Chapter 36
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 36
Chapter 36. The Result of the Outing (1)
That afternoon.
After work, I headed to the general store on the bookshelf.
The old man greeted me warmly when he saw me.
“Hello, Elder.”
“Who is this? Isn't this my benefactor!”
“What? My benefactor?”
“Thanks to you inviting me to the banquet, I was able to catch that rotten man, so of course you are my benefactor.”
“I only invited you to the banquet. And thanks to you, we were able to catch the criminal who was trying to escape, so you are my benefactor.”
The old man laughed at my words.
“It seems like we'll never come to a conclusion, so shall we just call each other benefactors?”
“That sounds good.”
Then the old man said to the bodyguard standing next to me.
“You.”
“Yes!”
“What is your name?”
Knowing that the old man was the respected martial artist, Gui Mianpo, the bodyguard quickly clasped his hands and replied.
“My name is Yeo Eung-am.”
“Yes, Yeo. We are having a pleasant conversation, but we have no refreshments. Use this money to buy some refreshments.”
The female bodyguard looked at me, and I nodded.
“Yes, sir. You are a great master, what could be wrong?”
“I understand.”
“You should go with him. It will be difficult for him to carry everything by himself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap and the female bodyguard left the shop, and I looked at the old man nervously.
There must be a reason why he sent them both away.
For example, he might want to tell me something they shouldn't know.
The old man opened his mouth.
"Was it you who made the Black Boss like that?
That's what he wanted to tell me.
The old man's eyes were filled with conviction.
It would be foolish to make a half-hearted excuse here. And the old man in front of me was not one to mince words.
In my previous life, I didn't even know that this old man was that Gui Mianpo.
I smiled lightly and replied.
“How did you know?”
“I can sense the nature of your inner arts. And I could feel traces of cold inner arts near where the Black Boss was hanging.”
“There must be others who have mastered the Bing Gong technique besides me, right?”
“That may be true. But you didn't kill him. And you even exchanged the gold and silver you took from him for silver coins and distributed them to the people.”
“...”
“How many people in Sungyang County have that much silver right now?”
“I'm only fifteen years old. How could a fifteen-year-old have that much silver?”
“I heard that you are the employer of the palm print maker?”
“...”
For a moment, he was speechless.
He finally regained his composure and asked with a hollow laugh.
“How did you know that?”
“This place is where all the rumors of the world flow in.”
He has no intention of telling me.
Anyway, if he knows that much, there is nothing I can say.
“Furthermore, I was convinced that you were not greedy when I saw your enormous wealth. I remembered you as the one who bought something from me.”
I straightened my clothes and bowed with clasped hands.
“I heard that you stopped them from taking the wealth you distributed to them. Thank you very much.”
“It's fine. I just didn't like the idea of them taking the wealth.”
“Hahaha.”
“It is impossible to compensate them for all the damage they suffered, so I think your method is the best.”
“I thought so too. There is no way to satisfy everyone.”
The old man nodded at my words.
“You are right. There is no way to satisfy everyone. To realize that at your age!”
I bowed again.
“And I am also grateful that you mobilized the government army to quickly catch the assassin who was after my brother's life.”
“That was only because their crimes were minor enough that even mobilizing the government army was not necessary.”
“Still, we must be grateful.”
The old man smiled at my words.
“If you say so, then I understand. I accept your gratitude.”
The old man pointed to the chair in front of him and said.
“Please sit down. It hurts my neck to look up at you.”
“Yes.”
I accepted his offer and sat down on the chair.
“Actually, the servant knows what I did.”
“Is that so?”
“I was accidentally caught. Ha ha ha.”
Just then, Pal-gap and the bodyguard returned with refreshments.
“Thank you for the refreshments.”
We drank the tea and talked about this and that. It was just small talk, but the old man's knowledge was truly amazing.
“Do you plan to continue running this general store, Elder?”
“I'm worried about that. I'm worried about the younger generation who will come looking for me... And that inspector will come looking for me too.”
“What? The inspector?”
“Yes, he used to work under me. He made a great contribution and rose through the ranks, and now he's the inspector of Hubei Province.”
“I see...”
But the Anchal-sa who told me about the old man is a different person from the current Anchal-sa, isn't he?
“Do you have many juniors in such high positions?”
“I'm proud to say that I do. I have some in the military and some are classmates of the Royal Guards.”
Gasp!
The Anchal-sa holds the judicial power of a city.
As if that weren't enough, he even has juniors in the Royal Guards and among his classmates!
Now I see that this elder was a real big shot!
He is renowned as a formidable master and has a wide network of connections.
On top of that, he is retired and has plenty of time.
We couldn't let such a talented person slip away.
Someone like him should become an advisor to the Trading Company!
From the perspective of the Trading Company, the most important thing to pay attention to is the government.
It would be reassuring to have the government as a backup, but if they start to interfere, it would be a disastrous situation.
That is why we have no choice but to grease the wheels of the government.
Therefore, if the old man from the general store becomes an advisor to the Eunhae Trading Company, he will be our biggest shield.
I had to persuade him to become an advisor somehow.
Suddenly, I realized that I didn't know the old man's name.
“Excuse me, Elder. I should have asked you this first, but I'm sorry I didn't.”
“What is it?”
“What is your name, Elder?”
“It's been a long time since anyone asked me my name.”
The old man replied with a smile.
“My name is Hwangbo Hui.”
He seemed quite friendly, considering that he told me his name.
Moreover, he was a member of the Hwangbo clan!
I must become even closer to him.
* * *
Time passed quickly.
Eun Gil-sang, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company, looked out the window.
It was already spring.
A new martial artist doll had been released.
This time, it was a doll of Seo Shi, one of the Four Great Beauties.
That meant three more dolls would be released in the future, and many people would be eager to collect all four of the Four Great Beauties.
“That guy... He really has something.”
Eun Gil-sang smiled happily as he looked at the sales report for the Seo Shi doll.
Once again, it sold out in a day.
Eun Gil-sang still remembered what his late grandfather had told him long ago.
“Gil-sang, a great merchant must have three qualities.”
“Three qualities?”
“Yes. They are the ability to see products that will make money and the guts to turn that into action.”
“Huh? You said three.”
“That's right. There is one more, the most important one.”
“What is that?”
“That is luck.”
“What?”
“You need luck. That's why they say that great merchants are sent from heaven.”
“That's disappointing. It means that no matter how hard you work, if you don't have luck, you'll never be more than an ordinary merchant.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Yes.”
"Let's say that luck is on your side and you find yourself in a fortunate situation. But what if you weren't in a position to accept that luck?
“Then I think I would be even more disappointed.”
“That's what effort is all about. It's for catching that luck. If you try hard, you may catch that luck once. But if you don't try, that luck will never come your way.”
“I see what you mean.”
“Gilsang, fortunately, I was lucky enough to grow the Eunhae Trading Company to what it is today. However, I don't know if luck will come your way when the time comes.”
“Only God knows, right?”
"Yes, as you say, only God knows. Still, I hope you don't neglect your efforts. If your efforts become the foundation for your son to catch his luck, then you will be a great captain."
It was clear that he was not satisfied with just finding a Palm print maker and getting his hands on it, but was thinking of ways to make a lot of money.
Eun Seo-ho had all three qualities necessary for a great merchant.
“If it is my mission to lay the foundation for my children to become true merchants, then so be it.”
At that moment.
“Trading Company Chief, Chief Administrator Yoo So-ak is here.”
He turned his head and replied to the bodyguard.
“Let him in.”
The door opened and Yoo So-ak entered.
He was a talented person that Eun Gil-sang had found in Beijing.
After joining the Trading Company, Yoo So-ak was obsessed with his work.
He had a lot of work to do, but it seemed as if he was doing it on purpose to forget what happened in Beijing.
That's why he always looked tired, but recently, his complexion had been improving little by little.
“Has he forgotten what happened in Beijing? Or is it because Seo Ho is doing a good job?”
Whatever the case, it was a good thing.
He had been worried about Yoo So-ak's health.
He was afraid that he would collapse from exhaustion.
“Yes, what is it?”
“The schedule for the special vacation for the finance officials has been finalized, and I need your approval.”
Eun Gil-sang took the documents Yoo So-ak handed him.
They were documents regarding the decision to give the Trading Company employees a day of special leave.
It was compensation for their hard work during the announcement of the new captain.
“Captain.”
“What is it?”
“Does this include Captain Eun Seo-ho?”
“Surely they didn't leave him out? Even though he's a special apprentice, he's still a member of the Finance Bureau, isn't he?”
“He's included.”
“Then why are you asking?”
Yoo So-ak said in a voice full of moisture.
“It's hard to work without you here.”
Eun Gil-sang laughed loudly at his words.
“You said you could do all the work yourself, and now you're saying that! I guess I'll live to see something. Hahahaha!”
Yoo So-ak sighed.
“I didn't know it would turn out like this. But you're really good at your job.”
“Do you know that Seo-ho is the only one of my sons who has ever told you that you're good at your job?”
“....”
“That means I like you that much. Still, I can't give Seo-ho special leave. I'm giving Jin-ho leave, after all. But if you're saying that, then...”
Eun Gil-sang narrowed his eyes and said.
“You're not going to give up your special leave, are you?”
At that question, Yoo So-ak avoided Eun Gil-sang's gaze and continued.
“I have a lot of work to do...”
“It was the same with your last vacation, and now this... No, you gave up your last vacation too.”
“I had a lot of work to do then too...”
“Do you think that if you collapse, it'll all be over? Who will clean up after you if you collapse?”
“There are other competent...”
Yoo So-ak trailed off.
He realized that Eun Gil-sang wasn't asking for an answer.
“This is an order. I refuse to approve your special leave.”
“Captain Dao.”
“You are forbidden from entering the Finance Office! And you are not allowed to take any other documents with you to your quarters.”
Eun Gil-sang returned the approval documents and said.
“So add your vacation schedule and bring it back to me. You said it was hard to work without Seo Ho, right? Then you can take a break with Seo Ho.”
“....”
* * *
Today was another rewarding day.
It was unusual that Chief Administrator Yoo, who I went to for approval in the middle of the day, came back with a gloomy expression and sighed deeply as he corrected the approval documents.
Seeing that, I wondered what was going on.
Chief Administrator Yoo was correcting approval documents.
That had never happened before in all the time we had worked together.
Even though I have a busy schedule, I was looking forward to this special vacation.
I'm going to sleep in bed all day today.
I'm really going to sleep.
As soon as I finish my martial arts training and take a shower, I'm going to lie down on my bed and never get up.
“Are you here, young master?”
Pal-gap greeted me.
“Yes.”
“What would you like for dinner?”
“Something simple. Just some dumplings and tea will be fine.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap bowed his head and added, “Oh, the captain of the Trading Company asked me to tell you to come see him tonight.”
“My father?”
What could it be?