Chapter 10
The Youngest Son of Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 10
Chapter 10. Continuing the Connection (1)
Thus, the connection between Hwaryeongru and Eunhaesang Trading Company was severed, and Hwaryeongru signed a contract with another trading company.
A month later, I heard the news that the head of the company had changed.
He had died suddenly.
A voice woke me from my reverie.
“Are you here?”
At that moment, a waiter from Hwaryeongru rushed out and bowed his head.
My father said to him,
“I am Eun Gil-sang, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company. Is Baek Lu-joo here?”
“Yes? That's...”
The waiter hesitated and glanced at the place where Lu-ju's office should have been.
Instead of waiting for an answer, my father headed for Lu-ju's office.
Chief Administrator Yu and the members of the Silver Wind Corps followed behind him.
There was no need for everyone to go, so Se-poong and Sang-poong remained at the trading company.
They soon arrived at Lu-ju's office.
Guards stood in front of the door, and when my father approached, one of them asked.
“Who are you?”
“I am the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company. Is the captain in?”
At that moment, a voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
The guards quickly opened the door, and we entered.
A man with an oily face and a slightly protruding belly greeted us.
His name was Baek Bok.
He was the head of the Trading Company here at Hwaryeonru.
“What brings the head of the Eunhaesang Trading Company here?”
“I have something to collect.”
“What? What do you mean, collect?”
“Today is the due date for a year's worth of payments for goods.”
“What are you talking about? Goods? When did we ever do business with you?”
As expected, Baek Lu-ju was shameless.
His father and Chief Administrator Yu laughed at his audacity.
“It seems that you are suffering from dementia. You are still so young...”
Baek Lu-ju was furious at his father's words.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about!”
“How could you forget about the deliveries we made? We delivered the goods just a month ago!”
“Delivery? I never said that! Bring me the delivery confirmation if you have it. How can you demand money like this? Are you senile?”
“Delivery confirmation... That...”
Seeing my father in such a difficult situation, I felt like laughing.
Seeing his excellent acting, I realized that my father was indeed a born merchant.
“If you keep acting like this, I'll call the guards! Go home now!”
His attitude seemed to confirm that he was convinced that we didn't have a delivery confirmation.
How could he be so predictable?
“Chief Administrator Yoo, I don't think I brought it with me.”
“I knew you wouldn't, so I brought it with me.”
Chief Administrator Yu took the document out of his pocket and handed it to him.
“Here is the delivery confirmation.”
“....”
“And here is the contract.”
“....”
Baek Lu-jo froze when he saw the document.
He regained his composure and hurriedly checked the document.
It was the delivery confirmation he had signed. The contract was also the same one he had seen.
It's real.
“How is this possible?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“Didn't you say it was burned?”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a fire in the finance office, and the documents inside were burned, including the ledger related to Hwaryeonru...”
“There was a fire.”
My father replied with a laugh.
“Only the floor was burned. So the documents related to the delivery to Hwaryeonru are fine.”
Then he touched the delivery confirmation on the table and continued.
“It's like this. It's not like you to believe rumors.”
That was true.
It was true that there had been a fire.
However, we had deliberately started the fire.
We did so in order to spread rumors about the fire.
Then, we spread false rumors that the ledgers related to Hwaryeonru had been burned in the fire.
In other words, Baek Lu-ju had fallen into our trap.
My father gathered the documents again and handed them to Chief Administrator Yu, who took out another document and said.
“Then, as per the contract, Hwaryeonru is now owned by Eunhaesang Trading Company. Sign here.”
Bang.
“That's not possible!”
Baek Lu-ju protested vehemently, but my father paid no attention.
“A contract is a contract.”
“You! Do you think I'm just going to stand here and take this?”
He shouted toward the door.
“Arrest these men immediately!”
At his shout, the door was thrown open.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
However, those who rushed in at his call were not Hwaryeonru's bodyguards.
It was Go Il-pyeong, the chief administrator of the Eunhae Trading Company.
He was holding a sword in his hand.
“We've already taken care of everything outside.”
“Well done.”
Realizing what was going on, Baek Roo-joo collapsed on the spot.
But I didn't feel sorry for him.
He was just getting what he deserved.
.
.
.
Baek Lu-ju had to sign a contract transferring all rights to Hwaryeonru to Eunhaesang Trading Company.
Seeing that, I felt as if the humiliation I had suffered at his hands in my future had been washed away.
Next to him, Hwaryeonru's employees stood in line, watching the Eunpungdae warriors.
“Huh?”
For a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes.
I saw a man standing there, trembling.
I wasn't sure because of the bruise on one side of his face, but when I looked closely, I was certain.
“That's him!”
The young man wearing a headband was Seo Su-chang.
As far as I remember, he was the chief administrator of a different brothel.
With his exceptional abilities, he turned that brothel, which had been struggling with debt, into a thriving business.
That brothel soon became one of the three largest brothels in Hubei Province.
I knew him well because I had tried to recruit him.
He had politely declined my offer.
I visited him again, but when I heard that the head of the brothel was his benefactor, I had no choice but to give up.
And now, here I am, meeting him again.
I suppressed my excitement and approached him.
“Nice to meet you. I am Eun Seo-ho, the third son of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Ah, yes. I am Seo Su-chang, the chief administrator of Hwaryeonru.”
“You are the chief administrator. May I see the accounting books of Hwaryeonru?”
At my words, he glanced at Baek Lu-ju.
Swoosh
I blocked his way and said, “The Eunhae Trading Company is now the owner of Hwaryeonru. We have already signed the contract.”
“...I understand.”
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
With my father's permission, I sent four Eunpung warriors with me.
I had to be prepared for any situation, and there seemed to be a lot to bring.
Soon, Chief Administrator Seo and the warriors returned with a pile of documents.
I began to look through the documents.
"...
It seemed that they had thoroughly searched the accounting books, and it appeared that they had already given up hope.
In that case, it seemed possible to make them our allies.
From what I could see, it didn't seem that Baek Lu-ju was Chief Administrator Seo's protégé.
“Hmm...”
Looking at the accounting books, I could see that the financial situation had deteriorated rapidly since Baek Lu-ju became Lu-ju.
And I could also see that the flow of funds had gradually become strange.
“This, this, this. Something's strange.”
Chief Administrator Seo flinched at my words.
“Did the author take this?”
“....”
Having been through all kinds of trials and tribulations, it was easy for me to understand the situation by looking at the accounting books.
No matter how carefully they were prepared, I knew all their tricks.
He must have embezzled money and used it to run an illegal gambling den.
But did he make any money?
No way. Running an illegal gambling den is not easy.
That's why the books are in such a mess.
Chief administrator Yu, who was looking at the accounting books with me, looked up and asked me, “Why do you say that?”
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Then I noticed something strange.
The recent expenses.
Why would he suddenly build a pavilion?
No matter how I looked at it, something was wrong.
“What is this?”
“Oh, that pavilion was ordered by Lord Baek Roo-joo.”
At that, I looked at Baek Ru-ju. Baek Ru-ju turned his head away to avoid my gaze.
Something was fishy.
We were struggling to even run the place, let alone build a pavilion.
But now, out of the blue, we were building a pavilion!
There was definitely something going on.
“Baek Ru-ju. Why are you building a pavilion?”
“That pavilion is a place for the waiters to stay.”
“A place to stay?”
“The lodgings are old...”
He stammered as he made excuses.
The person who embezzled the money to pay for the goods of the Eunhae Trading Company was building a pavilion for the waiters?
That's just like him.
You have to trust the people you trust.
I thought for a moment and asked my father.
“Father, may I step out for a moment?”
“Where are you going?”
“I would like to take a look at the pavilion that is being built.”
My father seemed to have noticed something and nodded readily.
“All right. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
I said to Chief Administrator Seo.
“Can I see the pavilion you said you were building?”
“Yes. I will show you.”
Accompanied by two bodyguards, I followed Chief Administrator Seo to the pavilion that was being built.
We quickly arrived at the newly constructed pavilion.
It looked ordinary, but there were no workers to be seen.
“It seems that the workers haven't arrived yet.”
“That's because I was told not to call them until tomorrow.”
“Is that so?”
I tilted my head and stepped inside the pavilion, which was under construction.
Gasp!
Before I could take a few steps, I came face to face with someone.
“I definitely didn't sense anything...!”
It was a suspicious figure, dressed in black and wearing a mask.
“...!”
“Who are you!”
One of my bodyguards protected me while another drew his sword and rushed toward the figure to subdue him.
The masked man also drew his sword and responded.
Clang! Clang!
The swords clashed several times.
Bang!
At that moment, a smoke bomb exploded.
The masked man had set off the smoke bomb.
“Young master, step back!”
At the words of the bodyguard, I quickly stepped back.
“I'll chase him!”
The bodyguard who had been fighting with the masked man shouted and started chasing him.
Leaving the pursuit to him, I approached the place where the masked man and the bodyguard had fought.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, I noticed a strange scent.
It smelled like wildflowers, so I asked those around me.
“Don't you smell something?”
“A scent?”
“Isn't it the smell of wood? They're still building here.”
“I don't know.”
I was the only one who could smell it.
“That's strange.”
But that thought didn't last long. The bodyguard had found something.
“There's something here.”
What he was pointing at was a door on the floor that could be lifted up.
It seemed that this was the reason why the masked man was here.
I asked Chief Administrator Seo, who was behind me.
“What is this?”
“I'm not sure. I only know that it is a passageway leading to the basement and that Lord Ruzhu gave specific instructions about it.”
Something was suspicious.
“We should open it.”
The bodyguard replied to my words.
“Just in case, I'll keep watch.”
My senses told me that no one was there, but you never know.
There was what happened a little while ago.
At that moment, Chief Administrator Seo quickly stepped forward.
“I'll open it.”
The bodyguard held his sword in a defensive stance, and Chief Administrator Seo lifted the door.
A passageway leading to the basement appeared.
At that moment, the bodyguard who had been chasing the masked man returned.
“I'm sorry, I lost him.”
It was to be expected.
The masked man was such a skilled fighter that even I couldn't sense him.
Nevertheless, I didn't stop the bodyguard because it would have been difficult to explain.
Also, since the focus was on letting the masked man escape, he expected that the bodyguard would not be hurt.
“It's okay. It can't be helped. We'll go down there and come back. Please keep an eye out for anyone coming.”
“Understood.”
We entered the passageway.
It was quite spacious and already mostly complete.
It consisted of several rooms, and in one of them, we found something strange.
It was a symbol that looked like a combination of clouds and peach blossoms drawn on the wall.
“This is... Dao Trading Company?”
It was definitely the symbol of Dao Trading Company.
I couldn't help but laugh inside.
Why?
Because Dao Trading Company was a trading company that worked under Baekcheon Trading Company.
So, the fire at Jaegyeong Hall meant that Baekcheon Trading Company was involved, not Dao Trading Company.
Now I finally understood who the unknown trading company was that Hwaryeonru had started doing business with after the deal with Eunhae Trading Company fell through.
That trading company was Dao Trading Company.