I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 5

“We don’t have enough escorts for the Guangshan convoy.”

“Aren’t the escorts from Ningle returning with empty carts? Draw the extra escorts from there. If you offer them 20% more, they’ll be lining up to go.”

“The Qingliang River has flooded, and the convoy from Yuanyang is stuck.”

“Where is that convoy headed?”

“Runan.”

“Then tell the convoy from Runan to go to the Qingliang River. Have them assess the river’s condition and hand over the goods there to save time. But make sure to tell the Yuanyang Escort Agency that they’ll only receive 30% of the transport fee.”

“Yes.”

I had been running the distribution center for nearly two years, but problems still popped up almost daily. Of course, it was much more stable than in the early days of operation, but it still fell short of Zhao Guangyun’s modern standards.

Starting this business, I realized how important reputation is in the Central Plains [a historical region in China centered around the Yellow River].

State Lord Mu-gang wasn’t just praised as a hero in Zhengyang. His name was regarded as a symbol of trust and fairness in Henan. That’s why even rival escort agencies, who were skeptical about the new transportation method, trusted Mu-gang’s name and participated, making it easy to implement Zhao Guangyun’s plan.

Zhao Guangyun finished reviewing the escort schedule for the day and went outside. He decided to have dinner in the center of Xinning, where the distribution center was located, and look around at the growing street.

Although it was a short walk, he couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction every time he looked around.

The area was practically undeveloped land, so there were no established land deeds. After meeting the Xinning magistrate and slipping him some silver [a bribe], he immediately obtained a land deed.

Thousands of square feet of land came into Zhao Guangyun’s hands, and building an inn on that land to provide lodging for the escorts and laborers made earning money as easy as pie.

When people gather, even a desert turns into a city.

Xinning’s distribution center was essentially the arrival and departure point for Henan escorts, so people and goods gathered, and Zhao Guangyun’s land developed rapidly.

Zhao Guangyun, whose entire fortune had once been an apartment, felt like a landowner and building owner every time he saw the humble buildings on his land and people bustling around.

But this wasn’t a country ruled by law that strictly protected private property.

The saying that fists are stronger than the law was the rule that governed this world.

And fists were approaching Zhao Guangyun from very close by.

* * *

“Y-you bastards! Who are you?”

“The hero of Zhengyang is more cowardly than I thought. Hey, your voice is shaking. Take a deep breath. If you listen carefully, we won’t kill you. Hehe.”

The four lightly dressed men didn’t carry weapons, but the aura and pressure they exuded were comparable to those of top-tier martial arts experts.

State Lord Mu-gang quickly racked his brains.

They said they wouldn’t kill him if he listened carefully. These experts probably weren’t trying to steal gold, so did they want information?

Or was there something among the convoy’s goods that they wanted?

“Don’t roll your eyes and answer my questions truthfully. First, I heard you proposed that the escort agencies join hands… Is that right?”

When Mu-gang nodded, questions poured out as if they had been waiting for it.

“But why did you leave out the Gyeong-an Escort Agency? It’s the center of northeastern Henan Province!”

Gyeong-an! State Lord Mu-gang identified who they were.

“There’s a rumor that the Gyeong-an Escort Agency is backed by the Black Hand [a criminal organization]. No place that’s been involved with the Black Hand has avoided annihilation, so it was an unavoidable choice.”

The men chuckled at Mu-gang’s answer.

“You pretend to be smart, but you only know one thing and not the other. It’s dangerous to be involved, but it’s even more dangerous to ignore us, don’t you know that?”

Us! They were indeed members of the Black Hand.

“What do you want? If you want to join the escort agency alliance, shouldn’t you have just sent a letter instead of doing this?”

The Black Hand members chuckled again.

“Tsk, tsk, the level of thinking of a country bumpkin hero. Hey, do you think we’re stupid? Do you think we came all this way just to get a foot in that alliance?”

Mu-gang sensed that this day would bring more misfortune than fortune.

“Let’s do this. No, do this. Hand over the Xinning distribution center to us. Ah… of course, this has nothing to do with the Gyeong-an Escort Agency. Gyeong-an is just maintaining the appearance of joining late. Is that okay?”

“What? Th-this…!”

State Lord Mu-gang was speechless at the coercive proposal, so the Black Hand member patted him on the shoulder and laughed.

“It’ll be okay. No, it has to be okay. Otherwise, I’ll make you understand what annihilation is down to your bones.”

The tone was gentle, but the content was enough to freeze the blood.

Annihilation as spoken by the Black Hand wasn’t like being exiled like government officials, but killing every last child.

“State Lord Mu-gang. Don’t act like a hero of the Jianghu [the martial arts world] and resist. If you just swallow your pride, your family and your subordinates at the Xinning distribution center will all be safe. We’re making this offer to avoid troublesome work. It’s annoying to wreck this place and the distribution center.”

The men took out a piece of paper and held it in front of State Lord Mu-gang.

“If you sign there, there won’t be any bloodshed. Let’s finish this quickly.”

The moment he saw the transfer document for the distribution center, State Lord Mu-gang’s face turned red, and his eyes were bloodshot.

“What? Are you crying? Oh, come on… Why are you being so embarrassing? Is it that precious to you?”

He really felt like crying, but for a different reason.

He didn’t care about the money at all.

He had always believed that he was a fair and righteous man who never forgot his sense of duty, but he realized that he was just a weak, ordinary man who wanted to accept unjust demands right away for fear that his family would be covered in blood.

The moment he realized that he was not a hero who would not yield to injustice but just an ordinary head of household who wanted to protect his family… his pride collapsed.

The shattered pride made him endlessly ashamed, and the shame manifested as tears.

The Black Hand men who saw the tears running down Mu-gang’s cheeks clicked their tongues in disbelief and ridiculed him.

Wiping away his tears at the sound of their clicking tongues, Mu-gang barely opened his mouth.

“I’m not qualified to sign this here.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“The Xinning distribution center isn’t mine.”

“Don’t play tricks. You’ll really see blood if you underestimate us.”

“I’m telling you the truth because I know you’re not easy to deal with.”

While the flustered Black Hand members exchanged glances, State Lord Mu-gang said,

“I’ll do as you want, so promise that no one will be harmed.”

“Why would we spill blood to get what we want? We’re not murderers.”

Mu-gang jumped up from his seat and put on his coat.

“Let’s go.”

The Black Hand members were a little taken aback by Mu-gang’s sudden action.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else? Xinning.”

The men surrounded Mu-gang, who was striding forward, and left the escort agency.

* * *

End