Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 21

21. Mine Acquisition (1)

“Hehehe, the Pohang Steel president really has an eye for good liquor. This one’s amazing too. Kya!”

Hole-in-the-Wall cheered, raising his hands in the air after the Pohang Steel president gifted him a bottle of whiskey.

‘If he had cheered like that in the president’s office, Park Tae-jong would have been quite pleased,’ I thought.

Though he did laugh heartily and enjoy it in a different way.

“You like drinking good liquor?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? On the way here, I found a really delicious *makgeolli* [Korean rice wine] place in Pohang. How could I just pass it by?”

Cheers!

Hole-in-the-Wall pulled out two bottles of *makgeolli* from his waist.

“When did you even buy *makgeolli*?”

“Couldn’t I find time to buy *makgeolli*?”

“······.”

Hole-in-the-Wall drank the *makgeolli* in an instant and shuddered.

“Kya-, that’s good. Is it the water? Is it the touch? The sashimi is delicious, the *gukbap* [Korean rice soup] is delicious too. And the *soju* [Korean distilled spirit] is sweet.”

Hole-in-the-Wall was already pulling out snacks.

The *soju* was a bonus.

“You held back so well earlier.”

“My work hours are over. Hehehe, you sit down too. Drink. Eat.”

Hole-in-the-Wall munched on the snacks, constantly marveling at the taste of the liquor.

‘I can’t stop him.’

“Hole-in-the-Wall, we’ve seen everything here.”

“Then shall we head back to Seoul early tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I should drink to my heart’s content tonight. Let’s go all night!”

“······.”

* * *

My heart was light as I took the early morning bus back to Seoul.

My steps were even lighter as I headed home.

Tae-soo handed Hole-in-the-Wall a paper bag.

“Take this.”

“Why this?”

“You have to give it to your grandma.”

“You even took care of my grandma?”

“Of course, I have to. She’s your grandma.”

“Thanks.”

It was when Hole-in-the-Wall turned around with the bag.

‘Wait, was it around this time that Hole-in-the-Wall’s grandma passed away? Or was it a few years later?’

Tae-soo racked his brain.

Tae-soo’s house was turned upside down because of private loans, and to make matters worse, the house was demolished due to redevelopment.

All the neighbors were scattered.

Hole-in-the-Wall, who lived with his grandmother, also moved to another place.

‘When we met again after running away in the night, Hole-in-the-Wall’s grandma had already passed away.’

I don’t know how she passed away.

Because Hole-in-the-Wall would get serious and leave the room whenever that topic came up.

We lost contact in the middle of running away, so I couldn’t even attend the funeral.

‘Was it old age? What on earth happened that changed Hole-in-the-Wall so much?’

Hole-in-the-Wall had lost his parents early in the war and had lived alone with his grandmother.

After losing his grandmother and becoming a loner, Hole-in-the-Wall joined Cheongil Group with Tae-soo.

But at some point, the guy who used to laugh so well stopped laughing.

The guy who used to joke around and have a great sense of humor just shut his mouth.

“Hole-in-the-Wall.”

“Huh?”

Hole-in-the-Wall, who was going far away, looked back.

Tae-soo hurried to Hole-in-the-Wall.

“Hole-in-the-Wall, take your grandma to the hospital.”

“My grandma? Why to the hospital?”

“Your grandma is getting old. Let’s get her a checkup.”

Tae-soo rummaged through his pockets.

And he stuffed all the money from his pocket into Hole-in-the-Wall’s pocket.

“Hey, what’s this?”

“Be sure to go. Tell me if you don’t have enough money.”

“Hey, Kang Tae-soo.”

“It doesn’t matter if you say I’m nosy. But please. Your grandma has to live a long time.”

“······.”

Hole-in-the-Wall stared blankly for a while.

Soon Hole-in-the-Wall nodded.

“Thanks. For thinking about my grandma. I’ll be sure to go to the hospital.”

Hole-in-the-Wall headed home again.

‘I have to protect Hole-in-the-Wall this time.’

Tae-soo silently watched his friend’s back as he walked away.

Hole-in-the-Wall hummed and returned home.

“Oh, Tae-soo’s here!”

Today, my mother runs out barefoot again.

My father followed with a gentle face.

“I’m back.”

Tae-soo handed the large paper bag in his hand to his mother.

“Oh my, what is all this?”

“Pohang specialties.”

“Goodness. Sea mustard.”

“They were selling it at the market.”

I went to Jukdo Market with Hole-in-the-Wall.

Hole-in-the-Wall followed along for the taste of a glass of *soju* with fresh seafood sliced on the spot.

Tae-soo suddenly realized that the scenery inside the house had changed a lot.

Because the luggage piled up in the living room caught his eye.

“What is all this?”

“I packed my moving stuff.”

Ah, there are only a few days left until the house is demolished.

I was too busy to help pack my moving stuff.

“Have you decided on a house to move to?”

“Of course.”

“Where is it?”

“A place you know well too. Sangdong, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do.”

“Yes?”

Tae-soo was startled.

“Why are you moving all the way to Gangwon-do?”

My father and mother looked at each other for a moment and smiled.

Soon, the two smiled brightly at Tae-soo.

“Since we’re leaving our beloved home anyway, we’ll help our son with his work and live together by his side.”

“Yes, the abandoned mine is old, so there must be a lot of places to fix? Your father is good at building houses. I’ll lend a hand.”

“You know your mother’s cooking skills, right? I’ll take care of the workers’ meals. How about it?”

Tae-soo didn’t know what to say.

“You’ll have a hard time······.”

“What hard time? We’re helping each other as a family.”

“Yes, I’m worried about whether my sons are eating well while they’re having a hard time in other places, so how can I sleep? I have to take care of them to feel at ease.”

The two seemed to have already made up their minds.

Tae-soo had no choice but to nod.

To be honest, I was sad to think about being away from my parents.

“Next time, I’ll bring you to an apartment. Like I promised before.”

“No, what apartment? If families live together, that’s our home.”

“Yes, Father is right.”

It was then.

“Um, Tae-soo *hyung* [term used to address older brother or male friend by a younger male].”

Someone carefully called Tae-soo from outside the gate.

When I turned around, it was the boy Han-soo had with him.

“What’s wrong? Did Han-soo send you?”

“Yes, Han-soo *hyung* told me to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“He told me to come to the Gangwon-do mine. He said he found a place that meets the conditions.”

Found a place that meets the conditions?

That means we found a mine we can acquire.

Things are going so smoothly!

It was good news.

As Tae-soo was about to leave, the boy stopped him.

“The intercity bus to Gangwon-do is cut off. I bought a ticket for the early morning bus tomorrow anyway.”

It was unexpected.

“Oh? Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Han-soo *hyung* prepared it in advance. Take it.”

The boy handed Tae-soo the ticket.

Han-soo is meticulous.

Buying an early morning bus ticket in advance must mean hurry up.

‘Why is he in such a hurry? Did another guy who’s eyeing the mine show up?’

Otherwise, why would he be looking for Tae-soo so urgently?

With a budget of 20 million won, Han-soo would have taken care of it on his own.

I have a feeling that a different situation than expected has unfolded.

“Thank you so much for telling me. And for this ticket. You worked hard.”

Tae-soo rummaged through his pockets to give him some money for the bus ticket and some reward.

‘Oh, right, I gave it all to Hole-in-the-Wall to use for his grandma’s hospital bills?’

Then, my mother rummaged through her pockets and gave the boy money instead of Tae-soo.

My mother smiled and said.

“Haven’t you eaten yet? Eat with us before you go.”

“Ah, no. It’s okay, I’m not hungry.”

Grumble.

My mother grabbed the boy’s arm.

“We just got some good sea mustard. Sit down and wait a moment.”

* * *

August 1, 1972.

In front of the limestone mine owned by Daeyang Cement in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do.

Tae-soo and Hole-in-the-Wall looked around.

“Where the heck is Han-soo?”

“It was Yong-shik *hyung*.”

Han-soo was walking over there.

“You only see Hole-in-the-Wall and not me?”

“Do you think I’m blind? I only sent one bus ticket, but two of you came, so I was wondering.”

Hole-in-the-Wall smiled meaningfully and stuck out his chest.

His scrawny chest, with nothing but bones, popped out.

“Ahem, I decided to work with Tae-soo too. He said there’s no one he can trust and rely on but me, or something like that.”

Han-soo’s eyes narrowed.

“*Hyung*, what trick did you play?”

“What did I do?”

“That’s right. What’s Yong-shik *hyung*, who takes good care of himself and is quite recognized at work, doing working with us? What’s there to see here?”

“Because I’m here?”

“······.”

Han-soo shook his head.

There’s no way to deal with that confidence.

Hole-in-the-Wall looked around the limestone mine and whistled.

“This place is quite large. The facilities are good, and the workers I saw earlier were pretty good too?”

On the way here, I saw groups of workers gathered in groups of three or five.

Maybe it was lunchtime, so they were sitting huddled in the shade.

The number of miners was quite large, and the tools they were holding were well maintained.

Tae-soo also looked around the limestone mine and nodded.

“It’s a mine right next to our mine, but the facilities here are incomparably better. The village that serves as a dormitory is also quite large. It seems to be running properly.”

“You saw well. This is a very solid mine. Not only the limestone mine, but also the cement factory that operates with it is running well.”

Tae-soo was dumbfounded.

Looking at Han-soo’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was joking.

I don’t know why he even sent someone to get an early morning bus ticket.

“If it’s a limestone mine, it doesn’t meet the first condition I presented.”

The first condition, it must have molybdenum refining facilities.

Limestone mines and molybdenum mines have different refining facilities.

Unlike molybdenum, which applies the flotation method to refining, limestone only needs to be mined, crushed, and sold.

“Besides, it doesn’t seem like 20 million won will be enough here?”

The second condition. It must be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Han-soo said it earlier, and I confirmed it with my own eyes.

This must be a solid mine and factory that is operating well.

“The only condition that fits is the third condition.”

The third condition. There must be many workers who can be put into the mine right away.

Looking at it on the way here, there seemed to be many skilled miners.

Han-soo shook his head.

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have called *hyung* here. This place meets all three conditions.”

“Hmm?”

“I heard that the owner of this mine failed to develop a gold mine.”

“Jackpot! It perfectly meets the conditions.”

How can it get caught like this?

Tae-soo’s mouth was wide open.

Han-soo’s eyes were filled with color.

‘He saw through everything at the sound of gold mine development? He’s really amazing. He’s practically a monster?’

It’s a series of surprises every time since last time.

I already admitted that *hyung* is great, but I’m still surprised every time.

‘A cone in a bag cannot be hidden. *Hyung* must have worked hard to hide his abilities.’

Tae-soo, who declared that he would no longer hide his true self, came to mind.

Han-soo smiled without realizing it.

I quite like the confident *hyung* now.

“What are you all talking about? Someone explain it to me, huh?”

Only Hole-in-the-Wall was clueless and stuttering.

“Tae-soo, you tell me. You said earlier that only the third condition was met?”

The situation has changed since then.

While failing to develop a gold mine.”