firstly, just stick with it. till you get to about 30 it can be a bit tough, but after that things start come together(if you have to right mindset
)
trading at 20 is def possible, (although not very profitable money-wise) once you get past the chakji though it would be a good idea to stay on your camel and pot it, or find someone who can escort you to donwhang.
as far as money, most people who have insane weaps at low levels do have a higher char they transferred money from. paying some 10 mill for a lvl 16 som w/e just from grinding and 1st/2nd degree drops....maybe possible, but would take a long long long long time. i find that if i just keep with it and keep grinding, i always have enough to get by and every once in a while ill get a nice drop that i can make that extra dough with (stalling is very important if you indeed want to make oodles of gold).
the best way to get involved in the "triangular conflict system" or w/e is to join a guild, or make friends with a few guildies who would be willing to help you out with trade runs and whatnot.
dont worry, i was feeling the same way you were at around that level. i made one char got it to 28 then quit for about a month. came back, started a new char and this time i told myself i wasnt gonna quit till i got my 5th degree weapon. once i got to that point i found that i could easily go on trade runs by myself don<->jang and relieve the sometimes extreme boredom of grinding. now im 4x going to be 5x pretty soon, have plenty of money in the bank, go on trades occasionally and am def enjoying the game.
just keep at it. the skies will clear soon enough