Chapter 132
The Youngest Son of the Silver Trading Company Chapter 132
Chapter 132. You Reap What You Sow (2)
Hearing that, I was so stunned that I laughed out loud.
What? Oh, less than that?
Are you crazy?
I asked the waiter.
“Are you serious? Oh Hal-Iha?”
“I understand why you don't believe me. There's no trading company in the world that would sell medicinal herbs at that price. But it's true.”
The waiter said confidently.
“That's why there's a long line of people waiting to do business with them.”
“Let's say the price is reasonable. But aren't the medicinal herbs of poor quality?”
“I heard from merchants who have done business with Namho Trading Company that the quality of the medicinal herbs is very good.”
“I see.”
I nodded and changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, I heard that Migwa Trading Company is well known for trading medicinal herbs in this area...”
“That's all in the past.”
“What?”
“That place is a little... Eh, there's no point in talking about other trading companies' faults, so let's leave it at that.”
I took the money out of my pocket and handed it to him.
“Still, we are a trading company from out of town, so we don't know much about this area. Please tell us a little more about the situation here.”
The waiter looked around, quickly put the money I handed him into his pocket, and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything about the quality of the medicinal herbs.
“If you say so, I understand.”
Then the waiter told me about the Miga Trading Company.
“About a year ago, rumors began to spread that the quality of the Miga Trading Company's medicinal herbs had declined. And there were quite a few people who visited the company to complain about the poor quality of the herbs.”
“How did Miga Trading Company respond?”
“They said there was no such thing, but they turned them away. They even treated those who came to complain as if they were evil energy.”
“...”
“That's why they're going out of business. How can they compete when their competitors are selling high-quality medicinal herbs at much lower prices?”
“I see.”
“In the end, Miga Trading Company also started selling medicinal herbs at lower prices, but Namho Trading Company started selling them even cheaper.”
I thought I understood why Namho Trading Company started selling medicinal herbs at less than half price.
When Namho Trading Company started selling medicinal herbs at lower prices, Miga Trading Company sold them even cheaper, and Namho Trading Company started selling them even cheaper than that.
I understood that much.
To be honest, there is no such thing as a price discount competition.
And it doesn't take a genius to figure out who wins a price war. It's the one with the most capital.
What I don't understand is that the quality of the medicinal herbs from the Miga Trading Company declined.
Until now, the quality of the medicinal herbs from the Miga Trading Company had never declined.
No, Miga Trading Company has always delivered only high-quality medicinal herbs.
My uncle is not the type of person who would sell poor-quality medicinal herbs.
The person who taught my uncle the trading business was my great-uncle, who learned the business from Eunhae Trading Company and followed its principles to the letter.
In other words, although Eunhae Trading Company and Miga Trading Company are two completely different companies, their spirit is the same.
They both valued trust.
Furthermore, my uncle was very proud.
He wasn't just proud, he was tougher than bamboo made from a thousand-year-old tree.
Knowing what my uncle was like, I couldn't believe what he said.
I only know that Namho Trading Company used cowardly and petty tactics and that they rushed in despite the risk of heavy losses, but I don't know exactly what tactics they used.
At the time, I was busy and it wasn't the right atmosphere to ask.
And as time passed, I hesitated to ask about what happened back then, fearing that it would reopen old wounds.
But now I think I understand.
Not only did they engage in a price war, but they also spread rumors.
They say that three people can create a tiger out of nothing.
Rumors are truly frightening.
There was a time when the Dan Trading Company spread malicious rumors, and as a result, the martial artist dolls didn't sell.
There have been quite a few cases where someone's careless remark became a rumor and ended up causing a big problem.
If that's the case with unintentional rumors, then it's even worse with rumors spread deliberately by Namho Trading Company.
It wouldn't have taken long for it to become the truth.
However, there must be many trading companies that have built up a relationship of trust with Mi Trading Company through their business dealings.
No matter how cheaply they sold the medicinal herbs, it would be strange if they all turned their backs on them...
I remembered what the waiter had said earlier.
“And there were quite a few people who visited to complain about the poor quality of the medicinal herbs.”
I called the waiter.
“I'm talking about the trading companies that complained about the poor quality of the medicinal herbs you mentioned earlier.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know exactly which trading companies they are?”
“Of course! I know them well.”
“What?”
“They said that something like that happened at the Kim Trading Company nearby.”
The Kim Trading Company... I'll have to look into that.
.
.
.
It was nighttime.
I was walking in the backyard of the inn.
My head was spinning, so I was walking to clear my thoughts.
The waiter's story about the poor quality of the medicinal herbs delivered by the Mi Trading Company to the Kim Trading Company was true.
I just sent someone to check.
The quality of the medicinal herbs was indeed poor, and other trading companies turned their backs on Kim's Trading Company because of the complaint.
If it was just a rumor, it would be easy to resolve. We could just cover it up with rumors like we did before.
But if there is actual evidence, it will be really difficult to resolve the issue.
What on earth happened?
My uncle wouldn't have done that...
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice behind me. It was Jin-ho.
I turned around and saw Jin-ho standing there with the sword I had given him, Cheongryongmu.
“What are you doing out so late?”
“I skipped my daily training, so my body feels stiff. I'm just stretching a little.”
As expected, Jin-ho is a martial artist.
Come to think of it, it's time for me to practice too.
Master always knows when I skip practice.
“You don't look so good. Is it because of your cousin?”
I nodded and told Jin-ho everything.
After hearing everything, Jin-ho poked the floor with the tip of his sword and said, “I don't know if your cousin really did that, but my gut tells me he did.”
“I don't know. I don't know if your uncle really did that. But that's my feeling.”
“...?”
“Your uncle feels wronged.”
“I agree.”
“That's why I want to find out for myself. But do you think they'll welcome us? They'll probably put off our visit even if we ask to see them.”
I replied to his question.
“That's what your connections are for.”
.
.
.
A few days later.
I headed to the Kim Trading Company with Jin-ho.
“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”
The head of the Kim Trading Company smiled and waved his hand in response to our greeting.
“How could I refuse a request from the head of the Dae-sung Trading Company?”
Dae-sung Trading Company.
A salt retailer in Gijoo City.
It was also a trading company that sold writing brushes by order of the emperor.
I asked him to arrange a quick meeting with the head of the Kim Trading Company, and the head of the Dae-sung Trading Company used his influence.
I think he did so because he didn't want to get on the bad side of me, who had the authority to inspect the sale of wind instruments.
In any case, thanks to him, I was able to meet the head of the Kim Trading Company right away.
I'll have to thank him later.
“So, what is it that you wanted to see me about so urgently?”
I answered his question directly.
“I heard that you had an unpleasant experience when you did business with the Miga Trading Company.”
“Yes, that's right. But why do you ask?”
“We are here to investigate the matter. As you may know, we are also one of the Miga Trading Company's business partners.”
“Ah...”
Captain Kim nodded.
“I understand. I guess you're wondering if you should change your trading partner.”
“Yes, that's right.”
I nodded first.
“That's why I asked to visit you, to ask you about what happened back then in detail.”
“I understand that Eunhae Trading Company and Mi-ga Trading Company have a very special relationship.”
“That's right. That's why we need to find out more. A special relationship means that when you become enemies, they will be your fiercest opponents.”
“...”
“Furthermore, it's not easy to destroy the trust that has been built up over time.”
Mr. Kim thought about my words for a moment and said, “I will allow you to investigate as you see fit.
”I will call the agent who was in charge of business with the Miga Trading Company and ask him to cooperate with you in any way he can." I will call the representative who was in charge of transactions with the Miga Trading Company and ask him to cooperate with you.“
I wondered why the head of the Kim Trading Company was suddenly so cooperative.
However, his next words answered my question.
”I don't want the trust we have built with the Miga Trading Company over the years to be destroyed like this."
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.
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A moment later, we met with an agent.
“Nice to meet you. I am Man-gyeong, an agent of the Kim Trading Company.”
“I am Eun Jin-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, the second captain.”
We greeted each other. Then I asked him directly.
“Please explain what happened during the last transaction with the Miga Trading Company.”
The representative nodded and began to explain in detail.
It was a normal business transaction with nothing out of the ordinary.
“However, when we arrived and were sorting the medicinal herbs, we discovered something unsavory. There were some poor-quality herbs mixed in with the others.”
“Isn't that a typical trick used to cheat in business?”
It's called “underlaying.”
That's why we always turned the boxes upside down to check the herbs at the bottom before buying them.
“That's right. But we trusted the Trading Company, so...”
That's why we didn't check the goods thoroughly and brought them back, and then this happened.
“So we went to complain, but...”
“You were turned away at the door?”
“Yes. They even yelled at us, asking us where we were slandering them.”
“Did the captain of the Miga Trading Company say that himself?”
“Yes, he did.”
I nodded and brought up another topic.
“I see. That's unfortunate. If the medicinal herbs from that time were still available, we could have investigated further.”
“There are some left.”
“...What?”
Mangyeong Daehangsu continued.
“Just in case, I set one aside.”
Suddenly, I thought I saw a glimmer of light on Mangyeong Daehangsu's face.
We headed to the herbal medicine warehouse and entered a small storage room.
There, we found the medicinal herbs in question.
The herbs were dried Heavenly Demon, which is used to treat headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure, and hemiplegia.
Gijou is a place where Heavenly Demon grows in abundance, and our Eunhae Trading Company receives more than half of its total supply from Miga Trading Company.
I approached and examined the medicinal herbs closely.
At the bottom of the box, I found some Heavenly Demon of clearly inferior quality.
The skill with which these medicinal herbs were packaged was that of a merchant who specialized in handling medicinal herbs.
Each medicinal herb has its own unique properties, so packaging them appropriately is more difficult than one might think.
And judging from the packaging, it had been wrapped very carefully so that no one from outside could tamper with it.
Therefore, the only explanation was that it had been packaged and delivered by the Trading Company in this condition.
But that made it even more suspicious.
If it had been expensive medicinal herbs, they would have done this to make more profit, but what I had in front of me was Heavenly Demon.
And Heavenly Demon is not an expensive medicinal herb.
Even if they did that, they wouldn't make even half a silver coin for ten pieces. Rather, it was a waste of effort to wrap such poor-quality herbs in such a convincing package.
I thought I knew what kind of cowardly and petty trick Namho Trading Company had used.
I had no choice but to go to Namho Trading Company.
* *
A few days later.
I was in front of Namho Trading Company.
Not only Jin-ho and I, but everyone, including Jong-gil, was in disguise.
This was to hide the fact that we were from Eunhae Trading Company.
There was already a long line of trading companies in front of Namho Trading Company. They were there to trade medicinal herbs at cheap prices.
After waiting for an hour or two, we were able to enter the trading company.
When we gave a fake name for our trading company, an employee asked us.
“What kind of medicinal herbs would you like?”
“Heavenly Demon...”
I named a few more medicinal herbs and made an additional request.
“Can we see some samples?”
“Of course.”
At that, our group was led to a place where samples were kept.
Then, Jong-gil approached me and whispered, “I have something to tell you.”
“...?”
“I've seen that clerk and those employees over there before at the Miga Trading Company.”
“What?”
“They were the ones who did the packaging there.”