Let's Plant Coffee
Even the road construction linking Sichuan's counties would take several months at the least, and there was no way they could afford to cling to that project alone.
Hwiyeom pushed other initiatives forward at the same time.
"I'm heading to Yunnan. Elder U Seong-sik, Elder Jin Cheong, Elder Bak Chang-eon—come with me."
"Do we all really need to go? We're already short-handed…"
"Elder U Seong-sik, as the man responsible for the landholders' branch, you absolutely have to come. You'll need to coordinate operations for the Caffa plantations with the local farm owners and with the Jeomchang Sect, who will be managing them."
"…I suppose so."
"Elder Jin Cheong, you'll handle the on-site survey for opening a Yunnan agricultural cooperative."
"What? You're going to establish an agricultural cooperative in Yunnan Province?"
Jin Cheong's eyes went round with shock at a proposal he had never heard before.
"The cooperative is already a money-losing outfit as it is. Do we really have to expand it into someone else's province…?"
"Yunnan is different. Precisely because it's someone else's province, there's no reason whatsoever to sign crop purchase-guarantee contracts with every single farmer."
"So you're only contracting with the Caffa plantation owners?"
"Exactly. Those owners will need one to three years just to plant the Caffa seeds or saplings and get them growing. They still have to eat in the meantime."
"Well… true enough, but…"
"And this talk about the cooperative only bleeding money is a bit of an act, isn't it? I read last quarter's report carefully. You've already turned a profit."
"That was…"
They had sold the crops cheap, yes—but that was the whole point of high-volume, low-margin sales. Once farmers tasted the effects of pesticide and fertilizer, they bought the stuff from the cooperative in staggering quantities. And it wasn't only private demand. The Poseongsa offices had purchased ample stocks of both for their own official fields.
Elder Jin Cheong's constant refrain of "it doesn't make money" and "there's no money" was simply the habitual drama he had developed in the early days, when cash had poured out of the cooperative like a sieve and he had twisted himself into knots trying to stanch the losses.
"Once the cooperative enters Yunnan, we'll be selling pesticide and fertilizer to the people of Yunnan Province as well. After that little spectacle we put on at the Southern Savage Beast Palace last time, demand for pesticide will be enormous there too. We can't just leave that market sitting there."
"I see. The problem, again, is manpower…"
When Jin Cheong pulled a long face, Hwiyeom gave a short laugh.
"One branch manager. Split the work into two sections—loan-and-repayment, and pesticide-fertilizer sales plus produce purchasing—with a section chief for each. Dispatch a few assistant managers or team leaders as working staff underneath them, and hire the rest of the employees locally."
"Uuuugh…"
Jin Cheong nodded as if he had no choice. Just thinking about how to pull the needed people out and how to plug the holes afterward made his stomach clench.
"And Elder Bak Chang-eon, you need the full picture of local conditions so you can coordinate everything. You'll also meet with the Poseongsa officials who will be supporting us, and with the elders of the Jeomchang Sect."
"Understood."
Just as the Yunnan trip was settled, Sama Yun came looking for Hwiyeom.
"Dang Gaga! Take me with you!"
Having become regular pen pals with Hwiyeom, Sama Yun had learned of his planned visit to Yunnan Province and immediately decided she wanted to go too.
(For the record, they had dropped formal speech after exchanging three or four letters.)
"I'm really interested in this Caffa plantation of yours. I want to know what kind of tea it actually is, and I want to see the situation in Yunnan for myself."
"Fine."
And so the party that set out for Yunnan included the Sichuan Dang Family's Dokwadae, Hwiyeom himself, the Sama Clan's escort warriors, and Sama Yun.
Ye-eun and Dang Su-jeong were left behind this time.
"Why aren't those two coming?"
"They have work to do. Secretary Lee Jinmyeong will handle my support duties. Why—feeling lonely without them?"
"No? This is great, actually."
Sama Yun offered her signature soft, melting smile that gently dissolved a person's guard.
Watching the pair, the elders smiled with the fondness of grandparents watching their grandchildren play.
"Heh heh, a handsome boy and a lovely girl."
"Don't they make a fine match?"
"I was thinking the same."
But then—
"Dang Gaga. Is going together with Yunnan really the profitable choice? Wouldn't it have been better to squeeze them to the limit and make them economically dependent?"
"Yunmae. To advance into the Central Plains we have to secure our rear first. Squeezing Yunnan is the best short-term move, but long-term it's the worst. We could end up with a knife in our backs."
"If we subordinate them so thoroughly they never even think of drawing a knife…"
"You think I haven't considered that? It's impossible. Go that far and we hand the court a perfect pretext to move against us."
"What a shame…"
"…Ahem."
"…Ahem."
"…Hrmph!"
Listening in silence, the elders' faces slowly turned green.
What kind of conversation was this, devoid of dreams, hope, or even the slightest cuteness?
"…They do… make a fine match…"
"…They couldn't possibly match any better…"
"Heaven is heartless… not just one of them, but two…"
Whatever the people around them thought, Hwiyeom and Sama Yun got along splendidly.
Upon arriving in Yunnan Province they quickly worked through the official schedule first.
They met with the Yunnan Poseongsa to discuss the location and scale of the fields allotted for the Caffa plantations, and talked through the founding of a Yunnan agricultural cooperative.
They visited the Jeomchang Sect, walked the fields where the plantations would be established, and discussed management plans.
Only after smiling and waving to the cheering crowds who hailed the Sichuan Dang Family as the saviors of Yunnan did they finally sit down with the Arabian merchants who had come from the Western Regions.
"Ibn al-Nasir, at your service."
"Hwiyeom. Thank you for making the long journey."
"You are too kind."
After brief greetings the Arab merchant and Hwiyeom immediately showed each other their goods.
"I take it bringing live saplings was impossible after all?"
"I'm afraid so—we had to cross the desert. Instead we brought a generous supply of Caffa cherries—the red fruit in its original form—and green beans, the seeds with the flesh removed for long-term storage."
"I also ordered a book summarizing the points of care for cultivation. Do you have it?"
"We produced one ourselves. We don't know the climate of the Central Plains well, but with Yunnan's climate cultivation should be possible.
By the way, how much Pu'er tea do you have available?"
"We can supply you the same volume as previous years."
"That's a relief! Then might we also obtain some grain?"
"I'm sorry—most of our grain is being supplied to Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. There's little surplus."
"What if you brought grain in from Anhui Province and sold it to us?"
"Those thieves might demand black pepper of equal weight for the grain, but if that's still all right with you…?"
"أنت ابن العاهرة…"
"صحيح."
"Ah—you speak Arabic?"
"Basic literacy."
In the end Hwiyeom bought coffee green beans and a few spices from the Arab merchants, and sold them Sichuan brocade and Yunnan Pu'er tea.
"I handled the transaction myself this time, but from now on my agents will oversee the trade."
"Oh, very well. We'll keep that in mind. May Allah watch over you."
"Inshallah."
Hwiyeom accepted the green beans with a cheerful smile and looked at Jin Cheong.
"You heard that? Going forward the cooperative will also handle coffee-bean imports and the sale of Yunnan tea."
"What? Just like that?"
Elder Jin Cheong's eyes went round again.
"You said we only had to sell fertilizer and pesticide…!"
"Come on, once the table is already set, adding one more spoon is nothing. If the workload really bothers you, go talk to the head of the Elders' Council and squeeze more people out of him."
"Absolutely not!"
Bak Chang-eon declared with the fierce expression of Zhang Fei gripping his serpent spear at the Changban Bridge.
"We don't have enough people left to eat ourselves to death! Do you think the cooperative has manpower to spare?! It is completely impossible!"
"Well then… Elder Jin Cheong can just go on business trips himself."
"…Excuse me?"
At Hwiyeom's deliberately skewed tone, Elder Jin Cheong—who had been lying on the floor preparing to whine with the energy of someone crying "It's a sable! It's a sable!"—creaked his head around with a grinding sound.
Hwiyeom's eyes glowed softly, as if the words "Do it if I tell you to" were written across them.
"If there's no one else, the person in charge has to run around on his own two feet. Right?"
"No, there's no need to go that far…"
"If Elder Jin Cheong can't go, shall I go myself?"
Under that smoldering gaze Jin Cheong shrank like a squid on a grill.
"…I'll do whatever it takes to free up some people."
Having finished prodding Jin Cheong, Hwiyeom now offered a carrot.
"Hang on for one month. I'll pull some of the Sama kids and send them over."
"What?! You can't!"
Lee Jinmyeong, who had been watching the fire from the far bank, suddenly realized the burning house was his own and shouted. Hwiyeom answered,
"Yes I can!"
"You can't give something and then take it back! You can't!"
"Then send some of your own kids instead. Or shall I send you?"
"That's even worse!"
"Then shut up and do as I say, damn it. In the early days of any business everything is short, and people most of all. If you have no teeth you chew with your gums. If you have no people you grind up time and push through."
"Uuuugh…"
In the end both Jin Cheong and Lee Jinmyeong drooped their shoulders like defeated men. Watching them quietly, Sama Yun muttered to herself and blinked.
"The way they treat the scholars of our clan is… uh… is this right?"
She had sent high-value talent, told them to use them carefully, and slipped a few in hoping to extract some information—so why were the children all being treated like high-class slaves?
She was confused.
The method for raising coffee trees was as follows.
1. Select high-quality green beans. They should be uniform in size and free of pests or disease.
2. Soak the green beans in water for about a day, then lightly bury them in damp sand to induce germination.
3. Plant the germinated beans in well-draining seedling soil. Take care not to plant them too deep.
4. Erect a shade canopy, water generously, and maintain proper temperature and humidity.
5. While the seedlings are young, water frequently so the soil never dries out. Frequent shallow watering is the key!
6. In the early seedling stage provide about 50 % shade, then gradually increase the hours of sun exposure.
7. After roughly six months, move the seedlings outdoors to acclimate them. Afterward transplant them permanently into the fields or plantation.
Raised in this manner for three to five years, they will produce commercially viable beans.
Hwiyeom carefully read the book of these precautions (sold by the Arab merchant), handed it to Jin Cheong, and said,
"Don't just sit on your hands thinking plantation management isn't your job. The Jeomchang Sect's main duty is protection, not farming. The farmers have to do the real work, but they still don't know how to grow Caffa, so at first the cooperative has to look after everything from start to finish."
"…I'll figure something out."
Another task had been quietly added to the pile, but Jin Cheong no longer had the strength to argue. He simply nodded with a look of resignation.