Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 73

I touched my forehead, listening to the familiar melody the children were endlessly singing in the courtyard.

“Young miss? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

I bit my lip, overcome with self-reproach, but it was already too late.

Far too late.

‘I unknowingly sang it to soothe the crying children when I first came here….’

The lyrics might not have survived intact, but the addictive melody line, once heard, was unforgettable and had already spread widely among the children, making it too late to contain.

‘And it’s not just that which has spread….’

Let me state clearly, in my previous life, I never coveted anyone’s intellectual property or patents, nor did I engage in illegal downloads from unknown sources. I was an ordinary, law-abiding citizen.

However, the deeply ingrained habits of a Korean….

Unknowingly made me hum all sorts of songs….

The melodies, so addictive that I unconsciously hummed them even after being reborn, made those who passed by hum along.

Thanks to this, the songs I hummed began to circulate within Siyoungwon [a facility or organization], slightly altered, before I even realized it.

Moreover, according to the palace maids, my humming had been spreading among them since long ago. They just hadn’t dared to sing in front of their superiors, so I never knew.

Apparently, I had been unconsciously humming various things since I was young.

Fortunately, I used to listen to a lot of historical drama OSTs [original sound tracks], so many of the songs were in an Eastern style.

If I had been singing intense idol dance tracks or rock songs, they might have gossiped that the young princess had gone strange from the poison she ingested as a child.

‘Still, even if this isn’t the past but another world, this kind of copyright infringement is a bit….’

Ugh, I’m sorry!!

While I was momentarily stunned, reflecting on my self-inflicted intellectual property infringement, Court Lady Min presented a bundle of papers she had prepared. It was so heavy that it made a thud when placed on the table.

“These are them.”

“Ah, yes. This is quite a lot, more than I expected.”

I had previously instructed that the cooking methods known by the women among the slaves assigned to Siyoungwon should be recorded before they forgot them.

Even if they knew the recipes, they might forget them if they didn’t cook for a while, so I had ordered them to write them down as soon as possible.

But looking at what Court Lady Min had brought out, it seemed like it would amount to several cookbooks, judging by the stack of papers.

Moreover, the contents were detailed, and some even included small drawings, indicating that they had written them with great care.

‘Even though they’ve become slaves, they seem much more proactive than I thought.’

I wondered if forcing them to write this would make them depressed, as it might remind them of the past.

As if reading my thoughts, Court Lady Min spoke first, seeing my questioning expression as I checked the recipes.

“They need to write in the daylight, so they can be excused from some work while writing. Writing this would be much easier than labor.”

“Ah, I suppose so.”

“Besides, the young princess is protecting them, so of course they will follow your orders.”

“Me?”

All I remember is assigning them work that suited their aptitudes.

“The Siyoungwon that the young princess created, and the people of this Siyoungwon, are protecting them, so they are under the young princess’s protection.”

“Hmm.”

I had seen the children protecting the enslaved children, so I vaguely understood what she meant.

‘It’s a bit much that they were caught up in treason and ended up like this when they didn’t even do anything.’

Of course, if they had succeeded, their families would have enjoyed wealth and glory together. But a life of being dependent on someone, becoming noble and then base, didn’t seem appealing.

I roughly checked the written documents and asked Court Lady Min.

“Can you bring the people who wrote these now?”

“Yes, young princess.”

Soon, several women were brought in. Come to think of it, they must have been working.

The age range was diverse, from elderly women to young girls.

“You all remembered all of this? That’s amazing.”

“We have been cooking these dishes for a long time, so we roughly remembered them.”

“Is that so?”

Looking at the women kneeling before me, I thought of Bingheogak Yi’s Gyuhap Chongseo (Women’s Encyclopedia) [a Korean encyclopedia written by women during the Joseon Dynasty].

‘Records of women are rare, but….’

Some of these women could record things themselves.

“Let’s compile this properly and make it into a book.”

“Pardon?”

Some of the women, as if shocked by my words, forgot their status and raised their heads.

“And besides food, if there are any customs from the families you were in, or alcohol… anything you remember, write it down before you forget it.”

“But, we are from the families of traitors….”

“It’s just recording the food culture passed down from old families. It’s just a personal hobby. Who would say anything about that?”

“Yes, yes.”

They seemed horrified at the thought of leaving records of a traitorous family, but what could they do if the princess told them to?

“Ah, and write down your names too.”

“Yes?”

“The names of the people who wrote the book. You all have perfectly good names, even if you are slaves now, right?”

“We are sorry, but how could we dare to leave our names in a book?”

“Why not, if the owner is okay with it…?”

“……”

The women looked like they had never even considered it.

Indeed, it was not common for women to leave their names anywhere.

“Hmm. Make sure to distinguish between the main author and the assistants. Of course, we will also record which family it came from, and that it collapsed because it was a traitorous family, so don’t worry. Ah, write about your origins too.”

Everyone still looked like they were hearing these strange words for the first time.

“Does the young princess seem like such a bad owner…?”

For the record, I haven’t explicitly revealed that I am a princess yet.

“Yes? Ah, no. How could you say such a disrespectful thing?”

“No, it’s natural to write the author’s name when there is an author. Would I steal it? There’s no use for it even if I stole it.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

I might be remembered as a strange princess in later generations, but it’s not like I’m being remembered as a bad person, so who cares?

The maids who had followed us in were looking at the bewildered slaves with sympathetic eyes, as if they understood.

“Ah, and select a few chicken and vegetable dishes that are not too difficult to make and organize them separately. Dishes that go well with alcohol, or something like that.”

I gave them a list of some of the ones I had looked at earlier, and Court Lady Min nodded and asked.

“Yes, young miss. I heard that you recently built a chicken farm, but does this have anything to do with that?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of taking over a tavern.”

“??”

Everyone in the room had strange expressions at my words.

“You know I’m running a vegetable garden, right?”

“Yes. You took several children from Siyoungwon to work there, and you also sent them to us to use as side dishes for the children.”

“And you know I built a chicken farm, right?”

“Yes.”

“The supply of vegetables and meat is stable, and we have professional cooks who can cook. Wouldn’t it be okay to run a restaurant?”

“But why take over a tavern?”

“There’s no one in Siyoungwon who has run a business before.”

“Ah.”

We need talent. Experienced people.

‘Selling vegetables in the market is a bit different from that kind of full-fledged service job.’

Running a restaurant, especially one that also sells alcohol, means dealing with a different level of troublemakers.

Even ordinary troublemakers can upgrade to complete jerks when they drink.

Moreover, there’s the disadvantage that if the troublemaker is a nobleman with a government position who flaunts their status, they can’t be suppressed unless there’s someone even higher up.

Considering these things, the tavern owners with long experience in running taverns were veterans.

‘The children originally lived on the streets, so I think they can handle it with a thick skin, but I’m still a little worried.’

For the record, I heard that vegetable sales are already going smoothly. Apparently, word has spread that it’s my business, and everyone buys it without asking or questioning, whatever that reliability is.

Anyway, tavern owners, who are self-employed, have many difficult things to deal with.

Some have husbands or families to help them, but those who don’t are threatened in many ways.

We decided to target those older tavern owners first. Thanks to the children diligently gathering information, it wasn’t difficult to find a tavern that met our conditions.

***

And I went along for the first deal.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. The children of Siyoungwon have to grow up and take care of themselves, but what have those children done?”

“Oh, but what can I teach them? I’m just selling alcohol and food here, barely making a living day by day.”

“Isn’t it too much for you to maintain this tavern alone?”

The tavern owner, who was a little hunched over, hesitated to answer Court Lady Min’s words.

“It must be difficult to maintain the tavern alone. The work is hard, too. So, why don’t you take the children and teach them how to work, and then sell this tavern to us later?”

“Yes?”

Looking at her bewildered face, I felt a little bad for bothering the old woman, but that wasn’t my intention.

“Don’t worry. We’re not trying to take it away. Of course, we’ll pay you the value, and even if you sell it, we’re thinking of continuing to employ you if you want.”

“Really?”

“You’re the face of this tavern. How can we kick you out?”

There are regulars, too.

She was somehow maintaining it now, but as she got older, she would naturally have to pass it on or sell it to someone.

So, we’re just trying to make that process smooth.

After that, it was smooth sailing.

The tavern owners, tempted by the sweet words of retirement security that we offered, as well as the money, signed the contract.

Perhaps because there were many widows who had no children or had lost their children. They didn’t dislike the idea of young people coming to work.

If the tavern owner’s cooking skills were good, the recipes were shared and improved. If the skills were not so good, recipes were brought from Siyoungwon or other places.

In general, we took over several taverns inside and outside the capital in this way.

And at the same time as the acquisition, we started remodeling them to be larger and cleaner.

“It’s a place where a lot of people come and go, so it needs to be clean.”

Moreover, the children who had been forcibly injected with cleanliness from childhood in Siyoungwon for several years tried to maintain a clean environment, like foreigners who were so immersed in Korean culture that they were horrified to enter a room with their shoes on.

“We have to wash and live here, right?”

“Cleanliness is the top priority in the kitchen.”

Of course, there were also my instructions.

From my point of view, having studied so hard, it was a little regrettable, but some of the children liked working more than studying.

It was a bit futile, but seeing them diligently making ledgers and recording sales, I felt it was worth teaching them.

Of course, they were also taught how to count in Siyoungwon. Arabic numerals and the decimal system made calculations much easier, so they quickly learned it. Everyone gritted their teeth and taught them that they had to be able to count no matter what they did later in life.

Anyway, even people who were used to dirty environments didn’t dislike cleanliness, so the customers naturally welcomed the fact that the taverns had become cleaner.

Moreover, the food naturally gained popularity.

Of course, there was food that was originally sold there, but the food selected from the newly created cookbook, as I had instructed, also began to be sold later.

Of course, it was also because people who learned that it was food made and eaten in noble families flocked to try it themselves.

The slave owners of the recipes were not allowed to go outside as much as possible to protect their identities, and were instead focused on teaching the children within Siyoungwon.

I said that they could go out if they wanted to, but they didn’t want to meet people they knew, and it was true that it was difficult to be treated well as a slave.

Of course, no one would dare to treat them carelessly knowing that they were my slaves.

In that way, the business was growing little by little.

‘It’s a modest scale now, but if we increase the number of taverns later, won’t it become like a franchise?’

It seems right to supply ingredients, recipes, and manpower from Siyoungwon and collect profits.

I wasn’t particularly interested in business in my previous life, but how did things get so big?

I’m unintentionally running a franchise business….

Even now, a certain portion of the money earned from the taverns is collected and used as funds for Siyoungwon.

Some of the kids might complain later, but for now, they were satisfied with the fixed salary plus a profit-based incentive.

And seeing the oil coming out of the mass production of chicken dishes, I remembered one thing.

I can recycle that and make soap.