Chapter 30
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 30
Chapter 30. Announcement of the Captain (1)
That evening.
I headed to my quarters with weary steps.
“Young Master, are you here?”
Pal-gap, who was cleaning my quarters, greeted me.
“Yes.”
“What would you like for dinner?”
“Today...”
After thinking for a moment, I said to Pal-gap.
“Just prepare something simple. I have to eat quickly and go somewhere.”
“Where are you going? Should I request a bodyguard?”
“No, I'm just going to the annex.”
I had to tell the person who made the wooden doll about the news I heard today.
“The annex... Ah! Are you going to see the palm print master?”
Although Gongmil was only ten years old, Palgag respected his extraordinary talent and called him the palm print master.
“That's right. Prepare some snacks for him.”
“Yes, sir.”
After dinner, I went with Pal-gap to the annex where outsiders stayed.
When we approached the annex where Gong Dao's family stayed, Gong-rae, who was in the yard, ran toward us.
“Young master!”
“What are you doing?”
“I was playing by drawing pictures on the ground.”
There were various pictures drawn in the courtyard...
Wait a minute, these aren't pictures, they're letters!
“Were you learning to write?”
In response to my question, Gong-rae twisted his body and said.
“I just copied what I saw in the book Orabeoni is studying.”
For someone who was just copying, his handwriting was quite beautiful and the letters were written accurately.
The words Gong-rae wrote were the last phrase of the Emperor's Book, “Weo-jo-ja, Eon-jae-ho-ya.”
I asked Gong-rae, just in case.
“Have you memorized the Emperor's Book?”
Gong-rae smiled and nodded in response to my question, but then quickly put his index finger to his lips.
“Shh!”
“Huh?”
“Orabeoni will be upset if he finds out.”
Come to think of it, Gongmil said he hadn't finished learning the Emperor's Ten Thousand Characters yet.
Anyway, to learn the Emperor's Ten Thousand Characters at the age of five!
There were genius siblings here.
Such gifted siblings died without being able to blossom because of that dog, Captain Jin-gyeong.
My blood pressure rose again.
Huh...
They are already dead, so I must calm down.
At that moment, Gong-rae's wife came out from inside, as if she had heard our conversation.
“Young master, you're here. Please come in.”
“Hello. Have you had dinner?”
“We just finished.”
I looked back at Pal-gap, and he immediately handed me the bag he was holding.
“I thought the children would like this. Please accept it.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
I asked Gong Do-gong's wife, who took the bag.
“By the way, where is Gongmil?”
“He's in his studio.”
“Studio?”
“His private studio.”
A small room in the annex where Gongmil's family lived was made into his studio.
Gongmil said he spent all day there except when he was eating or studying.
But you need to move around a little to stay healthy.
I headed for Gongmil's workshop, and Gongrae followed me, holding onto my clothes.
“Are you in there? It's Seoho. I'll be right in.”
With that, I cautiously entered the workshop.
Squeak, squeak, squeak
Gongmil was sitting in front of his workbench, carving wood with a small knife.
He was so focused on his work that even when I entered, he continued to carve the wood intently.
“Oh...”
“Shh.”
I stopped Gongrae.
It wasn't urgent, and I didn't want to break his concentration.
So I quietly watched him.
I was curious to see what he was making.
As time passed, my eyes grew wider and wider.
I knew what Gong-mi was making.
Following the wooden toy, it was something that almost every household had one of.
It had wings on all sides that rotated on their own to create a cool breeze, and I had used it every summer.
So that's what it's called...
“A fan?”
Gongmil must have heard me, because he looked up and quickly stood up, startled.
“Young master, you're here? When did you arrive?”
Gong-rae quickly replied.
“You arrived about an hour ago.”
“Oh! I'm sorry. When I'm concentrating, I'm not very aware of my surroundings...”
I waved away Gong-mil's apology.
“It's okay. I just wanted to see you working. Don't worry about it. What are you making?”
“Oh, this?”
Gongmil said, scratching his cheek.
“Last summer, Ra-ah was so hot. So I wanted to make something to fan her with. But I didn't have any materials at the time, so I just made something I had thought of.”
He bowed his head.
“I'm sorry. You gave me such a nice place, and I made something useless and wasted your materials...”
I held Gongmil's hand as he blamed himself.
“No! It's wonderful!”
“What?”
“Keep making things like this and keep studying. That's why I made this workshop for you.”
“Thank you, young master. But...”
Gongmil tilted his head and said cautiously.
“You just said ‘wind machine’...”
“Ah, I thought the thing you just made looked like it was creating wind.”
It was a vague explanation, but Gongmil seemed to like it and nodded vigorously.
“A wind machine is a great name!”
“Let's try selling it.”
“This? Will something like this sell?”
“Of course!”
I said with confidence.
It sells much better than martial artist dolls.
It has become a summer essential that every household has at least one, unless they are poor.
“Oh, I forgot why I came here.”
I smiled.
“The thousand martial artist dolls you made. They all sold out.”
“...What?”
Gong-mil looked confused for a moment, but then his expression turned to shock.
“Really? They all sold?”
“Yes.”
I told him.
“You've become a real Palm print. Congratulations.”
* * *
A few days later.
I went to work.
All employees of Eunhae Trading Company have one official day off every ten days.
And today is my day off.
It was a precious day off, but I couldn't sleep because I had something I needed to get.
Pal-gap looked uneasy and said to me.
“Young master, isn't this a bookstore?”
A bookstore is a place where brothels, red-light districts, and gambling dens are located for entertainment.
That's why Pal-gap looks so uneasy.
“Why? I'm an adult, so I can't come to a place like this?”
“No, it's not that... It's just that... This is a place where no one knows what might happen. So...”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Yes, that's right.”
Pal-gap nodded. I chuckled.
“Are you worried that I'm going to ask you to go to a tavern to drink during the day?”
“...I wish you would.”
Huh? What do you mean?
When I looked at Pal-gap with a puzzled look, he sighed.
“The young masters at other houses drink every day and chase women, but you don't do any of that. You just work...”
“I like drinking too. And I like women too.”
“But I've never seen you drink, and I've never seen you chase women.”
In my previous life, I enjoyed drinking and brothels...
Ah, you went to brothels for work.
Did you have a favorite miss?
You don't remember, so I guess you didn't.
I have nothing to say.
“Still, it's good that you don't cause trouble like the other guys. You're just complaining about your good fortune.”
“Of course, I know that. The best you can do is drink during the day.”
Ouch! That hurts.
“Anyway, I'm worried that you suddenly seem to have grown up.”
Pal-gap has a good sense of timing.
I smiled and said,
“You can't be a child forever.”
With that, I headed for a small general store with no signboard.
It was only called a general store, but it was actually a place where people sold their possessions for entertainment.
When I entered, Pal-gap and the two bodyguards behind me looked confused.
That was understandable, as I had no reason to be there.
“Who are you?”
An old man approached me, looked me over, and asked.
“You're not here to sell anything, are you?”
“How did you know I'm not here to sell anything?”
The old man replied to my question.
“I've been running this shop for many years... It's obvious just by looking at you, but to explain it, it's the look in your eyes.”
“Your eyes?”
“They're relaxed. But people who come here to make quick money are always anxious in some way.”
“I see.”
You have a keen eye.
I said with a smile.
“Actually, I came in because I saw some interesting items.”
“Take your time and look around.”
The old man sat down on a chair, and I began to look at the items in the general store.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but the fact that he ran a general store in this entertainment district meant that he was anything but ordinary.
There was a head constable named Guimapo.
He always wore a ghost mask while on duty, which is why he was called Guimapo.
He specialized in murder cases and used his martial arts skills to catch all the murderers in his district and put them in prison.
However, there was one murderer he was unable to catch.
After retiring, he decided to catch the murderer he had failed to catch.
So he started running a general store in the area where the murderer was believed to be hiding.
That old man was the man standing in front of me.
I learned this fact a few years before my death when I had the opportunity to talk with the Anchalsa.
Unfortunately, the old man passed away without ever catching the murderer.
In a sense, I thought he was a remarkable old man, and I began to look around the general store.
Then, something caught my eye.
“Oh! Isn't this inkstone cool?”
“Isn't it just an inkstone?”
“This isn't just an inkstone, it's called a Danggyeoyeon. Can you see the faint blue color?”
“You mean this pattern?”
“Yes. It becomes clearer when you wet it or soak it in water.”
“But aren't all inkstones the same? Why is this one better?”
“The ink isn't too rough or too fine, and it doesn't dry out easily. Anyway, once you try it, you'll see the difference.”
“Have you tried it?”
“...”
No, I haven't.
I've never used a Dangxi inkstone before.
Dangyeon is expensive, so even I can't easily buy one to use.
My captain's commemorative gift was a high-quality dangyeon.
I turned my head away, mumbling.
“I haven't tried it, but that's what they say.”
By the way, judging from the signs of wear, it seems like it was used for a long time...
Why did you end up covered in dust here?
Something felt bitter in my mouth.
In fact, most of the items here had similar stories.
They were sold because their owners didn't have money to enjoy themselves.
It wasn't because they didn't have enough money to live on.
This was an entertainment district, which meant it was a dangerous area.
This general store is located in the middle of the entertainment district.
There are other general stores where you can sell things to make money, so there is no reason to come to such a dangerous place.
I picked up a few things while chatting with the shopkeeper.
However, I did not choose the calligraphy brush.
I am not a skilled calligrapher, and I will be able to get one as a gift from my brothers later, so there was no need to buy it.
So I chose a mirror, a bracelet, and a fan.
“How much is that?”
“Five silver coins.”
Pal-gap was surprised at the price, which was equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary commoner.
“What? Why is it so expensive? They're all worn-out items!”
But I stopped Pal-gap and took the silver coins out of my wallet and handed them to him.
“Here you are.”
The old man counted the money I gave him and looked at me in surprise.
“This isn't five nyang.”
“I gave you the right amount.”
I gave him ten nyang.
If he didn't know the value of the items, he would have thought five silver coins was expensive, but to me, it was an unreasonably cheap price.
Normally, I would have rejoiced, but my conscience would not allow me to do so.
As a merchant who had inherited the will of my ancestors to be an honest merchant, I did not want to take unfair advantage.
I gave him ten nyang because that was all the money I had on me at the time.
Other people might think I was foolish, but in fact, I was doing this for my future.
All the items I bought were utensils.