Chapter 676
Chapter 676
Chapter 676. The Reward I Want Is (1)
The next day.
After breakfast, I was drinking tea when a maid came to find me.
“The Young Master says he wishes to see me?” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes. That is correct.” (Maid)
“Understood.” (Eun Seoho)
I poured the remaining tea into my mouth and rose from my seat, then headed to the Young Master’s office.
I can guess the reason he called me.
Yesterday, the Young Master was out, and by the time he returned, it was late, so I could not meet him.
So the outward reason would be that he wished to exchange greetings with me.
However, that would not be the only reason.
I was guided to the reception room near the Young Master’s office, and as I waited while being served refreshments, the door opened and a middle-aged man entered.
He looked very much like Master Hwangbo Seonyu.
So this person is the Young Master.
I quickly rose from my seat and paid my respects with a clasped hands greeting.
“This humble merchant, Young Captain of Eunhae Trading Company, greets the Young Master of Hwangbo Clan.” (Eun Seoho)
“Good to meet you. I am Hwangbo Seokgil, Young Master of Hwangbo Clan.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
He offered me a seat.
“Sit.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
He sat across from me and began speaking.
“I heard from Father this morning. You brought His Majesty the Emperor’s imperial decree?” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“That is correct.” (Eun Seoho)
I continued.
“It was for the purpose of inviting an instructor for the martial arts academy our Trading Company is investing in and building.” (Eun Seoho)
“I know. That matter has come to me as well, so my head aches a little. Hahaha.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“I apologize for unintentionally troubling you.” (Eun Seoho)
He waved his hand and said.
“Not at all. It is His Majesty the Emperor’s command, so how could I call it trouble?” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“For you to say so, as a humble merchant, I can only be grateful.” (Eun Seoho)
“Mm, that aside...” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
He took a sip of tea, then carefully brought up the matter.
“I heard that yesterday, you made my son Wook serve as a porter... Is that true?” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
Of course.
I nodded confidently.
“Yes. It is true.” (Eun Seoho)
“Mm, I did order him to assist you, but that did not mean I told him to serve as a porter.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“Of course, I had no intention of using Mister as a porter either. But since he himself wished it, I had no choice.” (Eun Seoho)
At that, the Young Master asked in bewilderment.
“Hm? He himself wished it?” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
I nodded.
“He said that if he did not obey his father’s order, he would be scolded, and that since he had been assigned to assist me, he did not mind even being used as a porter.” (Eun Seoho)
“Mm...” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“So I tested him because I was curious how he would act regarding the words he himself had spoken. I apologize for that.” (Eun Seoho)
“No. If so, there is no reason for you to apologize. A man’s word is worth a thousand gold. If he is a person of the main clan, he must know how to take responsibility for his own words.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
The Young Master continued.
“So I will leave the matters ahead to that fellow.” (Hwangbo Seokgil)
“Understood.” (Eun Seoho)
I withdrew from the Young Master’s presence.
By the way, will Mister Hwangbo Wook volunteer to be my porter again today?
When I returned to my quarters, Mister Hwangbo Wook greeted me.
“Have you returned?” (Hwangbo Wook)
“Yes. I met with the Young Master and returned. And I intend to go out again today, so please prepare.” (Eun Seoho)
At my words, his pupils shook.
“By any chance, do I need to prepare a handcart again today?” (Hwangbo Wook)
“You ask the obvious.” (Eun Seoho)
“...” (Hwangbo Wook)
He rolled his eyes with a complicated expression, then cleared his throat and said.
“Ah, I failed to mention it earlier, but there is something I absolutely must do today. Therefore, I do not think I will be able to assist you today, Young Captain. I apologize.” (Hwangbo Wook)
“I see. If there is something you must do, then it cannot be helped.” (Eun Seoho)
“Then I will take my leave...” (Hwangbo Wook)
He hurriedly left my quarters, and I gave a faint laugh as I watched him.
“Was I that excessive last night?” (Eun Seoho)
At my question, the escort warriors met each other’s eyes and laughed.
“To be honest, it was somewhat like that.” (Escort Warrior)
“You did buy an awful lot.” (Escort Warrior)
“And you also called out Mister’s name loudly.” (Escort Warrior)
“Would that Mister ever have done such a thing before?” (Escort Warrior)
Warrior Yeo Eungam smiled gently.
“So, what was your intention in doing that?” (Yeo Eungam)
As expected, having been with me for a long time, they know me well.
“There is something I must do, and security is quite important. Please pay attention to it as well, everyone.” (Eun Seoho)
“Understood.” (Escort Warriors)
“And, Palgap.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes. Young Master.” (Palgap)
“Pull a handcart and follow me.” (Eun Seoho)
Since there is no telling, we should show a scene similar to yesterday.
Thus we headed to Jinan’s marketplace just like yesterday, and began wandering around the marketplace while buying various goods.
At that moment, I saw a familiar figure far away.
“Hm? Mister Hogyung?” (Eun Seoho)
“Ah! Young Captain Eun Seoho!” (Hogyung)
It was Mister Hogyung of Baekyeom Trading Company.
He approached me with a delighted expression.
“It has been a long time.” (Hogyung)
“Ah, yes. It has been a long time.” (Eun Seoho)
“I received the letter this time. I heard you are getting married this autumn.” (Hogyung)
At those words, I wore an embarrassed expression.
“Hahaha. That is how it turned out. But... your expression does not seem very good.” (Eun Seoho)
At my question, he flinched.
“Ah... Does it show?” (Hogyung)
“Do not worry too much. Other people will not notice.” (Eun Seoho)
That was how close to perfect Mister Hogyung’s control of his expression was. But he could not fool my eyes.
“That is a relief. Sigh...” (Hogyung)
Mister Hogyung sighed in relief.
I sounded him out with a question.
“Is it perhaps the whetstone problem?” (Eun Seoho)
“...!” (Hogyung)
He was startled and asked in a trembling voice.
“H-how did you know that?” (Hogyung)
Of course.
There was no way Baekcheon Trading Company, aiming to become the greatest Trading Company under heaven, would not use a petty move to drag down the current greatest Trading Company under heaven.
Baekyeom Trading Company is an iron workshop.
To them, whetstones are an extremely important consumable.
If the supply of whetstones is cut off, the blow will be far greater than for Hwangbo Clan.
I spoke casually.
“According to information I heard recently, Baekcheon Trading Company has monopolized the whetstone production sites.” (Eun Seoho)
“That is correct.” (Hogyung)
He nodded.
“I was wondering what they were doing, since they had been quiet lately... and they were plotting something like that.” (Hogyung)
Mister Hogyung’s expression was quite bitter.
I asked him subtly.
“By any chance, if I were to supply high-quality whetstones, would you be willing to receive them?” (Eun Seoho)
“What do you mean? High-quality whetstones? Do you have whetstones piled up somewhere?” (Hogyung)
“That is not it, but I am asking whether you are willing.” (Eun Seoho)
“Of course, if we could buy high-quality whetstones at a reasonable price, there could be nothing better.” (Hogyung)
“Understood.” (Eun Seoho)
By the way, this worked out perfectly.
I thought of the dagger I had received before as a token of repayment, but this matter is not difficult enough for that, so should I try making a light request?
“In that case, may I ask one favor?” (Eun Seoho)
“Please say anything. You are the benefactor who saved my life, so what request of yours could I fail to grant?” (Hogyung)
“Then please lend me laborers and warriors. And if possible, it would be good if there were stonemasons who can handle stone.” (Eun Seoho)
“Could it be?” (Hogyung)
“Yes. We are going to quarry stone. So please take particular care regarding security on this matter.” (Eun Seoho)
“Understood.” (Hogyung)
After parting from him, I immediately moved.
Because there was something I had to do.
A little later.
Mister Hogyung brought laborers and warriors to the meeting place, and introduced me.
“As all of you know, this is Young Captain Eun Seoho, who saved my life. You may follow this person’s orders.” (Hogyung)
“Understood.” (Laborers and Warriors)
At Mister Hogyung’s words, all of them looked at me with eyes full of goodwill.
I could clearly tell what position Mister Hogyung held in the Trading Company, and how much trust he received from the Trading Company.
“Let us go.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes.” (Laborers and Warriors)
I took them into a mountain somewhere in Shandong.
“This is an enormously large mountain.” (Hogyung)
“That is right. That is why it cost quite a bit of money to purchase.” (Eun Seoho)
What I did as soon as I parted from Mister Hogyung was purchase this mountain.
There was some distance, but that much could be handled by using movement arts.
So I made the deal for no less than five hundred silver nyang.
Fortunately, the owner of this mountain was in urgent need of money, so the transaction went smoothly.
As we entered the mountain like that, I raised my hand and stopped everyone.
“Please wait here for a moment.” (Eun Seoho)
“Pardon? Why?” (Hogyung)
“There is a fellow here who does not welcome us.” (Eun Seoho)
No sooner had my words fallen than something approached with a slithering sound.
A horned snake, none other than a one-horned viper.
Seeing it, the warriors and laborers recoiled in terror.
“Th-th-th-that. Is that not a one-horned viper?” (Laborer)
“That is correct.” (Eun Seoho)
However, my escort warriors and I drew our swords without panic.
Shrrng.
The one-horned viper is a creature with quite powerful poison, so it is a threatening existence to ordinary people.
By the way, seeing that fellow reminds me of the one-horned viper being raised by the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The one-horned viper that had been slithering toward us suddenly stopped in place.
What was that? It felt as if I heard something snap just now.
And then the creature avoided my eyes and flattened itself against the ground there.
Something similar had happened before at the Sichuan Tang Clan too.
Is that you, Geumryeong?
Squeak?
You are asking whether you did anything? You were just staying still?
That is the same for me.
Anyway, if that thing is crawling before me, that is fortunate.
It means I can save that much time.
Still, when it is prostrating itself so fearfully like that, killing it is a little...
At that moment, a good idea suddenly came to mind.
The method of capturing it alive and selling it to the Sichuan Tang Clan for research.
One might call it too much, but in my opinion, it is the best method.
It has harmed many people until now, so it should pay the price for that.
Thinking so, I kicked off the ground and charged at the creature.
I grabbed its horn, threw myself into the air, and sent telepathy to the escort warriors.
I will be back shortly. (Eun Seoho)
After heading to a place without people, I opened my vault and said.
“Go in.” (Eun Seoho)
Shuk! Shuk!
“If you do not want to, I can just take your inner core and horn and leave, so are you going to make this troublesome? Geumryeong, translate.” (Eun Seoho)
“Squeak!” (Geumryeong)
Geumryeong climbed onto my shoulder and squeaked.
At Geumryeong’s words, the one-horned viper hurriedly shook its head and obediently entered my vault.
Then I created a space inside the vault and confined it there.
Now, the one-horned viper has been dealt with.
I returned to where the escort warriors and laborers were.
“Young Master! You have returned?” (Palgap)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
“What happened to that one-horned viper?” (Palgap)
“I killed it. But the moment I tried to take its horn and inner core, they melted away, so I could not take them. Sigh. What a waste.” (Eun Seoho)
“From what I have heard, a one-horned viper only leaves behind its horn and inner core if it dies without knowing it is dying.” (Palgap)
“Right. That was how it was.” (Eun Seoho)
The reason I said I had not taken the one-horned viper’s horn and inner core was to block any possible greed from them.
Since they are worth quite a bit of money, one never knows.
“Now then, let us keep moving.” (Eun Seoho)
We moved like that for about the time it takes to eat a meal, and arrived at the destination.
“This is the place.” (Eun Seoho)
“This is the destination?” (Hogyung)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
I spoke to Seokdu, who led the stonemasons.
“Seokdu. Please break any stone once.” (Eun Seoho)
At my words, he tilted his head and headed toward a nearby stone. Then he held up a chisel and hammer and broke the stone nearby.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After he struck the stone a few times, the stone split with a crack.
And when he saw the inside, he was startled and took a step back, then fell backward.
I quickly caught him and said.
“Are you all right? You should be careful.” (Eun Seoho)
“Uh, uh, uh, so this is...” (Seokdu)
“Yes. It is stone used to make whetstones.” (Eun Seoho)
That is right.
This is the reason I confidently offered to supply whetstones.
In my previous life, it was discovered about half a year later than now.
However, the development of this stone mountain was not all that smooth.
Because the one-horned viper I dealt with earlier lived here.
The owner of this mountain probably knew that and pretended not to while selling it to me.
Even in my previous life, there had been someone who bought this mountain to build a manor, but many sacrifices occurred because of that one-horned viper.
In the end, only after Hwangbo Clan stepped forward could they deal with the one-horned viper.
At that time, it became known that this place was a production site for stone that could be used to make whetstones.
In the end, Hwangbo Clan developed this place, made whetstones, and supplied them to the surrounding area, allowing Hwangbo Clan and Baekyeom Trading Company to regain stability.
But perhaps because such great wealth suddenly appeared, a major problem arose within Hwangbo Clan.
Because the distribution of the income from this place became the cause, bloodshed between kin broke out inside the clan.
That was why I did not feel the slightest bit sorry about taking possession of this stone mountain.
Because this stone mountain would only weaken Hwangbo Clan’s power in the future.
There is a reason I did not stop Namgung Clan from monopolizing the whetstone production sites despite knowing they would do so.
This place has only now been developed and can be quarried for a long time to come, while the place Namgung Clan monopolized will be exhausted in just a few years.
Baekcheon Trading Company, which will realize that belatedly, will suffer trouble.
Last time it was Captain Namgung Kang, but this time his younger brother, Captain Namgung Seok, will be quite troubled.
Why does thinking of that feel so satisfying?
Hiding my smile, I spoke to the people.
“Now then, let us make whetstones.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes!” (Laborers and Warriors)
At my words, each of them took out their tools and began working.
.
.
.
And so, two days later.
We loaded the cart full of whetstones and headed to Hwangbo Clan.
“Where on earth have you been wandering...” (Hwangbo Seonyu)
Master Hwangbo Seonyu approached me while grumbling, but when I removed the cloth from the cart and spoke, he was left speechless.
“I brought whetstones.” (Eun Seoho)
“Gasp!” (Hwangbo Seonyu)
Seeing the cart filled with high-quality whetstones, Master Hwangbo Seonyu was shocked and his eyes went wide.
“H-how did you get these?” (Hwangbo Seonyu)
“I am rather capable. By the way, where is the Clan Head?” (Eun Seoho)
Now it is time to receive my reward from the Clan Head of Hwangbo Clan.