Chapter 66
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 66
Chapter 66. Fishing for Talent (1)
Dong-woo woke up on a makeshift bed in a cave.
He apologized for upsetting Hyung-soo and said that he should get some sleep first and think of a way to get revenge later, then brought him some alcohol.
The alcohol was quite strong.
He drank it and passed out, and now he was awake.
His throat felt like it was burning.
“I'm thirsty. Hey! Is anyone there? Bring me some water! Water!”
“...”
But there was no response.
He couldn't even hear the birds that had been chirping occasionally, which made the situation even more bizarre.
Realizing that something was wrong, he jumped up from his bed and ran out of the cave.
He was met with a scene of chaos.
Everything of value was gone.
He quickly realized what had happened.
His men had abandoned him and fled.
The alcohol he had drunk was instantly sobered.
“What? What is this? Did they all run away? Is that what happened? What am I going to do?”
He muttered in disbelief, and finally screamed.
“Zzzzzzz!”
That was when it happened.
Da-da-da-da!
He heard the sound of many people running and the clatter of hooves.
Dong-woo's face suddenly brightened.
He thought that those who had abandoned him had returned.
However, those who appeared before him were the Royal Guards and the Royal Guards.
“Dong-woo, you traitor! Arrest him!”
“Yes!”
In that situation, Dong-woo took a step back.
“No! This is a dream! I haven't woken up yet!”
But denying reality was useless.
His obsession with revenge vanished into thin air.
* * *
I saw numerous mansions standing on a vast piece of land.
We had arrived in Beijing.
First, I had to go to the mansion of Jin Woo-rim, the head of the Trading Company.
That was where the final arrangements would be made.
A short time later, the carriage stopped in front of a mansion.
“We're here.”
We got out of the carriage at the words of the Royal Guards who had escorted us.
My father thanked him.
“Thank you for escorting us here.”
“Not at all. I was only doing my duty as ordered by His Majesty the Emperor. I am the one who should be thanking you.”
He looked at me and continued.
“I almost failed in my duty, but thanks to your quick thinking, I was able to complete it safely. I am grateful to you.”
“You thank me! I am humbled, but I accept your gratitude.”
I said so.
I felt that if I kept refusing, it would take too much time.
I wanted to go inside and rest.
At that moment, a group of people came out from inside the mansion, and I saw some familiar faces.
“Oh! Mister Eun Seo-ho! You're here?”
“Greetings, Captain Jin.”
“I heard about you. You went through a lot because of the survivors of the Dong Trading Company, didn't you?”
“It was nothing.”
“Nothing? A thunderbolt almost hit your carriage! How can you say it was nothing?”
As expected of Jin Woo-rim.
He knows everything.
“Fortunately, my second son was captured, but the problem is the others who escaped...”
“They haven't been caught yet?”
“No. But we are continuing the search, so we will be able to catch them soon.”
I said with a smile.
“I have a request for you, Captain.”
“What is it?”
“Please stop the search.”
“Stop the search? Why?”
Captain Jin asked me with a questioning look.
“How could that have been their intention? It must have been the intention of your second son, who was leading them.”
“That must be so.”
"They were just tools. Tools are not guilty of anything. Besides, they have families to support. If their innocent families are harmed because of this, I will not be able to bear the blame.“
I continued.
”I am weak, and if I hear that they have been harmed, I will fall ill.“
”Oh no! That cannot be!“
”Therefore, I beg you. Please stop the search."
After thinking about my words for a moment, Captain Jin nodded.
“I understand. I will report this to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, let's go inside. You must be tired from your journey, so rest well. That is the secret to longevity as a merchant.”
“Yes, sir.”
That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
Jin Woo-rim's mansion was quite large.
Without a guide, it was easy to get lost.
Captain Jin had work to do, so he returned to his office, and we were shown around by his assistant.
“It's really spacious.”
“This mansion was granted by His Majesty the Emperor. This is where the captain and his men live, and over there is where those in charge of salt trading work.”
“I see.”
“It is so large that many people often get lost. So, when you go out, it is better to ask the maids to show you the way.”
“I understand.”
“Oh, there is a garden over there. There is a pond, strange rocks, and many flowers, so please take a look when you have time.”
We arrived at our quarters after listening to the aide's explanations.
There was a sign hanging on the door that read “Guest Hall.”
It meant that it was a place where distinguished guests stayed.
The name of the building was intuitive.
We were assigned a separate building. It looked like there were more than ten rooms.
“This is where you will be staying.”
The aide looked at me.
“And I am personally grateful to you for saving Captain Jin. In fact, Captain Jin is like a father to me. If something had happened to him, I would have...”
I looked into his eyes.
I could see his sincerity.
“I think it was because heaven loves Captain Jin that you were able to help him.”
The second lieutenant continued my words.
“Yes, he is truly loved by heaven.”
.
.
.
That evening, we ate at the banquet hall, where other members of the Trading Company who had already arrived were also invited.
From above, the banquet hall looked like two large rectangles of different sizes stacked on top of each other.
The outer section was reserved for those brought by the Trading Company.
The center, one level above, was reserved for important figures, including the captain of the Trading Company.
“What an unusual structure,”
said Jung-ho, and the servant who had guided us replied.
“Some people come for escort, and sometimes you need an aide when you are talking, so I understand that this structure was designed for that purpose.”
Actually, I was familiar with this structure.
This was because banquet halls had started to be built like this at some point.
So this was where it all started.
Yoon Chung-jin, the Vice Captain, and the others who had followed us found seats in the appropriate places.
My father, Jung-ho, and I sat in the seats prepared for us in the center.
There were name cards in front of us.
When we approached, those who were seated stood up. They saw me and smiled.
They were people I knew. They were from the Geumjin Trading Company.
Ah, that must be the captain of the trading company.
Seeing the elderly captain, I realized that I had returned to the past.
They were good people, so much so that Jinwoo-rim, the captain of the trading company, had chosen them as salt retailers.
My father was younger, so he greeted them first.
“Nice to meet you. I am Eun Gil-sang, and I run the Eunhae Trading Company in Hubei Province.”
“I am In-joon, and I run the Geumjin Trading Company in Hebei Province.”
After the two captains finished greeting each other, it was our turn.
Accompanying Captain In-joon was his eldest son, In-gwang.
He had been my friendly rival.
Even after I died, he remained a respected figure in Hebei Province, never engaging in frivolous behavior and always doing what was right.
“I am Eun Jeong-ho, the eldest son of the Eunhae Trading Company and the captain of the company.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, the third son of the Eunhae Trading Company and the captain of the company.”
Upon hearing my introduction, Captain In-joon tilted his head.
“If Eun Seo-ho is the third son, does that mean there is another son in between?”
His question was natural.
My father answered.
“That's right. We have a second son, but he remains in the Trading Company.”
“Then how old is Eun Seo-ho?”
“He is fifteen.”
In-joon, the head of the trading company, looked surprised at my answer, and my father explained.
“Normally, Seo-ho would have to be twenty years old to become a junior captain, but he is so talented that all of his subordinates agreed to make him a junior captain.”
“Oh, I see!”
After my father's explanation, In-joon and In-gwang looked at me differently.
Hmm, this is a bit overwhelming.
At that moment, other members of the trading company entered, and I greeted them as well.
A total of eleven trading companies had arrived by that day.
Twenty-three trading companies had been invited this time, so about half of them had arrived.
One trading company was selected as a salt retailer for each province, and one trading company was responsible for Xinjiang and Xizang, and another was responsible for Liaoning to Heilongjiang, for a total of twenty-three trading companies.
Beijing would be directly managed by the Yeonpyeong Trading Company.
After everyone had eaten and drunk to their hearts' content, they began to leave one by one.
That was understandable, as the real conversations took place in their own homes, not in a place like this.
The captain of the Jin Trading Company must have known that, which was why he had only eaten and then left.
After all, they would be working together as salt retailers, so the purpose of the gathering was to get to know each other.
I also got up from my seat.
Now that I was in Beijing, I wanted to visit the streets of Beijing.
I had slept soundly on the bed as soon as I arrived, so I was feeling less tired.
“Father, I'm going to go out to the market for a while.”
My father nodded at my words.
“Go ahead. Jung-ho, you go with him.”
Then my brother asked, “Can I go too?”
“Can I come too?”
“Of course.”
So, I went to the streets of Beijing with my brother Jeong-ho.
The streets of Beijing were colorful.
Jeong-ho's eyes were wide with amazement at the splendor, and I smiled at him.
“Don't act like a country bumpkin. Just walk around.”
“But it's more colorful than I thought it would be.”
I understood my brother, as it was his first time in Beijing. I felt the same way when I first came here.
“But you don't seem to mind.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you seem familiar with this place.”
I smiled shyly at his words.
In my previous life, I used to come here once a month to manage the branch office.
So, it was natural for me to feel familiar.
Furthermore, the night streets of Beijing were not so much colorful as they were luxurious.
With the Forbidden City, where the emperor resided, and many high-ranking officials staying there, the city exuded luxury.
The truly colorful place was Luoyang.
The night streets of Luoyang were so lively that they couldn't be compared to Beijing.
Come to think of it, the Martial Alliance was in Luoyang.
Here, red lanterns were already being hung in preparation for the upcoming Tanabata Festival.
Tanabata is the day when the cowherd and the weaver girl meet.
Seeing that, I thought of the Miss my brother had his eye on.
“By the way, brother.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“Don't you have a girlfriend?”
“...Girlfriend?”
“A girl you like. I bet you have one.”
My question made Jungho's face suddenly turn red. Seeing that, I chuckled.
“Who is she?”
“Well...”
I asked my hesitant brother.
“Is it the eldest daughter of the Jin martial arts academy?”
“Huh!”
My brother was surprised by my words.
“How did you know? Did I give it away?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know?”
“I noticed because I'm very observant.”
...He said that, but in his previous life, my brother married the eldest daughter of the Jin martial arts academy.
So he had liked my sister-in-law since then.
If that was the case, he should have proposed to her right away. I don't know why he kept putting it off, making my sister-in-law suffer and delaying their marriage.
If they had gotten married earlier, my sister-in-law wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
“Since we're already in Beijing, why don't you buy her a gift? She'll know you care if you give her something.”
“Is that okay?”
“You love her, don't you? I think you can be a little bold.”
I asked Jeon Woo-jin, who was walking behind my brother.
“Don't you think so?”
“I think so too.”
Jeon Woo-jin was injured during the attack on my brother's captain announcement ceremony, but he has now fully recovered.
That is why he was able to accompany my brother this time.
Seeing him standing firmly behind my brother made me feel very proud.
Now I won't have to listen to my brother's drunken ramblings anymore.
“Hey, there's a place selling women's accessories. Let's go.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
I grabbed my brother's arm. We were about to head toward the accessory shop.
Huh?
Then, a fragrance wafted past my nose.
It was a fragrance I had definitely smelled somewhere before.
It was like the scent of wildflowers...