The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 417

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Youngest Son of the Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 417

Chapter 417. A New Beginning for Yangyang Martial Hall (3)

I was at Gahorou.
Sung Jang-ju had settled the matter with Gahorou within four days as promised.
I had come here to inspect what was needed.
In the midst of this, Yeom Chief Manager arrived.
“You’ve arrived?”
“My apologies for the delay. Sung Jang-ju came by, and I was held up having a brief conversation with him.”
“Sung Jang-ju, you say?”
At my question, he nodded and showed me a box.
“Yes. He came in person and left this with me.”
“…?”
Yeom Chief Manager opened the box and showed it to me as I tilted my head in confusion.
“Thirty silver taels. He said he was sorry once more and gave me this. It’s the amount that was taken as demolition fees for our Yangyang Martial Hall back then.”
“He came in person just to give this back… People really do change quite a lot.”
“Yes, he’s certainly changed considerably.”
Yeom Chief Manager nodded and continued speaking.
“Still, he must be struggling with financial difficulties. I wonder how he managed to prepare this money…”
“Indeed.”
I played ignorant, but I had a suspicion about where it came from.
He must have discovered the Previous Estate Lord’s legacy.
How do I know this, you ask?
I apologize to the late Sung Ji-myeong Master, but I read his letter to see if there was any final message for Yangyang Martial Hall.
And in that final passage, there was the Previous Estate Lord’s arrangement.
A stone turtle statue in the middle of the back garden pond of the Sung Family Estate.
So I secretly infiltrated the Sung Family Estate and went to the pond.
Geumryeong had definitely drooled profusely while looking at that statue.
Seeing that, I became certain.
That there were precious things inside it.
I suspected it might be gold, silver, treasures, or perhaps gold taels.
Honestly, he was a man who anticipated how his own son would behave and hid the real contract.
He must have foreseen that his son wouldn’t heed his wishes, and that he would eventually resort to the entertainment business and suffer for it.
“By the way, how many moves ahead was the Previous Sung Jang-ju thinking?”
“Why do you say that?”
“It just feels like this eight-story building is a gift from the Previous Estate Lord to Yangyang Martial Hall.”
At my words, Yeom Chief Manager scratched the back of his neck.
“I suppose one could think that way. However, wouldn’t Yangyang Martial Hall have fallen into the hands of others if not for the Small Guild Master?”
That was a fair point.
In my previous life, I didn’t know how Yangyang Martial Hall had fared, but from the circumstances, it must have struggled considerably.
So why did I keep feeling as though this were a gift from the Previous Estate Lord?
Soon after, I let out a soft chuckle and dismissed the thought.
“I’ve been organizing what’s needed before your arrival.”
Then I received a wooden tablet from Seo Hyang and handed it to Yeom Chief Manager.
Yeom Chief Manager blinked as he examined the list on the tablet.
“Why did you write down a bed?”
At Yangyang Martial Hall, they simply stacked bricks and placed wooden planks on top to make beds.
Naturally, one couldn’t call them comfortable or clean.
“Why are you so surprised? Do you perhaps hold the belief that comfort leads to negligence in training?”
At my words, Yeom Chief Manager hastily waved his hand.
“No, no! I’m naturally pleased if the children are comfortable. But this level of expense would be a burden….”
“This level of expense is no burden to me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“And it seems you may be misunderstanding—everything listed there is something I will purchase and place here myself.”
“Pardon?”
Yeom Chief Manager was taken aback.
But soon his expression grew serious as he asked me.
“Why… is this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you show such kindness to our Yangyang Martial Hall?”
To be honest, even I could see I was overstepping.
Yeom Chief Manager’s eyes were filled with wariness.
“Truthfully, the Small Guild Master is merely the Palace Master’s representative. And the Palace Master surely did not instruct such things. So how….”
From how he had treated me until now and from his words just now, it seemed Master had not revealed my identity to him.
He meant for me to reveal it myself.
It was time to do so now.
It would make things easier for me as well.
“I apologize for the late introduction.”
“Yes?”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Lesser Palace Mistress of Seolpung Palace, and I greet you, Yeom Chief Manager.”
“….”
At my words, Yeom Chief Manager fell silent for a moment before his eyes widened.
“The, the Lesser Palace Mistress?”
“As Lesser Palace Mistress, I do not believe it wrong to pursue the comfort of future palace disciples. And I possess the means to do so.”
I spoke with a smile.
“So, would it be an imposition if I were to provide these things?”
“Ah, no! Not at all!”
Only then did Yeom Chief Manager come to his senses and waved his hands dismissively.
“If the Lesser Palace Mistress wishes it, how could I possibly object? Only… I am grateful…”
His eyes glistened with tears.
“If it’s acceptable, please use this money as well.”
Yeom Chief Manager offered me a box containing thirty taels of silver that he had received from Sung Jang-ju, but I gently declined.
“No. Use that to buy something delicious for the children instead. The famine has not yet ended.”
“…I understand.”
“And though I am the Lesser Palace Mistress, the situation does not yet permit me to reveal this publicly, so please simply call me Small Guild Master.”
“I shall do so. Though I must say, you being the Lesser Palace Mistress… I had suspected as much. This Yangyang Martial Hall is certainly not a place that can be shown to outsiders, is it? And the fact that you were entrusted with it means the Palace Master trusts you that deeply.”
Yeom Chief Manager continued.
“You have chosen a difficult path, but I remain grateful nonetheless.”
.
.
.
After concluding my conversation with Yeom Chief Manager, I made my way to Cheongpa Tavern.
Since this morning, I had been busy summoning carpenters to commission furniture and directing repairs throughout the establishment.
Yet I felt no fatigue—was it the power of the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art, or was it the remarkable training my Master pushed me to the limit with?
“Shall we keep lunch simple with dumplings today?”
“We have no objections.”
As we spoke thus and entered Cheongpa Tavern, a man was waiting for me.
“Small Guild Master!”
He was the Tea Craftsman.
“Ah, has the tea been completed?”
At my question, the craftsman prostrated himself before me.
“I beg your forgiveness! I have failed to fulfill your orders.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“It is that…”
“Is it a matter of materials? Or is it a matter concerning who made the tea?”
At my words, he looked up at me with a startled expression.
My suspicion had been correct after all.
“I already knew that the one who made the moon tea was not you.”
The moon tea I had tasted possessed a rather distinctive fragrance.
And making tea takes far longer than one might think; to prevent odors from seeping into the tea, one must never apply fragrances or perfumes.
Thus, those who work at making tea naturally carry a subtle tea fragrance upon their bodies.
Had this man before me been the one who made the moon tea, that fragrance should have been embedded in his very being.
Yet this man carried almost no scent of moon tea upon him.
Moreover, the fact that I had not heard of this moon tea in my previous life meant it had not spread widely.
Because of these suspicious elements, unlike those who made other teas, I had not entered into a separate contract with him.
He bit his lip and pressed his forehead to the ground.
“I have committed a grave sin! I dared to deceive you, Small Guild Master!”
“So, what’s the problem?”
He pleaded desperately, his voice trembling.
“Please… save my son.”
“Explain the situation from beginning to end. I cannot understand with just that.”
“I… I apologize.”
He wiped away his tears and began explaining slowly.
He had a son who had turned seventeen this year.
One day, his son had visited a place where Moon Tea was being made, and after observing something intently, he mixed something into tea leaves and asked his father to taste it.
That was Moon Tea.
“But when he went to the mountain to gather the ingredients for that Moon Tea, he was bitten by a snake… and it simply won’t heal.”
Ah…
So something had indeed happened to the Tea Craftsman.
I spoke to him.
“Where is he now? Please take me to him.”
“Yes, of course!”
He jumped to his feet, and we followed him.
I had only wanted to grab some simple dumplings for lunch…
It seems my fortune for the day has already been spent.
Shortly after, we arrived at a building.
It was a place I had visited before.
The residence of Jami Physician, where I had treated the Cheongpa Tavern courtesan.
As the master craftsman of the tavern’s tea, this would naturally be his regular physician.
“Oh my! What brings you here?”
To her question, I pointed to the man beside me and spoke.
“I’ve come regarding this man’s son.”
“You’ve come because of Hee-rok.”
So the son’s name was Hee-rok.
“What is his current condition?”
She shook her head with a dark expression.
“It’s quite serious. We’re continuously administering medicine, but the fever simply won’t come down. We need to use more expensive medicine, but…”
Ah, so that’s why he came to me in desperation.
“This is quite serious. May I take a look?”
“Yes, of course.”
I was guided by her into a room.
A young man lay on the bed, his breathing labored and gasping from the fever.
Mixed with the smell of medicine, I caught a distinctly fragrant aroma—the scent of Moon Tea.
This young man was certainly the Tea Craftsman.
In the meantime, Palgap approached first and placed his hand on the young man’s forehead.
“Ugh! He’s burning up terribly.”
“We need to bring down the fever first.”
He appeared to be suffering from a considerable fever, but fortunately, I possessed an appropriate method to address it.
I placed my hand upon his forehead and gradually infused cool energy into him.
The heat gradually subsided, and his breathing became easier.
However, I did not stop there.
My energy detected the presence of snake venom within the young man’s body.
And the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art possessed exceptional efficacy in purifying toxic qi.
A hissing sound echoed.
The snake venom resisted, but to no avail. Thus the poison vanished.
Jami Physician noticed this and regarded me with astonished eyes.
Hmm, this was rather embarrassing.
I withdrew my hand and spoke.
“Now it should suffice for him to recover his strength. Please have him seek me out once he feels better.”
And I returned to Cheongpa-ru once more.
“Palgap, I’m hungry.”
“Yes, I shall bring dumplings at once, young master.”
I recalled the young man named Hee-rok whom I had treated.
He must have died from a snake bite in his previous life. That would explain why the method of making yuewcha had been lost and remained unknown.

Several days passed.
During this time, Gahorou had completely transformed from the appearance of a tavern into that of a proper martial hall.
Now only the matter of relocating remained.
At that moment, Palgap entered my chamber.
“Young master, we have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
“Yes. The young man who was nearly killed by that snake bite and his father.”
“Ah! It seems he has recovered. I shall go down to the first floor.”
Upon descending to the first floor, the two men bowed upon seeing me.
“We pay our respects to the Small Guild Master.”
“Please, be seated.”
At my words, they carefully took their places.
“What is your name?”
Though I already knew, I wished to hear him introduce himself in his own words.
“I am called Sun Hee-rok.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company. It is a pleasure to meet you in this manner.”
“I have heard that you saved my life.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“I know not how to repay such kindness. Ah, I heard from my father that you wished to take some yuewcha with you when you depart. So I have brought this tea.”
“Thank you.”
I opened the box he offered. Within lay tea wrapped in paper.
“May I taste this tea?”
“Of course.”
I asked the Shop Attendant to prepare the tea, and he soon returned with the tea implements.
I brewed and tasted the tea myself.
Hmm… this refreshing and invigorating sensation—this is indeed that Yueyue tea I had tasted before.
“Did you create this Yueyue tea yourself?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How much does it cost to produce this tea?”
“Honestly, not much at all. The truth is, that Longjing tea had been unsold for so long that it had lost some of its fragrance.”
West Lake is famous for Longjing tea.
Perhaps that’s why he found plain Longjing tea rather dull. So he had taken to blending it with other ingredients when drinking it.
Most notably, there was the Osmanthus Longjing tea, a specialty of West Lake, which blended Longjing with osmanthus flowers.
“While pondering what to do with tea that had lost its fragrance, I saw someone making Yueyue wine and decided to try creating this.”
“Then it uses similar ingredients to Yueyue wine?”
“Yes. I blend several of those ingredients to create this tea.”
In other words, this Yueyue tea was not a pure tea but a blended tea like Osmanthus Longjing.
To achieve such depth and aroma with a blended tea!
“You mentioned earlier that you wanted to repay a debt of life-saving grace?”
“Ah, yes! That’s correct.”
“Then let us enter into a contract.”
“I beg your pardon?”
I spoke gently.
“How could I possibly let slip a craftsman capable of creating such exceptional tea?”
I immediately presented my terms to him.
“What are your conditions?”
“Honestly, even if you asked me to work without wages, I would owe you such a debt of gratitude that I could not refuse. Yet you offer such generous terms—how could I possibly decline?”
Excellent!
I clenched my fist beneath the table.
Sun Hee-rok before me was a talent I could not afford to lose, given that I would invoke a debt of life-saving grace to keep him.
I called for Seo Hyang and immediately had her draw up a contract with Sun Hee-rok.
– Chirp!
Seeing Geumryeong chirp excitedly, she must have caught the scent of profit.
I had completed what needed to be done here, so now I truly had to head to Liaoning.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————