Chapter 55
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 55
Chapter 55. Rumors Like This (5)
The children began to take an interest.
“A secret song?”
“What is it?”
“Tell me too!”
“I can't... But since you said I look like a martial artist, I'll tell you.”
This is exactly what I had in mind.
Change their perception of martial artists through song.
Part of my reason for coming to Sichuan secretly was to catch the rat from the Sichuan branch, but this was also part of my plan.
People instinctively reject anything artificial. That is why I am going to use the power of children.
Children are one of the most natural beings in the world.
That is how we will naturally change their perception.
Reliable and capable people were dispatched to each province for this operation.
After teaching the children the song, I got up from my seat.
“Let's go eat lunch.”
“Honestly, if we're in Sichuan, shouldn't we eat Sichuan food?”
It had been a day since we arrived, but we hadn't eaten any typical Sichuan food, only ordinary noodles and dumplings.
Pal-gap seemed a little tired of it.
Hearing that, I looked at Pal-gap for a moment and asked, “Have you ever tried Sichuan food?”
“No, I haven't.”
“Are you confident you can handle the spiciness?”
“I'm from Hongyang County.”
“I'm from Songyang County.”
Songyang County is close to Hunan, so the food is similar to that of Hunan.
Hunan cuisine is spicy.
However, it is slightly different from the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine.
The spiciness of Hunan cuisine has a hint of sweetness, but the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine is numbing.
The Sichuan spiciness numbs your tongue and makes you sweat profusely after just one bite.
No wonder Sichuan people say they are not afraid of spicy food.
The first time I tried Sichuan cuisine was five years later.
I came to Sichuan because I had to check the accounts while managing a fabric store.
I was feeling adventurous, so I ordered mara xiang.
My uncle tried to dissuade me, but I insisted that I would be fine.
In the end, I suffered from stomach pains all night.
Ah...
When I think back on that time, I suddenly feel ashamed.
I let out a sigh.
“Don't eat it. If you want to eat, go back to the Trading Company and eat there.”
Seeing me like that, Lee Pil said, “Sometimes you have to experience things for yourself to learn. And I also want to eat food from my hometown today for the first time in a long time.”
Food from your hometown?
“Are you originally from Sichuan?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then we don't have to worry about leftovers.”
We headed to a nearby restaurant.
I ordered plain dumplings. Not all Sichuan food is spicy.
Yoo-Eung-Am also ordered dumplings.
“I don't really want to learn through experience. Hahaha.”
“That's wise.”
Pal-gap and Lee Pil-mu ordered Mara-hyang.
Soon, the food arrived.
It was a dish made with vegetables and meat stir-fried with spicy spices in a small pot.
“Wow! It looks really delicious.”
“Yes, enjoy.”
Looks delicious, doesn't it?
I counted exactly three.
One
Two
Three.
And Pal-gap... He didn't disappoint me.
“Oh? This is delicious. The spiciness is quite unique.”
“...”
Lee Pil-mu laughed loudly.
“Hahaha! Pal-gap, you know how to appreciate good food! Phew! It's been a long time since I've eaten something that tastes like food.”
They ate the Mara-hyang with a refreshing look on their faces.
“....”
I looked at Pal-gap, but he didn't seem to be trying to endure the pain in his tongue at all.
He was just eating it with relish.
It was as if I was watching a bear eating honeycomb, regardless of whether the buzzing bees were stinging its mouth or not.
Is Pal-gap's tongue also made of honey?
After finishing my meal, I went out again to find other children to teach songs to.
Several days passed.
* * *
In a market town in Sichuan.
Children were walking along, humming a song.
“The soul-filled Jammuin doll, the Jammuin doll that makes money...”
Hearing the song, the adults in front of a tavern drank rice wine and talked.
“Come to think of it, I've been hearing that song a lot lately.”
“The song about the martial artist dolls that make money?”
“But I heard that it's true.”
“What?”
“We've all heard that the martial artist dolls have souls.”
“Because of that, I felt uneasy, so the former chairman of the neighborhood association put his dolls in the storage room.”
“But they say that the soul of the doll brings money. Many people have actually made a lot of money.”
And soon, the rumor spread throughout Sichuan and the Central Plains.
.
.
.
The head of the Dan Trading Company was listening to his subordinate's report.
“So, all the Zamu dolls were sold?”
“Yes, sir.”
“They sold out in less than a month? Didn't you say there would be some left over?”
“Yes, but... I think it's because of the rumor.”
“Rumor?”
“Yes. There's a rumor that the souls of the Zamu dolls will make you money.”
He had heard that rumor too.
However, he knew that it was not true. This was because it was not true that the Jamo dolls had souls.
He knew this better than anyone because he was the one who had created and spread the rumor.
“Where did the rumor start?”
“We are investigating, but it is unclear. The rumor is spreading through songs sung by children, but we have not been able to find out who started it.”
“....”
Captain Dan frowned and clicked his tongue.
“I don't know who came up with this plan, but it's quite clever.”
“What?”
“This is definitely the work of the Eunhae Trading Company. They're using the rumor we spread against us.”
“Then why don't we use that rumor too? We can say that not only the martial artist's dolls, but also our Trading Company's dolls can make money.”
The Trading Company's captain thought about his subordinate's cautious suggestion for a moment, then nodded.
“That's a good idea. Let's do that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But why haven't we heard from him?”
“What?”
“The guy from the Eunhae Trading Company branch. He should have contacted us in advance about this.”
He stroked his chin and continued.
“It seems like we didn't give him enough, so we should give him some more gifts.”
“Is it okay to invest that much?”
“It's fine. We can get more than that from him.”
* *
I looked at the moon through the window of the inn.
It had already been seven days since I arrived here.
I looked back at Pal-gap and asked.
“Are you sure you don't have a stomachache?”
“No, I don't.”
“....”
These days, Pal-gap seemed to have acquired a taste for Sichuan food and was eating it all the time.
Even so, he never got an upset stomach.
Pal-gap... Could he have a stomach of steel?
“By the way, there's a rumor going around these days.”
“Ah, the rumor that Dan-ssi dolls can make money?”
“Yes, that's the one.”
“You finally asked.”
“Huh?”
I smiled at Pal-gap, who tilted his head, and said.
“You took the first bait I planted in this plan.”
I had two goals.
The first was to take revenge on Mr. Dan's Trading Company for coming up with this plan.
I wasn't just trying to change people's perceptions of Zamu dolls with a song I wrote and spread around.
People who own Zamu dolls are usually wealthy.
From the outside, it's impossible to tell if they make a lot of money because of their Zamu dolls or if they're just wealthy.
Just by opening the floodgates a little, the rumors began to spread on their own.
It will soon become clear that the rumors are false.
However, if the rumors cause sales of Zamu dolls to increase, those who spread the rumors in the first place will naturally take advantage of the situation.
Just like now.
People are not stupid.
If one or two rumors related to something pile up, people will just think it's nothing, but if there are more than three, they will start to feel that something is strange.
What will be the result?
The reputation of Dan's dolls, which belatedly jumped on the rumor bandwagon, will plummet.
The Dan Trading Company will naturally have to try to dispel the rumors as false.
Then, the rumor that the dolls have souls will also become a rumor.
If three rumors about the dolls circulate in a month, people will think something is strange.
Won't people realize where these rumors are coming from?
No.
Then, Dan's Trading Company's reputation will plummet even further.
Pal-gap nodded at my explanation.
“Is that what you meant? As I expected of you, young master! You are so smart.”
“I am a little smart.”
“But you see, the dolls sold well because of the rumor that the spirits inside them would bring money, and now we will lose the profits we would have made because of that rumor.”
“No, that rumor must be stopped quickly.”
“What? Why?”
“If the rumor continues, the authorities will eventually take action. It will be problematic if the authorities declare that the dolls are deceiving people.”
I continued.
“Therefore, even though you know that your reputation will suffer further, you must quickly stop this rumor.”
“Ah...”
“What I want is for people to like the Zamu dolls themselves, without any rumors. Zamu dolls should shine on their own.”
* * *
A few days later.
The captain of the Dan Trading Company heard a report in his office.
Bang!
“Damn it!”
He slammed his fist on the desk in front of him.
“Our doll sales have actually dropped! What is the reason for this?”
“Well...”
His subordinate continued.
“The reputation of our Trading Company's dolls is declining. It seems that people are rejecting them.”
“Rejecting them? Why? They are dolls that make us money, aren't they?”
“Well... Families that can afford to keep our dolls as decorations are already quite wealthy...”
“So what?”
“They say that our dolls look inferior compared to the dolls made by martial artists...”
“What?”
“They say that our dolls are inferior, so they're just riding on the popularity of the martial artists...”
“What? Inferior? You're saying that dolls decorated with silk from the Central Plains and embroidery from Shu are inferior?”
“...”
He tried hard to calm himself down.
“What should we do?”
The captain of the Dan Trading Company knew who his customers were.
They were proud people.
If they started to reject the dolls because they were considered low class, it would be a dangerous sign.
If he wasn't careful, even the few customers he had left would leave.
“And the government official warned us. He said there may be action from above soon.”
This matter had to be resolved here and now.
“Release them immediately. And make sure to spread the word that the rumors about our dolls making money are false.”
“Yes, sir.”
Having given his orders, Captain Dan knew what the outcome would be.
It was a case of reaping what he had sown.
The plan he had devised and executed had come back to haunt him.
“But I don't think it will be easy to restore our reputation even if we do this.”
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“The person who came up with a countermeasure to my plan couldn't have foreseen this, could they?”
No, that couldn't be.
He tried hard to dismiss the thought that had just crossed his mind.
If the person who came up with such a plan was determined to take on the Dan Trading Company, the Dan Trading Company would not survive.
* * *
I was eating dumplings at a restaurant.
Next to me, Pal-gap and Lee Pil were eagerly eating Sichuan food.
I didn't want to just eat dumplings.
But I had no choice. I had had a very bad experience eating that food before.
Should I train myself to get used to the food of the Central Plains for the future?
Hmmm...
At that moment, I heard the people sitting at the table next to me talking in hushed voices.
“Isn't it just a rumor that Dan's dolls can make money?”
“Yeah, I heard that too.”
“Then what? Is it also a rumor that Zamu dolls can make money?”
“I guess so.”
“Well, how can a doll make money?”
“Come to think of it, it is a little strange.”
“What?”
“There are a lot of rumors about dolls these days, aren't there?”
“That's true.”
“Then maybe it's all just a rumor? Think about it. The Zamu dolls have souls, and the souls of the Zamu dolls make money, and the souls of the Zamu dolls make money, and Dan's dolls also make money?”
“But it's just a rumor that Dan's dolls make money?”
“Then what? Are you saying it's all just rumors?”
“Then who spread those rumors?”
“Who else? The people who spread the first and third rumors.”
“Wow! I didn't think so, Mr. Dan.”
“That's too much.”
I chuckled.
But let me repeat: people aren't stupid.
So, shall we go catch that rat?