The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 23

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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 23

Chapter 23. The Wooden Puppet (3)

Hwang Young exhaled heavily and drew his sword. The situation had spiraled beyond his control—there was no stopping it now.
They crept cautiously toward Gong the Potter’s house.
At Hwang Young’s signal, the warriors they had brought rushed straight into the house.
But then.
Whoosh!
Crackle and roar!
Torches blazed brilliantly from Gong the Potter’s house, and armed warriors emerged from within.
The Jingyeon Trading Company’s warriors froze in shock.
The Merchant Guild Leader and Hwang Young were equally stunned.
Thud, thud, thud.
Then someone walked out from inside the house.
It was Eun Seo-ho.

* * *

I stood at ease, hands clasped behind my back, observing the Jingyeon Trading Company Master with calm composure.
He sputtered in panic before his anger erupted.
“What—what is the meaning of this…? Damn it! It was a trap!”
I shook my head at his words.
“A trap? Merely a precaution. Earlier, I felt a chill run down my spine. So I took the liberty of summoning warriors to stand ready—and as I suspected, you’ve come to visit us exactly as I anticipated.”
I gestured toward the Jingyeon Trading Company’s warriors.
“However, those leather garments and the water-sprinkling insignia… Was the Jingyeon Trading Company Master the ringleader of bandits?”
“I—this is…”
At my words, the panicked warriors of the Jingyeon Trading Company tried to conceal their water-sprinkling tokens and insignia, but it was already too late.
“Unbelievable! Jingyeon Trading Company Master! You were a bandit all along!”
The Patrol Officers who had been hiding behind Gong the Potter’s house revealed themselves.
Po-du was among them.
Due to the incident where a bribed Patrol Officer had attempted to kill the Thief, Po-du now found himself obligated to grant my request.
Thus, I had sent Palgap to fetch dinner while dispatching a letter summoning Jung Chung and Po-du to this location.
“That—what are you saying? Bandits? No, this is merely…”
The Jingyeon Trading Company Master tried desperately to make excuses, but Po-du would hear none of it.
“Silence! You came in such attire in the dead of night attempting to assault someone—do you expect anyone to believe your words?”
Po-du looked around and shouted.
“Seize them all!”
A fierce battle erupted, but it didn’t last long.
The Jingyeon Trading Company’s warriors weren’t particularly strong, and we outnumbered them besides.
‘So this is where the Jingyeon Trading Company’s history ends.’
Yet I felt no particular regret.
This was a situation of his own making, after all.
And remembering what the Jingyeon Trading Company Master had done in my previous life, it was better that he disappeared quickly.
I approached Po-du and bowed respectfully as I spoke.
“I ask that you conduct a thorough investigation.”
“Rest assured.”
With that, Po-du led away the bound Jingyeon Trading Company Master, Hwang Young Ga-ryeong, and the warriors back to the Government Office.
“Then, shall we return as well?”
.
.
I led Gong the Potter’s family to the Yeo Inn.
Master and Jung Chung were waiting for me in the Dining Hall on the first floor.
The moment I entered, Master and Jung Chung rushed over and questioned me.
“What on earth happened? You even asked us to summon Po-du!”
At Jung Chung’s words, I bowed respectfully and spoke.
“I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused you.”
“Not at all. You’ve returned safely, so all is well. But what was this matter about….”
That was when it happened.
Neeeigh—!
With the sound of a horse’s cry, a woman rushed urgently into the inn.
“How fortunate that everyone is here! You’ve found a Master Craftsman who can make puppets?”
Despite having ridden hard on horseback, her hair remained perfectly arranged in an elegant updo.
At the sight of Yeon Da-mi, the legendary woman of the Eunhae Trading Company, I was taken aback.
I had sent Father a letter about the Master Craftsman, but I never expected her to come in person.
Everyone was startled by Yeon Da-mi’s sudden appearance.
“W-we greet you, Division Leader!”
“We greet you, Division Leader!”
She strode forward and approached me, and I bowed in greeting as well.
“Division Leader, I greet you. But surely you didn’t rush here immediately upon reading my letter?”
At my question, she nodded.
“How could I possibly sit still upon hearing that you’d found a Master Craftsman capable of making that puppet? So where is this Master Craftsman?”
At her question, I gestured to my side, and she approached Gong the Potter with delight.
“Ah! So this is the Master Craftsman!”
“Yes? I, I am….”
Gong the Potter was flustered, and I smiled and shook my head.
“It’s not him, Division Leader Yeon.”
“It’s not him, Yeon Gak-ju.”
“…?”
I placed my hand directly on Gong Mil’s shoulder and spoke.
“It’s this one.”
“Pardon?”
Her face filled with bewilderment.
I understood her reaction. I would have been equally taken aback hearing such a claim.
Introducing a ten-year-old child as a master craftsman capable of creating such extraordinary vessels was, after all, extraordinary.
Yet, she was indeed Yeon Gak-ju. She regained her composure and continued speaking with measured calm.
“I would very much like to see his work.”
“I understand, but the hour grows late. Given the ordeal we endured today, might we postpone this until tomorrow?”
“An ordeal, you say?”
At her inquiry, I explained the entire sequence of events.
“Ah! Such a thing occurred. I am truly relieved you emerged unscathed. Then let us rest for now.”
The hour had already crept into the Chou period—between one and three in the morning.
Thus we all retired to our guest rooms and took to our beds.
However,
I still devoted the evening to training with my Master.
.
.
.
The following day.
After breaking our fast, Yeon Gak-ju spoke.
“Now I wish to witness the craftsman’s skill.”
“Very well.”
I turned to Gong Mil.
“The time has come to demonstrate your abilities. Can you craft the puppet I described right now?”
“Yes.”
“What materials do you require? I shall procure whatever you need.”
Gong Mil pondered briefly before responding.
“Truly, anything at all?”
“Of course.”
“Then….”
He listed the materials he desired. Among them was something unexpected.
“Silk scraps?”
“Yes.”
Gong Mil nodded.
“The truth is, I created this puppet because my younger sister wished for one. I wanted to make it beautiful for her.”
“I see.”
I moved to instruct Palgap to fetch the materials Gong Mil had mentioned, but Yeon Gak-ju beat me to it.
She had the two members of the Sangyu Division bring the materials he had just requested.
Soon the materials were prepared.
Gong Mil settled onto the floor. Sitting at the table would have made his small stature an obstacle to his work.
As Gong Mil began, his eyes grew serious, displaying extraordinary concentration.
For a child his age, maintaining focus for even a single hour was difficult. Yet he remained motionless for a full two-hour period, absorbed entirely in his work.
At the same time, it was clear that Gong Mil was thoroughly enjoying himself.
I turned my head to look at Yeon Gak-ju.
She made no attempt to hide her astonishment.
When I had called Gong Mil a master craftsman, she must have doubted my words.
But witnessing him create the puppet with her own eyes left her no choice but to be amazed.
A master craftsman at ten years old!
It was truly unprecedented.
After two and a half hours had passed, Gong Mil showed signs of fatigue but spoke with a bright smile.
“It’s finished.”
The puppet he presented was strikingly different from the ones he had made before.
Though still crafted from wood, the superior quality of the material gave it a natural elegance, and dressed in silk garments, it was a refined and luxurious puppet.
“This puppet dances on its own when the time comes?”
“Yes.”
Gong Mil nodded.
“When the axle of this wheel rotates and this protrusion touches the axle, this wheel moves, and then….”
He explained at length.
“Because this puppet is small, the axle of this wheel is also small. So I had no choice but to set the interval to once per hour.”
“So it dances once every hour, then?”
“Yes.”
Gong Mil wound the spring of the gear wheel at the back of the puppet.
And when the hour arrived.
The puppet truly began to dance on its own. As it danced, alternating its arms, everyone watching gasped in surprise.
Well, not everyone.
Gong Mil, Gong Rae, and I did not.
In my previous life, I had seen that puppet countless times until I grew weary of it.
Out of curiosity about its mechanism, I had even purchased one, disassembled it, and studied it.
I was driven by the desire to understand how such a thing could possibly be made.
Yet I could never fully uncover its secrets.
The elasticity of fish bladder used as the material to transmit power to the gears could not be replicated.
If I had failed, there was no way others could succeed.
Despite the proliferation of counterfeits, no one could duplicate the puppet produced by Jingyeon Trading Company.
Now I understood why.
How could those who thought only of profit ever replicate the result of earnest deliberation, born from a boy’s devotion to his younger sister even in straitened circumstances?
As everyone discussed what they saw, the dancing puppet came to a stop.
“Will this puppet dance again?”
“Yes.”
Gong Mil nodded and pointed to the wheel.
“If you wind this wheel once, it can continue moving on its own every hour or so for about half a day.”
Yeon Gak-ju’s eyes gleamed with fervent intensity.
A sharp intake of breath escaped me.
Seeing that look in her eyes, her epithet came to mind.
The Silver Fox.
It meant the fox of the Eun-hae Trading Company.
Her specialty was the ability to discern how much profit could be made from any commodity she laid eyes upon.
The fact that her eyes blazed with such fervent intensity meant she had recognized Gong Mil’s true value.
“You! Sign a contract with our company!”
At her words, Gong Mil smiled bashfully and replied.
“I’ve already signed a contract.”
Her face flushed with bewilderment at his answer.
“What? Who—with whom? When? No, which fool got there first!”
“That fool is me.”
I raised my hand slightly as I answered.
“…Pardon?”
I withdrew the contract from my robes and showed it to her as I spoke.
“I’ve already contracted with him.”
The employer listed on the contract that Gong Du-i the Potter had signed yesterday was not the Eun-hae Trading Company.
It was Eun Seo-ho—myself.
It was the result of my deliberation.
Having begun my life anew, I had come to understand that the future would not necessarily unfold exactly as I had experienced it before.
Therefore, I needed to prepare for the possibility that things might not go according to my plans.
So rather than binding him to the Eun-hae Trading Company, I bound him to myself personally.
That way, the profits would become my own rather than the company’s—though of course, since I would sell through the company, they would not be without profit either.
This meant my personal funds would increase.
Only then could I smoothly pursue the various plans I had conceived.
After all, I could not spend the company’s funds as I pleased, and besides, the company’s finances were far too exposed to outside scrutiny.
“So, Yeon Gak-ju, you may negotiate with me.”
A smile played at the corners of Yeon Gak-ju’s lips at my words.
“Negotiate with me, you say? Can you truly handle it, young master?”
“I shall approach it with the determination to learn much.”
The negotiation began immediately.
The back-and-forth was fierce and unrelenting.
Though I had guided the company to victory through various negotiations in my previous life, Yeon Gak-ju proved to be a formidable opponent.
In truth, it was Yeon Gak-ju herself who had taught me about negotiation in that former life.
After more than an hour of negotiation, I managed to secure seventy percent of what I desired.
Though he would work in a temporary assignment capacity, there was one thing I refused to compromise on.
It was the guarantee of working hours, meal times, and study time.
He was only ten years old.
He needed to eat well, sleep well, study, and learn in order to grow.
After concluding the negotiation, we exchanged contracts with each other.
“Quite impressive, young master.”
Yeon Gak-ju smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been outmaneuvered like this.”
“I struggled quite a bit as well.”
“You say that, but you look rather triumphant. Hehe.”
“Hahaha.”
“It’s gratifying to teach someone with such potential. I look forward with joy to the day you begin practical work at our Sangyu Division.”
And the light in her eyes as she regarded me burned with greater intensity than before.
Why did cold sweat break out under that gaze?
Yeon Gak-ju rose from her seat and spoke.
“Now let’s prepare for departure.”
“Yes!”
At her words, the people immediately sprang into action.

* * *

The main headquarters of the Eunhae Trading Company in Chongyang County, Hubei Province.
Upon returning from her business in Geumson Village, Division Chief Yeon Da-mi made her way directly to Merchant Guild Leader Eun Gil-sang.

“Ah! Division Chief Yeon, how did the matter go?”
At his question, Yeon Da-mi strode into the Guild Leader’s Office and placed the box she had brought directly onto the desk with a thud.
Then, settling into the seat before him, she spoke.
“He was only ten years old.”
“Huh? What are you suddenly talking about? Ten years old?”
“The Craftsman of Wooden Puppets. He was just a ten-year-old child.”
“What?”
“I’m not mad, and this isn’t a joke. I confirmed it with my own two eyes.”
She opened the box she had brought herself.
“Here—a puppet crafted by a ten-year-old master. One that dances of its own accord… in other words, a self-dancing puppet.”

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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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