I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 3

“What the hell is he doing…! Did he shove a dildo in his ear…? Hey! Are you not going to clean up quickly?!”

Lost in reminiscence, Jo Gwangyun sighed deeply at Elder Won’s rough second shout, dusted off his buttocks, and stood up.

“It’s not that I have a dildo in my ear, but that you’re hard of hearing, old man, so stop yelling.”

“You little…! Always talking back… Just get to work!”

Elder Won threw the rag, but Jo Gwangyun’s hand didn’t move.

Jo Gwangyun looked at the rag on the floor and said,

“I’m not going to get my hands wet anymore.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m quitting this job as of today. I appreciate you feeding and housing me, but I’ve worked more than my worth, so you haven’t lost out either.”

At the sudden announcement of quitting, Elder Won blinked.

It was Jo Gwangyun who first appeared looking like a beggar in strange clothes.

He clearly hadn’t eaten for days, and he looked sturdy enough to be able to use his strength, so Elder Won casually suggested that if he worked, he wouldn’t starve.

“How about it? Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem to have a place to sleep tonight… How about eating, sleeping, and working here?”

“How much will you pay me… I mean, what’s the wage?”

Elder Won was dumbfounded when, instead of bowing his head in gratitude, he immediately brought up money.

“You’re already obsessed with money at such a young age! You’re rotten to the core. You should be grateful just for the food and shelter, what do you mean money?”

Elder Won shook his fist and scolded, and Jo Gwangyun gave a bitter smile and said,

“Trying to get something for nothing is the same here too. Fine. But you have to stoke the floor hot in my sleeping quarters. I hate being cold.”

He was a strange guy.

He looked like he could starve to death at any moment, but he didn’t lose his confident attitude. Elder Won even wondered if this young man might be a descendant of a fallen noble family.

But as time passed, he occasionally spouted incomprehensible words and didn’t hesitate to use his fists, so he didn’t think he was a descendant of a noble family, but he was sure that a lucky charm had rolled in.

“He didn’t consider customer flow… The space utilization efficiency is also a mess.”

After saying this, he rearranged the tables, and when more space was created, he added three or four more tables.

“You have to consider sales volume by date and time. If you manage raw material inventory like this, you’ll end up short in the future.”

He had thrown away countless flour doughs in the past, but after Jo Gwangyun prepared the ingredients in the morning, there was never too much or too little in the evening, so there was nothing to throw away.

And over the past year, Elder Won had made quite a lot of money.

He was worried about losing such a lucky charm.

“H, hey. Gwangyun.”

Elder Won quickly picked up the rag from the floor and said,

“Winter is coming soon, where are you going? Okay. I’ll make sure you don’t get your hands wet. No… From now on, you just prepare for business. I’ll find someone else to do the chores.”

The basis of negotiation was not expected. Jo Gwangyun almost burst out laughing when Elder Won, who he thought had at least some pride, immediately gave in.

“Y, yes. I’ll give you a wage too. How about it?”

“I have no intention of living in the kitchen making noodles. Give the wage you were going to give me to someone else to do the chores.”

Jo Gwangyun took off his dirty apron, placed it on the table, and bowed to Elder Won.

“Thank you for the past year. I’ve had my fill of noodles thanks to you.”

Leaving only a short greeting, he turned around without regret, and Elder Won shouted at his back.

“You little! What are you going to eat if you leave here? Are you going to be a servant for some high-ranking official because you’re strong?”

Jo Gwangyun waved his hand without looking back and said,

“I’m going to make a fortune. Haha.”

“How are you going to do that?!”

Elder Won shouted at his back, but no answer was heard. It was because Jo Gwangyun murmured quietly.

“First, I’ll take over the distribution network…”

* * *

Mugang Escort Agency was located in Zhengyang, Henan Province, and was not very large. However, it had a reputation for being honest and reliable enough to put its name on the line.

Jo Gwangyun knocked on its door early in the morning.

“You want to work here?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what this place does?”

“Isn’t it an escort agency? Like a 택배 [delivery service]… I mean, long-distance transportation.”

The middle-aged man who was crossing his arms and looking at him arrogantly looked like nothing more than a janitor.

He was starting to get annoyed with such a person acting so important.

But what could he do?

He had to pass the security guard in the building lobby to get to the president’s office.

“I heard at the market that you’re always looking for strong men?”

Jo Gwangyun rolled up his sleeves and revealed his firm biceps, and the gatekeeper’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You could easily lift a bag of rice. Come in.”

As he entered the gate, he looked around and saw that the stone walls without a single weed and the building without a speck of dust spoke of the owner’s neat character.

“Wait here for a moment.”

In Jo Gwangyun’s eyes, he saw a dozen men holding swords and training.

He didn’t know much about martial arts, but their movements exceeded expectations. He even thought that it was excessively excessive to beat up unexpected robbers or bandits when transporting goods.

As he was넋 놓고 [넋 놓고 (neok nohgo) means to be absentmindedly or넋 놓고 (neok nohgo) means to be mesmerized] watching their movements, the gatekeeper touched his shoulder.

“Pay your respects. This is Chief Bangpyeong of the Escort Agency.”

“I’m Jo Gwangyun.”

Bangpyeong, who looked to be in his mid-thirties with a dark tan, looked a little surprised when he saw Jo Gwangyun.

“How old are you?”

“I’m eighteen.”

The awkwardness he felt every time he said his age never disappeared.

“You want a porter position?”

“Yes. I’m confident in my strength…”

“I know without you saying. You have a good physique. Have you ever learned martial arts?”

“No. I’ve only worked at a noodle shop.”

“Is that so? Just a moment.”

Bangpyeong touched Jo Gwangyun’s back, wrists, ankles, and pelvis, and then let out a low exclamation.

“My, you’re quite the find. It’s a waste to use you as a porter…”

Bangpyeong stroked his short beard and said something unexpected.

“Have you ever thought about learning martial arts? It’s too late to learn advanced martial arts, but you’ll be more than qualified to become a first-class escort.”

“I have no intention of doing so.”

The gatekeeper’s mouth dropped open.

It was surprising that Bangpyeong, who was considered the best in Zhengyang, had offered to teach someone martial arts first, but the young man’s answer, rejecting this opportunity at once, was even more surprising.

‘If I hold a sword, I’ll die because of the sword, so why would I? When I need someone who uses a sword, I can just buy them with money.’

Jo Gwangyun looked at Bangpyeong, wondering how much this man would cost.

“Is that so? You want to join the escort agency but don’t want to become an escort?”

“Judging by what you’re saying, I don’t have to worry about making a living at this escort agency, do I? Am I right?”

“You’re an interesting guy. Yes. You’re right.”

Bangpyeong smiled at Jo Gwangyun’s boldness and said to the gatekeeper,

“Take this guy to the dormitory. Tell Bangso to let him know what he needs.”

“Yes, Chief.”

‘Bangso… I guess they’re related. Is he his younger brother?’

Jo Gwangyun followed the gatekeeper to the dormitory for the porters.

* * *

Henan Province was traditionally a transportation hub connecting to various parts of China, so commerce was developed and the movement of goods was frequent. And perhaps because of the need to handle frequent logistics, there were many escort agencies.

It took Jo Gwangyun almost a year to understand the escort agency’s system and every corner of Henan Province and to establish an integrated logistics plan.

Because of his firm belief that it is difficult to succeed in business if you miss the details at the bottom of the 현업 [on-site work], he invested quite a long time.

But the year was not a waste.

He experienced an enormous amount of time that made the detailed system of the escort agency feel secondary.

The moment you go outside the city walls where the 관헌’s [government officials] reach doesn’t extend, an lawless, no, a savage world unfolds.

When bandits, or 비적 [bandits], attacked the escort procession, Jo Gwangyun witnessed the scene of slaughter before his eyes. When the body of a bandit whose neck was half cut off by the escort’s sword fell before his eyes, he completely forgot about the threat to his life and couldn’t stop vomiting.

But experience made him familiar with even the murder scene.

Just as he was getting used to people dying, Bangpyeong approached Jo Gwangyun again.

“How is it? Has the thought of learning martial arts ever crossed your mind?”

Half right and half wrong.

He thought that he should also take up a sword to deal with 칼 들은 놈 [those wielding swords], but not 거창한 무공 [grand martial arts]. Self-defense was enough.

“I want to learn the basics of swordsmanship.”

Bangpyeong, who knew that if he tasted 무공 [martial arts], he would never stop at the basics, smiled at Jo Gwangyun’s answer.

“The basics are important in everything. If you’ve made up your mind, come to my residence every day at 술시 [7-9 PM].”

From this time on, except when going on escort missions, Jo Gwangyun had to sweat every night holding a sword.

By the time he became so familiar with wielding a sword that it felt natural, he could handle any ordinary bandit, and 감당 [handle] here means taking a person’s life.

Jo Gwangyun, who had even experienced murder, gradually became accustomed to this world.

* * *

“There’s enough to start with… I’ll gradually supplement and set it up.”

Jo Gwangyun neatly packed the piles of paper he was inspecting. After making a thick book with thread and awl, he picked up a brush and wrote the cover.

He took a deep breath and left the room with several books.

“I want to see the 국주 [chief].”

When Jo Gwangyun appeared with a thick bundle of paper, Escort Chief Bangpyeong’s eyes widened.

“What is that?”

“You can think of it as a kind of report to show the 국주 [chief].”

When Bangpyeong held out his hand, Jo Gwangyun smiled and handed over the book.

If he understood the contents, he would have to be recognized as a man of both literary and military skills, but Bangpyeong was only an excellent 표두 [escort leader].

“W, what is this about?”

Bangpyeong raised his head after flipping through three or four pages.

“To put it simply, you can think of it as a shortcut guide for our Mugang Escort Agency to become the best escort agency in Henan Province.”

“What?”

In fact, Bangpyeong was not surprised by the contents of the report. He had been steadily teaching martial arts for the past year and was impressed by Jo Gwangyun’s amazing talent. But if he had the ability to write such complex and extensive content, he knew that he was the type to use his head, not his body.

Bangpyeong couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing a big fish from his hands.