Chapter 20 : Efficiency (1)
It was a matter of course. Sama Hwi seemed to know what Jang So-gil was thinking and with what intention he was entrusting him with the task. The reason he had delegated a task like selling the painting, which he could have done himself, was first and foremost because the amount was so large that even after completing the transaction, it would be difficult and troublesome to bring it back to Luoyang safely.
But whatever the reason, for Sama Hwi, this was an opportunity to get acquainted with Master Zhongli. A friendship with Master Zhongli, who was respected by all the people under heaven, was like a flower that was good to have anywhere. If Gu Munryong found out, he might stubbornly insist on going to meet him himself. It was because his respect for Master Zhongli was the same.
It was such an attractive condition, and there was one more intention. He had passed on the three thousand taels he would get from selling the painting and calligraphy to the Martial Alliance's share, instead of taking it for himself.
The money he was supposed to receive from the Beggars' Sect was only 40 silver taels. To put it bluntly, it was a matter where he could have just handed over 40 taels and taken the rest for himself without anyone saying anything. But he had deliberately passed it on to the Martial Alliance and extended his time in the library by one day.
'Since he's a merchant, it's not that he doesn't know the value of money. The fact that he did this deliberately must be to show that he prioritizes revenge over money. At the same time, it's also a show of off that he can earn this much money anytime, so he's showing two or three intentions with one move.'
The meticulous arrangement even quelled his hostility and brought about a sense of surprise. Compared to his actions, which could only be described as those of a scoundrel and a mad dog, his attitude was so gentle and considerate that he even felt the disposition of a righteous Orthodox faction member from Jang So-gil.
"Inspector So, you are a person with a very clear sense of self."
"I'm the type who keeps the line well."
"Hmm. Hmm..."
Sama Hwi opened his folding fan and covered his face. He had seen Jang So-gil with a bad prejudice from their first meeting, which was not very good, but upon repeatedly reflecting on the past, he realized that he himself was the petty one. The fact that he had spoken with two tongues and changed the subject made him feel ashamed, and his face flushed.
"I will apologize for my rudeness before. A man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, but I showed a disgraceful side of myself."
At this unexpected, sincere appearance, Jang So-gil smiled.
Then he nonchalantly crossed his arms and replied.
"You know it, don't you?"
"...That's where you should have turned it around a little and saved my face."
"My manners are quite expensive."
"...Ahem, ahem."
"If you're that sorry, then just take good care of the martial arts for me."
"Alright."
There was a part that Jang So-gil and Sama Hwi both knew but did not bring up. It was about transcribing a martial arts manual in the Martial Alliance's library.
Jang So-gil thought that since it took him a day to transcribe one manual, Sama Hwi might be able to bring out two manuals in one day.
The difference between one and two martial arts manuals is huge. It's twice as much. But Jang So-gil did not bother to go into the details.
If he didn't give Sama Hwi a chance to take one for himself, he might not create Jang So-gil's martial art with all his heart and soul, or there might be a slight negligence. And unfortunately, there was no way for Jang So-gil to notice such a very slight difference.
Didn't they say that if there was even a slight flaw in a martial art, it would create a difference between an ordinary master and a first-rate master, and a first-rate master and a supreme master? It was Jang So-gil's policy not to tolerate even the slightest imperfection.
But Sama Hwi was a genius in the study of martial arts and martial arts, second to none. If he put his mind to it, he could transcribe three manuals in one day, but he deliberately did not say so. Of course, he couldn't just pick anything, and it was more important to distinguish the jade from the stones, so he would have to spend more time, so in reality, as Jang So-gil thought, two volumes a day would have been the limit.
But if there is a coming affection, there is also a going affection. By giving him a chance to enter the library, handing over an item of great value, and benefiting the Martial Alliance, there was too much coming affection.
Sama Hwi never thought of himself as a chivalrous man, he was a strategist, but that didn't mean his personality was very bad, nor was he a person who valued himself lowly.
If he received something, he would return more than he received, but if he only received, it would be a disgrace to his family.
"Then I will spend two days going to and from Master Zhongli, and then another two days to enter the martial library, and I plan to spend five days recompiling the martial arts after I come out. Let's see each other after that."
"Alright."
Sama Hwi and Jang So-gil politely cupped their fists and took a step back. Jang So-gil, knowing that the way Sama Hwi looked at him had changed, smiled brightly.
* * *
A considerable amount of money was spent on finding a writing teacher for the twenty beggar children and arranging their living quarters. It hadn't been long since he had started his full-fledged inspector activities in Luoyang, but Jang So-gil's financial power was considerable, and he now had quite a bit of spare money. But that spare money was also decreasing at a frightening rate as he was raising the children who only ate money. Even to Yang Gwan, it was a staggering amount of money, and that was because the children were literally beggars.
"I didn't know it cost so much money to wash, feed, clothe, and teach them. If it's like this just to take care of children, how much money does it take to raise a martial artist?"
"Like you?"
"That's right. I'm asking just in case, but how much of the Great Cloud Guild's money did I eat up?"
"When I think about the money Lord Jang invested to get you into the Shaolin Temple as a lay disciple, my spine still tingles. Those damn bald monks at the Shaolin Temple pretend not to, but they love money like crazy. As far as I know, one of the pillars of the Great Cloud Guild was pulled out with the money spent on you alone."
"One pillar?"
"The price of the Goryeo ginseng that went into your mouth alone was over a thousand silver taels, so that says it all."
"Gasp!"
"And the money that Master Huineng asked for when you entered as a lay disciple was another thousand taels."
"Ugh!"
"The money for rice cakes that was spread to other monks to ask them to watch over you carefully and with interest was another five hundred taels."
"You gave money to other monks too!?"
"Well, I'm sending you alone to a foreign land, so I have to ask the people around you to take good care of you, don't I?"
"No wonder! No wonder, they were all so kind!"
Yang Gwan was astonished and recalled the old days. Thinking back, the monks of the Shaolin Temple were all kind, gentle, and deep people. So he had sincerely respected them, but they took bribes? At once, their shiny heads and the seals engraved on their foreheads looked like coins.
Jang So-gil waved his Ox-Ear brush and said nonchalantly.
"Raising a martial artist costs money. Not only learning, but they also break countless weapons. They whine that their internal energy won't gather if they don't eat that damn spiritual medicine, so you have to buy them spiritual medicine too. That damn spiritual medicine, it's more expensive than the same weight of gold, so my hands and feet tremble when I buy one. It's a thousand taels because it's Goryeo ginseng. If it were the six-cursed knotweed, it would have cost ten thousand taels."
"I-I see."
"Compared to a martial artist, raising children is nothing. Rather, if you think of it as buying the future, it's a profitable business."
"Speaking of business, do those children just learn without doing any work?"
"Then what, should I make them work?"
"Since they have experience, can't you have them gather information?"
With a tap-, Jang So-gil hit Yang Gwan's forehead with the Ox-Ear brush.
"You foolish fool. A beggar is good at gathering information because he is a beggar."
"Is that so?"
"Why is a beggar good at gathering information? It's because a beggar is the person at the very bottom. That's the logic of this world. The higher a person's status, the more they live among people who serve them. They don't even perceive the people who attend to them as human. They just treat them as a tool. That's why they talk about secret things, and even if it's not a secret story, private information comes out. In fact, it's not just the high-ranking people. Ordinary people don't see people they consider to be below them as people. Even a rich family's slave doesn't see a beggar as human. So naturally, their mouths become loose, and important stories come out. Because the beggar in front of them is not a human, but a jar with the function of listening to their words."
"Then those well-washed and well-fed children have a good complexion, so they can't be used as beggar information sources anymore, can they?"
"That's right. Who would see them as beggars? If you wash and feed them right away and they gain a little weight, they look so neat, and it will be even more so as the days go by. By next year, they'll be able to read the preface while saying 'Confucius says, Mencius says,' and they'll look really respectable then."
"To spend money on something that is of no immediate help and even suffer a loss..."
It was a difficult thing for Yang Gwan to understand. It wasn't anything else, but because it was an un-Jang So-gil-like thing to do.
They couldn't be used as information sources, there was no immediate profit, and it was a long-term investment that would only be seen after several years, and the profit was not guaranteed. Wasn't this a speculation, a gamble, even worse than the speculative poems, calligraphy, and paintings that he disliked? Even if he expected the children he raised to repay his grace, would people so easily offer their loyalty? People turn their backs as soon as their stomachs are full. Even people of the Orthodox faction easily change their morals for their own benefit or the advancement of their martial arts. Repaying grace and loyalty were virtues that even he, who had lived in the Shaolin Temple, did not believe in deeply.
"Your policy, Guild Master So, is respectable, and I am inwardly happy and impressed, but it is inefficient, unlike you. I see this as a very hopeful gamble."
"That's right. Most things involving people are a gamble."
Jang So-gil readily agreed. It was because it was a rare, sharp remark for Yang Gwan.
"If you think about efficiency and balance, raising people is not something you should do. Because for all people, there is something called the heart, which is inefficient. Because the heart exists, people cannot only make rational judgments. The heart is something that sways like a reed when the wind blows, and fears that the sky will fall and the earth will collapse. No matter how much effort you put in, how much affection you give, and how much you invest, the heart sways."
"Then why are you still investing in the children?"
"Nevertheless, it is because this is the most efficient method. To ignore the fact that humans have a heart and make an efficient choice, what is efficient about that? To take the shortest path to achieve a goal, the fastest way is to just whip them and make them run. But, as I said before, humans have a heart. If you ignore that and whip them, they will kick their master. After being kicked, everything is already over. So, the act of winning their hearts so that you don't get kicked. No matter how low the probability is, how difficult and untrustworthy it is, winning their hearts is the most efficient thing. So I will take care of those children with all my heart and soul, and I will create a new Great Cloud Guild that is worth working for and worth following."
Winning their hearts is the most efficient.
With those words, Yang Gwan caught a glimpse of the essence of Jang So-gil.
It was a very merchant-like statement, yet it was also extremely upright.
Yang Gwan, without realizing it, cupped his fists and bowed his head.
"Guild Master So, you were a true chivalrous man."
"What is this crazy bastard saying?"
"I will follow you, Guild Master So, for the rest of my life."
"Then stop with the cringey acts."
"No, I'm happy to have found a lord worth serving, so what's so embarrassing?"
"You don't feel embarrassed by what you're doing, what the hell is wrong with your sensibilities!"
Jang So-gil's face turned red and he waved his Ox-Ear brush. Yang Gwan laughed "ho-ho" and took it. It was as light as a feather landing on him.
"You're laughing?! You're laughing?! Just you wait until I build up my internal energy!"
"Then I'll have to train diligently so that you don't catch up."
If the mindset changes, the martial arts also change.
He had one more reason to train, to become stronger.
At that moment, Yang Gwan realized that he had become a little stronger.
The fire wheel spinning in his eyes had become even thicker.
(End of Chapter)