Chapter 394
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 394
Chapter 394. There was a reason (1)
I asked cautiously.
“Is this what the Palace Head was looking for?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I found it. Thank you.”
“That ring must be very precious to you.”
“Of course. It's a memento left by my mother.”
Ah...
I thought it was a ring given to him by the woman he loved. Am I trash? Damn it.
When did I lose my innocence?
I smiled bitterly.
To survive in this fierce world and get revenge, I can't remain innocent.
By the way, why did the Palace Head have it?
As if to answer my question, the Palace Head said.
“I once had coldness invade my bone marrow. At that time, I ruthlessly got rid of anything that interfered with my training.”
“...”
“If the Palace Head of Seolpung Palace hadn't taken this, it would have disappeared too. He knew he would regret it later. The Palace Head of Seolpung Palace... was a really good friend.”
Now I realized that this was true friendship.
The Palace Head stood up and approached us.
Then he clasped his hands together toward Seo Hyang.
“Thank you very much.”
“I'm glad I could be of help.”
“It's a pity that you won't become a disciple of Bing Palace, but since you've chosen to stay by the side of the Captain, I can't persuade you any further.”
I said to the Palace Head.
“As I said, I will leave tomorrow morning.”
“I won't see you off. Take care.”
“Yes.”
We left the Palace Head's quarters.
“I've never seen that before.”
“What do you mean?”
At the words of Young Mistress Bing Hae-rin, I looked at her and Young Mistress Seo Hyang.
“I've never seen the Palace Head look like that before.”
Even I could see that she was happy to have found the bracelet.
“Anyway, thank you very much for everything.”
The next day arrived.
We got ready to leave early in the morning.
“Goodbye.”
“Be careful on your way.”
“Yes. Please take care of Grandmother.”
Hyung-nim greeted his relatives and other disciples.
Then, we passed through the foggy gate and arrived at the Binggung Inn.
The people at the inn were already ready to leave.
“Let's go.”
“Yes.”
And so, we headed south again.
* * *
Beijing.
The ministers were in heated discussions about the unprecedented famine.
They were discussing nothing less than purchasing food from foreign countries.
This may seem like a simple matter, but from the empire's perspective, it was not so simple.
The financial aspect was a problem, but the empire's prestige was the biggest issue.
If they were not careful, the empire could end up in the embarrassing position of begging for food.
“Then let's go through another country...”
“Can we trust another country?”
“There is no other option...”
“Let's do this instead. Let's hire the empire's merchants to do the work.”
“How can we trust lowly merchants with matters of state?”
“Then why don't you lead an embassy there yourself and beg them?”
“Let's hire the merchants.”
After a long discussion, a conclusion was reached.
It was just as Eun Seo-ho and Yong Eung-wan had predicted.
After further discussion, a concrete plan was devised.
The emperor reviewed it and approved it as is.
“Proceed as planned.”
“Yes, sir.”
“By the way, that guy has been quiet lately. What is he up to?”
The eunuch quickly realized who the emperor was referring to and replied.
“We recently received a report that he headed for the North Sea.”
“The North Sea?”
“Yes. Judging from the large amount of food loaded onto the carts, it appeared to be a trading company.”
“They are very active even in this year of famine.”
“They seem to be coming back soon. Shall I summon them?”
The eunuch shook his head.
“No, there's no need. We've already put out a notice recruiting merchants, so summoning that guy to the palace would only cause unnecessary misunderstanding.”
“But he should know Your Majesty's true intentions.”
“It doesn't matter whether he knows or not. All that matters is that he does his job well.”
* *
We arrived in Beijing.
“We're finally in Beijing!”
Jin-ho smiled at my words.
“It's warm just being in Beijing!”
It was April in Liaoning, and it was quite cold.
Of course, it wasn't me who was cold, but the others.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded in response to Jin-ho's question.
“Yeah.”
“Huh, I should have learned Bing Gong too.”
“Your constitution is suited to learning Yang martial arts.”
“Yeah, that's true.”
I said to Head Escort Ha Cheol.
“Let's take a break at the Beijing branch. I have some things to do.”
I had to catch up on some work.
As a rule, you have to do your work as you go along so you don't have to suffer later.
On the way to the Beijing branch, I saw a crowd of people gathered around a wall.
Huh? What's going on?
I asked Pal-gap to find out what was going on, and he quickly ran over and came back.
“There's an announcement posted at the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. They are recruiting a trading company to participate in trade with foreign countries.”
.
.
.
A moment later.
When we arrived at the Beijing branch, people were already waiting to greet us.
“Welcome. Thank you for your hard work.”
I exchanged a few words with the branch manager and got to the point.
“I saw the announcement on my way here.”
“Yes. You mean the announcement about foreign trade.”
“When was that announcement posted?”
“It was posted two days ago.”
If it was two days ago, then it's not too late. By the way, how come the announcement was posted so quickly?
Things are moving faster than in my previous life.
Back then, the announcement was posted after May.
That's why I was able to visit the Northern Sea Ice Palace without any worries.
I think it's because of my advice...
Even with my advice, if someone hadn't pushed so hard, things wouldn't have progressed this quickly...
Thinking about it, I let out a sigh.
Come to think of it, there was someone in the imperial palace who was very proactive. And thanks to me, there are talented people who are working hard in the imperial palace, unlike in my previous life.
“What's wrong?”
I shook my head at the branch manager's concerned question.
“Nothing. By the way, how are things going?”
“Several trading companies are already moving to offer their support. However, as you know, they must have a ship to qualify for support...”
“There won't be many applicants, then.”
I told the others to take a break, and with Pal-gap's help, I washed up, changed my clothes, and headed straight to my office.
Then I wrote a letter to my father.
I needed to know exactly what was going on.
I sent the letter to my father through a royal messenger.
“Captain, it's Lieutenant Kwak.”
“Come in.”
The door opened and Young Mistress Seo entered.
"You're working even here.
“I have no choice. This is my job.”
“I came to see if I could help you with anything.”
“You can rest. I don't have much work to do.”
Hearing my words, Miss Seo Hyang pointed to the pile of documents next to me and asked, “Don't you have to take care of those today?”
“....”
Oh, I forgot about that.
“Please... help me.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
When I woke up and finished my breathing exercises, Geum-ryeong returned with a letter.
“I'm glad you had a safe trip. The family and the Trading Company are all safe and sound. Two large merchant ships have been built and have completed their trial runs. I see why you were in such a hurry. When I said I would pay the workers in grain instead of money, they flocked to us and we were able to finish building the ships quickly.”
This was the news I had been waiting for.
By the way, paying workers with grain is a very ingenious idea.
After all, even if you have money, it is difficult to buy grain these days.
Our Eunhae Trading Company is also eligible because we have ships.
I immediately opened a piece of paper, filled out the application form, and called Pal-gap.
“Did you call me?”
“Take this to the imperial palace.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap looked at Geum-ryeong licking the silver coin on my desk and tilted his head.
“By the way, that guy eats so much money, but he hasn't grown at all.”
“That's because he's a spiritual beast.”
At that moment, Geum-ryeong and Pal-gap's eyes met, and a staring contest began between them.
“Hmm, Pal-gap.”
“Huh! You bastard! You're scary! You made me start a staring contest without even realizing it!”
“...Hurry up and go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap left my office, and I picked up the silver coin that Geum-ryeong was holding.
Geum-ryeong held on tightly to the coin.
Geum-ryeong is very attached to his coin.
The staring contest they just had probably meant, “Don't you dare touch my coin.”
Pal-gap meant, “You're challenging me.”
It was just a pointless snowball fight caused by a misunderstanding.
But Pal-gap is amazing.
Geum-ryung just had a snowball fight and made Baek-hyeok run away, but Pal-gap didn't even get hit.
I put Geum-ryung in my sleeve and got up from my seat.
Now I have to go see Jin-ho.
I headed for the training ground.
It was obvious where Jin-ho would be at this time.
As I expected, Jin-ho was diligently swinging his spear at the training ground.
“Ha! Hot!”
Boom! Woom!
The sound of the spear cutting through the wind was exhilarating. Seo-woo, the warrior standing behind me to protect me, said,
“Your movements are much cleaner than before.”
“I think so too. What is your record against Seo Woo-musha?”
“I think it's 25 wins and 23 losses.”
Of course, that was Jin-ho's standard.
“But you did win twice, right?”
“The first time you beat me, you were trying to wear me out.”
I already knew that from reading the battle report.
“But I won't fall for the same trick twice.”
I smiled and approached Jin-ho.
“Hyung!”
When I called out to him, he put down his spear and greeted me warmly.
“You came at the right time! Let's have another round! This time, I won't let you beat me so easily like last time.”
“I'm not warmed up yet. I just got up. And it's almost time for breakfast.”
I said to him.
“I came because I have something to tell you.”
“Me?”
I nodded.
“My companions and I are not going back to Hubei with you this time.”
“What? Why so suddenly?”
I kindly explained to my brother.
“You know, the Imperial Palace is recruiting a trading company to conduct trade with foreign countries. Our Eunhae Trading Company has applied. So, we need someone to stay here and monitor the situation and proceed with the work.”
“I see.”
Jin-ho scratched the back of his neck and replied.
“That's too bad.”
“I believe you can lead everyone back safely. That's what we've been training for.”
I continued.
“And you don't have to submit your battle reports to me anymore.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Hee hee hee! I'm finally free!”
Aren't you a little too happy about that?
I'm being silly.
But I just smiled. I'm a good younger brother.
A few days later
Head Escort Ha and the other members of the Changin Escort Agency, along with Jin-ho and his group, left the Beijing branch.
I asked Head Escort Ha for a favor.
I asked him to tell Master to stop by the Beijing branch if he happened to be in Beijing in the near future.
I wanted to give him the items my father had left behind, but I wouldn't be able to return to Hubei for a while.
And I would remain in Beijing...
What else can I do? I have to work.
Summer is slowly approaching, so I have to check the work style.
And I have to review new products.
Ah...
I remembered the contents of the letter my father sent me. I'm sure there was this sentence at the end of the letter.
“It's your aunt's birthday soon. Please give her my congratulations for me.”
I have to go buy a gift.
I turned my head and said to Miss Seo Hyang, who was processing documents next to me.
“Would you help me?”
“Yes?”
“It's my aunt's birthday. I have to choose a gift, so please help me choose one.”
A moment later, I went out with Miss Seo Hyang.
“I'm not sure I can help you.”
“Still, as a woman, you'll be better at picking out a gift than me.”
“What kind of gift do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking of some hair accessories.”
We headed to a shop that sold women's accessories and carefully selected some items.
Seon-mi is with her husband and cannot come with us, so I thought I would take Young Mistress Seo-hyang with me to keep him company.
Hyung-nim Seon-il is not particularly warm, so I am just glad that he is not as pessimistic and cynical as he was in his previous life.
Still, he has a warm heart.
That is why he asked me for help when Seon-mi got married last time.
That's why he asked me for help with Sun-mi's wedding last time.
At that time, I saw someone who made me doubt my eyes.
A tall young man was choosing accessories at an accessory shop...
It was definitely Hyung-nim.
I thought he was also buying a gift for my aunt, but then I stopped.
But why was he buying two necklaces?