Chapter 29: Trip to London (1)

“My name is Jane Spencer. This is my first time meeting someone from Joseon. Are all Joseon people as handsome as Confucius?”

When Miss Jane Spencer suddenly spoke like that, my face turned red from embarrassment, and Yuli Briner spoke up instead.

“Hahaha, we also thought he was a very handsome boy when we first saw Viktor. However, not all Joseon people are this handsome.”

Since I had been greeted, I had to introduce myself as well.

“My name is Viktor Lee. I currently live in Primorsky Krai, Russia. Since I am still young, please feel free to speak comfortably.”

I hadn’t said it until now, but I was quite handsome.

I wondered if the god who dropped me into this world had deliberately chosen a handsome boy to transfer me into, just as they had granted me various Large Mammal Command.

In any case, since I had received a compliment, I had to return the courtesy.

Miss Jane Spencer was also quite a beauty, so I gave her a fitting greeting.

“It is an honor to meet the beautiful Miss Jane Spencer. I’m sure many young noblemen in the United Kingdom will be quite fond of you once you make your debut in society.”

“Actually, I’d rather follow in my Father’s footsteps and work than get married, but my Father is being so persistent that I have no choice but to go to London.”

This young lady seemed to want to run her own business, much like Lee Geom-min in Shanghai.

Edward Spencer, who was listening nearby, spoke up.

“I would truly love to hand the business over to you if I could, but what can I do when you were born a woman? The world isn’t easy enough yet for a woman to do this kind of work. Besides, you are sixteen now. If you don’t debut in society now, how will you ever get married?”

Regardless of time or place, there is a certain marriageable age, and missing it makes it difficult to wed anywhere.

At this point in time, the marriageable age for women is up to twenty.

Once they pass twenty, they are already called old maids.

British women introduce themselves to the marriage market through a social debut called a ‘debutante,’ which usually happens between the ages of fifteen and eighteen.

Since Miss Jane Spencer was sixteen, it was the perfect age.

Usually, if a woman cannot find a groom after participating for about three seasons, it is said she will never find one.

This is because attending social seasons is a significant economic burden even for the gentry class, making it hard for families to provide further support.

Of course, for a wealthy merchant, such a specific number isn’t set.

In the first place, it was unlikely that the only daughter of a wealthy merchant would fail to find a match within three seasons.

Through this introduction, I became close enough to Jane Spencer to be a conversation partner, largely because I was young enough that there was no worry of a scandal.

Mr. Edward Spencer and Jane Spencer called me Victor, in the British style.

We sat at the same table and conversed, and Yuli Briner spoke about the time I fought against the Honghuzi Ma-jeok while introducing me.

“Wow, Victor, you actually fought those Honghuzi thieves?”

“In the place where we live, it’s difficult for the Russian Army to protect us, so we have no choice but to protect ourselves. That’s why everyone has to step up if they know how to fire a gun, even if they are young.”

Yuli added.

“Even though Victor speaks modestly, he is a great marksman. I personally saw him take down five of the Wolf Pack in an instant.”

When Yuli Briner went to India with me last year, his English was only at a basic level for daily life, but after traveling to Shanghai a few more times since then, his English had become very fluent.

Yuli spoke very interestingly about the action in Sidimi or the events when we first met. Mr. Edward Spencer, being a man, was also very interested in such tales of action.

Edward Spencer asked.

“But Victor is that wealthy at such a young age? Was there such great wealth in the country of Joseon?”

Yuli Briner replied.

“Anyone can become rich if they can bring Goryeo Ginseng out of Joseon.”

Upon hearing the words Goryeo Ginseng, both Father and daughter, Edward and Jane, exclaimed at the same time.

“Ah!”

The term Goryeo Ginseng is a magic word in East Asia.

Westerners who have come to East Asia know very well how precious Goryeo Ginseng is to the people there.

Jane said.

“I haven’t seen Goryeo Ginseng yet. Could the Mandrake spoken of in the West be Goryeo Ginseng?”

I shook my head.

“The history of the Mandrake’s name is much older than that of Goryeo Ginseng, so that’s likely not it.”

“But the stories about them looking like humans are the same. They say it looks like a woman, and they say Mandrakes look like women as well.”

“They look that way depending on how you see them, so similar legends must have formed. Though they are a bit different from the legends, Mandrakes are actually existing plants.”

“I’ve lived in Hong Kong until now, but I’ve never seen Goryeo Ginseng. It’s a shame; if you hadn’t sold it all in Hong Kong, I might have been able to see it.”

“Ah, I have a little bit left that I didn’t sell, so I’ll show you, Jane.”

I hurried to my room and picked out a few roots of Ginseng.

While disposing of the Ginseng in Hong Kong, I had set aside about 10 geun just in case I needed it elsewhere.

Since Jane said she had never seen Goryeo Ginseng, I thought she would like it if I showed it to her.

I specifically picked out roots that looked even more like humans and showed them to them.

Jane was amazed at how the Ginseng looked like a person and said.

“It really does look like a person. Is it originally this red?”

“It turns red during the processing to prevent spoilage when selling it abroad.

In Joseon, white ones are also traded a lot, but we distinguish the two and call them Hongsam and White Ginseng.”

“This looks really interesting. Can’t I have just one root?”

When Jane asked for a root of Ginseng as a gift, Edward spoke sternly and scolded his daughter.

“Jane, Goryeo Ginseng is an expensive item exchanged for its weight in gold. Moreover, one that looks like a person like this is particularly expensive.”

I smiled and stopped Edward.

“Even if it is expensive, it only trades at high prices in China; it is much cheaper in Joseon. Besides, I am a Ginseng merchant, so I can give one root as a gift to a friend anytime.”

I continued speaking as I presented the root that looked most like a human to Jane as a gift.

“Last year, I also gifted two pounds of Ginseng to a lady named Lee Geom-min whom I met in Shanghai. One root is truly nothing, so please don’t worry about it.”

Upon hearing the name Lee Geom-min, Jane said.

“If it’s Lee Geom-min, could it be Lee Geom-min, the daughter of the Sassoon Merchant House Comprador, Ah Rin?”

“Oh, Jane, you know Lee Geom-min too?”

“She’s someone who attended boarding school with me in Hong Kong. She went to the boarding school along with her two younger sisters, Lee Geom-yeong and Lee Geom-seon. Since Lee Geom-min had a large age gap, we weren’t very close, but I was quite close with Geom-yeong and Geom-seon. However, she left the boarding school two years ago to get married.”

Since Ah Rin himself said he had learned English while attending a Western school in Hong Kong, it was perfectly understandable that he sent his daughters to a boarding school in Hong Kong to study.

But the fact that he sent his adopted daughters, Lee Geom-yeong and Lee Geom-seon, to the same school suggested he really raised them without discrimination.

In China, the status of adopted sons and daughters isn’t that high.

Especially if there are biological children, their legal status is completely different from Western adopted children.

It is even common for relatives to seize all of the adoptive parents’ assets if there is no biological child, even if there are adopted ones.

China is a place where bloodline is valued much more than upbringing, and unless the adopted children are from the same clan, they are essentially close to the status of slightly higher-ranking servants or maids.

So, I had thought Ah Rin regarded Lee Geom-yeong and Lee Geom-seon as something close to the Chinese concept of adopted daughters, but seeing as he sent them to the same boarding school, it was clear he regarded them much more closely than that.

I considered telling her about the three sisters’ action I had seen on the streets of Shanghai last year, but stopped, thinking it might be an insult to the Lee sisters.

As we chatted like that, the reason why I was going all the way to London eventually came out.

“So, you are going to the United Kingdom to get rubber tree saplings?”

“Yes. I heard that two years ago, a British man brought tens of thousands of rubber tree seeds from Brazil and grew them into saplings at a botanical garden in London. Since I have a bit of land in the suburbs of Singapore, I plan to get rubber saplings from London and start a Rubber Plantation there.”

“But will there be such a demand for rubber?”

“The reason there hasn’t been demand until now is simply because people didn’t know the properties of rubber. I believe the demand for rubber will gradually increase.”

“Then do you have someone to connect you in London?”

“For now, I have a slight connection with the people of the Sassoon Family, so I’m thinking of asking them. If not, I’ll have to find another way.”

Edward and Jane were very surprised that I possessed such extensive knowledge despite my young age.

“I thought I could take over my Father’s business even if I am a woman, but seeing Victor, all that confidence has vanished. I don’t think I could ever do it like Victor.”

Yuli Briner, who was listening, laughed and said.

“It’s the same for everyone else, so there’s no need to fall into self-deprecation. Even the people of our Sidimi are surprised by Victor’s wisdom. I myself failed greatly in business once, but thanks to Victor, I was able to return as a merchant. This kind of talent is something even we admire, so Miss Jane does not need to lower herself.”

Edward also said.

“It’s the same for me. Even after just a little conversation, I can tell that Victor knows much more than I do.”

Our business talk grew deeper, eventually leading to discussions about oil, fur, and the whaling industry.

“So, you’re saying, Victor, that the future of oil isn’t just for kerosene as it is now, but that it could become a fuel that replaces coal?”

“That is correct. Oil certainly has that potential. Moreover, oil has the great advantage of being a liquid, which eliminates the need for a stoker.”

“But is oil really deposited all over the world as much as coal? If oil is only deposited in one place like the United States, it would be a useless discussion.”

“That’s why I think oil development might be a promising business for the future.”

“But that kind of mining industry depends too much on luck. Moreover, unlike other minerals, oil is something we haven’t experienced until now, so it’s even more difficult.”

“There are certainly those drawbacks. However, my point was that it is a waste to use a resource like oil only for kerosene.”

Jane chimed in.

“Some people are happy that the demand for whale oil has decreased thanks to oil. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but they say whales have decreased in the ocean because they caught too many to get whale oil.”

“That’s probably true. If they keep catching them like that, even animals are bound to decrease. Right now, the Russian fur industry is also in an uproar because fur-bearing animals have decreased.”

“Does that mean fur will become expensive? I heard that fur-bearing animals are inexhaustible in Siberia.”

“No matter how many there are, they are bound to decrease if they are caught like they are now. People mistakenly think Siberia is an endless land, but that can’t be true. There is already a lot of talk that the Russian Government should crack down before the animals go extinct because the number of fur-bearing animals has already decreased significantly.”

While we were sharing these stories on the ship, we arrived in the United Kingdom.

Edward asked about our lodging.

“So, where will you be staying? If I had a house in London, I would let you stay there, but I’ve lived in Hong Kong for so long that I’m in a position where I have to stay at a relative’s house in London myself.”

Yuli replied.

“For now, we should stay at a hotel. For a merchant who has come from abroad, there is no better place than a hotel.”

Edward wrote down his relative’s address and requested that I definitely contact him, and Jane also asked me to send her a letter.

After parting ways with the Spencers, we unpacked at a hotel and sent word to the Sassoon Merchant House.

Ruben Sassoon, the fourth son of the Sassoon Family, sent word that he wanted to meet me, and we met Ruben Sassoon again in London, not India.

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