So How Exactly Did He Do It?

A family that had lived in poverty suddenly saw the man of the house return from work one afternoon with a huge sack of rice—several pounds of it. Add a few wild vegetables, and it was enough to give the whole family two hearty meals.

The key was that this could keep going.

The next day, the man went to work again, and when he came home, he even brought half a roast chicken.

On the third day, it was several more pounds of rice...

The fourth day...

The fifth...

Anyone with eyes could see what was happening.

So the question was: why didn't I have that?

When they asked around, they learned that workers were being hired at Wetland Bridge. They were paid daily, settled up at the end of each day, and as long as they worked hard, they wouldn't be shortchanged.

How many ordinary people had ever seen an opportunity like that?

In the past, jobs like this were always assigned to the ninja. They had nothing to do with ordinary people like them.

All they could do was visit the fields every day, then sit around staring into space.

Yes, staring into space, because there was no work.

Or rather, there was no work suited to ordinary people like them.

They dreamed of having a ninja in the family. It would be dangerous, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing.

Now, though, they had another possibility.

Ordinary people might also be able to change their own lives.

As a result, the number of people who went to watch the work at Wetland Bridge grew every day, eventually drawing the attention of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.

"How did you do it?" Hashirama finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked Yuya as they ate.

"What?" Yuya asked, puzzled. He didn't understand what Hashirama was talking about.

"I mean, over at Wetland Bridge. How did you manage to... get so many ordinary people to benefit? I looked into it and found that at least a thousand people had seen their lives improve because of the bridge's construction."

Hashirama looked at Yuya and asked, "I want to know how you did it, or rather...

Did you just happen to make so many people wealthy with so little money, or did you know from the start that this would happen?"

Hearing Hashirama's question, Yuya understood.

How should he put it? For ninja who had never received any systematic education in economics, even a basic economic question like this could be hard to figure out.

Yuya thought it over, then picked up his cup, his bowl, and two pairs of chopsticks. "Sensei, look. Right now, there's a bowl of rice in my bowl. If I divide it evenly between this cup and this plate, the total amount of rice doesn't change, right?

"And if I keep dividing the rice in this cup among other cups, and the rice on this plate among other plates, does the money involved keep shrinking or keep growing?"

Hashirama answered, "Naturally, it keeps shrinking."

Yuya nodded. "Right. According to the theory of distribution, that's true. But there's something you haven't considered, Sensei."

Hashirama blinked.

Yuya continued, "As the money moves from one cup to another, it's not just being distributed. It's also creating value."

A flash of insight crossed Hashirama's mind, but he couldn't grasp it. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he frowned. "Creating value?"

Yuya nodded. "Exactly. Take the construction of Wetland Bridge. A worker puts in a day's work and gets paid his wages. Of course, that reduces the fixed pool of money. But in return, isn't part of the bridge completed? That's the value he created.

"And the same principle applies when he takes his wages to a clothing shop and buys a shirt, giving the money to the shopkeeper. In theory, the money has been passed to someone else, and the worker has none left. But the shirt in his hands represents the money he spent, so the money hasn't vanished into thin air. It's been transformed into the value created by the shopkeeper.

"And the clothes the shopkeeper made, exchanged for money, represent the value he created in return for income.

"The shopkeeper doesn't just hold on to the money, either. He has to buy food and materials to make clothes. So tell me, Sensei:

"How much money has been spent over the course of this whole process?"

Hashirama was dumbfounded.

Mito couldn't help laughing. She put a chicken drumstick in Yuya's bowl. "All right, all right. Your sensei doesn't understand any of this. What's the point of explaining it to him?"

Yuya tilted his head, then nodded. "I suppose you're right."

Hashirama angrily ate two big bowls of rice.

That night, Mito had her arms around Hashirama and was on the verge of falling asleep when he started mumbling, "The wages are only a little, so how can they buy so much food, buy clothes, and build a whole bridge?"

Mito's sleepiness vanished. With a deadpan stare, she looked up at Hashirama, who was lost in thought.

"Mito, do you know why?" Hashirama's eyes brimmed with curiosity.

Mito's expression didn't change. "I don't know, and I don't want to know. All I know is that I'm tired. If you don't go to sleep right now, I'll throw you outside."

Hashirama: "..."

The next day, at the Hokage Office:

"...So, Tobirama, do you understand now? The wages paid to this worker were only a little, but they created wealth worth far more than that." Hashirama looked at his little brother with a solemn expression.

Tobirama's face was expressionless. "You didn't figure this out yourself. You're not smart enough."

Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly. "Aw, you found me out."

Tobirama gave a cold snort, then lowered his head and returned to his paperwork.

Hashirama wasn't satisfied. He leaned over and quietly asked Tobirama, "So, Tobirama, do you know why paying out just one sum of money ended up creating so much value?"

Tobirama glanced at Hashirama and snorted. "Of course I know. But I'm busy right now and don't have time to waste on you."

Hashirama pouted. "You're no fun. No fun at all."

Hashirama left. After he was gone, Tobirama furrowed his brow. "It's true, the money stays the same as it circulates. But why does the value created keep increasing?

"And, in theory, could it really go on forever?"

Tobirama felt a chill at the roots of his teeth. Suddenly, he realized that his nephew...

Aside from being a little slow at learning ninjutsu, his unusual way of thinking...

Might bring great benefits to Konoha.

At the very least...

If he could make this system work, then creating the greatest value with the least amount of money would be exactly the kind of government he'd always wanted.

The key question was...

How exactly did it work?