Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 29

29. Came from Cheongil Group (2)

The president’s office door of Cheongil Chemical burst open.

“Hyung-nim!” [Korean honorific term for older brother]

Kim Jeong-nam, looking disheveled and like a beggar, with bandages haphazardly wrapped around his body, came running in.

It was obvious at a glance that he had wrapped them carelessly on purpose.

Kim Bong-nam, who was reviewing approval documents, frowned.

“Why do you look like this? What kind of trouble did you cause this time?”

“Hyung-nim, what trouble would I cause? Your only brother returns in this state, and you don’t even ask what happened. I’m hurt.”

“Knowing you, you probably hit on some pretty girl again and got beaten up.”

“······.”

Accurate.

But Kim Jeong-nam felt wronged.

“What do you take me for? Hyung-nim, I went all the way to Gangwon-do! Yeongwol-gun! Sangdong! To a mine! To buy molybdenum!”

“How much molybdenum did you buy?”

“······They won’t sell it.”

Of course.

‘How does this guy manage to mess things up and only earn resentment wherever he goes?’

‘I gave him a fancy title and a position to live with his head held high, but he had to cause trouble over molybdenum at this time.’

Kim Bong-nam glared at the secretary standing next to him.

“Who sent this guy to Gangwon-do?”

“The chairman instructed him to go directly to the molybdenum mine and secure a sales network… I’m sorry. I was negligent, assuming he wouldn’t actually go there.”

The usually efficient secretary bowed and apologized.

Kim Bong-nam had to sigh, looking at his immature brother.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s all because this guy is incompetent.”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, if you went all the way there, you should have bought it properly, or not gone at all if you couldn’t.”

“Hyung-nim, I’m really wronged. I couldn’t even say a word before they grabbed me by the collar.”

Kim Jeong-nam pretended to be grabbed by the collar himself.

“They grabbed me like this and threw me to the ground like this! Ouch! Then they rolled me around like I was being mummified!”

Kim Jeong-nam even rolled on the president’s office floor realistically.

Thanks to his high level of acting, honed from years of tattling, the situation was clear.

“Hyung-nim, do you know how fierce those bastards are? Your brother almost said goodbye to this world!”

“I heard you went with a bunch of strong guys? How did you get grabbed by the collar?”

“They brought a swarm of miners too. It was overwhelming. It’s only because I’m good at fighting that I’m only in this state. The guys who went with me would have been in a funeral procession, Hyung-nim.”

‘Good at fighting, my ass.’

Kim Bong-nam couldn’t help but sigh.

“Did you drool over the women first, or not?”

“She made the coffee so weird that I just said one thing.”

“Did you touch her, or not?”

“Just a little tap on the butt. But that’s really it. If I had even taken off her underwear, I wouldn’t be this upset.”

“Ugh!”

Kim Bong-nam slammed the approval documents he was holding.

He was already struggling with complicated work, and his only brother was like this.

“The chairman specifically instructed you to handle this, and you carelessly ruined it because you were hitting on women! What are you whining about? Get out of my office right now!”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Do I have to report this to the chairman myself? Do you think you’ll be able to keep your position then?”

“I’m going, I’m going! You’re really too much, Hyung-nim! I’m so upset!”

Kim Jeong-nam left the president’s office, feeling wronged.

Kim Bong-nam watched his pathetic brother’s back.

He scolded his brother, but he didn’t feel good about it.

Even if he was lacking, he was his only brother.

He even went all the way to Gangwon-do to help him with his work.

‘How dare they harm such a devoted guy?’

“So what if he touched a female employee’s butt once? To surround him with miners and humiliate him like that? What kind of outrageous person does that?”

Kim Bong-nam’s stomach churned as he thought about it.

“How dare you act up against Cheongil Group? I’ll show you exactly what the consequences are. You arrogant bastard.”

Kim Bong-nam said to his secretary.

“Get the car ready! I’m going to Gangwon-do right now!”

“Yes.”

“Call as many thugs as possible. Contact the police and prosecutors too. Have them arrest those bastards. You need the power of authority to take the wind out of their sails, not just bringing thugs like a fool, which is why you ended up like that.”

“Understood.”

While securing the molybdenum sales network, he would also correct the manners of that rude bastard.

At that moment.

Ring, ring.

The secretary handed him the phone.

“It’s the chairman.”

“The chairman?”

As soon as he picked up the phone, Chairman Han Cheong-ho’s shout came through.

-Why haven’t I heard about the molybdenum supply contract yet! Why did the guy who went all the way to Gangwon-do come back empty-handed!

“I’m sorry. I’ll go to Gangwon-do myself this time.”

-The factory is about to shut down because we don’t have molybdenum! Persuade them somehow! Get the molybdenum!

“Sir, it’s not like we can only get molybdenum from there…”

-Then you find it somewhere else! The whole world is in an uproar because there’s no molybdenum, so how? Fly there if you have to! Resign from your position as president first!

“······.”

Kim Bong-nam squeezed his eyes shut.

If the United States hadn’t suddenly stopped exporting molybdenum, this situation wouldn’t have happened.

-What are you dawdling for! Go and get the supply contract right now! Don’t even think about showing your face in Seoul until you get the contract! Even if you have to bury your bones there, bring back the contract first!

“Chairman!”

-You’re good at something, aren’t you! Bribe them with money, seduce them with women, coax them with words, crush them with thugs! Use any means necessary, and get at least 30 tons of molybdenum by the end of this month, no matter what!

The call ended abruptly without even hearing a response.

Kim Bong-nam let out a long, deep sigh.

‘I have no choice. I have to put my personal feelings aside and focus on securing the molybdenum contract first.’

He decided.

Company matters come first.

This isn’t the time to worry about pride when his position is on the line.

‘I’ll endure the humiliation until I get the contract. It’s not too late to settle personal grudges after that.’

The secretary cautiously asked beside him.

“What should we do? The chairman’s anger is immense. Should I book a plane ticket?”

“I’m going to Gangwon-do.”

“How many thugs should we call? Should we take them by bus? How far should we pull strings with the Gangwon-do District Prosecutors’ Office and the police?”

Kim Bong-nam shook his head.

“Forget about thugs and all that. Call the girls. Singers, actresses, announcers, models. Pick them out by preference and send them to Gangwon-do.”

Kim Bong-nam put on his coat and his eyes gleamed.

“Prepare money envelopes. Fill them generously and prepare several. Bring an apple box too.”

“Even an apple box? Isn’t that too much? He’s not a big-shot politician.”

“The chairman instructed me to use any means necessary.”

Kim Bong-nam said with a heavy heart.

“I’ll put all my effort into getting the contract.”

This time, it’s persuasion!

* * *

Today, Tae-soo was also busy processing approval documents in his office.

With molybdenum selling like hotcakes worldwide, naturally, the amount of work Tae-soo had to handle increased.

‘I’m tired.’

Tae-soo had been working excessively hard lately.

Tae-soo’s mineral export trading company, Taeyang Corporation, grew rapidly in an instant.

In particular, his fatigue became severe as he began to actively buy land in Daechi-dong, Gangnam [affluent neighborhoods in Seoul].

He felt like he needed two bodies to travel between Seoul and Gangwon-do.

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

The clerk opened the door and entered.

Without being asked, she quietly placed a warm glass of milk on Tae-soo’s desk.

“Sir, a Mr. Song Jin-gu has come to see you.”

“Song Jin-gu?”

That loan shark who works under Jang Mal-dong, the big shot of Myeongdong [a district in Seoul known for finance and commerce]?

What business does he have coming all the way here?

“Where is he now?”

“Hey, crazy. How have you been?”

Song Jin-gu waved his hand from the president’s office door.

“I heard rumors all the way in Seoul that you’re making a fortune. But it doesn’t look like you’re spending any money on the office. Wow, isn’t this furniture about 10 years old?”

Song Jin-gu, who had become an expert at appraising goods while collecting debts, was right on the mark.

“What brings you here?”

“I heard you’re buying land in Gangnam these days?”

Song Jin-gu said, sitting in a chair.

Still scanning the office furniture to see how much it was worth.

“Low-lying land that floods whenever it rains. Barren land where crops don’t grow properly and there are only gravel and stones, so no one pays attention to it.”

Song Jin-gu grinned.

“I heard you’re sweeping up the entire Daechi-dong area.”

Jang Mal-dong is also an information merchant.

He is also known as the best underground financial leader in Korea, who has lent money in every region of the country.

‘Jang Mal-dong smelled something.’

He didn’t intend to hide it.

“That’s right. I have money to spare, so I’m buying some land.”

“Not just a little, right? Even if that barren land is dirt cheap, it must have cost you quite a bit to buy over 20,000 pyeong [Korean unit of area, approximately 79,338 square yards]?”

20,000 pyeong is still far from enough.

The Cheongil Apartment in Daechi-dong covers 237,900㎡, about 72,000 pyeong.

‘If possible, even more than that. I have to buy it properly when no one is interested.’

Tae-soo was planning to build something even bigger than the Cheongil Apartment in Daechi-dong.

“Wow, you can never know what life holds. Molybdenum bursting out of a mine you exchanged for a 100,000 won [Korean currency] promissory note. To be reborn as a landowner in just half a year. You really can’t see an inch ahead. Who would have known? Hehehe.”

“What do you want to say by coming all the way here?”

“The Elder has established a bank.”

Jang Mal-dong has finally come out of the shadows.

Park Jeong-hwan decided that it would be difficult to grow further with underground financing because he had carried out the 8.3 private loan freeze.

“It’s Jangsu Bank. The main branch is naturally in Myeongdong.”

“Please tell him I congratulate him. I’ll stop by to say hello when I go to Seoul.”

Song Jin-gu smiled with a ‘this, this’ expression.

“Hey, crazy. How did you know Choi Mu-ryong was establishing a bank? Where did you hear it?”

“It’s probably for the same reason the Elder is establishing a bank. Is there a need for explanation?”

Song Jin-gu shook his head.

“Why are you reacting so coldly? The Elder sent me to convey his gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

“Thanks to you, we were able to ferret out all the bat-like bastards.”

Song Jin-gu’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Tae-soo immediately guessed.

‘Oh. There was a purge of traitors with a bloody storm. It’s definitely thanks to my tip.’

It was an emergency order to freeze private loans.

The announcement was at 11:40 PM on August 2nd.

The private loan freeze took effect at 0:00 on August 3rd.

It was an extreme measure that turned private loans into scraps of paper in just 20 minutes.

‘Jang Mal-dong was able to recover some of his private loans thanks to me telling him ten days in advance. But what about Choi Mu-ryong?’

How did Choi Mu-ryong recover his private loans and have the funds to establish a bank?

‘I didn’t go to Choi Mu-ryong, and the president completely controlled the information with the intention of completely eradicating underground finance.’

That’s why Jang Mal-dong must have thought.

‘Jang Mal-dong must have noticed. That there is someone reporting his movements to Choi Mu-ryong.’

That’s how the bloody storm would have happened.

Because there would be no one who could escape the eyes of Jang Mal-dong, who had made up his mind.

‘Jang Mal-dong is smart. But he didn’t know one thing. In the past life, Choi Mu-ryong avoided the private loan freeze and established Chomyeong Bank. It means Choi Mu-ryong has other connections.’

In his previous life, Jang Mal-dong went bankrupt, and Choi Mu-ryong survived.

Choi Mu-ryong’s information was faster and more accurate than Jang Mal-dong, who claimed to be an information merchant.

‘Still, Jang Mal-dong’s response is excellent. Because there is nothing as dangerous as a knife hidden under your chin.’

Tae-soo nodded.

Then Song Jin-gu frowned.

“You seem to understand all the circumstances just by hearing that?”

“Is there a reason why I wouldn’t understand? I understand well. Please tell him that I will gratefully accept the meaning of the Elder sending you.”

“You know the meaning of sending me?”

Song Jin-gu opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

Because he couldn’t understand it at all.

“Didn’t the Elder explain it to you?”

“If I knew that, would I be making this expression right now?”