Small Branch Leader Announcement Ceremony (1)
That evening.
I dragged my weary steps back to my quarters.
"Young master, you're back?"
Palgap, who had been cleaning my quarters, greeted me.
"Yeah."
"What would you like for dinner?"
"Tonight..."
I paused for a moment, then said to Palgap,
"Keep it simple. I need to eat quickly and head somewhere."
"Where are you off to? Should I request escort warriors?"
"No, just to the annex."
I needed to share the news I'd heard today with the creator of the wooden puppets.
"The annex... Ah! You're going to see Craftsman Gong?"
Though Gong Mil was only ten years old, Palgap respected his extraordinary talent and called him Craftsman Gong.
"Right. So prepare some light snacks."
"Understood."
After dinner, I headed with Palgap to the annexes where outsiders stayed, in the outer hall.
As I approached the annex housing Craftsman Gong's family, Gong Rae came running out into the courtyard.
"Young master!"
"What were you up to?"
"Drawing pictures on the ground."
The courtyard was covered in all sorts of drawings...
Wait, these aren't drawings—they're writing?
"Were you practicing your letters?"
At my question, Gong Rae twisted her body shyly and said,
"I just copied from my big brother's study books."
For something copied, the handwriting was remarkably neat and precise.
The words Gong Rae had written were the final passage of the Thousand Character Classic: "위어조자 언재호야."
I asked her just in case,
"Have you memorized the entire Thousand Character Classic?"
Gong Rae nodded with a smile, then quickly pressed her finger to her lips.
"Shh!"
"Huh?"
"Big brother will be upset if he finds out."
Come to think of it, Gong Mil hadn't finished the Thousand Character Classic yet.
Finishing it at five years old!
Genius siblings right here.
To think such genius siblings had their talents snuffed out by that dog of a Jinyeon Merchant Group leader.
My blood pressure rose again.
Exhale...
He's already gone from this world, so calm down.
At that moment, Craftsman Gong's wife emerged from inside, having overheard our conversation.
"Young master, you've arrived. Please come in."
"Hello. Have you had dinner?"
"We just finished."
I glanced at Palgap, who immediately offered the bundle in his hand.
"I thought the children might like these. Please take them."
"Oh my, thank you."
I asked Craftsman Gong's wife as she took the bundle,
"Where's Gong Mil?"
"Ah, in his workshop."
"Workshop?"
"His personal workshop."
They had turned one small room in the annex into Gong Mil's workshop.
And he spent all day there, except for meals and study time.
Still, he needs to move around a bit to stay healthy.
I headed to Gong Mil's workshop, with Gong Rae clutching my robe and following along.
"Are you in there? It's Seo-ho. Mind if I come in for a bit?"
I said that and carefully entered the workshop.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Gong Mil sat at the workbench, carving wood with a small knife.
So absorbed in his work that even with me entering, he kept focused on the wood.
"Oh..."
"Shh."
I hushed Gong Rae.
It wasn't urgent, and I didn't want to break his concentration.
So I watched quietly.
I was curious what he was making, after all.
Time passed—one incense stick, two—and my eyes grew wider.
What Gong Mil was making now... I recognized it.
After the wooden puppet and the automatic cart, this was something found in nearly every household.
A device with blades on all sides that spun on its own, creating wind to cool you down. I'd used one every summer myself.
Its name was...
"Wind Maker?"
Hearing my voice, Gong Mil looked up, startled, and jumped to his feet.
"Young master? Uh, when did you arrive?"
Gong Rae quickly replied,
"About the time it takes to eat a meal ago."
"Ah! Sorry. When I get focused, I lose track of my surroundings..."
I waved off Gong Mil's apology.
"No, I wanted to watch you work. Don't worry about it. So, what are you making?"
"Oh, this?"
Gong Mil scratched his cheek and said,
"Last summer, Rae was so hot. I wished for something that fans itself. I had the idea then but no materials, so I just thought about it. Now I'm making it."
He bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. You provided such a great place, and here I am wasting materials on something useless..."
I grabbed Gong Mil's self-reproaching hand.
"No! It's brilliant!"
"Pardon?"
"Keep making and researching like this. That's what the workshop is for."
"Thank you, young master. But..."
Gong Mil tilted his head and cautiously said,
"You just called it a Wind Maker..."
"Ah, it seemed like it makes wind, so..."
It was a made-up excuse, but Gong Mil liked it and nodded vigorously.
"Wind Maker—great name!"
"And let's sell these too."
"This? Would anyone buy something like this?"
"Of course!"
I said with conviction.
More than the wooden puppets—massive quantities.
Not for the poor, but an essential summer item in every household.
"Oh, right—I almost forgot why I came."
I smiled.
"The thousand wooden puppets you made? All sold."
"...Pardon?"
Gong Mil's face shifted from confusion to shock.
"R-Really? All of them sold?"
"Yeah."
I told him,
"You've become a true craftsman. Congratulations."
A few days later.
I headed to the pleasure quarter.
All employees of the Eunhae Merchant Group had a formal day off every ten days.
And today was mine.
Precious day off, yet instead of lounging in bed, I came here because I needed to acquire something.
Palgap said to me with an anxious expression,
"Young master, isn't this the pleasure quarter?"
The pleasure quarter housed brothels, courtesan houses, and gambling dens for entertainment.
That's why Palgap looked so worried.
"What? I'm an adult—can't I come here?"
"That's not it, but... I mean... you never know what might happen here."
"It's dangerous?"
"Yes, exactly."
Palgap nodded. I chuckled.
"Worried I'd drag you to a tavern for daytime drinking?"
"...I'd prefer that."
Huh? What did he mean by that?
As I eyed him puzzled, he sighed.
"Other young masters drink and chase women every day, but you just work—no fun at all."
"I like drinking. And women too."
"But I've never seen you drink or chase women."
In my previous life, I enjoyed liquor and brothels too...
Ah, the brothels were for business.
Did I have a favorite courtesan?
Can't remember—probably not.
Nothing to say to that.
"At least I don't cause trouble like those idiots. Be grateful."
"Of course I am. But hearing you say you'll 'have fun' means daytime drinking."
Ouch! That stung.
"Anyway, I'm worried you've suddenly become such a grown-up."
Palgap's instincts were sharp.
I smirked and said,
"Can't stay a kid forever."
With that, I entered a small sundries shop without even a signboard.
Sundries shop in name only—it was a place where people sold possessions to fund their pleasures.
As I entered, Palgap and my two escort warriors behind me looked baffled.
No wonder—I had zero reason to come here.
"Who're you?"
An old man approached, eyed me, and asked,
"Not here to sell, so what'll it be?"
"How'd you know I'm not selling?"
The old man replied,
"I've run this shop for years... I can tell at a glance. If you must know, it's the eyes."
"The eyes?"
"Relaxed. Folks desperate for quick cash here fidget anxiously."
"I see."
Sharp eyes indeed.
I smiled and said,
"Saw some intriguing items and came in."
"Browse at your leisure."
The old man sat, and I began examining the shop's wares.
He looked ordinary, but running a sundries shop in the pleasure quarter meant he was anything but.
There was a bailiff called Ghost-Face Catcher.
Always wore a ghost mask, hence the name.
Specializing in murders, he used his exceptional martial arts to capture every killer in his district and send them to prison.
But one murderer eluded him.
Retired, he vowed to catch that one and opened this sundries shop here, where the killer was rumored to lurk.
This old man before me was him.
I learned this a few years before my death, chatting with an inspector.
Impressive in his own way, I thought, as I browsed.
Then an item caught my eye.
"Oh! Palgap, isn't this cool?"
"Isn't it just an inkstone?"
"Not just any—this is a Duanxi inkstone. See the faint blue patterns?"
"This pattern?"
"Yeah. Wet it or soak it, and they sharpen."
"But inkstones are inkstones, right? Why's this better?"
"Grinds ink neither too coarse nor too fine, and it dries well. Try it, and you'll know it's different."
"Have you tried it?"
"..."
Ah... no.
I'd never used a Duanxi inkstone.
Too expensive, even for me.
My small branch leader gift was one.
I glossed over it and turned away.
"Haven't tried, but that's what they say."
Judging by the wear, it seemed well-loved for years...
How'd you end up dusty here?
Bitter taste in my mouth.
Most items here had similar stories.
Sold to fund pleasures, not daily needs.
This was the pleasure quarter—a den of vice.
Sundries shops existed elsewhere safer, no need to come here unless desperate.
Chatting idly with Palgap, I picked a few: mirror, bracelet, fan.
Skipped the inkstone.
No need to flaunt calligraphy now; brothers would gift one later.
"How much?"
"Hm, five taels of silver."
Equivalent to a commoner's monthly wage—Palgap gasped.
"What? So expensive? All worn out!"
But I stopped him and pulled five taels from my pouch? No—
I offered ten.
The old man counted and looked flustered.
"Not five taels."
"I gave the right amount."
Without knowing value, five seemed high; to me, insanely cheap.
Normally celebrate, but conscience wouldn't allow.
As heir to ancestors' will to be upright merchants, no unjust gains.
I only had ten taels left anyway.
Others might call me fool, but this invested in my future.
All items were curios.