I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 53

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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 53. Way of Water Administration (2)
Wi Jung set down the Bamboo Strips and regarded So Yeon-hui in silence.
Separation of Fresh Water and Sewage Systems. The effects of pipe materials on the human body. Waterborne Disease Transmission and Prevention. Sanitation Practice Distribution Methods—even that.
All of it the kind of discourse that belonged in deliberations among those versed in water administration. And not mere theory, but practical consideration of how to actually implement such things.
‘……Is this really a fifteen-year-old girl?’
Wi Jung felt a hollow laugh rise in his chest. He was caught off guard. No—more precisely, he was caught off guard while something instinctive flickered in his mind like a spark.
This child was remarkable.
To say she was merely talented fell short. When she encountered a problem, solutions came to mind first; she possessed the vision to refine those solutions to suit reality.
She did not simply construct a water pipe and stop there—she had already foreseen every possible application for it.
How could someone who spoke so naturally of the Way of Water Administration find herself confined to a cottage on a mountainside in exile, selling tofu of all things?
Wi Jung unfurled his Fan and fanned himself slowly, gathering his thoughts.
‘What a waste. I was wrong to blame Yun.’
He had been searching for someone to support him, someone who could help him survive the ceaseless mire of Imperial Court Intrigue.
Someone who could read the landscape, master practical affairs, and above all move quietly in places beyond the gaze of the Imperial House. Such a person need not hold office. Sometimes, it was better if they did not.
‘I myself was selected for this very reason…….’
Yet Wi Jung now held rank and drew public attention. Since he would handle the visible matters himself, it was natural that he should need a new Strategic Advisor to work in shadows.
‘……If only this girl were a man.’
Wi Jung clicked his tongue inwardly.
No matter how he looked at it, it felt wasteful. To squander such talent on mere snacks.
“So Yeon-hui.”
“Yes?”
“I listened very carefully to everything you shared today.”
So Yeon-hui tilted her head slightly.
“I hope it proved useful.”
“It did. Very much so.”
Wi Jung folded his Fan and smiled faintly. Something flickered behind his eyes as though he were assessing her, then vanished just as quickly.
‘What a shame. What a waste.’
He reached for his Tea Cup quietly.
He had thought her being a woman was fortunate; but now that he faced the reality of it, he was not so certain.
* * *
Wi Jung escorted So Yeon-hui to the edge of Chi-so and bowed deeply.
“So Yeon-hui, I have gained far more from you today than I can express.”
“You flatter me. I only kept the promise I made.”
“No.”
Wi Jung shook his head.
“I expected advice on water pipes alone, yet you have given me something far greater. Please, allow me to offer you something in return.”
“There is no need. Resolving the matter of the Taxes was reward enough—I have saved money and learned I was being deceived. That is sufficient.”
So Yeon-hui smiled warmly, then straightened. With a light bow, she spoke.
“Then I shall take my leave. Thank you for today.”
Wi Jung opened his mouth as if to say more, then closed it. He watched So Yeon-hui’s receding figure as she climbed into the Carriage, his gaze lingering long after she departed.
Why was it?
Though he had gained far more than he’d anticipated, his heart felt anything but at ease.
As it happened, So Yeon-hui sitting in the Carriage felt equally perplexed.
Had she revealed more than she’d intended?
No—she had set out to help people. There was nothing to regret in that.
Yet perhaps the heavens themselves approved of her intentions.
A crystalline chime rang out, and a window materialized in the air.
[Great Good Deed achieved: By imparting knowledge that will save countless lives, you have prevented a plague outbreak.]
[300 Points have been awarded.]
[Current Points: 431pt]
So Yeon-hui blinked.
‘……Sharing knowledge counts as a Good Deed?’
When she considered it, there was nothing strange about it.
In places where waterborne disease claimed lives by the year, a single instruction to boil water might save dozens—or even hundreds of lives.
But a Great Good Deed? 300 Points?
When she had saved the Dowager of the Wi Family before, had she ever received such a sum?
So Yeon-hui sat on the driver’s bench for a moment, dazed and lost in thought.
‘I should not have held back. This knowledge could save so many lives.’
In other words, by remaining silent, she was allowing countless people to die.
She felt suddenly ashamed of her own hesitation, of having considered the safety of her household. Yet at the same time, she felt profoundly grateful.
Had it not been for this Good Deed Points system, she might never have recognized her mistake. Now, she would never repeat such a failure.
‘……From now on, I must seek out Good Deeds I am capable of performing, more deliberately than before.’
She had not realized that such a small thing could fill her heart with such warmth.
So Yeon-hui smiled softly and took up the reins.
It was time to return home.
* * *
On the way back to Man-gok Village, So Yeon-hui stopped briefly at Jin-seong Market. Not to return the rice she had purchased, but to invest her savings in expanding the household assets.
‘We eat pork slowly as jerky, but living on pork alone will not be good for our nutrition. I should purchase some livestock.’
She descended from the Carriage and stood before a stall selling chickens and ducks, arms crossed, surveying the goods slowly.
Some birds gleamed with lustrous feathers and bright eyes; others looked so sickly that they seemed ready to expire at any moment.
‘These are not bred professionally—they are farm birds resold at a markup.’
Would it not be better to ask the neighbors of Man-gok Village to sell her chickens?
But unfortunately, the So Household did not stand in good favor with the village. If she paid a high price for chickens, the villagers might begin asking questions about why the So family’s wealth had suddenly increased.
‘A criminal’s house has no need to draw attention.’
So Yeon-hui decided she would buy livestock from Jin-seong, even at higher cost.
“How much are the hens?”
“Laying hens run 15 cash each, roosters are 20.”
With six mouths to feed, she needed at least six laying hens to have one egg per person each day. And if she wanted a rooster as well…….
“That is quite expensive. Do you have anything cheaper?”
“Those over there are a bit cheaper. As you can see, they’ve lost a lot of feathers and look a bit dull, but they’re sound birds otherwise.”
At the merchant’s words, So Yeon-hui leaned over to examine the birds in the cage closely. Just as he said, they were thin and patchy-feathered—clearly afflicted with something.
‘They do not seem to be old hens, at least. Though with birds this small in these parts, it is hard to tell.’
Unlike modern fowl, which had been bred for larger size and gentler temperament, the chickens of this era still retained much of their wild nature—scrawny and easily stressed.
When multiple such birds were kept in close quarters, they would inevitably develop stress-related illnesses like these.
‘All right. I will take them.’
So Yeon-hui drew out her Money Purse and began to haggle with the merchant.
“These hens look in poor condition—give them to me for 7 cash. The rooster for 10.”
“What kind of person do you take me for! Even so, asking half price is too much!”
“These are so small they are useless for meat. You should be grateful for half price. If not, I will take the rooster for 11 cash.”
“Absolutely not! 13 and 18!”
“Very well. 8 and 12.”
“I said no! 12 and 17!”
“Be reasonable—no sensible person pays more than 10 cash for birds like these. 9 and 13!”
“10 and 15!”
So Yeon-hui answered quickly to the merchant’s shout.
“Done. Give me six hens and one rooster.”
As So Yeon-hui opened her Money Purse, the merchant’s face fell.
But what could he do? He had spoken the price himself.
Thanks to this, as So Yeon-hui loaded the chickens onto the Carriage, her face never lost its smile.
* * *
By the time the sun had begun its descent from the mountain peak.
When the gate of the So Household swung open, So Yeon-u, who had been in the courtyard, lifted his head.
“Oh, sister has returned!”
She was supposed to have paid the Taxes and come straight back. Why had it taken so long?
So Yeon-u, who had been running toward So Yeon-hui abandoning even the Pinwheel he’d been playing with, suddenly stopped short, sensing something amiss.
For a strange sound was coming from the back of the Carriage.
Cluck-cluck. Cluck-cluck-cluck.
“……Eh? Is that the sound of chickens?”
“Chickens?”
So Yeon-su poked her head out from the kitchen. Jang, who had come to the courtyard to greet her eldest daughter, opened her eyes wide.
“You brought back chickens after paying the Taxes?”
“Yes. Six laying hens and one rooster.”
“My, so many?”
Hong emerged from the inner room, her eyebrows rising. Meanwhile, Jang noticed the five bolts of rice remained on the Carriage and her brow furrowed.
“Yeon-hui. What about this rice? Surely you did not fail to pay the Taxes……?”
She had sent generous bribes precisely in case of such a mishap.
At Jang’s words, all her family members—who had come out with bright faces to welcome her—stiffened.
“No, Mother. It is not that.”
So Yeon-hui descended from the Carriage and glanced around at her family.
“There is something I need to tell all of you. Please, come inside for a moment.”
A tension as sharp as a blade descended upon the So Household’s courtyard.

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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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