Immediately after the extraordinary contract with Ayla was concluded, I headed without delay to the outskirts of Pellua.
A massive factory that would run hundreds of spinning machines and power looms at once.
For that, I needed an enormous plot of land.
Based on my engineering knowledge as Gang Ujin, I clearly set the conditions for the site.
First, it had to border a river with abundant water, enough to install a huge waterwheel as the power source to run the machines.
Second, the road network leading to the center of Pellua had to be level, so that raw materials and finished cotton textiles could be transported without interruption.
“Waterpower and logistics. Where near Pellua is there land that perfectly satisfies those two conditions?”
I spread out a map and spent several full days roaming the outskirts.
And at last, when I arrived at the vast plain along the lower reaches of the Rene River, flowing leisurely through the southeastern outskirts of Pellua—
“Uh……?”
I came to a dead stop and stared blankly at the immense stretch of land before my eyes.
It was a place I had seen many times before.
No, it was a place that could not help but be familiar to the marrow of my bones.
Fragments of memory rapidly fell into place.
This was none other than the land owned by the Carnoble family, the very first property I had sold off as soon as I seized full authority over the merchant company!
‘It was land Father bought with an enormous sum of gold coins just before he passed away.’
The foolish me of the past had not understood this land’s value at all.
It was not a prime shop in the city center, nor a mansion on a bustling street, but a wide stretch of farmland on the empty outskirts.
Why would the great Carnoble merchant family, which handled the continent’s gold, need to dig in the dirt and farm in some backwater?
So as soon as I became the owner of the company, I snorted and disposed of this land for a pittance.
With that money, I popped bottles of the finest champagne and spent nights in gambling dens.
But.
The moment I looked at this land again through the eyes of a mechanical engineering student, and through the eyes of a businessman planning to build a vast factory—
I felt goosebumps rise all over my body.
‘This is insane. It’s perfect.’
The Rene River, boasting an abundant volume of water, curved gently around the plain like a bow.
There could be no better current speed or terrain for installing waterwheels.
On top of that, the ground was a firm bedrock layer, ideal for withstanding the vibrations of heavy machinery, and the edge of the plain connected to a broad road that led directly to Pellua’s First Commercial District.
Father had not bought this land to farm it.
He had already been drawing up the blueprint to build a massive logistics hub and large-scale production complex that would integrate the cramped workshops within Pellua!
Of course, there was an absurd technological gulf between what he had envisioned and the technology I had developed.
“Haa…… Father. Just how far ahead did you see?”
He surely never dreamed that his own son would blow that great vision away for a few coins’ worth of liquor.
I barely suppressed the urge to slap my past self across the face and clenched my fists tightly.
“Good. The one who tied the knot must untie it. The land I sold off, I’ll buy back with my own hands. This will be the site of my first factory.”
I immediately ran to the nearby estate office and confirmed who currently owned the land.
As it happened, the landowner had also put the vast empty lot up for sale, unable to find any use for it.
I cheered inwardly and returned to Pellua.
All that remained was to stamp the contract tomorrow using Ayla’s investment money.
*
At the same time.
Pellua’s First Commercial District, the luxurious office of the Muller Merchant Company.
Muller, the potbellied chief merchant who had led the mockery of Elpanso at the banquet hall, was leaning back on a plush sofa, smoking an expensive cigar.
“Chief Merchant. I have something to report.”
With a knock, one of the company’s informants carefully entered.
“What is it? Has the silk merchant ship from the south arrived?”
“No. It is about, well…… Elpanso, that scoundrel from the Carnoble Merchant Company.”
“Huh? I thought I told you not to even mention that cockroach bastard in front of me.”
Muller’s brow twisted viciously.
But the informant, watching his reaction, quickly continued.
“It appears that lately, he has been rummaging around the outskirts of Pellua looking to purchase a large tract of land. Specifically, the plain along the lower reaches of the Rene River that the late great chief merchant once bought.”
“What? He’s trying to buy land? With what money, that beggar bastard?”
Muller snorted and let out a derisive laugh.
“What a useless thing to waste his time on. Ah, is he trying something with the charity money that bitch Ayla of Golden Fleece handed him?”
Chief Merchant Muller ground his cigar into the ashtray and muttered irritably.
To him, the name Carnoble was an accursed ill fate, and the symbol of an inferiority complex that had weighed on him his entire life.
In the past, he had been a second-rate merchant who could not even reach the feet of Great Chief Merchant Theodore Carnoble.
No matter how he struggled, he had been forced to live his whole life hidden in Carnoble’s enormous shadow, as second place—no, third place.
Every night, he prayed before the god’s image, cursing the Carnoble family and begging for them to be utterly ruined.
Then, when Theodore miraculously died of illness and that stupid son of his tore the company to pieces—
Muller had popped the most expensive champagne in his office and cheered like a madman.
At last, that damned Carnoble name had been erased from Pellua. At last, his chance to become the master of Pellua had come!
“At this point, I’d prefer never to hear that bastard’s name again. I finally cut off his air, and I really don’t like seeing him squirm.”
Malice flashed in Muller’s small, murky eyes.
“Is that so? Then shall I interfere a little? Hey, send someone to that landowner at once. No matter what amount Elpanso offers, tell him to raise the price unconditionally.”
“Pardon? But that land is an abandoned plain, and it would be difficult to receive even its proper value……”
“You fool! I’m not saying I’m going to buy it! Use the name of the Muller Merchant Company to pressure the landowner. Threaten him that if he sells the land to that bastard Elpanso, we’ll cut off every transaction his shop has with our Muller Merchant Company within Pellua. Understood?”
Muller’s belly jiggled as he wore a vile smile.
“A bastard with no money—how is he supposed to buy land if the price jumps two or three times? When an insect crawling on the floor shows even the slightest promise, it must be thoroughly crushed.”
*
The next morning.
With light steps, I visited the merchant house run by the landowner.
The heavy pouch of gold coins I had received from Ayla as a down payment jingled in my coat.
Once I purchased this land, I planned to hire workers and begin the foundation work immediately tomorrow.
“Sir, I’ve brought the contract and deposit we discussed yesterday. Once you stamp it……”
However, what greeted me when I entered the merchant house was the sight of the landowner sweating coldly and avoiding my eyes.
“W-well, Lord Elpanso. I am truly sorry. I think this contract will have to be called off.”
“Pardon? Called off? Yesterday, we clearly reached a verbal agreement at two silver coins per pyeong.”
At my question, the landowner fidgeted and rubbed his face with dry hands.
“Well…… the market price rose overnight. No, it rose quite a lot.”
“The market price rose? There’s no way a wasteland left untouched for ten years rose in price overnight. Just how much do you want?”
The landowner glanced around nervously, then answered in a voice that seemed to crawl into the floor.
“Six silver coins per pyeong…… no, I would need seven.”
For a moment, the circuits in my head came to a halt.
Seven silver coins per pyeong?
That was more than three times the price he had named yesterday.
It was not a price one could demand for some backwater land on the outskirts of Pellua.
At this point, it was practically the same as openly saying he would not sell me the land.
“Ha.”
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it.
This was not a simple change of heart.
His anxiously trembling pupils and his behavior, as if watching for someone’s reaction.
The instincts I had honed as the heir of a merchant company, after experiencing every sort of scheme and intrigue, reacted sharply.
“Who was it?”
When I wiped the smile from my face and asked in a cold, sunken voice, the landowner’s shoulders flinched.
“I’m asking who is playing tricks behind the scenes. In Pellua, there are only a few men who could seize your merchant house by the throat and shake it.”
Overwhelmed by my pressure, the landowner finally looked as if he were about to cry and raised the white flag.
“I-I’m sorry! A message came from the Muller Merchant Company. They threatened to cut off every grain transaction our merchant house supplies if we sold the land to Lord Elpanso…… I have to make a living too!”
The Muller Merchant Company.
The moment I heard that name, the greasy face of that potbellied chief merchant, who had laughed at me as if looking at a bug, came to mind.
Back when Father was alive, he was a hyena-like man who would step aside and bow at the mere sight of Carnoble’s banner.
And as soon as I ruined the company, he was one of the first to rise up and tear into Father’s legacy.
“The Muller Merchant Company, is it……”
I looked up at the ceiling in disbelief, then could not hold back the faint snort of laughter that slipped out.
It was ridiculous.
The pettiness of obstructing me with such shallow merchant tricks and power.
And at the same time, the stupidity of crawling of his own accord before the wheels of a vast Industrial Revolution that he could never dare stop.
“I understand. I fully understand your position, sir.”
Taking back the pouch of gold coins at my breast, I turned around leisurely.
“But sir, you’ll regret this a little.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by……”
Toward the bewildered voice coming from behind me, I answered with a cold smile.
“Because this was your last chance to salvage even two silver coins.”