Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 112



Only Krnovel

112. King Shang (6)

I had to admit that I had underestimated Yeo Bul-jin up until now. It’s funny how someone like Shin Jin Sang-dang-ju would underestimate the current king who reigns supreme in the Sang-gye, but honestly, I was disappointed.

I think that as a merchant, it is a big negative factor to show one’s intense emotions in front of a stranger. Yeo Bul-jin showed his intense emotions in front of me and the disciples of the shaman faction, and for that reason, I lowered my evaluation of Yeo Bul-jin.

But what if you actually knew everything? That all the fluctuating emotions you showed were all just acting.

“Heh heh heh… … .”

I smiled, stroking my beardless chin.

Yeo Bul-jin doesn’t know that I noticed that yet. So there was no need to tell her.

“Your Majesty. How could a merchant with no reputation like me ever meet Your Majesty the King?”

“Of course I will coordinate that. I will write a letter of recommendation for you.”

“I see. That is a difficult request. Negotiating with His Majesty the King.”

I don’t know for sure, but if the current king and the former king are secretly trading, it’s likely to be a rare and valuable item in the world. Since asking for something is expensive, they set a price after acquiring the item.

Of course, the most important thing is to negotiate the price. No matter how valuable the item is, merchants always talk about price. Now, the king has entrusted me with the most important part.

“But shouldn’t you give us the information we need to set the price?”

“It’s a rare treasure. I hope you get the highest price possible for it.”

Yeo Bul-jin spoke in a firm voice, meaning that she would not tell.

“I won’t ask how much your Majesty has put into it. At least tell me what kind of object it is.”

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you now.”

“Then can I sell it for a coin?”

“I won’t lend you a distribution network unless it’s an amount I’m satisfied with.”

“So, if you say you’re not satisfied no matter how high the price I charge, that’s the end of it?”

“Look, I’m not a prankster like you. Just as a sword is a pride to a warrior, words are a pride to a merchant.”

I sighed. I also know that Yeo Bul-jin is not the type of person to do something cowardly.

“Of course, you are free to believe… … .”

“great.”

When I readily accepted, Yeo Bul-jin opened her eyes wide.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry as much as you think. It’s an unfair deal from your perspective, though.”

I grinned. This must have been Yeo Bul-jin’s test to see what I could do.

In his previous life, Yeo Bul-jin was a merchant who never went beyond the limit even when times were tough. It was fortunate that I knew about it, because if I didn’t know, I would have been very worried. I unintentionally showed my own vessel in a bigger way.

“Are you perhaps expecting too much from my name? If so, it would be a bit disappointing.”

“If words are the sword, then judgment must be based on internal energy. I just made my judgment based on what I saw.”

I laughed.

“Of course, it is the king’s freedom to believe.”

“Haha. You’re not an easy friend.”

The elders’ eyes quickly turned. If they were unmanned, they would probably look like they were sharing a meal. They were probably great merchants, so they would be able to see the blade hidden in the shadow of the horse.

“Then I take it that you accept it.”

“Okay. It’s difficult, but I have to try.”

It was a difficult, even absurd, story. I was told to sell something I didn’t even know about.

I know this is Yeo Bul-jin’s test. Otherwise, there would be no reason to send me to the King.

I acted because I didn’t know whether I was from the government office, the King’s side, or Yeo Hong-won’s side, and they’re going to send me to the King to find out.

Nevertheless, renting Cheonsu Sangdan’s distribution network for three years was very attractive.

“Is there anyone from the Cheonsu Sangdan side?”

I tried throwing some bait. But Yeo Bul-jin just laughed as if asking what I was talking about.

“If I’m going to send someone from the Cheonsu Sangdan, why would I entrust it to you? Of course, you should be able to transport it entirely by yourself.”

“Oh, um. I see.”

This is a bit different from what I expected. I thought they would send surveillance under the pretext of escorting. Or maybe they could send someone secretly.

It was clear that there was some kind of ulterior motive behind sending me to the King, but it seemed that I would have to wait a little longer to find out exactly what it was.

“Okay. Then let’s stop talking here. This is a banquet, not a place to discuss business.”

“Before we begin the banquet, can we talk about business one last time?”

“I guess so.”

“We would like to receive a small down payment for our salt. Not much, just enough to cover the expected sales revenue.”

“It’s a deposit. Okay. I’ll take care of it when I leave.”

As expected, the big shot is different. It’s worth 30,000 pounds of salt, but he’s giving this as an advance payment. If it were any other merchant, he would have at least thought about it, but the king was different.

“Then shall we begin the banquet?”

Yeo Bul-jin clapped her hands. Immediately, beauties with dazzling eyes came up the platform. Some of the beauties were holding food in their hands, and some were holding musical instruments.

The shamans of the shaman froze. The sound of the pipa and the geomancer filled the pavilion. It was the beginning of a banquet.

* * *

They say that there are people who receive energy from other people, and on the contrary, there are people who gain energy from being around other people.

As a merchant, I naturally belong to the group that receives energy, and the death sentences in the mountains belong to the group that receives energy quickly.

So the day after the banquet, our complexions were completely different. My skin was so clear that it was almost shiny, while the brothers’ skin was as smooth as bone.

Of course, it wasn’t a frivolous argument. The king, considering that there were Taoists, only ordered the gisaengs to pour music and alcohol. I didn’t really like playing around like that, so that was fortunate. Still, the death sentences were drunk on incense and had their energy sucked out like that.

“I had fun.”

“Goodbye. Can I ask you to confirm the deposit?”

“It’s insulting to ask for a deposit in front of an elder.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I hope you will take good care of me until I get to Gansu.”

“Yes. I’ll just stop by the party headquarters and leave right away.”

There was a small box in my arms. It was the item that the King of Shang had asked me to deliver to Gansu. I really wanted to open it, but it was sealed so well that I couldn’t open it.

“May the true people also go well.”

“……yes.”

We left Cheonsu Sangdan, seeing off the King like that.

The journey from Nanjing to Anhui, Anhui, and Hubei. I must have received an invitation from Namgung Hui, and I thought about stopping by Namgung Segae’s house to rest, but the elder brothers wanted to quickly return to the Wudangpa and rest, even if it meant sleeping outside. It seems that the banquet at Cheonsu Sangdan was fatal.

It was just a banquet for the upper class, but it was so extravagant that they set off fireworks, had a band, had good drinks, and had food. It was so extravagant that the shamans who had lived modestly their entire lives would have felt dizzy.

It’s not that there were no incidents. They encountered the Nokrimdo in the middle, and when Myeongyeop glared at them with his sharp eyes and raised his spirits, the bandits simply marched away.

That’s how we arrived at Mudangpa. This trip was significant not only for the Whiyoungsangdan but also for Mudangpa.

It was the first time that a shaman had entered the Sanggye, and it was also the first time that they had shown the raw martial arts to their young disciples.

“You came.”

In front of the prose, there were private teachers such as Cheong-ui, a long-spoken person, Cheong-hwa, and Cheong-yu.

“You knew when I would come and have been waiting here.”

“It’s a joy to wait for the disciples to grow up and return. But… … .”

Cheong-ui’s gaze fell on the executioners behind him. They all had sunken eyes and skin that was almost like they had been to a coal mine.

“Did you take your disciples to some place like Cheonglu?”

Cheong-yu shot me a slap. Honestly, I can’t say anything about Cheong-yu, I think I would have thought the same thing.

“Oh, no. It’s Cheongru. What is that?”

The one who jumped up was Myeong-yeop. It was understandable that he felt wronged, since he had been quiet for a while and now he was enjoying himself.

“But why do they all look like this?”

“If I had sent Cheongru, would I have sent the young executioners as well?”

I laughed out loud in disbelief.

“Ahem. It doesn’t seem to have rotted to that extent.”

“Of course. What do you think of me? It’s just that the journey by carriage was tiring.”

“Ah. That could be possible.”

Only then was the privates’ misunderstanding cleared up. Since the unmanned vehicles usually use light air to move, they do not ride carriages. However, since they have to ride carriages to keep up with the speed of the uphill train, they get motion sickness.

“Then the disciples should go in and rest for now, and Hwiyoung should come to Samcheonggwan.”

“yes.”

When Cheong-ui called, I turned around and announced the end of the uphill journey. In fact, there was nothing to sort out. After all, we couldn’t have transported thirty thousand pounds of salt with this number of people.

Salt merchants who move the salt by cart are small-scale individual peddlers. We, the merchants, move it in groups on salt boats. If it were normal, we would leave it in the warehouse, find a place to sell it, and then set sail on a salt ship. But since Cheonsu Merchant Group decided to sell it, we could stop worrying about it for the time being.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“All those who participated in this promotion should report to the agent and receive the promotion allowance.”

“yes!”

The upper-level members all rushed to the upper-level headquarters in unison.

“People are following along well.”

Cheong-ui said as if she was impressed. I smiled awkwardly.

“Are you sure you want to make it long-form?”

“I’m not just saying this. Leading people is harder than you think. I made a lot of mistakes at first. But you seem to be good at it, as if you’ve done it many times.”

That’s because I’ve done it many times. As Cheong-ui said, I also experienced a lot of trial and error at first.

I tried to use my superiors as a weapon, and lowered their wages for immediate gain. But in the end, efficiency was the best when my subordinates tried to do it on their own.

So all I had to do was see if the person would let go if I paid them a lot of money and made them feel comfortable.

“I’m curious, what do you think is most important in leading people?”

“Respect.”

“Huh. That’s an unexpected answer.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Of course it’s money. What else could it be?”

I laughed. It seemed that Cheong-ui still had a strong prejudice against merchants. Of course, that was half true. People who are crazy about money are merchants.

“Money is only a part of respect. If you say you respect someone but then give them money, that is deception.”

“I guess so.”

“There is a saying that goes, ‘A man who knows himself dies’. Men in particular are people who die for humanity.”

“Good insight.”

“What do you think about Jang Moon-in?”

“It is the Way.”

“You are using the invincible herbivore in a cowardly way.”

Cheong-ui laughed heartily. Now that I know that there is nothing more foolish than asking about the Way, I just let it go. After all, the Way in each person’s heart is different.

Looking at the blue shirt next to him, he was truly a whirlwind of energy. Originally, anyone who has achieved anything has a unique charm that radiates from him.

But that coolness didn’t last as long as expected.

“… … So, what is this?”

“It is a promissory note.”

Cheong-ui trembled. Her entire body trembled, and the promissory note she was holding also trembled.

“It looks like it says a thousand nyang in silver.”

“Yes, that’s right. I just wrote a promissory note for the minimum amount. Roughly speaking, I have thirty thousand seok of salt, five seoks and one nyang of silver, so the sales revenue is six thousand nyang. If you subtract two thousand nyang from the cost of goods sold, the profit is four thousand nyang. If you divide that by eight and two, the shaman’s share is eight hundred nyang.”

“Then why a thousand nyang?”

“Two hundred nyang is a donation. You can use it as you see fit.”

“… … Ugh, ugh. I guess my thoughts aren’t following along very well for now.”

“You can’t even keep up with such a simple calculation, when you can keep up with something as fast as a blacksmith.”

Cheong-ui was sweating profusely. It was understandable. The shaman had earned about two hundred nyang of silver when she was running a warehouse business.

But that was like being in the arms of a shaman, and this time, a thousand nyang rolled in while he was just sitting still. Now, it seemed that Cheong-ui was finally realizing that he was cooperating with the Hwiyoungsangdan.

“I never thought such a large sum of money would come in at once… … .”

“Even shamans change.”

I laughed. The reason I gave him the extra two hundred nyang was because I wanted to make Cheong-ui roll over the money. So that he could survive in this tough world even without me.

But it seemed that Cheongyi was still far from the level I wanted. I could see her putting her hand on her chest and catching her breath.

“You’re crazy… … .”

Cheong-ui’s foolish voice echoed throughout the Samcheong-gwan’s main room.