I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 6

“Oh? Lord Protector. What brings you here?”

Jo Gwangyun bowed to Mu Kang, who had suddenly appeared. As he raised his head, he noticed men in black following behind Mu Kang.

The moment he saw their fierce eyes, he instinctively knew they were martial artists. Moreover, they seemed hostile.

Seeing Jo Gwangyun’s bewildered expression, Mu Kang quickly spoke, anxious to avoid any misunderstanding.

“These people are from the Gyeong-an Bureau [a division of the Black Faction]. Greet them.”

Gyeong-an Bureau meant the Black Faction! This was not good. However, Jo Gwangyun quickly clasped his hands together in greeting.

“Greetings, great warriors. I am Jo Gwangyun.”

The men ignored Jo Gwangyun and turned to Mu Kang.

“We didn’t rush here just to receive greetings from some kid. What is it?”

“He’s over twenty. Not exactly a kid.”

Mu Kang handed Jo Gwangyun the documents the Black Faction member had presented, as Jo Gwangyun tried to understand the situation.

“This is the transfer agreement you need to see. You might not like it, but what can you do? You have to avoid the storm.”

Jo Gwangyun ignored Mu Kang’s words and quickly scanned the transfer agreement.

The single sheet outlined the current situation.

Mu Kang’s tense expression and the fierce eyes of the men who came with him were all because of this transfer agreement.

The Black Faction was trying to take the collection point by force.

“For this transfer agreement to take effect, there is something that needs to be done first.”

Jo Gwangyun put down the documents and slowly spoke.

“This bastard! Trying to be clever?”

Jo Gwangyun smiled quietly as the man in black shouted.

“The operating profit of this collection point is shared between me and Lord Protector Mu Kang. To transfer the operating rights to you, Lord Protector must first give up his share. Isn’t that right?”

Without hesitation, Mu Kang quickly wrote down the details of the profit waiver on a piece of white paper.

“Here’s the confirmation.”

After confirming the waiver, Jo Gwangyun also took a brush and spread out the transfer agreement that Mu Kang had handed him.

“I just need to sign here, right?”

As he gave up the collection point without any hesitation, Mu Kang and the Black Faction members seemed rather surprised.

“So, what should I do now? Should I pack my bags and leave right away? Or should I wait for the replacement manager to arrive?”

“Wa, wait. We’ll send a replacement.”

“Yes. Then, I’ll be going… I have a lot of work to do…”

As Jo Gwangyun stood up, one of the Black Faction members followed him.

He seemed to be there to supervise until the replacement arrived.

As the Black Faction members, taking the confirmation and transfer agreement, left, Mu Kang expressed his sincere apology to Jo Gwangyun.

“I am inadequate, and you have to suffer such unfair and outrageous things. I have no face to show you.”

“No one will blame you for being cowardly, Lord Protector. It’s not just your life, but the lives of your family members at stake. Don’t worry about it.”

As Jo Gwangyun even smiled as if it were nothing, Mu Kang couldn’t hide his doubt and asked.

“Are you really okay? You didn’t hesitate at all when you signed the transfer agreement just now.”

“That piece of paper isn’t a big deal.”

“What?”

“What good is giving a martial arts book containing ultimate techniques to a child who doesn’t even know how to read? Anyway, they can’t operate this place without me.”

Mu Kang still couldn’t shake off his doubts.

“This place is the final destination and starting point for all deliveries in Henan Province. People who have only done simple deliveries from one point to another cannot understand the complex transportation system here.”

For the past two years, he had been planning and building a system that included trunk and branch line transportation, which these people could never understand.

Even if Gyeong-an Bureau had excellent personnel, Jo Gwangyun was certain that it would be virtually impossible to operate this collection point effectively.

“Please go back and manage the bureau as before, Lord Protector. Nothing will change.”

“Then what about you? Are you okay with working under those guys? Wouldn’t it be better to abandon this place and come back with me?”

Jo Gwangyun knew that Mu Kang’s offer was sincere, but he shook his head.

And Mu Kang never dreamed that this action of Jo Gwangyun’s meant a parting of ways with him.

The saying that a crisis is an opportunity is a common belief. Jo Gwangyun was no exception. He always lived with the thought, ‘Someday, I will…’ repeating it in his head.

However, not everyone can turn a crisis into an opportunity. It requires a broad perspective to see the crisis as an opportunity, confidence in one’s abilities, and the willingness to take risks that go beyond just planning.

Finally, a crisis only becomes an opportunity for those who are prepared.

In this world, Jo Gwangyun had everything.

Kaifeng, the center of Henan, is the base of Gyeong-an Bureau. He couldn’t shake the thought that this crisis might be an opportunity.

* * *

“What? You’re leaving?”

Majiang, the head of the delivery team, looked at Jo Gwangyun in surprise.

“It was half voluntary, half forced, but nothing will change.”

“Forced…?”

As he told the story of Gyeong-an Bureau and the Black Faction, Majiang’s expression grew darker.

“Then, are you planning to move to Kaifeng, Manager Jo?”

The only person who called Jo Gwangyun ‘Manager Jo,’ the only man Jo Gwangyun considered his right-hand man, Majiang.

When Jo Gwangyun first hired him, he thought of him as someone he might find working as a cashier at a mart. He was a temporary worker and freelancer who took on temporary deliveries when deliveries overlapped and caused gaps.

However, his work was precise, and his martial arts skills were decent, so he formed a delivery team and assigned him the most important deliveries whenever possible.

Naturally, he created double books to inflate Majiang’s deliveries, increasing the number of trips and embezzling money by inflating costs.

He gave Majiang a large sum of money from the operating profits of the collection point and the slush fund he had created through Majiang, and before long, Majiang began to follow Jo Gwangyun like a lord.

“The future is uncertain. But there’s a high probability of that. As I said, nothing will change, and there’s nothing to worry about. Since I’ve already established the delivery system, Team Leader Ma just needs to continue with the deliveries… and manage the money.”

Majiang’s eyes widened at the words ‘money management.’

‘Shall I touch the emotions of a Central Plains person [referring to Majiang’s sense of loyalty and honor]?’

Jo Gwangyun wore a solemn expression.

“In this vast land of the Central Plains, you are the only person I trust, Team Leader Ma. Who else would I ask to continue raising funds for a great undertaking in the future?”

The trust and faith shown by the person he regarded as his lord moved Majiang.

The lord, who valued money more than blood, had entrusted him with that money.

Majiang trembled slightly.

“Can I handle such a big task, Manager Jo?”

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll divide the money so that the people in charge of managing the funds don’t know the total amount. I’ll take care of that. Then, store that money as bills from the bank and give me the bills when you go to Kaifeng for deliveries. Anyway, I’ll be managing the deliveries between Kaifeng and Xinning here, so we’ll see each other often.”

‘I need to add more cushioning at this point to make it work.’

Jo Gwangyun smiled brightly and continued.

“If you’re tempted by the money, take it. I wouldn’t mind if you took my money, Team Leader Ma, even if it were someone else. Haha.”

Majiang twitched his eyebrows and bowed his head.

“I haven’t even repaid the grace you’ve shown me. Thanks to your consideration, my old mother and wife and children are eating well, so how could I covet your things? Although I am only a team leader, I have never forgotten the code of the Jianghu [the moral code of the martial arts world]. I will carry out your instructions even at the cost of my life, so don’t worry.”

‘Yes, the code of the Jianghu… That’s a good word.’

Jo Gwangyun smiled as he looked at Majiang, who had bowed his head.

* * *

“Wait. Say that again.”

“Yes?”

“The guy who signed the transfer agreement. He signed it willingly without any hesitation or resistance?”

“That’s right.”

“And yet you guys just came back?”

“We left a supervisor. But… is there a problem…?”

The Black Faction members who had taken Jo Gwangyun’s collection point couldn’t hide their tension. The one who was questioning them repeatedly was none other than Lee Hak-rin, one of the experts hastily dispatched from the Black Faction Alliance, the Ink Dao Society, to Henan Province.

“Problem? Even if I find a rat stealing a handful of rice, I get angry, but he willingly gives up a business he worked so hard to build? Doesn’t that seem strange? Oh my… you guys are worse than that rat.”

“We, well… he was overwhelmed by our pressure… and it was a matter of life and death… so he willingly…”

“That’s enough. It’s unreasonable to expect more than what I ordered from you guys in the first place. I should be satisfied with just getting the transfer agreement.”

Lee Hak-rin frowned and pondered for a moment before suddenly standing up.

“When does the replacement leave?”

“He leaves in two days. It takes that much time to finish organizing the work at Gyeong-an Bureau…”

“He leaves tomorrow. I’m planning to go myself, so prepare accordingly!”

“Yes, sir!”

Lee Hak-rin was very eager to know whether the young man named Jo Gwangyun was terrified as his subordinates said, or whether he had other intentions.

* * *

End