Chapter 152
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 152
Chapter 152. Keep Your Valuables in the Warehouse (3)
When Mister Heo Yun, or rather, Heo Yun-gak, was officially assigned to Sangyugak with the permission of Yeon Gak-ju, I had a casual conversation with him.
“Mister, what do you think you are most confident in or talented at?”
“Hmm... If I had to choose one, it would be memorization.”
“Memorization?”
“Yes. I can remember everything I see once. It may be hard to believe.”
“No, I believe you. I know you are not the type of person to lie. That is a remarkable talent.”
“I am embarrassed.”
“Well, to be honest, since you are missing one leg, it must be difficult for you to do your work.”
“That is true.”
“But if your abilities are recognized, no one will care about that. In fact, you may even become more sought after.”
“....”
“I believe you can do it. You said that memorization is your specialty, so when you go to Sangyugak, read the ledgers there whenever you have time and memorize them.”
“I understand.”
“It would be good if you could first look at this year's ledgers for the goods that our Trading Company mainly deals in. For example, silk. Those records will be very useful and helpful to you.”
I smiled as I recalled my conversation with Heo Un-gak.
He had followed my advice and looked at the ledgers related to silk and memorized them.
Meanwhile, Yeon Gak-ju asked again with a puzzled look.
“You remember that? As far as I know, there are a total of two hundred…”
“I know there are about two hundred and ninety.”
Yeon Gak-ju continued after the unpaid clerk spoke.
“Yes, two hundred and ninety. But you remember all of that?”
The murmurs around them did not stop.
It was probably because Heo Un's words sounded like bragging.
Now it was time for me to step in.
“Yeon Gak-ju, you have nothing to lose, right? Let's give it a try.”
“All right. We have to restore the records anyway, so it might be a good idea to ask him.”
Heo Un-gwon sat down in the seat provided for him, closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.
After counting to twenty,
Heo Un-gwon opened his eyes, picked up a brush, and began to write down what he remembered on a piece of paper.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh
Swoosh, swoosh
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh
As they read what he wrote, their eyes grew wide. The executives and officials in charge of silk trading looked as if they were about to faint.
“He really... He really remembers everything!”
“My goodness!”
Seeing this, I smiled triumphantly.
This was the main reason why I sent Heo Un to the Sangyugak.
It was a way for him to make an impression on others and gain their recognition all at once.
Of course, I also didn't want to see the Sangyugak officials suffer.
Even after all that hard work, they weren't able to completely restore the ledgers.
Seeing this, they say it's like sweeping the yard and picking up money.
Heo-woon is the core of the newly established Information Bureau.
In order for him to secure a position in the Information Bureau, it would be better to have the recommendations and recognition of many people rather than my unilateral recommendation.
With that, Heo Un wrote down the contents of the ledger without hesitation, and the other members quickly replenished the ink and paper without being told.
It was almost an hour later when Heo Un-gak put down his brush. Before he knew it, there was a pile of paper next to him.
“I'm done. I wrote down everything I could remember.”
The officials and council members who were checking his work were impressed. The council member who had made the mistake was especially thrilled.
“It's exactly the same as what I saw in the ledger!”
However, Yeon Gak-ju did not accept this easily and ordered him to check again.
“First of all, thank you for your hard work. However, we need to confirm this. As I said earlier, ask the other departments for their cooperation and gather the necessary information.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And make sure that it matches what Heo Gak-won wrote.”
I returned to my office.
I couldn't stay away from my desk for long.
Yeon Gak-ju had ordered additional confirmation, so it would take time to verify.
This was normal behavior for a senior official, so I let it pass.
Heo Un's abilities were well established, so once this matter was resolved, Yeon Gak-ju would come to trust his memory.
I was able to concentrate on my work with peace of mind.
.
.
.
That evening.
I went to look for Heo Un, but he hadn't returned home yet.
“Are you working late?”
Then, I heard the sound of a group of people approaching from afar.
“That's amazing. You memorized everything without a single mistake.”
“I'm embarrassed.”
“Hey, thanks to you, this guy is still alive. No matter how hard he tries, how can he make the same ledger as before? I'm sure Yeon Gak-ju will kill him when he finds out.”
“Ugh! The thought alone is terrifying!”
Amidst their conversation, there was a mixed sound.
Clang, clang.
It was the sound of a cart being pulled.
Soon, two people and a cart came into view.
And on that cart was a familiar face.
It was Heo Un-gak.
It seemed that Heo Un-gak had made a strong impression on everyone with his actions today.
Judging from the way they were talking to each other, he must have made some new friends.
I smiled and said to Pal-gap.
“Let's come back later.”
“Yes, sir.”
We quietly left the guest house and watched as the two officials helped Heo Un-gak out of the cart and into the guest house.
Heo Un-gak looked awkward, but he did not look unhappy.
After making sure they had left, we returned to the guest house.
“Is Heo Un-gak here?”
“Come in.”
I opened the door and entered. Captain Heo Yun was sitting in front of a table.
“Ah! Captain!”
“It's okay, please have a seat.”
I sat down in front of him and said, “You did a great job today.”
“It was all thanks to your advice.”
"I'm glad I could be of help.
“Thanks to you, the members of Sangyugak had an easier time. As your captain, I am very grateful.”
I bowed my head slightly with my hands clasped together, and Heo-woon didn't know how to respond.
“It's a strange feeling, but not a bad one.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. To be honest, this is the first time I've been recognized by others like this.”
He scratched his ear and continued.
“I'm glad I could be of help.”
Then, a question suddenly popped into his head.
He must have done some work at Baekcheon Trading Company, so he wondered if his incredible memory had ever been recognized before.
“Does anyone else at Baekcheon Trading Company know about your memory?”
“I haven't told anyone.”
“What?”
“My father... told me not to reveal it. He said that others might envy me and told me to reveal it when the time came.”
“When the time comes?”
“He said I would realize it myself. And with the recent incident of the lost ledgers, I realized it. I remembered when the Captain asked me about my talent, and I felt that now was the time my father had told me about.”
“Didn't you tell me before?”
“That...”
Heo Un-gak replied with a smile.
“Even if I saw my father in a dream, he was the one who believed in me and hired me, so I wanted to repay his trust.”
“...”
In any case, Heo Un-gak's father, Heo Won, knew.
He knew that his son would be expelled from Baekcheon Trading Company.
He also couldn't accept that his son's talent would be used for Baekcheon Trading Company.
“But when I saw you memorizing all the ledgers and rewriting them, I had a question.”
“What is it?”
“What is the limit of your memory?”
“That is...”
He looked troubled.
“To be honest, I don't know. I've never reached my limit.”
“What?”
“When I worked at Baekcheon Trading Company, I had no choice but to look through all the books in the library, and I still remember everything.”
“That's amazing!”
Wait
Something... sounds strange.
Did I hear that right?
“Are you saying that you remember all the contents of the Baekcheon Trading Company's books?”
“Yes.”
"....
I thought that Chief Executive Ho Won didn't want his son's talent to be used for the Baekcheon Trading Company, so he told him to keep it a secret.
But that wasn't the case.
When organizing the ledgers, one would inevitably see the contents. What if the other members of the Baekcheon Trading Company found out that he could memorize everything, and that information reached the ears of Namgung Kang, the head of the trading company?
Namgung Kang would undoubtedly choose one of two options.
Either he would forcefully keep him at the Baekcheon Trading Company, or he would kill him.
However, given his personality, it was more likely that he would kill him.
But given his personality, he would most likely kill me.
That is why Chief Executive Heo Won told me to keep it a secret in order to save his son's life.
Having served Namgung Kang for a long time, he knows his personality very well.
“Why are you asking?”
When I stood there frozen for a moment, Heo Won tilted his head.
“No, nothing. Have you had dinner yet?”
“Yes, I ate with my colleagues earlier.”
I told Captain Heo Yun to rest and left his guest room.
Stupid Namgung Gang, the head of the Trading Company.
What he threw away was not just a treasure. It was a treasure of immeasurable value.
The thing that trading companies want to hide from other trading companies the most is their accounts.
It is said that a gentleman does not laugh at the misfortune of others.
But I guess I am not a gentleman.
I can't stop laughing.
“Are you feeling unwell, young master?”
Pal-gap said this.
“It doesn't seem like it's that late yet. Let's go to Gongmil.”
I had an idea when I saw my colleagues carry Heo-woon on a cart earlier.
What if we put wheels on chairs?
* *
The next morning, at the Eunwol Hall meeting.
The meeting discussed the loss of the ledger at Sangyugak yesterday.
It was normal for matters that were not urgent to be discussed at regular meetings like this.
As I expected, my father showed great interest.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Huh! This talent has unexpected skills.”
Then he glanced at me. For some reason, it looked like he was saying, “I knew you were talented!”
I smiled.
I knew about his talent, but that wasn't the only reason I brought him here.
“Keep an eye on him. With his talent, he could be useful in the newly established intelligence unit.”
“Yes, sir.”
As expected, my father knows how important hidden weapons are when dealing with information.
“Now, let's move on to the next agenda item.”
“Next is the Eunpungdae.”
The Chief Administrator continued.
“Chun-il told me about the vulnerabilities in our Trading Company's security. I asked him to give me about ten days to look into it, and I told him that last night.”
“Yes, what did he say?”
“As expected, the saying ‘only a snake knows the way of a snake’ is true.”
The Chief Administrator explained the issues pointed out by Chun-il, such as the management of ventilation holes and the risk of theft due to the structure of the roof.
“This is the report on that matter.”
He handed the scroll to his father.
Looking at the neat handwriting, he could tell who had written it.
Hyung-jin must be working hard.
“It all seems reasonable. Discuss the repairs with Se-poong-gak.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I will do so.”
.
.
.
After the meeting, I returned to my room.
The meeting ended early today, so I had some time to spare.
I lay down on my bed and fell into deep thought.
Security...
Thanks to Chun-il, it seemed that I would be able to avoid losses caused by thieves in this life.
But what should I do about this?
Under the bed I was sitting on was the night pearls I had brought from Luoyang.
Winter was coming, and I would need to put a charcoal brazier under my bed to keep warm, so I had to find a place to store the night pearls before then.
I also needed a fairly large storage space to keep the items I would acquire in the future.
I couldn't carry them all around in my pockets.
My pockets had their limits.
“First, I need a blueprint...”
I got up from my seat and sat in front of my writing desk. Then I poured water into the inkstone and ground the ink.
It was an inkstone that the old man at the general store had given me as a bonus when I bought the poem that Jeong Ho had given me as a gift for my promotion to captain.
It felt good to grind the ink.
Daegyeon was Daegyeon after all.
I muttered as I ground the ink.
“A warehouse... How should I build a warehouse... More importantly, where should I build it...?”
That was when it happened.
Daegyeon's color changed to white.
“...!”
A cold wind blew from beside me.
When I turned my head, I saw a white door appear in midair.
“Ah! You scared me!”
I was surprised by the sudden change in the inkstone, and now a strange door had appeared in midair.
At that moment, Pal-gap entered.
“What's going on?”
“No, nothing... A door suddenly appeared in midair...”
“What are you talking about? A door?”