novelraw Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50: What do you mean, kiting?
Was this situation really happening?
That thought wouldn't leave This Steward's mind.
He had worked for three days and nights to fill a gap of a mere few pennies.
But a loss of three million nyang?
For him, who had been in charge of the Jaegal Clan's finances for half his life, it was an unimaginable amount.
“A- absolutely not! I will send the carts back and cancel all the deals! Unless you're crazy—!”
But that damn Third Young Master, Jaegal Hwi, didn't even look at him.
“Those who had planned to purchase West Lake Longjing will all come running. They will surely try to buy this year's entire stock.”
“And then?”
“We don't have a proper place to store it anyway, so we have to give them as much as they ask for, right?”
Was this what it felt like for blood to rush to one's head?
This Steward felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head.
In the end, he knelt before the Clan Head.
“Clan Head! No! This loss will cause our family to suffer for ten years! This is truly madness!”
However, the Clan Head's gaze was somewhat unusual.
“After selling everything? What is your plan after that?”
“You should be getting the hang of it by now, shouldn't you? The West Lake Longjing that the tea houses have left will become bad stock from then on. They won't be able to sell it for at least half a year.”
“…….”
“Even if they plan to sell it, it will be a tearful clearance sale. Customers who have already had a taste of the cheap price will not buy it at its regular price. They will probably get twenty nyang at most?”
Even if it turned out as the Third Young Master said, it would just be a mutual destruction where everyone dies together.
Since they had ruined a year's business, the blow to the tea houses would surely be great.
But the one who would be most hurt was this Jaegal Clan.
Even if you counted all the losses the tea houses would incur, it would never exceed three million nyang.
“Is your grand plan to destroy the tea market in Wuhan?”
“Hey, no way. Well, it's similar, but you have to hear a person out to the end.”
While the Clan Head was waiting for an answer with a pale face, the Third Young Master Jaegal Hwi's eyes curved like a bow.
“When the tea houses can no longer bear it and try to dump the remaining West Lake Longjing, I will dump the remaining stock at ten nyang. Every single bit of it.”
His heart trembled.
The Third Young Master, who could make such a tremendous declaration with a calm smile, did not seem human.
This time, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom chimed in.
“Hmm. Now I'm starting to see something. But there is one blind spot in your plan that you haven't mentioned. That someday, we will have to give them six million nyang.”
Jaegal Hwi, with a snicker.
“Literally, ‘someday’.”
The faces of everyone around hardened in bewilderment.
It was an answer that clearly revealed the Third Young Master's insidious intentions.
Even the always steadfast Clan Head's voice began to tremble.
“What on earth do you think the honor of our family is? Do you think our family can maintain its prestige after tormenting people like that?”
“Father, this method can only be used once.”
That was a given.
There was no way the tea houses of Wuhan, after experiencing such a tremendous event, would give them West Lake Longjing on credit again next year.
“That's why we have to cut off their lifeline at once. They can only extend their lives by collecting the credit payments by any means necessary. That way, my credit payment becomes their leash.”
“No……”
At the Third Young Master's answer, which went even further, even that bold Clan Head was at a loss for words.
On the other hand, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's eyes were filled with doubt.
“So your intention wasn't to get rid of all the tea houses and reorganize the market?”
“Hey, if we get rid of all of them, then we'll have to go around selling tea ourselves, why go to all that trouble. Food made by others is always the most delicious.”
“……Then?”
A snicker.
“If they promise to listen to me from now on, I will gladly give them the water of life.”
“You mean to tame them with the credit payments? But you clearly declared that you would not use our family's funds.”
“Even if we sell the West Lake Longjing at fifteen nyang, the sales proceeds don't disappear.”
“It will be far from enough, won't it?”
Jaegal Hwi waved the Phoenix Fan and pointed his gaze towards the Jade Cloud Bank in the distance.
“Our family would graciously issue promissory notes without having to deposit gold ingots.”
“K- kiting……?”
The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's jaw dropped.
“What kind of family are we? The Divine Skill Jaegal, whose fame and trust are more valuable than a thousand pieces of gold! One of the Five Great Clans, the five most powerful families in Jianghu! No, why aren't you thinking of utilizing this enormous credit?”
“Th- this brat……!”
“Why would those cunning merchants have given us so much West Lake Longjing for this feathered fan? It's the empirical inertia that a deal with the Jaegal Clan will surely leave a large profit. They've never failed before.”
It was certainly not wrong.
In their minds, the Jaegal Clan was the most prestigious and wealthy family in Wuhan.
Even though it was on credit, there was no reason for them to refuse this deal. Because there was no way the Jaegal Clan would fail to pay.
The Clan Head's question flew heavily towards the Third Young Master.
“Why are you going this far.”
This was not the way of a righteous and prestigious family.
Anyone could see it was the path of hegemony.
Even if he brought the tea houses of Wuhan to their knees, the prestige of the Jaegal Clan would not be the same as before.
At that moment.
Jaegal Hwi's eyes suddenly changed.
Soon, he took out a book from his bosom and showed it to the Clan Head.
“The average selling price of one package of Biluochun is one nyang of silver and five copper coins. The difference with the price at the source is only one-tenth.”
His cold gaze began to sweep over the blood relatives gathered around Yongso Stream.
“This is Wuhan. Yet the tea houses of Wuhan treat the Namgung bastards' West Lake Longjing more preciously than our family's Biluochun. The bastards must be more afraid of the Namgung bastards' influence than ours. When it comes to tea, this Wuhan has already become like the Namgung bastards' Anhui.”
Jaegal Hwi looked at the Clan Head again.
“Is this Wuhan really our family's territory?”
The Clan Head only half-opened his eyes and did not answer.
Even the great Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom kept his mouth shut.
At that moment, the eldest son, Jaegal Cheon, stepped forward.
“I will join Hwi-ah's plan.”
The gazes of the blood relatives all turned to the eldest son at once.
“We all acknowledge that the tea houses of Wuhan have been outside our family's control for a long time. There is nothing wrong with Hwi-ah's words.”
The Third Young Master, Jaegal Hwi, had his eyes wide with surprise.
“Really? If you're willing to lend a hand, brother, well, that's good for me.”
“The tea house bastards of Wuhan definitely need to be taught a lesson.”
Jaegal Hwi, smiling cheerfully.
Soon, he looked at the Clan Head again.
“Then I'll proceed, taking that as your permission. Just watch from the Clan Head's hall, Father. What's the point of having a son who works well? Just lie down and watch the show.”
The Clan Head, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.
“What do you estimate.”
“Hmm? What about?”
The Clan Head's eyes shone sharply.
“I mean the profit you will gain from the tea market in Wuhan after you've got the tea house owners by the throat.”
As soon as the topic of profit came up, Jaegal Hwi's face instantly turned innocent.
“Hmm, well. Since we sold the West Lake Longjing so cheaply, will there be any profit for a while? We'll be struggling with a deficit for at least half a year.”
“Do I not know you.”
“Hmm?”
“This father is no fool.”
As if feeling that he was not to be trifled with, a faint smile appeared on Jaegal Hwi's face.
“Well, it's just an estimate for now. By next spring, probably about a hundred thousand nyang?”
But the Clan Head's expression did not change.
Seeing that his eyes were still sharp, he did not seem to believe it easily.
“This Steward.”
“Yes, Clan Head.”
“For the time being, delegate the family's affairs to the deputy steward and from now on, record every single one of that bastard's transactions.”
The Third Young Master, Jaegal Hwi, jumped up.
“No, this is not right! You're going back on your word! I'm going to earn my own living, so why are you suddenly putting your spoon in?”
“The shenanigans you are about to pull are based on the family's prestige and credit, are they not.”
“No, wow! How can a person be so two-faced?”
“Be quiet.”
Soon, Jaegal Hwi gritted his teeth.
“Twenty percent! No more than that! I won't do it! Go ahead, sue me! If you get any greedier than this, I'm flipping the whole board!”
The Clan Head said nonchalantly.
“Forty percent.”
But the Third Young Master, Jaegal Hwi, nodded his head cheerfully.
“Deal! Phew, I was prepared for up to fifty percent.”
“…….”
Jaegal Hwi disappeared, laughing gleefully.
The Clan Head stared after him blankly, then let out a sigh.
The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom smiled gently.
“Clan Head, are you so worried?”
“How can I not worry about that eccentric fellow, Father.”
As if understanding, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom nodded.
But the smile on his lips did not disappear.
“He's the fellow who made that Namgung Sejin of the world a mute. The shock of that hasn't even subsided, yet he's pulling off something this big with that small fan again……”
The Clan Head cautiously asked the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom.
“Father, is that fellow really our Hwi-ah?”
He couldn't be sure at what point, but one day, his character had completely changed.
The elegant dignity and the calm gaze were no longer there.
“So the Clan Head dislikes it?”
“Father, that is not what I mean……”
“I asked if you dislike it.”
“…….”
It wasn't a feeling of dislike.
It was just that he couldn't understand this unfamiliar feeling of facing a completely different person.
“Then the Clan Head should go back. To that time when you couldn't even comfort your son who was breaking down every day, thinking that his brother had been lost by the family.”
“Father……”
“Even this old man who is looking at the end of his life does not want to experience that helplessness again, so how much more so for the Clan Head.”
The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's eyes, looking at Yongso Stream, grew warm.
“Whatever strange fate, whatever damn catalyst has changed my grandson…… whatever it is, this old man is grateful every single day.”
Finally, the Jaegal Clan Head, Jaegal Myeong-won, could smile along with his father.
A weight had been on a corner of his heart all this time, but today he finally felt at ease.
“You always give me teachings.”
The sun tilting towards Yongso Stream.
A feeling of regret was filled in the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom's face.
“I want to watch my grandson a little longer, but…… now it is truly beyond my strength.”
“……Has the demonic poison in your marrow deepened?”
The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom was smiling weakly.
If it weren't for the Divine Doctor, he would have been dead long ago.
It had been a long time since he had felt any energy.
The faint flow of his internal energy was also gradually losing its strength.
If his dantian were to close like this, he would probably die.
“Dan Cheon-yang……”
Thus, under the setting sun, the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom was murmuring the name of the Heavenly Demon.