Chapter 90
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 90
Chapter 90. For My Aunt (2)
My uncle's name is Hong Ram-cheon.
He is the captain of the Yeonjoon Trading Company.
The former captain of the Yeonjoon Trading Company and my grandfather were close friends, and I heard that they promised to marry their children to each other.
That is how my aunt and uncle got married.
My serious uncle and lively aunt were a better match than I had expected. They got along very well.
My aunt's name is Eun-hee.
It means “happy,” and her lively personality perfectly matched her name.
Next to my uncle and aunt stood my older brother Sun-il and Sun-mi.
Hyung-nim Sun-il was 21 this year, and Sun-mi was two years younger than me, at 15.
She was becoming more beautiful every day.
“You seem to be doing well.”
“Thank you for coming such a long way, Palm print.”
“Welcome, Father.”
My grandfather greeted my aunt's family, and I did the same.
“Who are these children?”
I quickly answered my aunt's question.
“They are apprentices at our trading company. This is Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song.”
The two bowed politely.
“They are being taught by Chief Administrator Yoo, but when they heard that Hyung-nim passed the civil service examination, they were inspired to study harder, so I brought them with me.”
“Ah, you must be the young men mentioned in the letter I received from Gil-sang Orabeoni.”
Seon-il looked pleased.
“How old are you?”
Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song answered his question.
“We are fifteen.”
“Me too.”
“How are your studies?”
“We are both studying the Seokgyeong.”
“The Seokgyeong at your age?”
Seon-il's eyes sparkled. Now that his attention was focused on them, he had no reason to talk to me.
That was why I brought them with me.
However, this trip to Beijing would be beneficial for Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song, so there was nothing to lose.
When people share the same interests, all conversations are enjoyable.
.
.
.
The banquet was the day after tomorrow.
Although a banquet was held to celebrate their passing the exam, it could not be a large celebration as the exhibition was still ongoing.
They still had to be cautious in everything they did.
So, we decided to invite only close relatives to the banquet. Even so, there was no way to avoid being busy with the preparations.
However, it was my uncle and aunt who were busy, while my brother Sun-il and Sun-mi didn't have anything to do.
My grandfather went to his room, saying he was tired, and my uncle and aunt also left the reception room because they were busy.
As a result, only I, Kwak Hyung-jin, Seok Il-song, Sun-il, and Sun-mi remained in the reception room.
“So, what did Mister say about this...?”
“Wow! That's what I wanted to know...”
“Then what does it mean that a person who has attained Dao has no self?”
“In my opinion...”
“That's amazing.”
“I am amazed by your insight.”
“It is amazing, but there are many people in this world who are more amazing than me. Anyway, how can you have such insight at your age? I am the one who is amazed.”
“No, sir.”
“You are too kind.”
“You get to teach such talented people! I envy your teacher.”
Seon-il's expression was full of envy.
“I can't be your teacher, but how about I be your older brother? Would you like to be my younger brothers?”
“How could we...”
“Is that okay?”
The two looked at me. They were asking if it was okay.
I looked into their eyes.
They didn't seem to mind.
I smiled and said,
“If you want to, then you can. It's up to you.”
As soon as I gave my permission, the two boys clasped their hands together.
“Then I will treat you as my older brother, Hyung-nim.”
“I will also treat you as my older brother.”
The three of them discussed the scriptures and came to an agreement.
For some reason, it reminded me of Chief Administrator Yu and the Jegal Family.
.
.
.
The day of the banquet arrived.
“Hahaha! Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a truly admirable son.”
“I am very proud of him. Hahaha.”
My uncle's face was full of smiles.
Seon-il began preparing for the civil service examination not only because he liked it, but also because it was his uncle's wish.
Thanks to the current emperor's policies to promote commerce and industry, merchants and Palm print were still looked down upon, albeit to a lesser extent.
This was probably because they were seen as money-grubbing philistines by the educated elite.
To me, they seemed the same.
This tendency was even stronger in Beijing, where government officials lived.
That is why my uncle and his ancestors suffered a lot of hidden pain.
Then, when they saw Seon-il's talent, they decided to teach him to read and write in order to ease their pain.
As a result, Seon-il fulfilled his uncle's wish at the young age of 21.
I watched this scene and headed for the banquet hall.
At that moment, I heard a conversation between some of the guests.
Although they had invited mainly relatives, they couldn't help inviting some close acquaintances.
Therefore, several merchants working in Beijing also attended.
“How wonderful.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“But I hear that Mister Sunil is very talented and has a good chance of winning the top prize?”
“Is that so?”
“I have a friend who works in the Ministry of Rites, and he told me so.”
“Oh!”
I tilted my head at their conversation.
Talented enough to win the top prize?
As far as I remember, Seon-il ranked at the bottom of his class in the final exam, let alone winning first place.
Even so, my uncle was happy.
Come to think of it...
It seems that Seon-il, who used to be so enthusiastic about everything, lost his motivation after the exam.
The banquet was over, but I couldn't leave right away.
I hadn't received a reply to the report I submitted to the emperor.
I looked at Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song.
They were starting to look bored.
It was understandable, considering they had been at my aunt's house the whole time.
“Hey, guys.”
“Yes.”
“Did you call us?”
“Should we go out for dinner tonight?”
“What? You want us to go out?”
“We're in Beijing, so let's go see the city.”
My words brought excitement to the faces of Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song.
“Really?”
“Are we really going to see the city of Beijing?”
“Yes.”
I took the two guys, Pal-gap, and Yeo-bu with me and headed out to the streets.
The two guys were busy looking around with their eyes wide open at the dazzling sights of Beijing.
They looked like typical country bumpkins.
However, it was probably thanks to the bodyguards standing behind me that no one approached them to rob them.
After enjoying the sights, we entered a restaurant around dinner time.
The three-story restaurant specialized in roast duck, and I remember it being very delicious.
In fact, it was my favorite restaurant in my past life.
Seeing that the taste hadn't changed even though it had been passed down from generation to generation, it seemed that the son had learned the skills well from his father.
“Welcome.”
“I'll have the three types of duck cooked in the charcoal oven and the five-colored dumplings.”
“Certainly. What would you like to drink?”
“I'll have your recommendation.”
“Certainly.”
Soon, the waiter brought the tea first.
When I drank it, I could smell the aroma of marigold tea.
Marigold tea is the best when eating rich food.
While we were talking about this and that, the dumplings were served first. After eating a couple of dumplings, the duck dish was served.
The shiny brown duck looked delicious.
“Let me cut the duck for you.”
The waiter who brought the duck cut it up right in front of us and placed it on a plate.
The skillful way he cut the duck meat and placed it on the plate was a sight to behold.
In no time, the edible parts of the duck were thinly sliced and neatly arranged on the plate.
The remaining parts of the duck are used to make soup.
Add noodles to that, and...
My mouth is watering.
“Enjoy your meal.”
The waiter said politely and placed the plates in the center of the table. I said to everyone,
“Let's eat.”
“I'll eat well.”
As I was eating duck, I looked at Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song. I was happy to see them eating so heartily.
Is this why they buy me dinner?
After finishing our meal, I was on my way back to my aunt's house when I saw a familiar face.
Huh? Isn't that Sun-il?
But he wasn't alone. He was with several young men who appeared to be around his age.
Huh?
My face froze for a moment. That was because one of the people with Sun-il Hyung was someone I knew.
His name was Doo-jin.
He was the son of the head of the Jaesang Trading Company and would later become the leader of the company.
Even though he was the fifth son and far down in the line of succession, he became the head of the company.
It was later revealed that he had been sponsored by the Martial Alliance since he was young. In other words, he became the head of the Trading Company through the power of the Martial Alliance.
The Jae-Sang Trading Company was used as the Martial Alliance's trading company, and the Martial Alliance used the Jae-Sang Trading Company and then discarded it.
But that was more than 20 years later.
Still, there was no doubt that Mister Doo-Jin was on the side of the Martial Alliance.
But why was the author there?
Something felt wrong.
I felt I had to go there.
I said to the Yeo-eung-am warrior.
“Take the others back.”
“What do you mean?”
Of course, Pal-gap objected to my words.
“I feel I can only leave the children with you.”
“Is that so? Then I understand.”
After sending them to my aunt's house, I said to Lee Pil, the warrior.
“There is a place I need to go.”
I bought a bamboo fan nearby and gave it to Lee Pil.
I took out my fan.
I was finally going to use this fan, which made it difficult to recognize my face.
This fan had a name, but what was it?
After thinking about it, I just gave it a name of my own.
Myeonmakseon (面幕扇).
It means a fan that hides the face.
Intuitive names are the best.
I followed Sun-il and his companions into the tavern.
It was a tavern with quite a colorful interior.
There happened to be an empty seat right next to where Sun-il was sitting, so I took a seat and concentrated my energy on my ears.
Then I listened to what they were talking about.
“Congratulations on passing the exam.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you going to be an official in the imperial court, even among the Seven Jewels of Beijing?”
“That's right. Hahaha.”
Beijing Seven Gems...
The seven precious gems of Beijing.
Come to think of it, there are seven of them, including Sun-il.
Without realizing it, I rubbed my arms, which were covered with goose bumps.
“Are you cold?”
I shook my head at Lee Pil's question.
“No, I'm fine.”
At that moment, the waiter placed alcohol and snacks in front of me and left.
We continued talking about this and that.
Then, Sun-il came out of the room, probably to use the restroom, followed by Mister Gong.
I instinctively felt that I had to listen to their conversation.
So, I asked Lee Pil to wait for a moment and quickly approached them.
Of course, I made sure to keep quiet.
Knowing my abilities, Lee Pil-mu let me go alone.
A moment later, I found them under a tree near the tavern.
“Seon-il, can we talk?”
Seon-il replied to Mister Doo-jin.
“What do you want to talk about? If it's something you want to talk about in private, I don't really want to hear it.”
As expected, Sun-il was also from a merchant family.
He seemed to realize that it wasn't good news.
“No, it's something you need to hear, for your own sake.”
“...What is it?”
“Change the name on your answer sheet for this exhibition.”
“What do you mean? Change my name?”
Seon-il's brow was furrowed.
It was understandable.
I was shocked by what I had just heard, so how much more shocked must Seon-il be, who was directly involved?
“There is someone I serve. That person needs to get someone into the imperial palace. And that person must have excellent academic credentials.”
“...
”That's why I need your help.“
Dao smiled.
”If you help him, he will be of great help to your Yeonjoon Trading Company. But if you refuse, he will destroy Yeonjoon Trading Company in an instant.“
”...
“You are my friend, and I cannot just stand by and watch your family be ruined. That is why I said I would try to persuade him.”
“...”
“Seon-il, what you need is the honor of having someone from a merchant family pass the civil service examination. The examination is just a way to determine rank. Even if your grades are low, you can still become an official and help your family.”
“...But that's cheating.”
“Yes, it's cheating.”
“Are you asking me to help you cheat? To be honest, I don't even want to be the top candidate. How can you ask me to betray my conscience?”
“Is your conscience that important? Important enough to let your family fall into ruin?”