Striking Gold (1)
Thanks to Seok Geum-ryong’s uncanny awareness of the future, his eleventh birthday had passed without incident.
But Seok Geum-ryong was not satisfied with that. He was already dreaming of a much larger canvas.
“Is everyone here?”
Fifteen days after his birthday ended, Seok Geum-ryong summoned everyone under his manor’s banner.
The servant representative was Deung Chon, the leadership representative was the Scholar in Blue, Butler Gong Sang-pil, and the bodyguard representative was the Shadowless One, Shin Dan-woo.
“Yes!”
There were only a dozen or so people in all, so the gathering was about as modest as it could possibly be.
Why on earth did the young master call us here?
Gong Sang-pil had his doubts, but he did not show them.
One thing was certain, though: he had realized that Young Master Seok Geum-ryong had changed completely since his tenth birthday.
Gong Sang-pil believed it had been the day Seok Ji-sung, the lord of Seokga Manor, had personally come to visit on that tenth birthday, and that the encounter had deeply stirred and inspired Geum-ryong.
“I called everyone here because...”
Seok Geum-ryong cleared his throat once, then continued.
“I’m going to launch my own merchant caravan.”
“What?”
“A-a merchant caravan?”
At that shocking declaration, Gong Sang-pil and Deung Chon, and even Shin Dan-woo, who was relatively unversed in the world of trade, stared at Seok Geum-ryong in disbelief.
Servant, butler, and warrior alike were all stunned.
“There’s no rule against it, is there? Under the Seokga family law, I understand that once a direct heir turns eleven, he can either establish a caravan or join a commercial expedition.”
As he said this, Seok Geum-ryong looked meaningfully at Gong Sang-pil, who knew the family laws and ordinances better than anyone.
“W-well, it isn’t actually against the family law, but...”
For once, Gong Sang-pil, who was rarely at a loss, had nothing to say.
“Still, a merchant caravan needs seed capital and a specialty in the goods it handles and distributes, does it not?”
After recovering from his speechlessness, Gong Sang-pil voiced the question that everyone else was surely thinking.
He had a point. Seok Geum-ryong’s household simply did not have the funds, manpower, or scale to form a proper caravan.
“As for money... didn’t I already get enough support from Seok Myo-hee’s side in gold ingots, rice, beans, and the like?”
“Young master! Those are funds meant to sustain you for at least five years. And when you turn fifteen, you’ll have to take part in the Seokga Manor internal examination whether you want to or not.”
Gong Sang-pil was right on every count.
What Seok Geum-ryong had taken from Seok Myo-hee was seed money that had to last until he was fifteen.
And even if he did not establish a caravan or rush into trade now, any direct descendant of Seokga Manor had to face an examination at fifteen, where they were given a certain amount of capital and had to turn it into at least fivefold profit.
In other words, there was no need to jump in and suffer needlessly already.
“That’s true, but all my older brothers, younger brothers, and younger sisters are already gaining experience in caravans and trade that I can’t even begin to compare with.”
It wasn’t as though Seok Geum-ryong didn’t know that.
He simply knew the future and remembered the major events that lay ahead, so it pained him to leave this opportunity untouched.
Besides, the future I remember only goes as far as the year Young Master Seok Geum-ryong turns twenty.
Which meant that after that, he had no idea what might happen.
That was why it felt far too wasteful to let each precious year’s information go unused and squandered.
So Seok Geum-ryong had waited in silence until the day he turned eleven, when he would finally be allowed to formally establish a caravan and participate in trade.
“I see...”
Once he had brought up the matter of his siblings, Gong Sang-pil had no further room to add anything.
Compared with them, the support Seok Geum-ryong had been given was pitifully meager, and Gong Sang-pil almost felt sorry on his behalf.
“Then let’s do it this way.”
Seeing that Butler Gong still did not look entirely convinced, Seok Geum-ryong made an offer of his own.
“Let me use fifteen gold ingots. No, ten will do. I’ll turn them into exactly ten times that amount.”
“...!!”
At the bold proclamation that he would turn ten ingots into one hundred, Gong Sang-pil and the others were shocked once more.
Especially the leadership and the martial men, who were already clicking their tongues and shaking their heads.
“He really is a pampered young master. He doesn’t know how the world works.”
“Exactly. Even seasoned merchants and caravans struggle to make tenfold profit.”
“Seems he doesn’t realize that because he’s never actually been out on the road.”
Their assessment seemed reasonable enough.
Anyone could see that Seok Geum-ryong’s proposal made no sense.
Gong Sang-pil also found it hard to believe, but he did not show it.
If this had been the timid, passive young master from before age ten, perhaps not. But if it was the young master who had changed after properly entering martial training, perhaps he really could work some kind of miracle.
“How long should I give you?”
“Half a month?”
“Understood.”
Ohhh!
After the astonishing proposal, the manor’s people were shocked all over again when Gong Sang-pil not only refused to dismiss it, but readily agreed.
What?
Shin Dan-woo, too, was startled and turned to look at the butler.
Honestly, he had expected Gong Sang-pil to persuade the young master in a tactful way.
But to agree so readily instead of arguing against it at all—what on earth was he thinking?
“However! You must earn it using nothing but the young master’s own judgment and ability, without any help from anyone or any outside connections. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Gong Sang-pil was serious.
He did think Seok Geum-ryong might truly call forth a miracle, but he also wanted this to be a chance for him to experience firsthand just how difficult a caravan, and trade itself, could be.
The price would be ten gold ingots, which was a painful amount for a household that already operated on a tight budget, but Gong Sang-pil forced himself to smile.
“Young master, ten gold ingots is a substantial sum. It would be enough to run this manor in a tight fashion for two months.”
He wanted him to understand once more that the ingots were not light money, and that they were an invaluable resource in the present situation.
“I know. That’s why I won’t waste them.”
As if answering Gong Sang-pil’s expectations, Seok Geum-ryong did not joke around either, but replied with complete seriousness.
“Very well.”
Gong Sang-pil personally took out ten gold ingots and respectfully presented them to Seok Geum-ryong.
Whoosh.
Ten gold ingots, gleaming with brilliant golden light.
In hero novels, gold ingots were often treated so casually that some people might look down on them, but that was a grave mistake.
For ordinary commoners, there were many who died without ever seeing a gold ingot even once in their lives.
“You said you would form your caravan after passing this examination, so... which caravan do you intend to follow and join for trade?” Gong Sang-pil asked.
“You know, the one who thinks so highly of me.”
Seok Geum-ryong smiled with a look full of hidden meaning.
* * *
“What? You want to accompany the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s expedition?”
Seok Myo-hee, the mistress of Geumhwa-won, the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s granddaughter, and the woman destined to become Hebei’s greatest beauty, was so flabbergasted she could only snort in disbelief.
“Yes. I’m asking for your help.”
Facing her, Seok Geum-ryong smiled affably.
If he were being honest, he didn’t even want to look at Seok Myo-hee. But he believed that using everything he could use was the essence of true revenge.
“Hmph. Why should I?”
Having once been badly humiliated by Seok Geum-ryong, Seok Myo-hee folded her arms with a haughty air.
“Oh, is that so? Then I suppose I can go around telling people that the kind and lovely Seok Myo-hee, the flower of the Geumhwa Merchant Group and the finest beauty in all of Seokga Manor, once tried to have me killed...”
“H-hey! Aren’t a man’s words worth a thousand taels?”
When Seok Geum-ryong looked ready to blurt out that fact again, Seok Myo-hee jumped in panic.
“So please, let me join the trade run so your words can actually be worth a thousand taels. I’m not asking you for more gold ingots or a share in the caravan, am I?”
“Hmm.”
Seok Myo-hee looked at him with narrowed eyes, unable to trust him after the beating he had given her.
“Then what are you going to give me?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re merchants, aren’t we? Not long ago, you sold me the answer I wanted to hear. I’ll do the same and sell you the right to accompany the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s trade run.”
Seok Myo-hee had absolutely no intention of letting herself be at a disadvantage.
“Then I’ll tell you a secret that should interest you, elder sister.”
“A secret?”
“Yes. I’ll even give you the advance payment first.”
Seok Geum-ryong glanced around once, then sent a low voice transmission.
[Not long ago, on my eleventh birthday, there were assassins targeting me again.]
“What?! I-I had nothing to do with it!”
Seok Myo-hee, with a guilty conscience to begin with, flailed in alarm.
Seok Geum-ryong gave her a look of contempt, then continued the transmission.
[Who said it was you, Lady Seok Myo-hee? The true backer hasn’t been identified yet, but it’s probably either our second brother or our sixth younger sibling.]
“...!!”
It might not have been useful for anything else, but the information was too tempting for Seok Myo-hee to ignore, and she reacted at once.
“Surely... you’re not lying.”
“Why would I lie in a trade negotiation? If I were lying, I’d give you my neck.”
“I told you, I’m not targeting you anymore!”
In any case, after hearing what was clearly good news, Seok Myo-hee seemed satisfied and nodded again and again.
Accompanying the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s trade run isn’t such a bad deal after all.
Come to think of it, she wasn’t losing much.
“But you must not cause trouble for my maternal family or get in their way. Understood?”
“Aw, come on. I’m not someone who goes around killing family members, so why would I do that?”
“...”
“Anyway, I’ll take that as your permission.”
And so Seok Geum-ryong joined the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s trade run.
* * *
“Who’s that handsome young nobleman?”
“I heard he came from Seokga Manor.”
“He’s the half-brother of the group leader’s granddaughter.”
“They said not to give him any special treatment and just leave him alone.”
Seok Geum-ryong’s awkward journey with the Geumhwa Merchant Group had begun.
People whispered among themselves, but Seok Geum-ryong did not care.
No, if anything, this distance between them was exactly right for now, with both sides uncomfortable and keeping away from one another.
“Young master Seok Geum-ryong. We’re about to head to the auction house that sells staple grains and various crops. Will you be coming with us?”
At a time when the Geumhwa Merchant Group showed no welcome toward Seok Geum-ryong, and Seok Geum-ryong likewise felt no need to be especially sociable.
At last.
Seok Geum-ryong brightened for the first time in a while and followed them.
“Yes! I’m coming.”
He hurried along, fearing the leader of the Geumhwa Merchant Group might change his mind.
The place they were heading to was home to Hebei Province’s largest grain warehouse and the province’s largest agricultural auction, where the quantities being sold were enormous.
“You brought the funds with you, yes?”
Geum Do-song, a merchant and one of the Geumhwa Merchant Group’s senior figures, asked with a hint of suspicion.
“Yes, here.”
Seok Geum-ryong held out the ten gold ingots for all to see.
“Pffft!”
At the absurdly meager amount of gold, Geum Do-song and the others of the Geumhwa Merchant Group could not help snorting.
Commoners might rarely ever see gold ingots, but from a merchant’s point of view, ten ingots were basically pocket change.
“What item are you planning to buy? For reference, we intend to purchase two hundred ingots’ worth each of beans, barley, and millet.”
The Geumhwa Merchant Group puffed up with pride, boasting of its overwhelming financial power.
They mocked Seok Geum-ryong’s lack of resources, but Seok Geum-ryong was actually the one mocking them.
How foolish. In about half a year, there’ll be a bumper harvest across the plains of Hebei, and grain prices will drop sharply.
Meanwhile, winter was about to arrive, the season when the prices of the five grains, rice, barley, beans, millet, and sorghum, were at their highest.
In other words, if they bought grain in bulk right now, they would barely make back even a fraction of their money and were sure to take a loss.
So Seok Geum-ryong restrained his smile and said with quiet certainty,
“I’d rather buy out the entire stock of peonies than grain.”