Chapter 138
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 138
Chapter 138. You Reap What You Sow (8)
That night.
I wrote a letter to my father. Then I called the boy who had made my sleeve his home.
“Geum-ryeong.”
“Kui?”
“It's a letter to my father. I have a favor to ask.”
“Kui...”
“Okay, I understand.”
I took a silver coin out of my pocket and gave it to Geum-ryeong, who quickly grabbed it with his mouth.
Then he swallowed it.
“Now that you've eaten, let's get to work.”
“Kukku!”
Gyeong-ryeong seemed to feel better after eating the coin and stuck out his tail.
I tied the letter tightly to his tail, and Gyeong-ryeong flew out the window faster than an arrow.
The next morning, I received a reply from my father.
“So, it ended up like that. Then we must proceed with the second plan.”
The second plan.
That was to make the Miga Trading Company a branch of the Eunhae Trading Company.
However, the name of the trading company remained the same, and its role was also the same as before.
In other words, outwardly, it was one of the medicinal herb brokers in Gui-ju that competed with the Namho Trading Company.
[As I told you before, I will send Song Sik as the new captain of the trading company.
Song Sik was someone I could trust.
He was a seasoned figure in the medicinal herb trade, very serious and a good leader.
[And when you return, bring Cho San-i's family with you. I will prepare a place for them here.
You are preparing a place at the trading company for my uncle and Hyung-nim.
My father is such a good man.
I think he did it out of consideration for my grandfather.
I folded the letter and put it in my pocket.
It was time to go eat breakfast.
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My brother Jin-ho and I ate breakfast together.
Until yesterday, we had breakfast together with my uncle's family, laughing and having a good time, but starting today, they said they would eat separately, so I told them to go ahead.
It's nice to eat together, just the two of us.
After we finished eating, Jin-ho called me with a worried look on his face.
“Seo-ho, is there something wrong?”
“What is it?”
“Are you sure your uncle is okay?”
“Are you worried?”
Jin-ho nodded in response to my question.
“Still... He's your uncle. I don't know if he ate. Knowing his personality, he probably didn't eat and is sulking somewhere.”
He probably doesn't have an appetite.
It would be strange if he did.
It's as if he lost Mi-ga Trading Company to me with his own two eyes.
“Shouldn't you go see your uncle?”
“I was planning to go.”
“Really?”
I'm not trying to make sure he ate.
I just think he still doesn't realize what's going on, so I wanted to give him some time to come to terms with reality.
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Bang!
“What? Work at Eunhae Trading Company? As a lowly employee, not even a manager?”
My uncle slammed his fist on the table and shouted.
But I had expected this reaction, so I kept a calm expression.
After finishing breakfast, I went to my uncle's room and asked to talk to him.
My uncle refused to see me, but I opened the door and entered anyway.
Then I asked him to accompany me to Eunhae Trading Company and suggested that he work there.
That is the current situation.
I smiled gently.
However, the words that came out of my mouth were not gentle.
“How are you going to support yourself?”
“What?”
“Didn't you say you already spent all your money on the trading company? Do you have anything left to sell?”
“...”
My words left my uncle speechless.
The investigation had already been completed.
Now, my uncle was nothing but a beggar.
If I told him to leave, he would end up on the street.
My uncle signed the contract, believing that he could regain his position as the head of the trading company if he repaid the amount invested by Eunhae Trading Company.
However, he had no money to repay the investment, so he had no choice but to hand over Miga Trading Company.
He regained his position as the head of the trading company, but what was the point?
Miga Trading Company was gone.
“And Eunhae Trading Company will send a new captain here. You'll have to vacate this place, so where are you going to go?”
“...”
“You need money to get even a small house. Do you have a place to work?”
My uncle opened his mouth with a displeased look on his face.
“I was the captain, and now I'm suddenly a low-level employee...”
“As you know, our Eunhae Trading Company treats its employees according to their abilities. So work hard. Who knows? You may become the captain of this trading company.”
Of course, I didn't think that was very likely, but there was no harm in giving him hope.
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Half a month later.
Song Sik arrived at the Miga Trading Company.
“This is Song Sik, reporting to the two captains.”
I smiled and greeted him.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Not at all. You two captains have been working hard here. Thank you very much. Everyone at Eunwolgak is very pleased with your work here.”
“Is that so? Hahaha.”
“Then, may I go to the Trading Company's office?”
“What? Already? You've had a long journey, so why don't you rest today?”
“No, I can't. The task I received from the Trading Company is very important, so I don't think I can rest even if I try.”
“As you wish. But please do not overwork yourself.”
“Do not worry. I am still strong enough to fight the Green Forest Bandits.”
“Hahaha.”
Song Sik was originally from Eunpungdae.
However, his grandfather saw his outstanding business acumen and suggested that he become a merchant instead of a martial artist, and since then, he has steadily risen to become a deputy head.
Thanks to my father sending a very reliable person to be the new head of the Mi-Gwa Trading Company, I was able to return to the Eunhae Trading Company with peace of mind.
“Then let's go to the Trading Company's office. I have a lot to tell you.”
When we arrived at the Trading Company's office, I explained the situation in detail to Song Sik.
Of course, I left out the part about Namho Trading Company agreeing to send me 30% of their profits.
That was money that would fill my wallet, and it was none of anyone else's business.
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It was a warm May when I left for Gui Zhou to resolve the matter with the Mi Trading Company, but by the time I arrived in Hubei, where the Eunhae Trading Company was located, it was already the hot month of August.
When I arrived at the trading company, my family was there to greet me.
Not only Jin-ho and I, but also my cousin's family had come to welcome us.
“Greetings, Uncle.”
My uncle greeted my grandfather, who welcomed him warmly.
I greeted my family and headed for Hyunpungguk.
I had a lot of work to do after being away on business for three months.
I had to report to my father about this matter, but it didn't seem like the right time.
I had already reported the situation to Geum-ryeong, so it couldn't be urgent.
My father called for me after I had eaten dinner and was catching up on work in Hyungpung-guk.
As I followed Lieutenant Cho Yeong-yeong, I felt puzzled.
She was taking me to my grandfather's quarters, not my father's office.
There was a gazebo in the garden of my grandfather's quarters.
My grandfather and father were sitting there.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes, come in.”
I greeted my grandfather and sat down next to my father.
A maid placed tea in front of me.
I waited calmly for my grandfather to speak.
“Your father told me everything you did in Gyeongju. So, I have something to ask you.”
“I am listening.”
“How did you let the Eunhae Trading Company get their hands on the Miga Trading Company?”
I answered without hesitation.
“I didn't intend to do that at first. But after what happened to my cousin and Hyung-nim, I became more and more convinced.”
I took a deep breath and continued.
“I knew that one day, the Mi-Gwa Trading Company would be taken over by another trading company. That's why I took action in advance.”
I smiled faintly.
“Before the Mi-Gwa Trading Company, which my grandfather worked so hard to build, was taken over by another company.”
My grandfather looked at me for a moment and said, “Thank you.”
“Thank you for doing that for me.”
“...!”
I was surprised by my grandfather's words.
I didn't expect him to thank me so suddenly.
“I know you did it for me.”
I scratched my ear.
If the Miga Trading Company was taken over by another trading company or collapsed, the Eunhae Trading Company would suffer losses.
But doing it for my grandfather was more important.
If the trading company founded by my grandfather's younger brother fell into the hands of a harsh man, he would be very sad.
My grandfather smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, it was my job to do it.
“Actually, it was my job to do it. But I knew my nephew was inadequate, and I was too soft-hearted to make a decision, so things turned out this way. I'm sorry, and I'm also grateful.”
My grandfather took a sip of tea and continued.
“I have one more question.”
“Please ask.”
“I told you to give Cho-san and Jiseo the position of head clerk, so why did you give them the lowest positions?”
Hearing this, I looked up at my grandfather and said,
“Do you think my cousin and Jiseo have what it takes to be head clerks?”
“...Hmm.”
My grandfather cleared his throat and drank some tea, while my father looked perplexed beside him.
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On the way back to Eunryongjeon with my father.
“That last question was a bit harsh.”
I chuckled at my father's words.
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course not. People don't change that easily.”
Before my grandfather was chosen as the successor, my great-grandfather and my uncle also lived here.
My father seemed to still remember those days.
“My uncle was truly amazing. His pride was his downfall, but he was extremely talented. However, Cho-san is the opposite...”
My father was reluctant to say more, but I knew what he meant.
“By the way, what do you think he should do?”
“Father, what is the busiest and most difficult job at Eunhae Trading Company?”
“Huh?”
“If possible, I think it would be good to assign him to such a place to curb his pride, arrogance, and bloodlust.”
My father thought about my words for a moment and nodded.
“I agree with you. And as you said, there is a place that is the hardest and busiest. And because of the intense labor, there is no time to be hot-headed, and pride and arrogance are bound to be crushed by the abilities and harsh words of those who lead the place.”
“Is there such a place in our trading company?”
My father nodded in response to my question.
“Yes, there is.”
“Where is it?”
“Hyungpung-guk.”
“....”
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Should I be grateful?
My uncle and Hyung-nim ended up working at a trading company that dealt in medicinal herbs, not Hyungpung-guk.
It would have been a waste to let their knowledge of medicinal herbs go to waste.
A short time later, Song Sik sent a report.
It said that the Miga Trading Company and the Namho Trading Company had withdrawn their price competition for medicinal herbs.
And they began to receive normal prices for medicinal herbs again.
There was confusion for a while, but before long, the medicinal herb market in Gui-ju became quiet, as if there had never been any commotion.
Now, the Miga Trading Company would gradually begin to see profits.
In my previous life, it cost a tremendous amount of money to establish a branch in Guizhou.
But this time, it didn't even cost a tenth of what we spent back then.
Nevertheless, we acquired not only Mi-gwa Trading Company but also Namho Trading Company.
It is a satisfactory result.
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Time passed, and before we knew it, it was autumn.
Eunwolgak meeting.
My father said to us,
“A letter has arrived from Song Sik, the acting head. It says that the Mi-Gwa Trading Company is finally out of the red.”
“Now we can finally fulfill our role as the Giju branch.”
“That's right.”
“Our Eunhae Trading Company's influence has grown. If we use this, we should be able to get at least fifty seats in the next comrade meeting.”
“I hope so too. Speaking of which, the date for the Baekdae Trading Company meeting has been set.”
“Really? When is it?”
“Early October.”
“That's soon.”
Yeon Gak-ju nodded in agreement.
“So, I plan to go with Seo-ho this time.”
I asked my father.
“What? Me?”
“As you know, your sister-in-law is pregnant, isn't she?”
My sister-in-law had just become pregnant.
It was almost three years after her marriage, and the family was very happy.
“It's not good for the father to be away at a time like this. And Jin-ho went last time, so I'm thinking of taking you with me this time.”
“I understand. But where is it?”
“I didn't tell you. The meeting place is Luoyang.”
“...”
I suddenly became nervous.
Luoyang was where the Martial Alliance was located.