The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 703

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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 703

Chapter 703. Northern Sea Territory (3)

At my Master’s words, I was momentarily flustered.
Now that I thought about it, he had a point….
“It feels rather embarrassing somehow. Besides, it’s not yet an official marriage as the Small Guild Master.”
“Everything feels awkward at first. But as you continue calling her by that name, you’ll grow accustomed to it.”
“Is that the advice of someone with experience?”
My Master nodded at my question.
“Yes. A title is also a person’s identity. If the Lesser Palace Mistress continues to call Gwak Seo-hyang by ‘Vice-Manager,’ then Seo Hyang will remain as a vice-manager. You’re not marrying her because you need a vice-manager, are you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then I hope you’ll remember my counsel. And since today is the end of the sixth month, there are less than four months until the wedding.”
“That’s… right.”
“By then, I intend to avoid taking on any work. It wouldn’t do for a master to be absent from his disciple’s wedding, would it?”
Though he spoke matter-of-factly, something in his words stirred my heart deeply.
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.
Upon returning to the Eun Hae Trading Company Headquarters, I moved with purpose.
There was much work to be done.
The most urgent matters were constructing an ice storage facility at the headquarters and transporting and selling the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s silk.
We continued discussions about these matters late into the night.
The next day, the Lord of Changin Escort Agency visited after receiving an official request.
Both matters could not proceed without the assistance of the Escort Agency.
“Yu Seong, Lord of Changin Escort Agency, pays his respects to the Merchant Guild Leader.”
“Welcome. Thank you for making the journey.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Please, be seated.”
With the Lord’s attendance, the formal meeting began in earnest.
“The Eun Hae Trading Company intends to include the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s silk among the textile merchant’s inventory alongside our ice business.”
“I see.”
The Lord nodded with an expression of hearing this for the first time.
I had requested that our previous conversation remain confidential.
“I understand the ice business, but Northern Sea Ice Palace silk?”
“It’s silk dyed with a dye discovered at the Northern Sea Ice Palace. And this is a sample.”
When Father pointed to a long box on the table, Sangyugak’s Yeon Officer opened the lid himself and displayed the silk within.
The Lord was visibly astonished.
It was clear he was genuinely astonished.
“I’ve never seen silk this beautiful before. But the Northern Sea is a very distant and dangerous place. How do you intend to handle the escort fees?”
“That’s precisely why I’ve summoned you. This is a matter that requires serious discussion going forward.”
The Lord paused in thought before speaking.
“In that case, it would be better to establish a branch of the Changin Escort Agency in the Northern Sea.”
“You mean to establish a branch in the Northern Sea?”
“Yes. Through transporting Northern Sea leather, I’ve come to understand that region to some degree.”
He’s quite skilled at deception.
Since they were originally from the Northern Sea, they would have already known it well from the start.
But this is a secret I cannot carelessly reveal—a truth that must remain hidden.
“The Northern Sea is a place everyone agrees is temperamental. If Northern Sea matters increase like this, establishing a branch would seem necessary to safely transport those goods.”
“That makes sense, but establishing a branch isn’t something easily done….”
“That’s why I wish to seek the assistance of the Eun Hae Trading Company. Since you already maintain a branch in the Northern Sea, you must have experience with it, yes?”
At the Lord’s words, my father nodded readily.
“Of course we must help. The Changin Escort Agency and our Eun Hae Trading Company are inseparable partners, after all.”
“I’m grateful for your words.”
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Thus the meeting concluded smoothly.
I would personally oversee the Northern Sea Ice Palace silk.
The Palace Master had promised to give me thirty percent of the profits in exchange for taking on that responsibility.
At this rate, I could return to Beijing within days.
With such thoughts, I headed toward Gong Mil’s Workshop.
Gong Mil was now nineteen years old.
He had become a proper young man, yet he still lived practically in his workshop, or so I’d heard.
It was only because I insisted he eat at least two meals a day and take half a watch of morning and afternoon walks that he hadn’t become gaunt and sickly like in my previous life—surely that would have happened otherwise.
But at the entrance to Gong Mil’s Workshop, I spotted a child lingering about.
Perhaps around twelve years old.
Who was this?
He seemed to be observing something, unaware of my party’s approach.
Curious about what he was watching, I drew closer and saw Gong Mil inside, absorbed in crafting something.
“What’s so interesting?”
The child answered my question.
“It’s amazing how extraordinary things are created from Master Gong’s hands.”
“Is that so?”
At that moment, hearing our voices, Gong Mil lifted his head and, seeing me, called out cheerfully.
“Small Guild Master!”
The young boy who had been peering inside startled and turned around, then quickly bowed his head upon seeing me.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“Well, that is….”
“You simply answered the question I asked. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
But why does this child look so familiar to me?
At that moment, Gong Mil offered a wry smile and spoke.
“It’s you again.”
“Do you know this child?”
I asked, and Gong Mil replied.
“Yes. He is the grandson of Seo Dae-haeng-su.”
Seo Dae-haeng-su—the man overseeing all deliveries of Jamu Dolls sold through the Hongha Luxury Shop….
Ah! Now I remember!
“The fifth son of Seo Ji-pyeong, the manager of Hongha Luxury Shop?”
I turned to the child and asked, and he nodded in response.
“Yes, that’s right. My name is Seo Yong. I use the character for ‘useful’ (用). It means I should become someone who is put to good use wherever I go.”
“That’s a fine name.”
I know something of this child.
He too succeeded his father to become a manager.
I even have some special memories of him from my previous life.
If Gong Mil, who pays little attention to those around him, knows of him, then this child must have lingered in Gong Mil’s vicinity for quite some time….
I asked Seo Yong.
“Do you wish to create wondrous artifacts like Master Gong Mil does?”
“…Yes. I wish to create them.”
The eyes of Seo Yong, speaking thus, gleamed brightly.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind.
“He’s been asking to be taken as my brother’s disciple.”
I turned around to see Gong Rae.
“Gong Rae has arrived!”
“Yes.”
Gong Rae greeted me, then spoke to Gong Mil.
“Brother, why don’t you finally accept him as your disciple?”
At those words, Gong Mil waved his hand dismissively.
“At my age, taking a disciple….”
“What does age matter? If you have the will to pass on superior skills to others, can you not take a disciple? Am I wrong, Small Guild Master?”
At Gong Rae’s words, I let out a soft laugh.
“You’re right.”
Then I looked at Gong Mil and spoke.
“A disciple, you see, is one of the ways a craftsman leaves himself behind in this world. It is impossible to pass on a craftsman’s skills and knowledge in their entirety through any other means. They cannot be expressed in writing or words.”
This was something I had experienced deeply in my previous life.
How many times I had lamented when a craftsman’s skills and knowledge failed to be properly transmitted.
“If you were to disappear from this world, I would grieve twice over.”
“Why twice?”
“Once for my sorrow over you, and once more for my sorrow that your skills will be put to practical use.”
“….”
“Of course, raising a disciple won’t be easy. You might feel as though your time is being taken from you. But as the saying goes—teaching and learning go hand in hand—I believe there will certainly be things you learn while teaching.”
At my words, Gong Mil paused in thought before nodding.
“I understand. If that’s what you say, Small Guild Master, then I shall take on a disciple.”
At this, Seo Yong’s face lit up and he thrust his fist toward the empty air in celebration.
I spoke to Seo Yong.
“However, Yong.”
“Yes?”
“Get permission from Father first. I’ll go ask him myself.”
“Yes!”
And off he dashed with excitement.
Could he be that pleased?
There was a reason I actively recommended that Seo Yong be accepted as Gong Mil’s disciple.
It aligned with why I remembered Seo Yong from my previous life.
In my past life, he had possessed an exceptional gift for handiwork.
He not only repaired broken shoes, but even carved the dishes and utensils I used with his own hands.
He fixed carriage wheels in the blink of an eye.
Once, I had asked him about it.
With talent like that, wouldn’t it have been better to become a Master Craftsman instead of a manager?
He had answered my question with confidence.
He said it was because he had never met a Master Craftsman who made his heart race.
But in this life, when I brought Gong Mil, Seo Yong finally met a Master Craftsman who made his heart race.
How wonderful.
Another Master Craftsman is born this way!
Then Gong Mil spoke.
“I received the message you sent through Rae-ah before, but I’m disappointed. You didn’t come to see me….”
“You were concentrating on your work, and I didn’t want to break that concentration.”
“It’s fine. Next time, if I happen to be concentrating on something, please feel free to call me. There was something I wanted to show you before, but I regretted not being able to.”
“Haha. I’m sorry.”
I apologized as I spoke.
“So, what was it you wanted to show me?”
“This.”
Gong Mil took something from the shelf and placed it on the table.
It was a glass bottle.
“What is this?”
“A sealed bottle.”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Gong Mil opened the bottle’s lid and poured water inside it.
Then he closed the lid and asked me.
“What would happen if I held this upside down?”
“What do you mean? The liquid would spill out.”
At my words, Gong Mil laughed and turned the bottle upside down.
But then….
“Huh?”
The stopper didn’t fall out, and no liquid leaked from between the cap.
I couldn’t help but be startled.
Ordinarily, bottle stoppers are made from soft wood or compressed paper.
So when turned upside down, the liquid pushes against the stopper and the contents spill out.
That’s why for long-term storage, the bottle’s stopper is sealed entirely with beeswax.
Of course, this has the drawback of making the bottle difficult to reuse.
“How did you make this?”
“The secret lies in this stopper.”
“The stopper?”
“Yes. If you look closely, there’s something attached here, isn’t there?”
“Huh? Could it be…?”
“Yes.”
Gong Mil nodded.
“It’s one of the components that goes into Jamu Dolls. An elastic cord made from fish bladder. I attached it to the stopper like this. When I did, the contents wouldn’t leak even after opening and closing it multiple times.”
I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at that explanation.
“To think of something like this! You’re truly a genius!”
“Hehehehe.”
At my praise, Gong Mil scratched his head bashfully.
This sealed bottle that Gong Mil created could be used in many places.
It would be especially useful when storing alcohol.
I absolutely cannot let this slip away.
Still… we can’t mass-produce this ourselves, so I’ll need to collaborate with the Mudong Merchant Guild.
I wish I’d known about this sooner.
I should have called him when I came here last time.
“And regarding the request you gave me before.”
“Ah! Right, how did that turn out?”
“I made it and put it in the warehouse. Just a moment.”
What Gong Mil brought back a moment later was a chair with wheels.
Not a wheelchair, but a chair for use in my office.
I’d commissioned its creation because it was inconvenient to stand up from my chair every time I needed to grab something out of reach from the wooden table.
With this, I could reduce the time spent getting up and sitting down.
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.
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Time passed, and the discussion about Eun Hae Trading Company’s new ventures came to an end.
And when I head to Beijing this time, those from the Changin Escort Agency will be coming along as well.
We decided to establish a branch office of the Changin Escort Agency in Beijing before the silk transport business begins in earnest.
The weather is summer now, which is perfect timing for establishing the branch.
And since the Construction Merchant from the Merchant Guild isn’t particularly busy at the moment, they’re coming along this time too.
Seo Woo received permission from his father, Shop Manager Seo Ji-pyeong, and became a disciple of Gong Mil starting yesterday.
It’s a shame that Elder Brother Jin-ho, who went to Pyohaeng, still hasn’t returned.
I made my way to Jin-ho’s quarters.
“Welcome.”
“I greet you, Elder Brother’s Wife.”
My Second Sister-in-law was playing with Hong Ryeo in the courtyard.
Hong Ryeo was just over a year old now, yet she was already walking quite well on her own.
Perhaps because of this, when she saw me, she came toddling over eagerly.
“Oa! Oa!”
That must mean she was happy.
I gently picked up Hong Ryeo, and she smiled brightly at me.
Hmm, if Palgap had seen this, he would have muttered something about “the filthy world.”
My Second Sister-in-law spoke.
“I heard your father is going to the Northern Sea.”
“Yes. I heard he’s been entrusted with managing the Northern Sea Branch Office.”
That much spoke to how capable and trustworthy Ha Cheol Pyo-du was.
“Please take good care of my father.”
“Of course. I will do my very best.”
After playing with Hong Ryeo for a while and exchanging greetings with my sister-in-law, I returned to the separate pavilion.
“You’ve returned, sir?”
“Yes.”
“What are your plans for this evening, sir?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“I understand, sir. By the way, it’s truly remarkable. All that ice sold so quickly, sir.”
Just as Palgap had said, all the ice we brought this time sold out in less than five days.
This demonstrated there was sufficient demand, which is why we decided to start the ice business.
At that moment, Seo-woo Warrior returned.
“Master, I’ve returned.”
“Did you spend quality time with your family?”
“Yes. Thanks to your kindness, it was a pleasant time.”
While at the Eun Hae Trading Company Headquarters, I gave Seo-woo Warrior and Yeo Eung-am Warrior two days of leave in rotation.
I also granted leave to the other Guard Warriors.
Yet something seemed to be troubling Seo-woo Warrior—his expression didn’t look quite right.
“Is something the matter? Your expression seems troubled.”
“Ah, well, it’s like this…”
Seo-woo Warrior opened his mouth with a complicated expression.
“I believe I have discovered my son’s talent.”

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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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