Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 40



Only Krnovel

40. Commercial Association (3)

The merchant whose life I saved revealed his name as Jeong Cheol-won. Jeong Cheol-won took a look, removed the cotton cloth covering the item, and opened the locked door.

The merchants nearby noticed Jeong Cheol-won opening his shop and began to gossip.

“Maybe all of those merchants are affiliated with Muhan Trading Company?”

“It’s not just that, it’s definitely true. Everyone who is currently moving up from Infinite is a member of Infinite Trading Company.”

“You must have belonged to a club, right?”

“Of course. But I don’t have any ill feelings towards them. If they belong to a Dongho Trading Company, they will rush in and interfere with your business, but I will also bow down to the Muhan Trading Company.”

“Then, did you say that the Lord should bow his head and go in? If they make it so that you can’t do business, wouldn’t it be difficult to live?”

Song Hwan-yeong smiled bitterly at my words. It seemed like he didn’t think my question was rude. Of course, he must have heard it a lot in the past.

“Well, that’s what I was thinking at first.”

“But?”

“He, you might not know because you’re unmanned. We bow down to our customers every day, and we even roll over and over again for money, but we also have pride.”

I laughed without realizing it at Song Hwan-yeong’s words.

“Haha. I knew you’d react like that. Pride for a merchant. How unbecoming of you.”

“No. I laughed because I could relate.”

“Empathy?”

“I told you, I’m a merchant. There is such a thing. People think that merchants are a bunch of people without any sense of shame, but surprisingly, they are a race with strong pride.”

Myung-kyung, who was next to me, clicked her tongue as if she was annoyed, but our conversation continued.

“Whether Muhan Sanghoe charges more than double the commissions of Dongho Sanghoe, or condones or even encourages them to beat up customers, it’s honestly none of my business. Many people hold me in high esteem because of these things and say that I can’t give up Dongho Sanghoe, but that’s not true at all.”

“I know.”

“I am not a very righteous person. I think private interests are more important than the public interest. Nevertheless.”

“It’s not that it isn’t.”

Song Hwan-yeong, who had been interrupted, looked at me. The wrinkles around his eyes became even more furrowed.

“That’s right. It’s not that it’s not. I can’t explain it, but this is not it. My identity as a merchant rejects the Infinite Company. If I give up this, then I will fall apart as a person. That’s what I felt.”

I know that feeling very well. And I can explain it differently from Song Hwan-young.

“It goes against the Lord’s values.”

“Values. I don’t know my values ​​well either.”

I grinned. Most people don’t know what their values ​​are. But just recognizing that you don’t know is better than thinking you do.

A foolish merchant listens to the voice of money, a wise merchant listens to the voice of men. Because money determines price, but men determine value.

In that sense, Song Hwan-young, the owner of Dongho Sanghoe, was a great merchant. He was moved by the voice inside him, not by money. Although he still seems to lack confidence.

“They’re coming soon.”

Song Hwan-yeong’s voice became serious. In fact, troublemakers began to loiter around Jeong Cheol-won’s store.

Looking at their arms, it was obvious that they had not lived upright lives because there were several piercing wounds.

“Hey, you still haven’t come to your senses? If you want to do business, you have to pay a membership fee to Muhan Sanghoe.”

The man swept the items under the blanket with his arm and threw them on the floor. The men, who seemed to be two heads taller than Jeong Cheol-won, were threatening.

“I’ll just watch for now.”

I said so and watched. Jeong Cheol-won was not afraid even of bigger bullies.

“I’m doing business in my own store, so why do I have to pay a membership fee?”

“Then you shouldn’t do business.”

A huge commotion. Objects were thrown onto the street and broken. People walking along the street were startled and avoided Jeong Cheol-won’s store.

“You motherfuckers! Give me the money I paid for this!”

Jeong Cheol-won grabbed the men’s arms and dangled from them. But the men didn’t care and were focused on destroying Jeong Cheol-won’s store.

The merchants doing business in the nearby stores just looked at Jeong Cheol-won’s store. What came to their eyes was fear and relief. The fear that they could have ended up like that, and the relief that it wasn’t them who was being treated this way.

“How long are you going to wait?”

“wait a minute.”

Song Hwan-yeong asked anxiously, but I still hadn’t left. Even Myeong-gyeong, who had been quiet, frowned as the behavior continued.

Soon, baton-wielding policemen came running from afar. If the street was dirty enough to cause trouble, the policemen would come.

However, when the soldiers saw Jeong Cheol-won and the two men with the bag, they coughed in vain and tried to leave.

It was my turn to step forward. I ran out and blocked the path of the policeman.

“No, you constables. You see this kind of atrocity and you don’t take any action?”

“Hey, what’s going on all of a sudden?”

The officers were embarrassed. They couldn’t help it. This was clearly a dereliction of duty on their part. But soon after, the officers threatened me instead.

“If we do that, then that’s what happens. Why would we interfere in government affairs?”

“Are the authorities ignoring this kind of behavior now?”

“We won’t mediate even such a minor dispute.”

“How can this be considered a minor dispute? A whole karma is being unilaterally destroyed.”

“If that’s what we are, then that’s what we are.”

The soldiers laughed at him. They were responding by saying, “How can you do anything on your own?”

There must have been a source for their confidence. In order to break them, we had to first know the source.

“It’s a minor dispute. You must keep your word.”

“what?”

I walked past the bewildered soldiers and stood in front of the sticks.

“Huh. What is this white-faced man?”

“If you kick my leg once, it will probably break.”

As expected, the vulgarity was evident from the very words he spoke. There was nothing much to say. I didn’t say anything more and just pushed the man’s face against the wall and dragged him along.

“Try breaking it once.”

“100 million!”

Blood was drawn on the wall like calligraphy, accompanied by a scream that was like a terminal demise.

The head in his grasp twitched and then stopped moving. He must have passed out from the pain of his nose being shattered.

I put my head down and looked at another man.

“Eek!”

Now he also knew that I was an opponent he couldn’t handle. To his surprise, he hid behind the policeman, leaving the large body behind.

“Po, Police Officer Nari. Do something about it. Why is a man like you suddenly involved in business?”

“Oh my.”

I laughed in vain at that sudden change of attitude. The soldiers didn’t know what to do. After all, they had already said something, so they were at a loss for what to do.

In that delicate standoff, one of the soldiers looked at me intently and his eyes grew wide.

“Are you by any chance a Hubei god?”

“Does that matter?”

“It’s not important. Come here for a moment.”

The constable put his club in his belt and called me into the alley.

As we walked down the alley, the policeman smiled wickedly.

“Haha. I thought it was right when I saw it from afar, but I didn’t know it was the Hubei Shen’s Office. I apologize for not knowing you.”

“I don’t think that’s what you should apologize for.”

“Hey, don’t be so rude. If you are the head of the Hobuk Shinsin Department, do you know the elder of the Hojo Chamjeong?”

“It’s just a face.”

“Actually, the chairman of Muhan Sanghoe is close to the head of Hojo Chamjeong.”

“ah.”

I immediately felt that everything was becoming clear. That’s why Jinmubyeok said that Muhansanghoe would be upset.

Indeed, it was only natural for high-ranking officials and merchants to become entangled.

“So, for the sake of the elder Hojo Chamjeong’s face, please let it slide this time. You’re not a person with no limits, are you?”

The soldier smiled cowardly and rubbed his hands.

Sometimes, it seems more disgusting to see a person rubbing his or her hands than to see a fly rubbing its or her hands. This is exactly what happened right now.

“Arai!”

Before I knew it, Myeong-gyeong, who had been chasing me, rose high and struck the back of the policeman’s head. I have seen many disgusting people, so I have a lot of tolerance, but Myeong-gyeong lacked it.

“Keep going!”

The soldier rolled his eyes and fell forward in surprise.

“You guys are a bunch of trash! And you guys are still the managers! I really can’t stand to see this!”

“Oh, oh. Did you just hit the policeman?”

The other soldier was startled when his comrade fainted, grabbed his club, and trembled. He now knew that we were unmanned, and he seemed to be afraid that this was an opponent that a mere soldier could not handle.

“Even if you are a commoner, how dare you mess with an official? Your arrogance is sky-high!”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Myungkyung looked back at me and asked. I shook my head.

“No. You did well. Those guys need to be beaten up to listen.”

“Can I beat him too?”

“You are the one who is sentenced to death. Do you need my permission?”

“Oh. Right. I’m a death sentence.”

Myung-kyung blushed, as if embarrassed that she had just failed to act like a death penalty. She had acted like a child without realizing it. But what does it matter if a child is like a child? I just laughed.

As soon as permission was given without my permission, Myeong-gyeong shot out and hit the constable’s forehead with her head.

“Quite a lot!”

Watching Myeong-gyeong beat up the policeman with gusto made me happy. Unlike me, who would just get his face smashed in a street fight, Myeong-gyeong was beating him with sincerity, using her shamanic skills. Just watching her was a learning experience.

“It was great Tai Chi.”

“yes?”

Myeong-gyeong shook her hands. At Myeong-gyeong’s feet, a policeman was lying face down, foaming at the mouth.

“But where is that bad guy?”

Myeong-gyeong looked around. One of the two men who had been troubling her in the store had run away and was nowhere to be seen. I shrugged.

“Well, I guess we’ll see each other again someday.”

“I need to hit that guy too.”

Myeonggyeong was still angry, as if she hadn’t calmed down yet. As expected, she was a disciple of the main branch of the famous sect with a strong sense of justice.

“Oh, why did you hit the policeman?”

Song Hwan-yeong, who arrived late, trembled at the sight of the tragedy that had unfolded. From the perspective of a mere merchant, beating up a policeman would have been more frightening than beating up a lackey of the enemy merchants.

“it’s okay.”

“What do you mean, okay? Do you want to live in prison?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Don’t worry too much.”

“I can’t help but worry.”

“How can you be a merchant if you are so weak-hearted?”

“What kind of weak-heartedness is this?”

I laughed at Song Hwan-yeong who was laughing. Myung-kyung also laughed along with me because I was laughing.

As I was laughing, two long shadows fell towards us from the end of the road. The shadows quickly grew darker and soon covered me.

I looked up at the square-jawed man with a smile on my face. Next to me, Song Hwan-young recognized the man’s identity and was startled.

“I, Jeon Gil-sang!”

“Who said it? You’re the dregs of Dongho Sanghoe. Song Hoe-ju. Didn’t I say so? If you catch my eye again, I’ll bury you.”

A man came running after Jeon Gil-sang. There was no need to look to see who it was. It was the man who had run away when Myeong-gyeong had beaten the policeman earlier.

That man was big, but Jeon Gil-sang was half as big. So it looked like I could just fold him in one hand.

“Song Hoe-ju. Are you trusting this guy who looks like a Confucian scholar and attacking me?”

Jeon Gil-sang growled and tried to walk towards Song Hwan-yeong. I put my foot in between him and blocked Jeon Gil-sang’s path.

When I blocked his way, Jeon Gil-sang laughed as if he found it funny. I laughed too.

The laughter stopped at some point. It was the moment when we were all mixed up.