Chapter 149 Personal Organization (3)

Chapter 149 Personal Organization (3)

“You can do it, right?”

The Mad Scientist of the martial arts world, Cheong So-so, smiled brightly as she looked down at her super cricket, Cheong-ah.

Chirp chirp.

As if understanding her words, the cricket chirped in a high-pitched tone.

‘A cricket that understands speech…’

It was nothing short of a mysterious sight every time he saw it.

“Let’s go!”

Cheongso declared confidently.

Originally, my plan was to borrow Cheong-so’s Cheong-ah to subdue the Nine Dragons Fortress’s touch-based system while simultaneously copying the money.

But since Cheong-ah wouldn’t listen to me at all, I had no choice but to ask her for cooperation.

Gui-tul!

Borrowing someone else’s Pokémon to fight really was tough.

“Hehehe, but seriously, a battle after so long? My blood’s boiling.”

Well, if Chosung-so is happy, I guess it’s fine.

Anyway, not long after setting out, we arrived at the largest gambling house in the outer city, located in Heuksaro.

“Captain, what brings you here?”

The gambling house’s gatekeeper hurried over and greeted us.

” “Why? Is this somewhere I shouldn’t be?”

“Oh, please! It’s an immense honor you’ve come. Please, come right in.”

In the martial arts world, where the concept of “government” is largely nominal, gambling houses aren’t illegal.

And that’s true even in Nine Dragon City, which prides itself on a fairly strict legal system.

However, gambling houses also operate by strictly adhering to certain boundaries.

They strictly prohibited minors from entering and never accepted bets exceeding a customer’s means. Those who visited so frequently they showed signs of addiction were barred from entry.

It was ironic that a casino would promote responsible gambling, but thanks to that policy, it had risen above the shadows. It seemed a win-win for both the casino and the community.

Bustling.

Opening the door, the sheer scale of the place, incomparable to gambling dens in Korea or China, immediately caught the eye.

As spacious as the gambling hall was, far more people were enjoying games here than in Hanjung.

There were various games like golae, dice, mahjong, and so on, but since it had nothing to do with us, we turned off our interest.

Our purpose was to find the informant.

“Hurry up!”

Cheongso-so pointed her finger toward a corner.

“Tsk tsk…”

I rolled my eyes at her overly excited expression.

I’d have to send a letter soon warning the housekeeper to rein in that girl before something serious happened.

As we watched for a moment, the matchmaker approached us.

“Would you like to place a bet?”

“We came to participate in the matchmaking…”

“I see. If you tell me the name of the cricket you’re betting on, I’ll call it out after this round ends.“

”Her name is Cheong-a.“

”A blue cricket, I see. Understood.“

And so began the legend of the Blue Devil who conquered the Guryongseong betting ring.

* * *

Gwi-tul!

Puk.

Kyeok.

”Cheong-a, win!”

First win.

Chirrr. Chirrr!

Crunch.

Gulp.

“Cheong-a, win!”

Second win.

Cheong-a’s victory parade showed no signs of stopping.

Truly the best in the land.

With every cricket entered, she killed the opposing cricket in a single strike. The title “best in the land” was well deserved.

This went on for half an hour.

“……Cheong-ah, win!”

By the eighth win, no more people entered. By the tenth win, no one bet against Cheong-ah.

They knew she would win anyway.

And then.

“The, the Blue Demon…! Cheongma!”

He even earned the grandiose nickname, the Blue Demon.

Gwi-i! Ttuul!

As if sensing their fear, Cheong-a proudly raised his antennae.

It was a sight so absurd it seemed he might ascend to heaven, but today, we generously understood.

“We won again!”

Thanks to Cheong-a, we made a fortune.

The amount was a whopping three taels of gold. In modern terms, that was nearly three hundred million won.

After deducting one tael for the cleaning service’s share, we were left with a net profit of two taels.

Compared to the Han-Jung days, it was a disappointing amount, but that was unavoidable.

Back in Han-Jung, we participated directly in the games at the gambling house, but here, with so many customers, the gambling house didn’t participate.

Still, it was enough for the kids’ monthly allowance for two years.

That was more than satisfying.

Just as we were about to get up, having won enough money,

“…Long time no see.”

“Yeah, right?”

The true owner of this gambling house appeared, his head gleaming.

Who was it?

None other than the bald-headed Yongmasan, who controlled the underworld of Kuryongseong.

“I’d like to have a word with you.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“I’ve come with a good proposal for Team Leader Jin, so you’d better come with me.”

“Most people who make ‘good proposals’ first turn out to be scammers.”

“It’s a deal worth its weight in gold.”

Well, I guess I have to go.

“Ahem, where should we go?”

“There’s a room upstairs.”

“Go ahead and wait. I’ll tidy up and join you.”

“Understood.”

A short while later, I and the Cleaner tidied up and went upstairs.

“Ahh… It’s so good… It’s thrilling…”

Yongmasan looked at Cheongso with a suspicious gaze.

“Is he okay?”

“Leave him be. He’ll be fine in a day or so.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

He cleared his throat and looked at the cricket perched on Cheongso’s shoulder.

“So that’s the real-deal hairpin from Hanjung, I see.”

“You know about it?”

“I heard it from the branch chief. The Blue-Flower Goddess used her family’s secret technique to create the world’s finest hairpin.”

“……How did you find out?”

The fact that the secret technique was used was something only I and the cleaning boy knew.

“Every inn in the land has a hidden ear of Hao Men.”

“…No wonder he was so sharp.”

The culprit was the innkeeper who had stayed in Hanjung.

“By the way, you said you’d never sell it, but you were trying to make a quick buck, weren’t you?”

“That wasn’t the original reason… I needed money, so it turned out that way.”

If only I hadn’t taken in those seventeen kids, I wouldn’t have needed to frequent gambling dens.

“Because you took in the Three Tang Brothers and the White Crane?”

The Three Tang Brothers referred to Tang Yangjiang, Tang Ba, and Tang Jinheng, while White Crane was the alias of Liu Xiaoping.

“How did you know that?”

“If one intends to operate in the underworld of the Nine Dragons City, one must keep ears open to the movements of the Outer Sect warriors, wouldn’t you agree?”

Yongmasan chattered on in a manner unbecoming of him.

“Seems it’s been resolved?”

“Can’t you see I’ve raked in the cash?”

When he showed him the money pouch, he chuckled.

“Huh? It’s grown quite a bit? After doing some business, two taels of gold seems like nothing now?”

“It’s just that Commander Jin’s shallow thinking amuses me.”

“Shall I show you how the owner of that shallow thinking will smash Hao Gate to pieces?”

“But you can’t join the alliance now. What do you plan to do?”

“……”

“Now that you have dependents, shouldn’t you look beyond the immediate future?”

Was it because his bald head was warming in the gentle sunlight?

Today, he spoke words of wisdom.

“Ahem…”

“How about joining hands with us to establish a business?”

“A business?”

“Exactly. With three masters nearing their peak and a talent like Baekhak under your wing, shouldn’t you put them to use?”

“That’s true, but…”

Honestly, I was seriously tempted.

Having the kids handle household chores was convenient, but that’s something one person could manage, right?

The problem was.

“How do I know you won’t stab me in the back?”

How could I trust these guys?

When I subtly voiced my concern, Yongmasan replied with an expression of utter bewilderment.

“…If anyone’s been screwed over, it’s been us. I don’t recall ever screwing over Team Leader Jin, though?”

“Ah…”

True.

“Ahem, it was just a test run. Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t think so…”

A guy getting sulky…

“So, what business are we supposed to start?”

“That’s for Team Leader Jin to decide.”

“You suggested it without even a plan?”

“It’s a business for Team Leader Jin, so naturally he should decide.”

“Hmm…”

He wasn’t wrong.

It’s a place for the kids to work, so I should decide the business type.

Yongmasan spoke to me, lost in thought.

“Let me know when you’ve made up your mind.”

He was an unlucky bald guy today, for some reason.

* * *

That night.

I couldn’t fall asleep easily, worrying about what Yongmasan had said.

‘What to do…’

With the money I’d won today, I had ample capital.

The only problem was deciding what line of business to establish.

If I chose the wrong field and went down like a dog, I’d lose not only my capital—two taels of gold—but the respect the entire Seventeen Clans’ children held for me would undoubtedly plummet.

On the other hand, if it became a huge success, the two taels of gold would multiply several times over, and my respect rating would soar.

I bolted upright in bed and pulled out paper and writing implements.

Scribble. Scribble.

Then, I scribbled down every word that came to mind and tossed it into the air.

That’s right.

This was the method used by Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank, when selecting items.

The papers, fluttering high up, began to drift down one by one.

“Damn it.”

I picked up all the ones that fell to the ground and crumpled them up.

Because somehow, they all landed upside down.

As if telling me not to do business.

“Should I just not do it?”

It seemed like living like this might be fine.

After pondering for a moment, I decided.

“Let’s sleep on it and think again tomorrow.”

I lay back down on the bed.

A person needs sleep for their brain to function properly.

The next morning.

I called together the three diligent workers, Dangga Samgwe, who were hard at work wearing aprons.

A truly great leader never ignores the opinions of their team members.

I asked for their opinions.

“How about selling boiled pork?”

“We’ll brew and sell liquor.”

“Poison…”

I’d forgotten that just because you’re under a great leader doesn’t mean every member is great.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

“…Where’s So-pyeong?”

“He went to the market to buy food. He should be back by now.”

Because I still had our ace, Sopyeongmon, who was once called the White Crane and had been the one everyone expected to succeed Mun Sang.

“Tell him to come to my room when he gets back.”

“Understood.”

A short while later.

“You called?”

“Oh, come in. Come in.”

As soon as Yoo So-pyeong entered, I explained yesterday’s events.

“Hmm… So, you’re thinking of getting serious about starting something, huh?”

“Starting something? It’s just about doing whatever we can so we can all eat well and live well together.”

“Still, it’s a good idea. Any organization needs a solid source of funding.”

“Like the eight factions of Naeseong?”

“Exactly.”

Each faction of the Inner Fortress had its own funding source.

Like the Silver Dragon faction’s trading business or the Gold Dragon faction’s military supply business.

Only the Black Dragon faction relied on the income from the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy, which was barely more than a neighborhood gym.

“Huh? Why are you suddenly crying?”

“I just suddenly thought of those poor people… It’s okay now, continue.”

“Yes, so if we’re going to do this, it’s better to do it big… But as you know, we lack both money and manpower.”

“We have plenty of money. We can borrow manpower from the Lee Seonbang.”

“Then things will be easier.”

Yoo So-pyeong nodded and continued.

With a very meaningful expression.

“What you truly desire, my lord, isn’t merely making money, but building a solid power base.”

“No…”

All I need is enough to pay your monthly salaries…

“Oh dear, I seem to have hit a nerve. My apologies. I suppose my scholar days haven’t left me entirely. My lord.”

He seemed to be under some serious misconception.

But listening to him, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Since we’re doing business anyway, it’d be nice if it succeeded.

“So, about that. I’ve heard some information recently…”

He lowered his voice, wary of anyone overhearing.

“Mumble mumble.”

Hearing the information, I channeled Archimedes and exclaimed.

“Eureka!”