Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 61

61. Preparing to Hunt Cheongil (3)

In his meeting with Rahman, Tae-soo had already anticipated how he would act.

‘Rahman must be preparing by now.’

His father was none other than the Saudi Minister of Defense!

‘Rahman was certain about the war. That’s why he rushed out of the cabin and scribbled his signature on the contract.’

Tae-soo deliberately presented the contract.

It was to gauge Rahman’s true intentions.

Actions speak louder than words.

‘People can lie, and expressions can be faked, but signing a contract is another matter entirely.’

When signing a contract, people instinctively hesitate and think about the pros and cons one more time.

But Rahman signed the contract in a daze.

It meant he had already made up his mind.

‘Rahman must have already discussed the war with his father. If so, the Ministry of Defense would be conducting a secret investigation, and they couldn’t possibly miss the arms dealing.’

Jang Mal-dong swallowed hard at Tae-soo’s words.

“I didn’t know you knew that much. Yes, we are supplying goods to Egypt and Syria.”

“That’s why I’m saying.”

Tae-soo grinned.

“Shall I put in a good word with the Saudi royal family?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you only planning to do business with one side?”

Of course not.

He had no connections to the Saudi royal family.

Making a clumsy approach would make him an easy target to be dragged away. That’s what an arms dealer was, wasn’t it?

“How can you introduce me? It hasn’t been that long since you went to the Middle East.”

“I’m thinking of introducing you to the Saudi Minister of Defense, or his son. What do you think?”

What do I think?

This was a must-grab opportunity!

But Jang Mal-dong remained silent, lost in thought.

He glanced to the side and saw the man in the hanbok [traditional Korean clothing] also deep in thought.

‘From Jang Mal-dong’s perspective, this would be a life-or-death challenge. That’s what arms dealing is like.’

Tae-soo waited patiently.

How long had it been?

The man in the hanbok nodded.

Jang Mal-dong also emerged from his long contemplation.

“Alright, if you can get me a line to the Saudi royal family, nothing could be better.”

Jang Mal-dong looked at Tae-soo and asked subtly.

“I understand why you returned home so urgently. I’m truly grateful. This information is also out of goodwill, of course?”

He was asking how much the information would cost.

In other words, was it free or not?

“If I wanted a reward, I would have brandished the promissory note.”

“Don’t even mention that promissory note anymore!”

Jang Mal-dong shuddered at the mere mention of the promissory note.

No matter how he thought about it, he must have been half out of his mind the day he wrote that note for the loan shark.

“Just thinking about it makes me jump out of bed in the middle of the night. It’s the greatest humiliation of my life!”

“Is that so? You must have lived a very sheltered life.”

“Have you ever seen such a crazy bastard!”

Jang Mal-dong trembled.

Seeing it often, I’m getting used to it and I like it.

“You may have forgotten, Elder, but I haven’t. Aren’t we allies?”

“So you’re giving me this information for free?”

“Passengers who share a taxi don’t charge each other.”

It’s the taxi driver who charges the passengers.

“Let’s go together since we’re heading the same way. As allies, we should share the good things, nurture each other, and pull each other along.”

An alliance is like a three-legged race.

You have to stretch your legs together, at the same speed, and run together towards the goal to cross the finish line together.

“Prepare a lot of supplies in advance. The Saudi Ministry of Defense will continue to increase its arms purchases.”

“This isn’t just a one-time customer?”

“Of course not.”

In fact, the Saudi government has been increasing its arms purchases every year.

The Saudi government drove out Western capital after the Middle East war and monopolized oil.

It became a country that shouted for a wealthy and strong nation and achieved the third-highest defense spending after the United States and China.

“Good, I’ll trust you and give it a shot. Saudi Arabia is a customer that makes my ears perk up.”

“It won’t be a losing business.”

When the Middle East war breaks out, they’ll buy as many weapons as you can sell.

There won’t be enough supply to meet the demand.

It’s a business that can’t lose money.

“Then is that all you came here for? Since you’ve come all this way, why don’t you spend some time with our young lady······.”

Tae-soo cut off Jang Mal-dong’s lingering attachment with a single stroke.

“I have another matter.”

“···It would be nice to discuss that matter with our young lady over a cup of tea.”

“I can’t discuss Choi Mu-ryong’s story with this household’s young lady.”

“Choi Mu-ryong?”

Jang Mal-dong’s eyes changed in an instant.

They were as sharp as a venomous snake filled with poison.

It felt like he had returned to the Jang Mal-dong from when they first met.

“Why bring up that unlucky name here?”

“Let’s catch Choi Mu-ryong together.”

“What?”

Jang Mal-dong was so surprised that he slammed his fan down.

“Catch Choi Mu-ryong? How?”

“Let’s swallow the bank he founded.”

Choi Mu-ryong survived the August 3rd Loan Freeze [a government measure in South Korea in 1972 that froze private loans to stimulate the economy].

When the underground financial business of private lending could no longer continue, he quickly crawled out into the open.

The bank he founded that way was Chomyung Bank.

It was the same as Jang Mal-dong founding Jangsu Bank.

“We have to strike while Chomyung Bank is still weak. It will be difficult to extract it once it’s properly established.”

Choi Mu-ryong’s Chomyung Bank supports Cheongil Group.

It was Han Cheong-ho’s hidden ally and an inexhaustible source of money.

To eat Han Cheong-ho’s Cheongil Oil, you have to shake the foundation, Chomyung Bank, first.

Jang Mal-dong said.

“Who doesn’t know that? Choi Mu-ryong is not an ordinary suspicious guy. Do you know how that guy endured the Loan Freeze?”

“How did he endure it?”

“He endured it by creating a ledger.”

A ledger?

Are you talking about a bribery ledger?

“Choi Mu-ryong didn’t trust promissory notes even while circulating private loans. The only thing he trusted was a weakness to grab his opponent’s throat. So even though the private loans became scraps of paper, he brandished the ledger and recovered the money.”

I see.

In the previous life, Jang Mal-dong was swept away by the August 3rd Loan Freeze and went bankrupt.

But Choi Mu-ryong endured it and founded Chomyung Bank.

Now that I see it, he didn’t join hands with Park Jeong-hwan, but rather endured by seizing the weaknesses of the powerful.

“Would such a guy pull out? He will hold on until the bank is established, swallowing small amounts of money little by little and growing in size.”

Jang Mal-dong is right.

In fact, Chomyung Bank stubbornly endured that way and grew in size when the opportunity came.

Thanks to that, it remained a solid bank and gave wings to Cheongil Group.

So if you’re going to catch it, you have to catch it now.

Before it has grown to its full size, when it is still crouching down and swallowing only small amounts of money.

“That’s why now is the opportunity. If we don’t catch him now, it will be difficult to catch him again.”

“The problem is how to bring him down. He’s like a rat. A hateful, cunning guy. He will never be caught while eating crumbs of food spilled on the floor.”

Tae-soo grinned.

“Do you know how to catch a rat easily?”

“You have to use rat poison and a rat trap.”

“That’s right. Rats enter the rat trap as if possessed and eat the bait with rat poison and die.”

“Choi Mu-ryong is an old, experienced rat. He will never eat bait with rat poison.”

“That would be the case if it was the usual bait. But what if it’s Western cheese? A foreign food that exudes a captivating scent! I’ll prepare it.”

“That’s right!”

Jang Mal-dong clapped his knee.

“You’ve already prepared the bait to lure Choi Mu-ryong! And it’s foreign! What is it?”

“It’s oil.”

The oil shock is about to burst.

“Currently, the stock prices of Western oil companies are hitting new highs every day.”

The golden age of Western capitalism is being enjoyed by buying oil from oil-producing countries at bargain prices.

But soon the Middle East war will break out.

And oil-producing countries will soon declare a ban on oil exports.

After that, they will drive out Western oil companies from their countries and reclaim the oil.

“Let’s scatter cheese all over the sinking ship and drive the rat in. That’s how we set sail. When the ship sinks, the rats will be submerged in the sea together.”

“That’s right!”

Jang Mal-dong was excited and half-raised his body.

“What can I do to help? What can I do for you?”

“Please gently scratch Choi Mu-ryong’s insides.”

A decoy is needed.

“A suspicious and greedy guy like Choi Mu-ryong needs a cat to jump out from behind to get on the ship himself.”

There is one variable that has changed from the previous life.

That is that Tae-soo saved Jang Mal-dong, who should have gone bankrupt due to the Loan Freeze.

Jang Mal-dong has more capital, more businesses, and more information than Choi Mu-ryong.

Choi Mu-ryong felt inferiority and competitiveness towards Jang Mal-dong.

“First, spread false rumors. Rumors coming out about Western oil companies.”

“Rumors?”

“Stock prices will rise, sales are increasing, contracts have been signed, and mergers and acquisitions will soon take place.”

“Hey, who would fall for such false rumors?”

“Stock prices fluctuate with rumors. So there is someone I would like to introduce.”

Tae-soo called out loudly to Han-soo, who was waiting behind the door.

“Han-soo, come in.”

Creak. Clack.

“It’s been a while, Elder.”

“Aren’t you the Yeongdeungpo Problem Solver?”

Tae-soo sat his younger brother next to him and said.

“From now on, he will be the president of the American investment company ‘Shadow Investment.’”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Han-soo.”

“I will work with the Elder to poke and prod Choi Mu-ryong from the inside and out. I will spread rumors from the market floor.”

Tae-soo grinned.

“This guy’s specialty was originally collecting rumors floating around the market floor. But this time, we’re going in the opposite direction.”

Han-soo was a shoeshine boy in the market.

He used to collect rumors and act as a problem solver while taking the kids around with him.

Han-soo has a wide and large network of informants.

Using all means, Han-soo will spread rumors from the market floor.

“Let’s use the information merchants that the Elder has this time.”

Jang Mal-dong smiled with a glint in his eyes.

“Are you telling our guys, whose credibility is their life, to deliberately damage their credibility?”

“No, who said to damage their credibility?”

“Then?”

“I said we’re going in the opposite direction. We’ll spread the rumors, so just blow the wind.”

Information merchants are not originally decoys.

Rather, they used to play a role like a sieve that filters out false rumors caused by decoys.

But now they’re telling them to blow the wind.

“How? How can you blow the wind without damaging your credibility? While knowing full well that it’s a false rumor.”

“It’s simple. Just tell the truth to the people who come to buy information.”

-This is unconfirmed information.

-But recently, there has been a sudden increase in the number of people coming to confirm this information.

Tae-soo shrugged.

“Unconfirmed information? That’s true. People coming to confirm the information? That’s probably true.”

Jang Mal-dong laughed loudly.

“The truth is the truth, but you mean to create an atmosphere like a suspicious fact? To blow only bubbles into it, saying it hasn’t been confirmed yet? Gently towards Choi Mu-ryong?”

“It’s important to plant suspicion.”

Suspicion is a scary thing.

Once it takes root in the heart, it grows rapidly.

Using all the information heard around as fertilizer.

“Choi Mu-ryong is a particularly suspicious person.”

It is a perfect soil to be eaten by suspicion.

From the beginning, a suspicious guy lives like that.

He will suspect everything, pretend to be smart, and find and confirm more data.

The more he does, the more he will sink into the pit of suspicion.

“When Choi Mu-ryong is struggling in the swamp of suspicion, the Elder should show a clear gesture.”

“What should I do?”

You have to show the lifeline that a suspicious guy will grab.