Unexpected Problems and Caffe the One
Let us begin with how the whole affair started.
Ever since arriving in Beijing, Hui-yeom had been fretting over what to do with the camping carriages.
To accommodate a party of three hundred, he had built no fewer than thirty ten-seater camping carriages. Finding space for thirty of these vehicles—each rivaling a modern bus in size—was already a headache. The bigger problem was the horses that pulled them.
Six horses per carriage meant a hundred and eighty animals in total. That was no small number, and the cost of maintaining them was considerable. Of course, if it were for business, he could invest as much as needed. But if the situation meant he would have to leave these camping carriages and horses idle for at least a year—until his party returned from Beijing to Sichuan—the prospect was far from appealing.
And selling them off to outsiders isn't really an option either.
There was the risk that whoever bought the carriages might dismantle them and copy the technology. Granted, they currently lacked the ability to manufacture the internal parts and materials, so true imitation should be impossible—but this was the Central Plains, swarming with eccentric geniuses and flooded with all manner of outlandish knockoffs.
He had sold a few of the higher-end multi-passenger carriages to select VIPs, but these camping carriages incorporated his latest suspension technology. He was reluctant to expose that so soon.
So there he was, turning the problem over in his mind—when, no sooner had his party settled their luggage at the Sama residence in Beijing, than the chief stewards of the Gongjonggol Family and the Hojongbang Family came calling.
They congratulated Hui-yeom on successfully completing the massive construction project and returning to Beijing, then immediately launched into something unexpected. After hearing them out, Hui-yeom blinked for a moment before asking again.
"So, if I understand correctly… you would like to operate something like the Sacheon Haenggeo here in Beijing as well?"
Although Hui-yeom was the Young Master of the Sichuan Dang Family and, officially, a Fifth-Rank Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy, the stewards who ran the practical affairs of the Eight Great Families were figures of sufficient stature that his respectful address was warranted. Yet the two stewards receiving that courtesy twisted uncomfortably in their seats. Watching his expression carefully, they said:
"Th… that is correct."
"There is a request from above that you review the matter as favorably as possible…"
While Hui-yeom had been buried in the Henan construction, word of the Sacheon Haenggeo must already have reached Beijing. Large carriages circulating through a major city and carrying people comfortably to their destinations—and the expensive carriages reserved exclusively for the upper classes—would have appealed perfectly to the high officials' tastes. Above all, certain officials steeped to the bone in privilege could not accept that such luxuries enjoyed by "lowly country folk" in Sichuan were unavailable to them in Beijing.
Hui-yeom asked again.
"During my absence, did you not try something similar here in Beijing?"
Any person would naturally have done so. But wanting something and achieving it were two different matters. Looking sheepish, the stewards said:
"In truth, we entrusted the work to various merchant houses, but…"
"Ahem… the results fell short of expectations."
Of course they did.
In modern fairy tales like Cinderella, carriages carry an elegant image, but the carriages of this era were anything but elegant. More precisely, they were especially inelegant for one's pelvic and spinal health. There was a saying that even a youth of sixteen or seventeen would turn into an eighty-year-old after two or three days of carriage travel—and it had not arisen from nowhere.
Obvious enough. They roughly imitated the size, found one or two horses couldn't pull it so they hitched up a whole herd, which made them hard for the drivers to handle. And since they used Central Plains horses rather than Mongol stock, the chassis shook all the worse.
First the lightweight construction technology and the horses would have been problems.
The roads are worse than Sichuan's, they just used wooden wheels bound with iron rims, and without springs or suspension for shock absorption… if the bureaucrats didn't scream themselves hoarse, that would already have been a miracle.
Road paving, wheel materials, and cutting-edge shock-absorption technology—all of it.
"Hmmm…"
Imagining the officials who had casually assumed that "just rolling a few carriages on a schedule should do it" and charged in with slapdash methods, Hui-yeom allowed himself a private smirk, then stroked his chin as if genuinely troubled.
"The timing is not ideal. As you know, once the stock exchange opens, construction of the Beijing Railway Joint-Stock Company will begin. If other convenient transport facilities appear before the railway has even taken root, it would be like scattering ashes on the Beijing Railway's success."
You want buses—that's your problem. I'm the one who stands to lose. How are you going to compensate me?
Trains were convenient, true, but they could not match buses in the flexibility of their routes. Of course the two coexisted in the modern world, each with its role and scope—but there was no need, in Hui-yeom's judgment, to drag out two competing items whose business fields overlapped right now.
Of course two such seasoned members of the Eight Great Families would not have made this request without knowing that.
As Hui-yeom's eyes narrowed, the two family stewards spoke.
"Well, then… we would at least hope you might provide carriage routes that officials can use for their commute."
"In Beijing there are many officials who travel long distances to and from the Imperial Palace. It would be of great help to them."
"We will compensate you generously! High officials are willing to pay substantial fees just to ride this Haenggeo!"
"In coordination with the Ministry of Revenue, we have already reviewed a proposal to simply deduct Haenggeo fares from their salaries!"
"Oh… very proactive of you."
So this is the real point.
Only then did their true motive become crystal clear to Hui-yeom.
With trains, you could divide the cars and so on… but there were still those who found it uncomfortable that they would be riding the same train. That damned sense of privilege.
Coming from a democratic capitalist age, Hui-yeom found the status system and the privilege that oozed from the upper classes at every breath rather distasteful—but what could he do?
Unless I'm going to overthrow Emperor Sungui, abolish the status system, and start a democratic revolution right now, I'll just have to live with it and adapt…
True to the mindset of a twenty-first-century capitalist, Hui-yeom decided to show that simply pursuing business profit and public convenience could change the world.
"Very well. I will review a business plan for operating Haenggeo routes specifically to support the commuting of officials."
"Oh!"
As the two stewards brightened, Hui-yeom smiled and drew a line.
"However, a public enterprise serving all of Beijing and every commoner living here, like the Sacheon Haenggeo, is impossible. There is too much preparation required; other projects would be delayed, and it could undermine the profitability of the Beijing Railway plan. We will implement it solely for officials commuting to the Forbidden City and the surrounding government offices."
"Excellent!"
Of course it's excellent—that's exactly what you wanted.
Hui-yeom smiled coldly to himself, but it was no loss for him either. After all, was he not about to be stuck with a large quantity of hard-to-dispose-of oversized camping carriages?
They say when you're in a bind, a way opens up. I've been living diligently, so the whole universe is pitching in to help? Maybe it's because I named my little girl so well?
Casually muttering the kind of doting nonsense only a hopeless father would, Hui-yeom smiled.
"Understood. I will come to you with a proper business proposal. But… we won't end up suffering losses because the profitability wasn't thoroughly reviewed after we push the project through under pressure, will we?"
"Of course not!"
"It is difficult to advance a business on verbal promises alone. There are various things you'll need to confirm for us, aren't there? Especially at the Ministry of Revenue… it seems there will be quite a lot of work."
If we go all out building buses and setting up routes, and then only a handful of people ride them so the profitability collapses—what happens to those losses? This is a business aimed only at officials, not commoners, because of you people. We need guarantees on revenue and various benefits, right?
The stewards, grasping his meaning at once, nodded. Their masters were not pushing this to spar with Hui-yeom or set a trap, so they had no choice but to be cooperative.
"The Ministry of Revenue is already drafting a policy plan to operate an 'Official Haenggeo' as a solution to the officials' commuting problem—covering everything from usage to payment of costs. As I mentioned a moment ago, in coordination with the Board of Revenue, we had already reviewed deducting Haenggeo fares at source from the officials' salaries. Considerable review has already been done at the higher levels, so that plan will likely pass, and once it does, there should be no major issues regarding profitability."
It would be unthinkable in the modern world… but in the imperial state of the Gyeong Empire, it was nothing special.
Ah, wait—no. It was possible even in modern times. There was that vicious system of forcibly converting civil servants' allowances into traditional market gift certificates and docking them from their pay.
In any case, after hearing the stewards out, Hui-yeom returned straight to the Sama residence and met with Sama Seung.
Sama Seung, who had been listening to Sama Yun talk about her married life and playing with Woo-ju, shifted from the face of a kindly grandfather to that of a seasoned politician and said:
"Just when we were at a loss over what to do with those travel carriages—heaven is lending a hand."
At that, Hui-yeom smiled faintly.
"Grandfather, as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you didn't happen to put a word in with the Ministry, did you?"
"Heh heh…"
At Hui-yeom's words, Sama Seung grinned.
"Well, I won't claim I had nothing to do with it—but the conversation only progressed because people already had the desire. No need to thank me too much."
Indeed. This whole affair had been engineered by Sama Seung after hearing from Sama Yun that her husband seemed troubled about disposing of the camping carriages they had ridden in on.
Hui-yeom bowed his head to him and said:
"They say if your wife is beautiful, you'll even bow to the hitching post at her parents' house… I could repay this tenfold for every step I take and still fall short."
"There goes that fellow with the idle talk again. In that case, hurry up and make me a second grandchild to hold."
"? Haven't you heard yet?"
"? Heard what?"
"I thought you'd already heard about why we built the travel carriages and rode them here in the first place…"
When Hui-yeom looked at Sama Yun, she scratched her cheek sheepishly and said:
"Um… I'm already carrying the second one…"
"What?!"
Sama Seung's mouth fell open.
"When?! How far along?! Does my elder brother in the main house know?! Does he?!"
"It's been about four months since my monthly courses stopped… and Father already knows."
"Good heavens above!"
Sama Seung slapped his forehead with a sharp smack.
"Well now—double celebrations are about to explode! Hahahahaha!!!"
Startled by Sama Seung's roaring laughter, birds burst up into the sky with a flutter of wings.
It was a happy afternoon.
A few days later.
Hui-yeom visited the Beijing flagship of Caffe the One. He had come to check on the condition of the Beijing branch and to inspect the construction progress and business preparations for the stock exchange that was set to open alongside it.
And when Hui-yeom stepped into Beijing's Caffe the One, he stood for a moment with his mouth hanging open in a daze.
The masterpieces on which Michelangelo and his disciples had poured their very souls were supposed to be on display at Caffe the One. They were on display, yes… but…
This…
Was this right?
Hui-yeom muttered blankly:
"Uh… Shanghai Disney Studio?"