Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Securing a House
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Yi Dae-in, having returned to his clan estate, awaited Se Yeong with bated breath, his impatience growing by the minute.
Yet even after two days had passed, Se Yeong showed no sign of appearing.
"No word today either?"
Yi Dae-in burst out of the room, kicking the door open, and bellowed the question.
"We only heard that he sold some gold dust and left."
"How much did he sell it for?"
"Two hundred taels of silver, they say."
Yi Dae-in let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest.
Two hundred taels of silver was pocket change.
If he could get his hands on that wild mountain, he could easily rake in millions of taels.
As he paced anxiously in anticipation, a servant guarding the main gate came running up.
"That guy's here, family head!"
Clap!
Overcome with joy, Yi Dae-in smacked his thigh with the palm of his hand.
"Bring him in at once!"
"Have you given it some thought?"
Seated across from Se Yeong, Yi Dae-in couldn't contain his eagerness and spoke first.
"That manor on the hill east of the village and the surrounding fields look pretty decent."
Huh...
At Se Yeong's response, Yi Dae-in swallowed his impatience and let out a sigh instead.
"My father bought that manor and the fields for one million five hundred thousand taels of silver. But I can't hand over all the fields—just the manor and six thousand pyeong of paddy land."
"That won't do. I have to take care of my comrades too."
When Se Yeong rejected it outright, Yi Dae-in quickly changed his tune.
"Fine, then I'll throw in an extra hundred thousand taels of silver. It was only a few days' work, so even ten thousand taels each should make them treat you like a benefactor."
Ten thousand taels of silver was a fortune that ordinary folk could never dream of accumulating in a lifetime.
"A hundred thousand taels of silver..."
Se Yeong pondered deeply for a long while before finally nodding in agreement.
"Very well."
Yi Dae-in nearly jumped for joy, wanting to throw his hands in the air and shout in triumph.
Ahem... Ahem...
"You've made a wise choice. You've struck gold, my friend."
"In exchange, give me fields close to the manor."
Se Yeong pulled out the land deeds he had tucked away.
"Of course. Absolutely."
Yi Dae-in fetched the paddy deeds and house documents, then opened a wooden chest and counted out ten thousand taels of silver.
He also summoned an elderly man.
"Uncle, explain all these paddy fields in detail."
"As you wish, family head."
"Until next time, then."
Se Yeong bowed in courtesy, and Yi Dae-in nodded back with a beaming smile.
"Come visit often. By the way, I still don't know your name."
"Hwang Moo-young."
Se Yeong calmly gave his false name.
"Young Master Hwang. Looking forward to working with you."
The moment Se Yeong and his uncle left the estate, Yi Dae-in summoned the servants.
"You lot, head to that wild mountain right now and stand guard day and night—no outsiders get near it."
"Understood, family head."
After sending out over twenty servants, he issued orders to the others.
"You go around the nearby villages and round up anyone who's ever mined for gold."
After dispatching another thirty-odd servants, Yi Dae-in called in the guest warriors as well.
"If word spreads that gold's been found here, unsavory martial artists will swarm the place. I need you to keep them away from the mine."
Most of the guest warriors accepted the family head's command.
"Got it, family head. Don't worry."
But the strongest among the guest warriors brought up something else.
"I've heard rumors lately—the Murim Alliance has put out a bounty on a public enemy. Twenty thousand taels on his head. I plan to head into the jianghu to hunt him down for a while. If I catch him, I'll give you ten thousand taels, family head."
Yi Dae-in didn't trust the man's words.
If he got those twenty thousand taels, he'd vanish without a backward glance.
But he couldn't afford to keep him here either.
"Do as you must. Even if you don't catch the public enemy, come back to the clan."
"My thanks, family head."
"Brother, didn't we give in too much to that Yi Dae-in? We should've taken all the visible fields and paddies."
Paeng Se Gi gazed down at the sprawling fields below the hill, full of regret.
"You're too greedy."
Not just Paeng Se Gi—all the comrades felt the same way.
"We could've claimed all the fields..."
"It's not greed, Young Master Han. That Yi Dae-in said he bought this manor and the nearby fields for a mere hundred thousand taels of silver. At fair value, he should've paid at least four or five hundred thousand. He must've intimidated the manor servants to snag it on the cheap."
Even Instructor Kang couldn't hide his disappointment.
But Se Yeong was looking much further ahead.
"Once they realize the gold mine's a fake, they'll send servants to reclaim the manor and fields. That's when I'll make them hand over the land willingly."
"How will you make them do that, brother?"
"By capturing the servants alive without killing them and trading for the land."
Instructor Kang and the comrades fell silent at Se Yeong's words.
How could he be so ruthless...
Trafficking in clan servants like some fiend.
It was the kind of vile deed only villainous outlaws or back-alley thugs would stoop to.
"Om mani padme hum. So that's why you hid all the weapons on purpose?"
"They'll charge in carelessly if we look weak. Anyway, we've got the manor now—time to clean it up."
"Cleaning's the least of our worries, brother. We need repairs first."
"Repairs can wait. Clean the rooms first."
The comrades scattered to pick their rooms.
"Instructor, take the room next to mine."
Heh heh...
"Very well."
Se Yeong and Instructor Kang entered the largest building and chose their rooms.
But they'd been vacant too long—the state was deplorable.
"The comrades were right. Repairs first."
"I've already got people lined up for that."
"You've been with this old man the whole time, Young Master Han. When did you hire laborers?"
"The paddy owners have changed, so the farmers will come knocking soon. I'll have them handle the repairs."
Heh heh...
A hollow laugh escaped Instructor Kang.
He was just old—his foresight shouldn't lag behind Young Master Han's.
"When did you come up with this plan?"
Se Yeong gave a faint smile.
"My dream is to establish a clan in the jianghu. I'd drift off to sleep fantasizing about how to build one."
Hearing Se Yeong's dream sobered Instructor Kang, who nodded slowly.
"I see. Doesn't sound like a mere fantasy to me."
Just then, Paeng Se Gi's voice came from outside the door.
"Brother! We definitely need repairs first!"
Se Yeong opened the door and stepped out.
"I know. Clean first."
After breakfast, Se Yeong gathered all the comrades.
"From today, before practicing martial arts, run to that distant mountain over there using lightness skill and back. Sa Sa Un, do the dishes after you return from the mountain too."
The mountain Se Yeong pointed to was dauntingly far.
"Got it, brother."
Paeng Se Gi accepted without hesitation.
"Whoa... that's insanely far."
"No path either— even at top speed, it'll take at least an hour, right?"
Running lightness skill on a path was worlds apart from pathless terrain.
You had to dodge trees and branches hurtling by, and the uneven ground drained your internal energy far faster than usual.
Yet the comrades showed no signs of complaint.
"Begin."
Whoosh...
No sooner had Se Yeong spoken than the comrades dashed out of the manor.
With them gone, only Se Yeong and Instructor Kang remained.
"Guess I'll practice my swordsmanship for the first time in ages."
Se Yeong headed to the training ground behind the manor.
"If it's not too much trouble, would you spar with this old man?"
Instructor Kang followed, making the request.
"Sure."
But Se Yeong soon had to stop.
"Looks like today won't work."
A group of about a dozen people was approaching the manor along the path from the paddies.
By their clothes, they were clearly farmers.
Instructor Kang smacked his lips in disappointment upon spotting them.
Tsk.
"No helping it."
"We came because we heard the owner of our paddies had changed."
Se Yeong nodded and welcomed them.
"I'm Hwang Moo-young, the new owner of the paddies."
The farmers bowed their heads in unison.
"We figured as much. We'd heard Young Master Hwang was the new owner."
"Pleased to work with you."
"The pleasure's ours."
The farmers bowed again and cautiously offered something.
It was a bundle of straw-wrapped eggs—about a dozen or so.
"A token of our sincerity, please accept it."
Se Yeong didn't refuse.
A dozen eggs meant nothing to him, but he knew they were precious to these folk.
"I'll enjoy them. Oh... I have one favor to ask. Would you grant it?"
Worry flickered across the farmers' faces.
"What... kind of favor?"
One farmer hesitantly spoke up.
"The manor's so rundown, I want to repair it. Ten pun per person per day—start tomorrow."
The worry vanished, replaced by beaming smiles.
"Really...? Ten pun a day?"
Ten pun a day made one tael of silver in ten days.
"Yes. Just work hard, and if you know a good lumberyard, introduce me."
The farmers' mouths stretched ear to ear in delight.
"Don't worry. We'll send the lumberyard owner right away when we head back to the village."
"Appreciate it."
"We'll work our hardest, young master!"
One tael in ten days was big money for them.
Se Yeong knew that, which was why he'd offered it.
They were his people now, not Yi Dae-in's.
They'd rush to inform him of any village happenings—or threats.
Puhahaha...!
Yi Dae-in couldn't tear his eyes from the piles of gold dust before him.
He'd thrown in over forty men as miners on short notice, and the yield exceeded expectations.
About four thousand taels in silver equivalent—plenty to celebrate.
'Four myriad taels in ten days, twelve myriad in a month, one million four hundred forty thousand in a year.'
With more miners, three or four million taels a year was a breeze.
"Throw in more miners!"
His eyes bloodshot, he bellowed at the servants.
"We want to, family head, but there's no housing for the miners."
When the servants explained the issue, Yi Dae-in's voice rose even higher.
"Two taels a month and you want me to build houses too? Have them weave grass huts at night and work days nonstop!"
"Understood, family head."
"This much gold dust means nuggets are buried too. Don't slack on watching the miners—they might smuggle them out."
"Yes, sir."
This much dust meant a major vein—and nuggets—for sure.
Yi Dae-in grabbed handfuls of the piled dust.
Kuhuhuhu...
'To walk away from a vein this rich—what an idiot.'
Thinking of Se Yeong, he turned to the servants.
"What’s that Hwang Moo-young doing now?"
"Rallying farmers to repair the manor, from what we hear. Lumber's pouring in nonstop from the yard."
Puhahaha...!
Yi Dae-in burst into laughter again.
The manor looked decent on the outside, but it was so decrepit it was beyond saving.
Full repairs would cost at least forty or fifty thousand taels.
"That fool's the biggest idiot under heaven."