An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 45

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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 45
The day of negotiation.
“Safe travels.”
“Conduct the negotiation well!”
“If it’s you, Lim, I’m sure you’ll manage splendidly!”
“Please return without incident!”
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the trading delegation, Ha Yun and Song Do Hyeon set out toward the negotiation venue.
The place where the negotiation would take place was Huksabang’s headquarters within Fenghuang City.
“This way, please.”
Following the servant’s guidance, Song Do Hyeon and Ha Yun moved to a certain location.
Before the door, the servant spoke in a respectful tone.
“The guests have arrived.”
(They are here.)
“Show them in.”
(Bring them inside.)
“Yes.”
(Understood.)
Creak.
As the door opened, about ten people seated around a table came into view.
They were all merchants he had seen at the banquet hall yesterday.
Among them, Wei Xiaoqiang wore that characteristic smile of his.
A surge.
The sight of him twisted something in Ha Yun’s chest.
Ha Yun skipped the pleasantries and placed the ginseng directly on the table.
“This is the ginseng we’ve brought. Let’s examine the quality of the goods, shall we?”
Song Do Hyeon translated and relayed the message as is.
“We hope to conclude this transaction at thirty taels of silver per catty.”
(We wish to sell this at thirty taels of silver per catty.)
The same price they had dealt at all along.
The quality was no different either.
The foundation of commerce is trust.
Once trust is broken, no transaction can be made.
This was why Ha Yun hadn’t employed any tricks.
Despite there being ample opportunity to demand a higher price for the ginseng, he had presented terms unchanged from the past ten years.
“Thirty taels… the same price Lim’s establishment quoted.”
“Ha, but there’s no Lim’s establishment here.”
“Looks like they still think this is their territory.”
“Arrogant Joseon dogs. Do you think we’d accept such terms?”
Upon hearing Ha Yun’s conditions, the Qing merchants began murmuring among themselves.
Their voices grew heated, and some openly displayed their displeasure.
Though Ha Yun couldn’t hear the words, he could feel it.
The atmosphere among them was anything but ordinary.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
The conversation dragged on.
Ha Yun glanced at Song Do Hyeon and asked quietly.
“What’s this about? Is there some problem?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen them deliberate this long before….”
Song Do Hyeon strained to listen, but unfortunately he couldn’t make out their words.
He could only catch occasional unfavorable terms.
Then it came.
“Ah! Now we speak!”
The eldest merchant among them stood from his seat.
“We cannot accept that proposal.”
(We cannot accept those terms.)
……!
Song Do Hyeon’s face darkened with bewilderment.
Ha Yun asked.
“What did he say?”
“They can’t accept that price.”
“What did you say? Why are you asking that?”
Song Do Hyeon asked urgently.
“Why? This price shouldn’t have changed over the past ten years.”

The Qing merchant burst into laughter.
“The price that’s formed today is nothing but the obscene profit Lim Sang Ok once extracted by burning ginseng.”

“You—!”

“We cannot accept that price.”

He’d expected as much, but it hadn’t been easy from the start.
The fact that they’d brought up Lim Sang Ok meant they were intent on rewriting the terms entirely.
Song Do Hyeon’s expression hardened as he asked.
“Then what figure are you hoping for?”

The Qing merchant grinned widely and spoke.
“Five taels.”

“That’s absurd—!”

Less than half the previous rate.
At that price, there would be no profit even if they sold.
When you factored in years of harvesting and maintaining the ginseng, it bordered on an outright loss.
Add to that the cost of risking their lives to cross the Amnok River, and the proposal was utterly unacceptable.
Song Do Hyeon relayed the entire exchange to Ha Yun.
“Per catty, they want to trade at five taels.”
“Are they insane? Tell them absolutely not.”
Song Do Hyeon nodded.
“This is madness—”

And just as he was about to translate,
“After all, there’s no one else who’d buy ginseng in quantities like this.”
Wei Xiaoqiang finally showed his true hand.
“If you don’t want to return empty-handed, you’ll sell at that price.”
The moment a direct negotiator appeared, Ha Yun stepped forward to settle matters himself.
“Five taels? Do you honestly think that price makes any sense?”
“What reason is there it shouldn’t?”
“Because we’ve been trading at thirty taels all this time—”
“That’s a price you simply decided for yourselves.”
Wei Xiaoqiang brought his hand down hard against the table.
“Ten years ago, your principal Lim Sang Ok burned ginseng and reaped profits ten times over.”
“Tch—!”
That much was true.
Lim Sang Ok had acted against his principles and taken enormous profit.
After that, prices were adjusted somewhat, but transactions continued at rates still higher than before.
“We’ve accepted that price without protest for the past ten years.”
But that had only happened because the Qing merchants had colluded among themselves first.
Wei Xiaoqiang conveniently omitted such facts and instead laid out only what favored his position.
“But that was yesterday’s business.”
Wei Xiaoqiang spoke with a grave expression.
“From now on, we will establish that order anew.”
Ha Yun met him head-on before Wei Xiaoqiang’s words had even finished.
“By whose authority? Who would sell ginseng at such a ridiculous price?”
“Or are you planning to burn the ginseng again?”
“What did you just say?”
“Either way, we’re not the ones in a rush.”
Wei Xiaoqiang affected ease, leaning back in his seat with deliberate nonchalance.
Then he snapped his fingers with a sharp click.
A rumbling sound filled the air.
At that, servants began filing into the room, carrying something in their arms. What they brought were hundreds upon hundreds of ginseng crates.
It was several times the quantity of ginseng the trading caravan had brought.
Seeing this, Ha Yun’s eyes flickered with uncertainty.
‘This can’t be real.’
The value of ginseng derives from its scarcity.
That was precisely why Manshang had been able to control prices all this time.
In other words, they held all the power as the supplier.
But if ginseng was piled up like this, everything changed.
With market demand constant, an increase in supply would inevitably cause ginseng prices to plummet.
That quantity of ginseng alone looked to represent several years’ worth of stock.
Even if they burned all the ginseng they’d brought, it would scarcely move the market as a whole.
“Is this answer sufficient?”
Wei Xiaoqiang interlaced his fingers and leaned his face forward over them.
“So tell me—who’s the one with fire at their heels now?”
Tremor-tremor.
Ha Yun’s hands had begun to shake.
He hated to admit it, but he had to.
In this negotiation, they were thoroughly in the weaker position.
The power to set prices lay entirely with them.
‘But, but……!’
His first major trade negotiation.
If he fumbled this deal, he would lose Lim Sang Ok’s trust for certain, and Manshang would suffer a blow from which it could scarcely recover.
Whatever price was set in this negotiation would become the standard for all future dealings.
Just as it had been for the past ten years.
Going forward, they would have to surrender ginseng at absurdly low prices.
‘What do I do? How can I break through this impasse?’
He’d been too careless.
He’d anticipated a few scenarios, but he’d never imagined they might possess such an enormous quantity of ginseng.
At this point, he began to wonder why they wanted to purchase so much ginseng in the first place.
With that much ginseng in hand, they shouldn’t need to deal with him at all……
‘Calm yourself, Ha Yun. It’s a trick. There’s a trap somewhere in all this.’
But despite his efforts to compose himself, the trembling wouldn’t subside.
His hands shook so badly that now he could hear his teeth chattering against each other.
Then it happened.
“……!”
An unfamiliar hand came to rest on his shoulder.
It was none other than Song Do Hyeon who had steadied Ha Yun.
Song Do Hyeon slowly shook his head.
“If your heart isn’t in it, you don’t have to accept the terms. Don’t shoulder the entire burden alone.”
“……!”
Ha Yun stared at Song Do Hyeon with a dazed expression.
Thanks to that touch, Ha Yun recovered his composure and drew a steadying breath.
“I’m sorry. For showing you my weakness.”
Ha Yun pushed himself to his feet.
“Let’s go, Do Hyeon.”
And he gathered up the ginseng they’d brought with them.
“This deal is off.”
Ha Yun walked out of the room without hesitation, with Song Do Hyeon following close behind.
Behind the two of them, Wei Xiaoqiang’s laughter rang out.
“We’ll be staying here for a while, so whenever you change your mind, do come back and visit us. Hahahaha!”

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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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