My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 406: Chapter 150: Shiwei Hall Is Thriving!

"...Since we’ve mentioned Shiwei Hall... now’s a rare opportunity. Master, Asheng, regarding the current operations of Shiwei Hall, I have some opinions I’d like to share. Are you interested in hearing them now?"

"Hmm?" Kondo glanced sideways at Hijikata, "Opinions? What opinions?"

Hijikata placed the chopsticks from his right hand back onto the dining table and cleared his throat: "I recently came up with a new idea on how to further expand our Shiwei Hall."

"Oh?" Zhouzhu’s eyes sparked with interest, he looked directly at Hijikata, gesturing for him to continue.

The others at the banquet, including Aoto, also paused their activities, directing curious and puzzled gazes towards Hijikata.

Everyone was watching him, but Hijikata showed no signs of stage fright. He popped a peanut into his mouth and calmly said:

"I’ll get straight to the point."

"We should try to entice some moderately famous samurai to become disciples or guests of Shiwei Hall."

Hijikata’s words left the people at the banquet puzzled.

"Asui." Kondo put down his bowl and chopsticks, turned towards Hijikata, his face full of confusion, "What do you mean by this? Why should we try to make moderately famous samurai our disciples or guests?"

Hijikata, seemingly having anticipated Kondo’s question, folded his arms across his chest, showing a confident demeanor.

"This is an inspiration I stumbled upon recently."

"Just a few days ago, out of boredom, I chatted with a few newcomers in the hall."

"During my chat with these newcomers, I learned from them that they were drawn here to learn swordsmanship because of Tachibana’s name."

Speaking to this point, Hijikata turned his gaze to Aoto.

"Tachibana is now a celebrity in Edo, and I had expected that some people would come to Shiwei Hall because of Aoto’s reputation."

"But after chatting with those newcomers, I realized that this group of people was far more numerous than I had previously expected."

"So, out of sheer curiosity, I conducted a serious investigation to see just how many people came to Shiwei Hall because of Aoto."

"The results surprised me: a significant portion of people decided to come to Shiwei Hall to learn swordsmanship after hearing that the newly renowned ’Little Tengu of the North Guard Station,’ had studied here."

"Upon discovering this fact, a new inspiration appeared in my mind."

"A Sword Dojo with famous disciples or guests can create a strong ’attraction’ to others."

"People can’t help but wonder: what does this Sword Dojo have that attracts so many renowned figures, thereby generating interest in it."

"This is similar to how, when a courtesan at Yoshiwara uses accessories or makeup from a certain merchant, it often leads women to rush to buy those accessories and makeup."

"Therefore, I believe—if we can manage to attract some famous samurai as disciples or guests, it will greatly benefit the future development and growth of our Shiwei Hall!"

Hijikata’s eloquence was quite impressive, and with these simple words, he made his proposal understood by everyone.

Before Hijikata finished explaining, Aoto already grasped his idea—it was essentially using the "celebrity effect" to expand Shiwei Hall’s reputation and attract more people to learn swordsmanship there.

Zhouzhu raised his hand, smacking his lips while stroking his smooth chin: "Hmm... Hijikata, I get what you’re saying."

"However..."

As Zhouzhu changed his tone, he wore a wry smile on his face.

"Trying to attract famous samurai as apprentices or guests... is easier said than done."

"Why would those distinguished figures want to become our Shiwei Hall’s disciples or guests?"

"To be blunt... our Shiwei Hall hasn’t completely shaken off the ’Taro Dojo’ stigma."

"Across Edo, there are more appealing Sword Dojos than our Shiwei Hall that you can’t count on both hands."

"Furthermore, having disciples is one thing, but as for guests... our current finances aren’t strong enough to support many guests."

"Supporting guests is costly, and feeding a guest for a month is no small expense..."

Though Sword Dojos in the Edo era often hired guests to assist with errands and tasks, the high costs of supporting guests meant only a few Sword Dojos could afford them.

Hijikata interjected at this point, asking, "How many guests can our Shiwei Hall support now?"

"Hmm..." Zhouzhu wore a thoughtful expression, his hand on his chin a bit firmer, "Compared to before, our revenue has improved quite a bit recently, but at most, we can only support 2 or 3 people."

"2 or 3 people..." Hijikata furrowed his brows, indicating that this number was slightly off from his expectations.

Zhouzhu’s response revealed that he was not overly optimistic about Hijikata’s plan to use the ’celebrity effect’ to grow Shiwei Hall.

But just then, Kondo, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up:

"...Father, I think Asui’s plan... might be worth trying!"