Ji Hyeon spoke in an icy voice.
“Well, that was quite the confession.”
“…”
Nok Il turned in horror to look at his subordinate, whose eyes had also gone cold.
“You… you betrayed me?”
“You stabbed me in the back first, didn’t you?”
“Stabbed you in the back?”
“You had a stash hidden behind the Guan Yu Shrine. Yet you told us there was no money and didn’t even pay our wages!”
“H-How did you…?”
Eun Seo-ho, standing among them, said with a smirk,
“Actually… the tea Clerk Eom served wasn’t aconite tea.”
“…?”
“It was a tea our merchant group plans to release, called Fortunate Green (幸綠).”
“Then… the poison I drank…?”
Eun Seo-ho drove the nail in.
“That was a lie.”
“And the antidote being sugar…?”
Without answering, Eun Seo-ho simply chuckled.
“Must’ve been tough getting scammed.”
Those were the exact words the Shaanxi Scorpion used in the letters he left for his victims.
Only now… did the Shaanxi Scorpion begin to understand, even just a little, how those victims must’ve felt.
Far too late, though.
The next day.
I headed to the magistrate’s office.
Magistrate Ji Hyeon greeted me with a smile and praised my contribution.
“You’ve done a great job this time.”
I bowed with my fists together.
“Not at all. Without your assistance, Magistrate, we wouldn’t have been able to capture that swindler. If you hadn’t offered your timely support, we never would’ve gotten a confession from someone that shameless.”
“Ha! You’re just flattering me now.”
He set his teacup down.
Since he didn’t refill the empty cup, he clearly intended to end the conversation here.
Profits obtained through crime were forfeited to the state—or more precisely, to the local province.
But there’s a catch.
That only happens… if the victims don’t demand compensation.
Looks like he’s trying to wrap this up quickly before I bring that up.
When he reports to the provincial inspector, he’ll probably claim the victims were compensated… then pocket the money.
In my past life, those who got scammed by the Shaanxi Scorpion never properly recovered their losses.
Because the wealth found in his hideout wasn’t nearly enough to cover the damages.
When asked where it all went, the answer was… he spent it on luxury and preparing for his next scam.
But knowing the Shaanxi Scorpion, there was no way he didn’t hide more.
The fact that so little remained in the Nokgeum Merchant Group proved it.
Sure enough, hidden stashes of his wealth were discovered years later.
I remembered roughly where it was.
And this time… it was enough to recover all our losses—and then some.
“Forgive my presumption, but our Eunhae Merchant Group suffered losses totaling 3,500 silver taels.”
“What?!”
His eyes bulged.
“T-That much?!”
“That’s correct.”
Last time it was 3,000, but I bumped it up by 500.
That included the cost of staying here longer… and mental distress compensation.
“Hmm…”
As he hesitated, I added casually.
“As you know, Magistrate, our Eunhae Merchant Group holds an imperial license to sell salt. His Majesty himself pays close attention to our affairs.”
“…”
Is this a threat?
No.
This is a rightful demand.
We suffered losses; getting compensation is only natural.
I sat there calmly, waiting for his answer.
In the end, Ji Hyeon forced a smile and tried to act magnanimous.
“Hah! Of course I intended to compensate you.”
“Oh, and by the way… we weren’t the only victims. There were three other merchant groups.”
I had promised them—if we caught the swindler, I’d recover as much of their losses as possible.
I keep my promises.
.
.
.
The next day.
A cart rolled into the inn where I was staying.
Loaded on it were piles of silver taels, escorted by constables from the magistrate’s office.
“Here’s 3,500 silver taels. Please sign the receipt.”
I carefully inspected the silver.
Only after confirming it was genuine did I sign.
“And here’s 400 silver taels for the Yu Merchant Group, 1,100 for the Baek Family Merchant Group, and 60 for the Imyul Merchant Group.”
The merchant lords of those groups were present as well—I had summoned them.
I ensured they received double their original losses.
Because mental distress counts too. And frankly… what they initially reported was probably just the bare minimum.
Better that we take it… than let corrupt officials pocket it.
“Please confirm the amounts and sign.”
“Ah! Yes, yes!”
“Right away!”
They looked utterly dumbfounded.
None of them had actually expected to recover the full amount of their losses.
Let alone twice the amount.
After checking the silver, they signed.
The officials and constables returned to the office, and I turned to the merchant lords.
“I’m glad we were able to recover your losses.”
“Thank you!”
“Truly, thank you!”
“We can never repay this kindness!”
I smiled.
“There’s no need to speak of kindness. Thanks to your help, we recovered our losses too.”
“No…”
The merchant lord of the Yu Merchant Group spoke through tears.
“Honestly… I didn’t think anyone would help. But now… sniff…”
“The Eunhae Merchant Group has helped us so much…”
“Hic…”
Come on… grown men really shouldn’t be crying like this.
I comforted them and watched as they carried their silver to the Exchange.
They were in a hurry to deposit it before anyone tried to steal it.
I also sent warriors from the Eunpoong Division to escort them.
Then, carrying my own silver, I headed for Clerk Eom Sam-taek’s room.
“Come in.”
Eom Sam-taek looked like skin and bones.
The stress had taken a huge toll.
I glanced at the untouched bowl of porridge.
“Chief Clerk, you can’t go on like this. You need to eat and regain your strength.”
“Sigh… What right do I have to eat?”
“But you need to recover if we’re going to inspect the Fucha.”
“…What?”
Eom blinked in confusion.
“Fucha? How would we even buy tea when we’ve got no money?”
I glanced at Palgap.
Palgap set down the heavy chest he’d been carrying.
Thunk!
The sound alone told how heavy it was.
Palgap opened the lid.
When Eom saw the chest full of silver taels, he was utterly speechless.
“T-This… Th-This is… What… what is this…?”
“We caught the swindler. And recovered our losses. Does that explain it?”
“H-How… how on earth…?”
“Ask the other Clerks for the details.”
Honestly, explaining everything was a hassle.
“And with this, you can buy the Fucha and return to the main branch.”
I turned to leave.
Glancing at the bowl of porridge gone cold, I muttered,
“I’ll have them bring you a warm one.”
As I stepped out of Clerk Eom’s room, I heard the sound of him sobbing behind me.
.
.
.
The next day.
Clerk Eom regained his strength and was now moving with renewed energy.
“This doesn’t feel right. Check it again.”
“Yes, Chief Clerk.”
Looks like he’d become a bit more paranoid… but that’s not a bad trait for a merchant.
Just then, Clerk Shim approached me.
“Sir, the merchant lord of the Baek Family Merchant Group requests an audience.”
The Baek Family… one of the groups that got scammed.
What could this be about?
When I had them brought to my room, the merchant lord entered with a few companions.
“Welcome.”
“Thank you for meeting with us.”
They cupped their fists in salute.
Then—
Thud!
They all dropped to their knees in front of me.
“Whoa! What’s this? Please don’t do this!”
“We’ve heard that you are the third son of the Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group, a Deputy Merchant Lord, and Department Chief of the Virtuous Wind Department.”
“Well… that’s true but…”
“Yesterday, we held a meeting within our merchant group. As a result, we’ve decided… to formally affiliate ourselves with the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“…Pardon?”
“No one else helped us. But the Eunhae Merchant Group supported us without asking for anything, even though we weren’t affiliated. After seeing that… we realized something.”
The merchant lord continued.
“We want to belong to the same family. Please accept us.”
He bowed his head until it touched the floor, and so did the others.
Seriously… this is a bit much.
But from our merchant group’s perspective, this isn’t bad at all.
Having an affiliate branch in Shaanxi expands our range of operations significantly.
“Alright, alright. Get up already.”
“You’ll accept us?”
“I’ll have to get permission from my father, the Merchant Lord. I’ll send an express courier right away. So for now, please stand up.”
“Understood.”
As soon as I saw them off, the merchant lord from the Yu Merchant Group arrived… and knelt the same way.
Turns out, they had the same request as the Baek Family.
Why are they all kneeling? They could’ve just said it normally…
I told them I’d send an express courier to the main branch and dismissed them.
“Sir, someone from the Imyul Merchant Group is here.”
No way… not them too, right?
Isn’t there a saying that the worst always happens?
Sure enough, the Imyul Merchant Group also knelt, asking to become an affiliate of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Why… why is everyone kneeling?!
Still, I gave them the same answer—that I’d send a courier to the main branch—and sent them off.
“Sigh… this is exhausting.”
At my sigh, Palgap said,
“You’re incredible, sir.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just… everything about you is incredible.”
“What’s with that nonsense?”
Anyway, I better send word to the main branch quickly.
I drafted a detailed letter explaining the situation.
Now it’s about time to prepare for the trip to the Wu Merchant Group.
The matter with the Shaanxi Scorpion is settled. It’s finally time to pursue the real reason I came to Shaanxi.
I stepped out of my room to inform Clerk Eom.
That’s when I heard Clerk Eom’s voice from nearby.
“No, that wasn’t me. I mean…”
I followed the sound of his voice.
There were two men, likely brothers, bowing repeatedly to Clerk Eom.
“Ah!”
Noticing me, Clerk Eom pointed toward me.
“It wasn’t me. It was him who saved your father.”
Huh?
“He’s the third son of the Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group, a Deputy Merchant Lord, and Department Chief of the Virtuous Wind Department.”
At that introduction, the two men rushed over and bowed deeply before me.
“We’re from the Oh family tea plantation.”
Ah…
When I found out the kidnapped old man was Old Man Oh from the Oh family tea plantation, I’d immediately sent word to them.
“We heard you rescued our father.”
“We can’t thank you enough. Truly, we are forever in your debt.”
I asked them,
“How is the old man?”
“He’s safe.”
“He’s still bedridden from the shock, but he’ll be up on his feet soon.”
“I hope he recovers quickly.”
Then the elder son spoke.
“As you may know, our family produces Fucha. To express our gratitude for saving our father… we’d like to offer as much of this season’s Fucha as you need, free of charge.”
At that, Clerk Eom, standing behind me, gasped and stared at me in shock.
It was a ridiculously generous offer.
“What do you mean, offering your Fucha for free?”
“You saved our father. It’s the least we can do.”
I asked with an awkward expression,
“But don’t you have contracted quantities that need to go to brokers?”
Tea plantations sometimes dealt directly with merchant groups, but most sold to brokers, who then sold to merchants in other regions.
The Eunhae Merchant Group bought tea directly since we were already coming to sell sugar, but for most merchants, it was cheaper to buy from brokers rather than travel themselves.
When tea production begins, brokers swoop in to buy the entire stock.
So even if you rush over upon hearing production started, direct purchase usually isn’t possible.
Even trying to negotiate in advance doesn’t work if a broker swoops in with a contract first. Whoever signs the contract first wins.
For tea producers, moving fresh tea quickly is profitable, so they naturally prefer brokers.
“Actually… my father was the one handling the contract renewal with the broker we’ve been working with for years. But since he was kidnapped…”
He gave a bitter smile.
“I think they’ll understand.”
“Even so, if you give us that tea for free… how will you make a living for the next year?”
I added firmly,
“I truly appreciate the offer. But it doesn’t sit right with me if you’re throwing away a year’s livelihood to do this. We can’t accept it.”
–TL Notes–
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