Chapter 70
“Yes, the noodles are ready.”
“Bring the food out faster here!”
“Ah, yes! I’ll be right there!”
“Phew…”
The inn was packed with people.
It was a happy situation, with so many customers that the owner, Soun, had to help the Attendant carry food, but Soun couldn’t just smile.
And for good reason…
“Hey, when is a table opening up?”
“If you just wait a little longer…”
“Ah, do you know how long I’ve been waiting!”
…It was literally because there were too many customers.
The inn Soun operated was originally not very large. Even so, Soun has had no great difficulty running the inn over the past few years.
The neighborhood where his inn was located originally had few people, so no one visited except for a few regular customers who came often.
However, the situation changed when the Mountain Path was pioneered in Hunan Province.
As Merchants using the Mountain Path occasionally came down to eat or find lodging and some even tried to sell their goods here, the once-quiet neighborhood became bustling, and the inn was swarming with people.
“Don’t cut in line, you bastard!”
“Bastard? Did you just call me a bastard?”
“H-hey, please don’t fight here!”
As a result, he was making a lot of money, but there were just as much noise and trouble.
Feeling that things couldn’t go on like this, Soun spent a day like a battlefield and was finally able to catch his breath around midnight.
“Boss.”
“…Yeah?”
Slumped over a table after all the customers had left, the Attendant spoke desperately.
“…Can’t we hire some more people? I don’t even remember how many tables I cleared today by myself…”
“…We need people to hire. I know you’re having a hard time, so I’m helping you too.”
“…No, more than that, there are so many customers that I just can’t handle it. Shouldn’t we at least expand this tiny inn of ours?”
Inn expansion.
As a businessman, he too had a certain degree of ambition. Perhaps this influx of customers was a Heaven-sent Opportunity.
If he expanded the inn and hired more people, he could earn profits that couldn’t even be compared to before.
However…
“…Does money just fall from the sky ?”
…Even though there were more customers now, it was still just the beginning of making money.
There was no way he had the large sum of money needed to expand the inn.
“Can’t you borrow from a bank or something?”
“Since when has there been a bank in this backwater town…”
“Ah…”
Even if there were, those strict banks wouldn’t lend money easily.
Unable to grasp the opportunity even when it presented itself, Soun could only sigh.
It was then.
Creak.
Even though it was late, around midnight, a customer opened the door and entered. At this, Soun reflexively stood up to greet him.
“…Welcome is what I’d like to say, but, customer, food orders ended a long time ago. The guest rooms are also already fully booked. I’m sorry, but…”
“Ah, I didn’t come here for a meal or lodging.”
“Then…?”
“Could I perhaps speak with the owner of this inn?”
“I am the boss, but what is this about?”
“Ah, you are the owner of this inn?”
As soon as he heard the word 'boss', the customer smiled a good-natured smile and held out his hand.
“I come from Haomun.”
* * *
Soun trembled slightly as he looked at the contract in front of him.
“So what you’re saying is…, you’ll lend us the money so our inn can expand…?”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t even know how much to expand yet…, or how much it will cost, so how…”
At Soun’s words, Munseok took something out of his robes and handed it over.
“This is…”
“It’s an estimate drawn up by the Chukmun (Construction Guild) affiliated with Haomun. We’ve already designed an inn expanded to about three times its current size.”
“Th- Three times…!”
“It’s not just three times larger; the facilities will also be much better than they are now. At our Haomun, we expect you’ll be able to earn at least four times the profit you’re making from the inn right now.”
“…!!”
When it came to money, Haomun were not the type to lie about things that didn’t exist.
If so, the expected profit could be at least four times the current amount, perhaps even more.
‘If only it could be like that…’
Soun’s happy imagination took flight before he barely snapped back to his senses.
‘Ah, no! Don’t be fooled, get a grip!’
The Haomun he knew was absolutely not a Charity Organization. Perhaps all of this is a scam targeting his inn right now.
Soun slowly read through the contract. Watching him, Munseok grinned and continued speaking.
“If you just sign this contract, we will immediately pay the construction costs. The construction will be handled by the Chukmun (Construction Guild). In addition, our Haomun will select and send an Attendant to work in the expanded inn.”
Faced with Munseok’s kind face and the incredibly good conditions, Soun found it even harder to believe. And as soon as he read the second line of the contract, he found something questionable.
“…The maximum repayment period is only two years. It will be very tight to pay it back within that time, but what happens if I can’t?”
“That is written in the clause right below. The longer it takes to repay the money, the more shares of your inn the Green Forest will take.”
“G-Green Forest? Suddenly…?”
Soun was flustered by the name of the Green Forest popping out of nowhere, but Munseok kindly continued his explanation.
“You could say that Haomun and the Green Forest are in a partnership. The concept for this business was devised by the Green Forest side, you see.”
“The Green Forest taking shares means… ultimately, if I can’t repay the money, the Green Forest will seize this inn?”
As soon as the words Green Forest came out, Soun shrank back and raised his guard. And for good reason: no matter how much it had improved, the perception of the Green Forest still retained the image of the Demonic Path forcibly taking things from the Common People.
Because of that, the more terrified Soun became, the more Munseok smiled his good-natured smile and spoke.
“…The Green Forest are not people who do things so roughly. Look at the clause below that. Even if you fail to repay the money by the maximum repayment period of two years, the maximum share they can take is only half.”
“Taking half the shares means…”
“It means that if you can’t repay the money, the Green Forest will take shares little by little, and after two years, it will become a Co-owner of this inn.”
“…Co-owner?”
While there were cases where family members ran a business together and shared the title, being a Co-owner with someone else like this was a truly unfamiliar concept.
‘Is this okay?’
…Because this was his first time encountering such a situation, Soun couldn’t help but be extremely confused. And to him, Munseok whispered softly.
“The Green Forest may be called a Co-owner, but it will absolutely not interfere much in the inn’s operations.”
“Then…”
“The Green Forest will simply take half of the profits.”
“…”
Even if the Green Forest took half the profits, the innkeeper would still be left with a larger profit than what he makes running this tiny inn right now.
When considered just like that, being a Co-owner didn’t seem too bad.
However…
‘Sharing the title with the Green Forest is a bit…’
…As expected, the problem was the reputation of the Green Forest.
No matter what the Green Forest called themselves, they were ultimately bandits, and the fact that he would be partnering with bandits made him extremely uncomfortable.
“…”
And that reaction was quickly caught by Munseok. Seeing him like that, Munseok slowly opened his mouth to deliver the Finishing Touch.
“By any chance, hasn’t the tribute you pay to the Underworld Faction decreased lately?”
“Ah…, yes! That’s right. The guys who collect the protection fees recently said I only had to pay half, so I was wondering what was going on. But how did you know that…”
“The Green Forest is currently unifying the Underworld Factions under its command. If you sign this contract, you will be able to safely receive the protection of the Green Forest. Conversely, if you do not sign…, no. I will only say this much.”
“…”
Even without Munseok explicitly saying the rest, Soun could guess.
This was a threat that wasn’t quite a threat.
It was a threat that if he didn’t sign, the fiends of the Underworld Factions under the Green Forest might extend their reach.
“…”
Soun squeezed his eyes shut.
This was a contract he had no choice but to sign. For practical benefits, for his businessman’s intuition…, and to avoid the threat, he absolutely had to sign it.
“I will sign the contract.”
“You’ve thought well. The Chukmun is on standby right now, so construction can start as early as tomorrow. Haha, we’ll build you the most splendid inn in Hunan Province as quickly as possible.”
Hearing those words, Soun signed the contract with trembling hands. Even though it was clearly a practical benefit, for some reason it felt like a Bitter Pill to Swallow.
And Munseok watched him with sunken eyes.
‘There goes another one.’
Even if his profits increased fourfold, Soun would absolutely never be able to come up with the construction costs written in the contract within two years.
He would slowly lose his shares to the Green Forest, and after two years, he would inevitably lose up to half of his shares.
Of course, even if he lost half his shares and became a Co-owner, Soun would be able to live a better life than he does now.
Even so, for some reason, Munseok couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing something bad.
* * *
Thud.
“Here, I tried getting a few contracts as a test.”
“…”
I couldn’t help but be a little surprised to see the five or so contracts in front of me.
And for good reason: all of these contracts were things Munseok had obtained in just one night.
“…Wait, it’s only been one night and you’ve already gotten contracts signed?”
When I asked in surprise, Munseok answered nonchalantly.
“I used to do a bit of moneylending work in my younger days…”
“…”
‘Wait, didn’t this gentleman say that he also did Hoppa Work in his youth last time…?’
But he did moneylending too?
Now, even I was starting to find Munseok’s abilities terrifying.
“No, Mister, why didn’t you become the Haomun Leader? You seem much more capable than the current Leader. I mean, all he knows how to do is use poison…, ah, he can’t even use poison anymore. Then he’s completely useless…”
“Ehem-!!”
At my words, Munseok glared at me in a rare display of great anger.
“The fact that you can move Haomun as you please right now is all thanks to the Leader! How can you say such disrespectful words!”
“It’s a joke, a joke.”
Even his loyalty was extraordinary. He was much better than my other Subordinates who did nothing but eat and shit.
“Anyway, there are many moneylending experts in Haomun besides me, so if we mobilize all of them, we should be able to get as many contracts as you want within a month.”
“Seeing you speak with such certainty, Mister, puts my mind at ease. Then…, I should get going.”
“Are you leaving already?”
“I have a promise for the shitters.”
“Shitters?”
“Something like that.”
I stood up from my seat and brushed the dust off Munseok’s shoulder.
It meant I was leaving things in his care.
“I won’t be coming down from the mountain for a while. Handle things well in the meantime. If anything happens, come up the Mountain Path.”
“…You won’t be coming down for a while… Understood?”
“Don’t die of old age while I’m gone.”
At those words, Munseok frowned deeply.
“…It’s only been eight years since I passed forty…”
“At forty-eight, you’re old enough to have seen grandchildren. Oh my, our Munseok. He was working so hard that he couldn’t even get married, tsk…”
“…”
Munseok was originally someone whose face was always plastered with fake smiles, but the look he gave me seemed to be increasingly chilling with Poisonous Qi.
Whatever the case, it meant Munseok was treating me more and more genuinely.
I smiled at that positive sign and stepped outside.
“Take care, Mister.”
“Phew… have a safe trip.”
And after exchanging our final greetings, I headed for the Mountain Stronghold.