Chapter 87: Weapons from The East

After Wang Qinian disappeared from the two men’s sight, a young shop assistant immediately came forward to wait for their orders. When this new young man reached them, James Potter had already calmed his overly excited expression. He still wore a sunny smile as he asked, “I never thought the boss had such good items hidden away!”

“That is because those goods are expensive and there are fewer people interested in them. Generally, such items are displayed outside for about a month, and then they are stored in the warehouse. They are only brought out again during their next display cycle or when a customer specifically asks for them,” the young shop assistant who had taken over the boss’s duties explained.

As he said, the items usually displayed outside were mostly popular ones that were not too expensive. Goods like silk and spices were the best-selling parts, forming the daily profit point of the import shop. As for those expensive imported goods, except for some that were ordered by customers, they were basically stored away after the display period.

First, it served as a showpiece to build the shop’s reputation after it gained fame. Second, if someone really wanted one, it would be a huge deal that could keep the shop busy for three years without opening its doors for the rest of the time. Of course, such goods could not be kept outside for a long time. Although the district where the shop was located had good security and two well-trained big men guarded the door, one should not only fear thieves stealing but also thieves watching. Besides, if the items were damaged by bumping into things while left outside, it would be a huge loss.

It was precisely because of his own understanding and insights into business that James Potter could hold his own place among the young generation of Karada. However, as the saying goes, different trades are as different as different mountains. While he felt strange about this business model of the import shop, he also became interested in it. He asked casually, “I say! If these items are not displayed, then what we usually buy, besides the relatively cheap ones, are all items from the display period. And this is not good for your sales either.”

The young man gave the answer he knew at just the right moment: “I am not too clear about this. I suppose the boss must have his own channels. Every time we count the inventory at the end of the month, we occasionally find a few unsold items missing from the stock that were not displayed. But what exactly happened, I guess only the boss and the young boss know.”

James Potter was very satisfied with this answer. Meanwhile, George, who had been watching all this while doing nothing, also highly approved of the young shop assistant’s performance. His words were detailed and practical, answering the customer’s doubts without revealing any secrets of the shop. Even more valuable was that he added no personal opinions or emotions to his words. To train an ordinary shop assistant to this level, even if the person had good understanding, it showed that Wang Qinian himself must have extraordinary methods.

George had already guessed about Wang Qinian’s extra sales channels, almost correctly. Wasn’t it just a different kind of door-to-door sales? Only real good items could fetch high prices when they reached the right people. Wang Qinian probably had his own intelligence network to learn about the hobbies of many high officials and rich people. After all, this was not secret information, just a matter of spending a little time and effort. Then, by treating the symptoms according to the information obtained, achieving those goals was not difficult. However, from the shop assistant’s words, it could be inferred that such a plan, from preparation to implementation and finally completion, must have taken quite a lot of time.

Thanks to his experiences from two lives, especially his travels in the commercially developed world before he transmigrated, George was able to understand the key points relatively easily. James Potter, on the other hand, was indeed a top business talent among the young generation of Karada. With just his own intelligence, he had also figured out a general direction. However, George and his relationship was probably not even that of friends, so there was no obligation for him to guide the other. Besides, even if their relationship was good, George would not be so foolish as to reveal the other’s business secrets in his own shop. Would that not make things uncomfortable for both sides?

“I say, does this young man have any interest in joining our ‘Karada’ Merchant Guild? We welcome talents like you with open arms.” Perhaps out of a strong desire to hire talent or for some other reason, James Potter actually tried to poach the employee right there in the shop.

Hearing this sentence, the young man’s face stiffened, and an awkward expression immediately appeared on his face. Fortunately, at this moment, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs inside the shop. Like sensing a savior had arrived, the young man’s expression began to return to normal.

“I say, why are you two standing there? Come over and see if this item suits your taste.” The distinctive voice of the shop owner, Wang Qinian, came from the counter again.

The young man quickly made a welcoming gesture with his hand and then slowly stepped back. However, George, who had sharp senses, could still feel the young man’s emotion of wanting to grow two more legs and leave James Potter as soon as possible. Perhaps he misunderstood something because of James Potter’s recent behavior.

Walking past the tables and cabinets displaying goods inside the shop, George and James Potter together came to the front of the counter. It seemed that due to the special Feng Shui concept of “curves have feelings” from The East, the aisles inside the shop had become winding under the arrangement of the chairs. However, George, who had not studied much about this, could not understand what kind of Feng Shui formation this was. Other customers probably took this as a special feature or a gimmick of ‘Fuli Anqiong’.

Facing the object covered with yellow cloth on the counter, James Potter sent a questioning look.

“You must keep your eyes wide open.” Saying this, Wang Qinian suddenly pulled off the yellow cloth, exposing the item underneath to everyone’s eyes.

This was a Japanese sword or samurai sword placed on a red wooden stand. Judging from its length and shape, it could be concluded that this was a Tachi. The wooden scabbard, painted black, had silver-white green bamboo patterns drawn on it. This decorative scabbard made as lacquerware had bright and harmonious colors, looking even more brilliant under the light inside the shop. Perhaps because it was an export item, the sword did not have a removable tsuba (guard), but other accessories like the kogai (needle case), ojime (bead), kashira (pommel), and tsuba were all complete.

For James Potter who was about to reach out, Wang Qinian asked, “Does anyone here know how to appreciate this Tachi?”

Seeing the other’s hand stop halfway, George pretended to volunteer to save the situation: “Since it’s the first time, let me demonstrate for Mr. Potter. Such collectibles, if not handled carefully, can easily get scratched. Of course, if Mr. Potter intends to take it back as a weapon, then there are not so many rules.”

Realizing that the other was helping him out, James Potter immediately made a gesture asking him to go first, and then took the opportunity to say, “Then I trouble you, Lord! It is just right for me to learn. Otherwise, if I make a fool of myself in front of customers after buying it back, it would not be good.”

“Then I will not be polite.” Saying this, George extended his right hand, grasped the scabbard, and took it off the wooden stand. Feeling the round and smooth texture of the scabbard in his hand, George thought to himself, ‘This is probably an export sword sold to the Flying Dragon Empire. Neither the common samurai in Xiao Ying nor the general samurai in Yamato could use such a scabbard. As for the swords of upper-class samurai, I do not believe that Wang Qinian and his partner in The East could get such goods.’

The Flying Dragon Empire in this world could also be considered commercially developed, and the scholars and artists there seemed to also like to carry some weapons. Compared to the batch of battlefield killers produced locally, those who were naturally romantic preferred these light weapons from the island country in the East that were good at dealing with lightly armored or unarmored targets. Just like the Song Dynasty before George transmigrated, Japanese swords were indeed a major import commodity.

Then, switching hands, George held the scabbard tightly with his left hand, with the scabbard bottom facing forward; his right hand held the hilt, with the blade edge facing the direction of the right palm’s tiger’s mouth. The flexible tsuka-ito (handle wrap) made of tanned leather on the hilt, and the ito (wrapping) made of sharkskin with a smooth surface but covered with protruding fine stone particles, gave George a comfortable grip. The silver menuki (handle ornament) sandwiched between the two was shaped like a Qilin, with smooth, lively, and vivid lines.

George took a small step back to give his arms enough space to stretch. Keeping the blade edge upward, he first gently pulled out a small section of the blade to confirm if the blade was stuck in the scabbard. Then, in one breath and at a slow speed, he pulled the blade out completely to the tip (kissaki). Finally, he supported the kissaki on the kurikata (the opening of the scabbard), and then slowly moved the blade away from the scabbard.

After drawing the sword, George first put the scabbard back on the wooden stand and began to observe this sharp weapon that emitted a cold light. The tsuba (guard) part was also made of Brass. However, this part seemed to be designed by the craftsman to focus on practicality, so only some flowing cloud patterns were embossed on the tsuba, without the hollow carving methods that George had seen before he transmigrated.

Shifting his attention to the blade, overall, the sword’s posture was balanced, and the curvature (sori) was carved extremely well. The part near the back of the blade was thicker, gradually becoming thinner downwards, and the transition of the shinogi (ridge) and habaki (collar) was natural. The blade surface was bright like a mirror, the hamon (temper line) looked like chaotic knife marks, and the hada (grain) lines were mostly curved like lightning bolts. Although no test cut was made, just by looking at it, it was completely sufficient as a beautiful work of art.

Then George retracted the blade back into the scabbard and handed this Tachi to James Potter, saying, “When appreciating, try not to speak as much as possible. Otherwise, after each appreciation, the sword needs to be cleaned and maintained. Also, to prevent scratching the blade or the inside of the scabbard, press the back of the blade against the edge of the scabbard when drawing.”

The other took the Tachi from George’s hand and, following the example, began to appreciate this craft in a certain sense.