Chapter 9
Trading Company's Youngest Son Chapter 9
Chapter 9. Prevent the Fire at Jaegyeonggak (5)
Hearing that, Eun Gil-sang looked at Yoo So-ak.
He wanted to ask if it was okay for him to listen since Ye Chang-ui was present.
Yoo So-ak nodded at his glance.
“I will speak for him.”
“Yes, I will listen.”
“The truth is, Hwaryeongru has been in arrears for eleven months.”
“...”
* *
As I listened to Chief Administrator Yoo, I recalled the future I had experienced.
When something happens, the person who stands to gain the most is likely to be the culprit.
At that time, one of the three suspects was Hwaryeongru.
In fact, at that time, I had learned that Hwaryeonru had been in arrears for nearly a year.
I even knew the reason why.
However, I couldn't reveal that I knew, so I pretended not to know and asked, “What? They haven't paid for nearly a year?
Why didn't you report them to the authorities?”
“It's because of this contract.”
Chief Administrator Yu opened a document with “Hwaryeonru” written on it and showed me the contract attached to it.
“Please look at this clause.”
I looked at the place Chief Administrator Yu was pointing to.
“If Hwaryeonru is more than one year late in paying Eunhaesangdan for goods, ownership of the goods will be transferred to Eunhaesangdan on the day after the final payment date.”
That was why Eunhaesangdan had let Hwaryeongru get away with being in arrears for nearly a year.
However, in the future I had experienced, Eunhaesangdan did not obtain ownership of Hwaryeongru.
Not only that, but they also did not receive the money for the goods that had been in arrears.
This was because this book and the contract had been burned, leaving no proof of the transaction.
In the future, I had only a hunch about the culprit, but this time I knew for sure.
“By the way, Chief Administrator.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Has Hwaryeonru been in decline lately? Enough to be in arrears for nearly a year?”
“No way. It is still one of the five major brothels in Hubei Province.”
“Then...?”
“I couldn't understand why they hadn't paid the transaction price, but thanks to Asung Gakwon, I now know.”
“...?”
“They were operating an illegal business. But it seems they didn't make much money.”
“I see.”
His father sighed.
“By the way, what should we do about this? Even if we report it to the authorities, there was no actual fire, and it's not easy to find evidence that you ordered Asung Gakwon to do it...”
My father was right.
But I couldn't accept that.
Those bastards.
If you want to get rid of them, just get rid of these documents. Why did you burn all the documents there so that the suspects couldn't be identified?
The damage I saw at that time was enormous.
We suffered a lot and suffered a lot of losses.
And when we asked for half of the overdue payment, he mocked us, saying, “Did we ever do business? I don't remember.”
My father and Chief Administrator Yu almost collapsed from the shock.
On top of that, he lectured us, saying, “I told you to manage your business better.”
Thinking back on that, my blood pressure rises.
I need to calm down.
Anyway, I couldn't let it go.
Now, there is no damage, but in the future I experienced, our Eunhae Trading Company suffered the same fate.
As far as I remember, it couldn't have been an accident.
Then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
If we weren't careful, the entire Chapter could be transferred to our Eunhae Trading Company.
In that situation, was that all we had to rely on?
That couldn't be.
Then I noticed the date of the final payment.
Five days later.
I asked cautiously.
“The Asung Gakwon I saw was a very cautious man. That's why no one could have imagined that he would set the fire. Why did he set the fire today of all days?”
Chief Administrator Go replied to my question.
“Asung Gakwon told me that. He said to set the fire today, no matter what.”
I understood what the chief administrator meant.
“Doesn't that mean that if this plan fails, he will resort to other means? He is giving himself time to come up with another plan.”
“Ah...”
“He did this because he didn't want to pay, but will he settle the matter by paying the overdue delivery fee? And if he had the money, he wouldn't have fallen behind in the first place.”
At my words, not only Chief Administrator Yoo, but also my father and the others widened their eyes.
“I see.”
Saengyugak's Yeon Gak-ju said.
“Next time, he will probably resort to any means necessary.”
“Then what should we do?”
There was a moment of silence.
Then I spoke up.
“Father, may I say something?”
“What is it?”
“We must set fire to Jaegyeonggak.”
“Set fire to it?”
Not only my father, but Chief Administrator Yoo also asked in surprise.
“What are you talking about? You want us to set it on fire with our own hands?”
“Ho ho ho!”
At that moment, laughter rang out.
“Our youngest son has come up with a brilliant plan.”
It was Yeon Gak-ju of Sangyugak.
She continued with sparkling eyes.
“It's a plan to use deception to achieve the truth. Is that right?”
“Yes, Lady Yeon. We need to hide the truth with a lie.”
“I need an explanation.”
I explained the plan I had proposed to the Clan Chief of Seungpunggak step by step.
After hearing my explanation, everyone's mouths turned upward and their eyes sparkled.
“And finally, we will eat Hwaryeonru.”
The very act of plotting such a thing meant that Hwaryeonru had already abandoned the Dao.
There is no mercy for those who abandon the Dao.
* * *
Hwaryeonru's leader, Baekbok, is the son of the previous leader.
However, people believed that the previous leader had raised his son poorly.
This was inevitable because he was arrogant and self-willed.
This was probably because there was no one around him to correct him or give him honest advice.
Everyone just flattered him.
As a result, the finances of Hwaryeongru gradually deteriorated.
Money is difficult to earn but easy to spend.
As a result, he came to think that even huge expenditures were no big deal, and eventually, he heard shocking news from the chief administrator in charge of Hwaryeongru's finances.
“What? There's no money?”
“That's right, Lord Lu.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“This situation is really dangerous. We have to pay the servants and maids, and we have to pay the Trading Company for the goods... Anyway, you have to reduce expenses.”
“Reduce expenses? That's impossible!”
“But, Lord Lu.”
“I am Lu Zhen, the chief administrator of Hualian! I am the chief administrator of Hualian, one of the five taverns in Hubei Province!”
He wondered what that had to do with reducing expenses, but the chief administrator just listened.
If he rebelled, he would get beaten up.
“You have money to pay to the Silver Sea Trading Company, right? Try postponing that.”
Even though he delayed payment for the goods, it didn't solve the problem.
The payments continued to be delayed for a month, then two months.
In that situation, Baek-bok heard at the gambling den he frequented that someone was looking to buy the place.
“Actually, this place brings in a good income, but... I have some circumstances. So I'm thinking of selling it.”
Even he could see that there was always a steady stream of customers.
That meant money.
Thinking he could make money from it, Baek-bok bought the gambling den on the spot.
However, there was something he hadn't considered.
Gambling dens are illegal businesses.
The man who sold him the gambling den was hated for skipping out on bribes he was supposed to pay to his superiors, so he was preparing to flee.
So, not long after he took it over, someone from the government came, and he tearfully handed over the bribe.
The money he paid in bribes exceeded the income from the gambling den, and he had to use the income from Hwaryeonru as well.
Then, a month ago, the chief administrator told him something that came as a bolt from the blue.
“Ruzhu, next month, Hwaryeongru will have a new owner.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Hearing Baekbok's words, the chief administrator sighed and handed him a contract.
“You don't remember. Please take a look at this.”
Baekbok read the clause pointed out by the chief administrator.
“If Hwaryeonru is more than twelve months late in paying the Trading Company for goods, ownership of Hwaryeonru will be transferred to the Trading Company on the day after the final payment date.”
He asked the chief administrator,
“How many months are you behind on payments?”
“It's been eleven months. There's only one month left.”
Baek-bok shouted at the chief administrator.
“Why are you telling me that now! You son of a bitch!”
“I told you! I told you five times already!”
“I don't know! I didn't hear you!”
After beating up the chief administrator, he headed to the gambling den he ran.
Then, he drank alcohol and devoted himself to gambling once again.
In the midst of it all, he forgot about his situation.
Someone approached him.
“Nice to meet you. I am from the Dao Trading Company. I hear you are in a difficult situation.”
“Yes, but... what is it?”
“I would like to tell you how to solve your problem.”
He replied curtly.
“What do you mean... Tell me.”
“Destroy the contract.”
“...How?”
“Set it on fire.”
“What?”
“We will take care of this dangerous task for you, so please grant us one request.”
Of course, there was no way he would just do that.
However, Baek-bok had no other choice.
“What do you want?”
The man from the Trading Company smiled and replied.
“It's not difficult. Just do business with our company. And build a building in Chapter Yeon-ru so that our people can stay there. Also, hire the people our company requests.”
The conditions were not as difficult as he had expected.
Baek-bok could not help but ask in confusion.
“Is that really all?”
“Of course. There will be no loss to you, Lord Lu. In return, we would like you to start construction immediately.”
“That's fine. I will give orders to start right away. But if this plan fails…”
“That won't happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“That's not the only plan we have. If the first attempt fails, we'll use another plan.”
A month or so passed.
Then, he heard some welcome news.
“Did you hear? There was a big fire at Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Oh! I heard that too. It was the Jaegyeong Hall that caught fire, right? And they found an unidentified person burned to death inside?”
“And because it was the Jaegyeong Hall that caught fire, all the important documents were burned to ashes.”
“That's why Eunhae Trading Company is in an uproar. I heard that all the documents they signed with taverns in Hubei were destroyed. What are they going to do?”
“Oh no... They should have taken better care of them.”
Listening to their conversation, Baek-bok smiled.
The people from Dao Trading Company had done their job well.
And on that day.
A final warning arrived from the Eunhae Trading Company.
However, seeing that the usual amount was left blank, it seemed that the rumor about the accounts of Hwaryeonru disappearing was true.
Baek-bok laughed loudly.
“Puhahahaha!”
He had no intention of missing this opportunity, so he immediately called the chief administrator and gave him instructions.
“Do you have the delivery confirmation and contract from Eunhae Trading Company? Bring them all here!”
The chief administrator brought the documents and contracts related to the transaction with Eunhae Trading Company.
Baek-bok threw them into the courtyard and set them on fire.
“Lord Ru Ru! What are you doing?”
The chief administrator was shocked, but Baek-bok smiled and glared at him.
“We have never done business with Eunhae Trading Company.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You heard him. Eunhae Trading Company has no way to prove that they have a contract with us. Therefore, our debt is no longer valid. Uhaha!”
He thought that everything had been resolved.
He was wrong.
I was standing in front of Hwaryeonru.
Originally, my father and other adults were going to handle the matter, but I insisted on going with them.
Originally, my father and the other adults were going to handle the matter, but I insisted on coming along.
The five-story pavilion, painted in red lotus color, was gorgeous and elegant.
Suddenly, I remembered the future I had experienced.