Chapter 372
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 372
Chapter 372. Eternal Life (4)
We looked at the physician with nervous expressions.
“What is it?”
The physician replied cautiously to Seo Woo's question.
“I think the child will be affected by the fruit your wife ate.”
“What? Fruit...?”
I thought I knew what kind of fruit he was talking about. Jin-ryeong had said she picked some fruit for Hong Geum-so because she was hungry.
Geum-ryung, what kind of fruit did you pick for her...
Seo Woo-mu asked with a serious expression.
“What kind of fruit did she eat? And what are the effects?”
The physician smiled at his expression.
Huh? He smiled?
When a physician smiles in front of a patient, it means that there is nothing wrong with the patient.
In other words.
“It seems that she ate a fruit called Taesae-sil. This fruit usually makes people feel neither hungry nor thirsty, but when eaten by a pregnant woman, the child will be born with exceptional talent in a certain field. That is why many people make great efforts to find this fruit, but it is not easy to obtain. It is so rare that it is said to be a gift from heaven.”
She continued.
“So it's a good thing.”
Only then did Seo Woo let out a sigh of relief.
Me too.
No, why are you doing this to us? Physician.
The physician I brought with me is also very knowledgeable about Emei.
Anyway, it was worth bringing a skilled physician with me.
.
.
.
I ordered Seo Woo to stay with Hong Geum-so and returned to the main hall.
Of course, Seo Woo said he couldn't leave me alone, but I forced him to stay.
Seo Woo is the one Hong Geum-so needs most right now.
After returning to the main hall, I went to Jung Ho.
“Hyung!”
When Jung-ho saw me, he stood up and came over to me.
“Come in. I heard that you went to the council chamber as soon as you arrived and brought a physician with you. What happened?”
“Ah…”
I sat down in front of my brother's desk and said, “Lady Hong was in grave danger.”
“Lady Hong, you mean the woman who makes clothes for martial artists?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Yes, that's right.”
“But how did you find out?”
Jeong-ho's question was reasonable.
Well, it was still too dangerous to tell him the truth.
It wasn't that I didn't trust Jeong-ho, but I was wary of the “ears on the wall” that could be anywhere.
“Mrs. Hong Geum-so is Seo Woo's wife. As expected of a master warrior, I suddenly felt uneasy...”
“Even if you just had a bad feeling...”
“Of course. But a master warrior's intuition is more than that. Thanks to Seo Woo's intuition, I've survived many crises.”
Jeong-ho nodded in agreement with my repeated assertions.
“Well, then. What about Mrs. Hong?”
“She's fine.”
“That's good.”
“By the way, how have you been?”
My brother smiled at my question.
“Of course, I've been fine. And I've been busy thanks to you.”
“Huh? Me? Why?”
“Don't you remember? When Lieutenant Cho was injured.”
“That rebel group?”
“Yes, they left me in charge of dealing with them and left.”
Come to think of it, that must have been quite a mess. I feel a little sorry now.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
“I'm sorry...”
“You don't have to be sorry. Thanks to you, I got a higher position at the Trading Company. That's why you passed that job on to me, right?”
Jeong-ho was right.
“So I'm grateful to you. The work was hard, but...”
“Then should I feel sorry for you? Or should I feel proud?”
“...”
My brother laughed at my question, and I laughed too.
“Anyway, thanks for coming.”
“Thanks. How are Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon?”
My brother sighed at my question.
“They're very healthy. They've been running around everywhere lately, so it's been crazy.”
A moment later.
When I visited Jung-ho's annex, I understood why he had said that.
“Young master! You'll get hurt!”
“Miss!”
The two siblings, now almost three years old, were running around the yard frantically.
Two nannies were sweating profusely trying to catch them.
“Huh? Uncle!”
“My youngest uncle!”
The two children ran toward me and hugged me as soon as they saw me.
“Oh my! You've grown so much!”
“Yes!”
“We've grown a lot!”
Seeing my sister-in-law and the nannies looking thinner than before, I couldn't bring myself to leave.
Even my sister-in-law, a martial artist, was exhausted!
“I'll play with Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon today.”
My words brought smiles to their faces.
That evening.
My parents and their companions arrived at the main hall.
“You're here. I had some business to attend to, so I came ahead.”
My father nodded at my words.
“I heard you had to leave early because of urgent business. Did everything work out?”
“Yes. Fortunately, it was resolved. I'll tell you the details later.”
“I see.”
While my parents greeted my other brothers, I headed toward my companions.
“Dao-nim!”
Pal-gap ran up to me first and asked in a small voice.
“How did it go?”
“Don't worry.”
“Phew! I'm so relieved.”
“Yes, it's a relief.”
“But why do you look so pale?”
“Oh, this? I was playing with Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon...”
I greeted my bodyguards behind me. Then I turned to Miss Seo Hyang, who was standing in the middle of them.
“How was your trip?”
“It was very comfortable.”
“Then let me show you to your quarters.”
I took her directly to her quarters. I had to thank her.
***
Sungyang County, where the headquarters of the Eunhae Trading Company was located.
A family lived in a large house in the market town there. The distinctive feature of that house was that it was home to a woman and her four children.
The children were nine-year-old twin boys and seven-year-old twin girls.
The woman's name was Man-ok.
Man-ok was sitting in the yard doing sewing work for hire.
Of course, she could have lived without doing sewing, but she felt uneasy if she didn't work.
This was because she had been working every day for a long time to make ends meet, and it had become a habit.
She looked up and muttered to herself as she gazed outside.
“When will he come?”
She met him over ten years ago, and he became a warrior of Eunpungdae for her sake.
The welfare of Eunhaesang Trading Company was very good, and if a warrior died fighting for the company, his family would be provided for.
Her husband made the best choice for his family because a life of fighting was always uncertain.
However, his monthly salary as a new recruit was not enough to support her and their twin sons.
Nevertheless, as he gained seniority, his monthly salary increased, and then his twin daughters were born.
It must have been around that time.
“I have been assigned as the personal bodyguard of Young Master Eun Seo-ho.”
“Personal bodyguard?”
“Yes. So I won't be able to come home often.”
That was when it started.
His family's life became more comfortable.
His monthly salary increased several times, and he was able to feed his children well.
Recently, his salary increased again, and he was able to buy a nice house.
However, it became more difficult to see his husband.
He had been away from home for nearly ten months this time. Still, judging from the letters he had received, he seemed to be doing well.
That was when it happened.
“Man-ok!”
A familiar voice rang out from the front gate.
She turned her head and saw a face she hadn't seen in ten months standing in front of the gate.
“Ah! You're home?”
“I'm back.”
“Father!”
The four children playing in the yard also ran to him.
At the Eunhae Trading Company, he was a bodyguard for Eun Seo-ho, but at home, he was Yeo Eung-am, the husband of a woman and the father of four children.
“Where did you go this time, Father?”
“This time, I went to Beijing, then to the North Sea, and then to Guizhou Province down there. I also went to Shandong.”
“Wow!”
The children were amazed by Yeo Eung-am's words.
Seeing their bright eyes staring at him, Yeo Eung-am felt a sense of pride for some reason.
He was enjoying a rare moment of peace with his family.
“Are you there?”
Yeong-am heard a familiar voice outside the gate and opened it.
“Who is it... Oh, it's you!”
The visitor was Pal-gap, Eun Seo-ho's servant.
“This is the house of Master Yeo.”
“Yes, it is. But what brings you here?”
“My young master sent me.”
He waved his hand toward somewhere, and a cart began to move toward his house.
The cart was loaded with grain and silk.
“What is this?”
“Your young master said he was sorry for not taking care of you, so he prepared this himself.”
“You didn't have to do this...”
“I think you should accept it. Your young master packed it himself, and he will be hurt if you refuse.”
Come to think of it, that was true.
Eun Seo-ho looked strong on the outside, but he was a more sensitive liege than he appeared.
“What is going on?”
At that moment, his wife, Man-ok, approached and asked.
“My liege sent you a gift.”
“What? Oh my! All of this?”
Man-ok asked in surprise, and Pal-gap replied.
“Yes, it is.”
“Judging by how much he sent you, you must be very important to your liege.”
Hearing that, Yeo-eung-am felt his shoulders rise for some reason.
***
I was working in my office.
Just because Hyungpung-guk was in Beijing didn't mean I didn't have work to do.
“Young master, it's Pal-gap.”
At that moment, the door opened and Pal-gap entered.
“Did you deliver the message?”
“Yes.”
As soon as I arrived at the main building, I gave Yeo-eung-am two days off.
He hadn't seen his family for almost ten months, so he must have missed them terribly.
I also asked Pal-gap to send them a gift.
It was a gift to make up for not being able to take care of Yeo-eung-am's family during his absence.
Actually, I should have gone myself, but I thought it would be too much for him, so I sent Pal-gap instead.
“Did they receive the gift?”
“Yes, they loved it.”
“I'm glad. Did they seem to need anything else?”
“No.”
Pal-gap told me about Yeong-am's house.
“The yard was quite large, and the children were playing there.”
“Really?”
Then I remembered something.
“How old are the children? Nine and seven, right?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“They don't learn to read and write?”
Usually, children start learning to read and write at the age of six. And at the time of Pal-gap's visit, it was time for them to go to school.
“I'm not sure about that.”
Two days later
I asked Yeo Eung-am, who had rested and returned, about this.
“Well, you see...”
He scratched the back of his neck and replied.
“My wife knows a little bit, so she teaches them the basics... Actually, they are waiting for their turn to go to school.”
“Their turn?”
“They are waiting for their turn to enter the most famous school in Sungyang County.”
“How many students can they accept, that there is a waiting list?”
“I heard that they only accept fifty students.”
Come to think of it, there weren't many schools in Sungyang County.
That was because those who were educated enough to open a school wanted to stay in Beijing and did not want to move to the countryside.
That was why the officials of Hyungpung County were happy when they were transferred to Beijing, as it solved the problem of their children's education.
Come to think of it, it's not just education, but also childcare.
When a woman working for Eunhae Trading Company takes time off work to raise her children, it's a loss for the company.
The more experience an employee has, the more valuable they are to the company.
If they quit because of childcare, the company has to hire and train new people.
It is really difficult to hire someone reliable.
Of course, it would be a loss for the individual, but as the captain of the company, I have no choice but to think from the company's perspective.
Furthermore, if Mrs. Hong Geum-so gives birth this time, she will have to take time off work to raise the child.
Otherwise, we will have to hire a nanny, but the cost is not insignificant...
I jumped up from my seat and said.
“We need to establish a school for childcare and education at Eunhae Trading Company.”
“What?”
“Why didn't I think of this before?”
I immediately went to my father.
After hearing my story, my father responded positively.
“That's a good idea. But we need to find a way to cover the costs.”
“If the cost is insufficient, I will contribute.”
“You?”
“Yes. I have saved quite a bit of money.”
My father looked at me as if to ask how much money I could possibly have.
Actually, Father, I am richer than you.
My father nodded in agreement.
“Let's gather opinions first.”
This matter was important because it would primarily affect those who would benefit from it.
I immediately took out a piece of paper and wrote something down.
[I would like to establish a place to raise and educate children until they become adults. Please give me your opinions.
I posted it on the bulletin board.
The next day
Pal-gap entered the annex with a large basket, panting heavily.
“What's that?”
“What do you mean? It's a petition.”
“You already got so many?”
“There are more.”
Wait a minute...
Now I have to review all those petitions.
Oh no...
I've created more work for myself without realizing it.
Why am I crying?