Chapter 19
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 19
Chapter 19. Recruit the Palm Print (2)
Soon, Pal-gap entered the room with a glass of cold water. I took the glass and drank the water.
“Are you really okay, young master?”
I nodded in response to Pal-gap's question.
“I'm fine. Don't worry.”
“It seems that you trained too hard yesterday.”
I laughed at his words.
Come to think of it, I had trained very hard yesterday and fell asleep as soon as I washed up and lay down on my bed.
“It's hard, but I can't skip training.”
“I'm sure you complained to me last night that you didn't want to train.”
“...Forget about that.”
After breakfast, I was accompanied by my armor bearer and two bodyguards and headed straight for the gold market.
I had told my father that I wanted to see the market in Jiangxi Province.
I knew that he would ask my bodyguards where I had been and what I had been interested in.
That was why I deliberately went to the crowded Geumseonjang Market.
Of course, I had been there many times in my future memories, but it was quite exciting because it had been a long time since I had been there.
“Is it because I'm starting a new life, or is it because I see things differently now?”
Either way, it didn't matter.
Right now is right now.
“Let's see...”
I saw some items that weren't very popular now but would become all the rage in a few years.
I'll have to get my hands on those first.
As I excitedly wandered around, I suddenly felt hungry.
“How about we try the white rice with chicken, a specialty of Geumseon Market?”
My bodyguard replied to my question.
“As you wish, young master.”
“By the way, where should we go?”
“There's a restaurant called Byegang Restaurant over there. I visited it when I accompanied you on a trip before.”
“Let's go there then.”
We entered the restaurant recommended by my bodyguard.
Byegang Restaurant.
Actually, I knew this restaurant. I had also stopped by here when I was on a business trip.
The specialty dish here, white fish, is a dish that perfectly matches the restaurant's nickname, “Eomjihyang” (meaning “white fish”).
It is a dish made with white rice mixed with freshwater fish without any special seasoning, and it has a light and refreshing taste.
Bringing out the original flavor of the ingredients is a characteristic of Jiangxi cuisine.
“Your order is ready.”
Soon, Baek-eun-mi was served in front of each of us, and we all devoured our food frantically.
“It's delicious, as expected.”
It tasted even better because I hadn't eaten it in a long time.
After spending the morning exploring Geumseonjang Market, we decided to leave the restaurants and start our search for the Palm print artisan in earnest.
I knew that the artisan lived in Geumseon Village, where Geumseonjang Market is located, but I didn't know the exact location.
The only clue I had was that there were several paulownia trees next to the house.
When I asked Hao Clan for help, I found out that he had asked them to bury the craftsman and his dead family in his hometown.
However, Jin-Gyeon Trading Company burned all the bodies, so he couldn't fulfill his wish.
The more I think about it, the worse they are...
Hao Clan didn't know anything more than that.
That means that the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company thoroughly covered their tracks.
It would be easy to find the residents of Geumseon Village who are skilled at making metalware if we asked the Hao Clan, but we must not do so now.
Even though I was only fifteen years old, as the son of the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company, my every move was being watched by rival trading companies.
The man eating next to me and the man behind me... They are following me.
My bodyguard must have noticed this and signaled to me.
With someone following us, should we ask the Hao Clan for help?
That would be like feeding our competitors.
If we're not careful, we could cause even more trouble for the Palm print master.
“If I ask Hao Clan for help, there will be a problem.”
Hao Clan has branches throughout the country, so it's good for obtaining information that cannot be obtained through Sangyugak.
However, the problem is that there is a risk of information leakage.
Therefore, when asking Hao Clan for information, I had to make sure that they didn't know what I really wanted or who I was.
“It would be nice to have a personal information network in times like this.”
That was for later. Right now, I had to deal with the tail that was following me.
I deliberately spoke in a slightly loud voice to Pal-gap.
“I need to take a look around this village.”
“What? Are you done with the market?”
“I'll check out the market later tonight. I heard that the market at night is worth seeing.”
One of my bodyguards nodded in agreement. I didn't know what his intentions were, but he was tactfully going along with me.
“That's right. The night market is another famous attraction.”
“I don't have anything to do until then, and I don't want to go to an inn.”
“I see.”
After finishing our meal, we got up from the table. At the same time, our followers also got up from their seats.
Accompanied by Baek-gap and two bodyguards, I wandered around Geumseon Village.
Outwardly, I walked leisurely, but my eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, looking for the paulownia tree.
Then, I would spend a long time observing the members of the family inside.
I remembered the face of the Palm print master.
As we did this at ten or twenty houses, I could see that my followers were growing tired.
They must have been frustrated because they had no idea what I was doing.
They seemed to have come to the conclusion that I was just broadening my knowledge.
And two hours later.
“Oh... this is hard.”
I sat down on a nearby rock.
I had been searching the village for two hours, and thanks to that, I knew how many paulownia trees there were in Geumseon Village.
About a hundred.
Paulownia trees are tall, so it wasn't difficult to find houses with them.
However, I still couldn't find the Palm print.
Then one of the bodyguards said,
“The tail is off.”
“It finally fell off.”
“Oh, that's why you wanted us to look around the village. And you made our route complicated.”
“Hahahaha.”
I laughed awkwardly.
Actually, it was just that my route became complicated while I was looking for a house with a paulownia tree...
But I didn't clear up the misunderstanding. It was better for the bodyguards to think that way.
The problem was that the sun was setting.
This is troublesome...
It took longer than I expected.
Tomorrow is a trading day for the Trading Company, so I won't be able to wander around freely like this.
In other words, today is the only day I have to find the Palm print artisan.
I thought it would be easy to find...
I think I took it too lightly.
Still, I couldn't give up.
If I gave up, the Palm print artist and his family would fall into the same tragedy that I had experienced.
And I couldn't tolerate the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company earning more unjust money.
I stood up from my seat.
“Let's get going again.”
“Yes, sir.”
That was when it happened.
I heard a man shouting.
“Thief! Oh no! Catch the thief! That's our family's living expenses! You son of a bitch!”
Then I saw someone running toward us at full speed. I untied the water bottle I was carrying.
A water bottle was an essential item when traveling as a messenger.
I froze the water bottle with ice and threw it at the thief when he was approaching.
“Ouch!”
It seemed like he accidentally dropped it.
Degururu.
The water bottle rolled away, and the thief who was passing by stepped on it.
Normally, it would have broken into pieces.
However, the water bottle was frozen solid and did not break.
Slippery.
Instead, the thief slipped on the water bottle, lost his balance, and fell down.
If you ask me how I timed the throw of the water bottle, I could tell you.
To be honest, I wondered how I knew, but it worked.
“You bastard!”
The bodyguards rushed in without missing a beat and completely subdued him.
“Please spare my life! My lord!”
I laughed at the thief's words.
“You're lucky. You caught a thief because you accidentally dropped a bottle.”
“That's right.”
At that moment, a man came running up, panting heavily. He looked at the thief we were subduing and shouted.
“Give me my wallet, you bastard!”
“What are you talking about...”
I said to the thief who was holding on tightly.
“Give it to me.”
“I don't know what you're talking about!”
At that, the bodyguard struck him on the thigh with his sword.
“Ugh! I got it! Here it is! Here it is! Oh, I'm dying!”
I took the wallet and asked the man.
“Is this yours?”
“Yes! Yes! It's mine! That's right.”
“How much was in the wallet?”
“It was my monthly salary that I received today. So...”
He told me how much money was in the wallet, and I opened it and counted the money.
The amount he said was exactly right.
“Here you are. Please be careful in the future.”
“Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!”
Just then, the constables on patrol appeared, and I revealed my identity and handed over the thieves.
It turned out that they were famous criminals in the area.
The constables were delighted to have made such a catch and returned to the office in high spirits.
With that, my work was done, and I set out again to find the palm print artist.
At least, that was my intention.
However, the man who had been robbed earlier stopped us.
“I can't let you go like this. Please come to my house and have a drink.”
I declined his offer.
“No, I've already eaten, and I can't drink alcohol.”
“Then at least have some tea. I can't let you go like this.”
I didn't want to keep refusing his request.
If I did, it would be like I was ignoring his feelings.
“All right, I'll have a cup of tea.”
“Thank you.”
The man led us to his house.
“This is my house. It's humble, but please come in.”
The moment I saw the house he pointed to as his home, I was slightly taken aback.
That was because there were four small paulownia trees next to the house.
“Those are paulownia trees.”
“Yes, they are.”
The man nodded.
“I planted them when my son and daughter were born. I thought that when they grew up and got married, I would give them one each to farm. Ha ha ha.”
"....
Come to think of it, Hao Clan only told us that there were several paulownia trees, but he didn't mention their size.
Besides, it's been a while since then....
“It's a local custom.”
Now he understood why there were so many paulownia trees in Geumseon Village.
At the same time, he felt a sense of emptiness.
Those bastards at Hao Clan.
Even if they didn't have detailed information, how could they give him such useless information and take three silver coins in return?
He was going to create his own intelligence unit!
Through this experience, I learned a lesson.
The information I had was not necessarily accurate, and I should not take the job lightly based on that information alone.
At that moment, I heard footsteps outside the gate.
“Father! I'm home!”
I turned my head toward the young voice and was surprised.
A boy who looked about ten years old came in carrying a book bag.
When he saw us, he quickly bowed his head.
“Hello.”
“...”
“This is my son.”
“...He looks very bright.”
The reason I was surprised was because that boy was the boy who appeared in my dream.
He was the boy who grabbed my wrist and begged me to save him and his family.
He was the boy who grabbed my wrist and begged me to save him and his family.
That boy was the master craftsman who made the Zamoo doll.
For a moment, I had doubts.
Was that boy really the master craftsman who made the Zamoo doll?
He looked so different from how I remembered him.
I had made an excuse to visit the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company and took advantage of the fact that no one was around to see the craftsman.
With bloodshot eyes and a body that was nothing but skin and bones, he muttered over and over, “Something new, new tools.”
In contrast, the boy in front of me now was chubby-cheeked and cute.
Wait, was that craftsman 20 years old at the time?
And it was about ten years after the appearance of the martial artist that I met that craftsman.
Then...
Suddenly, I remembered what the Trading Company captain had said.
“That young boy is so skilled with his hands! He can make strange utensils just like that!”
Those damn bastards.
They used such a young child like that.
They discovered the boy and forcibly took him away six months ago.
So, a ten-year-old boy walked into a life-threatening situation for his family.