I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 12

“East, west, south, north, all different. But if you look at it broadly, you could say two groups are dividing it up, right?”

“Isn’t it misleading to call them ‘two groups’? It’s an open secret that the Central Market is backed by the Orthodox Sect, isn’t it?”

“You have to exclude the Central Market. That’s a place managed by the government office, and the Orthodox Sect is just assisting, right? And that’s not what this young friend wants to know. He’s asking about the power structure of the guys making money behind the scenes, isn’t he?”

The two middle-aged men, who had been talking non-stop, looked at Jo Gwang-yun and raised their glasses.

“That’s what I’m most curious about. But isn’t the Central Market directly managed by Kaifeng Prefecture? The Orthodox Sect is a *jianghu* [martial arts world] force, right…?”

Jo Gwang-yun was annoyed that *jianghu* people kept appearing in the merchants’ commercial world.

“What if an accident happens while doing business? Do you think the officials will rush to help? No way. The store will be a mess, and some people will bleed before they come sauntering over. Accidents must be prevented before they happen. That’s why you need guys with power.”

“Which one are you talking about when you say Orthodox Sect? Perhaps the Murim Alliance…?”

“What? Hahaha.”

The two men, who were about to put their glasses to their mouths, burst into laughter.

“The Murim Alliance? Is the Murim Alliance some small-town sect? Some backwater organization?”

“They’re just leftovers from the side branches of the big *jianghu* sects. They forcibly imitate their martial arts and claim to be from such and such place. They’re all mediocre.”

It is a characteristic of Kaifeng that the great sects have not taken control. All the mediocre guys are springing up like mushrooms after the rain.

“I see. Then what are the two places you mentioned earlier?”

“You could say it’s the Green Blood Gate and the Five Wheels School.”

The two men exchanged glances and nodded.

Green Blood must be the guys who came down from the mountains after being bandits, and Five Wheels…? The Olympics wouldn’t be it, so does that mean there are five leaders?

“The Five Wheels School has taken control of the north, and the Green Blood Gate has taken control of the west. The south and east are not prosperous areas, so they are out of their interest.”

Looking at Yang-cheong’s secret ledger, the main source of income is concentrated in the north. In other words, the guys who handle the dirty work that Yang-cheong mentioned are the Five Wheels School.

“Then the Five Wheels School and the Green Blood Gate must have fierce turf wars.”

“You have no idea. Bloodshed almost every day, and a couple of guys die every month. The government doesn’t care because they’re fighting among themselves anyway.”

Even if the two organizations that have taken control of Kaifeng’s back alleys are eliminated, another organization will take their place. Whether it’s the Black Faction, the Demonic Sect, or the Orthodox Sect.

“Do you happen to know the name of the sect that manages the Central Market?”

“Chungwoon (靑雲)? Is that right?”

“That must be right. I heard it’s called Chungwoongwan.”

The two men looked at each other and nodded.

Having obtained the necessary information, Jo Gwang-yun placed a silver coin on the table.

“Thank you. Use this to wet your throats some more.”

The eyes of the two men widened at the sight of the shining silver coin.

“Hey, you… what do you do? Why do you have so much money?”

Jo Gwang-yun smiled at the two men and said.

“Shouldn’t Kaifeng become clean and peaceful now? I’m just someone who’s working hard for that.”

* * *

“Sister. Let’s expand our territory a little more.”

Yang-cheong did not grasp the exact meaning of Jo Gwang-yun’s sudden suggestion.

“Territory? You’re not talking about the escort agency, are you?”

“The escort agency is running smoothly without any problems. I’m talking about these businesses.”

Jo Gwang-yun shook the secret ledger that Yang-cheong had handed him.

“Even though it’s a business that doesn’t pay a penny in taxes, the profits are meager, so we should either close it down or expand it to make it a profitable business.”

The ledger given to Jo Gwang-yun contains less than 30% of the total content, so it can be said that it is not a lot of money. However, it was unexpected that he suddenly suggested expanding the business.

A guy who uses his head has a lot of thoughts. As many thoughts as he has, it takes a lot of time to put them into action.

However, Jo Gwang-yun came to a conclusion within a day of seeing the ledger and immediately suggested taking action. A smart guy has a big liver [is bold/audacious].

Yang-cheong hesitated and said.

“Brother, you’re saying that because you don’t know the situation here. This vast Kaifeng is not entirely ours. There are many forces, and the balance of power is now in place, right? If you move recklessly, you’ll only see unnecessary bloodshed.”

“That’s right. How great would it be if we monopolized this vast Kaifeng? Where is the balance in business? We have to fight to the death until we eat everything. Money is something that even cuts off blood ties, so I can’t stand balancing in harmony.”

“If you can’t stand it? Are you really going to see blood?”

“Isn’t it not my blood? The Five Wheels School or the Green Blood Gate are just street thugs anyway. We should take this opportunity to replace them. Thanks to you, Sister, I’ve been living comfortably, so my belly must be huge, right?”

Yang-cheong was surprised to learn that Jo Gwang-yun had already grasped the power structure. She was also surprised that he so easily uttered words that would drive people to their deaths.

“Sister. If you go west past the Western Regions, they make fabrics out of sheep’s wool. But do you know when they shear the sheep’s wool?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“They shear the sheep’s wool before winter comes. Then the sheep have to endure the cold winter shivering. The wool of the sheep that have survived the winter grows thicker and more abundant.”

Yang-cheong is not a woman stupid enough not to understand Jo Gwang-yun’s metaphor.

“Then all the sheep die. It’s too much.”

Jo Gwang-yun did not miss Yang-cheong’s trembling eyes.

“Sister. Be a little more honest.”

“What am I doing?”

“The Five Wheels School guys are slowly crawling up, aren’t they? They’re threatening to give them more of their share, and they’re secretly embezzling profits. Aren’t they?”

“H, how did you…?”

How did I know? Stagnant water is bound to rot, and even a horse will throw its owner if the reins are loose. Isn’t that an immutable truth?

“Just watch. If we go on like this, they’re going to try to stand on top of you, Sister. Those guys are just street thugs who don’t care about the morality of the *jianghu*, right?”

Yang-cheong was silent.

In her heart, she wanted to follow Jo Gwang-yun’s words a hundred times, but if she made a mistake, the foundation she had built up until now would be shaken. And the reason why she hesitated was that she could not grasp Jo Gwang-yun’s true intentions.

If there is another ulterior motive, it will not end with the foundation being shaken.

Jo Gwang-yun had to forcibly drag the hesitant Yang-cheong away.

Whether it’s Five Wheels or Green Blood, when he sweeps them all away, Yang-cheong will be buried together.

“Then, Sister, step back and watch. I’ll take care of it.”

“What the hell are you going to do?”

“The two stray dogs are just growling at each other and not biting, so we have to starve them. Then, even if they see just one bone, they’ll fight to the death to take it. We just have to retrain the survivors. Hehe.”

Yang-cheong hurriedly grabbed Jo Gwang-yun, who was getting up and laughing as if he was excited about the dogfight that would unfold in the future.

Blaming her rash judgment that she thought she had found a useful subordinate.

End