Chapter 181
The Youngest Son of Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 181
Chapter 181. On the Way Back (4)
The procession stopped as if they recognized me.
I was very happy to see the fluttering flag of Eunhaesang Trading Company.
Two men got out of the carriage and approached me.
“Aren't you the Captain?”
“It's even better to see you two here on the road.”
The men who got out of the carriage were the acting head of the Eunhae Trading Company and Lim Haengsu.
The acting head was in a position to be entrusted with certain authority when concluding new deals or contracts, and Lim Haengsu was a person who specialized in leather.
Looking at the two of them together, it was easy to guess what was going on.
“Are you heading to the North Sea?”
“Yes. I heard that it was thanks to the achievements of the young master.”
I scratched my ear at Su Dae-shu's words.
“It wasn't really an achievement, just a stroke of luck.”
"If luck were all it took, then everyone in the world would be successful. Don't say that. It makes me a little sad.“
It was a playful remark, but it had some truth to it.
”We had a little help from above. Anyway, I hope you have a safe trip. It will be beneficial in the short term, but it will also be a great opportunity in the long run.“
”I understand. Don't worry."
I took out a small pouch containing some gold coins and handed it to the deputy.
“Please take it, just in case.”
“No, you don't have to give me this.”
“It's my gift. It will be a long and arduous journey, and you may need some extra cash along the way. You can't use the company's money for that.”
“That's true.”
“Besides, is the road there a bit rough? You can use it to boost the morale of the Trading Company employees along the way.”
“Then I will accept it with gratitude.”
The deputy head put the pouch I handed him into his pocket and expressed his gratitude.
“Although you have become the head of a branch in a remote area, it will be a very important place for our Eunhae Trading Company. So please do your best.”
“Of course I will. By the way, did I mention that I'm the branch manager?”
“No, I just thought I knew because I saw you and your group.”
“You are indeed the sub-branch manager.”
Then Lim Hyung-soo said,
“Come to think of it, the sub-branch manager sent a rather large gift from the Kwangjoon Trading Company.”
Right, Captain Bok-Yoon's father said he sent a gift.
“Did you see what the gift was?”
“Hahaha, you'll see when you get there.”
What kind of gift could it be?
They just smiled and didn't answer.
And so we parted ways with them.
Now that we had finally left Beijing, we still had a long way to go before reaching Hubei Province.
.
.
.
After riding for several days, we finally entered Hubei Province.
“Huff! Ha! Huff! Ha!”
“What are you doing?”
Pal-gap replied to my question.
“It's been a long time since I've been back to my hometown, and it smells good.”
Smell? What smell?
Well, bears have a good sense of smell, so maybe that's why.
I've been away for almost four months, and I do feel a sense of familiarity.
It's like the feeling of getting into a warm blanket.
Soon, we arrived at Eunhae Trading Company.
“Come in.”
“You must have had a hard time.”
My father and mother welcomed me.
“I've returned safely.”
“Did Jin-yu say he was there?”
“Yes, Father.”
“The people who will establish a branch there and bring back the leather have already left.”
“Yes, I met them near Beijing. You sent Su Dae-shu and Lim Haeng-su.”
“Yes, I sent Su Dae-shu as the branch manager. By the way...”
My father trailed off with a strange look on his face.
“What is it?”
“It's nothing bad. What happened at the Gwangjun Trading Company?”
“I provided some assistance and established a good relationship. Come to think of it, you mentioned sending a gift. What was it?”
My father paused for a moment before answering.
“Junma.”
“What?”
“I sent 100 Junma horses.”
“....”
I was speechless.
In this area, that was an enormous amount of money.
I headed to the annex to wash up.
It had been a long time since I had been back, but it was clean and well maintained.
After quickly washing up, I greeted my grandfather and headed to Jung-ho's annex.
“Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon haven't forgotten me, have they?”
Pal-gap sighed at my question.
He looked like he had a lot to say but didn't want to.
“Why?”
“No, it's nothing.”
We arrived at Jung-ho's annex.
Jung-ho was busy and not at the Trading Company.
It was almost time to select the company that would supply silk to the royal family.
“Sister-in-law, I'm home.”
“Oh! Young master, welcome home. Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes, thanks to you. Was everything all right?”
“Of course.”
My sister-in-law clapped her hands and said.
“Ah! You have to say hello to Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon.”
Soon, the nanny brought the two children.
“Hello.”
In response to my greeting, Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon stared at me and burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha!”
“Ha ha ha!”
Seeing this, I smiled brightly, and the two children also smiled at me.
I heard Pal-gap muttering beside me.
“What a dirty world, only remembering the good-looking ones.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
After seeing all my family members, I headed to my father's office.
“Now we can talk freely.”
“Yes, you're right.”
“First of all, I'm glad you had a safe trip.”
“It's thanks to my mother's daily prayers to the gods.”
“Hahaha.”
My father nodded and looked at me.
“You're strange. Why do you always ask me questions like this when you come home?”
“I'm just the way I am.”
“What did you do to receive a hundred horses?”
I explained to my father what had happened with Captain Bok-Yoon.
“You saved Captain Bok-Yoon? I see how it happened.”
“Yes. By the way, what is it about these horses that has you so surprised?”
My father seemed strangely excited, as if these were not ordinary horses.
“Huh, you really don't know anything. Let's go see for ourselves. You'll have the same reaction as me when you see them.”
My father got up and took me to the stable.
A moment later
“...”
As my father said, I was speechless.
These horses were among the best even among the finest horses. They must have been carefully selected by the Gwangjun Trading Company.
I felt a little overwhelmed by such an extravagant gift.
“Was there a letter?”
As if he had been waiting for my question, my father took a letter from his sleeve and handed it to me.
“You haven't opened it yet?”
“That's a letter sent to you separately.”
I read the letter.
[Captain Eun, I don't know if you realize it, but Yoon is the hope of our Trading Company. Young has no future. Don't feel too burdened by the gifts we sent. How can a hundred fine horses compare to the future of our Trading Company? So don't think about returning them. Use them well.]
I chuckled.
Knowing what had happened to the Kwangjoon Trading Company in my previous life, I decided to gratefully accept the gift.
“Now, let's go have dinner.”
“Yes.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
As soon as I finished my breathing exercises, my Master entered my annex.
“I have returned after completing your request, Master.”
My master bowed with his hands clasped in front of his chest in response to my greeting.
“Thank you for doing what I asked.”
“You are too kind. It was my duty as your disciple. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am almost completely healed.”
My master straightened up and said, “Now, let's begin your training.”
“Then let's begin training.”
“...”
You must be wondering about the request I made, but seeing that you want to start with training first, you must be a truly great person.
“Before you leave, you learned the tenth technique, Seolbong, so now you will learn the eleventh technique, Baekya. But before that...”
My master looked at me and said.
“As a review, please demonstrate the techniques in order, starting with the first technique, Gangseol.”
“Yes, Master.”
I picked up my sword.
Then, I recalled the memory of being imprisoned by the investigator I met at the remains of Seolpunggung and forced to undergo isolated training.
As he watched my sword move, Master's eyes grew wider and wider.
From the moment I started the first technique, Gangseol, to the tenth technique, Seolbong, my Master remained silent.
“What is this? The Jinseolshik that you just performed is exactly the same as the one painted on the wall of Seolpung Palace in my memory!”
“Actually, while searching for traces of Seolpung Palace at your request, I met the investigator of Seolpung Palace.”
“....”
“And I spent a very long time trapped in the investigator's pupils, learning the Jinseolshik sword technique.”
“A very long time?”
"It felt like several years had passed, but... Once I achieved complete mastery of the Jinseolshik, I returned to reality, and in reality, not even a moment had passed.“
My master nodded at my words.
”Come to think of it, I remember hearing this from my grandfather when I was very young. He said that the investigator had a friend who was well versed in formations. It seems that you received help from that friend.“
”I see."
I scratched my cheek.
“But you said there were several other places like that...”
“...?”
“You said that I had to go there for the great technique to be activated.”
“Could it be because of my constitution?”
“It seems so.”
The truth is that I am the one who was given a second life thanks to the investigator's arrangements, but there is no need to mention that.
“Then, the investigator already knew that I would take the king as my disciple.”
“Yes, I think so. I even think he knew that Seolpung Palace would be destroyed. That is why he prepared such a great technique so that the martial arts would not be lost.”
“I see.”
“One last thing...”
I whispered to my Master in a low voice.
“Do you have a secret safe or something?”
“...?”
“The Master left me quite a lot of money, and I think I should give it to you.”
Hearing my words, my Master took me somewhere, half-believing me.
It was a secluded forest estate.
“This is the secret hideout of Seolpung Palace.”
“It's quite large. Where should I put the treasure?”
My master pointed to a room.
“You can put it in there.”
I took out the treasure that the investigator had left behind at Seolpung Palace and put it there.
Urrrgh.
I wondered if it was okay to show my notes to Master, but I couldn't keep it a secret forever.
I'll tell Pal-gap too.
I had a plausible excuse.
“...!”
Master was so surprised to see the treasures that he rubbed his eyes.
Only then did he seem to believe that this was real, and he shook his head.
“No, wait, how did you bring all of this here?”
“It's thanks to the items His Majesty the Emperor gave me. I can use them as storage space.”
“I see.”
At that moment, tears streamed down my Master's eyes.
“Master!”
I couldn't help but panic.
It was the first time I had ever seen my Master cry, in this life or the last.
“Why are you crying?”
“So much treasure! Ugh! All that hard work to raise funds for our activities...”
“...”
Only then did I understand why my Master had been working at the escort agency.
It was to raise funds for his activities.
After all, rebuilding a sect must cost a fortune.
After a while, Master calmed down and asked me,
“Did the Master leave any other messages?”
“He asked you to rebuild Seolpungung.”
“I see. As the successor of Seolpung Palace, that is your duty.”
“By the way, would it be okay if I improved the Jinseolshik Sword Technique?”
“What? But that is our family's...”
“No, it's not. There must have been some problems during the transmission process. The investigator said that the Jinseolshik Sword Technique is a sword technique that all disciples can learn.”
“...I see.”
After listening to my detailed explanation, Master agreed to improve the Jinseolshik Sword Technique.
.
.
.
Before I knew it, the leaves had fallen.
While I was away in the North Sea, summer had passed and it was now the middle of autumn.
I ate breakfast as usual and headed to Eunwolgak.
There was a meeting at Eunwolgak.
“...That's settled. What's the next item on the agenda?”
At my father's words, Sang-yoo-gak's Yeon spoke up.
“There seems to be a problem in Hunan Province.”
“Hunan Province?”
“Yes, our trading company's store near Dongting Lake is a rental property. However, the owner wants us to vacate the store by next month.”
“What? Suddenly vacate the store?”
Upon hearing this, Chief Administrator Eunpung of Eunpungdae said.
“Then why don't you just buy the store? It's not like you don't have the money.”
“I tried, but...”
Yeon Gak-ju sighed and continued.
“They refuse to sell. They say they won't sell even if we offer ten times the market price...”
“...”
Only then did we understand the situation.
That notorious shop was being taken away.