Chapter 496
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 496
Chapter 496. Liquor Tasting (6)
Seo Hyang Miss also seemed to have not anticipated this situation. That must be why she followed me here.
I was taken aback for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure and whispered to Seo Hyang Miss.
“The more you try to avoid or hide, the more suspicious they will become. So, just act confident.”
“You're right. I am Gwak Seo-hyang.”
“Yes. You just look like him. There are bound to be a few people who look alike in this world, aren't there?”
“That's true.”
“With the veil on, it's possible that he won't recognize you. Even if he does, you can get away with it if you make up a good excuse.”
Just in case, I had prepared a complete background story for Chengdu.
Even if it wasn't a situation like this, there would be other occasions when I would have to introduce her.
I replied to the master craftsman with a calm expression.
“Ah, Palm print. Is that someone you want me to introduce you to?”
“Yes. This is my childhood friend. He came all this way to cheer me on.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
Strictly speaking, we were old acquaintances, but at that time, we had never formally greeted each other, so I greeted him as if we were meeting for the first time.
“Nice to meet you. I am Dong-hyuk-soo, a close friend of this guy.”
“I am truly envious of your friendship, coming all this way to cheer him on.”
“Hahaha, there is no need to envy us. It is a tiresome relationship.”
As he said that, Master Dong-hyuk-soo's expression became strange.
His gaze was fixed on Miss Seo-hyang, who was standing behind me.
Even though he only saw her eyes, he recognized her identity.
I asked cautiously.
“What's wrong?”
“Jaryung... Could it be Jaryung?”
Despite his trembling voice, Seo Hyang calmly asked back.
“What? Who is that?”
“Um...”
Master Dong was taken aback by her response.
I tilted my head.
“Jaryeong... Dong Hyuk-soo... Could you be the son of the Master of the Pojeongsa in Giju?”
He nodded in response to my question.
“I see. I once brought some medicine to Miss Dong Ja-ryung at the request of the Minister of Justice. I heard that she passed away in an unfortunate accident. Please accept my condolences.”
I continued.
“I should have attended the funeral, but I heard the news too late. I am very sorry.”
Seo Hyang echoed my words.
“Ah, you mean that young mistress. She looks a lot like me?”
“Yes, that's right.”
I quickly told her.
“I think you must have mistaken her for Dongja-ryeong, her older sister, who looks very similar to her.”
However, he still couldn't take his eyes off Miss Seohyang.
“Mistaken... That can't be... They look so much alike.”
Of course they look alike.
They are the same person.
However, I couldn't reveal that.
“I admit that she looks very much like Young Mistress Dongja-ryeong. However, Captain Kwak here is the captain recommended by my master.”
“I am sorry for the late introduction. I am Kwak Seo-hyang, Captain Eunseoho's second-in-command.”
“Captain Kwak is my master's relative. I was also very surprised when my master introduced him to me.”
“....
”I understand your feelings, Master, but my second-in-command is not who you think she is, so please refrain from any further disrespect."
Master Dong looked at Miss Seo-hyang with desperate eyes, but she just looked at him indifferently.
Seeing this, Master Dong sighed and clasped his hands together in apology.
“I'm sorry. I was rude.”
Knowing that he had a fiery temper, I was prepared for him to react violently, such as by taking off his hood.
But I didn't expect him to apologize so readily...
Has his personality changed?
Perhaps the death of Miss Seo Hyang changed his personality.
“I accept your apology.”
As soon as he heard Seo Hyang's words, he passed us and headed somewhere.
“I'm sorry.”
The master craftsman, who had been watching us and him, apologized to me.
“It's okay. Let's go after him.”
“Yes.”
He hurriedly followed Dong Dae-hyung.
After that, we continued to encourage and check on the Palm prints, and finally met Palm Print Master Yong-joon, who had returned last.
“I'm really sorry about earlier.”
He sighed and continued.
“It was because he missed his sister, who died in a martial aunt accident. They were so close that they talked every time they met.”
“I see.”
“He was in poor health, so I was very worried about him. Fortunately, he found a good physician and was very happy that his illness had been cured... I can't imagine how devastated he was after losing his life in such an unfortunate accident.”
I nodded.
“He was a truly kind person. I knew him myself, so I can't help but feel sad. Now, let me check on the other craftsmen.”
“Yes.”
After offering words of encouragement and completing the inspection, we headed for a quiet place.
The Beijing branch was located on the site of a former imperial palace, so it was incredibly spacious.
The garden was also large.
The place we were heading to was in a secluded corner of the garden.
“Please wait here for a moment. Only Lieutenant Gwak, please follow me.”
“Yes.”
Leaving the bodyguards behind, I walked with Miss Seo for a while.
“There's no one here.”
“Yes.”
I took off my cloak and covered her head with it.
“No one will hear you even if you cry out loudly here.”
At my words, tears began to well up in her large, clear eyes. It is not easy to treat a blood relative coldly, even when they are right in front of you.
This is even more so when it is not a blood relative with whom you are on bad terms, but someone you truly cherish and love.
I had already noticed that she had been clenching her fists so tightly that they were leaving marks on her hands.
“Huh...”
Finally, Miss Seo Hyang sat down on the spot and burst into tears. I stood silently in front of her, blocking the sound from traveling far.
Her crying sounded so heartbreaking.
“Thank you.”
After sobbing for a while, she said to me.
“Thank you so much for saving me.”
She continued.
“Now that I'm alive, I can see my parents and Orabeoni. So... thank you.”
“I'm the one who should be thanking you.”
To be honest, I wondered if what I had done was right.
I was afraid that it would make her feel even worse.
But when I heard her words, I knew I had done the right thing.
Yes, as long as she is alive.
As long as she was alive, someday she would surely find happiness.
Seo Hyang would also regain her identity and be reunited with her family someday.
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.
.
The day of the liquor tasting competition arrived.
Captain Go of the Cheongsu Trading Company and I had to be busy from early in the morning.
There were more alcoholic beverages entered in the competition than expected.
This was because temporary permission to brew alcohol was granted for the purpose of the competition.
There were over a thousand breweries listed on the entry list.
Considering the breweries that were unable to enter for various reasons, there must be thousands of breweries in the empire.
There could even be more than that.
Due to the large number of entries, the evaluation process took a total of one month.
This is because it is impossible to evaluate all of the sake in a single day.
Drinking more than 100 cups a day will make you drunk, but it will also be difficult to distinguish the flavors.
Therefore, we evaluate 50 sake per day.
We were fortunate to have set aside plenty of time for this, otherwise I would have been really exhausted from doing two events at the same time.
There were a total of 100 guests.
They had to evaluate each sake based on ten questions.
After that, the top 100 were selected and moved on to the second round of evaluation.
The second round involved making the sake themselves.
This is to see if there is a difference in taste between the submitted sake and the sake they make themselves, and to see if it can be mass-produced.
That's why everyone had to bring their sake-making tools and ingredients with them when they came here.
The Crown Prince visited the evaluation room where everyone had worked so hard.
“Oh! This is quite impressive.”
“Yes.”
I explained about the evaluation room.
“As I mentioned earlier, each of the fifty tables has a different type of sake, and the evaluators move around randomly, tasting and evaluating the sake.”
“I see.”
The reason why a hundred people sit at their seats and evaluate the sake while moving around instead of staying in their seats is to prevent poisoning.
The person serving the sake could put poison in the cups.
However, if each Taoist master is responsible for his own sake, such incidents can be minimized.
Furthermore, if the sake is tasted in a predetermined order, it may be difficult to properly taste the sake later on.
“And we have prepared snacks in advance for those who requested them.”
“Come to think of it, you said that the taste of sake can change drastically depending on the snacks.”
The senior captain replied to that question.
“That is correct.”
“I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”
The prince smiled happily and continued.
“The liquor tasting event is not a one-time event. We plan to hold it again next year.”
“If so, it will be an event that will be remembered for a long time in the empire. And if we make good use of it, I think we can hold a festival and bring money into the imperial capital.”
As expected of Captain Ko.
Perhaps because it has to do with alcohol, he thinks quickly.
“That's a good idea.”
The prince agreed with him.
“But for that to happen, we must first make sure that this event goes well.”
“You are correct.”
“It seems that His Majesty wants to assess the qualities of the judges. That way, the credibility of the wine tasting competition will increase, won't it?”
“That is correct.”
“Those who lack the necessary qualities will not be invited again.”
“Indeed! If that is the case, it will be a great honor for the evaluators to be invited to the tasting. They will naturally evaluate the sake more carefully.”
“That's right. But the problem is that there is no suitable way to do that.”
While we were all thinking about it, I had a good idea.
“How about hiding the same sake among the other entries?”
The two men's eyes lit up as they waited for me to continue.
“If they give different evaluations of the same sake or fail to notice the difference, then they lack the necessary qualifications.”
“Oh! That's right!”
“That's a good idea!”
Both the prince and Captain Go were impressed by my idea.
“How did you come up with that?”
“It just popped into my head.”
I replied, but in fact, it was thanks to Pal-gap that I came up with this idea.
“Young master, how do these two cups of tea taste?”
“Mmm, delicious.”
“Can you taste the difference?”
“Pal-gap, even though I look like this, I am the head of the Eunhae Trading Company, which specializes in tea distribution. Isn't it a bit unfair to ask you to taste the difference between two identical teas?”
“You still have a keen sense of taste, so you must not be tired.”
“What were you going to do if I couldn't tell the difference between the teas?”
“I was going to call Master Kwak.”
“No way! Then you can't use me!”
And so, my proposal was accepted.
Wait a minute, doesn't that mean I have to do that job too?
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.
.
Several tents were set up in the open space in front of the imperial palace.
It was still March, so the weather was chilly.
Beijing is located in the northern part of the empire, so it cannot be helped.
Still, it is not hot and humid, so the sake should not spoil.
Guarded by imperial guards, the evaluation began on the first day.
Each Taoist priest placed the sake on the table assigned to him and prepared the snacks.
Meanwhile, the emperor summoned the 100 invited guests and emphasized the importance and influence of this evaluation.
"This tasting is also a process of selecting fine alcoholic beverages for trade with foreign countries. It is forgivable if your taste buds have become dull from not drinking alcohol for a long time and you are unable to evaluate properly. However, if your conscience is dulled and you are unable to evaluate properly, thereby contributing to the disgrace of the empire, you will not escape severe punishment. Keep this in mind!“
”Yes!“
”Then begin the evaluation.“
The evaluation began.
The invited guests in charge of the evaluation walked around with evaluation sheets bearing their names and began tasting the sake.
”Your Highness, our sake is..."
Then, the Daoists explained their sake.
“Just have a sip, then try this tofu dish, and then drink the sake.”
The guests were forbidden from engaging in idle chatter, let alone expressing their admiration.
I watched the judges. Among them was the Daoist priest of Guizhou Province.
They looked thrilled to be drinking alcohol for the first time in a long time, but they drank each cup carefully and evaluated it.
Would the Dae-in of the Pojeongsa be able to avoid the traps hidden among them?
Then, after taking a sip of alcohol, the Dae-in of the Pojeongsa tilted his head.
He took another sip, tilted his head again, and then began to write his evaluation.
Seeing this, I chuckled to myself.
As expected of Po Jeong-sa. He noticed the trap.
If so, it is highly likely that he will be invited to the liquor tasting event again next year.
Miss Seo Hyang will be pleased.
As I was watching the tasting event, Jin Yu approached me.
What is it? Shouldn't you be resting right now?
I have something to tell you, Liege.
I heard Jin-yu's telepathy.
Go ahead.
There is a problem with our side's Taoism. You should come and see for yourself.
I sighed inwardly.
What kind of problem could it be that even Jin-yu, who was resting, came to find me?