Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1476

Mountains of grain were piled high on the main street. People lined up to receive their share.

“Wow, they really are giving out grain.” People held their wooden tags tightly and looked around in surprise. There was so much grain!

“And that’s not all! They say they are giving out other things we need too, right?”

“Homes and food! What more could we ask for?”

“Someone said Shanxi is colder than Hubei because it’s further north. They are even giving us warm clothes so we don’t get sick.” A man chuckled, shaking his head. “I… I can’t believe it.”

They looked more like surprised visitors than tired refugees. Everyone was thinking the same thing.

“But… why are they being so kind to us?”

If the refugees were angry and ready to fight, it would make sense. In this world, strong fighters are treated best. But most of these people were just farmers. They only knew how to use farm tools, not weapons.

“Well, who knows? We should just take what they offer.”

“…The Heavenly Alliance… the Heavenly Alliance…”

“Come on, let’s hurry! What if we are too slow and the grain is all gone?”

“You’re right!” The people quickly joined the line.

“We’re running out of grain!”

“Where is the grain from Luoyang?”

“L, Luoyang is not just around the corner, it takes time to get back…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! No resting! Tell them to hurry back!”

“We are also very low on cotton cloth.”

“The cloth we bought in Xi’an will be here soon! Make a list of people who don’t get cloth now, and we’ll give it to them later. For now, use all the cloth we have left to make clothes for the children!”

“No water! The well is filling up too slowly. We are using water faster than it comes back. We can’t keep going like this! We need to find more water!”

Hwang Jong-ui turned quickly and yelled at the manager.

“Didn’t I tell you to get people to carry water?”

“I did! But people can only carry so much water…”

“Get more people! More! If we don’t have enough, find more! What’s wrong? What else is the problem?”

“Many people are getting sick from traveling so far without rest. We don’t have enough doctors in Hua-Um. We need to get more doctors here quickly.”

“U, uhm. That’s…”

Hwang Jong-ui, sweating a lot as he gave orders, stopped and frowned. He looked behind him. Someone was lying on a simple bed behind the office. He was happily eating an apple. He looked up when he felt Hwang Jong-ui watching him and said lazily, “Hm? What?”

Hwang Jong-ui’s eyes narrowed. Of course, it’s not like that man had anything important to do. But while everyone else was working hard and sweating through their clothes, back here…

“Chief Strategist… W-we don’t have enough doctors. But we can’t just bring in any doctor.”

“Bring in doctors? Why? We have plenty of doctors here, don’t we?”

“…Yes?”

“Hmm. Let me think… You!”

“Yes? Yes, sir!” The person reporting to Hwang Jong-ui jumped and answered.

“Make a list of everyone who is sick. Mark those who are very sick. Tell the others, who can wait a day, that a doctor will visit them tonight.”

“A-at night? Why at night?”

“The doctors are only free at night. They have to build houses during the day.”

…Ah, the Tang family.

Right. The Tang family are amazing doctors. But…

‘They have to build houses all day, and then see patients all night without rest?’ It would be strange if the Tang family *didn’t* support Sa-Paeryeon after this.

“Okay, that problem is solved. What else is wrong?”

“Well…” Hwang Jong-ui couldn’t stand still.

“Everyone, leave us!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Chief Manager, stay!”

“Ah, yes. Guild Leader.” The busy room quickly became empty. Hwang Jong-ui asked Chung Myung urgently, “Chief Strategist, how many more refugees are you planning to bring here? We can’t manage this many!”

“The Four Seas Commercial Group people are here now. What’s all the noise about? Back in my day, huh?”

“Ah, please stop saying ‘back in my day’! People are not the problem, money is! We can’t just make money appear by wishing for it! How much money are you going to spend on these people?”

“Hmph?” Chung Myung looked annoyed. But Hwang Jong-ui didn’t give up.

“The money you gave us is all gone. We are now using our own company’s money to fill in. But even that is almost finished.”

“How much money have I already given you? You are complaining like a real businessman.”

“Oh, Chief Strategist! These people are not just staying for a day or two! We have to feed them for months. Grain prices are going up fast, and it costs so much to move everything around… I’m not just worried about my company. If we keep going like this, the Heavenly Alliance will fail!”

“Eh. Don’t worry. The Heavenly Alliance has lots of money. I’ll… get… money… from others. Anyway, each group gave us money.”

“Chief Strategist!” Hwang Jong-ui hit his chest in frustration.

“It’s not just about having money! Maybe you don’t understand business, but money is just paper if you can’t use it when you need it. Can you find someone here who will trade us grain for those buildings in Anhui *right now*? It would take months just to check if they are even real!”

“…That’s right.”

“It doesn’t matter how much money we have written down in books. That’s useless now. We need *real* money, money we can use right away to buy grain and supplies…”

“Oh, real money.” *Clang!* Suddenly, something poured out of the chest Chung Myung lifted. It landed in front of Hwang Jong-ui with a scattering sound. Gold. Gold coins everywhere. Hwang Jong-ui stared, shocked and speechless.

“Uh…?”

“Here. Real money.”

Hwang Jong-ui blinked at the shiny yellow gold coins. He slowly opened his mouth. If these were all real gold coins, how much money was it?

“…W-where did you get all this…?”

“You don’t need to know.” Chung Myung grinned.

“Is this enough for now? Do you need even more?”

“Y-yes, it’s enough. More than enough… Huh? There’s more?” Hwang Jong-ui’s face suddenly went white. This looked like money that came from nowhere. How could he have gotten so much? And not paper money or land, but gold.

“W-what is this…”

“Use this to solve the problems right now. Tell me if you need more.”

“N-no, giving *this* much money to them… I think it’s too much. If we do that…”

“Goodness! That’s why businessmen are like this!” Chung Myung stopped him, as if he didn’t want to hear anymore, and glared.

“Do you think money will grow bigger if you just keep it in a box?”

“…”

“It seems you don’t understand because you are a businessman, but money is useless if you don’t use it when you need it! You have to spend money at the right time!”

Hwang Jong-ui jumped slightly. What Chung Myung just said was something his father, Hwang Mun-yak, used to say. ‘…He really is a Taoist, isn’t he?’ He often forgot because Chung Myung didn’t act like a Taoist. But Chung Myung was trained in Mount Hua, a famous Taoist place. He shouldn’t think about small things like greed.

“That’s how it comes back twice as much! Three times as much! You know? Then you can grab gold like this! Take it all!” Chung Myung’s eyes shone with greed. Hwang Jong-ui smiled softly. You haven’t changed at all.

“Anyway, use this money now, and don’t be cheap.”

“…Yes. I understand.”

“And count it carefully and write it down in a separate book. I’m going to charge you interest later.” …Hwang Jong-ui nodded slowly. Chung Myung smiled at him.

“So, you know what to do, right?”

“Of course. But… are you planning to do something else?”

“I think I need to leave for a bit.”

“Ah, you’re leaving Hua-Um? Can I ask where you are going?”

“To harvest.”

“…Harvest?” Chung Myung grinned and nodded.

“I didn’t just plant seeds with the normal people. I should collect them all now.” Hwang Jong-ui didn’t understand and just stared at him.

“Henan?”

“You’re going to Henan now? With everything happening here?” Oh Geom looked like he couldn’t believe it. And for good reason. They didn’t have enough people because refugees kept arriving. How could Chung Myung leave Hua-Um now? It was impossible! Maybe before it was okay, but now Chung Myung was the Chief Strategist of the Heavenly Alliance. Important people like him don’t just leave at a time like this.

“No, you idiot! I don’t know what you’re planning, but at least wait until things calm down here…”

“Senior Brother.” Chung Myung stopped Jo Gul and turned to Yoon Jong.

“Doesn’t it seem like Senior Brother Jo Gul has been talking too much lately?”

“Understand him. He has a new nickname now.”

“Ah, that’s why.”

“No, you idiot! And Senior Brother, why are you saying that!” Jo Gul yelled, feeling unfairly treated. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“Fine, if you don’t want to come, I’ll go by myself.”

“No… Uncle-Master! Don’t just stand there, say something!”

“…Let him go. He’ll die if you stop him.” Baek Cheon, who had his face in his hands, answered without even looking up. After a moment, he slowly lifted his head. His face looked like he was carrying all the sadness in the world. He asked, “…But why are you really going to Henan? We should know why.”

“Were you not listening? I told you, I’m going to harvest.”

“Harvest what! What’s in Henan, you idiot! Don’t tell me you’re planning to bring even more people from Henan here?”

“Oh? Wow, Dong-ryong.” Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung like it was obvious.

“It’s true. Yeah, I understand your plans perfectly now…”

“You seem to be getting stupider? Maybe ask the Tang family doctor to check you.”

“…” Baek Cheon stared at the sky. *Mount Jongnam is open again, maybe they would take me back now?*

Yoon Jong saw what Baek Cheon was thinking, walked over, and patted his shoulder gently.

“It’s too late now, Uncle-Master.”

“…They say the best time to realize it’s late is when it’s actually still early.”

“It’s just late. Accept it.” Baek Cheon quietly wiped his eyes.

Chung Myung looked at him with pity and said, “We have enough people. Now we need to get something else back. That’s the important thing now.”

“Huh? Important thing?” Chung Myung grinned.