Chapter 18
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 18
Chapter 18. Recruit the Palm Print (1)
Master and Jung Jo-jang clasped hands with him in gratitude, and I also got out of the carriage to greet them.
“Thank you for seeing us off.”
“Don't mention it.”
“Please give my regards to Boss Jang.”
“Of course. Ha ha ha. Take care.”
“Yes.”
The Green Forest Bandits of O Dongsan Mountain Keep gathered their tools and began to return.
“Let's fill our stomachs with meat and alcohol today!”
“I'm so full I'm going to burst!”
“Whatever!”
“Alcohol! Alcohol! Alcohol is waiting for us!”
Seeing them excitedly chatting, Master said.
“It seems we did well to give them the toll money.”
“Yes, we paid off our debt.”
Jeong-chung asked me.
“What debt? Jang Boss agreed to serve you as a favor...”
“Even so, his men need something in return to obey Boss Jang's orders, don't they?”
“That's true.”
Master smiled and said.
“By the way, I thought it would take until tomorrow to cross O-dong Mountain, but we made it much faster than I expected.”
“At this rate, we will arrive at Geumseon Village tonight.”
We crossed O-dong Mountain a day early, which is good for me.
I will be able to achieve my goal a day sooner.
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Clatter, clatter.
Clink, clink.
The sound of wheels rolling and horses' hooves echoed on the quiet road.
How long did we walk?
A village began to appear in the distance.
“I'm glad we arrived at the village before sunset. We won't have to sleep outside.”
Palkap said, and Lim Kyung-bin, who was sitting in front of him, replied.
“But we can't let our guard down just because we're staying at an inn. In some ways, inns can be even more dangerous than sleeping outdoors.”
“Why is that?”
I couldn't help but ask Pal-gap.
“We have to be suspicious of everything, from the food we eat to whether there are people hiding in our rooms to steal our valuables.”
“Then it would be easier to sleep on the streets.”
“To be honest, that would be easier, but we still have to stop by a few inns that do business with our Eunhae Trading Company and Changin Escort Agency. Those are places where news travels fast.”
I replied with a slight smile.
“If my guess is correct, the inn we are heading to is one that does business with the Changin Escort Agency, so you don't need to worry too much.”
“I know this is your first escort mission, but you seem very knowledgeable.”
I was taken aback by Lim Kyung-bin's words.
It was only natural that I knew these things. They were things I had experienced during my previous escort missions.
However, now I was supposed to be unaware of these things.
“I learned them from my hyung-nims.”
“I see.”
“I also learned them from Chief Administrator Yoo. The training was quite rigorous.”
“Ugh!”
Im Gak-won's face froze at my hastily added words, and he said with a pitiful expression.
“You've been through a lot.”
“Hahahaha.”
The speed of the carriage gradually slowed down. It meant that we had entered the village.
I looked at the village through the carriage window.
It was a village located on the pass between Hubei and Jiangxi.
Thanks to its distance from the Gan River, it was safe from flooding and was a place where merchants came and went actively.
This was because it was difficult to sell goods if they got wet from flooding.
The village also had the geographical advantage of being able to effectively ward off the occasional bandits.
A market was held here every day, selling not only dried freshwater fish, a specialty of Jiangxi Province, but also sweets and tea from the southern provinces, which were brought up the Gan River.
The market here was called “Geumseonjang Market.”
It means a place where boats carrying valuable goods are traded.
That is why the village is also called Geumseon Village.
This is the village where the Palm print craftsmen live.
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“Whoa!”
When the Trading Company's procession stopped, I got off the carriage.
[Lu's Inn]
It was an inn run by a family with the surname Lu, and I had stayed there quite a few times.
I could trust this place.
“Welcome. We've been waiting for you.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man rushed out from inside.
His name was Yeo Chu.
He was the owner of this inn.
He was born in the fall, so they named him Yeo Chu.
“It's been a long time. It seems like it's been almost a month.”
The innkeeper Yeo Chu responded warmly to the words of my master, who spoke on our behalf.
“That's right. It's been a month and two days since you last visited. Ah! Is that Mr. Jeong-chung next to you?”
Jeong-chung looked surprised at his words.
“You still remember my name? It's been almost three years, hasn't it?”
“You are a valued guest, so of course I remember you. Hahaha.”
That was Yeo-chu's specialty.
His ability to remember the names and characteristics of people he had seen only once ten years ago was so uncanny that it was creepy.
He greeted the people who had come on business from Seungpunggak and Sangyugak by name.
“And Mr. Im Kyung-bin...”
He rolled his eyes slightly and smiled, clasping his hands together.
“This is your first time at our inn, isn't it?”
“That's right.”
I clasped my hands together and said.
“My name is Jae-kyung, and this is my servant, Pal-gap.”
“I see. It's nice to meet you. I am Yeo-choo, the owner of this inn.”
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Please come in. I will prepare some water for you to wash up and some food to fill your stomachs.”
Actually, I tried not to wash my face while traveling. It was to protect my skin from the harsh wind and dust.
Still, it was necessary to wash off the dirt regularly.
We entered the inn and were assigned rooms.
Three people were assigned to each room, and the same was true for the guards.
I heard that other escort agencies had ten people staying in each room, but Changin Escort Agency was generous in that regard.
In the future I experienced, when I succeeded my second older brother and officially became one of the captains, I was able to meet the head of Changin Escort Agency.
At that time, I learned how to manage people through my conversation with the head, and I was impressed.
Treating the mercenaries well is a way to efficiently use them... I mean, exploit them.
In the long run, it is much more profitable.
The door opened, and the two bodyguards entered first and checked the room before saying, “Everything is fine. We will be in the next room, so please rest.”
My bodyguard, Im Kyung-bin, and I entered the room.
Lim Kyung-bin and I entered the room.
I couldn't help but smile at the cleanliness of the room.
Suddenly, memories of my previous stay here came flooding back.
The beds in this inn were not fixed. They were set up according to the needs of the guests.
Perhaps because the advance party had notified them in advance, three beds had already been set up in the room, and even blankets had been laid out.
I said to Lim Gak-won.
“I saw that there was a shared bathroom earlier. Would you like to use it?”
He nodded in response to my question.
“Yes, I would.”
“Then please go ahead. I will wash up separately.”
Im Gak-won replied with a bright expression.
“I'll be right back.”
As I saw him off, I recalled memories from the past.
“It was my greed.”
Wanting to get closer to the employees of the Trading Company, I had taken a bath with them in the shared bathroom.
However, that was my mistake.
It made them uncomfortable.
I must not repeat that mistake.
“Pal-gap. Go prepare a private bathroom for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
After washing up, I headed to the dining room on the first floor, where those who had already finished bathing were sitting at the table.
“Eun Gak-won, please come here.”
Jeong Chung-jo pointed to an empty seat, and I sat down.
“What would you like to eat?”
That expression means he wants to recommend something delicious.
Then I should live up to his expectations.
“What is good here?”
“The meat fried in rapeseed oil and the dumplings with mar are specialties here.”
“Then I'll have that.”
Come to think of it, isn't Jiangxi famous for its sake?
However, even though it was our first time at this inn, there were no bottles of alcohol on the table.
One of the unspoken rules of our journey was to not even smell alcohol when stopping at an inn.
Just then, the waiter approached us to take our order, and while we were chatting, our food arrived.
Meat fried in fresh rapeseed oil and steaming dumplings.
“Please, help yourself.”
I picked up a dumpling and took a bite.
“Hmm...”
“Is it good?”
“Yes, it's really delicious.”
It was a taste I had missed.
Ever since the owner of the Yeochu Inn died and his son took over, it hadn't tasted the same.
But now that I could taste it again, I felt like I was fifteen years old again.
After filling my stomach with dumplings, I asked, “When do you leave here?”
“We plan to stay here for four or five days.”
The small merchants who set up stalls in Geumseonjang Market were small-scale merchants.
The people who set up stalls and trade in Geumseonjangsi are small merchants.
Trading companies like Eunhaesangdan don't do small transactions because they deal with large quantities.
There are two main ways that large trading companies do business.
The first is to coordinate the terms of the transaction in advance, then meet at a designated place to exchange goods or hand over the goods and receive payment.
The second method is to write the name of the trading company and the items they want to trade on a sign and hang it in front of the inn.
When other trading companies see the sign, they express their intention to trade, and then they set a date for negotiations.
The method we will use this time is the former.
If we had chosen the latter method, a member of the second or third rank of the Shoryu-kaku would have accompanied us to negotiate the terms of the transaction.
After confirming the Trading Company's schedule, I spoke to my Master and Team Leader Chung-joong.
“I'm sorry, but would it be okay if I went out for a while tomorrow?”
I was planning to go find the palm print artist who made the wooden dummy.
Jeong-chung nodded readily.
“Actually, the captain of the trading company asked me to tell you that. He said he has some personal business to attend to and asked me to make sure you have some free time.”
“I see.”
Just as I thought.
My father is the best.
Jeong-chung continued.
“However, he also asked that you be accompanied by a bodyguard.”
That was something I couldn't change, so I answered obediently.
“Yes, sir.”
After finishing their meal, everyone began to go about their duties.
Some had to stand guard to protect the goods, and others had to feed the horses.
Those who were not on guard duty went to their rooms early.
My job was to keep records of the transaction, and I planned to leave early tomorrow morning, so I went to bed early.
- Young master.
At that moment, I heard someone calling me.
It was a familiar telepathic voice.
It was my Master.
“I will come to pick you up tonight.”
Not understanding what he meant, I looked at my master, who smiled and sent me telepathy.
“You have to practice, right?”
Damn, I won't be able to sleep early today.
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My footsteps sounded very loud.
A dark hallway.
I was walking down the hallway, feeling my way with my hands.
Thud
Before I knew it, I had reached a dead end.
No, it wasn't.
It was a door.
Squeak.
The swing door opened at my touch, and the dimly lit room came into view.
Three corpses lay scattered about, dead.
From the way they were arranged, they must have been family.
And in the middle of them, someone was crouching and sobbing.
I approached him.
Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist, and I screamed in surprise.
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“Ugh!”
“Young master. What's wrong?”
“Huh?”
I turned my head. Pal-gap was looking at me with a worried expression.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“...I guess so.”
“Shall I bring you some medicine to calm your nerves?”
“It's okay. Just give me a glass of cold water.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap went downstairs, and I looked down at my wrist.
Then I remembered the person who had grabbed my wrist in my dream.
I couldn't see his face, but I knew who he was.
In the future I had experienced, he was the martial artist who had made the doll that couldn't save me.
As he grabbed my wrist, he said, “This time, I will definitely save you.”
“This time, I will definitely...”
I knew what he was going to say next.
“Save me and my family.”
I clenched my fist and made a vow. This time, I would save the Palm print maker and his family.