Furs brought from Joseon were stacked neatly onto the schooner.
There were furs prepared as seed money for crossing the border, and there were also furs I had purchased separately in Joseon.
Furs were the main item my Father used to smuggle, but since we had ten horses this time, we could prepare far more than before.
Yuli Briner, who had decided to accompany us, was struck with admiration when he saw the quantity of furs being loaded onto the schooner.
“Whoa, with this much, it’ll be a decent sum of money. Isn’t this too much for a single fur trader to buy?”
I replied with a smile.
“That’s because you don’t know the capital strength of fur wholesalers, Yuli.
The fur traders in Vladivostok are so wealthy that there’s no way they couldn’t afford a payment for this amount of fur.”
“I suppose you learned a lot following your Father around?”
“I learned enough to get by.”
“Do you have a fur trader you know well?”
“There’s a trader my Father used to deal with. I’ll go there first, and if they try to lowball the price because I’m young, I’ll have to look elsewhere.”
Three people—the captain Fridolf Gek, Yuli Briner, and myself—along with four horses to carry the furs, set off from Sidimi with the boat heavily laden.
Yuli Briner boarded the schooner to assist Fridolf Gek.
Even if it was a small schooner that two people could operate, having an extra hand made things that much easier.
I sailed to Vladivostok while learning how to operate the schooner from Fridolf and Yuli.
Fridolf was such an experienced navigator that he was nicknamed ‘Skipper,’ and it took us about half a day to reach the port of Vladivostok.
Vladivostok was a city like a melting pot of races.
Not only Russians but also Chinese and Joseon people lived there, along with many ethnic minorities of the region like the Buryat and Yakuts.
No one looked twice at a Joseon boy leading horses laden with baggage.
Of course, Fridolf Gek and Yuli Briner were not the type of people to send a child like me off alone with expensive furs, so they followed behind me.
I had been to Vladivostok several times before.
Even if I didn’t know the geography of the port area perfectly, after walking a bit and asking people, I found a familiar road.
One could say the fur industry was the largest industry in Russia.
There were over ten quite large fur traders in Vladivostok.
They were all clustered in one area.
Due to the nature of the fur industry, they all had large courtyards, and their doors were wide open.
As I led the four horses into the courtyard of the regular fur trader I visited, the owner—a man nearly two meters tall with a sturdy build—was loudly ordering his clerks around.
“Check carefully to see if there are any damaged goods. If you mismanage furs even slightly, they’ll rot and have to be thrown away. If you ruin expensive furs because of your mistakes, I’ll beat you until your buttocks bleed.”
While shouting like that, he must have seen a trainee clerk make a mistake, as he ran over and yelled.
“Just because I’m shouting, why are you looking through them so hastily? Don’t you know that if management goes wrong, you don’t just throw away one skin, you could ruin dozens? It’s fine to be slow, so check them thoroughly. You idiot!”
And as I drove the horses into the yard, a clerk who also looked like an apprentice stepped in my way.
The owner ran over and scolded the clerk.
“You moron, can’t you tell at a glance that this is a customer bringing in furs? Don’t you know that Koryo-saram and the locals are our best customers?”
Then, seeing me, he shouted with a delighted face.
“Look who it is! Aren’t you Lee-gai’s son? How is it that your Father didn’t come, and you came alone? And who are those gentlemen behind you? You haven’t visited
once in the last few months; did something happen?”
In Hamgyeong-do, when introducing oneself, people often added ‘gai’ after their surname.
For example, if the surname was Kim, they would introduce themselves as Kim-gai, or if it was Jeong, as Jeong-gai.
Among Russians, many understood this as a suffix or the surname itself and called them as such.
This owner also called my Father Lee-gai.
A person who became famous in this manner was Heo-gai, a politician in the early days of the North Korean regime.
I spoke with a somber face.
“My Father met those Honghuzi bastards on his way back last time and passed away. That’s why I’ve moved to Russia for good, and the goods I brought this time will probably be the last. And these people are my guardians.”
The owner looked shocked at the news of my Father’s death and said:
“Oh my, Lee-gai died because he met the Honghuzi? Were you hurt anywhere? Did you hold the funeral for your Father?”
The owner became quite flustered and continued speaking.
“Look at my mind. Come inside and tell me the news. And you guardians, let’s all go inside and have some tea.”
The owner invited us into the shop and asked about my recent situation.
As I told the story of what had happened, the owner made an incredulous face at the part where I shot and killed all the Honghuzi who killed my Father.
Yuli Briner, who was listening nearby, spoke up.
“We didn’t see him kill the Honghuzi ourselves, but we did see him hunt a Wolf Pack. He caught five wolves with five bullets, exactly one wolf per bullet. So, I don’t think it would have been much different with the Honghuzi. I’m not sure if you know the name, but the hunter Mikhail Yankovsky guaranteed his skill, so there’s no doubt about it.”
“If it’s Mikhail Yankovsky, do you mean that Polish-born hunter who always wears sunglasses? Even though he doesn’t trade with our shop, he’s a famous hunter that everyone here knows. That man knows this boy?”
“He’s living with us in Sidimi right now. This child is also living with Skipper Gek here.”
When Yuli Briner introduced Fridolf Gek, the owner seemed to recognize the name and said warmly:
“If it’s Skipper Gek, I’ve heard the name. I heard you’re a great sailor, but didn’t they say you were on Askold Island?”
Since there weren’t many people in this region yet, people like Fridolf Gek or Mikhail Yankovsky could be considered local celebrities, so it seemed the owner had heard of him.
Fridolf Gek shook hands with the owner and said:
“I left Askold Island and have settled in Sidimi this time.”
The owner expressed his deep gratitude to Fridolf Gek and Yuli Briner.
“Considering my connection with this child’s Father, I should have become the boy’s guardian, but hearing that you two and Mikhail Yankovsky are his guardians relieves my worries. Please take good care of the boy in the future.”
Yuli shook his head and said:
“The boy is so smart and capable that, honestly, there isn’t much for us to do. We’re just letting people know that the boy isn’t alone.”
The owner nodded. After a few more exchanges, he went down to the courtyard to inspect the furs I had brought.
“These goods are particularly good. Especially these sable and fox furs; they’ll sell for quite a high price.”
Since I had no intention of returning to Joseon, I had liquidated all the assets my Father left behind to buy up furs, so I was able to gather much better items than my Father had in the past.
Also, I requested that the items entrusted by the siblings Gwi-hwan and Seon-hui, as well as furs entrusted by others, be kept separate and calculated individually.
Even though I said this was the last transaction, the owner did not lowball the fur prices; he paid the full price and even added an extra hundred Rubles, saying:
“I traded with your Father since long before you were born. It’s heartbreaking to hear the news of his passing. Take this money as my condolence gift.”
In this era, a hundred Rubles was a massive amount of money.
Compared to 21st-century Korea, it would be over ten million won, and considering the consumption level of this era, it was an amount I could live on for several years.
I tried to refuse at first because it was such a large sum, but the owner kept urging me to take it, and finally, even Fridolf and Yuli encouraged me to accept, so I had no choice but to take it.
As we left the shop, Fridolf Gek, seeing me receive over 3,000 Rubles for the furs, spoke in a surprised voice.
“I didn’t know furs were such expensive items.”
I answered.
“It’s 3,000 Rubles here, but by the time it reaches Saint Petersburg, it’ll be worth about 30,000 Rubles.”
Fridolf was startled and said:
“Then didn’t you sell it too cheap?”
Even though he had once ruined a business due to bad luck, Yuli Briner was from a merchant background and fully understood.
“Considering they have to be transported by land from here to Saint Petersburg, he got a pretty good price. There are no railroads, no ships, and the only way is to carry them by wagon. Given the distance, 3,000 Rubles is quite a fair deal. By the looks of it, knowing Viktor’s situation, the owner probably reduced his own profit a bit.”
I also nodded.
“He’s an honest merchant, even if he looks rough. It’s true he probably gave me a bit more. That’s why I tried to refuse the condolence money.”
Nodding at my words, Fridolf Gek said:
“Then we should head to Kunst and Albers now to buy what’s needed.”
“We should. That’s the only place where we can get the things we need.”
To say Kunst and Albers was the largest firm in this region was an understatement; it could be seen as the only trading company in the area.
Aside from things like fur or grain, Western industrial products couldn’t be found anywhere else but Kunst and Albers.
Fridolf continued.
“Even if you exclude the others’ shares and just count your own, you’ll have quite a bit left even after buying everything you need. There’s a bank here too, so how about depositing the remaining money in the bank?”
“Instead of that, how about I also invest in the ranch that Skipper and Mikhail Ivanovich are making?”
“Hmm? Would that be alright?”
“I’ll have to live in Sidimi from now on. Rather than a boy of my size reclaiming land and farming, wouldn’t it be better for me to run a ranch as well?”
When I first arrived in Russia, I had planned to have the people stay in Yeonchu while I went to Vladivostok to look for a way to go to Europe or the United States.
However, as an Asian and still a child, there was no way I could properly settle down if I went to Europe or the United States without a guardian.
Rather than doing that, it seemed better to wait until I got older while staying in Sidimi, where there were many trustworthy people.
If I invested in Fridolf and Mikhail’s ranch and became a joint partner, my position would be secured, and it would surely help Fridolf and Mikhail, who were short on capital.
When I explained this, Fridolf Gek nodded in agreement.
“Honestly, we’re very short on capital. We only have a few horses and can’t even afford to fence the ranch, so I’d be very happy if you became a partner. But my agreement isn’t enough; we need Mikhail Ivanovich’s consent to be certain.”
We talked as we entered Kunst and Albers.
When we went inside the shop, an employee came out to greet us.
Fridolf Gek said to the employee:
“Call the owner or the manager. I have agricultural machinery brought in from the United States and some other things I want to order separately.”
Although there were agricultural machines brought in from the United States, the farmers in this region were so poor that not even one a year sold properly.
When someone said they would buy such dead stock and order more, the manager rushed out.
The manager, who looked to be only in his early twenties, recognized Fridolf Gek.
“Aren’t you Skipper Gek? I am Adolf Vasilyevich Datan, the manager of Kunst and Albers. What kind of agricultural machinery are you looking to buy?”
Fridolf Gek looked at his appearance and accent and asked:
“Are you German?”
“Yes, being German myself, I suppose I’ve been promoted quite quickly. I heard you are Swedish, Skipper.”
In fact, it wasn’t just ‘quite quickly’; it seemed that because both Kunst and Albers were German, they had entrusted the business to this man, a fellow German.
Fridolf nodded and introduced me to him.
“Actually, this friend is the one who will be purchasing the goods.”
Adolf Datan tilted his head as he looked at the Joseon boy in a ponytail, wearing a Hanbok made of cotton, whom Fridolf Gek was pointing to.
“Is this boy not a Koryo-saram?”
Before Fridolf could speak, I cut in.
“Even a Koryo-saram boy can buy things if he has money, right?”
Adolf Datan looked a bit surprised by my fluent Russian and said:
“Of course. Koryo-saram customers often visit our firm as well. Even if a customer is a bit young, we do not discriminate.”
“Then, among the agricultural machinery brought from the United States, would there be a reclamation plow?”
“Of course there is. But you seem to know that a reclamation plow is different from a regular plow.”
“Of course I know that much. Then, can I see the reclamation plow?”
This kind of agricultural machinery was originally expensive even in the United States, but it became even more expensive after crossing the ocean.
Thus, it was something an ordinary Russian farmer couldn’t even dream of.
Only landlords or nobles would buy such things to increase the productivity of their estates and then rent them out to the farmers of the estate.
However, here in the Primorsky Krai region of Far East Russia, there were no such landlords or lords.
The farmers here were either poor pioneer farmers who came hearing that the Russian government would grant them land, or immigrants from Joseon or China, so they had even less capacity to purchase such agricultural machinery.
Because of that, the few agricultural machines Kunst and Albers had brought in as samples were almost unsold and remained as dead stock.
Adolf Datan knew a chance to dispose of the dead stock had come, but he doubted whether this Koryo-saram boy had the funds to purchase these products.
“By the way, these agricultural machines are things even the farmers here find too expensive to buy. Do you have the money?”
“Of course I have the money. But before that, there’s something I’d like you to purchase from me here.”
Adolf Datan said with a smile.
“What is the item you want me to buy?”
I opened the leather pouch I had brought and poured out what was inside.
“This gold.”
Thud!
Several chunks of gold, which I had pulled out from my Subspace for the first time, fell onto the table with a heavy sound.
***