Chapter 278
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 278
Chapter 278. Unexpected Guest (2)
My father tilted his head at my words.
He was puzzled because it was the first time I had ever been so proactive about what I wanted for my birthday.
“All right, what is it you want?”
“I would like to have a more grand birthday party on my birthday.”
“You want to have a grand birthday party...”
My father muttered with a smile.
“What is your true intention?”
He understood. He realized that there was a hidden meaning behind my words about wanting to have a grand birthday party.
“It is the common people and the poor who are suffering from the famine.”
“That's right.”
“If we feed even those people, won't our family be in danger when something happens later?”
I continued.
“It is said that even animals do not bite those who feed them. If the famine continues, there will inevitably be a rebellion, big or small.”
In my previous life, there had been a fairly large civil unrest.
This time, thanks to my advice to the emperor, the imperial family made thorough preparations, but it is difficult for those preparations to reach the entire empire.
And there are always those who take advantage of times like this to deceive the people with their silver tongues.
“In times like these, a meal will be greatly appreciated by them.”
“But there are also those who do not seem to possess such righteousness.”
“That's true. But what can you do? People are responsible for their own fate.”
My father nodded in agreement.
“That's right.”
Se-pung-gak-ju and the others all laughed and praised me.
“Hehe, Third Captain, you even consider your birthday to be for the Eunhae Trading Company! I'm so moved, I could cry.”
“I guess this is why people say you're a hero.”
“Hehe! You are truly a hero born from the Dragon and Phoenix Duel!”
“I've known that all along.”
“The father of a hero, huh? That's great.”
“...”
Why are you all teasing me so much?
I wanted to complain, but I could see pride in their eyes, so I just smiled shyly.
.
.
.
Before I knew it, my birthday was just a few days away.
I had been busy with various tasks, but I spent most of my time collaborating with Gongmil.
I discussed the items I had been thinking about with Gongmil, and he said they could be made.
True to his nature, Gongmil made a sample of the item I requested in just three days.
He is definitely a genius.
How could I have worked such a genius to death like that!
No matter how I think about it, I feel like I sent Captain Jin-gyeong to the other world too easily.
By the way, I think Gongmil needs some apprentices now, doesn't he?
It was impossible for him to make all those items by himself.
The problem is that the secrets could be leaked...
Is there any way to relieve Gong-mil's burden while maintaining confidentiality?
I walked down the street, lost in thought.
I was on my way to meet the old man who ran a general store on the street.
The old man was sitting in front of his shop, basking in the warm sunshine.
“Long time no see.”
“So, how does it feel to be a hero?”
“Oh, Elder, why are you saying that? I've already been teased enough by the people around me.”
The old man chuckled at my complaint.
After exchanging a few words about our recent lives, I took the invitation out of my sleeve and handed it to him.
“I'm having a birthday party.”
The old man looked at the invitation I handed him and tilted his head.
“You know that the people are in a bad mood because of the recent crop failure... What are you thinking?”
As expected of an elder.
I smiled and continued.
“I wish that there were no hungry people in this area on my birthday.”
The old man chuckled at my answer.
“You're a clever boy.”
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
“Still, you're better than a hero with no substance.”
As expected of an elder. He seemed to understand my intentions.
After thinking for a moment, the old man said.
“Since you're doing this, make sure the beggars are well fed too.”
The elder never said anything without reason. There must be a reason.
“Thank you for your advice.”
The old man nodded at my words and said,
“By the way, you came at the right time.”
The old man got up from his seat and went inside. A moment later, he came out with a pouch and handed it to me.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that you did a great job when the Minister of War and the Minister of Education rebelled last time.”
Ah...
“And you also gave good advice about the gambling dens, didn't you?”
I scratched the back of my neck.
“He gave this to me as a token of his gratitude.”
When I opened the pouch, I found a large amount of money inside.
I asked cautiously.
“Can I really take this?”
“Of course. He never gives anything away for free.”
I thought about it for a moment, then smiled and took the bag and put it in my sleeve.
“Please tell him thank you for me.”
***
One day in November.
The county of Songyang in Hubei Province was bustling with activity. It was because of the birthday banquet for Eun Seo-ho, the third captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.
A few days earlier, notices had been posted everywhere inviting anyone to come and enjoy the banquet.
To be honest, even with such notices posted, ordinary people would not dare to go because they would feel uncomfortable.
Realizing this, Eunhae Trading Company prepared a separate venue for those who felt uncomfortable and those who couldn't come because they lived far away.
Thanks to this, countless people throughout Sungyang County were able to eat and drink their fill.
Among the poor were tenant farmers.
Even in a good year, they didn't have much grain to spare.
So what happens during a bad harvest?
They couldn't even think of attending a banquet because they were barely surviving day by day as day laborers.
When they returned home after a hard day's work, employees of Eunhaesang Trading Company visited each house with warm food.
“What is this?”
“It's from Eunhaesang Trading Company.”
“Why did Eunhaesang Trading Company send this?”
“Today is the birthday of Captain Eun Seo-ho, and he said that he wanted everyone in Sungyang County to have enough to eat on his birthday, so we prepared this food.”
“Can we really just take it?”
“Of course. If you don't want to take it for free, please pray for the long life of Captain Eun Seo-ho and the prosperity of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“I understand. I will definitely do so.”
The tenant farmers' eyes filled with tears as they watched their starving children eat the delicious food.
***
The day was coming to an end.
The only thing that made my birthday party, which had started in the morning, lively was the music played by the musicians.
I saved the money I would have spent on inviting dancers and used it to buy food instead.
On top of that, thanks to the emperor's unexpected reward, I was able to buy even more food.
I hope no one gets sick from the food I prepared.
This time, I gave food to everyone, and following the advice of the old man at the general store, I even gave food to the neglected beggars.
To be honest, I was going to do that even without his advice.
When you haven't eaten fatty foods for a long time, eating them can cause stomach upset and, in severe cases, even death.
Therefore, you need to eat foods that are easy on the stomach to prevent stomach upset.
So, I prepared foods that are both delicious and easy on the stomach.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thank you for coming.”
I greeted them politely.
“I heard that you gave food to everyone in Sungyang County.”
“It was nothing. I just didn't want anyone to go hungry on my birthday.”
“You're such a good person!”
“...”
It's about time he got used to it, but Myeongho still can't seem to adapt.
For merchants, birthday parties were a great opportunity.
Especially for large and well-known trading companies like ours, many people would gather.
We could have close conversations with influential people from the neighborhood.
In addition, perhaps because I had been named a hero at the dragon and phoenix duel, more people gathered than I had expected.
That was when it happened.
“Huh! That person!”
“No! How did that person get here?”
There was a murmur from over there.
I couldn't see the person yet, but I knew why everyone was murmuring.
It was a familiar energy, but it was an energy that shouldn't have been felt here.
It was because I had become sensitive to energy after mastering the Taiyin Binghai Technique.
A moment later, Seo Woo and Jin Yu also seemed to realize what was going on.
Soon, a well-built man appeared from over there.
“....”
His name was Peng Gang-un.
He was the winner of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.
Why is that young master here?
I had no idea what was going on. No matter how hard I thought about it, there was no reason for him to come to my birthday party.
However, I didn't let it show and greeted him with a bright smile.
“I am grateful that the new hero of the martial arts world has come to such a humble place.”
“What do you mean, humble? This is the place where a hero saved countless lives at the Dragon and Phoenix Duel, and it is a birthday banquet for that hero. Please don't say such things.”
Master Pang Gang-woon greeted me with great respect.
There was no pretense on his face.
That made it even more difficult to understand his true intentions.
He held out his hand to Miss Jaegal and protected her from falling, and it seemed like he was considerate and polite...
And the way he's talking to me now...
Is he really here just to celebrate my birthday?
At that moment, my father approached him and asked with a smile.
“What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to come to the Peng Clan?”
“Hahaha, yes, you did. But how could I let the father of a hero come looking for me? So I came to see you myself.”
“I see. Come this way.”
My father took him by the arm and led him to the reception room.
.
.
.
I met him the next day.
He had formally requested a meeting with me.
After eating breakfast and attending the Eungwol Hall meeting, I headed straight for the reception room.
After waiting for a while, Palgak brought Master Pang Gang-un to the reception room.
“Young Master, I have brought Master Pang.”
“Please bring him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
The door opened and Master Peng entered. The maid in charge of the reception room followed him.
“Please let us know if you would like any refreshments.”
“I'm not picky, anything is fine.”
The maid bowed and left, and a moment later she returned with refreshments and placed them in front of us.
“Please eat.”
“Thank you.”
At my urging, he ate the refreshments and we talked about this and that.
Then I noticed something strange.
When he raised his arm, I saw a rash on the inside of his sleeve.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like a reaction to the food.
There were often cases where people had adverse reactions to certain foods.
In severe cases, the throat could swell up, causing breathing difficulties and even death.
Typical foods include nuts such as walnuts and peanuts, and fruits such as peaches.
The sweets served at this time were made from peaches harvested this summer, which were soaked in alcohol and then simmered with honey and topped on the sweets.
These were very precious sweets, and they were served because the winner of the dragon and phoenix duel had arrived.
However, it seems that he has an aversion to peaches. He is just suppressing it with his inner arts.
That is why his skin looks fine on the outside, but the inside is a mess.
Oh no. If he has an aversion to peaches, he should have said so instead of asking for anything!
Judging from the way he's suppressing his aversion with his inner arts, he knows he shouldn't eat peaches.
The way he showed his combat skills at the last Dragon and Phoenix Duel, and the way he's hiding his aversion to peaches now...
It's certain.
The Master in front of me must have wandered the harsh martial world without the protection of his family.
That's why he doesn't reveal his weaknesses.
“Ha...”
I sighed and pushed the plate of sweets with peaches aside.
It was hard to watch him eat something that was poison to him with a straight face.
He tilted his head at my action.
“Why are you putting the plate away?”
“I'm sorry. The sweets didn't taste very good. They weren't worthy of the winner of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel. I apologize.”
I pulled the cord to call my maid and had her take away the plate and bring out other sweets.
Seeing me do this, Master Pang made a strange expression.
Then he smiled and said, “You're a strange person.”
“You are a good person.”
“What?”
“I recognized you when you threw yourself to save the audience, and now I understand why people call you the Fair Bladesman.”
“That is an undeserved name.”
“No, it is.”
He shook his head and said.
“That is why I feel even more confident that I have come to the right place.”
Now we're getting to the point.
“The reason I came to see you is because I have a request.”