Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 108



Only Krnovel

108. King Shang (2)

Son Yeong-ui was glaring at me, but not as sharply as at Yeomunsa Temple. He seemed rather kind and even a little sad. It meant that I had won the battle of wits.

Son Yeong-ui must be feeling quite insulted right now. At this time, you shouldn’t attack the other person directly. That would be like asking for a fight. The point was to reveal my feelings.

“I felt extremely insulted. No matter how great the merchants of Whiju are, they treat the same superiors as inferiors and try to bring them in.”

“… … Huh.”

Son Yeong-ui seemed speechless. She seemed to be thinking about whether what I said was valid.

However, since he has already lost the battle of momentum, Son Yeong-ui will listen to what I say more. He will reconsider whether he heard what he said in that way.

The fight wasn’t about planting a flag. The flag was just a symbol, the important thing was to grab the land.

“Well, if that’s how it sounded, I apologize. That’s definitely not what I meant.”

“I see. Then I will apologize as well. And I have no intention of working under anyone.”

“Yes, that’s right. A resourceful person like you really doesn’t need to work under anyone. I think you were too greedy and made a rash remark. I’m sorry.”

“I will accept it.”

I laughed to myself. I was the one who started the argument, but I got an apology. At this point, I had to assume that the winner of the argument had already been decided.

The reason I was able to cook Son Yeong-ui so easily was largely because I had a connection with him in my past life.

When you first see Son Yeong-ui, you can tell that he has a loud voice and looks strong. That’s why he was nicknamed Song Sa-gyeon. However, Son Yeong-ui was actually famous for wagging his tail and changing his stance to someone who looked stronger. That’s why he had a separate nickname, Ga-ae-gu, a cute puppy.

At this moment, Son Yeong-ui had just changed from Song Sa-gyeon to Ga-ae-gu.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Ahem. No. There is more left. But this might be a bit unpleasant for you.”

Son Yeong-ui showed an extremely humble attitude. He changed his attitude immediately because it seemed like he couldn’t eat me.

Many people may call him a coward, but that is precisely why he was able to remain active in the business world for so long.

“It’s okay. Since you mentioned it first, I’ll listen carefully.”

“This time, I couldn’t help it, but I would like you to use a different pickling method.”

I stared blankly at Son Yeong-ui. When I didn’t say anything, Son Yeong-ui added something flustered.

“You may not know it, but the Hwiyin Salt Farm is a place of great significance to the Hwiju merchants. This is the first time I’ve been here, and everyone thinks they’re mistaken, so the other merchants are treating me well. If you keep coming here, your relationship with all the Hwiju merchants will get worse.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. No merchant has ever allowed a merchant other than the Huizhou merchant to salt the Huiyin salt more than twice. Since you are a merchant, you must know the importance of the area. The Huiyin salting area is a key area that is called the birthplace of the Huizhou merchants. If merchants other than the Huizhou merchants continue to exchange salt at the Huiyin salting area, the other merchants will also try to take a stab at it, and the Huizhou merchants will start to wonder if their power has weakened. We have too much to lose if we allow the Huiyin salting.”

“okay.”

I spoke calmly. Son Yeong-ui seemed to be getting impatient and spoke faster.

“In that sense, you won’t lose much if you go somewhere other than the perineum salt field. Of course, the expedition will be a bit longer and the unit expenses will be a bit higher, but we can make up for that.”

“How?”

“I will do my best to become the cooperative head of the merchants.”

I smiled inwardly. This was why I had come to the perineum salting.

In order to obtain the position of the top cooperative leader of the Huizhou merchants. The only meaning of the top cooperative leader is that it creates a channel through which you can communicate directly with the Huizhou merchants. And that has a bigger meaning than you might think.

“Hmm.”

But I pretended to be worried, stroking my chin.

“Look, becoming a cooperative merchant with the Huizhou merchants is not an easy task. It will also be of great help to your merchant group as they expand their sphere of activity. The fact that you are a cooperative merchant with the Huizhou merchants serves as a kind of guarantee… … .”

Son Yeong-ui’s voice became even more desperate. It really sounded like a puppy writhing with its belly exposed.

Of course, it had to be desperate. This was because it was a matter related to the honor of the Chief of the Salt Mine.

I tried my best to pretend to be calm and then slowly opened my mouth.

“great.”

“Yes. That’s a really good choice.”

Son Yeong-ui immediately smiled at my words. However, I wasn’t pretending to play the janggo just to tease Son Yeong-ui.

“Instead, I have a favor to ask.”

I laughed. Son Yeong-ui’s expression crumpled. It was the law that the loser was supposed to get the spoils.

* * *

“It was fun.”

“Haha. He’s so young, he plays really well.”

“It’s the youngest members’ job to liven up the atmosphere.”

People laughed at my words. I also had achieved all the goals of this salting expedition, so I was able to relax.

The strange sense of boundary that had existed between the merchants and me was also resolved by Son Yeong-ui, because she guaranteed that I would never come to the perineum salt field again.

From their perspective, I was an attractive newcomer. I had connections with the shamans and was a powerful enough merchant to defeat the new Namgung family. The only problem was that I had come as a perineum salt merchant, but once that problem was solved, the other merchants had nothing to be afraid of.

Although the merchants knew this would happen, there were unexpected twists and turns.

“Come visit Namgung Se-ga later.”

Namgung Hui, unlike other merchants, did not drink alcohol, so his voice remained restrained.

“Can a businessman like me enter the world’s best store?”

“Your words are excessive. To me, Your Majesty is not just a merchant, but a benefactor.”

Namgung Hwi seemed to genuinely think that way, not pretense.

After all, if I hadn’t returned the wall, Namgung Hwi would have really been cut off from the family tree. From Namgung Hwi’s perspective, I was his benefactor. Of course, I was just trading in something that was difficult to dispose of.

Namgung Hwi handed me a blue jade tablet from his bosom.

“If you have this card, other Namgung Sega people will treat Sangdangju like a friend. If you ever come to Sega later, just show them this card.”

The merchants’ attention was drawn to the jade tablet that was proof of Namgung Se-ga’s favor. Everyone in the martial arts world would want to have it. I didn’t know that Namgung Hwi would even hand it over.

“Can you give me something this precious?”

“I learned that the most important thing in martial arts is favor. I never thought I would use it here, but I am grateful.”

I nodded. I had no particular reason to refuse.

“Let’s go visit later and be treated to a nice meal.”

“Anytime.”

Namgung Hwi laughed. Up until now, I had only seen his frozen face or his expressionless face, but seeing his smile made me admire him as expected from the representative figure of Gangho.

The eyes of the merchants watching me and Namgung Hwi talking were filled with envy. A relationship with a prestigious family like Namgung Se-gae is not something that can be forced. In that sense, my meeting with Namgung Hwi was, in a way, a coincidence for me.

So the banquet was over. Everyone dispersed. The only ones left were Myeong-gyeong and Son Yeong-ui.

Myungkyung was already asleep from exhaustion, so I was carrying her on my back.

“I’ll reply to what you said earlier by tomorrow. I can’t guarantee that either.”

Son Yeong-ui said with a gloomy expression. He is also a capable merchant, so he would know that I have completely eaten him.

“all right.”

“Okay. Be careful on your way in.”

That’s how I finally parted ways with Son Yeong-ui. I walked back to my lodgings carrying Myeong-gyeong on my back.

Maybe it was because I was drunk, but I suddenly looked up at the sky. There were still jewels embedded in it that I couldn’t find.

* * *

“The world’s best Son Yeong-ui has been cooked to perfection.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Everything happens for a reason. It seems like that guy is better than I thought.”

“To be honest, yes.”

A man was sitting on a chair so magnificent that it wouldn’t be strange to call it a grand master’s chair. The chair was magnificent, but the person sitting there was dressed in plain cotton.

“That’s your problem. Once you start to acknowledge people, you start to overestimate them. That’s why your opinions are polar opposites. To some, you’re a slanderer, to others, you’re a puppy.”

The harsh words poured out without mercy. But Son Yeong-ui could not complain.

The person that Son Yeong-ui was facing now was the current King, Yeo Bul-jin, who enjoyed the highest level of power among the merchants of Huizhou.

“Overestimating others is, in a way, a rationalization of defeat. You have to objectively analyze and judge defeat in order to move forward. Haven’t I always said that?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Yeo Bul-jin clicked her tongue as if she was displeased. Son Yeong-ui lowered her head even further.

“Still, it is true that Mukhwiyeong is not an ordinary person. To be honest, he was more difficult to deal with than the Shanxi merchants.”

“Oh my. That’s a new evaluation.”

Yeo Bul-jin’s eyes lit up. Although it is true that Son Yeong-ui overestimates others to elevate himself, it was still meaningful that he said such things.

“So, can you guess why he asked to see me?”

“I don’t know.”

“I guess so. If it’s a friend who reveals himself, it won’t be difficult.”

In some ways, I thought it might be the difference in level between Son Yeong-ui and Mok Hwi-yeong. Even among the unmanned, the master recognizes the inferior, but the inferior does not recognize the superior. But Yeo Bul-jin did not say that out loud. Son Yeong-ui was not his person, so there was no need to interfere to that extent.

“I think it might have something to do with Hongyang.”

“Are you the Confucius?”

“Yes. As far as I know, he entered the world as a disciple around the same time as Hong Yang. They must have been the same age. And if Mukhwiyeong was an outstanding person, he must have made a connection with Hong Yang as well.”

Son Yeong-ui was impressed. He knew that Muk Hwi-yeong was a disciple of the shamanist faction, but he never thought that he would be connected to Yeo Hong-yang.

In fact, even within the Cheonsu Sangdan, there was a strong perception that Yeo Hong-yang was a fallen successor, so it was also Son Yeong-ui’s fault for not paying attention.

“Okay. Then let’s meet up sometime.”

“Okay, then I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“I know.”

Yeo Bul-jin nodded and gave an order to evacuate the guests. Son Yeong-ui bowed and went out.

“It’s Mukhwiyeong.”

Yeo Bul-jin smiled. It was always fun to meet new people.

“Will you please me?”

Yeo Bul-jin hummed. In the darkness, Yeo Bul-jin’s sharp eyes shone like stars in the night sky.