Chapter 31
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 31
Chapter 31. Announcement of the New Captain (2)
An old man like him would know that.
I don't know why he's selling it so cheaply, though...
I thought that if I made a good impression on an old man who was so influential that even the provincial governor paid his respects, it would be easier to ask for his help later.
You never know in life.
I smiled gently and said to the old man.
“Just take it. Actually, I should give you more, but that's all I have right now.”
“Is this... the price of the item?”
“Yes, it's the price of the item.”
The old man smiled meaningfully and said.
“I understand. But I can't just send you away like this, so I'll throw in something extra. Choose anything you like.”
“What? You don't have to...”
The old man quickly gestured for me to choose something, so I had no choice but to look around the shop.
Then, my eyes fell on the inkstone made of stone that I had seen earlier.
“Can I take this? I'm sorry to ask...”
“It's fine. I've used it, so it's cheaper than a new one.”
So, I picked up the mirror, fan, bracelet, and inkstone and left the general store.
* * *
The old man watched them leave his general store.
A pretty boy who looked like he would make girls cry, a bear-like servant, and two bodyguards with a sharp aura.
Among them, it was the pretty boy who caught the old man's interest.
“His name was Eun Seo-ho, right?”
It was a long-standing habit of the head constable to always investigate his surroundings.
Thanks to that habit, he was able to catch all the murderers in his district.
So there was no way he wouldn't know Eun Seo-ho, the youngest son of the Eun Trading Company.
There was only one flaw in his life.
Others might not consider it a flaw, but to him, it was his greatest regret.
He had been tracking the perpetrator of a murder, but he had failed to catch him.
The perpetrator was an assassin.
He touched his thigh.
That was where he kept the sword the assassin had left him as a gift.
“It still hurts.”
Even now, he still dreams about that day.
There is only one way to escape from that nightmare.
That is to catch the assassin.
That is why he, a retired man, opened a general store in this place.
This was the main base of the assassin he was tracking.
He believes that if he runs a general store here and gathers information, he will be able to catch the assassin someday.
“By the way, that young man is very lucky.”
The old man knows.
He knows that the item Eun Seo-ho just bought is a sacred object.
The reason he sold it for such a ridiculously low price is because the store itself is a sacred object.
He didn't know the story behind it.
However, he learned the truth after purchasing the shop and running it for some time.
If someone caused a disturbance in the shop and broke something, he would suffer a loss equal to the value of the broken item.
Furthermore, if someone haggled with the owner over the price of an item, he would suffer a loss equal to the value of the item.
That's why the old man deliberately set the price low so that buyers wouldn't lose money.
In fact, he had enough money, so there was no reason for him to earn more.
Those who make a mess are responsible for their own actions, so there's nothing he can do about them.
However, no one had ever paid more than the asking price like Eun Seo-ho.
That's why he was excited.
He wondered what Eun Seo-ho would gain from the appearance of this shop.
“Ah!”
At that moment, Eun Seo-ho, who was leaving the shop, said.
“Elder.”
“Why?”
“The day after tomorrow, there will be a big banquet at the Eunhae Trading Company. It is the day when my eldest brother, the eldest son of the company, will become the captain.”
“Oh! That is a very auspicious day.”
“Yes, I thought you might enjoy attending, so I wanted to let you know.”
“Are you inviting this old man?”
“Yes.”
Eun Seo-ho said with a smile.
“Then I will see you on that day.”
He turned around and walked away.
The old man smiled and muttered to himself.
“Now that I've been invited, it would be rude not to go. Right?”
Squeak.
As if in response to his question, the shop window opened by itself.
Seeing this, the old man laughed heartily.
* * *
The next day
I finished my breathing exercises and training.
There was still time before breakfast, but I hurried on my way.
Before going to the dining hall, I had to stop by Jung-ho's quarters.
He wasn't officially a captain yet, so he was staying in quarters attached to the main building, just like me.
Jung-ho was standing in the courtyard when he saw me and greeted me cheerfully.
“What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I have something to give you.”
“...?”
I took a small box out of my sleeve and handed it to him.
“Here. It's a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Congratulations on becoming a captain.”
“I'm not a captain yet.”
“Tomorrow is the announcement ceremony. I thought you would be busy in the morning, so I wanted to give it to you in advance. Actually, I wanted to give it to you yesterday, but you were out.”
“Oh, I just came back from meeting Lord Jihyeon.”
In order to run a trading company, it was essential to be acquainted with the provincial governor of the province where the company was located.
Jeong-ho was going to officially become a captain, so he went to greet the county magistrate.
“Anyway, take it.”
Jeong-ho looked embarrassed at my words and accepted my gift.
Then he opened the box.
“Cool!”
The gift I gave him was a bracelet.
It was made of silver and engraved with a beautiful landscape painting, so even men could wear it without feeling self-conscious.
I bought it at a variety store in the entertainment district last night.
In other words, it was a stolen item.
“What is it?”
“A bracelet?”
“Doesn't it look like one? But it's not.”
I smiled and continued.
“The name of that bracelet is Bi-eun-si (Flying Silver Arrow).”
Hearing my words, Jung-ho tilted his head and asked.
“Shi (矢) means arrow, so why is it called that?”
“When you swing it with your inner arts, thin silver darting needles shoot out like arrows.”
“Darting needles? You mean hidden weapons?”
I nodded.
As my brother said, Bi-eun-si is a hidden weapon that is carried around secretly.
The Bi-eun-si I gave to Jung-ho was used by an assassin called Chaguk in his previous life.
He was an assassin with a morbid taste for placing red feathers in the mouths of his victims.
He was caught due to a ridiculous mistake, and his weapon was discovered.
Even though he was not particularly skilled in martial arts, it was his hidden weapon that enabled him to continue his assassinations for so long without being caught.
It was a few years before my death that I learned about the mirror and fan I bought at a general store yesterday and this poem.
Not only the poem, but also the mirror and fan were used by the Black Dao to kill many people.
The owner of the general store had to suffer greatly because all of these items came from his store.
The old man who owned the general store died, and the new owner disposed of them.
So I took them before they fell into the hands of vicious people and were used to kill innocent people.
What crime did these tools commit?
It's how you use them that matters.
This time, they will be used by Jung-ho, and he will not regret it.
But I couldn't say that, so I made up a reasonable excuse.
“If you become a captain, you may be in even more danger than you are now. You know that.”
“That's true.”
“I want it to protect your life.”
“Thank you.”
Jeong-ho smiled and asked.
“Just from your description, it sounds like this isn't an ordinary item. Where did you get it?”
“Ah... I went to the flea market yesterday and found it by chance.”
“Really?”
“They say that items with a history find their way to their rightful owner. This was meant to be yours. Why are you being so picky? Just take it!”
“Hm, hm, with your personality, I'm sure you got it fairly.”
Jeong-ho took the bracelet out of the box and put it on his left wrist.
“It fits well.”
Jeong-ho smiled.
“Let's go eat breakfast.”
Jeong-ho and I headed to the dining room.
Our family was already there and sitting down.
“Excuse me.”
“We're a little late.”
“It's okay. We just got here.”
My grandfather looked at Jung-ho and said,
“Jung-ho finally became a captain! I'm so happy!”
“It's all thanks to my grandfather, father, and everyone else who guided me.”
My father nodded in agreement with Jung-ho's words.
“It's because you followed his lead well. Isn't that right?”
My mother laughed at my father's words.
“Of course.”
At that moment, the servants brought in bowls of porridge.
Today's breakfast was chicken porridge.
Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and drank tea in a harmonious atmosphere.
When everyone was enjoying the aroma of tea, I spoke up.
“Father, I have something to tell you.”
My father nodded casually.
“Yes, what is it?”
“How about assigning physicians to various places in the banquet hall for Hyung-ho's captain announcement ceremony tomorrow?”
“Assign physicians?”
“Yes.”
I continued.
“At my grandfather's birthday banquet last time, I saw a guest who had a stomachache and was suffering. If there had been a physician at the banquet hall, he could have been treated quickly.”
“Hmm...”
“Tomorrow is Hyung-nim Jeong-ho's announcement ceremony. It is the day he will officially begin his role as the successor to the Trading Company, and I don't want the atmosphere to be ruined by something trivial like that.”
“You're right. If something like that happens at a festive banquet, it will ruin the mood.”
Then my grandfather said,
“Seo-ho is right. We should assign physicians. It's the day our eldest grandson officially becomes a senior member of the guild, so we can't have any complaints.”
Now that both my father and grandfather had agreed, everything would go smoothly.
* * *
With Jung-ho's announcement as Captain tomorrow, the Trading Company was busy all day.
There was a lot to prepare, such as setting up the banquet hall and preparing food.
Therefore, all the Trading Company's personnel were mobilized.
The Finance Department was also busy.
A banquet meant money, and it was the Finance Department's job to calculate and pay for all the expenses.
On top of that, it was a priority task, so the Finance Department, which was always busy, had to work even harder.
That meant I was busy too.
I was reviewing the budget for the food for the banquet when I let out a slight sigh.
Oh, this is wrong.
I glanced at Chief Administrator Yu and corrected my mistake.
I could have reported my mistake to Chief Administrator Yu, but it was better to cover up such a minor mistake.
You could say, “Just say it's wrong and send it back. Why are you making trouble for yourself?” But this is all for the sake of my reputation.
.
.
.
It was time to go home.
Even though I had been sitting all day, my back didn't hurt at all.
I wondered if it was because of the physical training methods my Master had taught me, or because of my constitution, or because of my inner arts....
Even though I had been working all day without a break, I was only slightly tired.
As long as I'm not sick, it's fine.
People were bustling about in preparation for tomorrow's banquet, which would also serve as the announcement of the new captain.
I tilted my head when I saw a familiar face.
“Where are you going?”
Jeong-ho looked at me and nodded in response to my question.
“Seo-ho. Are you on your way home?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm on my way to the annex where I'll be staying starting tomorrow.”
“You're officially moving into the annex? Congratulations!”
Jeong-ho scratched his cheek at my words.
Once the sons of the Trading Company's captains finish all their practical training and officially become captains, they are given their own annex within the inner quarters.
This means that they are recognized as independent individuals and true adults.
“I'll invite you over once the annex is ready.”
“I'll look forward to it. I wonder what it looks like.”
I said that, but I already knew what Jung-ho's annex looked like.
In my previous life, I often went to his annex to discuss work.
Suddenly, I could almost hear Jung-ho's drunken ramblings.
“If I had listened to Ujin's advice back then, he wouldn't have died. I really liked the room in the annex...”
As that memory came back to me, my gaze turned to the young bodyguard standing behind Jung-ho.
His name was Jeon Woo-jin.
He was handpicked by my brother and had been protecting him for over five years.
According to the Chief Administrator, he was extremely talented and would reach his peak before the age of 40.
However, tomorrow, Jeon Woo-jin will die.