Are there very few people on the island?
Matsumoto nodded. "There are only about a hundred households in total! There isn't even a single shop. If people need anything, they either ask someone like me who works on Nagashima, or they just have to wait for the market."
"Going to the market..." Teiichi low voice, then turned his head and asked again, "Do the merchants only come to Shoura Island when it's market day?"
"Yes, because people are used to not being able to buy things normally, so they always stock up on enough to last until the next market day."
If you're unsure and happen to be missing something, you can ask us migrant workers on Nagashima to help you buy it or exchange it with another neighbor.
Even if the vendors come on other days, they won't make much money.
Over time, vendors stopped coming to the market altogether, except when they were there for market days.
Then, because there were usually no merchants coming here, the villagers stockpiled even more.
Matsumoto explained, then looked at Teiichi.
Seeing that Teiichi seemed quite interested in going to the market, Matsumoto seemed to have thought of something and continued talking.
"You're here for... what do they call it again? Let me think... Oh, oh! Market research. You're here for market research, right?"
"Pfft--"
Upon hearing Matsumoto's outrageous guess, Teiichi couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing that Teiichi was smiling, Matsumoto was even more convinced that he was right.
To benefit other villagers on the island, and more importantly, to benefit ourselves, if someone opens a shop on the island, it will be much more convenient to buy things in the future. The key point is that even if we lose money, it won't be our own money that's lost.
So Matsumoto quickly changed his tune:
"Then you've come to the right place! Let me tell you, don't underestimate Shoura Island just because it has few people. The key is that there isn't a single shop there right now, so there's no one to compete with you!"
Moreover, many people go to Nagashima to make money. If you open a shop on the island, you can spend the money you earn on Nagashima on Shoura Island!
Look what a great deal!
"By the way, what were you selling again?"
"..."
"You don't need to worry about my affairs! How often does the market usually go?"
Matsumoto clicked his tongue twice and replied, "Once every two weeks!"
How many days until the next one?
"The most recent one... let me do the math, emm... 8 days left!"
The two chatted as they walked towards Shoura Island.
From Matsumoto, Teiichi learned a great deal about Shoura Island.
Finally, half an hour after the sun had completely set, the two arrived at the village on Shoura Island.
There weren't many people on Shoura Island to begin with; they all lived in this small village in front of us.
The village is located at the northernmost tip of Shoura Island, while Nagashima is located at the southernmost tip of Shoura Island.
Logically, it would be more convenient for the village to be located at the southernmost tip of Shoura Island.
Unfortunately, Shoura Island is mostly mountainous, with only two plains: one at the northernmost tip of the Shoura Island and the other in the Shoura Island.
The reason for not choosing the small plain in the center was to make it easier for the villagers to go out to sea to fish.
After all, in ancient times, the only options for survival were farming, hunting, and fishing.
Shoura Island is all mountains, so it's impossible to farm; and a small island can't support too many people to make a living by hunting; so most of the island's residents make a living by fishing.
In this era, Japan has gradually integrated into the global development trajectory, creating many more job opportunities.
Otherwise, if Teiichi had been on his way here today, he probably wouldn't have seen a single person.
As we walked through the village with Matsumoto Kenichi, villagers would occasionally greet him and ask about our situation, to which Matsumoto Kenichi Matsumoto Kenichi respond and explain.
As the two walked to the middle of the village, they glanced at a house not far away that was clearly much better than the other houses, Teiichi turned to Matsumoto Kenichi question.
"Whose house is this nice?"
Matsumoto Kenichi looked in the direction that Teiichi.
"Oh, this is our village chief's house!"
Hearing Matsumoto's explanation, Teiichi and didn't ask any further questions.
Isn't it normal for the village chief to be wealthier than other villagers?
I just don't know if he became village chief because he was rich, or if he became rich because he was village chief!
Matsumoto continued, introducing the village chief to Teiichi, "The village chief is a very nice person. If you have any problems later, you can go to the village chief!"
At this point, Matsumoto paused for a moment before continuing, "Unfortunately, his son is a terrible person."
He's alright with us villagers; we don't dare bully us too much, since we're all from the same village. But as for outsiders, especially the vendors who come to the market, there aren't many who haven't been bullied by him!
"For this reason, it used to be common for vendors and village chiefs to call people home for dinner as an apology after the market ended!"
"However, many people were probably bullied terribly, and even the village chief's apology was useless; they stopped coming to our village for the market after that!"
"Anyway, if you encounter the village chief's son later, be careful!"
Teiichi asked, "His son is like this, doesn't he care?"
"Of course we care! How could we not care!" Matsumoto replied, then began to explain in detail.
"But the village chief has a good personality and isn't a strict father! And even if he were, his parents and wife are all dead now, leaving only him and his son to depend on each other. Could he really be so heartless as to discipline them?"
The two chatted all the way to the Matsumoto residence.
The Matsumoto family home is a single-story wooden building, but it occupies a decent amount of space and appears to have five or six rooms from the outside.
Matsumoto pushed open the door and shouted, "I'm home!"
"Welcome home!" The voice came from the kitchen even before anyone arrived.
A woman in her early thirties, dressed in plain clothes, came out.
The smile that had been on his face vanished when he saw Teiichi, and he looked at Matsumoto and asked, " Kenichi, who is this?"
Matsumoto Kenichi explained, "This is our guest. He's here to investigate the market in our village and will be staying at our house for 100 yen a day!"
When she heard that she would be staying at their house, the corners of Mrs. Matsumoto's mouth had already turned down slightly, but when she heard that it would cost 100 sen a day, her lips quickly curved upwards again.
"Ah! So you're a guest! Please come in! Please come in!"
Matsumoto also turned to Teiichi and said, " Mr. Kato, please come in! Please come in!"
"Excuse me!"
Matsumoto pointed to a room further inside and said to his wife, " Keiko, quickly put the bedding and other things in there!"
Keiko nodded, turned around and went into a room to get a quilt, then went into the room Matsumoto had pointed to earlier.
After waiting for a while, Teiichi saw the woman come out and reached into his pocket.
"This is the room rate for the next 8 days. I'll stay until the market day. If I still need a place to stay after that, we'll see."
Seeing how generous the boy was, the two of them grinned even wider.
"Okay! Okay! Please feel free to stay here, and let us know if you need anything!"
After thanking the Matsumoto couple, Teiichi went into the room.