ATPnovel Chapter 254 : It seemed something had happened
Chapter 254 : It seemed something had happened
Recently, ever since Jin Seong-un began doing business, he had been spending the busiest days of his life.That was because the hot springs of Eonsa Prefecture, the commercial district most anticipated in the Central Plains at present, were in progress.
The reception hall of Seong-un Inn.
Three men and one woman were seated around a round table.
“It's been a long time, Master Jin. I never imagined you would actually secure the Eonsa Prefecture commercial rights.”
The owner of the Hwa-un Trading Company, Hwa Yeon-seol, spoke with a mix of delight and surprise.
The gaunt old man beside her, Shin Mok (Divine Wood), also seemed to think the same, as he nodded.
Jin Seong-un shifted the credit to Lee Seowon.
“I hardly did anything. The Chief Steward handled everything.”
“No, it was only possible because the Innkeeper secured an enormous amount of capital. To a Chief Steward, money is no different from a blade in a martial artist’s hand.”
“It wouldn’t have worked with money alone.”
“And without money, it would have been impossible to even attempt it.”
Jin Seong-un and Lee Seowon continued exchanging compliments. Recently, the two of them felt full just by looking at each other.
As their mutual flattery went on without end, Shin Mok cleared his throat.
“Khmm. So then. You are asking me to help with the development of the Eonsa Prefecture hot spring commercial district?”
Shin Mok was one of the two great master artisans of the Central Plains.
When it came to erecting buildings, he was a craftsman whose skill was unrivaled throughout all ages.
If the new commercial district of Eonsa Prefecture were filled with buildings constructed by Shin Mok, it would indeed be a splendid sight.
Jin Seong-un nodded and spoke.
“I’m not merely asking for a favor. Setting aside our personal relationship, this is a discussion between merchants.”
“You intend to pay the price?”
“Of course.”
To commission Shin Mok, first one had to earn his favor, and second, possess an enormous sum of money.
Since Shin Mok already regarded Jin Seong-un as a grandson, the first condition was hardly an issue. The real problem was money.
Though the Eonsa Prefecture commercial district was still in the planning stage, its scale was immense. If Shin Mok were to construct the halls there, the cost would be astronomical.
Hwa Yeon-seol was the first to point that out.
“The tail could end up wagging the dog. How about having Elder Shin Mok build the main halls, and letting most of the other buildings be handled by his disciples? Of course, with prices calculated properly.”
Just because of personal ties, it was impossible to arbitrarily lower the cost. This was not merely Shin Mok’s personal matter—it involved the honor of his disciples as well.
Naturally, both Jin Seong-un and Lee Seowon were fully aware of this.
Lee Seowon spoke as if it were only natural.
“We have no intention whatsoever of lowering the price. Now then, this is the blueprint of the planned commercial district.”
Lee Seowon unfurled a fairly large sheet of paper across the wide round table with a rustle.
It was a map marked with all the roads and waterways of Eonsa Prefecture.
“For timber, we plan to go entirely through the Red Cliff Escort Agency. They recently acquired logging camps in Yangyang County. Since hot spring buildings must withstand moisture, it would be good to use golden-thread nanmu or red sandalwood, and for ordinary halls, fragrant cypress or red pine should suffice.”
As Lee Seowon continued speaking at length, Shin Mok’s expression changed moment by moment, until he finally exclaimed in admiration.
“Do you have prior knowledge of timber?”
“No. I studied in advance so that I could converse with Elder Shin Mok. How could a merchant discuss a field he knows nothing about?”
“Heh. Seong-un, it seems you truly found yourself a proper Chief Steward. What he says is correct. Furthermore, because of the steam, ordinary window frames will all tear apart. One must use oil-treated leather, or……”
Shin Mok and Lee Seowon discussed ‘architecture’ for quite some time. Lee Seowon was so knowledgeable that it was hard to believe he had only studied the day before, and the conversation with Shin Mok hardly paused.
When Shin Mok’s mood had reached its peak,
Lee Seowon brought up his prepared words at just the right moment.
“So then, how about sharing equity with you, Elder Shin Mok? Rather than simply paying a commission fee, we would share the future profits generated by the commercial district.”
“In other words, we would instead be investing in Eonsa Prefecture.”
“Exactly.”
In that case, Shin Mok and his disciples would devote themselves fully to constructing every building in Eonsa Prefecture.
For Seong-un Inn, the burden would be lighter, as it would not require paying a massive sum upfront, instead sharing profits later.
Moreover, there was already ample goodwill between Shin Mok, Jin Seong-un, and Lee Seowon, so there was no distrust or suspicion whatsoever.
Shin Mok nodded and then spoke.
“However, there is one condition.”
“Please speak freely.”
When Lee Seowon said so, Shin Mok pointed insistently at the most prime piece of land at the very heart of the map.
“This is a condition not for you, Chief Steward, but for Seong-un to decide. Seong-un Inn must open a second branch right here.”
“…What?”
Since Jin Seong-un had not yet considered opening a second branch, he blinked for a moment.
However, Lee Seowon and Hwa Yeon-seol, both thoroughly versed in commerce, immediately grasped the meaning behind Shin Mok’s proposal.
“You want to increase the stability of the commercial district, don’t you?”
At Hwa Yeon-seol’s question, Shin Mok nodded.
She then added an explanation for Jin Seong-un.
“Because of the recent auction incident, Master Jin’s standing in the commercial world has completely changed. A single merchant defeated the world’s greatest trading company. From now on, many will try to curry favor with you, or at least beg you to stay close.”
In other words, by establishing Jin Seong-un’s inn in Eonsa Prefecture as well, they intended to draw merchants from across the land to Eonsa Prefecture.
Shin Mok spoke.
“Sharing equity is fine. But that is only if profits from the district are guaranteed and continuous. Your inn will serve that role.”
Jin Seong-un pondered briefly.
Then Lee Seowon poked him in the side and spoke in a lowered voice.
“Innkeeper, this works out perfectly. Seong-un Inn has already taken on two distinct roles, so let us divide them at this opportunity.”
Commerce and delivery.
The inn in Yichang would continue its business as it had, centered on various dishes, while the second branch in Eonsa Prefecture would compete solely with the single dish ‘Seolhwa Undon.’
Since Eonsa Prefecture itself was a transportation hub, deliveries would be easy, and Seolhwa Undon was a dish that could easily be sold both via delivery and to visiting customers.
After nodding for a moment, Jin Seong-un spoke.
“Let us do so.”
Thus, the contract between Shin Mok and Jin Seong-un was concluded.
Afterward, the conversation between Lee Seowon and Shin Mok continued through the night.
The next day, morning.
Before he had fully woken up, Jin Seong-un was met with a long line of merchants stretched out in front of the inn.
Seong-un Inn was still closed for business. All the merchants who had come were those hoping to enter the Eonsa Prefecture commercial district.
Lee Seowon, like Zhuge Liang from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, gently fanned himself with a feather fan while conversing with the merchants.
“Thank you all for coming like this. We will discuss the details once the Innkeeper arrives…… Ah, he has just arrived! Then let us begin with the Master of Cheonghwa Trading Company, who has been waiting since dawn!”
The man called the Cheonghwa Trading Company Master was led by Lee Seowon toward the reception hall.
Jin Seong-un, Lee Seowon, and the trading company master sat facing each other across a table.
The master placed something wrapped in silk onto the table and then spoke in an insinuating tone.
“I have long admired Master Guest Dragon’s chivalrous deeds. I had wished to show my sincerity someday, and for such an opportunity to come like this……”
The speech was long and elaborate, but in a single word, it was a bribe.
The development rights of Eonsa Prefecture belonged entirely to Jin Seong-un. Any merchant who wished to do business there had to obtain Jin Seong-un’s permission.
The Master of Cheonghwa Trading Company poured out his dreams, hopes, values, goals, and even his secret sincerity, and then left.
After that, similar incidents repeated endlessly.
Jin Seong-un’s eyes gradually became like those of a pollock.
Since Lee Seowon handled most matters, Jin Seong-un merely needed to keep his seat as the innkeeper.
Thus, morning turned into noon, and noon turned into evening.
“Please endure just a little longer. Major business is always this exhausting.”
Lee Seowon encouraged him, and Jin Seong-un nodded. Lee Seowon said he would bring in the next merchants and went outside.
Moments later, Lee Seowon’s scream rang out from outside.
“Eugh! N-no, how could you come all the way here…….”
Lee Seowon, who rarely became flustered, even stuttered. It seemed someone extraordinary had arrived.
As Jin Seong-un moistened his throat with tea, several sets of footsteps drew near.
‘Two people. One of them has cultivated martial arts. Ah, those two.’
Even without any deliberate intent, Jin Seong-un’s sensory qi grasped their footsteps, balance, and aura in full.
Soon, the door opened, and the two figures he had anticipated entered the reception hall.
They were the Chairperson of the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association and the Master of the Daepyeong Trading Company, whom he had seen before at the Eonsa Prefecture auction.
The Jiangnan Merchants’ Association was an alliance formed by three massive trading companies from the Jiangnan region. At present, it was the only merchant group capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Myriad Gold Manor.
The Daepyeong Trading Company was also one of the five greatest trading companies of the era. Even the Hwa-un Trading Company, ranked at the bottom, possessed enormous wealth, so the scale of Daepyeong was beyond question.
The two middle-aged men sat facing Jin Seong-un.
The Chairperson of the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association spoke first.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, I have been well.”
The chairperson examined Jin Seong-un closely, as though observing something fascinating.
Jin Seong-un also met his gaze. Then, suddenly, a strange sense of déjà vu arose.
Jin Seong-un spoke.
“Are you perhaps related to the Namgung Clan?”
The chairperson’s eyes widened.
“You didn’t know?”
“Have you ever told me?”
“No, that’s not it, but…….”
The chairperson glanced at Lee Seowon beside him.
‘Was he always like this?’
That was precisely the look in his eyes.
Lee Seowon quietly nodded.
At that, the chairperson, Lee Pyo-sang, burst into hearty laughter.
“All merchants under heaven know me. Naturally, they also know who my younger sister is. My sister is the wife of the current Sword King.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Jin Seong-un understand.
From Lee Pyo-sang, he had been sensing an atmosphere similar to Sword Phoenix Namgung Rin. If his words were true, then the chairperson was Namgung Rin’s maternal uncle.
Since they were blood relatives, it was only natural that their aura and presence felt alike.
Only then did Jin Seong-un bow politely. Though he was not particularly close to Namgung Rin, the man was still a relative of an acquaintance, and thus felt like an elder.
“Hahaha, this is truly absurd.”
Lee Pyo-sang could not stop laughing.
Others would scrape together anything they could, whether it existed or not, just to curry favor, yet this young man showed no interest at all.
Moreover, without any information, he had guessed his identity purely through keen observation. This meant that Guest Dragon was a truly formidable master.
“Let us put my matter aside for now. First, let us hear this fellow’s proposal.”
The chairperson gestured toward the Master of the Daepyeong Trading Company beside him. Jin Seong-un turned his gaze to him.
Like the other merchants, the Daepyeong Trading Company Master seemed to have prepared a silk-wrapped ‘sincerity.’
When the silk was undone and the wooden case opened, a dagger crafted from gold lay upon a black cloth lining the bottom.
“It is the Golden Flower Dagger. A treasure that suits you perfectly, as both a merchant and a martial artist.”
True to its name, the golden dagger was adorned with beautiful floral patterns. It looked less like a weapon meant for actual combat and more like a symbolic treasure.
Jin Seong-un pondered briefly, then spoke.
“I apologize, but I am not accepting any ‘sincerity.’ I am only considering whether a business is necessary for the development of the commercial district.”
If matters were handled by accepting bribes, the quality of the district would deteriorate greatly.
The Daepyeong Trading Company Master, being a seasoned merchant, did not panic at this response.
“It can’t be helped. To be honest, it was indeed a bribe, but I expected you would refuse. I will express my sincerity in another way later…….”
After swiftly organizing the information in his mind, the Daepyeong Trading Company Master continued.
“No one has said they wish to establish a medical house, correct?”
“Yes. The Divine Physician said he would provide assistance…….”
“Indeed. Everyone must have thought the same and avoided that area. Therefore, I will approach it differently. I will supply medicinal ingredients to the medical houses.”
In other words, rather than doing business directly in Eonsa Prefecture, he intended to sell medicinal ingredients to the medical houses there.
Watching from the side, Lee Seowon admired him inwardly. On the surface, the Daepyeong Trading Company Master appeared somewhat guileless, but he was, after all, the head of one of the Five Great Trading Companies.
The presence of the Divine Physician was so overwhelming that no one dared approach the medical field. The Daepyeong Trading Company Master had aimed precisely at that gap.
Moreover, given Jin Seong-un’s disposition, the medical houses of Eonsa Prefecture would be entrusted to renowned physicians even if they were not the Divine Physician.
Those who visited hot springs were highly concerned with health. How would it be if, alongside bathing, they could enjoy decoctions or pills such as the Gongsindan?
Lee Seowon also believed that such a business would flourish greatly in Eonsa Prefecture. The Daepyeong Trading Company Master’s insight seemed to extend even further.
Jin Seong-un nodded.
It was a field no one else had claimed, and the name of the Daepyeong Trading Company was trustworthy. There was no reason to refuse.
“Please proceed.”
“Good. I like your decisiveness.”
The Daepyeong Trading Company Master imitated the hearty laughter of the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association chairperson and laughed magnanimously. Of course, he did not quite look as magnanimous.
Then the chairperson, Lee Pyo-sang, spoke.
“Now then, is it my turn? You seem to dislike roundabout talk, so I will speak plainly. Since you have already crossed swords with the Myriad Gold Manor, you will not survive in the commercial world no matter what you do. Rather, attach yourself to the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association. I will raise you personally.”
The Daepyeong Trading Company Master and Lee Seowon widened their eyes and looked at Lee Pyo-sang.
Lee Pyo-sang’s expression was serious. He had no children. Thus, if Jin Seong-un followed him well, he even intended to pass on his share in the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association in the future.
When Jin Seong-un showed no reaction, Lee Pyo-sang briefly furrowed his brow and continued.
“Could it be that you harbor feelings for my niece and are planning for the future? Well, I know better than anyone how beautiful Rin is. If that is not the case, there would be no reason for such hesitation…….”
“Please be quiet for a moment.”
“W-what did you say?”
The chairperson, who had been joking, stuttered in confusion.
Ignoring him, Jin Seong-un raised his index finger to his lips.
His expression was so serious and grave that both the Jiangnan Merchants’ Association chairperson and the Daepyeong Trading Company Master fell silent at once. As heads of massive trading companies, they were keenly perceptive.
In the silence,
Jin Seong-un grasped the Golden Flower Dagger, the treasure brought by the Daepyeong Trading Company Master.
The Daepyeong Trading Company Master could not make a sound, but his eyes, nose, and mouth all opened wide at once. It was an impressive expression indeed.
‘T-that……!’
It seemed he intended to do something with it, but did he even know how much that dagger was worth?!
The Daepyeong Trading Company Master desperately tried to dissuade him with his gaze……
But without a shred of hesitation, Jin Seong-un hurled the dagger toward the ceiling.
Bang-!
The dagger, made of soft gold, pierced through the solid ceiling and shot onward. Soon, along with the sound of flesh being pierced, someone’s groan burst forth.
“Guhk!”
At this point, everyone understood the situation.
From the hole pierced by the dagger, dark, murky blood dripped down.
Jin Seong-un looked at the chairperson and the Daepyeong Trading Company Master and asked.
“Did either of you bring an assassin?”
Fearing any misunderstanding, the two shook their heads as vigorously as possible.
Jin Seong-un continued calmly.
“It seems something has happened to Chef Seo. I apologize, but let us continue this discussion another time.”
With that, Jin Seong-un rose from his seat.