An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 17

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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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Episode 17
Deep within the Inner Chamber.
The air hung thick with subtle incense, and the room overflowed with costly furnishings arranged with deliberate care.
A cabinet inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl Lacquerware.
A table crafted from rosewood.
Calligraphy pieces that appeared to be the work of a master hand.
Not a single object among them failed to radiate refinement.
Even the Tea Cup from which Ha Yoon now drank bore traces of meticulous craftsmanship.
Sip.
Ha Yoon tilted the cup to his lips while gauging Choi’s Wife’s expression.
The Green Tea within was of a grade rarely procured elsewhere, its delicate flavor lingering long and subtly on the palate.
“So. What is this thing you’ve brought to show me?”
Choi’s Wife asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
“This, ma’am.”
Ha Yoon extended a wrapped cloth bundle carefully. His hand trembled slightly, but he forced himself to maintain composure.
…….
Choi’s Wife gazed down at the bundle with dispassionate eyes. No great expectation colored her expression yet.
“What is it?”
She had met countless merchants and witnessed treasures beyond reckoning.
To eyes so seasoned, an ordinary cloth wrapping stirred little interest.
“You’ll see best with your own eyes.”
At Ha Yoon’s words, Choi’s Wife began to unfold the bundle slowly.
Rustle.
As the knot came undone and the cloth fell open, a Paulownia Box emerged from within, finally revealed.
“Ah.”
For the first time, Choi’s Wife showed genuine interest upon seeing the box.
The craftsmanship of the Paulownia Box was flawless.
Its surface, worked from paulownia wood, had been polished to a smooth finish, and the joints at the edges met with such precision that not the thinnest crack remained.
Even at a glance, the hand of a seasoned artisan was evident in every detail of the handicraft.
A piece finished to such a standard was not something one encountered easily.
“This is……?”
Choi’s Wife’s gaze fixed on the lid of the box.
Delicate characters, carved with precision, caught her eye. The script was flowing yet disciplined.
Only the words inscribed there gave her pause.
“Glory’s Catch, Premium Gulbi?”
Upon reading the inscription, Choi’s Wife’s brow furrowed.
She had harbored hopes that something rare would be revealed, yet it was merely fish.
Choi’s Wife asked, her tone tinged with disappointment.
“Surely you don’t mean the box actually contains Gulbi?”
“Indeed, it does.”
Ha Yoon answered matter-of-factly.
At his reply, Choi’s Wife’s eyes grew cold. The initial curiosity had evaporated from her gaze.
Her body, which had leaned forward moments before, now settled back against the seat.
“You’ve made all this fuss merely to show me Gulbi?”
“This is no ordinary Gulbi.”
“Then what is it?”
Ha Yoon did not answer in words.
Instead, he demonstrated through action.
Click.
As the box opened, the subtle fragrance of paulownia wood bloomed outward, filling the chamber.
“Oh……!”
The Gulbi, arranged neatly within the box, radiated a brilliant gleam.
Its surface shimmered with golden light, glittering like a precious stone.
“Isn’t that Silk Thread?”
Recognizing the cord binding the Gulbi as Silk Thread, Choi’s Wife’s eyes widened.
“Precisely so. Your discernment is as keen as ever.”
Even for one who had witnessed countless rare treasures, this sensory refinement of product was a first.
Choi’s Wife leaned forward again, her interest now fully kindled.
“Why would one take such precious Silk Thread to bind Gulbi?”
“That, I’m afraid, is a secret……”
At Choi’s Wife’s question, Ha Yoon glanced around as if looking over his shoulder.
As though afraid someone might overhear.
“This gulbi was originally intended as tribute goods for His Majesty. But circumstances arose, and the delivery was postponed.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Someday he truly would present it as tribute.
Only the order had been rearranged.
Ha Yoon possessed that certainty within himself.
“Tribute goods……!”
At the words “tribute goods,” Choi’s Wife’s eyes flickered with sudden interest.
The finest of all goods—reserved solely for the King of Joseon, the one who alone wielded absolute power.
Tribute goods were the sort of thing that no amount of gold could procure.
“Do you truly mean this is the gulbi that His Majesty himself eats……?”
“Indeed. This box of gulbi was specially crafted to be presented to His Majesty. That is precisely why silk thread was used to wrap it, would you not agree?”
“Ah……”
As she heard Ha Yoon’s words, the item seemed all the more extraordinary. Choi’s Wife’s gaze fixed upon the gulbi inside the paulownia box.
Noticing this, Ha Yoon added his explanation.
“Ordinarily, we would have to wait until the next delivery date, but how could we do that? Who knows what condition this gulbi would be in by the time it reached His Majesty’s royal table?”
“That’s true enough.”
Choi’s Wife nodded, as if she understood.
“So, while pondering what to do with this item, you came to mind first, madam. After His Majesty, who else in Uiju could it be but you?”
Ha Yoon smiled warmly at Choi’s Wife. His flattery had struck its mark—she returned his smile with one of her own, looking quite pleased.
“Tribute goods……”
Choi’s Wife’s gaze returned to the paulownia box.
Her eyes had already changed considerably.
Her fingers traced lightly along the edge of the box.
Soft.
The wood grain was smooth.
The weight of the paulownia box was just right.
As for the quality of the silk thread and gulbi, there was nothing more to say.
Even the size of the salt crystals atop the gulbi was perfectly suited.
Examined from every angle, the care taken was unmistakable.
“The quality certainly does appear to be excellent.”
“As expected, your discernment is truly exceptional.”
Ha Yoon offered appropriate praise.
‘I’m halfway there now!’
Ha Yoon detected the shift in Choi’s Wife’s mood.
Greed had begun to gleam in her eyes. Though she affected indifference, her speech had grown noticeably faster.
Ha Yoon seized the moment to add another word.
“As you can see, being the finest quality, it is perfectly suited to be given as a gift. Who would not rejoice to receive such a present?”
“At this level of quality, certainly……”
Choi’s Wife nodded.
It was an item scarcely imaginable in the Joseon era.
A paulownia wood box, wrapped in precious silk thread.
The silk thread alone wrapped around the gulbi could be resold for enough rice to purchase several sacks.
Slide.
Choi’s Wife’s hand would not leave the paulownia box. After a moment’s thought, she asked:
“What is the price of this?”
Ha Yoon’s mind raced swiftly.
‘If I name an ambiguous sum, it won’t sell at all.’
His customer was the highest yangban family in Uiju.
If the price were barely different from ordinary gulbi, it would only arouse suspicion.
The price had to be set decisively high.
Only then would its true value be complete. This was a moment demanding both boldness and precision in pricing.
After a brief pause, Ha Yoon replied:
“Twenty nyang.”
“Twenty nyang!”
A look of shock crossed Choi’s Wife’s face.
Ordinary gulbi sold for five nyang per dozen.
But twenty nyang?
That was four times the price of ordinary gulbi.
Even a yangban utterly ignorant of worldly matters could recognize at a glance that it was expensive.
“This is worth that much?”
Choi’s Wife’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“I understand it’s difficult to believe, but it is.”
Ha Yoon met her gaze directly without flinching, holding her eyes steady.
“These are items produced in exactly one hundred boxes for tribute goods.”
“One hundred boxes…!”
At the mention of one hundred boxes, Choi’s Wife’s eyes flickered once more.
“Just look at the silk thread here—you’ll see how rare this piece truly is.”
Ha Yoon pointed to the gulbi inside the paulownia box, where the silk thread’s sheen caught the sunlight and gleamed.
“Rare or not, such an absurd price—”
Choi’s Wife trailed off mid-sentence.
The certainty that had filled her moments before now evaporated the instant she heard the price.
The problem was not money.
Could the finest yangban household in Uiju possibly balk at twenty nyang?
What worried Choi’s Wife was whether the item was genuine.
She had purchased far more expensive goods before—the furniture alone in this room was worth several hundred nyang.
But if she were duped by Ha Yoon’s words into paying twenty nyang for ordinary gulbi, there would be no shame worse than that.
Losing money meant losing a small sum, but losing one’s reputation was a loss beyond any calculation.
“Hmm…”
Choi’s Wife’s gaze darted between the paulownia box and Ha Yoon, her deliberation deep, her fingers drumming softly against the table.
“Sigh…”
As the silence stretched, Ha Yoon suddenly let out a long, measured breath.
“How disappointing.”
“What?”
Choi’s Wife looked at him as if she’d misheard.
“I came here believing you would recognize the true worth of this piece, madam, and yet…”
Click.
With those words, Ha Yoon shut the paulownia box’s lid. A flash of confusion crossed Choi’s Wife’s eyes.
“If it doesn’t suit your tastes, I’m afraid there’s nothing to be done.”
Then he began drawing the box toward himself.
Slide.
Slowly. Deliberately slow.
Choi’s Wife’s gaze followed the box as it receded from her reach.
“If you won’t purchase it, madam, I’ve no choice but to seek another buyer.”
He began wrapping the paulownia box in cloth again, his movements deliberately unhurried.
“Perhaps Choi Panseo’s household or Park Champan’s household will recognize its value.”
Ha Yoon murmured these words half to himself, then rose from his seat, gathered the cloth bundle, and bowed.
“Forgive the intrusion. Then I shall take my—”
That was when it happened.
“Wait.”
Choi’s Wife suddenly called out to stop him, urgency bleeding through her voice.
Halt.
At her call, Ha Yoon’s footsteps ceased.
But he did not turn around.
He couldn’t let her see that he was smiling.
Instead, Ha Yoon began counting softly to himself in his mind.
‘One, two, three, four…’
While Ha Yoon counted, countless thoughts flickered through Choi’s Wife’s mind.
Her gaze wavered between him and the cloth bundle he held.
After a moment,
“I’ll take it.”
Choi’s Wife spoke firmly, having made her decision.
A faint smile bloomed across Ha Yoon’s lips.
“I thought you would.”
He turned back around, his expression bright as if nothing had passed between them.
“How many boxes do you require?”
Ha Yoon drew a small ledger from his breast.
He needed to close the transaction before Choi’s Wife changed her mind.
“Since this is your first purchase, I’ll be generous and provide as many boxes as you desire, madam.”
Now everything hinged on how many boxes Choi’s Wife was actually willing to purchase.
“Hmm…….”
Choi’s Wife fell silent, lost in thought as she approached the final decision.
Ha Yoon waited anxiously for her answer.
When her lips parted moments later, Ha Yoon’s jaw went slack.
“One hundred boxes.”
“Pardon?”
He was so startled that the ledger slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor.
“A hundred boxes, madam?”
Choi’s Wife nodded.
She fixed her gaze directly on Ha Yoon’s face.
“You’ll give me everything you have.”
“……!”

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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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