182nd. That’s what it means.
Nam Cho-gyeol took the remaining money and quietly left Gaebong as if he was running away in the middle of the night.
He did that because he was afraid that Sambobang’s Nokdam-pyeong might find out and send someone to kill him.
On the way to Hwasangchon, Namchogyeol’s mind was complicated.
‘I need to find people to work with the maid… … .’
I had been sick for the past two years, so I didn’t have much cash left. I had to leave in a hurry, so I couldn’t sell my property, so I didn’t have enough money for immediate expenses.
But when I saw my beloved granddaughter, my worries flew away.
He was brimming with energy, having suffered so much from that guy named Nokdampyeong.
“Is it that good?”
“yes.”
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me earlier? If you had, I could have gone to Hwasangchon sooner.”
“Grandpa isn’t feeling well, so how can I talk about that?”
“Tsk tsk! I see.”
Nam Cho-gyeol felt frustrated, but tried to shake it off.
I never even dreamed of confronting Nokdam-pyeong or taking revenge on him.
As I walked leisurely, a village of firefighters appeared in the distance.
When they finally arrived at Hwasangchon, Namchogyeol looked a bit confused.
It was gloomy to think about what the inn, which had been closed for two whole years, would look like.
‘Should I have just handed it over to Jang Yi-yu cheaply back then?’
Nam Soo-kyung, who was looking around with curious eyes, said.
“This road used to be quiet, but there are a lot of people? Grandpa, don’t you think our inn will do well?”
“I see.”
It’s not that there weren’t any, but there were quite a few people on the way to the riverside.
Nam Cho-gyeol, who was feeling puzzled, spoke to a peddler who happened to be passing by.
“Excuse me. Let me ask you something.”
“yes?”
“You seem to be a merchant, but why are you going this way?”
“That’s to cross the Yellow River.”
The porter looked at Namchogyeol with a face that asked why he was asking such a thing.
“I thought Naruto moved down there, but he moved it back?”
“Oh, I heard that the downstream area was completely destroyed a month ago.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Namchogyeol felt uneasy for some reason.
When I thought about why, it was because of what Jang Yiyu said.
“What’s wrong, Grandpa?”
Nam Cho-gyeol quickly came to his senses at his granddaughter’s call.
“No. I just remembered that Jang Yiyu said something strange.”
“What did you say?”
“Who is running the inn or something?”
“Grandpa, would you like a guest house?”
“okay.”
“Did you sell it?”
“How could that be? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have asked you to go back to the inn.”
Nam Cho-gyeol, whose heart was starting to feel uneasy, increased his speed and passed through the village.
As I followed the path into the forest for a while, I saw a familiar inn in the distance.
“Grandpa, there are people coming and going in the inn!”
“… … .”
Nam Cho-gyeol was so shocked that he couldn’t speak.
Soon, I was so angry that my heart started pounding.
What kind of people shamelessly take over other people’s guest rooms and do business with them?
Nam Cho-gyeol opened the door to the guest house and went in, asking the old man at the counter a question.
“Old man, are you the owner here?”
“Oh my! That can’t be true. I’m just an old man who works at the checkout counter. So why are you looking for the owner?”
Sang Il-woon, the quick-witted old man of Hwasangchon, looked at the guest with a suspicious look.
“Call the owner of this place right now.”
“What is going on… … .”
“I have something to confirm with the person who calls himself the owner of this inn.”
As the atmosphere became tense, Sang Il-woon called out to Sang-do, who was standing awkwardly behind him.
“Sangdo, go and bring Prince Yeon.”
“yes.”
As soon as he answered, Sangdo ran outside naked.
Nam Cho-gyeol, who was standing with a stern face, asked.
“Is the person named Yeon Gongja the owner of this place?”
“Yes, I know that. But why are you doing that?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Nam Cho-gyeol looked around the guest house carefully.
It was old but clean, as if they hired someone to clean it.
Nam Cho-gyeol, who was tired from walking for over an hour, sat down in the restaurant.
After a while, Jeomsoi came with a young, pale-haired boy.
When Namchogyeol glared at the young man, Sangdo quickly spoke to Yeonjeokha.
“Confucius, they have asked me to bring you here.”
“Oh, really? Go and take care of business.”
“yes.”
As the merchant retreated, he approached the old man and the young woman.
“You came looking for me?”
Nam Cho-gyeol raised his voice as soon as a young man with a fierce face approached.
“You’re the owner of this place? How shameless! Who are you to buy a guest house that I didn’t even sell!”
“I bought it from the previous owner, Seok-in?”
“The previous owner was a stone man? Don’t talk nonsense and leave when I speak nicely! If not, I will report you to the Gaebongbu and bring trouble on you!”
Yeonjeokha blinked, wondering what was going on, and asked.
“But who are you, old man, and why are you telling me to leave?”
“Who are you? Huh! I am the owner of this inn.”
“That can’t be true.”
As Yeonjeok-ha tilted her head, Nam Soo-kyung intervened.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty. I don’t know what happened, but this inn belongs to my grandfather. He was not feeling well two years ago, so he closed the inn.”
“Huh? You said it was closed? That can’t be. It was clearly open for business.”
“No, really. My grandfather closed it two years ago because he wasn’t feeling well and there were no customers.”
“… … .”
Yeonjeokha, who had been standing there blankly, gestured to Sangdo.
“yes?”
“Bring old man Shim.”
“yes.”
This time, Sangdo ran to this floor.
Soon after, Simtong came down with a sleepy, haggard face.
“Confucius, have you found me?”
“Old Man Shim.”
“yes?”
Simtong belatedly noticed Yeonjeokha’s serious face and looked around.
“This old man is the owner of the inn. He said he closed it two years ago because he was not feeling well.”
“That, that’s impossible. I clearly bought it from a person named Seok-in. And wasn’t Confucius there too?”
Nam Cho-gyeol, who was watching the conversation between the two, could roughly guess what was going on.
“Let me see the contract.”
Nam Cho-kyung, Nam Soo-kyung, Yeon Jeok-ha, and Sim Tong sat around a table in the first-floor restaurant.
There were two documents in the center of the table.
It was the contract that Yeonjeok-ha had and the house deed of Namcho-gyeol.
Namchogyeol explained it slowly and carefully, as if he was teaching.
“Your contract says Seok-in, but look at the name Nam-cho-gyeol written on the house deed. I am Nam-cho-gyeol. While I was out of the guest house, a swindler named Seok-in sold me to you.”
Yeonjeokha, who had been gritting his teeth, spoke softly.
“Old Man Shim. Go to Gaebong right now and bring those three guys.”
“yes.”
Simtong got up from his seat and went outside.
An awkward silence fell between the three remaining people.
Nam Cho-gyeol, who had been sitting there blankly, once again gathered the deed into his bosom.
“Huh. It’ll take quite some time to go to Gaebong and catch them… … .”
It takes a full hour (2 hours) just to go back and forth.
I said that because I thought it would take me until evening to get three people there.
Yeonjeokha muttered as she picked up her teacup.
“It won’t take long.”
Has it been about half an hour?
The door to the guest room opened wide and Simtong came in.
Nam Cho-gyeol and Nam Soo-kyung thought he had come back because he had left something behind.
“Your Majesty, I think I have been wronged.”
“You got hit?”
“Those three aren’t in the opening.”
“None?”
“Yes. A guy named So-sam suddenly quit drinking a month ago. When I looked into the Haomun in Gaebong, I found out that So-sam, Hwangso, and Seok-in were all hanging out together. All three are outsiders, and they have been in Gaebong for less than a year.”
Nam Cho-gyeol, who was listening, frowned.
It seemed like the old man and the young man were up to something.
‘You went to Gaebong and found out all that in just half an hour? That’s ridiculous… ‘
just as expected?
Suddenly the old man glared and said.
“You punk. Didn’t you conspire with those guys to swindle us? It’s really suspicious that you came here and acted like the owner as soon as the inn was sold! If you tell the truth, I’ll let you live, but if you lie, I’ll cut off your limbs and feed them to pigs.”
Nam Cho-gyeol jumped in surprise.
“What nonsense are you talking about! I came here to check on Jang Yiyu because he said something seemed to have happened at the inn!”
Nam Cho-gyeol felt uncomfortable talking about his granddaughter, so he put Jang Yi-yu first.
“Who is this guy Jang Yi-yu?”
“He is a servant of Mandeoksangbang. He came to see me yesterday and told me that the owner of the inn had changed.”
“Mandeoksangbang? Wait. I’ll bring my Jang Iyuran.”
The pain in my heart burst out again.
This time he came back after only one meal (about 30 minutes), and there was a real Jang Yiyu on his shoulder.
As soon as Simtong put down Jang Yiyu, he asked with a murderous expression on his face.
“What did you say to that old man yesterday?”
Jang Yi-yu, who was suddenly dragged in, spoke stammeringly with a pale face.
“The dog sold the inn to someone and then asked why he was trying to sell it to me again.”
“So you’re saying that old man sold the inn?”
“I ran into Mr. Nam on the street the day before yesterday. He said he was going to sell me the inn that day, but when I went to check, the new owner was already running the place… … I complained.”
When things didn’t work out as he had hoped, Simtong glared at Jang Yiyu with eyes that looked like they were going to devour him.
Then, Nam Cho-gyeol quickly explained the whole story to Jang Yi-yu, who was trembling.
“… … That’s why this person brought you here. It seems that the person called Yeon Gongja was tricked by the stone man and bought the inn for 20,000 nyang.”
“Huh! You bought this inn for two thousand nyang?”
Instead of answering, Nam Cho-gyeol pointed to the contract.
Jang Yi-yu carefully unfolded the contract and read it, speaking in a regretful tone.
“Ah! I heard that this kind of scam is rampant in big cities these days. They say there are people who pretend to be the owner of a house and run away after selling it… … .”
Simtong, who had been listening, suddenly shouted.
“Don’t talk nonsense! There’s no guarantee that you all didn’t conspire to do this!”
“Oh my! Absolutely not. I am a member of Mandeoksangbang. Why would I do something like that?”
“I don’t know if you’re from Mandeoksangbang or Mantteoksangbang. Anyway, I’m suspicious of all of you guys. And the fact that you showed up right after Confucius bought the guest house.”
“Honey, that is a very absurd statement. I was just thinking about buying the inn again because I heard the ferry port had been moved.”
“quiet.”
Finally, Yeonjeokha opened her mouth.
Simtong, who had been urging with a fierce expression, slowly lowered his head.
As his heart sank, Nam Cho-gyeol, Nam Su-gyeong, and Jang Yi-yu also looked around.
“No matter what anyone says, there is one thing that will not change. I bought this guest house for twelve thousand nyang. I will ask Sosam, Hwangso, and Seokin directly whether it is a fraud or not.”
“Excuse me, Confucius, what is that?”
Nam Cho-gyeol looked at Yeon Jeok-ha with anxious eyes.
I felt cheap seeing him keep emphasizing the word ‘bought’.
“The old man didn’t sell the inn. But I bought the inn from someone else. Right?”
“yes.”
“That’s what I mean.”
‘This guy is like a robber.’
Nam Cho-gyeol frowned openly.
It seems like they are trying to just move on without any hesitation.
As things turned out this way, I began to doubt whether I had even paid for it.
‘I guess I should report it to the police.’
I was concerned that the old man seemed like a martial artist, but I couldn’t just let it go.
“Old Man Shim.”
“yes.”
“Bring them here. Bring them back alive.”
“I will do as you command!”
Simtong was so anxious that he left the inn without even packing his bags.
Wuxia,