The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 132

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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 132

Chapter 132. You Reap What You Sow (2)

At those words, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded.
What? Fifty percent or less?
Was he insane?
I pressed the Shop Attendant for clarification.
“Are you certain of this? Fifty percent or less….”
“I understand your skepticism. There isn’t a single merchant guild in the world that sells medicinal herbs at such prices. Yet it is true.”
The Shop Attendant spoke with absolute conviction.
“That’s why merchants are literally lining up to trade with them now.”
“Setting aside the price—surely the quality of the herbs must be inferior?”
“I’ve heard from merchants returning from dealings with Namho Trading Company that the quality of their herbs is actually quite excellent.”
“I see.”
I nodded thoughtfully and shifted the conversation.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that Migwa Trading Company is the authority on medicinal herb transactions in this region….”
“That’s all ancient history now.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, it’s… sigh, there’s no good in airing another merchant guild’s dirty laundry. I’ll leave it at that.”
I withdrew some silver from my purse and discreetly offered it.
“Still, we merchants from distant lands hunger for information. Won’t you tell us more about the situation here?”
The Shop Attendant glanced around before quickly pocketing the silver I offered, then spoke.
“Well, since you put it that way, I suppose I can.”
And so the Shop Attendant told me about Migwa Trading Company.
“About a year ago, rumors began circulating that the quality of Migwa Trading Company’s herbs had declined. And indeed, when customers visited to lodge complaints about the deteriorated quality, there were quite a few of them.”
“How did Migwa Trading Company respond?”
“They denied it ever happened and turned people away at the gate. Worse, they treated those who came to complain as swindlers.”
“….”
“So now they’re collapsing. How could they survive when competing merchants sell superior herbs at far lower prices?”
“That makes sense.”
“Eventually, Migwa Trading Company began selling herbs cheaply as well, but Namho Trading Company started selling them even cheaper.”
I began to understand why Namho Trading Company had started selling herbs at fifty percent or less.
When Namho Trading Company began selling herbs cheaply, Migwa Trading Company sold them cheaper still, and Namho Trading Company responded by selling them cheaper yet.
Up to this point, it made sense.
Honestly, price wars weren’t unheard of in commerce.
And the victor in such a ruinous competition was obvious without deep thought—it belonged to whoever possessed greater capital.
What I couldn’t understand was why the quality of Migwa Trading Company’s herbs had declined in the first place.
Not once had the medicinal herbs brought by the Migwa Trading Company ever been of inferior quality.
No, the Migwa Trading Company had always delivered only the finest medicinal herbs.
Uncle was not a man to sell substandard herbs.
The one who taught Uncle the ways of merchant trading was my younger grandfather, and my younger grandfather learned the merchant’s craft from the Eunhae Trading Company, adhering faithfully to its foundational principles.
In other words, though the Eunhae Trading Company and the Migwa Trading Company were ostensibly different enterprises, the roots of their spirit were identical.
They both valued trust above all else.
Moreover, Uncle possessed an unyielding pride.
Not merely strong—his dignity was harder than bamboo forged from eternal steel.
Knowing Uncle as I did, I found his alleged involvement unbelievable.
I only knew that ‘the Namho Trading Company had resorted to cowardly and petty tactics’ and ‘rushed forward despite accepting losses,’ but I didn’t know the precise methods they employed.
At that time, I had been occupied with my own affairs, and the atmosphere hadn’t been conducive to asking questions.
And as time passed, I hesitated to inquire about those events, fearing it would reopen wounds barely healed.
But now I think I understand.
Beyond the price war, they had spread malicious rumors as well.
As the saying goes, when three people gather, they can conjure a tiger that never existed.
Rumors are truly terrifying.
There had even been a time when the Dan Clan Merchant Guild spread vicious rumors, and the Jamu Doll Company’s products wouldn’t sell.
More than a few incidents have occurred where a careless remark, once spoken, became gossip and eventually spiraled into catastrophe.
If unintended rumors could cause such damage, what of rumors deliberately spread by the Namho Trading Company?
It wouldn’t have taken long for falsehood to become accepted truth.
Yet surely there were not a few merchant guilds that had built relationships of trust through dealings with the Migwa Trading Company over the years.
Even if they had been offered herbs at bargain prices, it seemed strange that all of them would have turned their backs.
I recalled what the Shop Attendant had said earlier.

“And in fact, there were quite a few who came to lodge complaints about the quality of the herbs.”

I called for the Shop Attendant.
“Those merchant guilds you mentioned earlier—the ones who lodged complaints about the inferior quality of medicinal herbs.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know exactly which merchant guild it was?”
“Of course! I know well.”
“You do?”
“I heard such an incident occurred with the Kim’s Trading Company in this area.”
Kim’s Trading Company… I should look into this.
.
.
.
Night had fallen.
I was walking through the courtyard behind the inn.
My mind had grown tangled, so I was taking a walk to organize my thoughts.
The Shop Attendant’s claim that the medicinal herbs Mi Gwa Trading Company had supplied to Kim’s Trading Company were defective, prompting their complaint, turned out to be true.
I had just sent someone to investigate.
The medicinal herbs’ quality had indeed deteriorated, and because there was a merchant guild lodging complaints, all other trading partners had turned their backs as well.
If it were merely a rumor, the solution would be simple—I could bury it with another rumor, as I had done before.
But with actual evidence like this, solving the problem becomes genuinely difficult.
What on earth could have gone wrong?
Uncle couldn’t have done such a thing…
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, a familiar voice called from behind. It was Elder Brother Jin-ho.
Turning my head, I saw Elder Brother Jin-ho standing with the spear I had gifted him, the Azure Dragon Martial Spear.
“What are you doing out in the middle of the night, Elder Brother?”
“I’ve been skipping my daily training, so my body felt sluggish. I was loosening up a bit.”
Elder Brother Jin-ho was truly born a martial artist.
Now that I thought about it, I too should be training soon.
Master somehow always knew when I skipped my training and would notice immediately.
“But your expression doesn’t look good. Is it because of Uncle?”
I nodded and poured out my troubles to Elder Brother Jin-ho.
After hearing everything, Elder Brother Jin-ho tapped the ground repeatedly with the tip of his spear and spoke.
“I’m not sure if Uncle really did it. But my intuition says otherwise.”
“…?”
“Uncle is innocent.”
“I agree with that too.”
“So I want to verify it myself. But would they welcome our visit? Even if we request a meeting, they’ll probably keep putting it off, won’t they?”
I answered his question.
“Elder Brother, connections exist precisely for times like this.”
.
.
.
A few days later.
I set out toward Kim’s Trading Company with Jin-ho.

“Thank you for making time for us despite your busy schedule.”
The Kim Merchant Lord chuckled at our greeting and waved his hand dismissively.
“How could I refuse when the Daeseong Merchant Lord makes such a request?”
Daeseong Trading Company.
They were the salt retailers of Guizhou.
And they were also the trading company authorized by imperial decree to sell wind-generating devices.
I had requested that they help me meet with the Kim Merchant Lord quickly, and the Daeseong Merchant Lord had used his influence on my behalf.
It seemed he was eager not to displease me, given that I held supervisory authority over the sale of wind-generating devices.
In any case, thanks to his intervention, I was able to meet with the Kim Merchant Lord without delay.
I would need to express my gratitude to him separately later.
“So, what brings you to seek such an urgent meeting?”
At his question, I stated my purpose directly.
“I heard that you experienced an unpleasant matter when conducting business with Mi Gwa Merchant Guild.”
“Ah, yes, that happened. But why do you ask?”
“We’ve come to investigate that matter. As you may know, we are also one of the trading partners conducting business with Mi Gwa Merchant Guild.”
“I see….”
The Kim Merchant Lord nodded.
“That makes sense. You’re wondering whether you should change trading partners, aren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
I nodded in agreement.
“So I’ve come to request a detailed account of what happened at that time.”
“I understand the Eunhae Trading Company and Mi Gwa Merchant Guild have a particularly close relationship.”
“That’s true. Which is precisely why we must investigate thoroughly. A particularly close relationship, in other words, means that if they become an enemy, they become the most painful adversary. That’s what it means.”
“….”
“Moreover, it’s not easy to rebuild trust once it’s been destroyed.”
The Kim Merchant Lord, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke.
“I’ll allow you to investigate as you see fit. I’ll have the deputy manager who handled our dealings with Mi Gwa Merchant Guild brought here so you can receive their full cooperation.”
I wondered why the Kim Merchant Lord was suddenly being so cooperative.
But his next words answered my question.
“I too don’t wish to see the trust I’ve built with Mi Gwa Merchant Guild over all these years crumble away like this.”
.
.
.
Shortly after, we met with a deputy manager.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Man Gyeong, deputy manager of Kim’s Trading Company.”
“I am Eun Jin-ho, Deputy Manager of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Manager.”
We exchanged greetings, and I made a direct request of him.
“Please explain what happened during the last transaction with the Mi Gwa Merchant Guild.”
Man Gyeong Deputy Manager nodded and began his detailed account.
It was nothing more than an ordinary commercial transaction.
“However, when we arrived and were organizing the medicinal herbs, we discovered something unsavory. Beneath the quality herbs, we found inferior ones mixed in.”
“That’s one of the typical tricks used in fraudulent trading, isn’t it?”
What they call the “layering” scheme—placing inferior goods beneath superior ones.
That’s why when purchasing herbs, we always flip the boxes to inspect the merchandise at the very bottom.
“Precisely. However, since the Mi Gwa Merchant Guild is a trustworthy establishment….”
So we brought the goods without conducting thorough inspections, and this is what happened.
“Thus, we went to lodge a complaint….”
“And they turned you away at the door?”
“Yes. They even raised their voices, accusing us of spreading false rumors.”
“Did the Mi Gwa Merchant Lord himself say this?”
“Yes, he did.”
I nodded and shifted the conversation.
“I see. It’s unfortunate, really. If we still had those herbs from that time, we could have conducted a more thorough investigation.”
“We do have them.”
“…Pardon?”
Man Gyeong Deputy Manager continued.
“Just to be safe, I set aside one box separately.”
For a moment, I thought I saw light emanating from Man Gyeong Deputy Manager’s face.
We made our way to the medicinal herb warehouse, and entered a small storage room among the others.
There lay the problematic box of herbs in question.
The herbs were dried gastrodia, which is used for headaches, dizziness, hypertension, and hemiplegia, among other ailments.
Guizhou is abundant in gastrodia, and the Eunhae Trading Company receives more than half of our entire gastrodia supply from the Mi Gwa Merchant Guild.
I approached and examined the herbs closely.
Beneath the quality gastrodia, clearly inferior specimens had been layered.
The skill with which these herbs were packaged was that of a professional merchant guild employee specializing in medicinal herbs.
Since each herb has different properties and must be packaged accordingly, it’s far more intricate than one might assume.
And the packaging was meticulous enough that no outsider could have tampered with it.
This could only mean the Mi Gwa Merchant Guild had packaged and delivered it in this condition.
Yet this made the matter all the more puzzling.
If it were an expensive herb, one might profit handsomely from such deception, but what lay before me was gastrodia.
And gastrodia is not an expensive herb.
Even with this scheme, one couldn’t profit more than half a silver tael per ten boxes. The effort spent packaging these inferior herbs so convincingly would hardly be worth the meager gain.
I began to understand what underhanded and petty scheme the Namho Trading Company had employed.
I would need to visit the Namho Trading Company myself.

* * *

A few days later.
I stood before the Namho Trading Company.
Jin-ho, myself, and everyone else including Jong Gil-dae Manager were all in disguise.
We needed to conceal our connection to the Eunhae Trading Company.
Already, many trading companies lined up outside the Namho Trading Company, all eager to negotiate medicinal herbs at bargain prices.
After waiting for an hour or two, we were finally allowed inside.
When I casually mentioned a fictitious trading company name, the staff member inquired.
“What medicinal herbs are you looking for?”
“Gastrodia elata and….”
I listed a few more herb names and made an additional request.
“Could we see samples?”
“Of course.”
At those words, our group was guided to where the samples were kept.
It was then that Jong Gil-dae Manager leaned close and whispered to me.
“I have something to tell you.”
“…?”
“I’ve seen that manager and those staff members before—at the Mi Gwa Merchant Guild.”
“What?”
“They were the ones who handled packaging work there.”

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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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