“Is everyone gathered?”
When I arrived at the paper mill, the workers who should have been protesting looked at me with bewildered expressions.
“Club Leader! Are we really not protesting today?”
“Ho Pil! Soon, there will come a time when they’ll eat lunch without breaking a sweat, all because they own the means of production. We must hurry outside and show them the strength of our workers, don’t you think?”
“That’s right! Even if we have to skip lunch, we must show that we haven’t turned into slaves of the means of production!”
“Cruel Head of Guards! Those filthy rich capitalists monopolizing the means of production! I can’t hold back my boiling blood; I want to go out now!”
What the heck? I told them to strike, and now they’re turning into radical labor activists?
This is a problem.
‘Now that I’ve acquired the means of production…’
Did I speak too passionately without thinking of the aftermath?
‘The paper mill is now mine. If I say anything wrong, I’ll be treated as a traitor in no time.’
Having bought the paper mill at a bargain price, the situation ultimately benefits just me. If I tell the truth, I feel like I’d get pelted with stones.
Even if I escape getting hit now, dissatisfaction will definitely bubble up later.
“Quiet! Isn’t the Club Leader trying to speak!”
Did they misunderstand when they saw my troubled face? The representative of the workers, Ha Se-ryun, yelled.
The workers’ gazes shifted to me.
I guess there’s no way out of this. I’ll just have to stick to the plan.
I employed the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique, focused my brow, and gazed at my audience.
“I was summoned by the Head of Guards yesterday.”
That was a line to grab everyone’s attention.
——————
“Are you saying that the Club Leader was summoned by the Head of Guards?!”
News that the infamous Head of Guards called Kang Yoon-ho due to the strike had to shock everyone’s faces.
“It was obvious what he wanted to discuss, but I couldn’t refuse.”
I let out a soft sigh to appear as if I were a subordinate compelled to obey power.
“He’s the Head of Guards, after all. How could a Ho Pil refuse his orders?”
“Right. I prepared myself to enter.”
As I nodded, the tense gazes fixated on me.
“What, what happened?”
“They tried to lure me.”
“Lure you?”
I stood on a small podium without answering.
The workers didn’t realize the intense political battles hidden behind the strike.
To them, the Head of Guards is the bad guy, and I’m just the good Ho Pil helping the workers. Therefore, I needed to maximize their perception.
After all, immersion amplifies emotions.
Today, instead of using the speech tone from last time, I needed to perform both roles in a theatrical tone.
“Ho Pil. Would a tax reduction be sufficient?”
With a condescending gaze and the voice of someone who had a neck fat, he looked at me as if I wasn’t even there.
“What do you mean?”
I asked the Head of Guards, feigning surprise.
“I heard you’re running a few inns. I can offer you tax exemption benefits for five years.”
A sound of surprise and mixed gasps came from somewhere.
“What do you want from me?”
“Surely, you must have known already. Are you pretending not to? This is a strike, after all. You’ll have to help.”
With a mocking gaze, he looked at Ho Pil before slowly turning to the workers.
Though there was undeniable anger directed at the Head of Guards, most could understand my situation after receiving an irresistible offer.
“Tax exemption! That’s a huge profit, isn’t it?”
“How much benefit could that possibly be? It wouldn’t be easy to refuse.”
“Didn’t the Head of Guards say that? Where’s the room for refusal? You should just nod your head.”
“C-Club Leader? No way!”
The representative of the paper mill workers exclaimed in shock.
“Of course, I refused.”
I calmly shook my head.
“You refused?!”
Naturally, many were more surprised by my refusal. But if I had nodded, they wouldn’t understand my reasoning in their hearts.
I continued speaking while wearing a faint smile.
“After refusing once, they tried to lure me again. This time with a high position and the offer of marrying into a prestigious family.”
“Unbelievable….”
“Upon rejecting again, he sneered at me.”
“What did he say?”
“That beggar-like barbarian! How long will you hang around with people who share your hair color? A real man should aim higher!”
I mixed truth and lies to spin a new tale.
“……”
I could see the resolve in the workers’ eyes.
They were powerless to fight back against someone with all the power, so they could only express their grievances through unvoiced words.
“I was torn. If I continue refusing the Head of Guards’ proposal, I wouldn’t know what consequences I’d face. But at the same time, I worried about what would happen to you all if I simply nodded.”
I needed to make them realize.
I was standing on one foot. Crossing that foot would allow me to enjoy countless benefits. The one commanding was someone in a towering position of power. How could I refuse?
You folks aren’t even standing on the other side of the bridge; you’re just beggars beneath the bridge.
“Club Leader….”
“I ultimately had to make a decision.”
In a situation where one had to choose one of the two things, what choice had Ho Pil to make?
The workers seemed to realize why they had gathered here today, staring at the ground with expressions of defeat and sorrow.
The absurdity of thinking it took me this long to deliberate.
Ho Yoon-ho has allied with the Head of Guards. It’s frustrating but quite rational. Who’d be foolish enough to choose us?
As I thought everyone would share the same mindset, I said,
“How could I abandon you?”
I spoke with a warm smile.
“……!”
“Club Leader?!”
Sometimes, it shows that an otherwise foolish choice exists in the world. I’m whispering that I’m on your side no matter the situation.
“I turned him down. Then he suddenly changed tact and threatened that he would sell this paper mill to a martial artist.”
“To a martial artist?”
“The reason you can protest without getting hurt is not only because you’re united but also because the Head of Guards has to be wary of rumors that he’s being tyrannical. But if it falls into the hands of martial artists, that changes everything.”
“……”
The blade and violence. It’s easy for anyone present to understand what it means if the owner of the paper mill is a martial artist instead of a bureaucrat.
“The Head of Guards said he’d make sure to see the Joseon people of this paper mill carted out as corpses if he doesn’t make the Constables leave.”
“Damn Head of Guards!”
“I can’t see a solution. Whether I followed the Head of Guards’ orders or defied them, the outcome was clear.”
Even if I stood by the workers till the end, the Head of Guards wasn’t someone a mere Ho Pil could oppose. I lowered my gaze, sighing to convey the sense of helplessness to them.
“……So, in the end, we have failed?”
“Ugh! Is this how it ends?”
They felt that no matter how hard they fought, nothing would change in the end. Despite rising up, they were advocating their powerlessness. That frustration and despair deeply entrenched in the workers’ faces.
“No, I’ve decided to buy it.”
So, it’s time to pull out the best move I have.
“What?”
“I told the Head of Guards not to sell it to the martial artists but to sell this paper mill to me instead.”
Simply saying I bought this paper mill at a bargain price would raise eyebrows. But in the previous deadlock situation, if I claimed to have turned down all temptations and sacrificed, that changes the story.
“You want this paper mill? It would require an exorbitant amount of money.”
“An unimaginably large sum.”
A whopping 3 Silver and 20 Cooper.
“Did you really have that much money?”
I turned to the surprised workers, wearing a friendly smile.
“Folks! If I had such money, I would have enjoyed wealth and glory long ago. I decided to seek help from the Man Geum Battlefield. With a few inns under my belt, I’m well-acquainted with the Man Geum Battlefield, so I was able to get help!”
“Club Leader! We have some who ran away to Joseon rather than become slaves because we couldn’t repay the Huankong debt! You can’t do this!”
Looking at those worried stares is nice.
Although the help from the Man Geum Battlefield doesn’t necessarily imply debt, the image of an Ho Pil who sacrificed for the workers by accruing debt is a story I’m eager to enhance.
“Then do you want me to witness your demise with my own eyes?”
I hid my true thoughts and asked with a stern expression.
“Would you go that far for us?!”
Everyone looked like they were on the verge of tears. Time to wrap this up.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
I knelt before the workers on the podium.
“Club Leader!”
“Why are you kneeling?!”
“I tried to negotiate with the Head of Guards, but in the end, all I could do was this as a mere barbarian.”
I intentionally refer to myself as a barbarian rather than as the owner. I subtly imply that I’m one of them, not above them.
In front of them now, I’m no longer the man who incited the workers and bought the paper mill at a bargain. I’m the one who resisted against power, sacrificed for the workers, and still dared to apologize before them.
“Stand up!”
“It’s the Head of Guards who should be cursed; why should the Club Leader apologize?!”
“Ugh! Club Leader Kang!”
In the end, the paper mill turned into a sea of tears, and no one had any objections to the fact that I had taken it over.
——————
“Se-ryun. From today, you’ll be the Director of the paper mill.”
The next day, after securing the paper mill through documentation, I called the representative of the workers.
I placed the hat on the representative’s head, making him my ally. That would quell the lingering discontent.
“You’re really okay with this?”
“Now you’ll recommend a Deputy Director. I can’t have someone filling in for you while you’re on vacation, can I?”
By giving him hiring authority, he’d become even more firmly part of my side.
“That’s not it….”
Why does the representative of the workers look worried? What happened? Could it be?
“Is it that you’re upset because I could only raise wages by 30%? I’m sorry. The situation just doesn’t allow for more.”
I couldn’t normalize wages right away. First, I’d need to see how much profit could be made from running the business before adjusting it. Just hang on a little longer.
I had actually appointed you as the Director of the paper mill to quell discontent, Se-ryun exclaimed with surprise.
“Why on earth are you apologizing? Didn’t you push yourself too much already? Even though we protested, we never dreamed you’d raise it this much!”
“Then what’s this about?”
“It’s just that everyone’s feeling hesitant due to the holidays.”
Holidays? Is it because of what I mentioned yesterday?
“Are the holidays insufficient? I said I’d introduce a vacation system where you can take a day off each month along with holidays. Just hang in there a little.”
Right. People want at least one day off a week. I understand. But in business, the worst thing to do is to throw out empty promises.
For now, I’ll suggest something realistic and then reassess after observing how the business runs.
As I patted the Director of the paper mill on the shoulder, Se-ryun vigorously shook his head. Why is that?
“We’re not even getting a proper day off in ten days, and now you want us to have a day off every ten days? We’re not in management, so how can we expect that!”
“……”
I mistakenly confused the labor environment of this world momentarily.
“Everyone’s on the brink of disbelief. They are even worrying about how you are going to make money!”
I approached the passionate Director of the paper mill and threw an arm around him. Then I pointed around the paper mill while speaking.
“This paper mill is something we’ve fought for. If I’ve sacrificed for you all, then if you sacrifice together too, can’t we all live well together?”
Raising wages and having a day off every ten days won’t plunge the company into ruin. I’ve ensured housekeeping is smooth, so there’s no debt and an abundance of raw materials; I even inherited the clients.
I’m not starting off a business thinking of running it at a loss from the get-go.
“Club Leader…”
“Ho Pil!”
Did everyone overhear? The workers surrounded me with expressions of deep emotion.
“What these people….”
“Truly… The Club Leader arriving in Wuhan has been a great blessing to us.”
Why’s the Director of the paper mill getting emotional over something like this?
“My favor has been given. Now get the paper mill running smoothly.”
There’s too much to do. Suppliers, raw materials, I’ve received all the documents, yet the Director of the paper mill will likely struggle for a while.
“Club Leader! Some workers have left, but the others are staying.”
The Director of the paper mill nodded and delivered unexpected news to me.
“Workers left? Was the treatment unsatisfactory?”
“I don’t know the reason. Especially that green-haired fellow, he had only joined a few months ago, but he was the most zealous during the protests and even shed tears over your words yesterday.”
“Green-haired, huh… It’s likely that the vibe of Joseon people, with the owner, director, and workers all being Joseon people, could have made it uncomfortable.”
Given that the employer is a Joseon person, the Director of the paper mill is a Joseon person, and the workers are Joseon too, it’s possible they decided to flee due to that atmosphere.
“That could be the case.”
“Nonetheless, do your best. I’m counting on you.”
“I’ll work hard!”
That was how the paper mill was settled.
——————
Not long later, somewhere in Hubei Province.
“News has flown in from Wuhan!”
A warrior, armed with a short sword, burst into the tent breathlessly.
“From Wuhan? What’s the news?! No way?!”
A man with a splendid mustache sprang from his seat with a look of shock.
“The leader!!! He has begun to move again!!!”
“Is that true?!”
“Yes. The Party Leader! The leader of the Hwalbin Party has started moving again!”
“Quick! Tell me! In detail! Everything! Speak!”
The warrior, sporting an elegant green mustache, known in the world as Su Tal-lin, looked through expectant eyes.
