Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 42



Only Krnovel

42. Fame (1)

Perhaps Jinmubyeok brought up the name of Zhuge Liang with the intention of pressuring me.

If the sect representing Hubei is the Wudangpa, then the family representing Hubei is the Zhuge Clan.

The two were from the same political party and respected each other so they rarely clashed. So, it must have been intended to discourage further interference with Muhan Sanghoe, at least for the sake of the nonpartisan faction.

Of course, I have no intention of pressuring Muhansanghoe any further. It’s not that I don’t trust Song Hwan-young, but if Muhansanghoe disappears completely, Donghosanghoe will also stagnate and rot. A certain amount of competition is a necessary element for coexistence.

In this situation, it was a big harvest to find out that the Zhuge Family was behind the Muhan Company. I know how viciously the Zhuge Family controlled the Hubei commercial area. At least I had to build up the strength to fight against it, or run away early. Of course, I didn’t have the option of running away.

“I didn’t know that Hubei Shenyi was so knowledgeable in martial arts.”

“Jeon Gil-sang was weak.”

“That’s impossible.”

I told him honestly, but Jeon Gil-sang’s high notoriety made even that seem humble.

Anyway, the traffic control between Donghosanghoe and Muhansanghoe was quickly resolved through government mediation. There was no mediation at all. Muhansanghoe was being greedy and oppressing Donghosanghoe, and there was only a natural process of reversing that.

“Now the upper class members of the Dongho Sanghoe are also preparing to work again.”

“But the size of the company was too small to begin with, so I had to start over.”

“Do you have enough manpower now?”

“There was a severe outflow of manpower, but the size of the company has also decreased, so we are somewhat relaxed. To be honest, up until now, there has been no work worth paying a salary for at the Dongho Company. I am grateful that they stayed, so I gave them a little bit.”

“I see. Then how about we put those people to work at our top level?”

“Ah. You said you made the top too. That’s better. I can trust you.”

Song Hwan-yeong already thought of me as a benefactor. In fact, I was a benefactor because I helped Dongho Sanghoe breathe a sigh of relief.

“How many people do you need? I don’t know the size of your top.”

“I think we only need two clerk-level employees to do miscellaneous work, one clerk-level employee to handle accounting, and one administrative employee to organize and report to me.”

“That’s neat. That’s a good way to start. If you hire too many people out of enthusiasm, the labor costs will inevitably increase.”

“Yes.”

Honestly, if Infinite Company had just accepted me, I would have saved them, but my relationship with Infinite Company had already become irreparable. But it was their own doing.

“What was the name above?”

“This is the Whiyoung Group.”

“Ah, your name was Muk Hwi-yeong. It’s a good name.”

“thank you.”

“Ahem, then if you’re going to continue to dominate in Hubei… … .”

“Of course. You should join the club.”

Song Hwan-yeong and I laughed at the same time. Anyway, Muhan Sanghoe and Cheokjin didn’t really have anywhere to go.

Now that my upper class is not that big, it is much better for me to belong to a trading company. Being in a trading company allows me to get news about the trading company faster, and I can also borrow help when I need it.

“Then we’ll be grateful. We’ll waive the membership fee.”

“I can afford to pay the membership fee.”

“No matter how difficult the business is, you shouldn’t take money from your benefactor. Just saving the business again is worth more than the membership fee.”

“Haha. If that’s true.”

It was a pleasant word. After talking to the merchants after always talking to the unmanned people, it felt like we could communicate. Wasn’t this kind of back and forth the essence of business? This wasn’t a simple exchange of equivalents, but a realm of reciprocity.

The membership fee alone was more than ten nyang, so that alone was a small profit. However, the greater benefit was the confirmation of the trustworthiness of Song Hwan-yeong, the owner of the Dongho Sanghoe.

Since the club also has its own way of doing business, it was easy to save about four people.

“The Lord of the Upper World is the God of Hubei. I will do my best.”

“I didn’t know that the Lord of Hubei had the martial arts skills to defeat Jeon Gil-sang.”

Song Hwan-yeong must have been paying attention, because the people he saved seemed like pretty good people.

In particular, I was surprised to see someone who came to me at the level of an administrator, even though I didn’t know anyone else.

“My name is Jo Chung-heon (曺忠憲), and I will be in charge of the Hwiyoungsangdan from now on.”

If there were more than ten thousand people working at the top, they were classified as a Daebang-level. Therefore, the Daebang-level top was not very many throughout the Central Plains, and was directly inspected by the palace.

When I led the Whiyoungsangdan to the Daebang-geup, there were twelve Daebang-geup merchants in the Central Plains. At that time, in Gwangju, the capital of Guangdong, there was a Daebang-geup merchant called the Nammun Merchant Group. And Jo Chung-heon was the person who served as the general manager of that merchant group.

Before meeting him in person, I thought it might be because the names were the same, but when I saw his face, he looked a little younger, but he was the same person I knew. I don’t know why a person from Hubei went all the way to Guangdong to become a governor, but it wasn’t that unusual for a merchant to move around the region.

And from now on, Jo Chung-heon’s future of going to Gwangdong has disappeared. It is hard to find someone trustworthy while running the upper group. Jo Chung-heon was a person who was known for being loyal and capable even in the Nammun upper group. I had tried to bring him to the Whiyoungsangdan several times, but failed.

In my previous life, a talented person who had only drooled came under me by chance, so I had no intention of letting him go. No matter what the circumstances, I was going to give him the best treatment in the industry and keep him in his place.

“But, my lord. This salary seems a bit high compared to my experience… … .”

“It’s okay. I have to be nice to my people.”

“I didn’t show you anything here.”

“It’s okay, I’ll show you later.”

Cho Choong-heon scratched his head. It would be absurd from his perspective. It would be hard to trust someone this much after seeing their face once. If I didn’t know Cho Choong-heon’s future, I wouldn’t have invested like this.

“… … Thank you. Then I will work hard so as not to be ashamed of my salary.”

“That would be great. But please take it easy.”

“How can that be?”

There are people who can’t do that, and there are people who can. And I said that because I knew Jo Chung-heon to be someone who couldn’t do that.

I just smiled at Jo Chung-heon. Others also set their salaries at the highest level in the industry.

Even the servants, the secretary, and the Jo Chung-heon who came as a messenger were all shocked when they heard their salaries. Although the labor costs were high, they were trivial compared to the money they would earn in the future. If you save on small things, you will lose big things. It is also the case that you have to be empty-handed to grab something.

“What our company has to do next is simple. We just need to sell the Green Forest Twelve in our warehouse this winter and in the spring.”

“The warehouse is full of copies of the Nokrim Sip-i-shik. Shouldn’t we start selling them now? Although the Nokrim Sip-i-shik is a famous secret among the common people, it’s not a book that sells well. The price doesn’t change with the season… … .”

“I will get off.”

“yes?”

“If you sell it in the spring, you can sell it for a higher price. You may think that’s nonsense, but please do so for now.”

Jo Chung-heon looked like he had a lot to say.

A clerk or a servant can do his own work regardless of the direction of the business. However, a manager at the level of Haengsu can suggest the direction of the business. In that sense, he seemed to be worried about me and wanted to stop me, but since I, the owner, was pushing forward like that, there was nothing more to say. Speaking the truth is a virtue for subordinates, but trusting and following is also a virtue.

“The number of moves.”

“yes.”

“Please trust and follow me.”

When I kept saying that, Jo Chung-heon finally nodded.

“Since I am not stationed at the top and working, the role of the line manager is important.”

“Yes. I heard that from the Lord. He asked me to pay special attention to it.”

“Yes, yes. Your Majesty, you should meet with as many publishers as possible before spring comes and establish a distribution network.”

“If it’s publishing, I guess I’ll have to go to Zhejiang or Jiangsu. Okay.”

I smiled. In Zhejiang, there is Hangzhou, and in Jiangsu, there are Nanjing and Suzhou.

It has been said that the four places where the world’s books gather are Beijing in Hebei, Hangzhou in Zhejiang, and Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu. He knew the flow of the industry, so he could do it. If he had such capable subordinates, things would go smoothly.

“I have left the upper management funds in the Infinite Warfare. When using the funds, please leave a clear record of the source and amount, and I ask that the servants also assist Haengsu and the secretary well. I am now returning to the Mudang faction, so if you need to contact me urgently, please send a letter to the Mudang.”

“all right.”

In that way, I raised the signal flare for the revival of the Whiyoungsangdan. No one knew it now, but soon everyone would know the name of the Whiyoungsangdan.

***

After completing the instructions, I returned to the infinite dormitory. In the dormitory yard, Myeong-gyeong was swinging a sword. As soon as Myeong-gyeong saw me from afar, her lips popped out.

“It was so boring.”

“I’m sorry. Death sentence. Should I go?”

“Are you going to the main branch?”

Myungkyung’s expression brightened immediately. As expected, it was nice to see children’s expressions being easy to read.

“yes.”

“No, wait a minute. But didn’t you originally say you were going home? When are you going home?”

The cheerful Myung-kyung suddenly stabbed a sore spot. I’m sorry, but stopping by the house was just an excuse. I came out to do some work on the upper level, and I had no intention of going home.

“Ah. I don’t think I can go home. I already contacted you.”

“when?”

“I stopped by briefly while I was away from the execution site.”

Myung-kyung gave her a suspicious look. That’s why I don’t like quick-witted kids. Of course, I didn’t contact the house. However, since Myung-kyung couldn’t confirm it, she had no choice but to let it go.

“Yeah, well. I need to start training in martial arts quickly.”

“You do it every day.”

Contrary to what Myung-kyung grumbled about, we slept in the dorms, or stayed overnight, and woke up at dawn to train. During that time, Myung-kyung taught me my martial arts and swordsmanship. I was better at swordsmanship to begin with, but Myung-kyung insisted on teaching me. It seems like he thought it was his duty as a death penalty.

Anyway, that martial arts training also made some progress. Maybe it was the influence of Indomitable, but I felt like I had more tenacity when I was training. In the past, I would have just thrown away the martial arts and techniques, but now I just grabbed them. No matter how little talent you have, there are some things you can do with effort, and Myeonggyeong told me that I had improved.

“But it’s been a long time since I’ve been out, so I’m sure my parents will be disappointed.”

“I only have my father. My mother passed away a long time ago.”

“… … Oh, really? Sorry.”

“are you okay.”

“If Father is alone, shouldn’t we go further?”

Myungkyung was unexpectedly obsessed with my family. I know children have a knack for empathy, but I can’t help but shake my head.

“It’s okay. My father doesn’t even know I came out.”

I’m sorry, Dad, but in my previous life, when I thought of my father who had already passed away, I didn’t feel any particular excitement or excitement. That’s because my father and I didn’t really get along that well.

“Priest.”

“yes?”

“Family is precious.”

Myungkyung spoke in an unexpectedly serious tone. Of course, how serious can a child be when he speaks in a serious tone? At least, she was the most serious of all the Myungkyungs I’ve ever seen.

Did he think that kind of advice was a death sentence? I just laughed it off.

The face of my father that suddenly came to mind was blurry. It was only natural, considering that it had been over twenty years since he passed away.

“Let’s go.”

Maybe it was because I heard Myeonggyeong’s words. For some reason, I felt like I had been unfilial just because of that, so I wasn’t very happy.

So we left Muhan and headed to Gyunhyeon where the shaman was. It had been a long time since we had seen the shaman.