The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan Chapter 151 : The Ace in the Hole (2)

Ak Simin stared blankly at the alcohol inside the jar.

"...Namgung Il, what on earth is this?"

"It's alcohol."

"..."

He knew that much without him having to say it.

What Ak Simin was curious about was why he had brought in new alcohol when the original alcohol hadn't even sold out.

"We haven't even sold all the alcohol we have left, so what are you going to do by bringing in more high-grade cheongju?"

"It's not high-grade cheongju."

"What?"

"This is the ace in the hole I've prepared."

Ace in the hole?

As soon as he heard those words, Ak Simin looked back into the jar with a changed expression.

'Co to think of it... this seems to have a different scent from high-grade cheongju.'

He hadn't noticed it at first, but now he could clearly sll it.

Sniff, sniff—.

Following the fragrant scent, Ak Simin unknowingly sniffed at the alcohol like a dog.

What on earth was this alcohol that it gave off such a captivating fragrance?

Even Ak Simin, who didn't usually enjoy alcohol, was on the verge of drooling.

"...!"

As drool started to drip, Ak Simin belatedly wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

His face was dazed, as if he didn't know why he was acting this way.

Namgung Il held sothing out to Ak Simin.

"Want to have a taste?"

"..."

What Namgung Il was holding out was a small gourd dipper.

Inside it was the alcohol that had just stimulated Ak Simin's salivary glands, and Ak Simin reached for the gourd as if possessed.

Gulp— Gulp—.

Without a mont's hesitation, Ak Simin tilted the gourd vertically and poured the alcohol into his mouth.

Seeing that montum, it seed he would drink all the alcohol without leaving a single drop.

Since it was awkward to snatch it away midway, Namgung Il just watched him quietly.

'I didn't give it to him to drink it all...'

Still, seeing that reaction, it seed the quality was quite good.

If it had tasted bad, Ak Simin wouldn't have poured the alcohol into his mouth like a man who had starved for days.

Just then, with an ecstatic expression, Ak Simin took the empty gourd from his face.

"How is it? Is it drinkable?"

"It's not just drinkable!"

"..."

"What on earth is this? It's the first ti in my life I've had such delicious alcohol!"

Ak Simin's voice was quite excited.

The lingering taste of the alcohol was that intense.

Namgung Il, with a light smile on his lips, answered Ak Simin's question.

"It's called Luhuanju."

"Luhuanju?"

"It ans alcohol mixed with blood and sweat."

Of course, Ak Simin would never imagine that the blood and sweat were Namgung Il's.

'I was worried because ti was short, but it seems to have turned out quite well.'

Originally, alcohol was a drink that got better with ti.

But if he opened it after the Clear Bright Festival was over, there would be no point in making this alcohol.

When he calculated the ti, the point where the taste would beco reasonably good was today, and Namgung Il had waited until the limit to bring out his ace in the hole today.

"Luhuanju... If it's this, people will definitely like it!"

"..."

"Well done! I don't know how you got it, but with this alcohol, we'll be able to turn the tide."

"But there's one problem."

As Namgung Il said that, Ak Simin imdiately tilted his head with a puzzled look.

What on earth could be the problem with such delicious alcohol?

He thought for a mont, but Ak Simin couldn't figure out what the problem was.

"What's the problem?"

"The quantity is far too insufficient."

"...?"

Hearing Namgung Il's words, Ak Simin looked around.

One, two, three...

Ak Simin began to count the jars that had been unloaded from the cart in his head.

'...Ten?'

There were a total of ten jars.

If one were to drink it personally, it was by no ans a small amount, but if thought of for business purposes, it was an amount that could be called ambiguous.

"Is this all there is?"

"More will be coming tomorrow, but this is it for today."

Ten jars of alcohol. That was the maximum amount of Luhuanju that Namgung Il could brew in a single day.

So, Namgung Il had made a total of twenty jars of alcohol over two days.

Half of them were for today, and the rest would be brought by the general manager tomorrow afternoon, just like now.

"Uh... then what do we do?"

Ak Simin muttered as if he were in trouble.

If the alcohol was this delicious, it would sell like hotcakes from the mont they started selling it.

This amount would surely be gone in less than two shichen (four hours).

"There is one way."

"...?"

"Since the quantity is insufficient, we can just raise the price of the alcohol accordingly."

The thod Namgung Il suggested was a very simple principle.

As he said, the more they raised the price, the more they could compensate for the insufficient quantity, but to be honest, Ak Simin was a little worried.

'The alcohol called Luhuanju is definitely delicious. But...'

If the price was too high, people would not be willing to drink the alcohol.

Wasn't that why they had tried to lower the cost of the high-grade cheongju as much as possible?

Of course, from the perspective of having already tasted Luhuanju, Ak Simin was willing to drink it even if it was sowhat expensive, but it was unknown what other custors would think.

"How much are you thinking of selling the Luhuanju for?"

Ak Simin asked carefully.

At that, as if he had already thought about it, the price imdiately ca out of Namgung Il's mouth.

Ak Simin's eyes couldn't help but widen at that mont.

"Fifty Flying Dragon Coins."

"F-fifty?"

"If we sell it at that price per bottle, it will sell well enough."

"Uh..."

Ak Simin was at a loss for words for a mont.

Didn't fifty Flying Dragon Coins an five silver nyang?

Of course, it was extrely expensive for alcohol, so it was questionable whether custors would willingly pay for it.

As if he had noticed Ak Simin's concern, Namgung Il said with a calm expression.

"Don't worry, Senior Ak."

"..."

"This Luhuanju is well worth that price."

A strong conviction was felt in Namgung Il's statent.

***

Namgung Il was strolling sowhere, holding a bottle of alcohol.

'He was definitely around here.'

Just then, as if he had spotted soone, Namgung Il imdiately turned and walked forward.

A person drinking alone in solitude, as if lost in his own world.

Although Namgung Il approached, Old Man Heo was drinking from the bottle as if he had no interest.

'My, he's drunk a lot.'

On the table where Old Man Heo was sitting, there were many empty bottles.

In contrast, the only side dish was a single plate of at.

Even that one plate was almost untouched, looking like new at a glance.

"Sir."

"...Huh?"

"Have so side dishes too. You'll ruin your stomach otherwise."

As Namgung Il spoke to him, Old Man Heo finally took his mouth off the bottle and turned his head.

"You've co at a good ti. Go over there and bring a few more bottles of alcohol."

"Are you drinking more?"

"Of course. This much doesn't even tickle my liver yet."

Truly an amazing tolerance for alcohol.

At that rate, he was really drinking alcohol like water.

Namgung Il was also a bit of an alcohol lover, but he felt he would have to yield a few steps before Old Man Heo.

"Does the alcohol suit your taste?"

"Well, it's just high-grade cheongju. Nothing special."

"If it's nothing special, why do you keep drinking it?"

"All alcohol is the sa."

Old Man Heo had been drinking quite a lot of alcohol today, following yesterday.

From Namgung Il's perspective, it was a very welco action, but he was a little curious as to why Old Man Heo was continuously drinking in a place like this.

"If you want to drink special alcohol, why don't you go to the Azure Dragon Tavern? I heard they have a very wide variety there."

"There? Forget it."

"..."

"I just like to sit comfortably and drink. I went there for a mont, but I couldn't even get in."

So he had just been drinking here all this ti.

Just then, Old Man Heo muttered sothing with a sowhat bitter expression.

"And anyway, even if I go there, the alcohol I'm looking for won't be there."

"...?"

"It was the most delicious alcohol of my life. After drinking it, all other alcohols felt the sa."

From Old Man Heo's tone and gaze, it felt as if he were recalling his first love from the depths of his mory.

Indeed, to a man called the Dayti Drunkard, alcohol was both family and lover.

He didn't know what kind of alcohol he was thinking of to make such an expression, but Namgung Il brought up the reason he had co to find Old Man Heo.

"Please try this."

"...?"

"It's a new alcohol from our tavern."

As Namgung Il placed the bottle on the table, Old Man Heo looked at Namgung Il with a suspicious gaze.

"A new alcohol? How much is it?"

"Fifty Flying Dragon Coins."

"Forget it. Just bring the cheongju I was drinking."

"Don't worry. Since you're a regular, I'm giving it to you for free as a special service."

Namgung Il said with a business smile.

Old Man Heo, who was still looking at him with a suspicious look.

Soon, as if he had realized sothing, a hollow laugh escaped Old Man Heo.

"Are you asking to promote this alcohol to people like yesterday?"

"Well, there is that intention, but you can just give your honest opinion."

"You're so greedy for money. To think you'd use this old man for sothing like that again."

"Greedy for money? I'm doing this because I think you're soone who can recognize the true value of this alcohol. Well, you get to drink a bottle of alcohol for free, and I get to have this alcohol certified by custors. Isn't it a win-win situation for both of us?"

As he spoke so confidently, Old Man Heo's laughter burst out even more.

"Did you say fifty Flying Dragon Coins? If it's not worth that price, I'll shout to people that it's tasteless."

"As you wish."

"..."

Leaving behind Namgung Il who answered calmly, Old Man Heo looked at the bottle placed before him.

"Hmm?"

Just then, as if he had noticed sothing, Old Man Heo's eyes widened slightly.

The nostalgic scent that had been flowing from that bottle since a while ago.

From the mont he slled it, suspicion arose on Old Man Heo's face, and that soon turned into a strong conviction.

Grip—.

As soon as he was convinced, Old Man Heo picked up the bottle and took a sip.

"Th-this is...!"

"..."

"Luhuanju... It's definitely Luhuanju!"

Old Man Heo shouted in an excited voice and stood up from his seat.

His voice was so loud that the gazes of the people around naturally turned to where Old Man Heo was.

"Where on earth did you get this... How did you find the alcohol I've been searching for so long..."

"Did you like the alcohol?"

"..."

It wasn't just a matter of liking it.

Because the alcohol he had just drunk was the alcohol he had been longing for and searching for for a long ti.

The owner of the first love that Old Man Heo had just shown in his eyes was none other than Luhuanju.

'As expected, he knew about Luhuanju.'

Namgung Il had thought that a drinker of Old Man Heo's level might know about it.

In the past, Namgung Il had released the Luhuanju he had personally brewed to the market a few tis.

The Luhuanju released at that ti had started to gain word of mouth among drinkers, and now it had even been given the title of a legendary fine wine.

"..."

The legendary fine wine, Luhuanju.

The alcohol that Namgung Il had occasionally made for fun was already receiving such treatnt, and Old Man Heo had a face that couldn't understand how Luhuanju, which had only remained as a legend, had appeared in a place like this.

"The taste is a bit weak, but... this is definitely the alcohol I drank back then."

"..."

"How did you get the alcohol I couldn't find even after offering a hundred gold nyang..."

Had the value of Luhuanju risen that much?

Although it was true that the value of alcohol increased with the passage of ti, Namgung Il had never imagined that his alcohol would have beco so precious.

"A hundred gold nyang?"

At Old Man Heo's words, the people around began to stir.

Luhuanju and a hundred gold nyang. And Old Man Heo's excited expression.

As all these things overlapped, people were taking an interest without him even having to promote it.

Gulp— Gulp—.

Just then, as if he couldn't hold it in, Old Man Heo tilted the bottle into his mouth again.

It would have been different if he hadn't drunk it at all, but after just wetting his throat, his tongue had been throwing a tantrum, demanding Luhuanju.

"Ah..."

In the end, after emptying the bottle in an instant, Old Man Heo looked at the empty bottle with a sense of loss.

And his gaze turned to Namgung Il as if asking for help.

As if he were about to kneel, Old Man Heo began to plead with Namgung Il.

"Th-there's more Luhuanju, right?"

"Yes, we are selling it at the very affordable price of fifty Flying Dragon Coins."

"T-ten bottles... no, bring as much as I can buy with this!"

Old Man Heo shouted and placed a heavy money pouch on the floor.

He didn't know why Old Man Heo had that much money, but that wasn't particularly important to Namgung Il.

"Thank you, custor."

If a custor asks, you just sell the goods.

Looking around, he could see a lot of custors who had already placed their orders.

(End of Chapter)