shore."
"Yes..." Although there was still an indignant look on her face, the girl gave in and obediently put the big cloth bag that she had just claimed was a "good thing" but had not yet opened back to her side, and then rewrapped the cloth bag containing a large number of straw sandals.
"Really... I guess we'll have to have Shirotaro and his team explain the rules of the ship to those who want to board before bringing them on board."
After muttering these words with an unhappy look on his face, the guard quickly walked out of the cabin and closed the door.
The girl followed the guard's instructions and followed the rules of "no selling of goods" and "no making noise" and huddled in a corner of the cabin, no longer playing the piano or shouting out sales.
And after the guards left, no one went to the girl to buy straw sandals.
Everyone was doing their own thing, returning to the state they were in before the girl started playing the piano - including Ogata and Atachi.
Ogata and the others' shoes are still in good condition and there is no need to buy new ones.
"What a... girl with a strong personality..." Ating thought for a long time and could only describe the girl as "strong personality". "Just now, when I saw her put down her zither and pick up straw sandals to sell, I was stunned..."
"To be honest, her method of using the sound of the piano to attract people's attention is quite clever." Ogata smiled, "Just now she attracted the attention of everyone in the cabin. It's a pity that no one wants to buy shoes."
Ogata regarded the girl's behavior just now as a small episode in a long journey.
After the girl obediently followed the ship's rules and behaved herself, Osamu no longer focused his attention on her.
When the ship first set sail, the waves were huge and the ship was shaking violently. Ating, who had no resistance to "wind and waves", was so uncomfortable that she couldn't even sit up.
In the 21st century, modern ships are rocked by the waves in the sea, let alone these 18th century wooden ships.
Nearly half of the people in the cabin developed varying degrees of seasickness symptoms after the ship sailed out of the coast.
Some people suffer from seasickness even more severely than Atsumi, and are transformed into "reverse jet fighters".
Fortunately, there were quite a few wooden basins in the cabin.
Dingjiangwu, which helped people smuggle across the border, probably also suffered a lot from the problem of "passengers getting seasick".
Therefore, the cabin where Ogata and his companions lived was equipped with a number of wooden basins, and before the ship set sail, they were specifically told that if anyone wanted to vomit, they could vomit in these wooden basins.
Thanks to these wooden basins, the cabin did not become dirty, but there was a strange smell in the air.
It was not until the ship reached calmer waters that the seasickness symptoms of everyone, including Ating, improved a little.
At this time, it was exactly noon.
"Ating, eat something." Ogata helped Ating up and let him sit against a wall, then opened the package of dry food, "What do you want to eat..."
"Just give me half a piece of jerky..." Ating replied weakly.
The dried meat that Ogata and his companions are carrying now is the high-quality dried meat that Chanup and others gave them before they left the Red Moon Fortress.
These dried meats are made using the Ainu people's special techniques. They are not only delicious but also have a very long shelf life, making them particularly suitable as dry food for long-distance travel.
Ogata grabbed a piece of dried meat as long as his palm and was about to twist it in half -
"Um?"
Ogata raised an eyebrow and turned to look behind him.
Just now, he suddenly felt as if someone was looking at him from behind.
Ogata turned his head and stared behind him, only to see that the person who was looking at him lowered his head in a hurry after noticing that Ogata had turned his head.
——Why was this kid looking at me just now?
Ogata asked puzzled questions in his mind.
The owner of this sight was the business genius who had just used the pipa to help sell straw sandals.
The girl is no more than 15 years old, and Ogata is already 22 years old. Calling the girl "that child" is barely in line with the age difference between the two.
Ogata didn't think much about it, he just thought that the girl might be too bored, so she looked around.
But just as Ogata turned his head back, he felt a gaze coming from behind him, so he turned his head again and looked behind him, and then saw the girl who hurriedly lowered her head.
This time, Ogata discovered that not long after the girl lowered her head, she kept stealing glances at Ogata with longing eyes...at the dried meat in her hand.
Ating, whose face happened to be facing the girl, also noticed the girl's current actions at this time.
"Does this girl want to eat our jerky?" A-machi asked in a low voice that only she and Ogata could hear.
"Probably..." Ogata looked around and found that at this time, everyone else took out the dry food they brought with them and started to eat, but this girl was the only one who didn't move at all. She still sat there without taking out any food.
Gu...
At this moment, an untimely "gurgling" sound came from the girl's belly.
The sound was not loud.
But... it happened to be heard by Ogata and the other two who were sitting not far from the girl.
As soon as the protesting sound of her stomach was made, the girl quickly raised her hands and covered her stomach tightly. Then, she buried her head with her chin almost touching her chest, as if she was afraid to look at people. Her cheeks and ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After the girl's stomach rumbled, Ogata and Atachi turned their eyes away at the same time in tacit understanding, no longer looking at the girl, to save her some face.
"...Should we send some food to that girl?" A-Ming suggested.
"...No." Ogata shook his head. "If I give her food like this, it might be seen as a gift from a poor girl, and it might hurt her self-esteem."
After saying that, Ogata pondered for a moment.
Then he tore the dried meat in his palm into two halves and handed one half to Ah Ting: "You eat first. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, Ogata put the remaining half piece of dried meat in his hand back into the cloth bag containing food, then took out several new pieces of dried meat and other dry food from the bag, wrapped them all with a small piece of cloth and put them in his arms.
After doing all this, Ogata strode towards the girl.
"Excuse me, can you let me see your straw sandals?" Ogata asked.
"Huh?" The girl raised her head and looked at Ogata.
Perhaps because she didn't expect someone would come to her to buy straw sandals, the girl's eyes were full of surprise.
The girl, with a blush on her face due to shame, stared at Ogata blankly for a while before answering with a look of surprise:
"sure!"
The girl opened the cloth bag containing the straw sandals again.
"10 cents a pair. You can try them. The quality of my straw sandals is very good."
Ogata picked up a pair of straw sandals and pulled them gently - the quality was indeed quite good.
"Did you make these straw sandals yourself?" Ogata asked.
"Yes." The girl nodded. "Every pair of straw sandals here are woven by me. How is it? The quality is very good, right?"
"Yeah. The quality is indeed good. But——"
Ogata suddenly changed the subject.
"I don't have much money."
"Eh?" The girl's eyes showed surprise, but she quickly suppressed it and said, "Then I can sell it to you at a lower price, 8 cents a pair..."
Before the girl finished her words, Osamu reached into her arms and took out the food that she had just wrapped in a clean cloth.
"These are all I have left. Can I use these instead of money?"
"Huh?" The girl's eyes showed surprise again.
But as soon as this look of surprise appeared, it quickly turned into a fiery look.
She looked at the dry food in Ogata's hand with fiery eyes, and looked as if she would pounce on him at any time and hold the dry food tightly in her arms.
Ogata then added:
"I plan to buy two pairs of straw sandals for my wife and me. Can these dry food be used in exchange?"
"Of course!" The girl said quickly, as if she was afraid that Ogata would change his words, "Forget about 4 pairs. The food you have is probably enough to buy 6 pairs of shoes."
"Then I'll take 6 pairs."
The girl nodded hurriedly.
Ogata handed the small package of food to the girl and said, "Can you let me find the right straw sandals myself?"
"sure."
Ogata pushed aside the "mountain of straw sandals" and began to look for shoes that would fit him and Atachi.
How big is Atachi's feet? After establishing a relationship with Atachi, Ogata found out clearly through various means.
Ogata's shoe size is about 42 in modern terms, while Atachi's is about 34.
Just as Ogata was carefully searching for straw sandals that would fit him and Atachi, the girl was holding the bag of food as if it were some treasure.
He looked at the food in his arms, then looked at Ogata in front of him.
After switching his gaze back and forth between Ogata and the food several times——
"Sir. Thank you for your patronage."
"It's been a while since I've met a customer like you who bought so many shoes in one go."
"To show my gratitude, I'll give you something!"
After she finished speaking, the girl took the food in her arms aside, and then picked up another package that was much smaller than the cloth bag containing the straw sandals.
Ogata had an impression of this package - after the girl had sold her straw sandals, she claimed that she had another "good thing" and then picked up a package.
Later, because the guard arrived too timely, the girl was unable to open the package in time, and the true appearance under the package was not revealed.
The package in front of Ogata now is the "good stuff" that the girl claimed before.
"Sir, are you interested in self-defense?"
"Self-defense techniques?" Ogata cast a puzzled look at the girl, and the girl opened the package - inside was a bunch of books with blank covers.
"To be honest, my family has a special self-defense technique that has been passed down from generation to generation."
"This self-defense technique has only one move: using strength. Although it only has one move, it is extremely powerful and is an excellent self-defense technique."
"These books are the 'Yun Jin' practice methods that I made myself."
"The content is simple and easy to read. Many people have a rough grasp of 'Yun Jin' just by reading this book I wrote."
Ogata had been in a state of shock from the beginning - after changing from a "fairy" to a "straw sandal merchant", this girl transformed herself again and became a "martial arts secrets merchant".
The girl's identity changed so quickly that Ogata didn't know how to react for a moment.
Looking at Ogata's stunned face, the girl mistakenly thought that Ogata didn't believe what she just said, so she added hurriedly:
"I'm not that kind of liar."
"Both the book and I are real people."
Having said this, the girl rolled up the sleeve of her right arm.
After the girl rolled up the sleeve of her right arm, Ogata was surprised to find that the girl's arm was quite muscular and she was not the kind of person with weak limbs.
"Let me show you how to use your strength."
After saying that, the girl took a deep breath and then stared straight ahead.
The girl at this moment was completely different from her nonsensical look just now.
The girl stared straight ahead, then slowly raised her right hand and clenched her palm into a fist.
Ogata carefully discovered that the muscles in the girl's arms were moving with a strange rhythm and amplitude.
The girl seemed to be accumulating strength, and the rhythm and amplitude of her muscles vibrating became faster and faster.
at last--
The girl punched the air in front of her.
Bang!
A sound of breaking wind was heard, which was unlike anything a girl of her size could produce.
Before Ogata could express any feelings about the girl's punch, he suddenly heard a system sound in his mind that he hadn't heard for a long time.
[Ding! Successfully browsed all the martial arts of the unarmed combat technique "Iga-ryu forbidden technique"]
[Successfully extracted the unarmed combat technique - "Iga-ryu forbidden technique"]
[Detect all martial arts styles currently learned by the host...]
[The host has not yet learned other unarmed combat skills]
[After learning the "Iga-ryu Forbidden Technique", you can gain personal experience points and martial arts experience points by defeating and killing enemies with this martial art]
[The host can spend 1 skill point to unlock the unarmed combat skill - "Iga-ryu forbidden technique"]
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