Chapter 129
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 129
Chapter 129. The Apricot Blossom Academy (5)
I called Ye Chang's aide.
“Aide Ye, please teach Bo-wook some of your work, as I asked you yesterday.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yoo Chang's assistant showed Bo-wook to his seat and began to instruct him on his duties.
Before long, Bo-wook's genuine qi began to shine through.
“Do I just organize this and copy it over?”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
Bo-wook sat down at the writing desk and began his work as instructed by Yoo Chang's assistant.
Scribble, scribble, scribble.
Everyone's eyes widened as they watched him write down the characters in neat handwriting in an instant.
When Bo-wook finished his work, he said to Ye-chang's aide, “I'm done.”
“Then move on to the next task.”
“Where is the next task?”
“Everything on the bookshelf behind you needs to be done.”
“....”
Bo-wook looked behind him, his eyes wavering, then turned his head and looked at me.
I avoided his gaze.
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The meeting continued for several days.
The school we are building this time will not be filled only with poor students.
Of course, the main purpose is to find talented individuals among the poor, but there are many talented individuals who are not poor.
What I want is to bring them into the imperial palace and maintain a relationship with them.
I plan to charge the students tuition, but provide financial support to the poor to encourage them to study.
My assistant asked me about my plan.
“Won't the poor be hurt by those who discriminate against them because of their poverty?”
She smiled awkwardly and said.
“I was like that. That's why I quit school and became a prostitute.”
I have thought about that too.
“That's why all students will stay in the dormitory, and the school will provide them with everything they need.”
“But even so, it's inevitable that they will stand out...”
“I think that's a problem with education.”
No one should be discriminated against because they are poor, nor should they be discriminated against.
Being poor is simply a matter of circumstances.
Children are not aware of such things. They just want to be together and have fun playing together.
It is entirely the responsibility of adults to discriminate against children because they are poor.
In other words, it is a matter of education.
No one knows what the future holds.
A person who was ignored because of poverty may become a wealthy merchant and rule the upper class, or become a high-ranking official and earn the trust of the emperor.
On the other hand, a person who was arrogant because of his wealth may fall into ruin overnight.
“By the way, I never imagined that Yeon Gak-ju had such circumstances.”
Yeon Gak-ju smiled wryly at her father's words.
“That's why I'm grateful to those women. Thanks to them, I was able to climb up like a stubborn snake.”
She continued.
“After I became the head of the Sangyu Hall, I took revenge on those women.”
“Revenge?”
“I just touched them a little, and their husbands' families and their own families were ruined. It felt so good to see them clinging to my skirt and begging me to spare their lives. Ho ho ho!”
“...”
“So I let them live. I didn't want to become like them. Now they are just watching me carefully.”
People should live with kindness.
A few days later, I headed for Beijing.
I secured a site for the academy and began construction.
It was exhausting to travel back and forth to Beijing so many times, but it was all an investment in the future.
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What is the most important thing in establishing a school?
It is money.
Without money, it is impossible to secure a site for the school.
However, establishing a school is not the end. It must be well managed in order to continue for a long time.
To do this, we need a competent chief administrator and wise teachers.
The chief administrator of the academy can be selected from our Eunhae Trading Company. As a trading company, we have many talented people who can serve as chief administrators.
However, the problem is finding wise teachers.
Without good teachers, the academy will not be attractive to parents who want to send their children there, nor will it be attractive to the children themselves.
As I said before, an academy is a business.
Therefore, I invited talented scholars, but a problem arose.
“What? They refused?”
“Yes.”
This time, I sent letters and messengers to five scholars, asking them to come and teach at the academy.
“All but one refused.”
“Why? Is this some kind of power struggle?”
“To be honest, it's their pride as scholars.”
I wanted to find good teachers, so I asked scholars who were not university professors but had good reputations to become teachers at the academy.
This was because I wanted to draw as little attention as possible to the academy.
But they refused because of their pride as scholars?
At that moment, my eyes fell on the documents on my father's desk. It seemed that my father had hidden the letter, but it had slipped out slightly.
[... A merchant who only cares about money...]
When I saw that sentence, I wondered what it meant.
Could my father have hidden it from me on purpose?
I pointed to the letter and asked my father.
“Is that letter from the scholars?”
“Hmm, hmm.”
My father's cough confirmed my guess.
“Actually, some people rejected the idea of a merchant establishing a school.”
“I want to read it too.”
“...”
Finally, my father couldn't resist my gaze and handed me the letters.
I read each and every one of them.
They were full of nonsense, saying that I wasn't even a scholar and that I wasn't fit to be a teacher at a school founded by a lowly merchant.
Oh, it's been a while since I've been so angry.
I wanted to ignore it, but I changed my mind.
“Father, is establishing a school by a merchant something to be looked down upon?”
“That's not true.”
“Seon-il also supported my idea.”
“But that's how the world sees it...”
It's ridiculous.
They can't live without money, yet they criticize merchants for being money-oriented.
Is there anyone in this world who doesn't like money?
“Father.”
“Why are you calling me so sternly?”
“Let's expand our school.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Let's hire university professors to teach at our school.”
“If ordinary teachers are reacting like that, won't university professors react even more strongly?”
My father expressed his concern.
“Even His Majesty the Emperor, who supports such a school, would admit that it is not suitable for their status if they say something rude.”
“No way.”
“I will go and receive His Majesty's blessing.”
“But it is impossible to meet His Majesty the Emperor just to inspect merchants who sell writing brushes.”
“It is possible. I have someone who can help me.”
“Even if we get his help and meet with His Majesty, he may become angry when he learns of our true intentions.”
“Don't worry. We have the justification.”
The scholars just gave us a justification.
I plan to use this to bring the university scholars to our school.
“Oh, before that, there are some scholars who have accepted our offer. They are grateful to be called upon to educate the nation's talented youth.”
“We must treat them with the utmost respect.”
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That afternoon.
I headed for the market accompanied by Pal-gap, Yeo-eung-am, and Seo-woo.
Our destination was a general store in Seoga.
The old man at the general store was sitting in front of the door sipping tea despite the cold winter.
“Aren't you cold?”
The old man smiled at my question and said,
“If you make the cold your friend, you won't feel cold.”
“That's a wise answer.”
“Isn't that usually the opposite?”
“It's cold when it's cold.”
The old man smiled at my words.
“Only those who are not sensitive to the cold feel cold...”
He knew. He knew that I had mastered the martial art of Bing Gong.
“So why are you here?”
I sat down in front of the old man and said.
“What do you think about merchants establishing a school?”
“A school?”
“If a merchant asked you to teach children at a school they established, would you refuse because you feel it is beneath you?”
The old man smiled at my question.
“Who are you? Who are you to say such nonsense?”
I did not answer.
Even if I didn't say anything, he would know if he wanted to know.
“I was a little angry. So I thought I would show them that a school established by merchants can also become a prestigious school. That's why I thought it would be a good idea to invite university professors to teach at the school.”
The old man clicked his tongue at my words.
“Those who said such nonsense are pitiful. They touched someone they shouldn't have.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Anyway, a school... What is its purpose?”
“Of course, it is to raise the future leaders of this country.”
The old man chuckled at my words.
“I know you well. You never do anything that will cause you harm. Even if it seems like a loss, it's not a loss in the end.”
You know me so well.
“If you came to me in this situation, it must be to ask me to say something to His Majesty the Emperor. Isn't that right?”
“Don't you call him Hyung-nim?”
“Eek! You brat. Speak your mind.”
“Hahaha.”
The old man's tone immediately became serious.
“These saplings are grown with the money of the Eunhae Trading Company. No matter how well they are raised, His Majesty must know that they will grow toward the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“But if His Majesty's grace is great, the saplings will grow well.”
“You really are a smooth talker.”
“And if our Eunhae Trading Company is discouraged by the nonsense of scholars like you, will other trading companies continue to work hard to educate the people?”
The old man looked at me for a moment and clicked his tongue.
“Stupid fools, why did you give them a reason...”
I smiled to myself.
“So, I ask for your help, Elder.”
A few days later
I headed for Beijing.
Since I was going to expand the academy, I planned to expand its scale as well.
After arriving in Beijing and moving around busily, I returned to the Yeonjoon Trading Company, where my aunt gave me some news.
“Seoho. Someone from the imperial palace came today.”
“What? From the imperial palace?”
“They want you to go to the Imperial Palace tomorrow morning.”
The Elder moved faster than I expected.
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The next morning.
I headed to the Imperial Palace with my brother Sun-il.
He had to go to the Imperial Palace anyway, so he accompanied me.
“Is the establishment of the academy going well?”
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
“Are you having any trouble?”
I smiled shyly and replied to his question.
“How could there not be any difficulties? But I enjoy solving problems, so it's okay.”
“You are really unique.”
Soon, we arrived at the imperial palace, and Hyung-nim headed for the Hanlin Academy.
I put my letter in the letterbox, and soon a court official came out to greet me.
“Please follow me.”
“Yes.”
When the salt distribution law was first implemented, the emperor and his officials were engaged in a power struggle.
However, the emperor emerged victorious.
This was inevitable because the justification for controlling the price of salt, a daily necessity, was clear, and it also increased tax revenue.
That tax revenue went straight into the emperor's pocket.
In addition, some greedy eunuchs were purged on the grounds that they had not imposed a tax on salt retailers.
As a result, the current emperor wielded immense power.
That is why I want to receive the emperor's blessing.
I was led to a garden, but it was not the same place I had visited with Sun-il.
It was my first time here.
It was a beautiful garden, filled with the atmosphere of winter.
However, unlike the garden, I sensed a secretive presence everywhere.
They seemed to be quite skilled.
I thought I knew where this place was.
It was a garden reserved for the emperor.
When I realized this, I felt an overwhelming presence behind me.
“Do you like this garden?”
“Ah!”
I quickly bowed down on the snow-covered ground.
“I, a lowly servant, am in the presence of His Majesty, the emperor of this country. Long live the emperor!”
The emperor responded to my greeting.
“You may rise.”
“I am deeply honored.”
I stood up, and the emperor said to his attendant, “Brush the snow off my clothes.”
“Brush off the snow from his clothes.”
The court official brushed the snow off my clothes. How embarrassing.
“Yes, I heard from my friend. There are some foolish people who gave you a reason to come here?”
“I am ignorant and heard such things.”
“Don't say things you don't mean.”
“I apologize.”
“It is truly admirable that the Eunhaesang Trading Company wants to establish a school. However, the purpose is questionable. And I don't think you would do such a thing simply to place four of your people in the imperial palace.”
The emperor looked at me and asked.
“Is it because of the Martial Alliance?”