Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 44

44. Meeting the Bedouin (3)

A Bedouin warrior glares menacingly.

He’s clad in a turban and leather armor, a curved sword (shamshir: a type of scimitar common in the Islamic world) hanging at his waist.

[This is a battlefield. All outsiders, leave now!]

Song Chang-joon quickly translates.

Tae-soo shouts loudly.

[We will start building a well here! For the Bedouin!]

[Well construction? For us? What is all this about?]

The Bedouins’ expressions shift, confusion replacing hostility.

One of them, who can read, examines the writing on the fluttering cloth banner.

They seem even more perplexed.

[We will start construction tomorrow! If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask!]

Just then, a convoy of vehicles appears in the distance, raising a massive cloud of dust and creating a deafening roar.

At the head of the convoy is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Song Chang-joon contacted.

He leans out the window and yells.

“Heavy equipment has arrived!”

A procession of 40 excavators, 30 dump trucks, 25 concrete mixers, and 30 bulldozers rolls into view.

Furthermore, the dump trucks are laden with well-drilling rigs, exploration drills, core drills, crushers, and other specialized equipment.

Even materials from Pohang Steel are stacked high!

[W-What on earth is this… !]

The Bedouins are utterly bewildered.

[This is beyond my authority.]

The Bedouin warrior turns to his subordinate.

[Go and bring the chief and elders. And summon all the warriors of the tribe.]

[Yes, I understand.]

The Bedouin swiftly departs.

The Bedouin warrior, still glaring at Tae-soo, furrows his brow.

[What are you planning, bringing in an army of heavy equipment? Are you trying to oppress us?]

Oppress, my foot.

If there’s an ulterior motive, it’s to give a little and get a lot.

That is, local self-sufficiency!

But he couldn’t say that outright.

[Of course not. It’s as the banner proclaims. We’re here to build a well for the Bedouin.]

A silent standoff ensues.

* * *

For some time, the Bedouin warrior has been glaring at them, hand resting on his sword.

Song Chang-joon’s mouth is dry, and cold sweat trickles down his face.

“I’ve heard that Bedouin warriors are formidable, but seeing them in person, the pressure is immense.”

“Indeed.”

Despite his words, Tae-soo remains calm.

He doubted that the Bedouin, who valued honor, would suddenly attack.

Tae-soo glances back at Song Jin-goo and the others.

“Did you check the rest of the trunks?”

“No problem.”

Song Jin-goo frowns and pats his waist.

The miners and others also pat their respective areas.

They seem to have prepared themselves well.

“You guys are quick.”

“What choice do we have? If a crazy bastard like you prepared this, it means there could be an emergency, so we have to be ready.”

If they have swords, we have guns!

Song Chang-joon cautiously speaks, observing their reactions.

“Aren’t you being too reckless?”

“We need to have a proper conversation with the Bedouin to even begin construction here, right?”

“Meeting two tribes at once is dangerous. A fight might break out here any minute! The situation is incredibly tense.”

That was certainly a possibility.

If their power wasn’t relatively equal, the conflict wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Moreover, this was the very place the Bedouin had chosen as their battlefield.

The likelihood of a skirmish erupting was high.

Song Chang-joon says with a grave expression.

“We need to stop the Bedouin’s fighting and get back to construction, but there’s no way to do that right now. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is helpless. But you’re deliberately bringing the Bedouin together, what’s your plan?”

Tae-soo asks, mimicking a seesaw.

“Seesaw, imagine a seesaw with the Bedouin tribes on either side. Do you know how to make the seesaw touch the ground?”

“Yes, isn’t it just a matter of adding more weight to one side?”

“Of course. Then how much more weight should we add? What should we put on it to shift the balance that determines the fate of the two tribes?”

“W-Well.”

Tae-soo smiles meaningfully.

“What do you think will happen to the other side if only one side of the seesaw touches the ground?”

“…It will go up high, right?”

“That’s right. If one side goes down first, the other side will fall with a thud, having risen so high. They will collapse, and there will be a dizzying shock.”

This isn’t a light seesaw you see in a playground.

It’s a seesaw with the Bedouin tribes on either side.

“Then what do you think the people who went down first will do at this time? If they are people who have been fighting each other for months?”

Song Chang-joon’s face darkens.

“Are you saying that another fight will start again? Maybe a one-sided massacre…”

“If the Saudi royal family sees this, what do you think they will think? If they see the tragedy I created by forcibly tilting the seesaw to one side?”

“Hmm.”

“Then it will be very difficult for me to resume construction, right? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive even stronger protests than now. Secretary Song will be even busier.”

Song Chang-joon sighs deeply.

“That’s what I’m saying. There’s no easy solution. For now, the only way is to stand by and wait for the Bedouin tribes to stop fighting.”

“Do you think I came all the way here without a solution?”

Song Chang-joon looks at Tae-soo with surprise.

“What are you going to do? How are you going to bring down the tense seesaw?”

“If it were me, like this.”

Tae-soo pretends to tap the seesaw stand.

“I’ll just blow away the seesaw stand and get everyone safely on the ground.”

Why did the Bedouin, who were living well with their feet on the ground, get on the seesaw in the first place?

It’s all because a seesaw stand appeared in the middle.

The root of the problem: water.

“Isn’t the reason they’re fighting ultimately because of water?”

In the desert, water means survival, so they can’t afford to back down.

“If it’s a fight involving interests, you can just resolve it with interests.”

“Are you saying…”

“If water is the problem, then give them water.”

Who doesn’t know that?

The problem is that there’s no water to give.

“It’s an unprecedented drought. Isn’t there a reason why everyone is helpless? There’s not enough water to go around.”

“That’s why we’re doing well drilling to dig wells. And I have something else prepared separately.”

“Something else prepared?”

“Didn’t you say that an oil tanker arrived at the nearby port earlier?”

“… …?”

Just then.

A huge number of warriors come running from both sides, kicking up dust.

Seeing the sight, Song Chang-joon gapes.

“H-How many people are there?”

It feels like more than the actual number of warriors.

He is overwhelmed by the fierce momentum of the warriors facing war.

Song Jin-goo also curses.

“Damn bastards, they’re glaring so fiercely. Do they think we’re pushovers? You can’t be a debt collector if you’re scared of numbers!”

“Hyung [older brother/friend], it’s security now.”

“Damn it, who cares? Let’s show them the dignity of Korean security!”

Song Jin-goo, who already has a fierce expression, frowns even more intensely.

The former debt collectors, now security workers, who followed Song Jin-goo were all the same.

Even the miners had already taken off their shirts and were holding pickaxes and shovels.

Seeing this, Song Chang-joon is horrified.

“Why are you guys doing this again? A real fight is going to break out! We’re not here to start a war!”

Tae-soo glances at the heavy equipment lined up on one side, then straightens his posture.

“It’s time to face the Bedouin.”

Tae-soo fumbles for something in his chest.

It was a white cloth.

He ties it tightly to a stick.

Song Chang-joon was puzzled.

“What are you making now?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

“It looks like a white flag…”

“You have a keen eye.”

Tae-soo hands the white flag to Song Chang-joon.

Song Chang-joon accepts the white flag in a daze.

Tae-soo says.

“I’d like to go alone if I could, but you’re the only one here who can speak the local language, Secretary Song. I’m sorry for getting you involved in this.”

Song Chang-joon looks at the white flag in his hand.

“Even if something happens to me, no one will harm you if you wave that. Desert tribes are warriors who respect honor.”

Song Chang-joon is choked up.

“Then you…”

“I can’t start by waving a white flag and begging for my life when I’m asking for a conversation representing Korea, can I? I have to go with my shoulders straight and confident. So they can’t look down on me.”

Song Chang-joon is speechless.

Tae-soo pats Song Chang-joon on the shoulder and smiles.

“Stay back. I’ll speak loudly so you can hear me well from afar.”

After speaking, Tae-soo walks alone towards the Bedouin.

Holeech quickly follows behind Tae-soo.

“Tae-soo, let’s go together.”

“It’s dangerous. You wait here with the others.”

Holeech knows how ferocious the desert warriors are.

But Holeech smiles.

“Let’s die together if we die. What are friends for? How many times do I have to tell you that I’ll protect your back?”

He was grateful.

Tae-soo didn’t expect Holeech to say that he would die with him in front of the desert warriors.

“Holeech, you don’t have to push yourself this far. I just want you to stay by my side as a drinking buddy for a long time. That’s enough for me. I didn’t want to be left alone.”

Holeech chuckles.

“Tae-soo, there are many drinking buddies. You’ll have friends who you meet while entertaining clients as you do business, and you’ll have work friends who do the same thing. But…”

Holeech taps Tae-soo on the shoulder.

“You said that you have many people to entrust your work to, but no one to entrust your back to, right? I don’t think so. More and more people will trust you, and many people will want to protect your back.”

Holeech smiles.

“I want to be a friend who goes with you when you go to a place of death.”

Tae-soo clenches his fist.

Because Holeech’s words touched him deeply.

“Damn it, I’ll be ashamed to face Grandma [a term of endearment]?”

“Our Grandma will like it the most. She said it’s not easy to get a friend like you in the world.”

Holeech stands to Tae-soo’s right.

Song Chang-joon also steels his resolve.

‘I am also a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official representing Korea. A mere civilian is coming out so confidently, I can’t shamefully wave a white flag to beg for my life.’

Song Chang-joon throws the white flag behind him.

Song Chang-joon stands to Tae-soo’s left.

“Let’s go together.”

In the meantime, the Bedouin also lined up.

One of the Bedouin, who had been glaring at each other in a standoff, shouts loudly.

[Who are you!]

Tae-soo shouts loudly in English.

In a loud and confident voice.

[I am from South Korea. I want to have a proper conversation with you!]

Most of the Bedouin did not understand Tae-soo’s words.

However, the chiefs and key figures of the two tribes knew English.

But they deliberately remained silent.

Because they didn’t want to talk to Tae-soo.

Tae-soo noticed the chiefs and key figures’ behavior.

‘They know English. Their reactions are different from the other tribe members. They are the leaders of the tribe. I need to remember them.’

At Tae-soo’s direction, Song Chang-joon finally begins to translate.

Tae-soo had asked him to identify the key figures in advance.

Tae-soo shouts.

[Give me a cup of tea, a meal, and a night’s sleep! I want to be a guest of the Bedouin today!]

The Bedouin’s eyes widen.

[He knows the customs of the Bedouin!]

[He claims to be a guest of the Bedouin!]

The meaning of a guest is special to the Bedouin.

-Guests must be treated generously and welcomed politely.

-Attacking a guest is an extremely shameful act that is frowned upon.

-Even if it is a murderer who killed a son, if he asks to stay as a guest, he must be treated with utmost care for one night.

That was the culture and tradition of the tribes.

They are desert nomads where fights between clans and tribes never end due to the harsh environment.

If you point a knife at a guest who is not a threat?

External exchanges become difficult, and the act of going outside the territory itself involves many risks.

[I ask to be a guest of the Bedouin today! Stop guarding and welcome the guest!]

The Bedouin each looked at their chiefs.

The chief had no choice but to nod.

[If he is a guest, we have no choice.]

[…We cannot antagonize a guest.]

Two people stepped forward from among the Bedouin.

[I am the chief of the Corrino tribe!]

[I am the chief of the Harkonnen tribe!]

The Bedouin chiefs shout loudly.

[We will welcome the guest according to the rules of the Bedouin.]

[You can trust the chief’s word.]

Chief Corrino shouts loudly.

[Which tribe will you come to as a guest!]

Tae-soo smiles and shouts.

[I will listen to the stories of both chiefs and then decide which one to be a guest of, the Corrino tribe or the Harkonnen tribe!]

Laughter ripples through the Bedouin ranks.

It’s an absurd proposition.

But Tae-soo was confident.

‘Soon you will be begging me to be your guest first.’

I have a tanker full of water!