Chapter 101
Before the Industrial Revolution, they say there were exactly three cities in the world with populations exceeding one million.
Edo, Beijing, and Istanbul.
Beijing could be excluded, since it was a crazy country whose population alone exceeded a whopping 300 million, while Istanbul was the core city of the Ottoman Empire, so that was understandable.
However, after being reincarnated in Joseon, I found it somewhat galling to hear that Edo, merely the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate that occupied the Japanese archipelago, had a population of one million.
I couldn't help thinking, Why can't Joseon do what those Japanese bastards can?
“So you're saying we should take on even more work?”
“Yes, Father-in-law. Broadly speaking, it will be for the sake of the country, and more narrowly, for you and me. Is there any reason not to do it?”
History is also a summary of the trial and error experienced by countless people.
Humanity lost hundreds of millions, even billions, of lives before learning that failing to wash one's hands or bathe properly could make you sick or even kill you.
The Japanese next door, especially the citizens of Edo, often ate nothing but white-rice meals as a symbol of wealth, only to contract beriberi and die.
It wasn't until the early 1900s that they learned they also had to eat grains such as barley.
What would happen if even one high-ranking person knew this?
They would force people to wash themselves, just as I was doing now, and find some way to make the people of Edo eat grains besides white rice.
My position was exactly like that.
I knew what Joseon needed, so I felt responsible for pushing those things forward as quickly as possible.
“When I heard that last time you told His Majesty you would devote our entire family fortune to building ships at the Shipbuilding Office without even asking my permission, I honestly thought it was absurd... But thanks to you, our fortune has multiplied several times over, so I'll trust you this time too. All right, what are you thinking of doing?”
“What do you think of building binggo?”
“That would violate the laws of the land. Would that even be possible?”
“I'll submit a memorial to His Majesty myself and obtain permission for all the people of Joseon to build binggo freely.”
Even in the history I hadn't interfered with, private binggo began to appear in the second year of King Danjong's reign, a little over twenty years from now.
Later, in the late Joseon period, binggo appeared all over the country, where they were used to store beef and transport fish.
Joseon was already much more flexible now than it had been during the original historical period of King Danjong, so there was no reason it couldn't be done.
“Ice is valuable, though... If we build binggo, will there really be any profit left?”
“There will be enormous profits from the very first year we build binggo. Think about it. Ice is only unusable because it's scarce. If we can use it, how many different purposes could it have?”
I looked at my father-in-law and grinned.
“We can use ice to keep beef fresh for a long time, and bring fish caught off the coast of Incheon to Hanyang while they're still fresh. If we store them properly and transport them quickly, we might even be able to eat sardines, squid, herring, and sea bream as raw fish in Hanyang.”
“It's impossible to eat raw fish anywhere but the coast... But if we build binggo, you're saying we could eat hoe, something normally available only by the sea, even in Hanyang?”
Koreans tend to think that sushi and hoe are both raw-fish dishes, so their histories must be roughly similar as well.
Strictly speaking, however, the sushi we know today has at most three hundred years of history, while hoe was already eaten by Yi Gyubo during the Goryeo period, so it has quite a long history.
Ah, now that I think about it, there would be no particular problem with me creating sushi or Chinese foods like jjajangmyeon and malatang... Should I try making them and selling them?
After all, Hanyang would become the world's largest commercial city, and all kinds of food would be sold and consumed there.
“It would also be good to serve ice topped with honey, omija berries, crabapples, watermelon, and persimmons.”
“...... Wouldn't the court impeach us for selling something so extravagant?”
“Once binggo become common throughout Joseon and using ice is no longer unusual, it will just be a somewhat expensive snack. The sages warned people to beware of extravagance because indulging in it meant squeezing the lifeblood from the common people. They did not forbid making luxurious foods commonplace so that everyone could easily enjoy them.”
“My learning may be shallow, but now that I hear you say it, there isn't a single thing you're wrong about.”
As far as I knew, my father-in-law had never studied before.
He had always said that he was uneducated, so the fact that he used the phrase 'my learning may be shallow'... Did that mean he was studying?
“Have you been studying separately since entering government service?”
Kim Mandeok gave an embarrassed, sheepish smile.
“I've only just reached the level of memorizing the Elementary Learning. These days, after leaving the office on time, I memorize the Analects until I go to bed.”
“You must already be busy and exhausted just from your official duties. That's truly admirable.”
“There's a mun-gwa jungsi in six years, isn't there? Since the jungsi doesn't include gangeong, the memorization of the classics, if I can even pass in the byeonggwa, the third category... Then I think I could boast that I hadn't become an official merely by benefiting from my son-in-law, but had earned my position as a proper official with learning and ability.”
“The jungsi is still a civil service examination, so if you pass, you could even rise to dangsanggwan.”
“Dangsanggwan, huh? I'd have no greater wish than to rise as far as chamsanggwan.”
In the original history, Jang Yeong-sil had not passed the civil service examination, so his advancement stopped at Junior Third Rank.
But now Jang Yeong-sil was playing a much greater role than he had in the original history, so some officials were already saying that he might become a dangsanggwan someday.
And from what I had heard from the Ministry of Taxation, my father-in-law was also favored by the Minister of Taxation...
If he passed the jungsi and remained in office until around the age of seventy, it seemed possible that, just before resigning, he could even set foot in a dangsanggwan position in the upper grade of Senior Third Rank.
‘The odds of passing are far too slim, though...’
“I know it's going to be difficult, son-in-law. But if it weren't for you, how could I have risen to my current Senior Eighth Rank and achieved such success? For your sake, I want to properly challenge the jungsi at least once.”
“I'll support you as much as I can.”
“Good. Then, as you suggested, let's start by raising the money to build binggo. And you know that people have been flocking to Hanyang lately, don't you? According to a report sent by Hansungbu, Hanyang's population has already surpassed 120,000.”
During King Sejong's reign, Hanyang's population had been approximately 100,000.
For it to have increased by 20,000 in just a few years meant that, as commerce developed, people were flocking there in search of a way to make a living.
It also meant that the number of single-person households had increased tremendously.
Well, this was Joseon, so they would probably get married soon enough.
“That's why I want to establish taverns in various parts of Hanyang where people can buy meals, like the one you built in Jinhae County.”
“That's a wise idea.”
Even if he didn't know the concept of single-person households, my father-in-law had taken into account the fact that newcomers to Hanyang would have a hard time cooking for themselves and decided to build taverns...
As expected, my father-in-law had a special talent for business.
“Since we're doing it anyway, we could make and sell the foods common people usually eat, or sell side dishes separately.”
“That's an excellent idea.”
While the two of us were enthusiastically discussing business, our household slave Gapseok cautiously approached us.
“Master Jegeom, rejoice.”
“What on earth happened?”
“My lady is with child. A female physician just came to examine her, took her pulse, and checked her condition, and said that she had conceived...”
Tears streamed down Kim Mandeok's eyes.
He tried to offer me some words of encouragement, but I didn't have the leisure to calmly listen to my father-in-law's speech.
“Father-in-law, I have to go now.”
“All right, go on.”
A yangban rarely ran unless there was an extraordinary reason.
But after hearing that Gyeoul had conceived, could I really put on airs and walk slowly?
“Gapseok, go to the market right now and buy seaweed and abalone. Buy enough for everyone in the household to eat their fill and still have some left over.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I was fortunate to have been born in the early Joseon period.
This wasn't an era when people pointed fingers at a husband for cooking seaweed soup for his wife.
As soon as I arrived home, panting for breath, I carefully embraced Gyeoul.
“Are you really pregnant?”
“Yes, according to the female physician's examination...”
At that very moment, Gyeoul retched, just like the dry heaving I had often seen in dramas.
It was extremely strong evidence that she was pregnant.
"Just wait a little. I'll make you some seaweed soup."
"You're going to make seaweed soup, my lord?"
"It's not as if I can't."
It wasn't even that difficult.
I had never done it since being born in Joseon, but when I lived in Korea, I had made it hundreds of times by myself.
I had also made abalone seaweed soup for my parents several times.
I went to the kitchen, carefully cooked some seaweed soup for Gyeoul, and brought it to her.
Truly, I hoped that only good things would happen from then on.
With that wish in my heart, I gently stroked Gyeoul's belly and said,
"Whether it's a boy or a girl, just give birth to a healthy baby."
Gyeoul smiled at my words.
I felt as though I had everything in the world.