Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 58 - I Am a Merchant Company (4)

Chapter 58 – I Am a Merchant Company (4)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“I heard another village got wrecked this time?”

“Which one?”

“Some village near Poyang Lake.”

“Huh. What’s this world coming to? And what are the authorities doing except squeezing taxes out of us?”

“Come now, man. When have you ever seen the magistrate’s office handle anything on time? The authorities are always late.”

“A convincing explanation.”

The people who had been raging at the authorities’ sluggish response accepted that explanation with ease.

I wanted to say, what exactly is convincing about that explanation, but sadly it really was convincing. That the authorities only mend the stable after the ox is gone was a truth accepted in every age.

My memory from my previous life that the Chief of the Green Forest had forcibly disbanded several Green Forest strongholds had not been wrong. Back then I wasn’t a martial artist, so I just passed it by, but now that I thought about it, it was a truly strange matter.

Who would ever reduce his own power of his own accord? There must have been a reason those Green Forest strongholds had to be reduced. Of course, I didn’t know what that reason was.

“Leaving that aside, did you buy the Green Forest Twelve Forms? They say if you’ve at least learned a martial art like the Green Forest Twelve Forms, a brigand won’t be able to take your life so easily.”

“Good grief. To think we have to use Green Forest martial arts to deal with the Green Forest.”

“What else do we have? Those orthodox sects are far too busy hiding their divine arts away.”

“That’s true enough.”

Word of mouth about the Green Forest Twelve Forms had already spread. Of course, in the Huzhong and Huadong regions, Radiant Crystal Merchant Company practically held an exclusive on the Green Forest Twelve Forms. The Green Forest Twelve Forms had never originally been a martial art that attracted this kind of attention.

But in troubled times, even a rough martial art like that is something people must learn to preserve their precious lives. Of course, there are also people like me who use troubled times as an opportunity to make money.

I quietly left the inn. More people in Wuhan recognized me than I had expected, so I had to wear a bamboo hat whenever I went out.

When I returned to the merchant company’s office, quite a lot of people were bustling about. There were also quite a few errand boys and clerks temporarily hired from the East Lake Merchant Association. It would have been difficult for four people to handle the flood of sales pouring in from four provinces, so I had hired them.

“Ahem.”

Only when I cleared my throat did people look over at me.

“We greet the Company Lord.”

“Yes, yes. Keep working.”

I stopped the people trying to greet me and sent them back to work. Time spent bowing was money too, money. Better not to bow at all if that was the case.

“How is it going?”

“Pardon? What’s there to say? This is the busiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Jo Chung-heon smiled as he handled the work. A merchant company really did come alive only when it sold goods. Of course, part of that smile probably came from the fact that I had openly promised bonuses according to sales.

“It’s no joke. The price of the Green Forest Twelve Forms keeps climbing.”

“Tell them to sell while controlling the volume. It hasn’t reached its peak yet.”

“Yes, understood.”

As I cautioned Jo Chung-heon, I glanced over the ledger. Compared to the few hundred nyang of silver invested at the beginning, the sales were high enough to seem excessive. Since demand for the Green Forest Twelve Forms had exploded and the price had tripled, it was only natural in a sense.

“Puhuhu.”

I tried to hold it in, but the laughter leaked out on its own. Thinking that the money recorded in that paper ledger would end up in my pocket sent a thrill running deep down my spine.

Yes. It had been a long time. To feel this single thrill again, I had clawed my way through every despair and swamp, and endured even when blue depression, that close friend of death, kept tempting me. No matter how many reasons there were to die in the world, one reason to live was enough to stand against them all.

“Ah, Company Lord.”

The one who pulled me out of that state of ecstasy was Jo Chung-heon.

“Yes?”

“Um, Councillor Hyeong came by once.”

“Councillor Hyeong? The Registrar of the Provincial Administration Commission?”

“Yes. But he’s no longer Registrar now. He says he’s been promoted to Provincial Councillor.”

At that unexpected name, I tilted my head. Hyeong Tae-seong was the official whose daughter I had saved before. Since he was a man who would one day become a grand minister, I remembered currying favor with him rather heavily.

“But you’re saying he was promoted straight from a sixth-rank Registrar to a fourth-rank Provincial Councillor?”

“He already had a good reputation, and it seems recommending Divine Physician of Hubei played a significant part.”

“Oh?”

Then he really had been promoted because of me. Was that why he had come looking for me?

“Did he say what he came for?”

“No. He said it was a personal matter. He said he’d be at the Provincial Administration Commission, and that you should come by when convenient.”

“Hmm.”

Since it was the same city of Wuhan, going there wasn’t much of a problem. Corrupt officials attaching themselves to a merchant who was making good money and trying to threaten him was common enough, but I knew Hyeong Tae-seong wasn’t that sort of man.

“All right. Then I should go. I’ll be at the Provincial Administration Commission, so if anything comes up, send someone there.”

“Yes.”

I left the merchant company and went to the Provincial Administration Commission. It wasn’t very far from the merchant company.

“Oh. Isn’t that Divine Physician of Hubei?”

The constable who had led me inside the Provincial Administration Commission before recognized me. I smiled and greeted him. At government offices, one should smile as much as possible.

“Good day.”

“Oh dear, why are you speaking so politely to a mere constable, Divine Physician?”

“We’re all people, aren’t we?”

The constable, who had been wary at first, had relaxed a great deal. Even though many people were already waiting in front of the Provincial Administration Commission, he pushed them back and dealt with me first. Still, the people who recognized me as Divine Physician of Hubei did not show any particular dissatisfaction. Virtue truly was worth building up.

“I heard the news. The Revenue Councillor is looking for you.”

“Councillor Hyeong, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

The constable kindly even gestured with his hands as he told me where the Revenue Office where the Revenue Councillor worked was located. When I followed his directions there, they let me in without any particular procedure. It seemed Hyeong Tae-seong had already told them to expect a visitor.

Inside was Hyeong Tae-seong, who now carried quite a bit of an official’s bearing. Certainly, a sixth-rank official and a fourth-rank one did not carry the same weight. Up to the sixth rank, one was merely the head of lower officials. The fourth rank was the stepping stone into the world of higher officials.

“Councillor. It has been a while.”

“Oh. You’ve come.”

“You look younger now that you’ve been promoted.”

“Ha ha. Such glib words. It’s all thanks to you.”

No one dislikes flattery, which was why I used it. Hadn’t Hyeong Tae-seong just flattered me as well? Of course, him looking younger was a lie, while his promotion because of me was the truth.

Hyeong Tae-seong immediately pulled a chair out and gestured for me to sit.

“I heard this time that Radiant Crystal Merchant Company is practically raking in money.”

“Compared to places like the All-Under-Heaven Merchant Company, it’s a mere trickle.”

“Heh heh. Compared to the All-Under-Heaven Merchant Company, what place isn’t?”

I smiled. The Hyeong Tae-seong before me surely did not think Radiant Crystal Merchant Company would one day surpass the All-Under-Heaven Merchant Company. Overturning that kind of common sense was my work.

“Anyway, your business talent is impressive. I hear some people in the commercial world are already paying attention to the merchant company monopolizing and selling the Green Forest Twelve Forms.”

“Is that so?”

“When your frame grows larger, so does the attention paid to you. Get used to it.”

No one was more used to that sort of thing than I was. I nodded.

Perhaps thinking the formalities were over, Hyeong Tae-seong lowered his voice and brought up the real matter.

“Do you remember that time we met the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate?”

“Yes. You were there too, Councillor.”

“Well, from his point of view, I was a much lower official, so I didn’t have any room to speak.”

“Yes. So?”

“I was wondering whether you might connect me.”

“Hmm.”

I let out a thoughtful hum. Was Hyeong Tae-seong already trying to grab hold of a patron? Then again, if he wanted to move from the Provincial Administration Commission into the ranks of central officials noticed by the Emperor, he would indeed need that kind of connection.

“I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not asking you to connect me because I want to latch onto his line.”

“No?”

I tilted my head. Then why would he want to see the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate? To most officials, someone like that ought to be a man they wished to stay far away from. The Censorate’s people were officials who hunted other officials.

“Then why?”

“…What I’m about to say is a secret.”

I flinched. A secret. Broadly speaking, it had been because of a secret like that that I died in my previous life. A secret I was never supposed to hold. I asked carefully.

“Is it a secret I’m allowed to hear?”

“In truth, it’s a secret everyone ought to know.”

“Is that so?”

I tapped my elbow lightly with a finger. To be honest, I could still have gotten up and walked out right there.

The merchant company was doing well, and I could end up entangled with the authorities to no good end if I wished. But danger and opportunity were the two sides of a coin. They always stuck together. And Hyeong Tae-seong was enough of a gamble to be worth taking once.

“All right. Tell me.”

“Good. It’s better that you’re cautious. The truth is, after I moved into the Revenue Office, I discovered that the Vice Minister of Revenue is committing corruption.”

“…Hmm.”

That was fresh news indeed. Then again, Hyeong Tae-seong was a clean official, not a merchant like me. Perhaps I had been thinking of him too much by my own standards.

“If possible, I considered treating it as a customary matter and overlooking it. But when I saw him embezzling even the grain reserved for the people, I simply could not endure it.”

“He’s got guts, then.”

In years of abundance, the magistrate’s office bought grain and stored it, then sold it cheaply to the people in years of scarcity. It was something the central government took seriously, so audits regarding those reserves happened quite often. Yet he was embezzling even that.

“Exactly. That’s why it seems to me that the only person high enough to speak to directly is someone like the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.”

“I see. Then I’ll send a letter to Beijing.”

So this was essentially internal whistleblowing. If this accusation failed to land, then Hyeong Tae-seong and I would both be marked within Hubei’s Provincial Administration Commission. For me, with a base in Wuhan, it carried considerable risk. Yet there was no route to back out. Once I’d heard the secret, I had to move together with him. That was trust.

“Thank you. I knew a man with your strong sense of righteousness would be angry alongside me.”

“…Ah. Of course. To embezzle grain meant for the people. It’s intolerable.”

Hyeong Tae-seong clasped both my hands as though deeply moved. He seemed to be under some serious misunderstanding, but I felt no particular need to clear it up.

“I’ve always thought someone like you ought to succeed, so hearing that your merchant company is doing so well makes me happy. Merchants are usually a breed I don’t want close, but perhaps you’re different because you’re a lay disciple of Wudang.”

“I’ll earn a great deal and pay a mountain of taxes.”

“Ha ha! That’s the spirit!”

Of course, I would say that to his face and then tell Jo Chung-heon to find ways to reduce our taxes. Words were only words, after all.

After saying I’d let him know when a reply came, I left the Revenue Office. As I walked through the courtyard of the Provincial Administration Commission after leaving, someone ran toward me. Looking closely, I saw it was one of the errand boys I had hired on a short-term basis.

“Company Lord!”

Urgency filled his face to the point that even I began to feel anxious. It seemed something had happened at the merchant company. To think I’d said to send someone to the Provincial Administration Commission if anything happened, and they had really sent someone right away.

“What happened?”

“The Wuhan Merchant Association, the Association Master of the Wuhan Merchant Association has come!”

“The Association Master of the Wuhan Merchant Association?”

Why were so many people looking for me today? Then again, a minor merchant company had suddenly struck it rich, so naturally they would come looking for the Company Lord. In a small or mid-sized merchant company, the Company Lord was the merchant company.

I cracked my neck and looked up at the sky. The sun was still high overhead. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.