Chapter 22
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 22
Chapter 22. Martial Artist (2)
Then why did Jin-gyeong, the captain of the Jin-gyeong Trading Company, kidnap the potter's family in my past life?
If he had signed a contract with them, there was no need to kidnap them.
Ah!
I think I know why.
It was because of the thief I caught.
If I hadn't caught that thief yesterday, Gong Do-gong would have lost all his money.
Even so, he would have managed to scrape by somehow.
With his personality, people around him would have helped him.
The captain of the Jin-gyeon Trading Company wouldn't have thought of that.
And something probably came up that prevented him from paying attention to Gong Do-gong.
That's how Gong Do-gong left the Jin-gyeong Trading Company.
Then he learned about martial artists, and the Jin-gyeong Trading Company, which had been watching Gong Do-gong, learned about Gong Mi's talent, and that's how the tragedy began.
I couldn't help but laugh inside.
My small act of catching a thief changed the situation so much.
And by saving the thief's life, I was able to stop this dirty trick.
Now, my priority is to save Gong and his family.
“Our trading company is holding something that belongs to the Eunhae Trading Company! This is unreasonable.”
“It is not unreasonable.”
I took the paper out of my pocket.
It was the contract between Gong Do-gong, his family, and me.
His seal was clearly stamped on it.
Of course, Gong Do-gong had never signed this contract. I had forged it.
“We signed it yesterday.”
Then I kicked Gong Do-gong's leg. Gong Do-gong was not completely oblivious to what was going on, and he immediately agreed with me.
“That's right. You visited us yesterday and said you would treat us well, so we signed it.”
Now that he had admitted it, strictly speaking, it was no longer a forgery.
I said confidently.
“Therefore, as of yesterday evening, Gong Dao and his family belong to our trading company.”
The contract I had prepared just in case after hearing the thief's confession yesterday was now serving its purpose.
I was the one who made Eunhae Trading Company one of the three largest trading companies in the world.
Falsifying a contract like this was nothing to me.
Of course, as he was also a member of a trading company, he would be able to tell that it was a forgery if he looked closely, but I had no intention of giving him that chance.
Huang Gao Ling looked defeated at my words and those of Gong Dao. For a moment, he smiled bitterly.
“Then...”
Huang Gao Ling said with a bitter smile.
“The Eunhae Trading Company must compensate us for what the author stole.”
“What did he steal?”
“This gold coin. We found it in the thief's house.”
Hwang Ga-ryeong handed over the gold coin.
“Let me take a look.”
“Please do.”
I picked up the gold coin and asked.
“Is this really a gold coin?”
“Of course!”
“You're lying.”
His face turned red at my words.
“What are you saying...”
I took out the dagger from my sleeve. It was a gift from my two brothers.
Huang Ga-ryeong flinched when he saw it, and I put some of my inner arts into the dagger and slashed the gold coin.
The gold plating on the gold coin peeled off, revealing a dark metal inside.
“Isn't counterfeiting a serious crime?”
“Well, that's...”
Hwang Ga-ryeong was flustered and didn't know what to do, and I smiled as I watched him.
There were two reasons why I knew that the gold coin Hwang Ga-ryeong presented as evidence was fake.
The first was the weight.
The weight of the gold coin in my hand was different from the weight of the gold coins I knew.
In my previous life, I had handled countless gold coins.
So, of course, I noticed something was wrong.
The second reason was the character of the head of the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company.
The Jin-Gyeon Trading Company is not yet a large company. This means that they cannot take gold coins lightly.
Would a greedy and suspicious captain give out gold coins for something like this? No way.
The result of my comprehensive judgment is this.
This is a piece of metal shaped like a gold coin and covered with thin gold leaf.
Even if it wasn't used in a transaction, it is still considered counterfeiting.
Judging from Hwang Ga-ryeong's reaction, he knew it too.
At that moment, the captain of the Jin-gyeon Trading Company, who must have heard the news late, came to where I was.
“Huh! What kind of disgraceful behavior is this at another trading company...?”
“Hello, Captain.”
It's been a long time since I've seen you.
I haven't seen you since I ruined the trading company.
“I'm not doing well. What on earth are you doing?”
Hwang Ga-ryeong waved his hands frantically beside me. It meant that now was not the time.
“What on earth are you doing there?”
“Captain. I have discovered something very interesting.”
I pointed at the gold coin.
“You made a fake gold coin.”
“...!”
“I am going to report this to Jinhyun.”
He denied it vehemently.
“What are you talking about? Fake gold coin?”
“There is the mark of the Jin-gyeon Trading Company engraved under the gold coin.”
“Huh!”
That was probably engraved to prevent it from being replaced with a real gold coin.
And that was his downfall.
“Now, please step aside. I must go to Lord Ji-hyun.”
At my words, he quickly grabbed my sleeve.
Bang!
But his hand was coldly knocked away by my bodyguard.
He hurriedly knelt down and shouted.
“Please let me go just this once! I'll do whatever you want!”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course!”
Counterfeiting money is a serious crime, so if he was taken away as he was, he would have suffered greatly.
However, I had no intention of punishing him for this alone.
Although it was a serious crime, it might not be enough to send him away for good.
This was bait.
Bait that would allow me to send Captain Jin-gyeong away for good.
“All right. I'll think about what to ask for today. I'll keep this.”
“Understood.”
“Let's go.”
I helped Gong Do-gong to his feet.
“And I'll take Gong Do-gong's family with me.”
“I understand.”
I said to the escort guard beside me.
“Please inform Captain Jeong that we will be staying at Gong Do-gong's house tonight.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hearing his reply, I glanced at the captain of the Jin-gyeong Trading Company.
If he was the captain I knew, he would never miss the bait I had thrown him.
* * *
I took Gong Do-gong and his family back to his house.
Upon receiving my message, Pal-gap brought Gong Rae to Gong Do-gong's house.
“Father!”
“Ra-ya!”
I watched the heartwarming reunion between the family members with a smile.
A moment later, Gong Do-gong approached me and bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much for saving my family.”
“I only did what I had to do.”
“Even so, we are deeply grateful for your kindness.”
I smiled slightly.
“Will you sign the contract with me now?”
“Of course.”
Hearing this, Gong Do-gong's wife asked, “What contract?”
Gong Do-gong explained the situation, and his wife nodded in agreement. “I see.”
Dao explained the whole story, and his wife nodded in agreement.
“So that's how it is.”
“You will have to start over in a new place, but I will treat you well.”
Dao waved his hand.
“Don't say that. It's a thousand times better than being a slave. Oh! Young master, you must be hungry.”
“Shall I catch a chicken?”
I smiled at Gong Dao-gong's wife's words.
“Don't worry about dinner. Pal-gap.”
“Yes! You called me, young master?”
“Go buy something for dinner.”
“Yes, sir.”
I handed Pal-gap my wallet, and he took it and left the gate.
“So... your name is Gong-mil, right?”
Gong-mil nodded at my question.
“Yes.”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Yes, please.”
“Actually, I need something. Would you be able to make it for me?”
“What do you need?”
I drew a picture on the ground with my hand to explain.
“It's like a doll that dances by itself at regular intervals.”
Gongrae, who was listening beside us, interrupted.
“Huh? Isn't that something Orabeoni made for me before?”
“...What?”
In response to my question, Gongmil scratched his head and said.
“Like my brother said, it's a doll I made before. It should be somewhere around here...”
Gongmil asked us to wait a moment, then went into the shed next to the house and brought something out.
“Could it be...?”
What he brought out was a wooden doll.
It looked a little rough, but it definitely resembled a Zamu doll.
“Huh...”
He already made this!
How talented is he?
“But what should we do? It's broken...”
I asked him.
“Can you make it again?”
“Sure. I remember how I made it.”
“Great, then let's make it together tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“And I need your permission.”
“My permission? For what?”
“I'm going to sell the things you made to people. I want to ask your permission.”
“Hmm...”
Gongmil scratched his head.
“Is that okay? The things I made aren't that great...”
“Don't worry about that. What you make is great. And I'll give you a share of the profits. Then you can use the money to take care of your parents and buy nice things for your younger brother.”
I asked him.
“What do you think?”
Gongmil thought about my question for a moment and nodded.
“Okay.”
“No, wait.”
“What?”
I said to Gong-mil.
“You can't just say yes after hearing that. Who knows if someone will take advantage of you? Why give an immediate answer?”
“But you saved us...”
I raised my finger and waved it at Gong-mil, who was scratching his head.
“No matter what, you can't trust them so easily. They might do something like that to take advantage of you.”
“Ah... You're right.”
“If someone makes you an offer like this, you have to carefully check the conditions, such as how the profits will be distributed and what the working conditions are like.”
“Ah...”
I gave Gongmil a quick lecture on contracts, and Gongmil and Gongrae absorbed what I told them with sparkling eyes.
They were siblings who truly made teaching worthwhile.
* * *
Unlike Geumseonjangsi, Geumseon Village was dark, with most of the residents asleep.
A group of people with a sinister aura entered the village.
Among them was a man.
He was the captain of the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, we are.”
He smiled bitterly.
Today, he had suffered an unexpected humiliation.
The youngster from the Eunhae Trading Company had blackmailed him with a fake gold coin he had made.
It was only natural that his pride was hurt.
“Damn brat...”
On top of that, his plan to get Gong Dao in his hands had been ruined, so his anger toward Eun Seo-ho boiled over.
However
he was not going to take this lying down.
It was perfect timing that Gong Dao was staying at his house.
His plan for today was simple.
He would kidnap Gong Do-gong and his family and kill Eun Seo-ho.
At the same time, he would retrieve the fake gold certificate that Eun Seo-ho had.
Dead men tell no tales.
He planned to make it look like the work of bandits.
This village, Geumseon, was often raided by bandits who looted the villagers' homes.
So he brought clothes made of fish skin and armed himself with a water-splitting dagger and a water-splitting knife.
These were symbols of the bandits.
If he didn't leave any traces behind, it would be concluded that the bandits were responsible.
“So why is that kid making such a fuss?”
There were bodyguards protecting Gong Dao's house, but they could easily handle that.
There's no such thing as too many men.
It doesn't matter if Eun Seo-ho is the son of Eunhae Trading Company.
Without any evidence, they can't do anything to Jin-gye Trading Company.
“But do we really have to do this?”
The captain of the Trading Company replied to Hwang Yeong-gaeng's words.
“Why? Are you afraid?”
“I just don't think it's necessary to kill him. And if they find out it was us, the Eunhae Trading Company won't just stand by. The Eunhae Trading Company is one of the ten most powerful companies in Hubei Province.”
“What if that kid goes to the law enforcement with the gold coin? Then neither you nor I will get off lightly.”
“...Then why did you make it in the first place?”
“Then who would trust me and give me real gold coins? I had no choice.”
Huang Ying clicked his tongue at those words.
Although he obeyed his master, he was sick of the captain's greed.
He was the kind of person who cared more about not losing a single penny than whether others lived or died, shed tears of blood, or not.