Chapter 38

Chapter 38 — The Old Man Is Too Good at Raising Cattle (2)

"..."

"..."

The moment the bright-eyed cow appeared, silence fell over the government office.

"Ughhh, Bangul! My poor Bangul!"

"Mooooooo!"

Of course, stealing a cow was still a serious matter.

Sparkle.

But everyone had been expecting a kidnapped child.

Instead, a cow had suddenly appeared.

And with one gentle-eyed, plump bull standing in the middle of the government office, all the tension instantly drained away.

"...Pfffft! Hahahahahahaha! Oh, this is too much! What are we supposed to do with this?!"

Cheongun burst into laughter the moment he saw Bangul's innocent eyes.

...Haah.

Kim Jiseok and Doyul both rubbed their aching heads and asked for an explanation.

"What exactly happened?"

"Yulli, Bangul was among the things stolen from me! Fortunately, Lee Cheonbok returned all my other belongings, but Bangul was with that old man, so I couldn't get him back."

"And now that old man keeps saying strange things and refuses to return him!"

"I'll explain. Hahaha!"

The old man, Kim Chunbae, clasped his hands behind his back and spoke stubbornly.

"Ahem. Lee Cheonbok paid me to take care of Nureongi."

Lee Cheonbok was the man who had stolen the cow and entrusted it to Kim Chunbae.

Kang Bokman immediately protested.

"He's not Nureongi! His name is Bangul! Bangul!"

"Mooooooo!"

"Pfffft! Hahahahahaha! Magistrate, have you really been enjoying sights like this all by yourself until now?"

"Haah..."

Cheongun clutched his stomach at the absurd scene before him.

"Ahem. In any case, I had no idea Lee Cheonbok had stolen the animal."

"He only brought the cow to me because it wasn't eating properly, so I took care of it with all my heart."

Doyul asked,

"If the cow wasn't eating, why did Lee Cheonbok bring it to you?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Kim Chunbae straightened proudly.

"Because I am the Cow Taoist."

"The Cow Taoist."

"No one in Yeongsan knows cattle better than I do."

"...I see."

Doyul glanced at Cheongun, who was watching the lawsuit with great interest.

How many Taoists does one tiny county need...?

"Please continue."

"But once I took a closer look at Nureongi, I realized its condition was extremely serious."

"Not Nureongi!"

"Bang!"

"Ul!"

"Haah..."

After hearing the name so many times, even Doyul became curious.

"Why is the cow called Bangul anyway?"

"Can't you tell just by looking?"

Kang Bokman pointed dramatically at the bull.

"Mooooo!"

Jingle, jingle!

A small, adorable bell hung around Bangul's neck.

"P-Pfft! Hngh! Hahaha!"

Cheongun was practically collapsing from laughter now.

Doyul did his best to ignore him and turned back to Kim Chunbae.

"What did you mean when you said the cow was in bad condition?"

"Lee Cheonbok knew nothing about cattle and nearly ruined a perfectly healthy animal."

"He was probably afraid someone would discover he had stolen it, so he never worked the cow and simply kept stuffing it with fodder."

"Is that really a problem?"

Kim Chunbae's gaze sharpened.

"Yulli, cattle need to work."

"If you lock an animal in a shed, make it do nothing, and just feed it fodder every meal, do you think it will maintain a healthy appetite?"

"...Oh."

"A mountain lord cannot be born a tiger and live like a wildcat."

"Likewise, an ox accustomed to pulling a plow every day will naturally lose its vigor if it's confined to a stable."

"I carefully tended Nureongi until it recovered its health."

...Hmm.

I don't know much about cattle, but that actually sounds plausible.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I cared for Nureongi properly and restored its health. Its coat now shines, and it's stronger than ever."

"So I essentially saved a dying cow."

"Shouldn't I be paid accordingly?"

"...!"

Kim Chunbae smiled slyly and stroked Bangul's side.

"This animal is my masterpiece."

"I created something that may never appear again in my entire life as the Cow Taoist."

"I took a fat, listless creature and turned it into a fine, healthy ox."

"Surely I deserve at least the price of one cow."

"Kang Bokman would still come out ahead."

"You won't find another ox this fine very easily."

"Mooooo!"

Kang Bokman immediately protested.

"You used my Bangul to plow your own fields, and now you're demanding money from me too?! What kind of nonsense is that?"

"...Ah."

Now that he understood the situation, Doyul nodded and fell into thought.

With Kang Bokman and Kim Chunbae glaring at one another across the government office...

"Mooooooo!"

Bangul's occasional cries echoed between them.

Doyul organized the facts.

Kang Bokman was robbed.

He recovered the rest of his property, but not Bangul, because Bangul was with Kim Chunbae.

Kim Chunbae cared for Bangul and used him for his own farming.

And as a result...

Doyul stared at Bangul's glossy coat.

"Moooo?"

...His value definitely seems to have increased.

With the facts established, Doyul recalled the relevant legal principles.

There are two issues.

[Article 741 of the Civil Act — Unjust Enrichment. A person who gains a benefit from another's property or labor without legal cause, thereby causing loss to that person, must return the benefit.]

First... Kim Chunbae's use of Bangul should be examined as unjust enrichment equivalent to rent.

Kim Chunbae had used Bangul for his own farming.

So one could reasonably argue that he owed Kang Bokman an amount equivalent to what it would have cost to rent the cow.

The second issue was more complicated.

The second issue is whether a direct claim against the beneficiary should be recognized.

This kind of direct-benefit claim concerned situations where a third party, despite not being a party to a contract, gained a benefit from that contract and was then asked to return or compensate for that benefit.

The terminology was complicated.

But in this case, the structure itself was easy to understand.

The contract was bilateral, and the parties were Lee Cheonbok and Kim Chunbae.

Lee Cheonbok had asked Kim Chunbae to take care of Bangul.

So Kim Chunbae was obligated to care for the cow properly.

In return, Lee Cheonbok was obligated to pay Kim Chunbae for his work.

And because Bangul became much healthier, Kang Bokman clearly benefited.

In other words, Kang Bokman had received a benefit from a contract to which he himself was not a party.

The key legal question was whether, because Kang Bokman had benefited from Kim Chunbae's work, Kim Chunbae could demand payment directly from Kang Bokman.

Having identified the issue, Doyul slowly spoke.

"I have a question for defendant Kim Chunbae."

"Why do you demand the price of an entire cow as compensation for caring for Bangul?"

Kim Chunbae answered immediately.

"As I said, if Nureongi had simply been left in that stable, it would've become nothing more than a miserable lump of fat incapable of doing its job."

"But because someone like me, who understands cattle, cared for it properly, it became several times better than an ordinary ox."

"Surely that deserves at least the value of one cow."

"Aaaagh! Isn't that going too far?! How can you call my Bangul a lump of fat?!"

"Mooooooo!"

Doyul looked briefly into Bangul's sparkling eyes.

All right. I've made my judgment.

Under modern precedent, this kind of direct claim against a third-party beneficiary was generally rejected.

But there were legal systems elsewhere that did recognize such claims.

So there was no reason to blindly follow modern precedent merely because it rejected the doctrine.

What mattered was examining the concrete circumstances and reaching a reasonable conclusion.

Some compensation might be fair.

But the price of an entire cow is obviously too much.

Doyul calculated what he thought would be a reasonable amount and began speaking.

"I can accept that Elder Kim's care was effective."

"Chorong's complexion looks excellent, and judging by the shine of his coat, even someone like me who knows little about cattle can tell that he has become very healthy."

"Yulli, forgive me, but his name is Bangul, not Chorong."

"...Ah, yes. Bangul."

Doyul sighed before continuing.

"Since you invested effort and increased Bangul's value, it is reasonable that you receive compensation."

"However..."

"That cost should not be borne by the plaintiff, who owns the cow."

"It should properly be paid by Lee Cheonbok, the person who directly entrusted the cow to you."

Kim Chunbae immediately objected.

"Yulli! Lee Cheonbok is already imprisoned for stealing Kang Bokman's property!"

"If you tell me to collect from Lee Cheonbok, how is that any different from telling me not to collect at all?"

"...Hmm."

Doyul nodded.

It was a reasonable objection.

"And another thing!"

"This cow is no ordinary animal."

"Nureongi is a very special ox."

"Kang Bokman was careless enough to let the animal be stolen in the first place."

"If someone else then raises it properly and takes good care of it, he should be grateful!"

"How does it make sense for him to refuse to pay even a single coin?"

Nod, nod.

"Hmm. That sounds quite reasonable."

Cheongun, who had been watching from the side, nodded along, clearly persuaded by Kim Chunbae's argument.

At the same time, he was intensely curious how Doyul would resolve it.

The old man's resistance is quite strong.

So what will you decide?

Doyul smiled.

"Elder, your argument also has merit."

"It is indeed difficult in practice for you to recover your fee from Lee Cheonbok."

"And from a moral perspective, it would not be unreasonable to ask for at least the money you spent feeding Bangul and compensation for your labor."

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Kim Chunbae brightened.

Doyul continued smiling.

"However."

"...?"

"Your demand is far too excessive."

"You cared for the cow, and now you demand the price of an entire cow."

"Isn't that too much?"

"If you had requested compensation within a reasonable range, that would be one thing."

"But ordering the plaintiff to pay such a huge sum for something he never asked you to do would not be just."

"......Ghh!"

This youngster is no ordinary man.

I wanted to make a nice profit, but at this rate I'll be lucky to recover anything at all.

Kim Chunbae had no choice but to retreat a little.

"I believe your words are reasonable, Yulli."

"...Since you appear to understand my grievance, if you decide upon suitable compensation, I will listen and accept it."

"Ghh... I don't like paying him either..."

Kang Bokman hesitated.

"But I can't deny that Old Man Kim took care of Bangul all this time."

"If I can get Bangul back..."

"...Very well."

There were several reasons modern precedent rejected direct claims of this kind.

But two were especially important.

First, recognizing such a claim could bind a third party to obligations arising from a contract they never entered into, directly conflicting with the basic principle that contractual rights and duties are relative between the parties.

Second, in the modern legal system, the original contractual claim still exists against the actual contracting party.

So ordinarily, the issue is not whether payment can be recovered at all, but from whom it should be recovered.

But the second point is exactly the problem here.

Unlike in the modern world, Kim Chunbae had little realistic chance of collecting his fee from the imprisoned Lee Cheonbok.

That meant Doyul needed a balanced solution that accounted for the unusual circumstances.

"Elder Kim, you said you used Bangul for work in your own fields while caring for him."

"Is that true?"

"W-Well... yes!"

"But that was only to make Bangul healthier!"

"I'm not disputing that."

"However, it is difficult to deny that you also benefited from his labor."

"......!"

Kim Chunbae fell silent.

"So how about this?"

"You benefited by using Bangul for free."

"And the plaintiff benefited because Bangul became healthier."

"Why don't we set those two benefits off against each other?"

"W-What?! That's absurd!"

Kim Chunbae protested fiercely.

The benefit from borrowing a cow without paying and the value of the care he had provided might have been difficult to compare precisely.

But he'd expected to receive at least a little money.

Being told to return Bangul without receiving anything did not please him.

"The rental value of using one cow would only be a tiny fraction of the benefit Kang Bokman received!"

"How can you say they cancel each other out just because I gained a little benefit too...?"

"No."

"...Excuse me?"

"You yourself said Bangul was several times better than an ordinary cow."

"You said that if we measured his value, he'd be worth several times as much."

"Isn't that right?"

"Yes! That's right!"

"Then by the same reasoning..."

"The benefit you received by using Bangul for free should not be calculated as though you merely borrowed an ordinary cow."

"If Bangul is worth several times more..."

"Then the value of using him must also be calculated several times higher."

"...Gasp!"

Kim Chunbae had no answer.

"Then let us resolve the matter this way."

"..."

Doyul had combined the principles governing direct third-party benefit claims, unjust enrichment equivalent to rent, and setoff.

And he had taken Kim Chunbae's greed into account as well.

He turned toward Kim Jiseok.

"Magistrate, I humbly submit."

"Instead of ordering the defendant to pay the plaintiff for his use of Bangul..."

"Let the defendant immediately return Bangul to the plaintiff, with neither side owing further payment."

"Y-Yulliiii!"

"G-Ghhhhhh!"

Kim Chunbae's greed had left him unable to recover even his costs.

Kang Bokman, meanwhile, was overjoyed simply to have Bangul returned.

"Mooooooo!"

And then...

Good heavens.

He truly is far beyond what I expected!

Watching Doyul, Cheongun could no longer hide his excitement at having discovered a remarkable new talent.