The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 126

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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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The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 126

Chapter 126. Apricot Flower Academy (2)

The Bookshop Owner nodded after reviewing the ledger and order form.
“Indeed, that’s right! Here, this….”
As the Bookshop Owner was about to name the book, I quickly spoke up and stopped him mid-sentence.
Just hearing the name of that erotic collection made me embarrassed.
And beside me were Palgap and the Guards.
“Anyway, those two books in question—I was so mortified looking at them that I couldn’t help myself and burned them.”
“I see. That’s quite understandable.”
“So I’ve come to pay for them.”
At my words, the Bookshop Owner told me the price written beside it, and I pulled out money from my pocket and handed it over.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you. I’m truly grateful that you’ve come all this way to pay for the books.”
“It’s only right that merchants conduct themselves properly with one another.”
“If all merchants were like you, we’d have nothing to worry about.”
There was a subtle edge to those words.
After settling matters at the bookstore, I began exploring Book Street.
There were quite a few intriguing books.
That’s when someone caught my eye.
It was a young man.
The first thing that stood out was his wrist guard, worn through so badly the leather was splitting.
Normally, at that point someone would buy a new one, but the fact that he still wore it meant he was in difficult financial straits.
The ink stains on his fingers, along with the worn wrist guard, suggested he worked with ink—a profession that involved writing.
He was speaking with the Bookstore Owner.
“Here, the book you requested.”
“Perfect as always. Here’s the payment I promised.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing him then, I thought it was merely a passing encounter.
But didn’t someone once say it?
If you meet someone three times in a day without any prior arrangement, it’s fate.
I encountered him a second time at a bookstore I’d wandered into on a whim.
“If any work comes up, please do call on me.”
“I will. You’re always my first choice.”
“Thank you.”
He was asking for work.
And the third time I met him was at a riverbank.
“Aaahhhhh!”
A child was flailing in the river, while another child stood on the riverbank, stamping their feet and crying.
“Help! My brother fell in the water! Aaahhhhh!”
It seemed the child had been playing on the ice above and fallen through when it cracked.
Yet no one stepped forward in that moment.
And for good reason—this wasn’t just any river, but one covered in thin ice.
If an adult ventured onto that ice, they would sink through instantly, putting themselves in mortal danger.
That was when it happened.
The young man I had seen twice today tied a rope around his waist and called out.
“If I go down, is there someone who can pull the rope back up?”
At those words, I rushed forward and said.
“I will help you.”
The guards and Palgap followed me, and the young man descended from the bridge without hesitation.
We slowly lowered the young man beneath the bridge. In the meantime, the struggling child’s strength was fading, and they began to sink deeper.
“Geumryeong!”
At my call, Geumryeong shot out from my sleeve like an arrow and plunged into the water.
Soon the child’s body rose to the surface.
Geumryeong had pushed the child up with their body.
Thanks to this, the child was able to avoid drowning while the young man swam to the rescue.
“Now pull us up!”
Thus we were able to save the child.
But we could not rest easy.
The child’s lips had turned blue, and they were shivering violently.
I spoke to the child’s elder brother.
“Your brother could be in serious danger from hypothermia, so we need to stay at an inn nearby for a while.”
I carried the child to a nearby inn and pressed silver coins into the innkeeper’s hand, demanding warm water be prepared immediately for bathing.
The Shop Attendant at the inn, seeing the child drenched and shivering with blue lips, quickly led us to a guest room on this floor.
The Shop Attendant who followed poured hot water into the bathtub.
Once the temperature was suitable, I placed the child inside.
After some time passed, color finally began to return to the child’s once-blue lips.
“Now we can rest assured.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Where is your home? I’ll take you there.”

The two children’s house was not far from where we were.
The child’s mother rushed over in alarm upon seeing the child cradled in Palgap’s arms.
“What… what on earth has happened…?”
“The child fell through the ice while playing. A young man rescued them. There is no cause for concern now.”
“Oh my! Thank you so much. But the person who saved them…?”
“A young man wearing a worn wrist guard, with his hair tied back tightly.”
“Ah! So it was Bouk Giant who saved my child. And thank you for bringing them here safely.”
“You know of them?”
At my question, she exhaled a sigh of relief and nodded.
“Of course. They are quite well-known in this area.”
The title “Giant” refers to someone who has passed the Provincial Examination.
“They do copying work, and they have an excellent reputation. Many people seek them out.”
“I see. Thank you for the information.”
After bidding her farewell, I made my way to what I presumed was the bookstore where the young man had delivered manuscripts.
I was curious about the copying skill that was famous enough for even the child’s mother to know of.
“Welcome.”
Perhaps because of the fine clothes I wore, the bookstore owner treated me with considerable courtesy.
“Do you happen to have any books copied by Bouk Giant?”
“Ah, you’ve heard the rumors and come to us. Here they are.”
I accepted the book the owner offered and opened it. I was genuinely startled.
This was actually written by hand?
The handwriting in the book I held was remarkably neat and consistent.
While books are made through printing, hand-copied books are actually more popular than printed ones.
Printed books often have defects in their printing quality scattered throughout.
Even now, typeset printing lacks accuracy and is far too expensive.
Thus, books are primarily printed and distributed by the Imperial Palace, yet this falls woefully short of meeting the demand of the masses.
For this reason, hand-copied books are produced in much greater quantities.
“How long would it take to commission a book like this?”
“Two days.”
“Pardon?”
I was genuinely astonished at those words.
The book I was looking at was quite thick, and copying it would be a difficult task.
By my estimate, it would take at least seven days and nights.
Yet two days would suffice?
“I understand your surprise and skepticism. But it is true. Bouk Giant’s specialty is rapid copying.”
My eyes gleamed at those words.
A talent. A true talent.
And precisely the kind of talent I desperately needed.
As our Hyunpung domain has grown in scale, the burden of copying and preserving documents has become quite substantial.
It pains me to take their rapid copying ability away from Book Street, but I must think of my own survival first.
And it’s simply that he can do it neatly and quickly—it’s not as though the bookstore cannot function without him copying manuscripts.

I headed toward where this young man was staying.
According to the Bookstore Owner, the young man was lodging long-term at an inn.
He’d been staying at the inn for five years already?
That meant he’d failed the Provincial Examination five years running.
I made inquiries about him here and there, and I became certain that rapid copying was indeed his specialty.
Perhaps it was fate—the inn where he stayed was the very same place where I’d requested warm water to raise the body temperature of the child who’d fallen into the water and was frozen solid.
As I entered the inn, the Bo-uk Youth happened to be sitting at the dining table.
“Ah!”
The young man saw me and hurried over.
“Thank you so much for helping earlier. Is the child alright?”
“Yes, he’s fine. I’ve just come from handing him over to his guardian.”
“Thank you.”
“It was only natural that I should help. To show such courage in a situation where you yourself could have been in danger—truly remarkable!”
“When I see someone in peril, I believe one must act accordingly.”
I smiled as I spoke.
“Ah, come to think of it, we haven’t even exchanged names. My name is Eun Seo-ho. I serve as the Lord of Hyun Pung Country for the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“My name is Bo Uk. I have nothing remarkable to introduce myself with. I passed the Provincial Examination and came here to prepare for the higher examination.”
Having passed the Provincial Examination meant he possessed learning, and the way he immediately utilized the rope in that crisis suggested excellent improvisation skills.
Combined with his noble character—unhesitatingly diving in to save the child—and his exceptional rapid copying ability.
I coveted him.
Bo-uk Youth rubbed both his arms.
“Suddenly it’s cold. Haha.”
“My, it seems your health isn’t quite well.”
“Well, it is winter after all.”
“In truth, I’m delighted to have met someone today who could be called a great hero.”
“A, a great hero?”
“Who else would be a great hero but Master Bo, who risked danger to save the child?”
At my words, Bo Uk scratched his cheek, his expression deeply embarrassed.
“Even if you say such things, I’m too ashamed to accept the title of great hero.”
Though he said so, his face was quite honest.
The corners of his mouth were turned upward, after all.
“Since I’ve now met such a great hero, allow me to treat you to a meal.”
And I spoke toward the Shop Attendant.
“What is the dish this inn is most confident in?”
“Dongpo pork and century egg dishes.”
“I’ll have those, then.”
And I sat across from Bo-uk Youth at the dining table.
Palgap and the Guard Warriors sat at the adjacent table.
As we chatted about this and that, the food arrived, and I ordered a bottle of wine.
“Please, have a drink.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
After a cup or two of wine, Bo-uk Youth’s true feelings began to spill out freely.
“So you’re aiming for a higher official position?”
“To be honest, I came to the capital for that reason, but with each passing day, I feel this isn’t my path, and it saddens me.”
“What about your family?”
“I have my mother and elder brother. They farm in the countryside. That’s why I feel even more sorry—they must be waiting endlessly for my success.”
“I see. You must be quite worried. But tell me, what is your direct reason for pursuing a higher official position?”
“It’s so my family can live comfortably. They’re farming, but their circumstances aren’t good. I wish we could all live a bit more comfortably.”
It was as I expected.
“They’re struggling to support my studies, so I need to end this life as soon as possible.”
Studying doesn’t cost just a few coins.
Books and writing materials were terribly expensive.
This investment in studying for the civil service exam comes from the hope of living a better life.
Of course, some study for fame or power, but usually it’s for a better livelihood.
“As I mentioned earlier, I am the Lord of Hyunpung for the Eunhae Trading Company. And we’re looking for talent like you.”
“Talent? I’m just a repeated failure, a perpetual exam flunker.”
“No. The person I see before me is exactly the talent we’re looking for.”
I continued.
“I’d like to hire you as my secretary for Hyunpung, with a monthly salary of eight silver taels.”
“What? Eight silver taels?! You’re joking.”
Since one tael of silver could buy one bushel of rice, eight taels meant eight bushels of rice.
A typical adult man eats about one bushel of rice per year.
Even for an official, such a monthly salary would require a considerably high rank.
So it was natural that Bo-uk Youth was astonished.
“I don’t joke about such things.”
“I know my place and have shame. What ability do I have to receive so much money and work?”
“Speak honestly.”
I chuckled and spoke.
“You don’t believe what I’m saying, do you?”
“Well, that is…”
Bo-uk Youth nodded.
“Truth be told, yes.”
If I were in Bo-uk Youth’s position, I wouldn’t have believed it either.
But when you show trust, people eventually come around.
“Then let’s do this.”
“…?”
*Clink.*
I placed one silver tael before him.
“I’ll give this to you first as a token of our meeting, Grand Master. After you learn more about me and decide whether you can trust me, come find me at the Yeonjun Trading Company. I’m busy, so please come before I leave in four days.”
I cast my line with a substantial bait attached.
Now all that remained was to wait.
.
.
.
The next day,
I received a summons from the Emperor and headed to the Imperial Palace.
I went directly to the Emperor’s Office, submitted my report, and concluded the audience by answering various questions.
On my way back, I encountered a familiar face.

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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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