Chapter 26
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 26
Chapter 26. More Than Expected (3)
The visitor was Seung-cheol, the chief administrator of Seungpungak.
“Chief Seung-cheol, you're here?”
“Young master is here first. Where is Chief Administrator Yoo?”
“Ah! He had something urgent to take care of, so he asked me to come first. He'll be here soon.”
“I see.”
Eunwolgak is a conference room where the Trading Company discusses various matters.
In fact, I had not yet officially obtained the position of Captain, so I could not attend the meeting unless it was something special.
However, today I was qualified to attend.
The topic of today's meeting was the commercialization of martial artist dolls, and I was the one who employed Gongmil, who could make those dolls.
“Please sit down.”
“Yes.”
I sat down, and silence fell.
The awkward silence was broken by the voice of the chief retainer calling me.
“Young master.”
“Yes.”
“There is something I wanted to ask you earlier. May I ask you something?”
I nodded in response to his question.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I understand that you have signed a contract with the palm print maker who made the dummy. Why did you do that?”
I had glossed over it, but Jik Gak-ju seemed curious.
“Is that not allowed?”
“No, it's not that... I was just curious. Usually, contracts are signed in the name of the Trading Company, but why did you sign a personal contract?”
I looked at the enemy's right-hand man.
He was the pillar of our Trading Company, who had been silently doing his job for many years.
However, from my perspective, he was the one I feared the most.
His insight is among the best in our trading company.
An excuse such as signing the contract first for fear that someone else would take him away would not work with Jik.
He is a person who has devoted his entire life to our trading company.
That is why I decided to show him my true feelings.
“Jik. Let me ask you one thing. Who does the money of the Eunhae Trading Company belong to?”
“Well...”
Captain Jik, who was about to answer, was momentarily speechless.
That was only natural.
The answer to the question of who owned the money of the Eunhae Trading Company was more ambiguous than expected.
My father was the head of the Eunhae Trading Company, and our family had been the owners of the company for generations, but that did not mean that all the money belonged to my father.
I continued.
“But one thing is certain. That is that I have no money of my own.”
“You are a more greedy young master than I thought.”
The enemy chief understood what I meant.
“Then is that what you intend to do from now on?”
In other words, he was asking if I intended to continue taking personal gains.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“I see. But why are you doing this? You must have enough money to live on...”
Jeok-gak-ju was right.
I was given a generous allowance every month.
“It's for Eunhae Trading Company.”
I smiled.
“I want to make Eunhae Trading Company the world's best trading company.”
Jik Gak-ju paused for a moment, then laughed heartily.
“That is a very ambitious goal.”
“Of course, I still have a long way to go. Is that enough to answer your question?”
“That is enough.”
Jik Gak-ju continued.
“In return for answering this old man's difficult question, I will also answer one question of your choosing at a later date.”
“...!”
I was taken aback by his words.
I was surprised because the “answer to one question” that Jik Gakju promised was not something to be taken lightly.
He was the head of all the employees of Eunhaesang Trading Company.
For him to answer my question was no small favor.
Knowing this, I quickly clasped my hands together in a greeting.
“I am grateful.”
Jik Gak-ju nodded in response to my greeting.
Soon, my father and other important figures entered Eunwolgak, and the meeting began.
My father had just returned from Chengdu in Hubei Province.
He had met with Po Jeong-sa.
Thanks to Jamo-in, Po Jeong-sa's wife became the center of attention at the meeting.
Po Jeong-sa was able to save face in front of his wife.
Song Jang-ju was able to change Po Jeong-sa's mind by presenting him with Jamo-in.
Of course, the omitted land had to be corrected.
There would be no return to the days of decline when the estate was nothing but a name.
In addition, we were able to trade rice on better terms with Song Jang-ju.
Furthermore, we would make a huge profit from selling the martial artist.
It was a happy outcome for everyone.
Except for the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company.
Po-jeong-sa told his father that he wanted to see him, and he had just returned from Chengdu in Hubei Province.
From his father's expression, he could tell that things were going well.
“First of all, the trip to Chengdu went well. Po-jeong-sa has agreed to cooperate with our Trading Company.”
This meant that we had gained Po Jeong-sa as our backer, so everyone's faces lit up.
“First, Po Jeong-sa asked if we could present ten martial artist dolls as gifts. Would that be possible by the end of this month?”
I nodded at my father's question.
“Yes, it's possible. I guess you're planning to give them as gifts for the Lunar New Year.”
“That's right. And we plan to showcase the martial artist dolls in about two months. We need to spread the word. Is that possible?”
That was certainly possible.
Of course, I had no intention of overworking Gongmil. The reason it was possible was because I planned to apply the methods I had devised in my previous life.
I nodded in response to my father's question.
“It is possible if a few conditions are met.”
“Conditions?”
“First of all, I do not intend to entrust the entire production of the dolls to Gongmil.”
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest, there are many craftsmen who are more skilled than Gongmil when it comes to making dolls.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
There were craftsmen who could make dolls that looked so lifelike, and there were craftsmen who could make clothes for the dolls with exceptional taste.
“Getting help from such craftsmen would be a way to make the Zamu dolls more beautiful and faster.”
Yeon Gak-ju nodded at my words.
“That's certainly true.”
At that moment, Chief Administrator Yu raised an objection.
“But wouldn't that lead to the leakage of the production technology for Zamu dolls?”
The others nodded in agreement.
“You said before that it was impossible to replicate. But I think that applying the method you just mentioned is tantamount to revealing the production technology.”
“You may think so. But I can say with confidence that it is impossible to replicate.”
I continued.
“This is because the key to the Zamu doll is the method of moving the gears, and only Gongmil knows how to make the parts used for this. Even I couldn't figure it out.”
That was the reason why the Zamu doll could not be replicated.
“So, I think it would be fine to have other craftsmen make the exterior of the Zamu doll and have Gongmil make only the core parts.”
My father nodded at my words.
“If you, his employer, say so, then it must be true. What can I do to help?”
“We need a workshop and the materials necessary for making dolls.”
“I understand.”
The main reason Gongmil died of overwork in his previous life was because he was responsible for making all the dolls.
Gongmil is now ten years old.
He is very talented, but he is still a child, and I didn't want to give him too much work.
He is at an age where he should be playing.
That's what he should be doing at his age.
“Then let's discuss how to sell the dolls. First, where should we sell them?”
“How about a general store? After all, it is mainly women who visit general stores to buy dolls.”
“A place that sells handicrafts would also be good.”
“A fabric store would also be good.”
Various opinions were expressed, but I still hadn't heard the answer I wanted.
“Father, may I also give my opinion?”
“You may.”
After my father's reply, I organized my thoughts and said,
“Father, you and the other elders are missing one thing. That is, there is not just one product like this Jumu doll.”
“Not just one?
”You mean... there is something else?"
I smiled.
“I can't reveal what it is, but that's right. That's why I'm asking to open a separate store.”
My father thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“You're right, if there's more than one martial artist doll, it makes sense to open a store. But opening a store costs a lot of money.”
“I know. But this is also for the Trading Company. These dolls are endorsed by the Minister of Justice, so wouldn't he be upset if they were sold alongside other items in a different store?”
“Ah!”
At my words, everyone looked as if they had realized something.
“This! If it weren't for you, we would have made a mistake.”
For those in public office, honor and power are important, but maintaining their reputation is just as important.
The Pojeongsa governs a single castle.
If you fear future repercussions, you must avoid damaging the Pojeongsa's reputation.
And the more powerful they are, the more likely they are to be petty over trivial matters.
Of course, this is not always the case, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
“Then, as Seoho said, we should open a separate shop, even if it is small.”
“Yes, sir. I will prepare to open a separate shop.”
“And how many martial artist dolls are you planning to sell this time?”
“The more, the better, right?”
I replied firmly.
“No, Father. We should make exactly 1,000 martial artist figurines.”
“What? 1,000?”
“Yes.”
“You fool! Do you think we can make a profit selling only 1,000?”
“Please hear me out.”
My calm attitude calmed my father down.
“All right, I understand. Continue.”
“Father, why are jewels such as pearls and jade so expensive? They are just pieces of shell and green stones.”
“Well, many people want them, but the number is limited... Ah!”
My father's eyes widened.
Not only my father, but everyone gathered at Eunwolgak also realized what I meant and looked at me with wide eyes.
“Yes, that's right. Rarity.”
I smiled.
“I want to add rarity to the martial artist dolls by selling them in limited quantities. There are many rich people in the world who want to show off their wealth with rare items.”
However, in my past life, the Jin-Gyeon Trading Company did not think about that and focused on making and selling as many as possible.
At that time, the price of a Zhamu doll was half a silver coin.
So people could easily buy them.
Half a silver coin was an amount that ordinary people could save up in a couple of months.
On the other hand, the Zhamu doll craze quickly passed.
This was because people quickly grew tired of them.
Therefore, Gongmil had to continuously create new products without rest.
Seeing this, I felt sorry for him.
I felt sorry for Gongmil, who was overworked, and I also felt sorry that such fine products were being used only once.
If it were me, I would have utilized the martial artist dolls in more diverse ways and made much more profit.
My words made Yeon-gak smile.
“You are right, young master. There are many people in this world who have more money than they know what to do with. So how much should we sell the martial artist dolls for?”
My father and I answered at the same time.
“Ten silver coins.”
“...!”
My father and I looked at each other and laughed.
“They're just showing off, but there's nothing as good as an expensive price.”
“That's right.”
Then Chief Administrator Go said,
“It's a shame. They're well-made dolls, but they'll only be sold for one season.”
I smiled faintly at his words, and my father noticed and narrowed his eyes.
“This kid has something else up his sleeve!”
“Yes, he does.”
“What is it? Tell me quickly.”
At my father's urging, I explained my plan.
“It's related to what you said earlier about bringing out another product. I'm thinking of adding a story to these martial artist dolls.”
“A story?”
“Yes. For example, a doll that tells the story of Heo Seon and Baek So-jeong, or a doll that tells the story of Yang San-baek and Chuk Yeong.”
“Oh...”
“But would someone who buys a doll with the story of Heo Seon and Baek So-jeong be satisfied with just that?”