126

Chapter 126 - The Way of Commerce - 3

The Way of Commerce (商道).

This refers to the ethics and credibility that merchants maintain amongst each other.

It is an implicit law and moral code shared among traders to ensure they can conduct their commercial activities smoothly without mutual suspicion.

What would be the reason for violating this Way of Commerce?

'In the end, it's all about money.'

If the profit of not adhering to the Way of Commerce exceeds that of adhering to it, people's hearts naturally gravitate towards the former.

"Do we have something to do at that bookstore?"

Hwa Rin looked at me with curious eyes and asked.

It's surprisingly simple to make someone who has violated the Way of Commerce for money adhere to it. You just have to show them that they will be ruined trying to earn money that way.

In fact, other bookstores that violated the Way of Commerce had faced harsh consequences, as I had orchestrated attacks on the violating bookstores using my correspondence with Ho Pil.

Now, only one bookstore remains steadfast.

"We must make them adhere to the Way of Commerce."

"How?"

"Follow me and you'll see."

The last bookstore will be dealt with differently.

--------------

Upon arrival at the bookstore, I noticed advertisements piled up at the entrance.

[Everything 20% off compared to Daso Pavilion.]

[The talked-about Tang Family's Martial Chronicles. Sold out daily.]

[New genre: Colorful Chronicles of the Knights. Immerse yourself in their charm.]

Disappointingly straightforward advertising copy. 'The Colorful Chronicles of the Knights, announced by a Joseon person. As soon as it is revealed in the Central Plains, both Central Plains and Japan are in high alert. The scholars of the Central Plains shake in fear and the young students weep.' That would be more like it.

"Are you looking for Tang Family's Martial Chronicles? Please, come inside... You're not one of those barbarians from Daso Pavilion!"

Upon noticing me at the entrance, the bookstore owner dropped his sales smile and revealed his true colors.

"Ha-ha, are you doing well?"

I began with a polite smile and a greeting.

"Thanks to you, we are doing very well. The Tang Family's Martial Chronicles are selling incredibly well."

The owner gestured behind him at the Tang Family's Martial Chronicles with a smug expression. While we talked briefly, customers could be seen picking up copies of the book and heading to the counter.

How much are they earning from this...

"How good it is to see that the Tang Family's Martial Chronicles from our Daso Pavilion continue to sell well here."

I deliberately spoke sarcastically to the bookstore owner.

"You've come to start trouble again, haven't you? I hired guards, so I'm not going to fall for your troublemaking, you barbarian scum!"

"Ha-ha. That's harsh. There are others who would commit acts not even a dog would consider, yet you speak of dog acts?"

"This jerk wants to start a fight this early in the morning? Hey! Bring me the salt!"

The bookstore owner shouted, calling for a clerk inside.

This bookstore was the problem.

Aside from Daso Pavilion, it was the largest in Yichang, holding considerable funds, not budging an inch from any minor damages, and the owner was proactive in handling this situation.

Wherever the big money came from, they hired guards and remained immune to various business interference tactics. Excluding the students, they had many regular customers, so the boycott movement did not cause significant damage.

Although other bookstores were intimidated into abandoning the Tang Family's Martial Chronicles for fear of being ruined, this one courageously continued to sell.

"Get out before I sprinkle the salt!"

The owner appeared before us with a fistful of salt.

An arrogant bookstore owner with a large establishment. Ordinary measures won't make such a place adhere to the Way of Commerce.

"Sir! What are you doing now?"

Ordinary measures... that is.

********

A carriage stopped in front of the bookstore, which recently became Yichang's hot topic.

The carriage was made from luxurious materials and embellished with exquisite decorations. The horses pulling the carriage shone with glossy manes.

Even the most ignorant person could tell at a glance that this carriage was used by someone of high status.

"Sir! What are you doing now!"

A white-haired elder stepped down from the carriage, scolding the bookstore owner who was clutching the salt.

"Isn't that the Chief of the Merchants' Association, sir? What brings you here?"

The bookstore owner gasped upon seeing the elder disembark from the carriage, scrambling to bow deeply to the man referred to as the Chief.

"You mean the Chief of Yichang Merchants' Association?"

"It has been quite a while, and you're looking hearty."

"What brings someone who's hard to meet to this place?"

The elder was the Chief of Yichang Merchants' Association, an entity that unified the shops and trading houses of Yichang.

Typically, while a trading house is a corporation, a merchants' association is a coalition. The Chief refers to the head of such an association. Although in some associations the Chief holds executive power, this was not the case with Yichang Merchants' Association.

However, that didn't change the fact that he was the most influential person in Yichang's commercial sector.

The elder, surrounded by the chatter about him and accompanied by his attendants, stood before the bookstore owner.

"Such a busy man as our Chief, what brings you to the bookstore?"

The bookstore owner's voice carried a touch of anger as he approached the elder, wondering why someone so important would appear here.

"I heard you were up to some interesting antics, so I decided to come see for myself. It seems it is as entertaining as I was told."

The Chief gave a disapproving look at the hands of the bookstore owner, still clutching the salt.

"Ha-ha, Elder. I have been living my life quite interestingly these days."

The bookstore owner hastily scattered the salt on the ground and laughed awkwardly.

"Do you think I came all this way for a joke?"

The situation was dire; the bookstore owner's face fell as the Chief spoke with sternness.

"Elder Chief. If you are here because of Tang Family's Martial Chronicles, it is merely legitimate competition between bookstores."

"It's a new sight to me in my long life. Nowadays, is it considered legitimate competition to ignore the Way of Commerce and engage in dirty collusion?"

"He-he. Chief Elder, there seems to be some misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, you say. So, are you claiming this is legitimate competition? Nowadays, must one hire an assassin to hear the complaints about violating the Way of Commerce?"

"Elder. Your words are too harsh."

"Ha-ha-ha. Isn't that a bit too harsh on someone who repays kindness with enmity?"

The bookstore owner laughed as if it were ridiculous, while feeling cold sweat trickle down his back.

"Elder Chief..."

"Decades ago, when you were still a babe-in-arms, the Baek Family Bookstore was a pillar of Yichang, one that supported numerous aspiring individuals even in times of hardship. It was Baek who helped you when you said you wanted to start a bookstore. Was it not that very friend?"

"That was 30 years ago."

"Does kindness expire after 30 years! The older the kindness, the greater it should grow! Who was it that provided you financial aid during times of business difficulty when you had no one else to turn to? Who was it that allowed you to print books that were exclusively printed by the Baek Family Bookstore? Was it not Baek?"

"It is the Daso Pavilion now, not the Baek Family Bookstore. And that dark-haired barbarian is the one running it, Elder."

"And yet you act as if you do not know that the current owner of Daso Pavilion is the only granddaughter of Baek. She is entrusting its management to a friend due to her reluctance to be out in the public eye."

"I am aware, Elder. However, because of the Daso Pavilion created by that barbarian, our bookstores are suffering substantial losses."

"Did this young man actually inflict those losses while violating the Way of Commerce?"

"...No, he did not."

"And still, you repay decades of kindness with hostility and muddy the waters of Yichang's Merchants' Association by breaching the Way of Commerce?"

"Elder, but..."

"Anyone who does not uphold the Way of Commerce no longer has a place in Yichang's Merchants' Association."

Expulsion from Yichang's Merchants' Association.

The bookstore owner could not close his mouth at the shocking proclamation of his expulsion from the association.

Being expelled from Yichang's Merchants' Association, where all the city's commercial participants are members, was a grave matter.

Exclusion from the protection of the Merchants' Association meant not only the loss of benefits and being subject to disadvantages in commercial activities but also lacking recourse when one suffers substantial harm—it was an official declaration that the bookstore was no longer protected by the Way of Commerce.

"Elder! I was blinded by money and forgot the Way of Commerce. I am sorry. Truly sorry."

The bookstore owner knelt before the Chief in trembling fear.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to."

The Chief turned to look at the young man with the dark hair and the woman wearing a hood, both of whom had been observing the situation. Then the bookstore owner, still kneeling, approached the people from Daso Pavilion and bowed his head to them.

"I'm so sorry. Truly sorry. I have committed a sin worthy of death. I'll ensure such an incident never happens again. I will even compensate for the damage. No, I will pay back double, no, triple. Please, please forgive me."

Declaration of defeat.

The bookstore owner, who had banded forces to attack Daso Pavilion, immediately cowered at the word of an even greater power.

With that apology, the Tang Family's Martial Chronicles forgery incident came to a close.

*****************

'Everything went as planned.'

How should one deal with a person who refuses to adhere to the Way of Commerce to the very end?

In the end, it's about force.

Without copyright laws, force is necessary to uphold the Way of Commerce. The question was whose power to enlist.

There was an option to use Hwa Rin's strength, but that would only foster enmity. In such cases, it's better to borrow the strength of a third party, especially someone with authority in Yichang and the ability to correct the deviated Way of Commerce.

The power that originates from authority cannot be borrowed lightly. Especially so for a foreigner and barbarian like me.

So, what should be done?

'Use Hwa Rin's lineage and the official's connections.'

I had dinner with Hwa Rin, the only granddaughter of the Baek Family, and the chief officer, discussing our troubles. With Hwa Rin's lineage, the officer's connections, and the justification of the Way of Commerce on our side, we asked for help connecting with other prestigious individuals. Reaching out to the Merchants' Association was not difficult.

"You didn't have a drink with the chief officer and the Chief of the Merchants' Association, did you?"

Hwa Rin seemed to catch on to the situation and asked me.

"Yeah. I thought it would be an official from the Merchants' Association, but I was surprised when the Chief himself showed up."

I wasn't too worried from the beginning because I was relying on the Baek Family's robust network, but the connections they had built were stronger than I imagined. Who would have thought the Chief would make a personal appearance?

Although the Chief of Yichang's Merchants' Association wasn't quite the equivalent to a corporate chairman, he was certainly more significant than an apartment resident's association chairman.

Utilizing lineage, connections, and explaining the circumstances, we managed to gain firm promises of assistance, but I couldn't let my guard down throughout the entire dinner.

"You've gone through a lot these days."

The Chief concluded his rebuke and approached us with a satisfied look.

"I expected someone to be sent in your stead. I'm truly sorry to have involved you, Chief, in such a matter."

"Ha-ha-ha. You—the one who set up this situation—say such insincere things."

The Chief laughed heartily as if he had no interest in empty courtesies.

"I am truly grateful."

"You're an interesting young man, aren't you? Said you're 21 this year? Thinking of using your influence to shake the commercial world and utilizing another's connections to wield power. When I was your age, I foolishly only knew how to confront things directly or resort to shallow tricks. Indeed, you live up to the reputation as someone noted by Jang Noya of Mangumjeon."

The Chief looked at me approvingly.

"You flatter me."

"Do I look like someone who flatters others? As for Daso Pavilion and writing your own books, you're quite an enviable young man. How about it? Give up writing and come learn trade under me. I would give someone like you a place."

"Yah... Yoon Ho..."

Hwa Rin grabbed my sleeve in surprise at the sudden offer. I don't plan to go. I have to become famous through writing.

"Ha-ha. I'm flattered by your high estimate, but I'm just someone who enjoys writing at a bookstore."

"Well, I suppose it is not fitting for you if you've already turned down an offer from Jang Noya. Then, Author Ho Pil, I look forward to your next work."

The Chief spoke while waving a copy of Tang Family's Martial Chronicles that he seemed to have produced from nowhere.

"I'll send the second volume to you as soon as it's out."

"Yoon Ho, you really are wa..."

Once the Chief disappeared, Hwa Rin looked at me, starting to say something but then stopped, clearly at a loss for words in admiration.

"Why? Do I become visible again?"

Come on, praise me. I placed my hands on my waist and puffed out my chest, ready to bask in Hwa Rin's forthcoming shower of compliments.

"What are you talking about? There's no need to see you again. You... you're as amazing as you always were."

Hwa Rin told me with a pleased look in her eyes.

"I'm not that great."

You're overestimating me. I felt awkward under Hwa Rin's gaze and averted my eyes.

"Ah! Author Ho Pil!"

The Chief had almost climbed into his carriage, but then he turned around and approached me again. What's this about?

"Yes, Elder?"

"About the courtesan who sat next to you last night."

"Yes?"

"She said if you include her name in Tang Family's Martial Chronicles as the number one beauty of Hubei, she would treat you most hospitably even without a penny. Give it some thought."

"Ha-ha. I already have a name decided."

"She's one of the most renowned courtesans in Yichang... Ah! I've spoken out of turn. I must be going now."

Why did he suddenly leave in such a hurry? The Chief started to say something, then suddenly looked behind him, his expression startled, and left the scene.

"Hey. Kang Yoon Ho."

Ah. A chilling voice came from behind.

"Uh? Oh oh."

"You said you hadn't seen any women."

"It's not like I went out to meet women; sometimes as a man, you can't help encountering them while working... Ouch! Hwa Rin, why are you kicking me in the shin?!"

"You. Spit out the honeyed water I gave you earlier!"

"Ouch! Stop hitting me! Hwa Rin, I'll take you with me next time."

"Are you crazy? Where are you going to take me?!"

"Ah!"

---------------

The illegally copied Tang Family's Martial Chronicles had all been retrieved.

The profits that the bookstores had gained by violating the Way of Commerce were fully returned in the form of promissory notes. We even received an introduction to a supplier providing high-quality type.

"Is it over now?"

Hwa Rin, who had finished sorting the first volume of the Tang Family's Martial Chronicles retrieved from the bookstores, asked me.

"Over? It's just the beginning. Look at this."

I took out a thick bundle of paper from my pocket and showed it to Hwa Rin.

"What's this?"

"The draft for Tang Family's Martial Chronicles Volume 2. Once you and I finish the revision, we can publish it right away."