The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 538

—————
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 538

Chapter 538. Establishing a Martial Hall (4)

Just then, I heard the voice of a Yeo Eung-am Warrior from outside.
“Master, the Merchant Guild Leader wishes to see you.”
At those words, I quickly threw on my outer robe and stepped outside.
A man who appeared to be an attendant bowed to me.
“I am the Merchant Guild Leader’s attendant. I shall escort you to him.”
“Yes. Please wait just a moment.”
I hastily dressed properly and followed him.
As the Small Merchant Leader of the Eun Hae Trading Company, having taken residence in another merchant guild, it was only proper that I pay my respects to the Merchant Guild Leader.
Thus I had requested this audience, and now I was going to greet him.
However…
The direction we were heading did not appear to be the Guest Reception Room.
“Are we not going to the Guest Reception Room?”
“Ah, we are going to the Merchant Guild Leader’s bridal chamber. As you know, he is currently ill.”
“I see.”
Soon we arrived at the Merchant Guild Leader’s chamber. When the guard ahead announced our arrival, the door opened.
“Please, come in.”
I entered.
An Elder sat propped up on the bed.
They say that once a man passes fifty, his life and character are revealed in his face.
The Merchant Guild Leader’s appearance matched what I had heard.
A countenance full of benevolence.
Yet that stubborn set to his mouth proved he was far from a soft man.
Had he been merely kind, he could never have grown his merchant guild to possess such vast sugarcane fields.
“Eun Seo-ho, Small Merchant Leader of the Eun Hae Trading Company, pays his respects to the Merchant Guild Leader.”
“I am So Man, Merchant Guild Leader of the Yeochang Trading Company. Forgive me for receiving you here in my chamber, confined to this bed due to my poor health.”
“Please, say no more. I sincerely hope for your swift recovery.”
“I appreciate your kind words. *Cough, cough!*”
He coughed repeatedly.
It was clear his health was truly poor. His complexion had lost all its color.
“So, you came to meet with Hawk Manager?”
“Yes, that is correct. Has Hawk Manager spoken with you about this?”
At my question, he nodded.
“He was here a moment ago. And he said he would need to investigate whether you are a swindler or not.”
“Then you are confident, Merchant Guild Leader, that I am not a swindler.”
He nodded at my question.
“Three years ago, perhaps? I saw you at the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament.”
“Ah… I see.”
I scratched my head.
“I thought you might have known through the Merchant Guild Leader’s intuition.”
“Of course, that played a part too. The fact that you came by the Zhu River and all that….”
He smiled.
“But wouldn’t it be better to give you a reason you could accept immediately?”
I smiled as well.
“Thanks to that, I understood at once.”
He soon hardened his expression.
“But it will take time for Hawk Manager to let go of his suspicions. He’s been through so much, you see. I hope you’ll understand.”
“I understand. But how did Hawk Manager come all the way to Guangxi and end up working as a manager for the Yeochang Trading Company?”
“Ah, that’s my doing.”
“Sir?”
He explained to me what had happened in the meantime.
“I found him collapsed on the road back from Shandong Province on a sugar trading contract negotiation. He’d been stabbed by bandits, barely clinging to life.”
He continued.
“I saved his life through treatment, but he couldn’t remember anything. I learned his name only thanks to the tattoo inscribed on his body.
Since children are often lost for various reasons, families with means would have simple information or marks tattooed on their children’s bodies so they could be found later if needed.
My brothers and I have such marks on our bodies.”
“Was the tattoo only his name?”
“There seemed to be other things written there too, but unfortunately that part bore a sword wound….”
“I see.”
“But he seemed quite intelligent and diligent, so I took him in. Now he’s become a manager, handling major affairs of this Yeochang Trading Company. In name he’s a manager, but he’s doing work equivalent to a Chief Manager at other trading companies.”
As I suspected, he does have considerable influence.
“By the way, once you take Hawk Manager back to Beijing, his hometown, what do you intend to do after that?”
“I’m not entirely sure about that either.”
I continued.
“Everything that follows will proceed according to the wishes of Hawk Manager and Hawk Elder. I’ve simply come here to fulfill Hawk Elder’s desire.”
“Is that so? *Cough cough*.”
Watching the Merchant Guild Leader cough repeatedly, I felt a pang of sympathy.
If my memory served me right, he wouldn’t make it past this year.
The Merchant Guild Leader, who had been thinking about something for a moment, looked at me.
“Honestly, wasting time here right now must not sit well with you.”
I laughed awkwardly.
The Merchant Guild Leader was right. I needed to move forward and proceed with my plans.
“I’ll persuade Hawk Manager.”
“It seems you have something you wish for.”
He nodded at my question.
“Take Hawk Manager with you to the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Pardon?”
I tilted my head in confusion and asked the Merchant Guild Leader to clarify.
“What do you mean by that? You said Hawk Manager holds the rank of Chief Manager in this guild. Doesn’t that mean he plays a crucial role here?”
“That’s true. And his abilities are exceptional. So if he becomes an asset to the Eunhae Trading Company, it will only benefit them—never harm them. I can stake my name on that.”
“But why are you asking me to take him with me?”
“Sigh….”
The Merchant Guild Leader exhaled deeply.
“I doubt I’ll make it past this year.”
“….”
He had a fairly accurate sense of his own situation.
“When I die, my son will inherit the guild. But he’s still inexperienced and lacks the capability to mediate and manage the power struggles among the managers.”
Hawk Manager was from a foreign land, not from this region.
Moreover, he had lost his memory and didn’t even know where he came from—yet through sheer ability and the Merchant Guild Leader’s favor alone, he had risen to his current position.
For now, he was thriving under the Merchant Guild Leader’s protection, but circumstances would change after the leader’s death.
“If I had just a bit more time, I could educate my son better, and Hawk Manager could establish a more solid foundation….”
In other words, he was entrusting Hawk Manager to me so he wouldn’t witness the man’s downfall after his own death.
“I understand your intentions, Merchant Guild Leader. However, this is ultimately Hawk Manager’s choice. If he decides to remain with the Eunhae Trading Company, I will accept that. We always need talented people. But if he refuses, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“I see.”
.
.
.
After finishing my conversation with the Merchant Guild Leader, I returned to my quarters.
As I’d heard, the Yeochang Trading Company’s Merchant Guild Leader was truly a good man.
The Small Guild Master who inherited this guild, however, didn’t last long before running it into the ground.
In the end, these vast sugarcane fields became the property of our Eunhae Trading Company.
For some reason, Maejung Manager wasn’t here at that time.
If he had remained with the Yeochang Trading Company, that future would never have come to pass.
A man capable and conscientious enough for the Merchant Guild Leader to recommend with such confidence would never have allowed the guild to fall into such ruin.
Sigh….
If I let the Merchant Guild Leader pass away as things stood, these sugarcane fields would fall into the hands of the Eunhae Trading Company, just as I knew from the future.
But knowing I could cure the Merchant Guild Leader’s illness, I couldn’t simply abandon him.
That wouldn’t be right as a person.
And I have faith in the strength of the Eunhae Trading Company that I’ve cultivated thus far.
We’ll succeed without resorting to such unethical means.

The next morning.
As soon as I finished breakfast, I prepared to head out.
“I’ll be going out for a bit.”
“Understood.”
“There’s no need for everyone to move. I think just the two warriors on duty today should accompany me.”
At my words, Seo-woo Warrior and Myeong-jong Warrior nodded their heads.
“We shall obey your command.”
“We will follow.”
The day before, I had already received permission from the Merchant Guild Leader to take a look around the sugarcane fields.
I headed toward the sugarcane fields.
Guangxi Province, as expected.
It was only mid-May, yet the heat was absolutely stifling.
That’s why I’d heard this region had tremendous sales of cooling fans.
Thanks to that, the name of the Eun Hae Trading Company was quite well-known here.
Though not my face.
“Myeong-jong Warrior, it’s hot, isn’t it?”
At my question, Myeong-jong Warrior offered an awkward smile.
“It is hot, but it’s manageable. I’m thinking of it as part of my training.”
“That’s a positive outlook.”
I spoke to the two warriors.
“From here on, we’ll be entering the sugarcane fields. And there are more snakes and insects than you might expect. But there’s no need to worry too much.”
I chuckled softly.
“I’m here, after all. For some reason, snakes and insects tend to avoid coming near me.”
I turned my body and headed into the sugarcane fields as I spoke.
“Well then, let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
The sugarcane had grown quite abundantly.
Sugarcane, being a type of sorghum, grows remarkably fast.
When it grows tall enough to exceed a person’s height, visibility becomes poor, and people have been known to lose their way deep in the sugarcane fields and perish.
In my previous life, Jin-ho had once wandered into a sugarcane field without thinking and had a terrible time of it.
Though we did manage to find a precious elixir because of it.
Working in sugarcane fields is grueling labor.
Not only snakes and insects, but the scorching sunlight exhausts the workers as well.
But… thanks to mastering the Ice Martial Sect techniques, I barely felt the heat now.
Snakes and insects simply fled on their own.
Though the sugarcane obscured my vision and I couldn’t tell which direction I was heading, it didn’t matter.
I had Geum-ryeong with me, after all.
– Geum-ryeong, there’s a valuable elixir somewhere here. Want to find it?
– Chirp!
At the mention of something valuable, Geum-ryeong quickly perched on my shoulder and began sniffing eagerly.
And soon, the tail trembled.
Found it, just as I thought!
Geum-ryeong’s tail pointed ahead, and I moved in that direction.
After pushing through the sugarcane fields for about an hour, Geum-ryeong climbed down from my shoulder and began digging at the ground.
Scratch, scratch, scratch!
Geum-ryeong dug rapidly downward, then suddenly brightened and patted the ground with his front paws.
I bent down to examine the spot and discovered the Heavenly Root.
It’s really here!
This is the very elixir Geum-ryeong gave me as a gift on my birthday back then.
An elixir containing a thousand years of earth’s essence—powerful enough to make even the gravely ill leap to their feet.
The Heavenly Root Geum-ryeong gifted me before was used to save Gung Shin Man-jeong’s father.
Thanks to that, the Yun-gang Family became a vassal clan of the Eun Hae Trading Company, and the Silver Wind Archery Unit under Man-jeong’s command has been performing brilliantly.
In any case, this will cure the Merchant Guild Leader’s illness.
I wrapped the Heavenly Root in cloth I had prepared beforehand.
“The Heavenly Root is here! How did you know of its location?”
At the Myeong-jong Warrior’s question, I wiped the dirt from Geum-ryeong’s body with a handkerchief and replied.
“Geum-ryeong showed me.”
I offered that explanation.
I couldn’t very well say I knew because I had experienced the future.
That was when it happened.
Crack, crack, crackle.
A sound from somewhere, and dark smoke rising high into the sky.
The Seo-woo Warrior, seeing it, cried out in alarm.
“Disaster! We must evacuate at once. The sugarcane fields are on fire!”

* * *

Maejung Manager headed toward the sugarcane fields.
Managing the workers in the sugarcane fields was his responsibility.
Yet his mind was in great turmoil.
The Small Merchant Leader of the Eun Hae Trading Company had brought him news of his father, but the words the Merchant Guild Leader spoke last night weighed even more heavily.

“Jung-a, he is indeed the Small Merchant Guild Leader of the Eun Hae Trading Company. I saw him with my own eyes. So trust him and follow his lead.”
“But Sect Leader. Those who deceived me in the past all seemed convincing as well.”
“That’s true. But he is genuine. No matter how convincingly one disguises their appearance, one cannot hide the light in their eyes. Besides, he is Eun Seo-ho, the Small Merchant Guild Leader known as Seon Hyeop Mi-rang. What kind of person could make his face into a mask?”
“…That is a fair point.”
“And I have asked him to take your place.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“My remaining days are not long.”
“That is not true! Sect Leader, you will recover soon!”
“I know how many days remain for me. And I know what hardships you will face after I am gone.”
“….”
“So do not cling to this place. Leave.”
“But Sect Leader. I have resolved to dedicate this body to you. How can you say such things?”
“You pledged your body to me, not to this merchant guild, did you not?”
“….”
“So speak no more and transfer to the Eun Hae Trading Company. It is my final wish.”

With the Sect Leader calling it his final wish, I could say nothing more and had no choice but to leave his bridal chamber.
Just as the Sect Leader said, I had never truly belonged in this place.
Until now, his protection had kept harm from befalling me, but if he were gone….
Mae Jeong exhaled a long sigh.
‘Then was what that man Eun Seo-ho said the truth?’
He said my father had been waiting for me all this time.
Even when offered great sums, he would not sell that land—only because I had no other place to return to.
I have no memory of my father or family whatsoever, yet somehow my eyes grew hot—perhaps because my body remembers what my mind cannot.
He cast aside his thoughts and spoke to the workers.
“Thank you for your hard work this morning.”
The weather had been so scorching that the workers had begun at dawn and finished by mid-morning, as working under the midday sun was impossible.
It was simply not feasible to labor beneath the blazing sun at noon.
And as he was reviewing the workers’ daily log, an Elder approached him.
“Wait a moment. Let us speak.”

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