Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 23

23. Acquiring the Mine (3)

Tae-soo helped the mine owner, who was collapsed on the floor and crying, to his feet.

He sat him down properly and dusted off his clothes.

“Hic… To think I’d lose my limestone mine and cement factory like this.”

“Is your family safe?”

“Thankfully, my family is safe. But I’ve lost the mine, the factory, and even my house. We’ll be out on the streets soon. Hic…”

“It’s good that your family is unharmed. Do you have a lot of debt left?”

“No. This has settled all my debts.”

That’s a relief.

Unlike Tae-soo’s family, he won’t have to run away because of debt.

‘Jang Mal-dong must have been lenient because he was in a hurry to recover the loans. Time is money now.’

Tae-soo patted the mine owner on the shoulder.

The mine owner is a capable man.

Just looking at the limestone mine and cement factory, you can tell how skilled he is in mine management.

That’s why Tae-soo didn’t want to let him go.

“Don’t think about anything else and just wait three days, okay?”

“Three days?”

“I’ll go and meet with the loan shark.”

Hope flickered in the eyes of the despairing mine owner.

“You mean you’ll return my mine and factory?”

The mine owner shook his head vigorously.

“No, that’s impossible. But our employees and workers, they’re all diligent and good people. This is their workplace, their hope.”

The mine owner grabbed Tae-soo’s hand.

“Please. I don’t care what happens to me. Just don’t let our employees scatter. Could you find a good person to take over and connect us somehow?”

You could feel the boss’s concern for his employees.

He was very earnest.

Just then.

“Boss! Are you okay?”

“Boss! We were worried!”

Seeing the loan shark leave, the employees rushed into the cement factory.

‘They seem to have a strong bond with their employees.’

A solid limestone mine and a cement factory, he said.

Indeed, there was something strong and cohesive between the boss and his employees.

Tae-soo valued him even more for forming such a strong bond with his employees.

“Let’s meet again in three days. You need to cheer up and reassure your employees. Don’t go anywhere until then.”

“Hic, it’s all my fault for insisting on developing the gold mine so rashly. I’m the one to blame.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. Everything will be alright. You need to get back on your feet.”

“Hic, th-thank you. Thank you so much, even just for the words.”

The mine owner was grateful to Tae-soo.

Tae-soo and Han-soo left the factory, leaving behind the mine owner and his employees, who were hugging each other and weeping.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], what should we do? We’re one step too late. Should we look for another mine?”

Han-soo was disappointed.

Because there wasn’t a mine that fit the conditions so perfectly.

“We’re screwed. I thought it was a good opportunity. What a waste.”

Unlike Han-soo, Tae-soo didn’t seem to mind much.

Han-soo was puzzled by that.

“Hyung, aren’t you disappointed? You don’t look disappointed at all?”

“It’s too early to be disappointed.”

Tae-soo looked at the cement factory again.

“I’m going to find Jang Mal-dong.”

“What? Why again?”

“To take over this mine and factory.”

Han-soo’s mouth dropped open.

But after thinking about it, he realized it made sense.

“Han-soo, you stay here.”

“Why me?”

“I’m greedy for that capable mine owner. Keep a close eye on him so he doesn’t run away.”

“……..”

“And chase away any guys hanging around here. Got it?”

“Leave it to me.”

Tae-soo turned around.

“Then, I’ll be back from Seoul for a bit.”

To buy the factory and mine at a bargain price!

I’m going to get it properly, surely, and cheap!

* * *

August 2, 1972, 11:30 PM. Jang Mal-dong’s house in Myeongdong [a district in Seoul known for being a financial center].

Even in the dead of night, Jang Mal-dong’s house was brightly lit.

That’s because his subordinates were constantly coming and going to collect debts.

Day and night, the threshold wore down as his subordinates came and went a dozen times a day.

For ten days, Jang Mal-dong refused to see anyone and focused solely on collecting debts.

Ticking.

It’s already 11:30 PM.

Only 10 minutes left until the time the kid said.

Jang Mal-dong shouted.

“What are you all doing, not hurrying! There’s not much time left! Is there anyone else besides Song Jin-gu who hasn’t collected their debts yet?”

Some of the guys who had scattered across the country hadn’t arrived yet.

There was no news of whether they had succeeded or failed.

Jang Mal-dong was pacing back and forth.

“Song Jin-gu has just arrived.”

“Tell him to come in right away!”

A man in a hanbok [traditional Korean clothing] went outside.

Jang Mal-dong, left alone in the spacious room, kept fanning himself.

He was burning up inside, so he kept gulping down cold water.

Already a skinny man, Jang Mal-dong had become half his size in ten days.

Creak. Clunk.

The man in the hanbok came in with Song Jin-gu.

Jang Mal-dong asked the man in the hanbok.

“How much of the debt have you collected?”

“Since time was so short, I’d say we’ve collected about 60%.”

60%.

He had already prepared himself for not being able to recover even half of it.

It was good news nonetheless.

“Elder, I’m here.”

Song Jin-gu knelt obediently and offered the money and documents he had collected to Jang Mal-dong.

“I personally collected from the major companies across the country. I hired thugs and gangsters to collect from the other small-time guys.”

“Good work.”

“I’ve sorted out the things that can be turned into money right away, but I couldn’t scrape together as much as I wanted because time was too short.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Jang Mal-dong sorted the money and documents separately and checked the amounts.

There was a document that caught his eye.

“Huh? Daeyang Jungseok and Daeyang Cement? This is a pretty solid place, isn’t it? You’ve taken the whole mine and factory.”

“They went into gold mine development and went bankrupt.”

“Oho-, that’s a good thing. Normally, I could have sold this for a pretty penny. What a waste. Anyway, good work.”

“Oh, and I met a crazy guy there.”

“Crazy guy?”

“You know, that crazy guy who sold my name and met with you before.”

The guy who managed to get a promissory note from the loan shark!

The guy who created this whole mess by talking about his backing!

‘Just let the information be false! I’ll repay all this loss! You won’t die peacefully!’

Jang Mal-dong couldn’t help but grind his teeth whenever he thought of Tae-soo.

“Why did that young crazy guy go there?”

“He said he had business with the mine owner.”

“What business?”

“I was so busy collecting the debts that I didn’t get to hear the details…”

Song Jin-gu scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.

Jang Mal-dong looked at the document Song Jin-gu had brought again.

‘What business did that crazy guy have?’

He was curious.

But Jang Mal-dong shook his head.

‘Now is not the time to be curious about that. It’s enough that he collected the debts. Let’s not worry about it.’

Jang Mal-dong carefully put the document away in the safe.

The man in the hanbok quietly opened his mouth.

“It’s time.”

The clock points to 11:40 PM.

Song Jin-gu hurriedly turned on the radio.

Static. Static-.

Jang Mal-dong’s mouth was parched, and he licked his dry lips with his tongue.

Song Jin-gu swallowed hard.

Everyone listened intently to the broadcast.

-······For this reason, which cannot be overlooked, the government is announcing an ‘Emergency Order Regarding Economic Stability and Growth.’ ······Therefore, as of 00:00 on August 3rd, all private loans will be frozen.

Thump.

Jang Mal-dong kicked off the silk cushion and stood up.

His eyes were wide open.

“Th-th-that’s right! Park Jung-hwan really announced the private loan freeze!”

The eyes of the man in the hanbok were also twitching.

‘That young one… Does he really have backing? Backing that even I couldn’t have guessed.’

Song Jin-gu was just as surprised.

He was so shocked by the news that his head was spinning.

“Private loans are frozen? What does that mean? Does that mean the promissory notes are worthless?”

No one answers.

Jang Mal-dong and the man in the hanbok were lost in thought.

The 8.3 Private Loan Freeze.

The main points of the policy were threefold.

First, all debt relationships related to private loans will be invalidated as of August 3, 1972.

Second, the government will provide 200 billion won to support companies in converting some of their loans from banks into loans with a 3-year grace period and a 5-year installment repayment plan.

Third, the private loan interest rate, which averages 3.84% per month and 46% per year, will be lowered to 1.35% per month and 16.2% per year.

Jang Mal-dong closed his eyes and stroked his surprised chest.

‘If it weren’t for that young one, I would have really gone bankrupt.’

The image of the young one smiling confidently came to mind.

-How will the Myeongdong big shot repay the favor? I’ll look forward to it with pleasure.

‘A nasty guy, a tough guy, a gutsy guy, a cheeky guy. It looks like this Jang Mal-dong is really going to have to repay the young one.’

He also remembered stamping the promissory note.

A promissory note worth a whopping 20 million won!

‘It’s nothing compared to the wealth I saved thanks to him, but it looks like I’m really going to have to cough that up too.’

What can I do?

Jang Mal-dong can’t break the promise he made with his own mouth.

“Hahahaha! That guy is really crazy, the craziest guy in this Jang Mal-dong’s life!”

People usually call someone who is unpredictable crazy.

Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

It was then.

Someone came running in, panting.

It was Jjak-gwi.

“A, a crazy guy has come to see you!”

Speak of the devil.

Tae-soo was knocking on the front door of Jang Mal-dong’s house.

Creak. Clunk.

Tae-soo entered the room.

Jang Mal-dong was sitting on the silk cushion as usual, fanning himself.

The man in the hanbok was also standing on one side.

Tae-soo strode over and sat down on the floor.

“Did you hear the government announcement?”

“Yes. You were right.”

Tae-soo smiled.

“Shall I go through the steps and ramble on like last time, or shall I get straight to the point?”

Tae-soo comes in without hesitation.

Jang Mal-dong was already exhausted from worrying about this and that.

Believing uncertain information was one thing, and urging people to collect debts for ten days was another.

Jang Mal-dong folded his fan as a habit.

“It’s late. Let’s finish this quickly. So, what brings you here in the middle of the night?”

“I’ve come to settle the promissory note.”

The promissory note came out of Tae-soo’s pocket.

Jang Mal-dong nodded, as he had expected.

“You said you wanted cash, in a lump sum, right?”

“Elder, I want to exchange it for something else.”

“Exchange it for something else? What did you want to exchange it for?”

Jang Mal-dong’s eyes lit up.

What Song Jin-gu had said suddenly came to mind.

-I met a crazy guy there.

-He said he had business with the mine owner.

Jang Mal-dong smiled slyly.

“Are you talking about Daeyang Jungseok and Daeyang Cement?”