He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Grassroots Market Economy (4)

Countless people gathered at the marketplace created by the newly arrived Magistrate Kim Dae-bung.

There were quite a few merchants who came determined to do big business, and among them was the merchant Kim Man-deok who had voluntarily come to Kim Dae-bung offering to pay taxes.

Besides them, countless common people were also preparing to do business.

Among them was Sundeok Mother, who had lost her husband at an early age.

“The wild vegetables I brought today need to sell well. Only then can I feed my children their fill of barley porridge without them going hungry.”

Even when her husband was alive, they didn’t own land and lived as tenant farmers, so making ends meet wasn’t exactly easy.

Then her husband suddenly died, leaving behind four children…

To make a living, she had to wake up at dawn and work the land she rented from Kim Cheomji together with her children.

After spending half a day doing farm work without being able to straighten her back even once, she wouldn’t go straight home but would head to the Back Mountain behind the village. There she would gather wild vegetables to feed her children.

She lived by cooking barley porridge, adding a little barley to the gathered wild vegetables and then adding lots of water to forcibly increase the quantity.

So Sundeok Mother had come out to do business with the desire to somehow feed her children better than now.

She called out in her heart to her deceased husband, her late parents, and her ancestors, praying earnestly.

She prayed that today’s business would go well so she could put food in her children’s mouths.

As she waited with earnest heart for the market to open, finally the gong sound announcing the start of business could be heard.

An enormous crowd that would be hard to see even during a village festival came rushing in.

“There were so many people who came to do business that it was already surprising, but there are even more people coming to buy things.”

While Sundeok Mother was standing dazed in surprise at the enormous crowd she was seeing for the first time in her life, the merchants around her and those who had set up street stalls were loudly calling for customers.

“Come now, if you return empty-handed from the market, wouldn’t you lose face as the head of household? On a good day like today, buy a bundle of dried persimmons for your family! We also have taffy!”

“Dried seafood is cheap, cheap! One dried pollack for half a hop of rice! Ten pieces for 4 hops!”

“One doe of anchovies for 3 hops of rice! 3 hops of rice! Put them in soybean paste soup to make broth. Nothing could taste better than this!”

As the merchants called for customers, the visitors to the market moved their steps here and there following those sounds.

Some had come just to see what this market thing was all about, thinking crowds would gather, but hearing the customer calls, they ended up buying things like dried persimmons or rice cake for their families to eat.

“This rice cake looks like it would be delicious. Give me one bamboo basket.”

“Will you pay with Five Seung Cloth? Or will you pay with rice?”

“How about one doe of rice?”

“That would be too much of a loss for me… But you have such a kind face, so I’ll specially accept just 1 doe of rice.”

It was also Sundeok Mother’s first time in her life coming to the marketplace and watching people sell things.

So she was completely captivated by the novelty of seeing Customer Calling everywhere and goods being traded.

In her heart, she wanted to slowly browse the Market like other people and buy food to eat…

But she had to come to her senses thinking of her children who filled their empty stomachs with water when they couldn’t even make Barley Porridge.

She had never done anything like business in her entire life, but right now she had to throw shame to the dogs and become tough.

A woman may be weak, but once she becomes someone’s mother, she must be strong.

“People of the neighborhood, come over here! Bean Sprouts, Aster Scaber, Mugwort, Bracken! I’m selling all kinds of wild vegetables! Mix them with a sprinkle of salt and sesame oil and they taste so good you won’t envy meat dishes!”

Sundeok Mother’s face burned hot after mustering the courage to raise her voice loud.

Customer Calling in front of everyone was a great burden for her.

But she didn’t stop her Customer Calling.

“Mix these wild vegetables with soy sauce! The taste is amazing! Buy some wild vegetables! You’ll regret it if you don’t buy them now!”

Though clumsy, her continuous loud Customer Calling paid off as a Woman Vendor approached and carefully examined the wild vegetables she had spread out.

She didn’t touch them since they belonged to someone else… but she examined them so carefully she almost seemed ready to lick them, then spoke.

“These Bean Sprouts here are really plump and good. The Bracken too, and the Aster Scaber, Mugwort… Like you said, if I mix them with soy sauce and a little sesame oil, they’d be as good as meat dishes.”

“I carefully picked only the good ones.”

“The sturdy ones are definitely different. I’m thinking of buying a Bamboo Basket each of Bean Sprouts and Mugwort – how much will you sell them for?”

“Originally it’s two hop of rice, but please give me just one and a half hop.”

“Isn’t that too expensive? Wild vegetables are scattered all over the mountains.”

Sundeok Mother shook her head at those words.

“Wild vegetables vary greatly depending on who picked them and when. These are ones I personally picked at dawn today. It’s true that wild vegetables are scattered throughout the mountains, but recognizing where the tasty ones grow isn’t something anyone can do. And can’t you see how I packed them generously, pressing them down tight in the Bamboo Basket?”

“That’s true too.”

“One and a half hop of rice is honestly selling at a loss.”

In Sundeok Mother’s heart, she wanted to sell them desperately even for half a hop instead of one and a half hop of rice.

Even if she received just half a hop of rice and exchanged it for barley, she could feed her children slightly more delicious barley porridge.

So thinking of her children made her tenacious, and she naturally began to employ the merchant’s characteristic trick of ‘pretending to sell at a loss’.

“Oh my, I’ve lost. But in return, please add some of that aster scaber as a bonus.”

“As fellow women, we should do this much for each other.”

Sundeok Mother smiled good-naturedly and generously scooped up aster scaber to place on top of the bamboo basket.

It wasn’t like she’d only do business today – she’d have to sell wild vegetables at the market in 5 days too…

It was an investment with the future in mind.

Seeing the generously added aster scaber, the customer smiled and handed Sundeok Mother one and a half hop of rice.

A bright smile bloomed across Sundeok Mother’s face as well.

If she succeeded in selling all her wild vegetables like this and received rice or five seung fabric to exchange for barley…

She could feed her children their fill of barley rice instead of barley porridge for at least one day.

No, if she sold wild vegetables this way every time at the market that opened once every 5 days…

Perhaps she could feed her children rice instead of porridge made from mixed grains?

Her body would become a bit more weary, but thinking of her children eating their fill and being happy made her so joyful.

Like all mothers and fathers who stand up like roly-poly dolls when they think of their children, even when life is hard and sorrowful and they want to cry and give up.

Thinking of her children, she tried to muster more courage for her business.

“Buy wild vegetables! Wild vegetables! Take a handful of bean sprouts with those anchovies that Bbaengdeok Mother over there is selling and boil them together. It’s so refreshing and savory, it’ll soothe your stomach completely. Those who like rice cake! Buy mugwort and try making rice cake. It’s filling and absolutely delicious!”

At first, she felt embarrassed and somewhat reluctant to shout so loudly.

But when selling wild vegetables like this to properly feed her children was about to become reality, what was there to be reluctant about?

Holding onto this single thought, she tenaciously sold her wild vegetables.

She didn’t even notice how time passed.

When mealtime came, others went to find the inn in the marketplace and devoured bowls of soup rice before returning, but she guarded her spot while saving even the time for eating.

Being so focused on business, she had successfully sold all the wild vegetables she had brought in abundance.

“Did I really sell them all…?”

Thinking of feeding her children even a little more from selling wild vegetables, she had brought quite a lot.

So much that she wondered if she could sell it all in one day.

But Sundeok Mother had sold it all.

“A whole two doe of rice?”

With this much, she could cook rice meal for her children to eat their fill for one day, and on other days, instead of the barley porridge they ate daily, she could feed them barley mixed with beans.

A miracle she had never imagined until now had occurred.

For Sundeok Mother, rice meal was something she only ate during Chuseok since her husband died…

If things continued like this, wouldn’t she be able to feed them rice meal often in the future?

Would she no longer have to watch her children fill their bellies with water and endure because they had nothing to eat?

While Sundeok Mother was lost in emotion for a moment, Deok-i, who had been doing business nearby, said something.

“My goodness, this lady did business without even eating… and sold all those wild vegetables. How determined, so determined.”

“When I think of my starving children, I have to do at least this much.”

“I’m thinking of closing up business now, shall we go together and try some soup rice or something?”

“Where would I have money to spend on such things? The kids are waiting at home wondering when mom will come.”

She didn’t know how much soup rice or whatever cost. But even the money for one bowl was too precious to waste.

What mattered was feeding her children delicious food, not her eating something tasty alone – what meaning would that have?

“Deok-i, shouldn’t you also work hard at business to buy something good for your husband’s vigor?”

“Hey, you wench! How do you know about that?”

“I heard your husband can’t perform, so you’re living like a widow. Yun-i Mother told me everything.”

“That woman who brags about her husband being vigorous at night was already getting on my nerves, that wench…”

Having finished her business, Sundeok Mother ended with those words and returned home carrying half a doe of rice and three doe of barley – the payment for the wild vegetables she sold today.

**

As soon as she got home, forgetting that her body was weary from business, she went straight to the kitchen and began washing the rice.

Though her body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, just imagining her children eating deliciously was enough to make her body move on its own.

While the rice was cooking, she blanched the wild vegetables that were the ingredients for mixed rice – something she had countless times claimed didn’t need meat side dishes when she was selling at the market.

Bean sprouts, bracken, aster scaber and various other wild vegetables were blanched, and as soon as the rice was done, she called her children.

“Children, let’s eat!”

At the word “meal,” the children came running, thinking ‘It must be porridge made with mixed grains again today…’

“Mom! Why is there rice meal?”

“Mom made it with the rice I earned from selling wild vegetables.”

Sundeok Mother smiled brightly as she looked at her children.

Since their mother was smiling, the children smiled along too.

“Mom, but why are you crying? We’re eating something delicious…”

“It’s because I’m so happy. I’m happy that mom and you children get to eat something delicious.”

After saying that, Sundeok Mother silently prayed to the heavens and earth.

Please let the current Magistrate stay in this county for a long, long time.

And she hoped to live happily just like now – not more, not less, but exactly like this moment.

**

The Tax Clerk continued his story, spitting as he spoke excitedly.

“Even the poor common people can now sell wild vegetables, straw shoes, and firewood to take home at least half a doe of rice. Everyone is happy, saying their livelihood has improved thanks to the Magistrate.”

“That’s truly fortunate.”

The core value of Joseon is, without question, improving people’s livelihood.

There was the serious problem of financial ruin from collecting ridiculously low taxes in pursuit of this goal…

But anyway, as long as it’s proven to be for the people’s benefit, I shouldn’t be punished for this.

That’s what I thought… but what’s this?

A scholar with an aura that clearly proclaimed ‘I’m a Confucian Taliban conservative!’ came to visit the government office.

“The newly appointed Magistrate’s opening of a market makes the people lazy and prevents them from being faithful to their main occupation (farming).”

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