The weather had really started to heat up as we entered the Seventh Month.
Inside the meeting room of our temporary residence, the Windcraft Fans were spinning without a pause.
And the representatives from merchant groups all over the empire, who’d been entrusted with selling the Windcraft Fans, were gathered there as well.
“There’s way too much demand for the handheld Windcraft Fans. You really need to increase supply.”
“That’s right. There are even people who’ve been lining up for three days straight.”
“We need a plan.”
And I was breaking out in a cold sweat over a problem I hadn’t seen coming.
The reason, of course, was the new compact Windcraft Fan we’d just rolled out.
Because you carried it in your hand, we’d dubbed it the handheld Windcraft Fan, and it was so popular that supply couldn’t keep up with demand.
But we couldn’t just ramp up production without thinking, because sooner or later demand always drops.
If that happened, we’d be the ones eating all the losses, so we had to keep the balance just right.
Still, where Gong Mil used to craft the core components alone, this time we’d brought in a few more craftsmen we could trust.
We’d carefully picked only craftsmen who weren’t likely to betray us, and even after boosting production more than before, this was the best we could do.
With the meeting over, I headed back to my office.
Once the tension drained out of me, I tried to flop down on my desk and grab a quick rest.
But I didn’t get the chance.
“Um, I’m coming in.”
It was Deputy Yeo Chang-ui’s voice.
“Come in.”
He stepped into the office, saw me sprawled over the desk, and commented.
“It’s kind of strange how work can still be exhausting even when everything’s going well.”
At Deputy Yeo Chang-ui’s words, I laughed and straightened up.
“Still, I’d rather be tired because things are going well. Being worn out because nothing’s working out… I’d really rather not.”
“That’s true as well.”
“You came for approvals, right?”
“Yes.”
I went through the documents and stamped them.
“It’s hot, isn’t it?”
“It’s summer.”
So, yes, it was hot.
“Even so, it’s strangely cool inside your office, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
Of course it was – I was cultivating an extreme yin martial art.
After Deputy Yeo Chang-ui left and I went back to my work, it happened.
“Young Master, Branch Chief Eun is here.”
“Show him in.”
The door opened and Branch Chief Eun walked in.
“You’ve come?”
“Yes, Deputy Merchant Lord. The Beijing Branch has finally been completed.”
“Now that’s news I like to hear.”
I rose from my seat.
“We’d better go take a look right away.”
A little later.
We arrived in front of the Beijing Branch.
It was a handsome new building on the plot of land I’d personally picked out.
“This building’s really amazing!”
At Palgap’s remark, the other Escort Guards all nodded. When they’d heard we were going to see the new Beijing Branch building, all six of my Escort Guards had tagged along.
“Then allow me to show you around the building.”
“Sure.”
Branch Chief Eun looked quietly proud.
He’d been just the manager of our Beijing shop until now, and was finally taking over as the official Branch Chief, so of course he was.
Back at headquarters, there had actually been some voices saying we should install someone else as Beijing Branch Chief.
But I insisted that we put Branch Chief Eun in charge.
Because I knew exactly what he was capable of.
He certainly had the ability to run a whole branch, but what I valued most was his dogged determination to keep moving forward no matter what happened.
In my previous life, when the Beijing Branch wavered after our first appointment there went wrong, the one who steadied it had been none other than the man standing before me, Branch Chief Eun Cheong-in.
“Let’s look at the carriage yard first.”
“Understood. The carriage yard really is the pride and joy of any merchant group’s building.”
The Beijing Branch’s layout was almost identical to the main house. Which meant, of course, that it also had a large carriage yard.
That didn’t mean carriages could just come and go without restriction.
Security was vital, so inspections were mandatory whenever a carriage entered or left.
That went double here in Beijing.
One slip and the entire merchant group could be blown to pieces.
“This is more than good enough.”
“I think so too.”
Starting from the carriage yard, we toured every corner of the Beijing Branch.
The supervisors’ and workers’ quarters, the dining hall, the Escort Guards’ barracks, the training ground, the bathhouse, the offices, and so on.
Seeing the building I’d pictured in my head reproduced almost exactly moved me.
“Wow! Young Master’s office is incredibly comfortable.”
My new office inside the Virtuous Wind Department was just as nice.
“The staff will love it too, right?”
“They’re already itching to move in.”
But we couldn’t move in right away.
We still needed to pass a completion inspection from the Ministry of Works.
“Then contact the Ministry of Works and request a completion inspection.”
“Understood.”
Among the six ministries of the imperial palace, the Ministry of Works was mainly in charge of matters related to construction.
Buildings, official roads, and the like all fell under its jurisdiction.
But maybe because those things didn’t feel very tangible to most people, it attracted less attention than the other ministries.
The officials of the Ministry of Works didn’t mind that at all.
It meant that even if they committed a little corruption, it was hard for anyone to notice.
“We just received a completion inspection request.”
“Oh? Really? For where?”
“It’s for a building the Eunhae Merchant Group put up.”
“Since it’s a building from a fairly big merchant group, we can probably skim a good bit of fat off it.”
“But they’ve never once called on us until now.”
“Right, and that’s the problem.”
That pricked the Ministry of Works officials’ pride.
If someone was putting up a building that large in Beijing, it was only natural they should come pay their respects.
Grease their throats a little, make their purses jingle, and they’d handle the matter with a smile – wasn’t that how things were supposed to work?
But the Eunhae Merchant Group hadn’t gone through any of those ‘steps.’
“What should we do?”
“If they can’t use a nicely finished building, they’ll be squirming, won’t they?”
“I imagine so. A wise idea.”
“But, um, the Eunhae Merchant Group has Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
The story of how officials from the Ministry of Revenue had suffered because of Eun Seo-ho was fairly well-known.
That was what the official was warning about.
But the senior official brushed the concern aside.
“That was because the Ministry of Revenue did something stupid. If you make it that obvious, of course people start talking. Hmph!”
“True.”
“But we can put on pressure legally.”
Smiling, he went on.
“If we keep putting them off with one excuse after another, they’ll eventually realize what they need to do.”
Five days passed after the Beijing Branch was completed.
I was going about my usual work while also preparing for the move when Branch Chief Eun came to see me.
“Judging from your face, it doesn’t look like good news.”
At my words, he let out a sigh.
“Yes. It’s already been five days, but there’s still no word at all from the Ministry of Works.”
“So it’s like that, huh?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
As far as I knew, once Ministry of Works officials came out to do a completion inspection, it took three days at most.
But if five days passed without even a peep, it meant they wanted something.
Like a little kickback, for example.
Of course, we could give it to them.
But knowing full well that paying them off now would drag us into an incident, only an idiot would do it.
That mess would break out sometime between the Ninth and Tenth Month.
Still, letting the building sit idle until then would be a terrible waste of time.
I stood up, picking up what I’d prepared specifically for a moment like this.
“Let’s go to the Ministry of Works.”
.
.
.
A short while later,
I headed for the imperial palace with Branch Chief Eun and sent in a visit notice to the Ministry of Works.
After a brief wait, an employee came out to fetch us.
“Is Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group and Branch Chief Eun Cheong-in here?”
“Yes, over here.”
“Please follow me.”
Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long. After what had happened at the Ministry of Revenue, of course they wouldn’t dare pull the same stunt.
We went into the Ministry of Works building.
After we waited a moment in the reception room, an official came out to meet us.
“You came about a completion inspection, yes?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Flipping through some documents, he continued.
“Could you tell me which building this is regarding?”
“It’s a building constructed by the Eunhae Merchant Group. The location is…”
“Ah, here it is.”
Still looking at the paperwork rather than us, he went on.
“You filed the completion inspection request five days ago.”
“Yes. That’s right. When do you think you can come out for the inspection?”
“Our schedule is quite backed up, so you’ll probably need to wait a bit longer.”
“How long do we have to wait?”
“My apologies. We have a lot of pending work, so it’s hard for me to give you a firm answer.”
Seriously, these bastards.
The back of my neck tightened a little.
“In that case, I’ll be going.”
The official turned to leave, as if he’d said all he needed to.
No helping it. I’d have to use what His Majesty had given me.
“Just a moment.”
“Yes? Do you still have business?”
Instead of answering, I held out a scroll. He tilted his head and accepted it.
“What’s this?”
“Unroll it and see.”
At my words, he unfurled the scroll.
And… one, two, three.
Just as I’d expected, before he even finished counting to three, his face turned deathly pale.
It was the scroll I’d received from the emperor.
Written on it was His Majesty’s order that all matters concerning the Eunhae Merchant Group be handled with priority.
And stamped on it was the imperial jade seal, bold and clear.
“Th–this is…”
“A document bearing His Majesty’s sacred decree.”
“Urk!”
At my words, he immediately dropped to his knees and paid his respects.
Watching that cooled my irritation nicely.
“Then, I’d like this handled quickly.”
“Y–yes, understood.”
I took the scroll back.
There was no limit on how many times I could use it.
All that hardship going to Gansu Province had been worth it.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
Officials from the Ministry of Works were dispatched and carried out the completion inspection on the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Beijing Branch building.
And that very day, they issued the certificate of approval.
The Ministry of Works officials might grind their teeth over it, but the completion certificate was already in my hands.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Hem, hem…”
With sour expressions, they took their leave.
I turned to Branch Chief Eun.
“Branch Chief.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s move in.”
“Understood.”
Normally, when moving into a building this big, you’d hold a celebration banquet, but the current situation wasn’t very good.
We could’ve done it last year, but things had gotten even worse since then.
“It’s a shame, but I don’t think we can hold an opening banquet.”
“I think the same. It’s really not the right time for something like that.”
“Father also told me to skip the banquet. So we’ll just start working out of the new building right away.”
“We’ll do that.”
“By the way, how does it feel to officially become the Beijing Branch Chief?”
At my question, Branch Chief Eun let out a delighted laugh.
“It’s the best!”
And so, over the course of three days, we moved into the new building.
There was a lot to move and even more to sort out.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
At my words of encouragement, the Escort Guards responded.
“Not at all. We’re members of the Eunhae Merchant Group too, so of course we should pitch in.”
Moving meant hauling heavy loads, and with my Escort Guards all being experts, they were a huge help.
“For today’s work, I’ll pay you a day’s wage.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Don’t turn it down. I just don’t like working people for free.”
Under my insistence, the Escort Guards finally accepted.
I handed out their pay for the day and went into my office.
The freshly built place still felt a little unfamiliar, but I’d get used to it soon enough.
I took out brush and ink and wrote a letter to Father, letting him know we’d moved in safely.
I entrusted the letter to Geumryeong.
Of course, that meant paying one silver tael as a delivery fee.
Come to think of it, I should invite my uncle by marriage and my aunt. It wouldn’t do not to call them over when they’re so close by.
I went down the list of things I needed to do, one by one.
Since nothing special was happening, I figured I could finally relax a bit in Beijing.
Two days later.
My uncle by marriage and my aunt came to visit the Beijing Branch.
They’d accepted my invitation.
“Welcome.”
“It looked impressive from outside, but it’s even nicer inside.”
“Thank you.”
My aunt looked around the Beijing Branch with a deeply moved expression.
After all, its layout was almost the same as the main house.
I personally showed the two of them around the entire branch.
After we spent a pleasant time together, they returned home.
I was just about to get back to my own work when Palgap announced that a guest had arrived.
A guest?
I wasn’t expecting anyone. Who could it be?
“Who is it?”
“Well, you see, it’s the Commissioner of Land Affairs of Guizhou Province.”
“What?”
The Commissioner of Land Affairs was the head of administration for an entire province – in other words, someone with enormous power.
Why would someone like that come in person?
And why the Commissioner of Land Affairs of Guizhou, of all people, coming to see me?
“Hurry and show him to the reception room.”
“I’ve already taken him there.”
I quickly straightened my clothes and headed to the reception room.
Inside sat a middle-aged man, with a bodyguard standing behind him.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho greets the honored Commissioner of Land Affairs.”
“A pleasure.”
It must have been quite an urgent matter, because he got straight to the point as soon as I sat down.
“The reason I came here is to commission you for something.”
“Pardon?”
“I want you to obtain Snow.”
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt