Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 147



Only Noblemtl

147. Central Plains Merchants’ Association (2)

I’ve been taking care of the pending work for the top. No matter how much Jo Chung-heon handles on my behalf, I have no choice but to make the decision on the direction of the entire top.

While I was away at the top, Jo Chung-heon had been growing the top very well. I had sent letters to him in the middle to decide what items should be put in the warehouse and sold at each time.

Now, the top was making steady and stable profits. Of course, we were making profits by borrowing the distribution network of Cheonsu Sangdan, but we were also in the process of building our own distribution network. I didn’t even mention this, but Jo Chung-heon was taking care of it.

Jo Chung-heon, who was in charge of all the tasks at the top, had to be right next to me when I was handling work at the top.

“How much cash do you have available right now?”

“Right now, there must be about 7,000 nyang in silver.”

Although I may have expressed it in a roundabout way, this refers to the surplus left at the top after deducting the salaries of upper-level employees and other maintenance expenses.

The money left after everything is taken care of at the top. That means net profit, which is none other than my money.

“The money that went to the shamans would be a little over four thousand nyang.”

“Yes.”

“I bet Jang Moon-in will be reliable.”

It was discussed that the Mudangpa would split the sales revenue with the Whiyoung Group 80% based on total revenue. If I deduct this amount from the Mudangpa and I get 80%, the total revenue would be about 20,000 nyang.

“Have you ever had any friction with non-partisan Taoist priests?”

“It’s possible. We are leading well while respecting each other.”

“Well, it’s true that non-partisan Taoist priests are not the type to fight with anyone.”

I nodded in satisfaction. Now, the Shaman Party no longer accepts escort requests from other high-ranking parties. They only escort the Hwiyoungsangdan when they go up and go to the market.

Even the most insane of the Nokrimdo and the Wolpae would not dare to touch the flag of the Mudangpa. In addition, the Mudangpa has built up trust in the martial arts world so far, so it can expand its business to the martial arts world, not just the common people. It’s not for nothing that I give the Mudangpa 20% of the total revenue.

“Here are the accounting records.”

Jo Chung-heon quickly gave me the documents.

“Hmm.”

I nodded with satisfaction as I looked at the accounting records. As expected, Jo Chung-heon was an excellent agent.

He could have left a lot of surplus money to flatter me, but Jo Chung-heon did not do that. Instead, he invested a lot of money in the development of the upper division, and to make sure that I would not feel bad, he rolled over the surplus money every quarter and even called it a profit.

Considering that it had been about a year since I had paid any attention to the top, that meant my annual salary was only seven thousand nyang.

“Good. Thank you for your hard work, sir.”

“thank you.”

“How much was the agent’s monthly salary?”

“It costs about 100 nyang of silver.”

“You should get double. Starting next month, take two hundred nyang each.”

“… … Oh, I’m fine. I’m already rich… … .”

Jo Chung-heon noticed. After all, if you earn a hundred nyang a month, you can’t help but be affluent. But Jo Chung-heon’s eyes were shining. Isn’t money always a good thing?

“Just take it. Then calculate the growth rate of the top level on an annual basis, and raise the monthly salaries of the top level staff in proportion to that growth rate. Of course, you can’t raise them all at once. You have to raise them based on the data from the evaluation of the clerks and servants based on objective indicators.”

“It’s a good system. Okay.”

“Instead, you should educate and monitor the clerks and servants well so that they do not have selfish motives when evaluating them.”

Jo Chung-heon flinched at my words.

“If I go that far, my work will be too much… …, no. I’ll try.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t think of that.”

“No, you can!”

Jo Chung-heon had just had his salary doubled, and he seemed very motivated, but at least Jo Chung-heon wasn’t the type of person to call something that wasn’t hard hard. I humbly admitted that I was short-sighted.

“No. You are already taking on a lot of tasks, so if you increase other tasks, your efficiency will actually decrease.”

“Then how about leaving that job to Mrs. Yu?”

“Madam You?”

I hesitated for a moment before figuring out who he was referring to. He was talking about Yoo Cha-ryeon, who had been brought from Banggajang.

“Oh. How are you? Are you adjusting well?”

“It’s a matter of adaptation. He has a certain air of nobility, and he commands the upper ranks without any particular position. I think he’s perfect for that position.”

“Good. I hope the perception that a rolling stone dislodges an entrenched stone won’t spread?”

“The upper echelons already recognize Madam Yoo. She is an incredibly knowledgeable person.”

I nodded. Yu Cha-ryeon was such a capable person. This was unexpected, but it seemed like I had acquired a pretty good subordinate in Banggajang.

“Then shall I call Mrs. Yoo?”

“All right.”

Jo Chung-heon left the upper chamber and called Yoo Cha-ryeon. When I looked at him from the front, I didn’t know that Yoo Cha-ryeon was quite tall. He was about the same height as Jo Chung-heon, who was an average-sized man. He was a little shorter than me.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Yes. Thanks to you. The upper echelons are very well-educated. Their attitudes are also great.”

“Our top executives also look at character. There’s a reason they give the highest salary in the industry.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard the name of the Whiyoung Group, but just looking at the top staff, I think they’ll become a top-tier group someday.”

There was no sense of pretense in Yu Cha-ryeon’s soft speech. As expected, a prestigious family does provide a good education.

“I have something to tell you, Madam Yu.”

“Madam? Me?”

“yes.”

Yu Cha-ryeon became angry and annoyed at my words.

“What kind of wife am I? The word wife is only used for married people. I am a divorced person. But I am not old enough to be called wife. I am twenty-three now.”

I avoided Yoo Cha-ryeon’s eyes and glanced at Jo Chung-heon. It seemed like Jo Chung-heon had never used the word “Madam Yoo” in front of Yoo Cha-ryeon.

By the way, Bang So-hwa, the daughter you brought with you, looks to be about five years old. So she gave birth to a child at the age of 5. Well, that could be possible since noble families marry young.

“Then I’ll call you Lady. Okay?”

“Yes. Even the owner would feel bad if he heard the word ‘adult’.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it… … .”

I’ve heard it a lot in my past life, so I’m rather used to that name. But at my words, Yu Cha-ryeon’s eyes turned into those of a venomous cat.

“How old are you, sir?”

“It’s been three years since I signed the contract.”

“We’re the same age. What a coincidence.”

“You’re not going to talk comfortably, are you?”

“I’ve never spoken informally to anyone in my life. I feel more comfortable speaking formally.”

“I see.”

Actually, it doesn’t really suit Yu Cha-ryeon to speak informally. She just looks like that. Her face doesn’t seem like it would suit speaking informally.

“Let’s stop small talk and get to the point. I have a suggestion for you, Lady Yu.”

“What is it?”

I told Jo Chung-heon exactly what I had said. In short, I asked him to take charge of the upper level. Yoo Cha-ryeon nodded without much hesitation.

“Yeah.”

“It’s nice and cool.”

“I’m living on the sidelines, so I have to do whatever it takes to help.”

“I didn’t plan on carrying you that far.”

“How could you abandon your daughter?”

“That’s true.”

I couldn’t help but agree with Yu Cha-ryeon’s words. In my previous life, I never had a proper lover, let alone marriage, and I didn’t have any children, so I didn’t dare to know that feeling.

“Come to think of it, how much time is left until I go to the Central Military Commission?”

“There’s about a month left.”

The Central Plains Merchants’ Association, or simply Zhongshanlian, is located in Beijing. There is no better place for backroom old men with nothing but connections to build a nest than Beijing.

“Can just the agent and I go?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be good if Lady Yoo went too?”

Jo Chung-heon even pierced the Yucha-ryeon next to Nallum.

“is it so?”

“You come from a very prestigious family. It will help you in some way. Especially in a conservative group like the Zhongshanglian, family is important.”

“I didn’t want to reveal it… … .”

Yoo Cha-ryeon made a loud noise. Jo Chung-heon shook his head.

“Just by looking at her, you would have known that her actions and speech were dignified. Even though Lady Yu doesn’t have any position, don’t the people above listen to her?”

“That’s true.”

I stroked my chin and thought about how useful Yu Cha-ryeon would be in the Shang-Shang-Lian. As Jo Chung-Heon said, she would definitely be helpful. If Yu Cha-ryeon was okay with it, there was no reason to refuse.

“Then let’s do that. The three of us will go.”

“Don’t you need an escort?”

“I’m here, what? And it’s such a secular place, it’s a bit odd to take Taoist priests there.”

I shrugged. I now know my level. It would be hard to meet someone on the street who was better than me.

“Then let’s leave in about two weeks. Please finish all your work by then.”

I clapped my hands and organized it. That’s how the group that visits the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Office was quickly formed.

* * *

The best in the world. In fact, the name “the best in the world” itself was common. Cheonha (天下). What an easy name to give to the best.

A name that sounds grandiose, cool, and trustworthy. Many people have added the prefix “천하” to the top.

However, the name of the world’s best was not a name that could be granted to such a bunch of idiots. The name was given to the most powerful of the best, the Luo clan, one of the four families of Shanxi.

Right now, small and medium-sized merchants didn’t even know what names other regional merchants were using. This was because regional small and medium-sized merchants only targeted people in their region as customers.

This means that the Tianxia Merchant of Gansu had no reason to quarrel with the Tianxia Merchant of Fujian. However, the story changed when the Na family, one of the four families of Shanxi, got involved. This is because the Tianxia Merchant of the Na family was targeting the entire Central Plains, not just a region.

All the worldly merchants in the Central Plains surrendered to the worldly merchants of the four families of the Na family in Shanxi and changed their names or talked about it. In the meantime, some of the owners of the existing worldly merchants who had kept their integrity surrendered to the Na family’s money and lost the name of worldly merchants.

“That’s how I always got what I wanted. I want you to be that kind of predator too.”

“All right.”

Na Hyun-wi lowered his head. He was the father he had known since he was young. He was too difficult and too high a figure to Na Hyun-wi.

A man of great standing who runs one of the best swordsmen in the Central Plains and holds the top spot among the five greatest swordsmen in the world. This is because Na Han-geol, the Golden Sword, is Na Hyeon-wi’s father.

“But, Father, there is something I don’t understand.”

“What was it?”

“Is the Whiyoung Group worth the price we have to pay to come out and eat there?”

“You may think so because you haven’t received any information about him. I think that if he is raised well, he will be worthy of the title of the next king.”

“Is that it?”

Na Hyeon-wi was surprised. As a merchant and a warrior, Na Han-geol was naturally at the top of his class and had high standards for people. It had been a long time since I heard Na Han-geol praise someone like that.

“There’s a reason I go to that disgusting place, son.”

“All right.”

“Keep this in mind.”

I laughed at that.

“The only thing we get from this trip to Beijing is the Whiyoungsangdan.”

It was the moment when the predator of Shanxi set its target.