Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Bright Flower House (2)
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“The Bright Flower House?”
“Yes. The Bright Flower House.”
At Jinmyeong’s words, Yang Jeon looked at him with a surprised expression.
“Why?”
“Well, I’m just surprised that you’re better at naming things than I thought, Young Master.”
“You think it’s a good name?”
“Yes. It certainly sounds more like a courtesan house than before.”
It seemed the inclusion of the character for “flower” (花) in the name was the reason.
“Are they starting to come out?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
The inside of the courtesan house was filled with a wonderful aroma.
Perhaps because of the promise of ten silver nyang a year, a great number of cooks had shown up.
And now, they were cooking in the kitchen.
All to be judged by Jinmyeong.
“I’m looking forward to this.”
How long did they wait?
About ten prospective cooks came out, each carrying their own dish.
Jinmyeong began to taste the ten dishes arranged on the table one by one.
‘Unbelievably spicy.’
Sichuan cuisine was widely known for its spiciness, but the food here was no less fiery.
‘If Sichuan has a numbing spiciness, this place is…’
All ten dishes were spicy.
However, it seemed to be different kinds of spicy.
Some were fragrant yet spicy, while others were numbing to the mouth.
Some had a simultaneous sour and spicy taste.
“I never thought there could be so many different kinds of spiciness.”
“…Me neither.”
It appeared the others were also having a hard time adjusting to the spiciness.
“I’ll take this one and this one.”
“I thought this one was pretty good, too.”
They began to pick the dishes they found decent.
As each dish was pointed out, joy and sorrow flickered across the cooks’ faces.
“First, these five. The rest of you can go.”
At Jinmyeong’s words, the faces of the unchosen cooks hardened.
They looked ready to argue with Jinmyeong, but the Mak brothers, who had appeared out of nowhere, began to drag them out.
“I’ve had a taste of the local cuisine, so now try making something you’re good at from another region.”
“Pardon?”
The remaining cooks stared at Jinmyeong, bewildered.
They hadn’t expected to be asked to cook dishes from other regions when they were Hunan cooks.
“Of course you should know how. It’s not just people from Hunan who come to Dongting Lake.”
In fact, more people from other regions would likely visit Dongting Lake.
And when you’re away from home for a long time, the first thing you miss is the food.
“Even so, since they’ve come to Hunan, shouldn’t they eat the local food?”
“Just do it. Do I have to explain every single reason to you?”
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
“Hurry up and get to it!”
Sensing Jinmyeong’s mood, Im Sagyeong quickly pushed the cooks into the kitchen.
They were still dissatisfied, but they couldn’t give up the ten silver nyang, so they ended up making whatever dishes they could.
And Jinmyeong tasted their food once again.
“How is it?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Taste is important, but what’s more important is whether they captured the unique characteristics of that region…”
The problem was that Jinmyeong had no way of knowing if they had captured the regional flavors well.
He had traveled to various regions on missions, but he had always been in such a hurry that he had no memory of eating the local food.
‘I at least remember the food from Shaanxi, but…’
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single dish from Shaanxi before him.
And it wasn't just Jinmyeong; Shin Yehyang, Yang Jeon, and Gu Jahong couldn't accurately judge the food's authenticity either.
“You all try some too.”
“Yes, sir.”
In the end, Jinmyeong offered the food to Im Sagyeong and the Mak brothers as well.
“Personally, I think…”
Unlike Jinmyeong’s group, who had mostly stayed within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they seemed to have tried a variety of foods.
They quickly began to select dishes, and by accepting their opinions, Jinmyeong was able to hire three cooks.
“If we get more customers, I might pay you more. But if there are complaints, I’ll reduce your pay.”
He had ambitiously changed the name of the establishment and hired new cooks.
‘Now, all that’s left is some proper promotion.’
Jinmyeong even hired people to spread rumors about the Bright Flower House.
The rumors said that the name had changed and that with new cooks, the food had become exceptionally good.
But despite spreading such rumors, the number of customers didn't increase at all, contrary to Jinmyeong's expectations.
‘In the end, the appearance is still the same.’
The popular taverns, courtesan houses, and inns on Dongting Lake all had lavish exteriors.
But Gomaru—no, the place that was now the Bright Flower House—was not like that at all.
‘The view from the house isn’t bad…’
The location was good.
It was right in front of Dongting Lake, a perfect spot to go boating after a drink.
The problem, then, was its exterior, which looked like it could collapse at any moment.
‘It needs to be renovated, after all.’
The courtesan house had no money.
It was so broke that it had fallen behind on its tribute payments to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult; there was no way it had money for renovations.
“No matter how I think about it, there are too few courtesans.”
“That’s true. There are only four.”
Yang Jeon also sighed at the unchanging situation.
As capable a steward as he was, this was the first time he had dealt with such a matter, and he seemed to be at a loss.
“There are hardly any people either. Four courtesans, the manager, and the Mak brothers, is that really all?”
“Yes. That’s everyone.”
It was too few.
There were no customers now, but the number of courtesans was far too small.
“First, let’s decide what we need.”
Jinmyeong decided to set priorities.
“Since it’s a courtesan house, we obviously need courtesans.”
“Yes. Four is not enough.”
“How did they even operate with this many?”
“Apparently, there were more before. But business was so bad that they all left.”
Unable to get paid, the courtesans began to leave.
And as they left, their personal clientele also began to dwindle.
Fewer customers meant less money, which led to more courtesans leaving, and even the cooks left, causing the food to taste bad.
It was a vicious cycle.
“Which means they ended up bringing in cheap, low-quality alcohol too.”
“Yes.”
As the problems kept piling up, his head began to ache.
“First things first. We’re going to change this building that looks like it could collapse at any moment.”
“Pardon? How?”
“Using my money.”
The inheritance left by Jinmyeong's father wasn't small, but he had also received a reward from the Heavenly Demon for a previous mission to retrieve a treasure.
“I mean, the money I received from the Cult Leader back then should be enough…”
And just in case, Jinmyeong had even brought a silver ingot.
“How much did I get from the Cult Leader?”
“In silver nyang, it would be about a thousand.”
“That’s a lot. How much do you think it would cost to make this place incredibly lavish?”
Yang Jeon couldn't answer Jinmyeong’s question easily.
“Wouldn't it depend on how lavish you want to make it? A thousand nyang might not be enough, or there could be some left over.”
“Hmm. Then let’s fix it up for about seven hundred nyang.”
“…”
Yang Jeon’s head throbbed as Jinmyeong spoke of seven hundred nyang so casually.
It seemed Jinmyeong intended to spend the entire thousand nyang he received from the Heavenly Demon on this place.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I’m short on money.”
“But you’re not overflowing with it either.”
“Having enough to live the rest of your life without working counts as overflowing.”
“Haa. Very well. I will contact the main cult and have the money brought over.”
Yang Jeon knew he wouldn't be able to change Jinmyeong’s mind.
“Next. The courtesan house’s mascot.”
“Excuse me? A mas…?”
“I mean we need a courtesan who comes to mind when people think of the Bright Flower House.”
This wasn't something he had read in the novel.
But weren't there things like that in martial arts stories sometimes?
‘The mysterious top courtesan of the house. The fools—no, the customers—who pour enormous sums of money into the house just to see her.’
Jinmyeong thought he needed that as well.
“Then how do we find courtesans?”
“Usually, you buy them from the commoner class, or borrow them from the Underworld Sect.”
“Hmm. For now, we’ll have to go with borrowing from the Underworld Sect.”
It wasn’t that he was against taking in commoners.
But right now, the Bright Flower House needed experienced courtesans.
“Manager, bring me some courtesans.”
“Yes!”
At Jinmyeong’s command, Im Sagyeong, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, quickly left.
He still couldn't understand why Jinmyeong was going to such lengths for this courtesan house.
What was the reason for trying to save this place, even spending such a vast sum of money?
‘He might as well have just given that money to me.’
Im Sagyeong forcefully pushed the thought away and brought the four remaining courtesans to Jinmyeong.
“No matter how I look at them…”
Jinmyeong quietly observed the four courtesans.
“Their names are Mae, Nan, Guk, and Juk?”
“Yes.”
Named after the Four Gracious Plants, they didn't look like courtesans to Jinmyeong.
“You don’t look like courtesans.”
“…”
The four women said nothing.
“What did you do at the main cult?”
“We were courtesans at the main cult as well. But unlike now…”
“We sold laughter and skills.”
It seemed they were not satisfied with their current life.
“What kind of skills do you have?”
“We are quite skilled with musical instruments.”
“Play something for me.”
Despite Jinmyeong’s sudden request, they quickly brought out their instruments.
Soon, the music of the four women echoed through the Bright Flower House.
“What do you think? Is it any good?”
“Young Master! Are you even human?”
As soon as the performance ended, Jinmyeong asked his question, and at the same time, Yang Jeon flared up in anger.
“Huh? What’s with the sudden outburst?”
“How can you look so calm after hearing that performance?”
“It sounded a little sad, but is it really that moving?”
Unlike Jinmyeong, who looked clueless, Yang Jeon’s eyes were already welling up with tears.
It wasn't just Yang Jeon; Gu Jahong’s eyes were red as well.
“Miss Shin seems fine, though. Aren’t you guys overreacting?”
“No. I was moved, too.”
Shin Yehyang’s expression was unchanged, but in any case, it seemed Jinmyeong was the only one here who felt nothing from the performance.
“What’s certain is that their performance is outstanding. Why haven’t you been using this?”
“Pardon?”
It seemed that if they had utilized this performance well, the place wouldn't have gone to ruin.
But on the other hand, if it had failed even with this performance, then it would have been truly beyond saving.
“This decides how we should proceed.”
Jinmyeong looked at the Four Gracious Plants, who were standing idly after finishing their performance.
‘It wouldn’t be bad to make them the mascots.’
In any case, a mascot was necessary.
But he thought one was better than four.
‘I’ll keep them as a secret weapon for now. They’ll have to train the new girls anyway.’
Jinmyeong began to explain his organized thoughts to Yang Jeon.
“Let’s sell what they did at the main cult: music, dance, and simple conversation.”
He planned to forbid forcing them to pour drinks or any physical contact.
“Will that work?”
But Yang Jeon didn't think such a courtesan house would succeed.
He was even more worried because so much of Jinmyeong’s money was going into it.
“It’s fine. It’ll work.”
This kind of thing could be quite popular.
Jinmyeong’s inspiration came from the restaurants he had seen in his past life, where a jazz singer would perform or a pianist would play.
‘This is good. We’ll charge more for private rooms.’
A plan began to take shape in his mind.
“Manager. Can you arrange a meeting with the Underworld Sect?”
“I will look into it.”
Im Sagyeong immediately left the Bright Flower House.
And he did not disappoint Jinmyeong, returning with a scheduled meeting with the branch manager of the Underworld Sect’s Hunan branch.