Vice-Leader Appointment Ceremony (1)
That evening,
I walked back to my quarters on tired feet.
"You're back, young master?"
Palgap, who had been cleaning my quarters, greeted me.
"Yeah."
"What shall I prepare for dinner?"
"For today…"
After a brief thought, I told Palgap,
"Just something simple. I have somewhere to be after eating."
"Where are you going? Should I request personal guards?"
"No, I'm just heading to the annex."
Because I had to share the news I heard today with the one who created the Self-Dancing Doll.
"If it's the annex… ah! Are you going to see craftsman Gong?"
Though Gong Mil was only ten years old, Palgap respected his mysterious talent and called him craftsman Gong.
"That's right. So prepare a few snacks too."
"Understood."
After dinner, I headed toward the annex where external guests stayed, together with Palgap.
As we neared the annex where Gong the Master Potter's family resided, Gong Rae ran up from the yard.
"Young master!"
"What were you doing?"
"I was drawing on the ground for fun."
Various drawings were scattered across the yard…
Wait a second, these aren't drawings—they're letters.
"Were you practicing writing?"
Twisting her body shyly, Gong Rae replied,
"Just… I was copying what my brother's been studying in his books."
Considering she was just copying, the characters were written quite neatly and precisely.
What Gong Rae had written was the final phrase of the Thousand Character Classic: "Wi-eo-jo-ja, yeon-jae-ho-ya".
I asked her, just in case,
"You've finished learning the Thousand Character Classic?"
She nodded with a smile, then quickly pressed her index finger to her lips.
"Shh!"
"Huh?"
"If my brother finds out, he'll be upset."
Come to think of it, Gong Mil had said he hadn't finished the Thousand Character Classic yet.
To think she finished it at five years old!
A pair of genius siblings stood before me.
And yet, because of that dog-like Jingyeon Merchant Group Leader, these genius siblings died before they could blossom.
My blood pressure spiked again.
Phew…
No use getting angry over someone who's already dead.
Just then, perhaps hearing our conversation, the wife of the Master Potter Gong came out from inside.
"You're here, young master. Please, come in."
"Good evening. Have you eaten?"
"We just finished."
I glanced at Palgap, and he immediately held out the bundle he was carrying.
"I thought the children might enjoy these, so I brought them. Please have some."
"Oh my, thank you."
I asked the Master Potter's wife, who accepted the bundle,
"By the way, where's Gong Mil?"
"Oh, he's in the workshop."
"The workshop?"
"His personal workshop."
One of the small rooms in the annex where the Master Potter's family stayed had been converted into Gong Mil's personal workshop.
They said he spent almost the entire day there, except for meals and study time.
Still, he should be moving around a bit—it's good for health.
I headed to Gong Mil's workshop, with Gong Rae clutching my robe and following behind.
"Are you inside? It's Seoho. I'm coming in for a bit."
With that, I gently stepped into the workshop.
Scritch, scritch, scritch…
Gong Mil was seated at his workbench, carving wood with a small knife.
He was so focused that even after I entered, he continued working without noticing me.
"Oh…"
"Shh."
I held Gong Rae back.
It wasn't urgent, and I didn't want to interrupt his concentration.
So I watched silently.
I was curious what he was making.
Time passed, tick by tick, and my eyes widened as I realized what it was.
What Gong Mil was making—I knew exactly what it was.
After the Self-Dancing Doll and the automatic cart, this was another device nearly every household owned.
A contraption with spinning wings on all sides that created a breeze to cool the air—I had used one every summer myself.
Its name was…
"A windmaker?"
Hearing my voice, Gong Mil looked up, startled, and quickly stood.
"Young master, you're here? When did you come?"
Gong Rae quickly replied,
"About 30 minutes ago."
"Ah! I'm sorry. When I get focused, I lose awareness of my surroundings…"
Gong Mil apologized, and I waved a hand.
"It's fine. I just wanted to watch you work. Don't mind me. What are you making right now?"
"Oh, this?"
Scratching his cheek, Gong Mil answered,
"Last summer was really hot. So I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have something that fans you automatically? But I didn't have the materials back then, so I just imagined it. Now I'm trying to make it."
He lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. You gave me such a nice workshop, and I wasted materials making something so useless…"
I took Gong Mil's hand, which had been blaming itself.
"No! It's brilliant!"
"Huh?"
"Keep making and researching like this. That's exactly what the workshop is for."
"Thank you, young master. But…"
Tilting his head, Gong Mil hesitantly asked,
"Did you just say Windmaker?"
"Oh, it just seemed like a thing that makes wind, so the name popped into my head."
Though it was an improvised answer, Gong Mil seemed pleased and nodded vigorously.
"Windmaker, I like it!"
"And let's try selling it too."
"This? Do you think it'll actually sell?"
"Of course!"
I answered with confidence.
It sells even more than the Self-Dancing Doll.
If you're not from a poor household, you definitely have one—it's become a must-have item for summer.
"Ah, come to think of it, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place."
I smiled.
"The thousand Self-Dancing Dolls you made—they all sold out."
"...Huh?"
Gong Mil's expression changed from confused to utterly shocked.
"R-Really? You're saying they really all sold?"
"Yep."
I told him,
"You've become a true craftsman. Congratulations."
***
A few days later,
I headed out to the marketplace.
Every employee of the Eunhae Merchant Group has an official day off once every ten days.
And today is my day off.
Though it was a precious day of rest, I didn't spend it fused with my bed—I came out to the market because there was something I needed to get my hands on.
Palgap spoke to me with a worried expression.
"Young master, isn't this the entertainment district?"
The entertainment district was where the Courtesan House, Red House, and gambling houses were located.
That's why Palgap looked so uneasy.
"Why? I'm an adult now, can't I come to a place like this?"
"It's not that, sir… it's just… no one knows what might happen in a place like this. So, well…"
"It's dangerous?"
"Yes, that's it, sir."
Palgap nodded, and I chuckled.
"You think I came to drink midday booze at a bar or something?"
"…I'd honestly prefer that."
Huh? What kind of response is that?
When I looked at Palgap with a puzzled expression, he let out a sigh.
"The young masters of other households drink all day and chase after women, but you, young master, don't even do that—you just keep working…"
"I like drinking too. And I like women."
"But I've never once seen you drink, sir, or chase after women."
Well, in my previous life, I did enjoy drinking and even visited giru…
Ah, but I went to those places for work.
Did I have a young lady I was fond of?
Since I can't remember, probably not.
No argument there.
"But still, isn't it better that I don't cause trouble like the others? You don't know how good you have it."
"Of course, I know that, sir. But still, the fact that you suddenly sound like an adult worries me."
Palgap really had sharp instincts.
I let out a soft laugh.
"I can't be a child forever, right?"
Saying that, I headed toward a small general store without even a nameplate.
Though it was called a general store, in truth, this was a place where people sold personal belongings to gather money for entertainment.
As I stepped inside, Palgap and the two guards behind me wore baffled expressions.
No surprise—they couldn't imagine any reason I would come to a place like this.
"Who's there?"
An old man came forward and looked me over before asking.
"Doesn't look like you're here to sell. Looking to buy something?"
"How did you know I wasn't here to sell?"
To my question, the old man answered,
"I've been running this store for years… I can tell just by looking. But if you want an explanation, your eyes give it away."
"My eyes?"
"They're relaxed. But those who come here in urgent need of money always look anxious and restless."
"I see."
He really was observant.
I smiled and said,
"Actually, I just saw a few intriguing items and came in."
"Take your time looking."
The old man sat in his chair, and I began browsing the store.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but the fact that he was running a general store in the heart of the entertainment district meant he was anything but ordinary.
There was an officer called the Ghost Mask Officer.
He always wore a ghostly mask, hence the name.
He was in charge of murder cases and, using his exceptional martial arts, apprehended every murderer in his district and locked them in the underground prison.
But there was one killer he never caught.
After retiring, he resolved to catch that one murderer he couldn't get.
And so, he began running this general store in the very place that killer was rumored to be.
That old man was the one now sitting in front of me.
I learned this years before my death, during a conversation I had with the provincial inspector.
Unfortunately, the old man died without ever catching the killer.
In a way, he was truly an incredible man. With that in mind, I began browsing the shop.
And then something caught my eye.
"Oh! Palgap, isn't this cool?"
"Isn't that just an inkstone?"
"This isn't just any inkstone. It's a Duanxi inkstone. See this faint blue pattern?"
"You mean this pattern here, sir?"
"Yeah. It becomes more vivid when it's moistened or submerged in water."
"But aren't all inkstones the same? What makes this one better?"
"It grinds ink evenly—not too coarse, not too fine—and the ink doesn't dry out quickly. Anyway, once you use it, you'll see it's different from other inkstones."
"Have you used one before, sir?"
"..."
Ah… no, I haven't.
I haven't used a Duanxi inkstone in this life.
They're expensive—too expensive to just casually buy and use, even for me.
In fact, my Vice-Leader appointment gift was a high-grade Duanxi inkstone.
I awkwardly turned my head and mumbled,
"I haven't used one, but that's what they say."
Now that I look at it, from the worn edges and such, it seems like it was used and kept close for quite some time…
So why has it ended up here, collecting dust?
Something about it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Most of the items in this shop shared a similar story.
They were sold for entertainment money—not living expenses.
This was the entertainment district, and that meant it was a dangerous area.
This general store was in the very heart of it.
There were other, safer places to sell items, yet people still came here.
I chatted with Palgap as I picked out a few items.
But I didn't choose the Duanxi inkstone.
It's not like I needed to show off my calligraphy skills right now, and I'd likely receive one as a gift from my brothers later anyway.
So instead, I picked a mirror, a bracelet, and a fan.
"How much is it?"
"Hmm, five nyang of silver."
The price shocked Palgap—it was about a month's salary for an average commoner.
"What?! How can these old, worn items be so expensive?"
But I stopped him and pulled out silver from my coin pouch.
"Here you go."
As the old man counted the money I gave him, he looked at me, flustered.
"This isn't five nyang…"
"I gave you the correct amount."
What I handed over was ten nyang.
To someone who doesn't know the value, five nyang may seem expensive. But to me, it was absurdly cheap.
Others might've rejoiced and taken the deal, but I couldn't bring myself to do that.
As a merchant who inherited the will of my ancestors—to be an upright trader—I didn't want to profit from unfair dealings.
The reason I handed over ten nyang was because it was all the silver I had on me.
Others may call me a fool for this, but to me, it was an investment in my future.
Because everything I bought today was a treasure.