However, her fiance Shinjirō gives her an abacus and encourages her to act on her own will, and her family agree to let her learn accounting.

Asa helps her family survive by reassuring creditors and starting a new venture into coal mining.

With the help of Shinjirō, Asa finds them living in poverty; Hatsu has a boy after being abandoned by her husband.

Hatsu and her family leave to become tangerine farmers, on a plot of land in Wakayama provided by her father.

In 1878, Godai invites Asa to Tokyo to witness its advanced development; her parents and younger brother return from overseas.

The servant Fuyu confesses her love for Shinjirō and willingness to be his concubine (as had previously been discussed) but is rejected.

Inn hostess Miwa provides a place for business people to socialise, and starts to serve foreign food.

By 1891, the family's comprehensive shop for goods transactions and their investments in the textile industry have gained profit.

Later, Asa decides to hire female staff for the bank, to give young girls a chance to work.