Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 63 - I Always Think of You (1)

Chapter 63 – I Always Think of You (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Capture the king to seize the bandits. If you want to catch the enemy, start with the king. Following the wisdom of ages past, I had crushed the leader of the Black Dragon Gate, and the Black Dragon Gate became a force cooperating entirely with Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.

By rumor, it was said that when Mun Il-ji openly changed his words as if flipping his palm, the Association Master of the Wuhan Merchant Association had frothed at the mouth and collapsed backward. It was certainly the sort of thing that would be absurd, bewildering, and enraging all at once. There was nothing more infuriating than having a partner suddenly turn around on you for no reason.

“Company Lord. You’re truly incredible.”

“In what way?”

“They say the fight between the Wuhan Merchant Association and our merchant company has become a hot topic in other provinces too.”

“Really?”

There had been another unexpected benefit as well. As Jo Chung-heon said, the fight between Radiant Crystal Merchant Company and the Wuhan Merchant Association was spreading fairly widely through the commercial world.

People always become excited when the weak defeat the strong. In that sense, the fact that a newly founded merchant company like Radiant Crystal Merchant Company had seized the initiative in a fight with a merchant association that once lorded over the region was bound to stir people’s interest.

“So in other regions too, when they see Radiant Crystal Merchant Company, they step back a little. It seems we look as though we possess some tremendous force.”

“They can only think that. It’s not something that normally happens, for a merchant company to defeat a merchant association.”

“Exactly.”

Jo Chung-heon was smiling brightly. There was a reason for the smile. Yesterday’s sales had set the highest daily sales record of the month. The biggest factor was that we had taken control of Wuhan’s alleyway market, the largest source of sales for the Green Forest Twelve Forms.

“By now it should all have arrived.”

“Heh heh.”

This time even I couldn’t suppress my smile. What sort of day was this? It was the day when the wages, business expenses, and all other costs from each province had been settled, and the profits were being transported back to headquarters.

Since Wuhan, where our headquarters was located, had far more to process than the other provinces and still hadn’t finished, the carts carrying the silver arriving in Wuhan right now would truly be the first money earned by the merchant journey.

As befitted a Company Lord, I tried to preserve my dignity, but I kept grinning as if my lungs had sprung holes.

“Heh heh heh. Khkhkh. Hahaha.”

“Heh heh. You’re in a good mood, aren’t you? Heh heh heh.”

Even Jo Chung-heon, who was usually serious, seemed excited at the thought of receiving his bonus. Naturally, when transporting silver, I had used the highest-grade escort bureau available. I had even put in a clause that if the cargo was lost, twice its value would have to be compensated. Even if that raised the cost of the contract, this was exactly the sort of time one earned money for.

From outside, I could feel through the soles of my feet the snorting of oxen and the pounding of horses’ hooves against the earth. Both Jo Chung-heon and I, who had been seated, sprang to our feet.

“Company Lord! They’ve arrived!”

The cry of an errand boy outside rang out. Jo Chung-heon and I, both waiting for that moment, dashed outside without either of us needing to move first.

I bent my neck back and looked up at the sacks piled as high as a mountain.

“…Surely this isn’t some delivery that came to the wrong place?”

Behind me, Jo Chung-heon said that in a dazed voice. It was understandable that he couldn’t process it.

And it wasn’t just Jo Chung-heon. Not only the people of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company, but even the people of the East Lake Merchant Association had come out to stare at the huge escort shipment, and once people gathered, others were naturally drawn in too, so everyone was murmuring.

“What is all that?”

“They say it’s all money.”

“Get out of here, man. Don’t talk nonsense. Has the God of Wealth descended on Wuhan or what?”

That was how ordinary people who didn’t know what an escort shipment was reacted, while those from merchant associations and merchant companies who did know all turned pale.

“Is all of that really money?”

“Association Master said it was, but maybe he made a mistake?”

“That’s the South Plains Escort Bureau. If it’s the South Plains Escort Bureau, it must have cost a fortune.”

“Not the sort of escort bureau a mere merchant company should be using.”

A middle-aged man in martial garb with the character `Yuan` sewn across his chest walked up to me.

“Are you the Company Lord of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company?”

“Yes. Then you must be the escort chief.”

“That’s right. I am Escort Chief Yi Gil-sang.”

The murmuring among the crowd only intensified. Escort Chief Yi Gil-sang was the finest escort in the South Plains Escort Bureau and one of the top experts in all of Jiangxi Province, where the bureau itself was based. It was only natural that people would stir when someone famous arrived.

“Then you must be the Swift Wind Escort, Great Hero. Am I right? My knowledge of the martial world is rather shallow.”

“It’s not such a grand title.”

“So I was right. That’s a relief.”

If even I, who had no reason to be involved with the martial world during this period, knew his name, then he truly was famous. I had felt it several times already, but every time I met a celebrity after returning to the past, the feeling was oddly distinct. It felt like a sign that I was living on a track of life utterly different from the old one.

“If you sign here, that will suffice. It’s the confirmation that you received the escorted cargo safely.”

“It’s not that I distrust Great Hero Swift Wind Escort or the South Plains Escort Bureau, but when escorted cargo arrives, it is principle for the merchant company to verify it once more on its own side. I ask your understanding.”

“Heh heh. Young Company Lord, you certainly are meticulous. We do not object to that sort of thing in the slightest. For the expensive fee you’ve paid, we guarantee you the right that goes with it.”

“Then there was a reason the South Plains Escort Bureau is often mentioned whenever the number one escort bureau in the Central Plains is discussed.”

“Speaking with you feels less like talking to a young Company Lord and more like talking to an old snake who’s worked merchant affairs for fifty years. They said you were exceptional, but there isn’t a trace of falsehood in that rumor. If anything, the rumors don’t contain you fully.”

“No vessel in the world can hold the sea.”

“Hahaha. You truly are not someone to take lightly.”

As I conversed naturally with the famous Swift Wind Escort, I could somehow feel the people of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company behind me puffing out their chests. It felt as though they were boasting that our Company Lord was such an impressive man. Though wasn’t I? I had returned from death itself, after all.

I lifted up the cargo here and there, checking in detail whether any sacks had been torn or leaked. A merchant had to be sensitive to the point of seeming excessive where money was concerned.

Only when Escort Chief Yi Gil-sang began to look bored and yawn did I finally finish inspecting the cargo. The people of the East Lake Merchant Association and Radiant Crystal Merchant Company behind me kept signaling me with their eyes because Yi Gil-sang was waiting, but I didn’t care.

“Are you done?”

“Yes. There’s no problem.”

“Then please stamp this once.”

“Of course.”

I took out the seal I had brought with me. There was a place in the corner of the paper where the stamp was to go. Once I stamped this, the money in the escort shipment would become mine. For no reason, I was swept away by a sentimental feeling. But that lasted only a moment. I cleanly pressed the seal down, then split the confirmation certificate between Yi Gil-sang and myself.

“I hereby declare that control of this escorted cargo has, from this moment, been transferred to Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.”

“By all means.”

“So you are now the master of all this money. You’ve succeeded at a young age.”

Strictly speaking, it belonged to the merchant company. Most of it would go into reinvestment to expand the company’s scale anyway, but even the crumbs left over would keep my belly full for quite some time.

“I still think calling this success is premature. I’ve only completed one merchant run.”

“Even so, I have the feeling we’ll be seeing each other often. For the record, unless the cargo is of considerable value, I do not personally join as escort chief. I usually focus on instructing the younger escort chiefs.”

“I see. It was an honor.”

“It was for me as well.”

Yi Gil-sang and I returned each other’s clasped-fist salute. At Yi Gil-sang’s command, the escorts and carriers all swarmed over the cargo and began unloading it. Each time a bundle was set down, the jingling sound from inside confirmed once more that the contents were silver.

The escorts and carriers of the South Plains Escort Bureau were truly elite. This was exactly why one spent money. Once you experienced the satisfaction of using something expensive, you could never go back to something cheap. There was always a reason wealthy men paid huge premiums even for tiny differences.

The South Plains Escort Bureau unloaded the shipment swiftly and withdrew at once. Watching dozens of people move like one body stirred something in my chest. That was the power of a truly trained organization.

I glanced behind me. The people of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company, still chattering excitedly about having seen Swift Wind Escort in person, were nowhere near unified enough to move as one body yet. If I had to describe them, perhaps they were a monster with three heads and six arms. One could ask whether that didn’t simply make them stronger, but since each limb obeyed a different will, all it really produced was chaos.

‘Well, this is only the beginning.’

Thinking that, I went over to where the cargo had been unloaded. Jo Chung-heon, without needing me to say anything, followed behind me like my shadow.

“How much is all this?”

“About three thousand nyang of silver.”

“Gasp.”

“Why are you so shocked? If you include Wuhan’s profits, which haven’t finished being processed yet, it’ll rise to five thousand.”

“Gaaasp.”

At this rate he might hyperventilate. I smiled bitterly. Five thousand nyang of silver. In the old days I would have laughed at such a sum, but now it was a fortune I couldn’t lightly lay hands on.

“And that’s after paying the workers’ wages and the money that has to go to the black path, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Net profit.”

“That’s enormous. To bring in this much from a single merchant run. And for a newly founded merchant company at that.”

“But this month is going to be abnormally high. Publishers and printers have already begun smelling money, so they’ll start printing the Green Forest Twelve Forms like crazy. That means we’re the last ones enjoying the boom at today’s inflated price.”

“A great many copies have already left the warehouse in truth. Even while we tried to control the volume as much as possible, demand was so high that it wasn’t easy to stop the outflow.”

“We don’t need to control the volume anymore. We just need to sell it as quickly as possible. And we’re pulling our hands out of the Green Forest Twelve Forms.”

“You’re bold. When people make money off a single product like this, many usually become fixated on it.”

“That’s what amateurs do.”

“Aren’t you an amateur too, in terms of experience, Company Lord?”

“I’m new, but not an amateur.”

“That’s true enough. Who could look at these commercial skills and call you one?”

I grinned. In the past, even Jo Chung-heon wouldn’t have made such a fuss over five thousand nyang of silver.

That meant Jo Chung-heon and I were growing together right now.

“How much bonus do you want?”

“Pardon? No, if you ask me that here…”

“It’s better than asking with everyone else around, isn’t it?”

“Well. To be honest, I’ve never received a bonus from a merchant company before. Aren’t bonuses practically only a system used by large merchant companies?”

“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean you should refuse one, does it?”

“Of course not.”

For an instant, greed flashed in Jo Chung-heon’s eyes. I didn’t think that was a bad thing. The basic motive of a merchant was greed for money. Of course, if one wished to become an excellent merchant, one had to control that greed properly.

Jo Chung-heon couldn’t easily bring himself to speak. Well, it was difficult to tell one’s Company Lord how much to hand over.

I quietly waited. I could simply have decided it for him, but I wanted to see what sort of vessel a man called Jo Chung-heon was carrying right now.

His lips moved several times before he finally spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito’s.

“A hundred nyang of silver.”

“Pardon?”

“…A hundred nyang.”

“Could you say that a bit louder? I didn’t quite hear it.”

I spread my hand to my ear and tilted my head. Jo Chung-heon’s face turned bright red.

“No, eighty nyang? To be honest, sixty would be fine too…”

I laughed quietly. Teasing a subordinate really was amusing.

Still, it was a slight disappointment. At times like this, he could have boldly demanded five hundred nyang. If it were me, I would’ve done exactly that. That was how you ended up getting even three hundred.

But Jo Chung-heon wasn’t finished yet.

“And…”

“Yes?”

“Please promise me the post of chief foreman of this merchant company.”

“Huh.”

I was mildly startled, then burst into laughter. So this really was the sort of man who succeeded. His mindset was different. Rather than asking for more silver immediately, he was asking for the position that would let him make much more silver in the future.

“You’re greedier than I thought.”

“I don’t believe it’s greed. This merchant run has achieved astonishing results, but Radiant Crystal Merchant Company still hasn’t yet taken on the proper form of a real merchant company. I believe I could help build that form.”

Unlike when he asked for money, Jo Chung-heon’s tone was perfectly dignified when asking for the post of chief foreman. I hid my smile and continued speaking.

“But isn’t that too much of a gamble? There are more merchant companies that flash briefly and disappear than there are stars in the night sky. What if I collapse?”

“Then I’ll collapse with you.”

“That’s a more plain answer than I expected.”

“Still better than collapsing alone, isn’t it?”

“That’s true enough.”

Jo Chung-heon and I grinned at each other. Then I stopped smiling and spoke in a serious tone.

“Then I’ll give my chief foreman his first assignment. Draw up an organization and personnel system for a merchant company that can employ fifty people.”

“I will do so.”

“Good. Then sixty nyang of silver?”

“No. Since you’re giving it anyway, I think a hundred would be better.”

I clicked my tongue as though disappointed. Five thousand nyang was certainly a lot right now, but money disappeared in an instant once you started spending it. To expand the merchant company’s power, even five thousand nyang would vanish quickly. Of course, I also had things to spend on personally.

And so I promoted Jo Chung-heon to chief foreman and was about to return to dealing with the rest of the business.

“Company Lord!”

At that moment, a voice frantically calling for me came from outside. When I stepped out of the warehouse, I saw an errand boy running toward me. His face was deathly pale.

“There are people here asking for you.”

“Who’s coming in such a hurry?”

I could roughly narrow it down to a few candidates. The errand boy, too out of breath even to calm himself, answered.

“Someone from the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Administration Commission has come.”

“I thought they would. It’s the Vice Minister of Revenue, isn’t it?”

The errand boy nodded with wide eyes, as if asking how I knew.

Jin Mu-byeok, Vice Minister of Revenue. The man who had pretended otherwise while taking the side of the Wuhan Merchant Association. Now that the outcome had effectively hardened into a victory for Radiant Crystal Merchant Company, he would naturally be burning inside. He was moving so predictably that it was enough to make me yawn.

“Yaaawn. Is that why you came in such a rush?”

“Yes. And someone from the imperial palace has come too.”

“…The imperial palace?”

The yawn I had been letting out vanished straight back into my mouth. That, I had not expected.