An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13
The next morning.
Ha Yun hadn’t slept a wink since before dawn.
An unfamiliar bed, an unfamiliar ceiling, and strange sounds drifting in from outside had kept sleep at bay entirely.
‘Ugh, first day of work… I hate this.’
She’d endured countless first days back in the twenty-first century.
But this time, everything was different.
“Did I put my hair up like this?”
Ha Yun rose and stood before the mirror.
A stranger with a topknot stared back at her from the glass.
“Ah, hello there.”
Ha Yun lowered her voice and ran through a final check.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Im Ha-seong.”
“Good morning. I’m Im Ha-seong, and I’ll be working with you from today.”
“Good day to you. I am Im Ha-seong.”
After practicing all yesterday, her voice had become quite natural. She’d had her clothes tailored too, and the length fit perfectly now.
‘Good. This should do.’
Ha Yun took a deep breath and stepped out of the room.
Already, many people were moving about busily since early morning.
Watching them, Ha Yun’s steps grew tense.
‘The meeting is supposed to be in the Daecheong, right?’
According to what she’d heard yesterday, there was a meeting every Monday morning. And today was Monday.
The meeting would include Daebang Im Sang-ok and all the Haengsu.
In other words, all the working members of Manshang would be gathered in one place.
‘I’m a little nervous.’
Ha Yun concealed her tension and entered the Daecheong.
Creak.
About thirty people were already assembled inside. Ha Yun bowed respectfully to them.
“Good morning.”
……
Silence, cold and complete.
Not a soul acknowledged her greeting. An awkward chill settled over the Daecheong.
‘So this is how it goes.’
Despite their blatant disregard, Ha Yun kept her composure and quietly took a place against the wall.
‘I saw this coming.’
The uncomfortable silence stretched on.
Moments later.
The door to the Daecheong opened and Daebang Im Sang-ok appeared.
“Good morning, all of you.”
“We bow to the Daebang.”
A great merchant who had elevated Manshang to become Joseon’s largest trading house.
At Im Sang-ok’s entrance, every Haengsu straightened and bowed as one—a stark contrast to their treatment of Ha Yun just moments before.
“I see everyone’s gathered.”
Im Sang-ok’s gaze swept across the familiar faces, then stopped when it landed on Ha Yun.
“Ah yes, before we begin, I have someone to introduce. Im—come forward, if you would.”
At Im Sang-ok’s call, Ha Yun stepped ahead. He then began to introduce her.
“This is someone who will be joining us from today—”
It was then.
A loud voice rang out from one corner of the Daecheong.
“We already know.”
The Haengsu spoke with obvious contempt.
“Isn’t she the soup merchant?”
“Soup merchant?”
“I hear she worked in a tavern. Became a Haengsu by selling soup so well.”
“Heh, soup, they say. Soup!”
Snickers erupted from various corners of the room.
Among men who had risen through proper channels, Ha Yun was nothing but a parachute hire.
They had no reason to look kindly upon her.
Crude mockery poured down upon her.
“How much soup could she have possibly sold to become a Haengsu? Ten bowls? Twenty?”
“Well, even at worst, we should be selling a hundred bowls a day.”
“That’d fetch ten silver coins or so?”
“Hmph. That’s not even worth what a single ginseng root costs.”
“That’s all? Nothing more than that?”
“For a moment I thought she’d sold soup and bought herself a building.”
“Ha ha ha! This man’s got jokes!”
In an instant, the Daecheong erupted into laughter.
Naked mockery.
Rumors about Ha Yun had already spread far and wide. There was no doubt who’d been spreading them—only one person could be behind it.
‘Song Do-hyeon……!’
Ha Yun shot him a withering glare.
But he merely held his fan before his mouth, laughing quietly.
“All of you, quiet.”
The jibes had crossed a line, and Im Sang-ok stepped in to mediate.
“It’s true that the Haengsu here worked in a tavern.”
Im Sang-ok, who already knew Ha Yun’s capabilities, came to her defense.
“But the reason I brought the Haengsu here wasn’t simply because she sells soup well.”
“Then what was it?”
“It’s because the Haengsu took a tavern that was crumbling with not a single coin to its name and built it into the finest tavern in Mungyeong Saejae.”
Im Sang-ok said this, turning to face the Haengsu who had been mocking him just moments before.
“Selling large quantities of goods is not so difficult. Lower your prices, or set up shop in a good location, and it’s done. But do you know how hard it is to revive a place whose fortunes have failed?”
“Hmm……!”
The Haengsu found themselves unable to counter his words easily.
“Once a place has failed, it carries that mark. The gloomy atmosphere keeps people away; they don’t want to venture in. Starting a new tavern from scratch would be many times easier than breathing life back into such a place.”
Some of the Haengsu began to nod.
They were conceding the point.
“And yet the Haengsu accomplished it. A tavern where only flies used to gather became crowded with customers after she took it in hand. Eventually, there weren’t enough seats—people had to draw tickets and wait in line for hours.”
“Is that truly so?”
Someone asked hesitantly.
Im Sang-ok answered with finality.
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
“The Daebang himself……!”
The expressions on the Haengsu’s faces shifted subtly.
But it was only a handful.
The vast majority of the Haengsu still regarded Ha Yun with suspicion.
“Well, it’s just soup, after all.”
Others chimed in, as if in agreement.
“Is selling soup the same as selling what we sell?”
“Exactly. There’s a world of difference between selling food and selling goods. How can one compare ginseng, silk, medicinal materials……these things with soup?”
“A tavern draws customers on its own, but we must go out peddling our wares ourselves. They’re entirely different endeavors.”
Faced with continued ridicule, Im Sang-ok made no further attempt to persuade them.
He already knew.
That merchants cannot be convinced by words alone.
“Time will tell what abilities the Haengsu possesses.”
The only thing that could silence the merchants was ‘results’.
Im Sang-ok, knowing this truth, dismissed Ha Yun back to her post.
“Haengsu. The introduction seems complete, so you may return to your place.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, Ha Yun’s tumultuous introduction came to an end, and the formal meeting began in earnest.
“Jeopsang Yun.”
Im Sang-ok turned his head to summon the Jeopsang who had been standing at one corner of the Daecheong.
“Yes, Daebang.”
Jeopsang Yun approached, carrying a ledger.
The ledger now held in Yun’s hands was filled with an inventory of all the goods and quantities that Manshang possessed.
Im Sang-ok studied the ledger and asked.
“What goods require immediate disposal?”
“Gulbi, sir.”
“Gulbi?”
The Haengsu looked puzzled at this unexpected item.
“Gulbi? But the holiday season is still a long way off, is it not?”
“Gulbi keeps well in storage—why the urgency?”
“If memory serves, it hasn’t even been three months since the gulbi arrived…… Are you certain the ledger isn’t in error?”
The Haengsu listened as Yun explained the situation.
“Word has come that jogia were caught in unusually large quantities this year in the Chilsan waters.”
“And?”
“Within a couple of months at most, that volume will reach us here. When it does, the price of jogia will plummet—that much is certain. We must dispose of our gulbi stock before then, by any means necessary.”
“Hmm…….”
Im Sang-ok, grasping the gravity of the situation, asked in a serious tone.
“How much gulbi do we currently have on hand?”
“About three thousand dureum.”
“Three thousand dureum?”
A stir ran through the Daecheong.
“At five nyang per dureum…….”
“That’s over 15,000 nyang?”
The Haengsu, having done the calculation, fell silent in shock.
Fifteen thousand nyang—in modern value, that easily exceeded a hundred million won. Accounting for the era, the true worth was several times greater.
A hundred million evaporating into thin air. The eyes of everyone gathered in that room gleamed with new intensity.
“You’ve all understood, I trust?”
“Yes.”
“For now, we focus entirely on selling gulbi.”
Im Sang-ok spoke with firm resolve.
“Whoever sells the most gulbi during this time will receive a reward befitting their effort. I expect all of you to give your utmost.”
“Yes, Daebang!”
The eyes of the Haengsu answering him glinted with possibility.
If this were handled well, it might even be a golden opportunity to reach for the currently vacant position of Dahaengsu.
The Haengsu, unwilling to let the chance slip through their fingers, sprang into action at once.
“I’ll head to the marketplace first!”
“I’ll take Eomul-po!”
“Then I’ll reach out to Gaeseong!”
As the Haengsu departed in all directions to sell their gulbi, Ha Yun—it being her first day—simply stood motionless.
Yun approached her with evident confusion.
“Why aren’t you going? Why are you just standing there?”
“Where should I go?”
“Where should you go?”
Ha Yun shrugged.
“I haven’t received any training yet. Surely you need to at least tell me how to do this.”
Yun sighed as though exasperated and replied.
“This isn’t a place where people teach each other what to do.”
“Ah……!”
“Selling goods is a Haengsu’s fundamental skill. Once you’ve taken the title, you ought to manage that much on your own.”
There was a sneer embedded in Yun’s words: ‘You became Haengsu without even knowing that?’
‘So I have to pound the pavement myself. Like a salesman.’
Ha Yun understood now that selling goods was nothing like selling rice soup.
No matter how brilliant the scheme, idleness brought nothing to the table.
Given the era, moving goods meant one thing: putting on your shoes and getting to work.
‘I’ll have to scout for clients myself, then.’
Information was worth gold in a time like this.
Sharing, searching—such things weren’t options.
Trade connections.
Market locations.
The dates markets convened.
Everything lodged in one’s mind was capital.
The Haengsu had spent decades earning such precious intelligence through legwork, and they would hardly share it with Ha Yun, whom they already resented.
Ha Yun, belatedly grasping the situation, asked.
“Before I go, could I at least see what condition the gulbi is in?”
“The condition of the gulbi?”
Yun looked back with surprise.
Was she really asking to inspect gulbi when every moment counted to get outside and start selling?
“Well, I need to know what I’m working with in order to sell it well, don’t I?”
“Hmm…… This way, then.”
Yun saw the merit in Ha Yun’s suggestion and led her to the warehouse where the gulbi were stored.
A moment later.
When Ha Yun arrived at the warehouse where the gulbi were kept, she couldn’t close her mouth.
“Wow… how much is all this?”
Draped and dangling.
Thousands upon thousands of gulbi hung from lines throughout the warehouse. The well-dried fish gave off a faint, savory aroma.
“Fortunately, they look to be in good condition.”
After examining the gulbi’s state, Ha Yun asked a question.
“Where are these gulbi from?”
“Yeonggwang.”
“Yeonggwang?”
Yeonggwang gulbi.
The finest gulbi of the Joseon era and a specialty that graced the royal table itself — a delicacy beyond compare.
Yeonggwang gulbi in particular, renowned for its quality, remained immensely popular even in the twenty-first century.
Once Ha Yun confirmed that the gulbi came from Yeonggwang, her mind began to race.
“What price should I sell these at?”
“We purchased them for four nyang each, so five nyang or higher should suffice.”
“Five nyang…”
Five nyang was the price of a full sack of rice.
Which meant, in plain terms, a luxury food that common folk couldn’t dream of affording.
There was even a saying about stingy misers who couldn’t afford gulbi and could only hang them from the ceiling to gaze up at them.
“It’s more expensive than I thought.”
“It takes that much time to make them, so it can’t be helped.”
Yun explained why gulbi commanded such a price.
“To make proper gulbi, you catch jogia, salt them, dry them, adjust the seasoning again… it takes a minimum of a month.”
“I see.”
“And besides, not many customers actually buy gulbi. Most people only purchase them for memorial rites or on special occasions.”
“Then why did you purchase such a large quantity?”
Ha Yun looked around the warehouse and posed the question.
Three thousand dureum in total.
In individual count, sixty thousand fish.
An astronomical amount.
“Because we have to sell throughout the entire year. And to all corners of the country besides.”
Yun sighed as he spoke.
“Normally we could sell slowly. Even selling just three hundred dureum per month means we’d sell through the entire stock in a year with some left over.”
“Ah.”
“But this year the catch of jogia was double the usual amount, so our plan went awry and we’re trying to dispose of it quickly. Otherwise the losses would be severe.”
“I see.”
Now understanding the situation, Ha Yun examined the gulbi once more.
True to its Yeonggwang origin, the quality was flawless. The size was uniform and the preparation immaculate.
“Yeonggwang gulbi…”
Ha Yun murmured to herself for a moment.
“Ah…! That would work!”
As if something had suddenly occurred to her, she clapped her hands together with a gasp of excitement.
Ha Yun looked at Yun and asked.
“Is there perhaps a skilled carpenter nearby?”
“A carpenter?”
Yun tilted his head, perplexed.
“Why a carpenter all of a sudden…?”
“Because I need one to sell the gulbi.”
“A carpenter buys gulbi?”
Yun looked at Ha Yun with a skeptical gaze.
‘Even for someone green, this is too much.’
He had expected something better, given that the Daebang had brought her directly, but her actions were hardly reassuring.
Yun sighed briefly and replied.
“At the foot of the mountain over there, there’s a man named Hwang. He’s the finest carpenter in these parts. Whatever you want made from wood, he can do it.”
“Thank you.”
Ha Yun bowed her head.
“And there’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“What is it?”
“Could you tell me which yangban household in this area has the most influence?”
“A yangban household? Why would you need that?”
“I want to sell gulbi there.”
Yun clicked his tongue silently at the answer.
‘If I have to trudge around like that, I won’t be able to move much of anything at all…….’
Of course, yangban families didn’t eat gulbi every day just because they were yangban.
At most, perhaps one dureum every three months.
Even that was by the standards of yangban households that could afford such luxuries.
Even if she visited every yangban household in Uiju, it was clear she wouldn’t sell even thirty dureum.
That fell far short of the average two hundred dureum that each Haengsu was supposed to sell.
‘Tsk, tsk, the future is painfully clear…….’
Faced with this predictable outcome, Yun answered with visible reluctance.
“In Uiju, the Min household is the greatest.”
“The Min household?”
“Yes. The home of Min. They’re the richest in Uiju, and their influence is considerable.”
“Min…….”
Ha Yun turned the name over in her mind.
“Understood. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Having gathered all the information she needed, Ha Yun shouldered one dureum of gulbi.
“Hnn, it’s all right if I take this, isn’t it?”
“Yes, as long as you bring back its value.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring back several times that.”
“Several times?”
Yun’s eyes widened in surprise.
Ha Yun turned back in alarm.
“Why? Is there something wrong with that?”
“Well, it’s not that…….”
“Then I’ll be off!”
With confident expression, Ha Yun left the warehouse. Yun watched her departing figure and muttered to himself.
“Ah, I just hope she doesn’t cause any trouble.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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