I see. Merchant Lord Jin doesn’t know exactly who the attackers were.
But I do.
They were sent by the Dong Clan Merchant Group. (TL Note: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))
What I know about them comes from my previous life—after Merchant Lord Jin was attacked, the furious Emperor ordered an investigation, and they eventually found the culprit.
The Emperor commanded that the Dong Clan Merchant Lord and the accomplices involved be executed along with their entire families.
Frankly, it was their own fault, so I didn’t feel particularly sorry or sympathetic.
But during the investigation, countless innocent people suffered.
Some died under brutal torture, others were left crippled.
Why did the innocent have to suffer for crimes they didn’t commit?
But this time would be different.
For one, Merchant Lord Jin wasn’t on the brink of death, and more importantly, I was here.
I walked over to the masked attackers. Their masks had already been removed.
I picked one up and inspected it, then let out a small chuckle.
“This fabric is one of Jiangsu Province’s cotton weaves—Common Plain Weave (凡平織).”
“Common Plain Weave?”
“It’s a term we use among merchants who handle textiles. You know how many threads make up one ‘seung’ of cotton cloth, right?”
“Of course I do. Eighty threads, isn’t it?”
“Right. Common Plain Weave doesn’t even reach five-seung quality, but the texture is just as fine, so it’s used widely, especially for clothing. Also…”
I pointed to a specific part of the mask.
“Interestingly, even when dyed black with ink like this, sometimes the edges of the cotton don’t absorb the dye.”
Merchant Lord Jin looked at the un-dyed section I showed him and nodded.
“I see! Fascinating!”
“That’s because a special oil with a distinct scent is lightly applied to the fabric’s edges to keep insects away. Only one place uses this particular oil.”
“So that’s how you knew it was Common Plain Weave from Jiangsu?”
“Yes.”
“Impressive.”
“A petty trick from a merchant who handles fabric.”
I learned this from experience after I took charge of Eunhae Textiles.
And currently, there’s only one group that holds an exclusive distribution deal for Common Plain Weave.
The Dong Clan Merchant Group.
They’re based in Jiangsu Province.
At the time, textile workers were forced to operate under the Dong Clan in terrible conditions.
The contract terms were absurdly unfair.
But after the Dong Clan collapsed, the workers took that chance to become independent and rose to considerable prominence.
“But couldn’t someone have just bought the fabric to make the masks?”
“I mentioned earlier—the undyed edges, remember?”
“…?”
“That only happens when the fabric hasn’t been trimmed. But when it’s transferred from wholesale to retail, the edges are always trimmed off to hide the use of that oil.”
“So that means…”
“It’s fabric before retail preparation. And there’s only one place where you can obtain fabric like that.”
At this point, he must’ve understood too.
Merchant Lord Jin gave a bitter smile and nodded.
With that mystery cleared up, another seemed to arise, and he asked me,
“Then how did you know we were under attack and come to help?”
“How could I possibly know that? We just happened to hear fighting on our way to treat our people to a bowl of noodles for their hard work today.”
I scratched behind my ear.
“I’m a curious guy…”
“A born merchant, I see!”
“Hahaha, I guess so. In any case, I’m glad you’re unharmed.”
I said to him,
“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Eun Seo-ho, son of the Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
Jin U-rim was looking over a well-kept garden.
He and his group were currently at the Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Eun Seo-ho had invited them to rest and recover there.
Thanks to that, he’d received excellent care, and his wounds had mostly healed.
‘What a fine place.’
During his stay, he’d quietly observed the branch’s operations and had come to that conclusion.
Just then, a warrior from the Embroidered Guard approached him.
“His Majesty’s escort is waiting in the nearby forest.”
“Understood.”
“And… they say an investigation into the Dong Clan Merchant Group is underway.”
Thanks to Eun Seo-ho, he now knew who had attacked them.
Because of that, no innocent lives would be caught up in this, and for that too, he was grateful.
‘I keep owing him, don’t I.’
It was time to leave.
He still hadn’t completed the mission the Emperor had entrusted him with.
The ambush was just a setback—his duty remained.
To protect the peaceful lives of the common people, he had to fulfill the Emperor’s orders.
He cared for the people, and that was why Eun Seo-ho’s word “symbiosis” had struck such a chord.
Before departing, he offered thanks to Branch Lord Eun Myeong-sang and, just in case, asked casually,
“Branch Lord, do you know who I am?”
“Of course I do. I’m a merchant myself and fairly well-connected—how could I not?”
He continued,
“I’ve heard you’re a highly respected figure in Guizhou Province. We were lucky to be able to save someone like you.”
If he’d said he didn’t know, Jin U-rim would’ve grown suspicious.
But hearing that he did know cleared all doubts.
“I’d like to repay you somehow.”
“There’s no need.”
“Please, tell me. I’ll return the favor however I can.”
“Then, I hope you’ll take good care of your health.”
“…My health is your idea of repayment?”
“Yes. If the life we saved ends early because of poor health, wouldn’t that be a sad thing?”
“Hahahaha!”
Jin U-rim burst out laughing without realizing it.
“Alright! I’ll do just that!”
Watching him laugh with satisfaction, Eun Myeong-sang was quietly impressed.
‘Seo-ho, you rascal…’
Everything he’d just said was something Eun Seo-ho had prepared for him.
Just in case he was asked about Jin U-rim’s identity or what kind of repayment to mention.
And Jin U-rim looked truly pleased with the answers he received.
‘Just who is this man, that Seo-ho is going to such lengths for him?’
Eun Myeong-sang still didn’t know exactly who Jin U-rim was.
Because Eun Seo-ho hadn’t told him.
And so, Jin U-rim’s party left the merchant group.
The Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group returned to its normal routines.
But something had changed.
Up until recently, even though they operated in Sichuan, there was always a sense of being outsiders.
But not anymore.
Lately, the locals had begun to recognize the branch as one of their own—fellow Sichuan merchants.
That alone made Branch Lord Eun Myeong-sang feel the free salt distribution had been well worth it.
Salt prices continued to skyrocket without end.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the Dan Clan Merchant Group spent all their surplus funds buying up salt…’
It was already infuriating that they had bribed one of the Sichuan Branch’s clerks, not to mention they were behind the slanderous rumor that the Self-Dancing Dolls were “possessed.”
But knowing what was about to happen, he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them.
.
.
.
Half a month later.
The Salt Distribution Act was enforced.
.
.
.
The Dan Clan Merchant Lord stared in disbelief at his subordinate’s report.
The man was trying to explain something incomprehensible about a new “Salt Distribution Act.”
“What? S-Salt Distribution Act? What the hell is that, and why’s everyone making such a fuss?”
“Apparently, imperial decrees bearing His Majesty’s seal have been posted at government offices across the nation. I copied the most important parts of the Salt Distribution Act for you.”
The Merchant Lord snatched the paper from his subordinate and read it.
“…”
His hands trembled violently.
Bang!
Unable to contain his fury, he slammed his fist down on the table.
A thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
“Dammit! Son of a—!”
He’d poured all remaining funds into salt when prices were still climbing, only to be ruined.
He wracked his brain for a way out, but no answer came.
“Damn it… damn it! Damn it all!”
There was only one option.
He’d have to offload the salt to the Salt Balance Merchant Group, the royal-affiliated distributor, at a pittance.
“At this rate, we might as well have thrown gold into the wind!”
Speaking of tossing things into the air, he suddenly remembered a report from a while ago.
The one about the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Sichuan Branch giving away salt for free in the slums.
At the time, he’d thought they were just putting on a show.
But the Eunhae Merchant Group was a profit-seeking business.
They must’ve judged that giving it away would yield more benefit than keeping it in storage.
And the result? Public opinion of the Eunhae Merchant Group was overwhelmingly positive.
‘Now that I think about it, they only bought a little salt at the very beginning.’
Which meant they never had any intention of stockpiling it.
They bought it purely to distribute.
Then why not stockpile? Why choose to give it away?
‘Did they know this was coming?’
A very rational suspicion formed in his mind.
At that moment, his subordinate asked carefully.
“What about this afternoon’s gathering… will you be attending?”
There was a meeting of Sichuan’s Merchant Lords scheduled for later that day.
No doubt the atmosphere would be grim.
Understandably so—this policy shift was bound to cause losses across many merchant groups in Sichuan.
But precisely because of that, the Merchant Lords would attend.
In hopes of obtaining any scrap of information that might help them reduce their losses.
He would go too, of course.
.
.
.
That evening.
The Dan Clan Merchant Lord entered a tavern in Chengdu.
It was the venue for today’s gathering of Merchant Lords.
“Welcome, sir.”
The attendants greeted him with practiced smiles, but as he expected, the mood inside was bleak.
The normally boastful Merchant Lords sat quietly, draining their cups with grim expressions.
Where once the room buzzed with biting remarks and lively banter, now only the sound of instruments played by entertainers could be heard.
A few sparse conversations floated here and there.
Then—
“Well now, the mood here’s something else.”
A man entered, and the atmosphere shifted slightly. His name was Eun Myeong-sang.
He was the Branch Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Sichuan Branch.
Branch Lords were also invited to gatherings like this, so here he was.
The Merchant Lords had many questions about the Eunhae Merchant Group.
“Come to think of it, didn’t your group also buy salt early on? Did you already know what was coming and pull out?”
At that question, Eun Myeong-sang replied,
“What are you talking about? Pull out? We bought salt from the start solely to give it away—we never considered it an investment.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Everyone knew what the Eunhae Merchant Group had gained by giving away salt.
Reputation.
They’d earned public favor.
A few other merchant groups followed their lead and gave out salt too, but most didn’t.
No—most couldn’t.
They had scraped together every last coin to buy salt at sky-high prices.
They simply didn’t have the capacity to give any of it away.
Someone asked,
“Then you’re saying the Eunhae Merchant Group never intended to participate in the salt trade from the beginning?”
“That’s correct.”
“That’s absurd! A group like the Eunhae Merchant Group just passed on an opportunity like this?”
Eun Myeong-sang chuckled and answered,
“We determined it was too risky. The information from above said the same, and anyone with half a brain could see the palace was bound to intervene.”
“…”
“So from the start, we chose to stay out of it completely.”
At those words, the Dan Clan Merchant Lord couldn’t help but raise his voice in frustration.
“I didn’t take you for that kind of man! Truly petty of you! Why didn’t you share that information in advance?”
“Not share? What are you talking about? I clearly said it at the last meeting. That the whole thing smelled dangerous, and that it might be wise to pull out while you still could.”
“…”
A few others nodded.
They had listened to Eun Myeong-sang’s advice and pulled out early—avoiding losses and even making a profit.
“He’s right.”
“Branch Lord Eun definitely said that.”
Seeing this, Eun Myeong-sang smiled to himself.
‘That brat… he planned even this far ahead, huh?’
He recalled his conversation with Eun Seo-ho.
“What? You want me to tell the other Merchant Lords today to pull out?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Why would we share such critical information?”
“You know how high salt prices are right now. How many do you think would actually back off if we told them to?”
“Almost none.”
“Exactly. Most will think it’s just a weak attempt at sabotage. But if someone listens and avoids loss…”
“They’ll become our ally.”
“And even if they suffer losses, they won’t blame us. We gave them fair warning. They just chose not to listen.”
–TL Notes–
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