Chapter 21
The Youngest Son of Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 21
Chapter 21. Martial Artist (1)
The carriages and carts were decorated with colorful flags bearing the name “Juhasang Trading Company” and the emblem of the escort agency.
Juhasang Trading Company was a trading company similar in size to Eunhaesang Trading Company.
Soon, the members of Eunhae Trading Company and Juhasangdan met, introduced themselves, and exchanged greetings.
Then, they confirmed the details of the transaction.
“As agreed, here are 500 rolls of high-quality silk from Sichuan Province.”
“Here are 500 jin of white silver needles from Fujian Province. And here are 800 jin of sugar from Guangxi, as agreed.”
A member of Sangyugak asked, “May I check the condition of the silver needles?”
“May we check the condition of the silver needles?”
“Of course.”
“Then we will check the silk.”
“Please do.”
We examined the goods brought by the other side to check for any defects.
To check the quality of the tea, we had to brew it and taste it ourselves.
After brewing and tasting the tea, the member of the Sangyu Pavilion smiled slightly and nodded.
“It's good.”
I could also taste the high quality of the tea.
The members of the Trading Company also carefully inspected the silk we had brought and nodded in approval.
The transaction was completed smoothly and without a hitch.
Just then,
Someone rushed into the open space where the transaction was taking place.
He was one of my bodyguards.
He was carrying out my orders, so the fact that he rushed over like this meant that something unexpected had happened.
But
there was a familiar little girl clinging to the bodyguard's chest.
Her name was Gong-rae.
She was the younger sister of the child who made the martial artist dolls.
The sudden situation left everyone confused.
I quickly ran up to him and asked,
“What's going on?”
Gong-rae answered my question.
“Young master! Help us! My family has been taken away!”
“What?”
“People said my father stole something, and they took my mother and Orabeoni away.”
The bodyguard continued.
“It is as the child said. People from the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company took the potter's wife and son by force.”
Jin-Gyeon Trading Company.
Hearing that name, my anger rose again.
In fact, when he caught the thief who stole Gong Do-gong's wallet yesterday, he felt something was strange.
From his conversation with him, he felt that he was a very cautious person.
So, just in case, he took a closer look and found that there was a string attached to the wallet. He must have tied the wallet to his body with that string.
Even so, the thief cut the string of the wallet and targeted Gong Dao's wallet.
He left other people around him who would have been easy targets for stealing money.
Furthermore, the thief looked disappointed.
It was strange that he looked disappointed when he should have been afraid of what was going to happen to him.
I had a bad feeling, so I went to the law enforcement office and gave a small gift to a constable, asking him to keep an eye on the thief.
That night, trouble broke out.
One of the constables tried to kill the thief, and the constable I had asked to keep an eye on him discovered this.
As the situation escalated and other people gathered, the constable stabbed himself in the neck with a dagger and committed suicide.
The thief confessed everything.
“I just did what I was told. The potter told me to steal it when he received his monthly salary...”
“So who told you to do that?”
“It was... Hwang Ga-ryeong of the Jin-gyeon Trading Company.”
Jin-gyeon Trading Company.
The moment he heard that name, his anger rose.
“But why did the constable try to kill you?”
“That constable was a guy who took a lot of bribes from the Jin-gyeon Trading Company. So, he agreed to get me out of there, but... Damn it!”
So, the constable who committed suicide was afraid of the punishment he would receive if it was revealed that he had accepted bribes.
“But I heard that the Trading Company had their eyes on that potter. Hehe.”
“...?”
“I heard that even if I failed, there was another way.”
Hearing that, I sent one of the bodyguards to the potter's house to secretly watch him.
Sure enough, the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company was up to something.
I politely told Jeong-Chung, the team leader.
“I'm sorry, but I need to leave for a moment.”
“What's going on?”
I explained the whole situation to Jeong-Chung.
After thinking about what I said for a moment, Jeong-chung consulted with his master.
Then he called the deputy leader of the Eunpungdae Samjo and ordered him to take half of his men and go with me.
“It seems that a show of force is necessary. Go with the deputy leader.”
I bowed my head in gratitude for his unexpected help.
“Thank you.”
“It's only natural. Don't worry about it.”
“Then I'll be on my way.”
.
.
.
I immediately sent the guards to find out what was going on.
In the meantime, I asked Gong-rae what had happened.
“How did you manage to avoid being taken away?”
“I hid.”
“You hid?”
“Yes. When they started to take my mother and Orabeoni away, I quickly climbed onto the roof and hid.”
“On the roof? Why?”
“People usually don't look above their heads. It's hard to see…”
“I see.”
“They searched everywhere, looking in pots and jars, but they couldn't find me.”
“You were so brave to think of hiding!”
“If I had been caught, I wouldn't have had anyone to help me. My family consists only of my father, mother, and brother.”
Hearing this, I patted Gong-rae on the head and said, “You did well.
Thanks to you, I now understand the situation.”
“After the people left, I climbed down from the roof and met a kind soldier.”
“I see.”
I was so focused on Gong-mil that I didn't realize his younger brother Gong-rae was also quite clever.
In that short moment, he assessed the situation and found a safe place to hide.
“So it was because of that bastard Jin-gyeong, the captain of the trading company, that the buds of a bright future were crushed.”
Once again, I felt a surge of anger.
At that moment, the warriors who had gone to investigate returned.
“Young master. We have found out.”
“Yes, what is the situation?”
“It seems that Gongdui Dao is being held on charges of stealing money from the Trading Company. And they say that if he does not repay the stolen money, they will sell his family.”
Hearing this, Gongrae shouted.
“That's not true! My father is not that kind of person! He always told us to live with integrity!”
I placed my hand on Gong-rae's head and said,
“That's right. Your father is not that kind of person. So don't worry and play with Pal-gap here.”
I said to Pal-gap,
“Please take good care of Pal-gap.”
“Yes, sir.”
I said to the guard.
“So where are Gong Do-gong and his family now?”
“They are at the Jin-gyeon Trading Company. It is a well-known pottery trading company in Geumseonjang.”
“But it is only a small trading company compared to our Eunhae Trading Company.”
I couldn't let Jin-gyeong-sangdan take Gong-mil away from me again.
I took the lead and said, “Let's go.”
“Yes.”
* * *
Gong-dui wondered what was going on.
Everything was normal when he arrived at Jin-gyeong-sangdan in the morning.
But suddenly, a high-ranking member of the Trading Company appeared with some samurai and arrested him.
The charge was that he had stolen the Trading Company's property.
He said that wasn't true and that he couldn't have done it.
When they showed him the gold coins they said they found in his house, he knew immediately.
He had been set up.
“So you still deny your crime?”
“How many times do I have to say no?”
“Even if you say no, the evidence speaks for itself!”
“I don't know anything about it!”
Gong-du argued vehemently, but Hwang Ga-ryeong seemed unwilling to listen to him.
“Enough. According to internal regulations, if you steal something, you must pay five times the value of what you stole. But I can see that you don't have that kind of money. So, you'll have to sell your family to get the money.”
“What? You can't do that!”
Gong-du shouted in surprise.
The man handed him a piece of paper.
“What is this?”
“If you sign this, you can pay the compensation instead.”
“So what is this? What is it?”
“It's a sister contract. If you just sign here, everything will be settled.”
Gong-dui was speechless.
There was no way he didn't understand the meaning of a sister contract.
Hwang Ga-ryeong looked at him and whispered slyly.
“What are you hesitating about? Isn't it better to work somewhere you know than to be sold to some unknown place?”
Gong-du gritted his teeth.
“You did this because I'm leaving here at the end of this month to go to another Trading Company?”
“What are you talking about? Ha ha ha. Why would we go to all this trouble on purpose? Ha ha ha ha.”
“...”
It was clear.
His contract had expired last month, and he was trying to move to another place, so they did this to prevent him from going to another trading company.
“So? Can't you sign?”
“...”
The situation was dire.
With no one to prove his innocence, it was a foregone conclusion that he was a thief who had stolen the Trading Company's property.
Tears blurred his vision as he realized that he was nothing but a powerless potter.
Why did he suddenly remember the words of the young man he had met yesterday, who claimed to be the son of the Eunhae Trading Company?
“It's funny for someone like me, who works for a trading company, to say this, but there are quite a few people who will do anything for money.”
That was true.
He was ashamed to say this, but he was a skilled potter.
In other words, he was a potter who could make money.
That was why he was doing this.
“But even so, Eunhae Trading Company is conscientious in its own way. It is a tradition passed down from generation to generation that people should be treated with respect, and I also believe that. That is why I offered a quarter of the earnings as a condition. I thought that was a fair price to pay so that we wouldn't be called thieves.”
The young master of Eunhae Trading Company's eyes sparkled as he said this, filled with confidence in himself.
He thought that it would be okay to entrust his son to such a person.
At least then, he wouldn't have to see this kind of filth.
‘But if I become a slave, my children will also...’
Bang!
Hwang Ga-ryeong tapped the table with his hand, urging him.
“What are you still thinking about? Hurry up and sign!”
“...”
“Hurry up!”
But it was already too late.
With trembling hands, he reached for the ink.
Bang!
At that moment,
the door opened and someone entered.
“We're here to find Gong Dao-gong!”
Gong Dao-gong was blinded by the sudden light. Through the light, he could see the face of the beautiful boy he had seen yesterday.
“Huh? Young Master Dao?”
* * *
When I found out that Gong Dao and his family were being held captive at the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company, I immediately headed there.
“Who are you?”
“We are from the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“What?”
“They are holding my property without permission.”
“What? What do you mean...”
“Make way.”
At my words, the warriors immediately pushed the gatekeeper aside and opened the way, and I entered the trading company.
The Jin-Gyeon Trading Company made a fortune with martial artists and moved its headquarters to Gaebyeok.
It used to be a small trading company...
A trading company like this grew by exploiting that child, Gong-Mil.
Then, isn't it only fair that they treat him humanely?
At that moment, a samurai shouted.
“They're over there.”
I immediately headed in that direction, dealt with the samurai guarding the place, and went inside.
Bang!
When I kicked the door open, I saw two people.
One was Gong Dao.
The other was someone I recognized.
He was the one who followed Jin-gyeong's captain around and took care of various matters.
What was his name?
Ah, I remember.
“Nice to meet you. I am Hwang Yeong-gaeng.”
“Who are you?”
“It's rude to speak informally to someone you've just met. Hahaha.”
I smiled and continued.
“I am from the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“...!”
At the mention of the Eunhae Trading Company, his face froze. Then he suddenly became polite.
“What is the matter?”
“I heard that you are holding someone who belongs to my company, so I came here myself.”
I picked up the paper in front of Gong Dao and read it.
"...
It was a sister contract.
It was a lifetime contract stating that they would become slaves.
Not only that, but it also stated that their families would also become slaves of the Jin-gye Trading Company.
This was the reason behind the false accusation of stealing the Trading Company's money.
Then why would they go this far?
It's because Gong Dao-gong can make money from it. And the fact that he would go this far means that the contract is about to expire.
I've felt this before, but he's really despicable.