WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 115: Gangwon Province Flag Festival (3)
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A gold mine excavation permit and approval to handle dynamite.
There was a reason Han San had singled out these two privileges from the countless ones he could obtain from the Government-General.
'One is for what comes later.'
Just as he had told the governor, the regressor knew a gold vein lay dormant beneath Meokbawi Valley.
To clean out the gold vein exposed by the Great Flood of the Gap-sul Year after July next year as easily as eating dakgalbi, he needed to prepare in advance.
Someone might say that gold mined in secret and gold mined with an official permit were the same once melted down.
They might even think the former was better, since there was no need to pay taxes on it.
But Han's Myriad Commerce had grown too large for that.
A sajang's job was to balance immediate profits against future risks.
Just as the paperless cars he had acquired through the Inwang Gang had to be laundered through several channels, he needed at least the proper formalities in place to deal with things if they went wrong later.
[ Besides, laundering gold secretly mined by illegal prospectors and taking a commission is far more profitable. ]
The old man had heard from his younger brother that legal status offered exclusive lucrative opportunities.
'The other is construction.'
Again, the gold in Meokbawi Valley could only be mined after the Great Flood of the Gap-sul Year.
What mattered right now was preparing everything needed for construction in Meokbawi Valley.
'Miss Ayame said it'd be good to have approval to handle dynamite as well. Maybe a rock drill will be enough, and perhaps actual blasting won't be necessary, but being ready when the moment comes is always the right choice.'
Around the time Han San finished that thought, Governor Lee Beom-ik withdrew his outstretched neck and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Mm. I understand. You have great ambition for a young man. I really like you. But..."
"Mm."
Han San took a sip from the cup Lee Beom-ik had filled.
The conversation taking this direction meant there was a problem.
"Don't misunderstand me. It isn't that you lack the qualifications. How could I say such a thing after seeing everything you've done so far?"
In other words, Han San's [standing] and merit points were not lacking.
"But explosives are dangerous, aren't they? In the hands of people with ill intent, they could even become weapons that threaten the Empire."
Han San let out a low hum.
"That's true... I'd never do such a thing, of course..."
"Mm. Naturally. A sound young man with such a bright future as yourself would never do anything like that."
"Yes. Under this Rising Sun world, anyone who does such things... whew. That's the sort of thing only dark heroes do."
The dark hero of this era, according to his own evaluation, planned to secretly divert dynamite and sell some to his father's friends, some to the Independence Army, and some to Manchuria, ushering in a grand age of dynamite. He shuddered as though the thought alone gave him chills.
Lee Beom-ik tilted his head at the words "dark hero," then returned to the point.
"Anyway, that is the nature of approval to handle explosives. And a gold mine excavation permit goes hand in hand with it, since the two cannot be separated.
"So they are strictly managed... and all the slots for those permits in Gangwon have already been filled for a year."
That was right.
Most privilege products in this era were limited!
If everyone with enough standing could have them, what kind of privilege would that be?
Administrative and policing power were limited resources as well. If they had to monitor such things, permits for explosives would naturally be even more restricted.
That was the situation before him now.
[ Approval to Handle Dynamite ]
[ Stock: 0 ]
The nature of a limited product was that once someone else claimed it, he could not use it until a slot opened up again.
He could wait quietly for an opening, or...
"Who should I speak to...?"
Han San smiled kindly and scratched the back of his head. It was the standard way in this world of asking who he needed to shove aside.
Lee Beom-ik smiled back benevolently.
"Hoho. Strictly speaking, this isn't allowed... But your achievements are truly impressive, and your future is so promising. How can I simply stand by?
"As it happens, there is a young businessman much like yourself here today who holds that slot."
That was unexpected enough for Han San to blink.
"A young businessman like me?"
Lee Beom-ik nodded and waved toward the crowd.
"Myo sajang! Come here for a moment!"
The crowd parted, and a man stepped forward.
He looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six. He was a young man in a neat suit and polished shoes.
Those clothes and shoes were identical to what Han San himself was wearing.
'This bastard...?'
Their builds were different.
Unlike Han San, whose body was built from muscle, Myo sajang was slender and fine-boned.
His face was different too. Especially his eyes. They were thin as threads, so narrow that it was impossible to tell whether they were smiling or closed.
If someone turned one of the era's fashionable slim lucky-cat ornaments into a person and dressed it in Han San's clothes, it would probably look exactly like this.
The human lucky cat bowed.
"You called for me, Your Excellency?"
"Mm. This young man is Han San. Exchange greetings."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The man who looked like a lucky-cat-skinned version of Han San smiled, then turned toward him.
"Nice to meet you." After a slight bow, he added, "I am Myo San, and I run Myo's Myriad Commerce."
A spark lit in Han San's memory.
[ Myo's Myriad Commerce, Myo San ]
'The congratulatory gift list from earlier!'
This was the man who had donated the exact same amount as Han San and, thanks to alphabetical order, stood one spot above him!
'This bastard...'
The seventy-four-year-old's bastard detector, which shook whenever he encountered an asshole, began to tremble before the human lucky cat. Lee Beom-ik, who had called Myo San over, widened his eyes.
"Mm? Weren't you Myo Jeong of Myo's Fisheries? Looking again, your clothes and hairstyle have changed too..."
Myo San smiled warmly, pulled out a white handkerchief, and wiped his cheek.
"Your Excellency. That is part of my past. The procedures for changing both my company name and my own name have all been completed. I am now Myo San of Myo's Myriad Commerce."
Han San's bastard detector shook even harder. Lee Beom-ik burst into laughter.
"Mm...? Hahaha, it is hard to keep up with young people's thoughts. You did this before too.
"Well, both of you are young men. One is Han San of Han's Myriad Commerce, and the other is Myo San of Myo's Myriad Commerce. What a coincidence."
"You're right. Perhaps we were meant to meet."
"It seems that way to me too. Ah, I hear Myo sajang is opening two restaurants this time as well?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Myo San folded away his handkerchief and looked at Han San.
"Our Myo's Myriad Commerce is preparing to open chicken specialty restaurants in Chuncheon."
Chicken specialty restaurants?
"At the first restaurant, we intend to sell two fried-chicken dishes, [Pride Fried Chicken] and [Sauced Fried Chicken]."
Pride Fried Chicken and Sauced Fried Chicken...
Pride Fried Chicken and Sauced Fried Chicken???
"Pride Fried Chicken, true to its name, is a fried-chicken dish that satisfies and uplifts the [pride] of those who eat it. We season the chicken so the savory flavor seeps deep into the meat, then fry it with nothing but batter.
"Sauced Fried Chicken is Myo's Myriad Commerce's own original dish. We don't simply coat Pride Fried Chicken in a special sauce made generously with gochujang, garlic, ganjang, grain syrup, sugar, and more. We stir-fry it once before serving."
Myo San once again pulled out his handkerchief, wiped the sweat running down his cheek, and continued with a warm smile.
"And we plan to open another restaurant. There, we will serve another original creation unique to Myo's Myriad Commerce, called [Chicken Ribs].
"It is a premium dish of boneless chicken stir-fried with potatoes, onions, rice cakes, and more. We will finish by frying rice as well. For an additional charge, we will even add cheese made in Hokkaido..."
Han San fully grasped the human lucky cat's identity.
'A copycat human!?'
Well... he had expected one to appear eventually.
But this soon?
And it had copied even his company name and his own name?
'Even the clothes and donation amount...'
Wasn't this living proof that the bastard was stalking him in real time?
The sense of rivalry that had been creeping around him ever since he saw the company name and name on the congratulatory gift list had not merely been Han San's imagination.
"Hoho, wonderful. Wonderful. Having two young men like you in Chuncheon is truly Gangwon's blessing. A blessing."
Governor Lee Beom-ik laughed heartily.
"One such young man wants approval to handle explosives, while the other possesses it... That too must be fate, and Gangwon's blessing."
"Let's do it this way," Lee Beom-ik said, stroking his gold-rimmed glasses.
"By next Lunar New Year, February 14, why don't we compare the total profits of Han's Myriad Commerce and Myo's Myriad Commerce?
"The side with more profits will receive the gold mine excavation permit and approval to handle explosives."
Han San pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead.
"Governor, you mean..."
"A business competition."
Lee Beom-ik smiled.
"If Han's Myriad Commerce wins, it takes the two permits Myo's Myriad Commerce possesses.
"If Myo's Myriad Commerce wins, it keeps those two permits.
"It will be a kind of title match."
"A title match..."
"Competition is good.
"Just as Gangwon has grown because Chuncheon and Cheorwon compete with each other, shouldn't a town come alive when vigorous young people compete?"
Han San bared his teeth, drew in a deep breath, then finally let out a sigh.
Myo San, on the other hand, wiped his cheeks faster, as though trying to start a fire with his handkerchief.
"G-Governor. Those two permits are extremely important to our Myocheon Trading Company... no, Myosaeng Commerce... no, Myo's Fisheries... no, no, no, Myo's Myriad Commerce!
"How can the slots our company barely obtained a year ago after putting all our sincerity into it be decided by some business competition...?"
"Mm?"
Lee Beom-ik glanced at Myo San.
The mouth of the man who would later become governor of Jiandao Province was smiling, but his eyes behind the glasses were not. Myo San flinched and immediately bowed his head.
"N-No! Of course it must be as Your Excellency wishes!
"I only mean, Your Excellency, wouldn't judging total profits be somewhat complicated? Perhaps I could show more substantial sincerity once more... Or we could make it simpler by seeing which side gives more in donations..."
"Ah, that wouldn't be interesting."
"Yes! You're right. It wouldn't be interesting if we did that!"
"Mm, yes, yes. Myo sajang understands quickly. Young people should listen when their elders speak.
"Han San, what do you think?"
Han San let out a long sigh.
"I have no objection either."
It was, in other words, the principle of the breeding hen.
In this era, things like sincerity and donations were ultimately no more than one-time extortion. They lacked continuity and repeatability.
But two local companies clashing and growing their weight classes?
That was like multiplying breeding hens that laid taxes for the region. The larger those hens grew, the more taxes they would lay with every passing year.
'Without spending a single coin, he plans to turn two young entrepreneurs into racehorses with one slot and a few words...'
Han San was sincerely impressed.
A curse slipped out too.
'Fuck. There really isn't a single easy bastard here.'
One side was exactly the kind of man the future king of North Korea would single out for abduction, and the other was exactly the kind of man who copied everything from company names to donation amounts and clothes.
Then again, as the stage rose higher, the quality of the actors rose with it.
"I look forward to working with you, Myo sajang."
Han San straightened up, showed his white teeth, and held out his hand.
"The honor is mine, Han sajang."
Myo San, who had suddenly found himself needing to defend the two privileges he had held so securely, bent at the waist. With narrowed eyes, he tightly clasped Han San's extended hand.
Then...
"But... prepare yourself."
Without releasing their clasped hands, Myo San subtly leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"No one can take what has already entered my hands."
Oh?
Look at this bastard.
As Han San admired him in a different sense, Myo San leaned another handspan closer as he whispered.
"Rather, I will take everything you have.
"Your business ideas, your business acumen, your clothes, your donations... even your name and the very timing of your breaths...!"
The instant he finished speaking, the human lucky cat began syncing his breathing rhythm to Han San's.
It was rather unpleasant.
"Go ahead."
Still properly offended, Han San grinned.
"If you can take it, take it."
He squeezed their joined hands and whispered.
"Either way, I will take the permits you have."
Their gazes clashed fiercely.
Governor Lee Beom-ik nodded.
"Mm! What a fine sight. Competition truly is a good thing."
And so.
The two young businessmen making decent money in Chuncheon shared a friendly handshake before the governor of Gangwon Province.
At the same time.
'The next two months.'
The contest of wills between two proud geniuses, according to their own evaluations, would continue until Lunar New Year.
A few days later.
Inside Myo's Fried Chicken.
The restaurant was thick with the smell of frying oil.
Myo San tasted a freshly fried crumb of batter, dipped his pinky into the seasoning and licked it, then smiled in satisfaction.
Employees dressed in white eagerly praised him.
"It is exactly the same, Myo sajang!"
"This fried chicken in particular! The coating is incredible!"
Myo San took out a white handkerchief and rubbed his cheek.
"Hey, I told you it is Pride Fried Chicken. It is my original menu item."
Even as he said that, his eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Wait for me, Han San."
Myo San muttered toward the restaurant directly across the street, visible through the window.
"A gold mine excavation permit? Approval to handle explosives? You dream big, Han sajang. Do you think you can take those from my pocket?
"Just wait. I will take [everything] you have."
That was when it happened.
"Sajang! Han's Chicken!"
An employee in white rushed inside, out of breath.
"Hehe. Are they coming to protest?"
Myo San grinned. The handkerchief rubbing his cheek moved far more leisurely.
"Don't panic. I expected that too.
"What did we do wrong in the first place? We're only making and selling our own chicken dishes. It doesn't violate any law of the Government-General, so no matter how much they protest..."
"N-No! It isn't a protest...!"
The employee who had rushed in caught their breath.
"Han's Chicken! They're releasing a new menu item today!"
"...What?"
Something dropped with a soft thud. It was the white handkerchief in Myo San's hand.
At the same time.
In front of Han's Chicken, directly across from Myo's Fried Chicken.
[ Han's Chicken New Menu - Daegu-Style Soy Sauce Seasoned Chicken Now Available ]
Han San stood with his hands clasped behind his back before the paper, its ink not yet dry.
'He says he'll take everything I have?'
Han San smiled calmly.
'Try taking it if you can, brat. This venerable one's [fifty years]!'
Footnotes:
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