The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 414

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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 Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 414

Chapter 414. The Harvest I Had Awaited (9)

Hong Mae’s introductions continued.
“This is a master craftsman who makes tea.”
“His name is Yu Cheon.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
My eyes sparkled at the mention of a tea master craftsman.
This was the very talent I had coveted while drinking tea earlier—Yu Cheon himself.
An ordinary-looking man.
“Are you perhaps the master craftsman who created the Moon Tea?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“It was truly exceptional tea. I thought only the Woljurul here possessed that refreshing quality, but I never expected the Moon Tea to have it as well.”
“You’re too kind.”
“But what do you add to the Moon Tea to create such a refreshing sensation?”
“That’s a trade secret, I’m afraid.”
“I understand. Then, would you be willing to prepare that tea for me? I’d like to bring it back with me.”
“Of course.”
After receiving introductions to the remaining individuals, I concluded my business and returned to the Qingpa Tavern.
Since it was the first tavern I had acquired, I used it as my office.
While it didn’t have as many guest rooms as an inn, the tavern still had its own accommodations.
Now that I’ve successfully acquired the Woljurul as well, I wonder which establishment I should acquire next.

* * *

Hao Organization Hangzhou Branch.
Branch Manager Yeon-yeon gnawed at her fingernails as she asked.
“So, you sent the report?”
“Yes. I sent it to headquarters.”
The one who answered was the new Internal Chief Manager.
After Internal Chief Manager Hwang An resigned, she had selected someone who seemed likely to obey her orders adequately.
In the end, Yeon-yeon had falsified parts of the report.
The fact that it remained quiet suggested that headquarters hadn’t noticed yet.
Honestly, Yeon-yeon knew that headquarters would eventually catch on.
The Sect Master of Hao Organization had hidden eyes and ears throughout the Empire, so there would certainly be some here in Hangzhou as well.
But she had her own plan.
If headquarters questioned this, she intended to shift the blame to the Internal Chief Manager.
She then read the next document and crumpled it up.
It was about Eun Seo-ho recently acquiring Woljurul.
“Damn it!”
That was when it happened.
“Branch Manager! Branch Manager! An Elder from headquarters has arrived!”
“What?”
She shot up from her seat.
‘This fast?’
Her face drained of color as she rushed out.
Before her appeared a stern-looking old woman.
“Welcome, Elder. You’ve arrived?”
The Elder merely nodded at her greeting, offering no other response.
She immediately headed toward the Branch Manager’s Office and issued an order.
“Bring me all the documents you’ve written over the past month.”
“Pardon?”
“Can’t you hear me? I said bring all the documents from the past month.”
At her sharp command, the Internal Chief Manager quickly gathered all the documents and brought them.
“Hmm….”
The old woman examined the documents with piercing eyes, then rose from her seat.
“Let’s go to the vault.”
“…!”
At those words, Yeon-yeon’s pupils trembled violently.
“Pardon?”
“You’re making me repeat myself.”
“I, I apologize.”
Thus they arrived at the vault.
“Open it.”
“….”
Yeon-yeon shut her eyes tightly and opened the vault.
After a moment, the Elder, who had been silently staring at the empty vault, asked.
“Why did you falsify the report?”
“That is….”
“Let me say this first—don’t blame the Internal Chief Manager. Falsifying records requires some knowledge to pull off. Yet someone who’s barely been Internal Chief Manager for any length of time—what would he know….”
Caught red-handed, Yeon-yeon bit her lip.
“….”
“This is your final warning. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“It’s because of Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master.”
She explained the entire situation to the Elder.
That Eun Seo-ho had robbed the branch’s vault, causing performance metrics to plummet.
And that she had committed this crime out of fear of being reprimanded.
“From what I know, he’s not the type to steal from others carelessly. There’s a reason he’s called Seon Hyeop Mi-rang.”
“….”
“Tell me the truth. What did you do wrong?”
“That is….”
She hesitated again.
With a deep sigh, the Elder drew a short blade from her robes and threw it without hesitation.
Thunk!
“Aaahhh!”
The blade suddenly pierced her leg, and Yeon-yeon screamed.
“My warning didn’t seem to register, did it.”
“No, no! I’m sorry!”
“I still have plenty of blades.”
In the end, Yeon-yeon had no choice but to confess everything to the Elder.
After hearing the entire story, the Elder glared at Yeon-yeon.
“So why haven’t you gone directly to apologize yet?”
“How could a Branch Manager of the Hao Organization go directly to a mere merchant to apologize?”
“Who committed the wrong?”
“I… did.”
“Yet you spout sophistry with that loose mouth of yours! A woman like you as Branch Manager!”
The Elder’s voice rang out sternly.
“Listen well. A Branch Manager’s role is to ensure the branch operates smoothly. Even if the manager herself gets covered in filth in the process, if the branch runs well, she’ll be praised as an excellent Branch Manager. But someone arrogant and self-centered like you will be judged as the worst kind of Branch Manager.”
“….”
“In any case, you’ve committed the grave crime of falsifying reports. Furthermore, you’ve thrown this branch into chaos. Therefore, the Main Organization has decided to remove you from your position as Branch Manager.”
“What? No, that can’t be! Please give me one more chance!”
The Elder extended her hand with irritation.
“Spare me the excuses. Hand over your Branch Manager’s insignia.”
“I can’t do that! This is mine! I am the Branch Manager of Hangzhou!”
At her protest, the Elder struck her across the cheek.
“Gasp!”
“False reports to the Main Organization are a grave crime deserving of death! Out of consideration for your past service, I spare your life—yet you don’t even comprehend this mercy?”
“….”
The Elder’s hand now held the Branch Manager’s insignia. In the same motion she struck Yeon-yeon’s cheek, she had snatched away her badge of rank.
That alone revealed the Elder’s martial prowess.
“Leave at once.”
Yeon-yeon realized further pleas would be futile.
She limped out of the Hangzhou Branch, and the Elder turned to those standing behind her.
“Is there someone here named Hong Ram?”
A man stepped forward and prostrated himself before her.
“I am Hong Ram.”
“From this moment, you are the Branch Manager of the Hangzhou Branch.”
“Pardon?”
“This decision comes from the Main Organization—do not refuse.”
The Elder handed Hong Ram the Branch Manager’s insignia.
.
.
.
That night.
Cast out from the Hangzhou Branch, Yeon-yeon made her way to Cheongpa-ru. She knew Eun Seo-ho was staying there.
‘This is all that bastard Eun Seo-ho’s fault! If he’d just come when I asked him to apologize, we could’ve settled this amicably.’
Consumed by hatred for Eun Seo-ho, Yeon-yeon saw nothing but red.
She had resolved to kill Eun Seo-ho herself. As she watched Cheongpa-ru, contemplating how to lure him out, a voice called to her.
“Are you Branch Manager Yeon-yeon?”
Startled, she spun around to see a man watching her.
More precisely, a Masked Intruder stood before her.
“But what is this… hack!”
She could not finish. The Masked Intruder’s blade had pierced her abdomen.
“I’ve been hired to kill you.”
“W-who on earth…”
“Do you remember the courtesan whose face you destroyed?”
“…!”
“In the afterlife, apologize to my sister.”
Slice—!
With those words, her head fell to the ground and rolled across the earth.
The world inverted.
That was the last scene Yeon-yeon ever witnessed.

* * *

After breakfast, I stood on the pavilion overlooking West Lake when Hwang An Internal Chief Manager approached me.
“Have you dined, sir?”
“Yes. It was delicious.”
“I heard from one of my subordinates that as of yesterday, Yeon-yeon Branch Manager was expelled, and a man named Hong Ram has become the new branch manager.”
As expected, that hasn’t changed from my previous life.
She was driven out perfectly according to my intentions.
Still, if it’s her, she’s probably grinding her teeth about taking revenge on me rather than reflecting on herself, but what method could she possibly use?
Just then, Dong-a Jeomsoyi came running.
“Small Guild Master! I have urgent news to report.”
“Speak slowly, please.”
“Phew… Yeon-yeon Branch Manager is dead, sir.”
“What? Yeon-yeon Branch Manager is dead?”
“Yes, sir. She was found dead in the nearby region. It appears she died last night, but since it was such a secluded place, it was only discovered now.”
“…”
She died earlier than in my previous life.
Before, she was murdered by a subordinate, but this time, who killed her?
In any case, her fate of being murdered hasn’t changed.
So she should have lived better.
I don’t feel sorry about her death because she was that kind of woman.
While gathering information this time, I learned about her in detail.
In short, she was greedy and only cared about herself.
So she was expelled from the branch manager’s position, came to Cheongpa-ru to harm me, and was murdered?
Based on the circumstances, there seemed to be no other possibility.
Regardless of that…
“You said Yeon-yeon Branch Manager was expelled from her position yesterday, right? She wouldn’t have simply stepped down… Did someone perhaps come from the Hao Organization’s main compound?”
“As expected, you’ve already figured it out. The Third Elder came in person, it seems.”
“…”
I was momentarily taken aback.
The Third Elder came in person? No, why did that old woman come herself?
The Hao Organization has five elders in total, and they are all masters at their peak.
Regardless, the Third Elder is someone I met in my previous life.
If it’s her, she’ll probably come looking for me soon.
.
.
.
Not even two hours after thinking that, the Third Elder visited Cheongpa-ru.
“Welcome. I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company.”
“It seems you know who I am.”
“Yes. Aren’t you the Third Elder of the Hao Organization?”
“Indeed, you are the Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company!”
“You are too kind.”
“Then you must already know why I’ve come.”
“Yes.”
She regarded me briefly, then bowed her head in apology.
“I sincerely apologize for what the Main Organization’s branch attempted—the coercion and the threat to your life.”
I knew she would do this.
The Third Elder is frightening precisely because she is this way.
“As compensation—though that hardly seems adequate—please accept this token.”
She extended a round tablet toward me.
“What is this?”
“A proof of promise—that I will provide any information you request, once, without charge.”
She means this sincerely.
“So won’t you forgive me now?”
“How could I refuse when the Elder herself makes such an offer?”
“Then will you help ensure the Hangzhou Branch operates normally going forward?”
“I will.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, I hear the branch’s treasury was completely emptied by you. There’s no direct evidence, but all circumstances point to you. How on earth did you manage it?”
I simply smiled without answering.
Any response would amount to confessing I was the culprit.
“…You won’t budge on this.”
I changed the subject.
“Please ask the new Branch Manager to visit this place. I believe I can be of assistance.”
.
.
.
That evening, another guest arrived at Cheongpa-ru.
I found myself smiling at that familiar face.
It was Hong Ram, the newly appointed Hangzhou Branch Manager.
We introduced ourselves and exchanged brief pleasantries.
“There is a reason I invited you here. Would you care to see what’s below?”
I gestured toward the carts brimming with something.
Hong Ram tilted his head in confusion upon seeing them.
“What could those possibly be….”
“Information.”
“Pardon?”
“Intelligence I’ve been acquiring under the name of Cheongpa-ru all this time. With that, you should be able to fill the information gap from before.”
“You’re simply giving this to me?”
“Yes.”
“But why….”
“That’s because the money used to purchase that information belonged to the Hao Men Hangzhou Branch.”
“Cough!”
“We were simply doing what the Hao Organization should have been doing all along.”
I smiled as I spoke.
“So there’s no need to thank us.”
.
.
.
Hong Ram, with the help of Cheongpa-ru’s staff, pulled the cart back to the Hangzhou Branch.
Geum Ryung-i came running to me as I stood at the railing watching him go.
“Chirp!”
As I had requested, it had returned the Hao Organization’s money from my secret vault.
“Did you do well?”
“Chirp!”
“Here, payment for your errand.”
I gave Geum Ryung-i a silver coin, and it eagerly accepted it.
Thus, my business with the Hao Organization came to a close.
Already, more than half of the sixth month had passed.
Now I needed to hurry and finish my affairs in Hangzhou before heading to Liaoning.
Bok Yun Sub-leader’s wedding was approaching soon.
He had given me an invitation personally, so he’d be disappointed if I didn’t attend.
Besides, he was a cherished old friend.
Of course I had to go and offer my congratulations.

The next morning.
I found myself facing an unexpected situation—because of about a dozen people who had come to Cheongpa-ru.
They were all dressed quite respectably, yet their faces showed signs of anxiety.
“What brings you here?”
At my question, they exchanged glances before bowing deeply to me and crying out.
“Please! I beg you, take over my tavern!”
“Take over my pleasure house!”
“And here’s a three-story inn!”
“….”
I was left speechless.
So they had come to me asking me to acquire their businesses?
I had expected them to simply accept selling their enterprises, but I never imagined they would come seeking me out like this, pleading for me to take them over.
“A man like you—I can trust my tavern to you.”
“I should sell to someone who cares for Hangzhou as much as you do!”
I had been trying to gain their favor, but it seemed I had accumulated far more goodwill than I had anticipated.

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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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