Chapter 66
Yuk Jeong-ran’s shoulders trembled imperceptibly.
So-ah looked into her eyes.
A vague gaze that held an unknown emotion…
‘Did it work? Young Lady Yuk is the perfect person!’
In that moment, with a long sigh that showed a trace of deliberation, Yuk Jeong-ran’s mouth opened softly.
“Hah…”
“Young Lady Yuk…”
“For some reason, I have a feeling.”
“What kind of…?”
“The feeling that I’m properly caught in a trap I can’t escape?”
“Let’s trust it. Isn’t it impossible to know whether it’s a trap or a lifeline?”
“Alright. I’ll trust you… no, the Moyong Family.”
“Now we’re in the same boat.”
“But, it’s unexpected. I thought the Moyong Family wasn’t interested in business. Moreover, I don’t know how you’ll wipe out the Triad, which nominally controls the economy of Liaoning.”
“That’s…”
Gulp, gulp!
So-ah, filling Yuk Jeong-ran’s cup with alcohol, opened his mouth.
From then on, the conversation between the two continued for about an hour.
***
“Young Master Jin is a really fun person. Hoho.”
So-ah’s future plan. Yuk Jeong-ran, who had heard the so-called ‘Justice Implementation’ grand operation in detail, could not hide her laughter.
Because although it seemed simple at first glance, it was in fact a brilliant strategy.
So-ah’s plan was roughly as follows.
First, to find an investor, so-called, who was engaged in the night business but not affiliated with the Triad.
Second, for Teacher Po, who had been a tutor at the Moyong Family for 10 years, to purchase the investor’s shares.
Third, for Teacher Po, as a partner, to gather the Triad executives and investors and present a proposal.
Fourth, at the moment when the Triad executives, who would not accept it, tried to harm Teacher Po, the Moyong Family, having obtained a justification, would step forward and seize the practical benefits.
Fifth, to gather all the corruption of the Triad under the surface and report it to the authorities.
Although it seemed detailed, it was a plan that was largely embellished with the witty So-ah’s impromptu ideas.
Of course, it was also a strategy devised thanks to the conversation with Yuk Jeong-ran over a drink for an hour.
“I hear that a lot, haha.”
“But, can you really move the government? As I said, the Triad is under the protection of the magistrate of Tieling, that bastard Ga Yeong-deuk.”
“Ah! You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes?”
“There’s no one who doesn’t have dust when you shake them, but there’s one person who really doesn’t have any dust.”
Although Yuk Jeong-ran could not understand So-ah’s words, she did not ask.
Because she had faith, and it was more fun to reveal the cards slowly.
“Then I’ll recruit the most suitable investor as Young Master Jin said.”
“Yes, Young Lady Yuk. Please let me know. And, this plan is strictly confidential. You know?”
“Hoho. Am I crazy enough to make an enemy of the martial arts family that represents Liaoning? I’m a person who values my life too.”
“Haha, then please work hard.”
***
“Hoho, I don’t know if I can do it well, Family Head.”
“Don’t worry, Teacher Po. So-ah will assist you, so you don’t have to worry. Hoho.”
The two people.
Moyong Baek and Teacher Po, who was a tutor at the Moyong Family, burst into a hearty laugh.
Teacher Po was not originally from Liaoning.
He was from Anhui, and in his youth, he had passed the civil service examination with flying colors, but because his personality did not match the official position, he had wandered the world and settled here 10 years ago.
At that time, he had started teaching to support his young children and sick wife, but now that his children were married and he himself had become middle-aged, the Moyong family was not just a workplace for him, but a comfortable home.
“Teacher Po. Don’t worry. You just have to set the stage. If you do that, we’ll have a justification to wipe out the corrupt officials and gangsters who are sucking the blood of the people of Liaoning.”
As So-ah encouraged Teacher Po, he also nodded and said.
“I understand. Young Master Jin. It’s a matter of wiping out evil, and if the Moyong family can influence the economy of Liaoning, it will be a great benefit to the livelihood of the people, so I will gladly help.”
“Haha, Teacher Po. But why are you suddenly speaking so formally? You taught me when I was young, so you’re no different from a teacher.”
“No. I may not know about the other children like Hwa-ah or Su-ya, but I must treat Young Master Jin with respect. You’re not just a great disciple, but an official of the Martial Alliance, aren’t you? You’re a person who represents the family, so I can’t treat you informally anymore.”
For So-ah, who was not bound by hierarchy (most of the Moyong family people were like that), Teacher Po’s words sounded truly old-fashioned.
Therefore, he shook his head and denied his words.
“I’m disappointed. When I first set foot in the Moyong family at the age of fifteen, you bought me sweets and preached about the unity of the ruler, teacher, and father. A teacher once is a teacher forever. Don’t be like that, treat me without any distance.”
At that pleasantry, Teacher Po could not help but smile again.
On the one hand, he was grateful for such a So-ah.
“Hoho. I can’t follow your eloquence. You brat.”
“Hahat. By the way, Teacher Po. Have you reached an agreement with your younger brother?”
“Yes. I have already conveyed my intention to my younger brother, so if the circumstances are established, there will be no problem.”
“The circumstances, well, we can just create them.”
“Huh?”
“I’m an expert at getting confessions and written statements, aren’t I?”
Just as Teacher Po was tilting his head at the incomprehensible words.
Just in time, the chief steward opened the door of the family head’s office and entered.
“Young Master Jin. Young Lady Yuk’s message has arrived!”
At that, a strange light appeared in So-ah’s eyes.
“Let’s go, Teacher Po.”
In this way, the operation began.
***
“Hah… to invest in this situation. I’m a businessman myself, but I don’t understand.”
The investor that Yuk Jeong-ran had found was a middle-aged man who had reached the age of fifty, and was originally a businessman from Tianjin.
But he had ventured into the night business in Liaoning, and was in a state of deep regret because of the recent tyranny of the Triad.
For the sake of profit, he could have just sold his shares and returned home, but as a businessman, he was curious.
“Master Son. Why do you say such a thing?”
“Master Po must have also done market research, but Liaoning is a hopeless place. In Tianjin, at least, thanks to the Beggars’ Sect, the gangsters’ evil deeds are moderate, but the Moyong family, the representative martial arts family of Liaoning, doesn’t even go near the business world. When the tiger is gone from the mountain, the fox acts as the master. The Triad has a firm grip on Liaoning now.”
“Oh my…”
“They treat investors like me as suckers as a matter of course, and recently, they haven’t even been paying the monthly salaries of the employees in the brothels, restaurants, gambling dens, and money houses. This is, really!”
“What truly cruel people.”
“They’re really trash.”
“But, Brother Son. Don’t worry too much.”
“How so?”
“There is a Martial Alliance official in my family.”
“A… a Martial Alliance official?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm… but what about the government? The Triad is also spreading black money to the government.”
“You don’t have to worry about that either.”
“By any chance…?”
“This is a top-secret matter, but…”
It was the moment when the eyes of the investor called Brother Son widened like lanterns.
***
—Cheong-a-ru.
<Liaoning Business Prosperity General Meeting>
It was not a regular meeting.
It was called a prosperity general meeting, but it was a place where the Triad guys would intimidate and persuade investors with fraudulent ledgers and taxes to extort money.
But today was different.
Today, the host of the prosperity general meeting was not the Triad, but Mr. Son, who had shares in seven brothels and five inns, and because of that, the investors attended with suspicion.
Of course, the Triad executives were glaring at Mr. Son as if they would kill him.
“Thank you for gathering. The reason I have gathered all the brothel owners, innkeepers, masters, and Triad heroes is to make an important announcement.”
Murmur, murmur—
The people murmured.
Just then,
“Brother Son. What’s so important that you even called the members of our association?”
As expected, a Triad executive expressed his blatant dissatisfaction.
At that, Mr. Son, who had flinched for a moment, glanced at Teacher Po, who was sitting with him, and then spoke calmly again.
“About that, my partner, Teacher Po, will speak.”
“Partner?”
Soon, Teacher Po, after performing a cupped fist salute to the crowd, slowly opened his mouth.
“I am from Anhui, and I have come here to do business. As you know, in my hometown of Anhui, because the Namgung family is in power, there are considerable restrictions on ordinary people doing business. But I heard that it is not so here. So, I intend to use Liaoning as a base and try to do business freely.”
At those words, the Triad executives burst into laughter, holding their stomachs.
“Hahahaha.”
“Kekeke. What a fun old man.”
“You intend to do business freely in Liaoning? What a grand declaration, kekeke.”
Teacher Po, as if he had expected it, just smiled broadly and continued to speak.
“But according to Brother Son, who transferred his shares to me, a lot of money is leaking out in the middle.”
This time, even the Triad executives could not laugh.
Everyone sympathized, but no one dared to say it.
The atmosphere quickly subsided.
“Hey, you! What did you just blabber about? Huh?!”
A burly man with a fierce face from the Triad drew his eight-character eyebrows and growled.
But Teacher Po was not someone to shrink back at the intimidation of a mere gangster.
“Why are you so excited? I heard that you regularly collect money from investors under the pretext of taxes and what not, and not only is there no settlement, but the employees’ monthly salaries are also delayed. If the business was not doing well, I might not know. But when I looked around the nearby shopping districts, there was a sea of people.”
“Th-Th-…”
“It is unacceptable for such an unpleasant thing to happen in a legitimate business. So, from today, I demand that the general meeting disclose transparent ledgers and provide a statement of expenditures.”
At Teacher Po’s unrestrained eloquence, the eyes of the other investors, excluding the Triad, widened.
What a refreshing statement!
But at the same time, they could not help but worry.
Because there was no way the Triad guys would just stand by.
As expected,
“Hey! Partner old man. You’re old enough to know better, so why are you barking like a dog? Huh?”
“Hey! What are you? Are you something? Are you a fighter? Huh? You bastard, where are you acting like a dog?”
“No way, you’re getting a beating today!”
Unspeakable vulgar curses poured out through a thick ‘Hainan dialect’.
‘They were country bumpkins from Hainan.’
Teacher Po was dumbfounded.
Hainan was the southernmost region, very far from Liaoning.
Did they come all the way to Liaoning to be gangsters?
While he was having that thought, a gangster suddenly approached Teacher Po.
With eyes that looked like he would chew him up and kill him.
“Say that again.”
It was a truly terrifying momentum.
If Teacher Po had been an ordinary person, he would not have dared to even answer.
But Teacher Po was a scholar with the pride of a scholar.
He had no intention of bowing down in front of these human-trash gangsters, even if he died.
“I demand that the general meeting disclose transparent ledgers and…”
—Slap!
The gangster fiercely slapped Teacher Po’s cheek.
But,
“Provide a statement of expenditures…”
—Slap!
One more time.
“Sir.”
—Thwack, thwack, thwack!*l
In an instant, Teacher Po was slapped on the cheek half a dozen times and punched in the face and abdomen, but,
‘It’s done!’
He shouted with joy inwardly.
“You, and you too. Get lost. Don’t ever show up in Liaoning again. I’ll kill you.”
The gangsters kicked out Teacher Po and Mr. Son.
For them, it was a good sign.
Because they would have thought of swallowing up the shares that Mr. Son had.
But it didn’t take long for them to realize how absurd and fantastical that thought was.
***
“It’s done! It’s done, So-ah. I… I was hit. Kekeke!”
Seeing Teacher Po with a bruised eye, So-ah’s heart ached, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’ve worked hard, Teacher Po. Now let’s go back in.”
At So-ah’s words, Mr. Son, who had followed Teacher Po, asked with dumbfounded eyes.
“Brother Po. Where… are we going back to? And who is this young man?”
At that, So-ah answered instead.
“I am Jin So-ah.”
“Jin… So… ah?”
In that moment, Teacher Po added with a smiling face.
“Hoho. The great disciple of the Moyong family. The chief instructor of the White Martial Academy. A first-class official of the Martial Alliance. The number one master of his peers in the world? I’m not sure how to introduce him… kekeke!”