Chapter 275
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 275
Chapter 275. What I Gained (3)
After finishing my conversation with my Master, I bowed with my hands clasped in front of my chest, and when I looked up again, my Master had disappeared from my sight.
I asked Seo Woo, the warrior.
“Did he leave?”
“Yes.”
Seo Woo nodded and said.
“This is just my personal opinion, but it's a shame that someone as great as him has to live as a mere Head Escort. He should be the hero, not me.”
“I agree.”
.
.
.
Time passed, and the day of the fourth round of the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament arrived.
Fourteen contestants remained in the fourth round, including Jaegal Yoo-ah, Miss, and Tang Su-bin.
Tang Jo-woong, who advanced to the third round by default, was eliminated as expected.
Hyang-ok was also eliminated.
To be honest, I had expected Hyang-ok to be eliminated. In my previous life, Hyang-ok was eliminated in the third round when she first participated in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.
The next time she participated, she advanced further, but this time, she was eliminated in a very close match, so she was very upset.
I looked at the bracket.
There were fourteen contestants in the fourth round, so there would be seven winners.
That meant that some contestants would not have an opponent, so some contestants were lucky enough to win by default.
In fact, Miss Tang Su-bin was one of the lucky ones. However, she declared, “I refuse to win by default!”
There was a rule in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel that allowed contestants to refuse to win by default.
It was a rule created because of the Martial Alliance's culture of valuing honor.
Due to Miss Tang's declaration, others were able to receive a walkover. This also prevented any rumors from spreading.
The fact that the Sichuan Tang Clan's disciples received walkovers one after another was enough to raise suspicion of foul play.
It was unclear whether they refused to advance by default simply to compete fairly or to prevent any rumors from spreading.
However, considering that they seemed to hesitate slightly when drawing the cards, the latter was more likely.
Miss Bu was very intelligent.
“The preliminary round will now begin! The first match will be...”
The first match was between Jaegal Yoo-ah and Jin Ju-eun's Master.
The Jin Ju-eun family was famous for their martial arts.
At the same time, they were also well-versed in the art of hardening the body, which they applied to their fists and legs.
As a result, their bodies were almost as hard as steel, and even a slight touch was dangerous.
Miss Jaegal Yu-ah's opponent was someone who had won many consecutive matches in this way.
And Miss Jaegal Yu-ah was skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
I wondered who would win.
At that moment, Miss Jaegal Yu-ah stepped onto the duel stage, looked directly at me, and smiled.
She looked confident. I wondered what she was thinking to look so confident.
Dong!
The duel began with the sound of a loud drum.
Every time Miss Jaegal's sword and Master Jin Ju-ga's fist collided, there was a sound like cold weapons clashing, and sparks flew.
Kang!
Kaang!
His fists must be as hard as steel. How can he make such a sound?
Master Jin Ju-eun's attacks were fierce, but Jaegal Clan's eyes remained calm throughout.
It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Perhaps this made Jin Ju-eun feel uneasy, as his movements became more aggressive.
This meant that there were more opportunities to exploit his weaknesses.
Miss Jaegal's sword slashed through the air, aiming for Jin Ju-eun's vital points.
“Ugh!”
Unable to defend himself, Jin Zhu Yuga's shoulder was torn open and blood spurted out.
Even so, he did not give up and rushed forward, but Jaegal Clan's Miss was more cold-blooded than I had thought.
Pah!
She spun in the air and kicked his shoulder, dislocating it. She had made his skin hard, but not his joints.
No matter how hard you make the skin, you can't move freely if you don't make the joints hard too.
That was what Jaegal Clan's Miss Jaegal was aiming for.
Seeing this, the referee declared,
“Jaegal Clan wins!”
“Wahhhhh!”
The crowd cheered.
“Hundred Strategies Cold Sword! Hundred Strategies Cold Sword!”
The cold sword with a hundred strategies.
This is the new title of Jaegal Yoo-ah.
Her life is completely different from that of Muso Ok-nyeo Yoo-ah, who was a bodyguard for the Trading Company in my previous life.
Yes, the honor she now enjoys is what Jaegal Yoo-ah should have enjoyed in the first place.
I smiled happily as I watched her wave her hand in response to the cheers of the crowd.
.
.
.
In today's fourth round, Miss Tang Su-bin was unfortunately eliminated.
If she hadn't given up her walkover, she would have advanced to the fifth round.
However, that was the limit of Miss Tang Su-bin's abilities.
To be more specific, it was the limit of Miss Tang Shu-bin, who had her “poison and hidden weapons” sealed.
If she had been able to use her poison and hidden weapons, she would have been able to advance more smoothly and higher than she did.
Now there are only eight finalists left.
There are eight finalists, including the two who advanced by default and the six who won their matches.
And tomorrow, the final winner will finally be decided.
In my previous life, the Master of the Peng Clan of Hebei won.
When I saw the Master of the Peng Clan of Hebei fighting earlier, I saw that he was quite skilled.
I realized that the Master of the Peng Clan of Hebei was not someone who had been protected and fought like the other young prodigies of the orthodox sects.
He was someone who had undergone considerable practical training.
To reach that level, he would have had to travel around the martial world for at least five years, and I wondered why he had chosen to live such a life.
By the way, will the Master of the Peng Family win the championship again this time?
There are some differences from my previous life, so I can't be sure.
That evening.
I headed for the temporary store of our Eunhae Trading Company.
There wasn't a long line anymore, but customers kept coming in.
“Captain! You're here!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I asked Yoon, the shop manager, about the business.
“So, we still have enough fish bone powder and lime powder in stock.”
“Yes, this should be enough.”
“Are you sure we don't need to restock?”
“Yes. If we restock and there's any left over, it'll be difficult to take it back. As you know, fish bone powder and lime powder harden when they come into contact with moisture.”
“That's right.”
That's why it was so difficult to carry it all without breaking it.
By the way... I wonder why Baekcheon Trading Company decided to monopolize fish bone powder and lime powder.
One reason why the trading company did not monopolize fish bone powder and lime powder was because they were difficult to store and transport.
Therefore, they had to purchase only the amount needed at the time and sell it.
For the same reason, the warriors did not buy large quantities either.
With that thought in mind, I looked up at the sky.
Rumbling.
The sky had been looking strange for a while. It looks like it's going to rain.
Baekcheon Trading Company bought a lot of fish bones and lime powder from the surrounding area. They couldn't have brought it all inside.
What should I do? Baekcheon Trading Company.
But why does it smell so good?
I said to Yoon Haengsu.
“There are only two days left. Please do your best until the end.”
“Of course.”
In two days, the temporary store will be closed.
The Dragon and Phoenix Duel will end tomorrow, but the next day, there will be a festival to celebrate the heroes born through the duel.
And it is the goal of all the trading companies to sell all the goods they brought to the festival.
The transportation costs for returning the unsold goods are also considerable.
I was heading toward the inn when I stopped short.
Wait a minute...
One of the causes of this fall's poor harvest was rain, wasn't it?
The drought continued, and then sudden heavy rains caused all the rice plants to fall over.
I turned around and headed back to the temporary trading company.
“Mr. Yoon.”
“Yes!”
“It looks like it's going to rain, doesn't it?”
“I thought it might rain, so I prepared plenty of tarps.”
“Tarpaulins won't be enough.”
“Don't worry. It doesn't usually rain that much in autumn.”
“I know that, but...”
I said with a stern expression.
“I'm giving you an order. Pack everything up tightly and bring it inside right now.”
“What? If we take everything down now, we'll lose money...”
He meant that they would suffer losses because they would not be able to sell the goods before nightfall.
But it didn't matter. Who would go outside in the pouring rain?
“I will take responsibility. Please follow my instructions.”
When I took a firm stance, Yoon Hang-soo bowed his head.
“Yes, sir.”
Then I told the other members of the temporary trading company.
“It's going to rain heavily tonight. So, you'd better bring your goods inside now.”
I told Lee Pil-musa to inform my father about this and also to inform the trading companies that were friendly to our Eunhae Trading Company, such as Yeonjun Trading Company and Hongnang Trading Company.
I stood next to the temporary store of Eunhae Trading Company and watched them pack their goods.
Meanwhile, the reactions of the other trading company managers who heard me were mixed.
Some ignored me, while others immediately sent people to inform their captains.
A short while later, those who returned reported back, and their reactions were also mixed.
Among those who packed their belongings as I had advised were the Palin Pharmacy, located across from the Eunhae Trading Company's temporary store.
When Yang Jin-soo nodded at me, I nodded back.
There were several reasons why I informed the surrounding trading companies that it would rain heavily today.
First, it was to avoid being scolded by the surrounding trading companies. If they scolded me for not informing them that it would rain, I would be in trouble.
Second, it was because of the Palin Pharmacy.
That was my secret wallet. I couldn't let such a place suffer losses.
Third, it was to increase the credibility of my words.
Those who packed their belongings as I said avoided losses, so they would be very grateful to me and would continue to trust me in the future.
Those who ignored my words and did not pack their belongings would suffer considerable losses this time.
And they would think, “If I had known this would happen, I should have listened to Captain Eun Seo-ho. From now on, I will listen to Captain Eun Seo-ho.”
* * *
Namu Gang, the head of the Trading Company, was very upset these days.
This was because things were not going according to his plan.
He had planned to hoard fish bones and lime powder and sell them at ten times the price.
He needed those items to prevent his men from being killed in the duel, so he had hoped they would sell well.
“They're nothing but thieves!”
“Yes, you're right.”
“They have no sense of morality!”
He cursed them profusely.
It was because Eunhae Trading Company had managed to buy the fish bones and lime powder at the original price.
In that case, all they had to do was get rid of the Eunhae Trading Company's goods!
They tried to send people to buy the goods, but the lines were too long, so it was impossible.
The next plan was to set fire to the warehouse where the goods were stored.
Of course, they didn't do it themselves. Because of the dragon and phoenix duel, the place was full of warriors.
So they asked their confidant to do the job.
Of course, he was hesitant at first, but when he was offered a large sum of money, he accepted the request.
However, he failed.
Somehow, rumors began to spread in Luoyang that “Baek Cheon Trading Company tried to burn down Eunhae Trading Company's warehouse.”
“This must be the work of Doo-seok! Either he made a mistake or he told someone else about it!”
Do-seok, one of Namgung Gang's right-hand men, denied that he had done anything wrong.
However, once suspicion has been planted, it is not easily dispelled.
At that moment, raindrops began to fall from the sky. They were quite heavy raindrops.
The officials were in an uproar.
This caused an uproar among the officials.
They had thought it would only rain a little, but it was pouring more than they had expected.
Normally, there is little rainfall in autumn, but their prediction had been wrong.
The drainage was poor, and the water was rising to their ankles.
So they rushed around to bring the items covered with tarpaulins inside the building.
“Damn it! It's about time for the rain to stop!”
“Hey! You bastards! Hurry up and bring everything inside! The fish bones and lime powder will be useless if they get wet!”
“If they get ruined, you'll be dead!”
Captain Namgung Kang was boiling with rage.
Then one of the porters said,
“Calm down. If you think about it, Eunhae Trading Company also suffered losses because they didn't expect this rain.”
“That's true.”
“But we have a large amount of goods, so we were able to save more than half. However, most of their fish bones and lime powder must have been ruined by this rain.”
Hearing this, Captain Namgung Kang calmed down and his eyes lit up. This was a chance to make up for their losses.
“The heavens are helping us! We can sell the fish bones and lime powder for fifteen times the price, and it will still sell, right?”