I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 58

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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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I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Want Family Conflicts Episode 58

She regularly supplied food ingredients to the Duke’s Estate, and sold high-quality food ingredients at low prices, earning her a good reputation among the residents.

The number of dining halls that had signed contracts with her last winter was too many to count on both hands.

Thanks to this, she boasted a high profit margin relative to her scale, and if things continued this way for just one more year, it would even be possible to move to Central Avenue.

Moreover, Jane was famous even among fellow merchants.

‘She stole clients from that Doman Trading Company?’

‘I heard that Doman Trading Company surrendered… Did she threaten them or something?’

‘There’s even news that they won’t trade with the Capital anymore…’

When a newcomer appears in the same market, existing merchants are bound to show territorial behavior toward the newcomer, though the degree may vary.

Doman, a fairly well-known trading company in the Western Region, was wary of Jane’s influence and consistently engaged in interference.

Since Doman and Goldtrail were similar in scale, Doman’s actions seemed like a challenge sent to Goldtrail.

Jane had made that Doman Trading Company surrender. The merchants suspected that Jane had used some kind of scheme, but they couldn’t figure out what it was.

Thanks to that incident, Jane’s reputation rose even higher.

A newcomer that trading companies and merchants paid attention to and were wary of—it could be said that she had finally become one of Layton’s proper merchants.

Since she even had connections to the Duke’s Estate, on a certain day when rumors began circulating that she might become Goldtrail’s new successor, early in the morning.

Jane opened the door to her shop.

“Heave… Hm?”

Jane, who had been trying to quickly finish the morning cleaning before her employees arrived, discovered a letter stuck in the door crack. As soon as she examined its contents, she snorted.

[If you don’t reveal the cowardly insider, we will definitely retaliate…]

The sender wasn’t written, but it was obvious. It was a threatening note sent from Doman Trading Company.

She crumpled it up and threw it into the trash can.

‘I only hinted that I would expose their account books, but their reaction is quite extreme.’

The reason Doman Trading Company backed down from Jane was because Jane had noticed that they were profiting through creative accounting.

Doman Trading Company, which dealt with medicinal materials along with food ingredients, and the winters of several years when not even colds, let alone flu, were common, yet Doman Trading Company’s account books that continued to record similar sales figures…

When she subtly hinted at the problem she had deduced from these clues, Doman Trading Company, feeling guilty, was the first to declare surrender.

They seemed to think that Jane had hidden a spy within Doman Trading Company.

‘Are other trading companies suspicious? Or do they really not know?’

Through conversations with Wilhelmina, Jane had faced the reality of all kinds of financial criminal activities.

She learned how frequent financial crimes that exploited loopholes in commercial law and imperial law were, and also realized that the Empire’s economy was built on a foundation of sand.

When she expressed this thought, Wilhelmina had made a complicated expression and denied it.

‘You shouldn’t compare common sense with reason.’

She seemed to want to say that ‘not everyone is rational.’

While Jane nodded in understanding, she couldn’t completely empathize with Wilhelmina’s thinking.

Having absorbed Wilhelmina’s knowledge like a sponge, Jane’s common sense was transcending the limitations of this era.

‘Come to think of it, Father contacted me yesterday too.’

Her father, the head of Goldrail Trading Company, constantly scolded Jane.

Stop what you’re doing and come back to the main house, stop causing trouble everywhere – these were reprimands she found difficult to accept.

Still, she believed that if she achieved results, her father would understand.

The father she knew was cold and harsh, but equally calculating.

If she could become a merchant who could contribute to Goldrail, she thought he would surely acknowledge her.

‘Let’s do our best today too.’

While preparing to open with hopeful determination, she heard a familiar voice from outside.

“Sister!”

“Is that Johan?”

It was Johan, a boy who lived in the neighborhood.

The boy with impressive bright eyes smiled cheerfully and waved his hand. She opened the door so Johan could come in.

“Are you here to buy herbs again today?”

“Yes, can I buy two packets?”

“Of course, wait just a moment.”

She took out a bundle of throat-soothing herbs that she had packaged separately for Johan.

Johan’s younger sibling was sick, so he regularly came to buy herbs.

“Thank you! The money is… here!”

“Alright.”

Johan, who had put the herbs in his bag, glanced around the shop.

“Isn’t that guy coming out today either?”

“Guy? Oh, you mean Rohan?”

Rohan had taken leave saying he had business in the Eastern Region. Come to think of it, Johan seemed wary of Rohan yet kept wanting to talk to him.

“Should I tell him Johan was looking for him when he arrives?”

“Hmm, it’s okay. But is that guy someone higher than you, sister?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“Just, it feels that way.”

He seemed to have noticed that Jane used formal speech with Rohan.

Jane smiled bitterly and shook her head. She couldn’t reveal his identity even if a knife was held to her throat.

“He’s just an ordinary companion. I treat him politely because I owe him a debt of gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

“Well… this and that.”

If Wilhelmina was the benefactor who awakened her merchant abilities, Rohan was the teacher who taught her the basics of commerce.

He needed a place to stay in Layton, so he made a deal with Jane.

In exchange for teaching her appraisal methods for goods and the basics of negotiation, she essentially sold him the identity of a merchant’s guard.

‘Though he becomes quiet when he stands before the Grand Duchess.’

Rohan’s purpose was obvious to see.

Jane wanted to help him, but she couldn’t ignore Wilhelmina’s position, who was also her benefactor. That’s why she had reluctantly arranged meetings, but there didn’t seem to be much progress.

Since further interference seemed rude, she hadn’t mentioned Rohan’s name in front of Wilhelmina since then.

‘Oh, come to think of it, I had something to deliver to the Grand Duchess today.’

Jane brought out a box that had been sitting in the corner.

“What’s that?”

“Mushrooms. I’m going to deliver them to the Duke’s Estate.”

These were mushrooms that only grew in the Western Region, and I’d heard that Wilhelmina particularly liked them. So I had packed only the finest quality ones I’d personally selected.

Today’s schedule was tight and I couldn’t attend the reading club, so as an apology, I should add some herbs that go well with mushrooms.

‘Next, to Chelosi Restaurant with potatoes and oil, and then…’

While I was checking today’s schedule after taking out the items to deliver, Johan seemed to sense he shouldn’t interfere and tried to leave the shop.

“Well, I’ll be going then.”

“Ah, yes. See you again…”

Just as I was about to say “later,” the shop door opened and a man suddenly appeared.

His bushy eyebrows, tightly pressed straight lips, and prominent cheekbones spoke to his stubborn personality.

On the chest of his fancy clothes, which didn’t suit the shop, was embroidered the emblem of the Goldrail Trading Company.

Jane recognized him at first glance.

“Oh, Father?”

It was Yulkes Goldrail, the head of the Goldrail Trading Company.

“What brings you here?”

“…You see your father and don’t even greet him?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Well…”

“Never mind.”

Glaring at Jane, who had hurriedly tried to organize her things and straighten her posture, he strode into the shop.

Johan, who couldn’t leave in the confusion, was pushed into a corner of the shop.

Yulkes slowly looked around the interior of the shop.

“…Still doing this kind of pathetic business.”

“Father, even though the shop looks like this, the sales are…”

“I know. I checked before coming.”

Jane’s expression brightened at the fact that her father had reviewed the financial records she’d submitted.

Although there had never been any special reaction, it would be a lie to say she hadn’t secretly hoped for praise each time she wrote the reports, seeing the rising sales figures.

She was confident that she was generating large profits relative to the shop’s size.

“Just one more year and I’ll be on track. I even made a contract with Chelosi Restaurant in the commercial district. Using this as a stepping stone, I’m going to collaborate with other restaurants in the market too.”

“…Chelosi Restaurant?”

Yulkes raised his eyebrows. Thinking this was a positive reaction, Jane excitedly continued her explanation.

“I connected them with an oil supplier. There were foreign substances mixed in Doman Trading Company’s pressed oil, so I happened to…”

Chelosi Restaurant was a landmark of the territory.

Although it was a restaurant used by commoners, its scale made it one of the top five in the city.

To steal that client from Doman Trading Company – it was a tremendous achievement for a mere branch manager.

Naturally, she thought Yulkes would acknowledge this too.

She expected him to be surprised that the youngest daughter, who had always been ignored by the family, had grown this much.

However, the answer that came from Yulkes’s mouth was not what she had wanted to hear.

“What a pointless thing to do.”

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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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