Chapter 177
Building bathhouses throughout Hanyang—or, more precisely, along the Han River—was not particularly difficult.
That was because building bathhouses required no especially new or unusual technology, and we had mobilized the people who had begun squatting wherever they pleased on the outskirts of Hanyang to provide the necessary labor.
And the most important matter, the rate at which Hanyang's citizens used the bathhouses, was...
"Assistant Magistrate Heo, are the people living in Hanyang making frequent use of the bathhouses these days?"
After hearing my question, Assistant Magistrate Heo let out a deep sigh.
Then, looking as though he might die from exhaustion, he answered with a hint of complaint.
"These days, hasn't a deotboegi (masked dance) performed by Gong-gil's troupe become popular? It tells of a filthy woman who could not even consummate her wedding night and lived as a young widow until she learned about bathhouses, went there to wash herself, and regained her husband's love so that they could live happily ever after. After that deotboegi became such a huge hit, everyone, men and women alike, has been trudging to the bathhouses, saying they will bathe at least once a week."
"Are you saying that is because the deotboegi was so effective?"
"Yes, that seems to be the case. To be honest, this subordinate does not know exactly why the people have come to enjoy bathing so much. I only suspect it is thanks to the deotboegi. Now that the bathhouses are packed from open to close, I have even more work to do. I have to crack down on restaurants and taverns, oversee Hanyang's sanitation, and submit reports requesting more funding to build additional bathhouses as more and more people visit them. There is so much work that I feel as though I am going to die..."
It may feel like death to Assistant Magistrate Heo, but it was a good thing for Joseon as a whole.
The people were steadily going to the bathhouses and washing themselves of their own accord, without the government having to force them to do so.
"Try to think positively."
"I have so much more work now that I am suffering like this, so I do not really understand what you mean by telling me to think positively."
"If the people had been reluctant to bathe, Assistant Magistrate Heo, you would have had to take the lead in edifying them and persuading them to wash. I would have helped you rack your brains over the method, but would you not have been the one responsible for putting it into practice?"
I had a mountain of work to do as well.
Since the bathhouse business was going so well, I thought it would be a good idea to set up restaurants and food stalls near the bathhouses.
It would also be good to create spaces where people could enjoy wholesome entertainment, and we probably needed to overhaul the laws concerning the production of makgeolli and soju.
There was already so much to do that, aside from drawing up plans for others, I could not personally involve myself in the practical work.
Then someone might retort as follows.
'Then what about the time you personally took part in inspecting the sanitation of restaurants? Did you do that because you had an abundance of free time?'
That was because I had no choice but to step in and establish sanitation standards that struck a reasonable balance between the common sense of the Joseon era and twenty-first-century standards, so the people would not contract 'food poisoning.'
What could I do when no one else was capable of handling it properly?
"...... I see."
"And I think I know why the people accepted bathing so readily."
"What could the reason possibly be?"
"Once the people wash themselves thoroughly, their own bodies no longer give off an unpleasant odor. Then, when they go near their husbands or children in that state, they smell the unpleasant body odor they had never noticed before."
The human sense of smell adapts to its surroundings remarkably quickly.
The place where this is most obvious is a pit toilet.
If you squat there for about ten minutes while relieving yourself in a toilet filled with feces, you will experience the initial, overpowering ammonia smell fading from your awareness.
That is because the human nose automatically blocks the signal once it detects the same odor for longer than a certain period, whether the smell is strong or weak, in order to reduce fatigue in the olfactory receptors.
By the same principle, since no one, whether commoner or yangban, had washed properly until now, everyone's body must have given off a certain level of foul odor, yet they probably did not even realize they were smelling anything at all...
Once they washed and their own bodies became clean, they must have immediately noticed the odors coming from their family members.
"Once they realized that their family members' bodies smelled unpleasant, the women would unleash a barrage of nagging on their husbands and children, sending them to the bathhouse to wash themselves."
"Indeed, even those who washed frequently used to do so only once a month, while those who rarely washed did so only once every six months. I suppose that makes sense."
"But you."
"Yes, my lord."
There is one thing people often misunderstand.
We work hard so that we can eat well and live well...
Yet some people become so absorbed in their work that they go through life without realizing that their bodies are breaking down.
Looking at him now, I could see that Assistant Magistrate Heo was exactly like that.
"Have you perhaps been taking your work home because you have too many tasks to complete? You look terribly tired."
"This lowly official is doing so because he is too incompetent to finish his assigned work during regular hours. I apologize, my lord."
"They say one must cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. Only someone who manages his own health can bring peace to his household and country, and eventually to the world. Yet did His Majesty not say that working overtime except in an extremely urgent situation is disloyal and unfilial?"
According to what I had heard, Sejong really had made this remark.
However, the circumstances that gave rise to the claim that working overtime was unfilial and disloyal, except when the situation was truly desperate, were...
Once you knew the story behind it, the whole thing was incredibly absurd.
King Sejong took pleasure even in working overtime when it was for the sake of the people, but Taejong Yi Bang-won, intending to restore Sejong's health, made him exercise after he had left work on time...
Since he himself could no longer work overtime...
He wanted to work overtime himself, but since he could not...
He apparently made that remark because he resented the fact that his ministers were working overtime when he could not.
Whatever his intentions may have been, after this remark all government officials were guaranteed regular hours for reporting to and leaving work.
As a result, the quality of officials' lives improved greatly.
"Judging by your complexion, you look as though you might collapse soon."
"Since leaving work on time is guaranteed, I am at least getting enough sleep."
"How can a person preserve his stamina merely by getting enough sleep?"
I had passed the civil service examination at the age of eighteen, so even now I was not yet in my mid-twenties.
Because I was young, I could endure staying up for several nights without suffering any serious consequences.
However, the average age of those who passed the civil service examination was in their mid-to-late thirties, and Assistant Magistrate Heo was an official in his early forties.
An official in his early forties, continuously handling a tremendous workload and living in a state of constant exhaustion?
It would be no surprise if he died of overwork or developed a serious illness at any moment.
"If you collapse from illness, all of us, including the Chief Magistrate of Hanseongbu, will be severely scolded by His Majesty."
Even in a twenty-first-century company, if a manager works overtime while a subordinate leaves on time, that subordinate is treated as though he left his common sense on some neighborhood hill.
That goes doubly for Joseon, a Confucian state where even high-ranking officials, including the Chief Magistrate of Hanseongbu, had to observe every departure and arrival ritual prescribed by propriety whenever they reported for or left work.
Even if Assistant Magistrate Heo looked as though he were about to collapse from exhaustion, there would inevitably be someone who looked askance at letting only him leave while everyone else was still working.
That was why I invoked the justification that it was a royal command—one they could not dare contradict or resent.
"There are still about three and a half shijin (7 hours) left in the workday, but judging by your condition, I do not think you should work any longer. Leave work immediately and go to the bathhouse first. Wash yourself there and soak in warm water to relieve your fatigue, then go home and get a good night's sleep. Return to work tomorrow looking vigorous."
Forcing a tired person to keep working never ends well.
Not only does efficiency fall, but when someone works while exhausted, mistakes come one after another.
Then you have to work several times as hard to deal with those mistakes...
'This is when a good superior orders a subordinate to leave work.'
"Thank you, Lord Seoyun."
"See you tomorrow."
And so I sent Assistant Magistrate Heo home.
When I sent him away, the other officials of Hanseongbu wore somewhat sour expressions as they watched him disappear.
The others had not been pushing themselves as hard as Assistant Magistrate Heo, but they still had to remain and work while that man alone left early to rest...
They must have been unhappy at the thought that they would have to take on Assistant Magistrate Heo's share of the work as well.
"I will take care of everything Assistant Magistrate Heo was supposed to do today, so do not worry about that. Now, let us discuss the new tasks before us. Once the custom of bathing every week takes root, people will surely look for food to buy nearby after bathing, or seek out various games of chance and other amusements."
An entertainment district, when you get down to it, is nothing special.
A place where many people gather becomes a tourist attraction, an entertainment district, and a commercial district.
"Therefore, it would be good to create small permanent markets centered around areas with many bathhouses, as well as spaces where people could enjoy various forms of entertainment. Restaurants selling food will continue to increase in number, so we will also need laws to regulate them."
Hanyang in this era had an enormous amount of room for development.
That was why I intended to take the initiative and guide its development in the right direction.
'To put it bluntly, if there is so much room for development but we leave it unattended without pointing it in the right direction, it may develop in strange ways.'
"Let us see. Taverns and restaurants mainly use gayangju (liquor privately brewed by individual households or families). We should tax that as well. Then, what would be a good liquor tax rate...?"
After saying that, I generously assigned new tasks to the officials belonging to Hanseongbu, including Assistant Magistrate Heo.
And a week later, we had completed the entire plan for developing new commercial districts around the bathhouses and were able to submit it to the Uijeongbu.