Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 77

It was welcome news.

“That’s good. Choi Moo-ryong got caught.”

Choi Moo-ryong was a suspicious man.

But in the end, he tripped over his own suspicion.

Choi Moo-ryong will be Han Cheong-ho’s lifeline.

If Choi Moo-ryong falls, Han Cheong-ho will also falter.

“The bank has become so difficult that Elder Jang Mal-dong can gobble it up quickly.”

Ahn Jung-woo unexpectedly shook his head.

“No.”

It was unexpected.

Tae-soo’s head turned towards Ahn Jung-woo.

“What do you mean by that?”

“A narrow escape. He got lucky.”

It wasn’t just a matter of getting lucky.

Han-soo was running around in the US, making deals in the market.

There, Jang Mal-dong moved.

Information brokers stirred up the wind, and Jang Mal-dong even showed them investing in stocks.

“How did Choi Moo-ryong get out?”

“Because of a variable.”

What variable could have been enough to get out of a sinking ship?

What is the variable that made Chomyeong Bank only difficult, not faltering?

“Cheongil’s Han Cheong-ho.”

“Are you saying Han Cheong-ho noticed this?”

“No.”

“If not, how did Han Cheong-ho get involved in it?”

“It seems he urgently needed a lot of dollars.”

Now I understand.

To bribe the Saudi Minister of Finance and the Minister of Construction.

To win the Saudi Jubail Industrial Port construction project.

“He urged Chomyeong Bank to cough up dollars.”

“Yes.”

“Did Chomyeong Bank’s Choi Moo-ryong give the dollars willingly? He must have been blinded by the oil company stocks.”

“He mortgaged Cheongil Oil Refining’s stock.”

Tae-soo and Geumsan’s Jang Joon-yong’s divisive tactics saved Choi Moo-ryong.

The bank became difficult, but it was still breathing.

* * *

Cheongil Oil Refining’s president’s office was a mess.

It was because Han Cheong-ho, the chairman of Cheongil Group, had barged in.

Chairman Han Cheong-ho shouted.

“Why haven’t I heard about the oil supply contract yet! Why did the guy who went all the way to Libya come back empty-handed!”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’re about to stop the factory because we don’t have oil now! Get it somehow! Get it from anywhere!”

“Mr. President, it’s because the oil-producing countries have collectively declared a ban on oil exports…”

“So you have to run around and get oil! The whole world is the same now! It’s a mess because there’s no oil, are you going to stand still?”

He toured the entire Middle East.

But everyone says in unison that they will not sell oil to Cheongil Oil Refining.

“What are you doing? Why did you come back to Korea now? Get out right now if you don’t want to give up your position as president!”

“……”

The president of Cheongil Oil Refining closed his eyes tightly.

‘It’s no use giving bribes or encouraging lobbyists. The Middle Eastern oil-producing countries say they will never sell oil to Cheongil Oil Refining, so what’s the point of me going again?’

What on earth did he do to get Cheongil Oil Refining firmly targeted by the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries?

The president of Cheongil Oil Refining couldn’t figure out the reason at all.

‘Should I check with the US and Soviet sides? Should I break through Brunei? Even Bahrain says they will only sell oil to Geumsan…’

The president of Cheongil Oil Refining’s worries deepen.

“Don’t even think about coming to Seoul until you get the oil supply contract! Even if you have to bury your bones there, bring the oil supply contract first!”

“Chairman, it’s difficult. I can’t do it with my power…”

“I don’t want to hear it! Leave for the airport right now!”

Han Cheong-ho didn’t listen to the rest and stormed out of the Cheongil Oil Refining president’s office.

Secretary Park followed Han Cheong-ho.

“Chairman, Cheongil Oil Refining’s stock price continues to plummet every day. We need to take some measures quickly.”

“Khalid, that has-been has taken off with the Middle East war.”

The tiger who lost his teeth is too lucky.

Han Cheong-ho gritted his teeth.

Cheongil Oil Refining is in danger.

“Contact Chomyeong Bank and tell them I’m coming now.”

I need to meet Choi Moo-ryong.

* * *

He heard about the situation in Korea from Ahn Jung-woo.

Tae-soo was lost in thought for a moment.

“Are you thinking of eating up Cheongil Oil Refining?”

He was seeing through Tae-soo’s mind.

“Did you know?”

“Why Cheongil Oil Refining of all things? Han Cheong-ho has many group affiliates.”

“Because Han Cheong-ho can’t get oil from seven Middle Eastern oil-producing countries.”

Khalid, the Saudi Minister of Defense, kept his promise as he seized power.

“Indeed, it was your doing.”

“Do you think I have the ability to move Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, even seven countries?”

Ignorance for ignorance.

Tae-soo deliberately acted humble.

“It’s their own fault. I heard that Han Cheong-ho had a falling out with a high-ranking official in Saudi Arabia.”

“I know you moved the Saudi Minister of Defense. You don’t have to hide it from me.”

Ahn Jung-woo is also an information broker.

Moreover, he is an arms dealer who has deeply extended his reach into the Middle East war.

He has seen and heard quite a bit from this war.

‘He’s a sharp man. He couldn’t have known about the secret agreement between me and the Saudi Minister of Defense.’

But Ahn Jung-woo immediately noticed the causal relationship.

‘He’s taciturn but strong. He’s different from soldiers and politicians.’

He didn’t have a conversation with him in his previous life.

Tae-soo only set a trap and captured him.

“Cheongil Oil Refining is shaking. Everyone wants to seize the opportunity, don’t they?”

“What are you going to do by shaking Cheongil Oil Refining?”

“I’m going to make them go completely bankrupt.”

The goal is clear.

I like it.

Ahn Jung-woo smiled.

“What do you want? Revenge? Interests? Money? Pride?”

“I’m going to have it all. Will you help me?”

“Well.”

Ahn Jung-woo deliberately blurred his words.

He was looking at Tae-soo with interesting eyes.

“Why did you form an alliance with us?”

Because he knows that he is at odds with Han Cheong-ho.

Because he knows that he has the same enemy as Tae-soo.

“I plan to destroy Han Cheong-ho’s Cheongil Group.”

“Why Han Cheong-ho’s Cheongil Group of all things?”

“There are two reasons.”

One is the real reason.

“Just know that I am an irreconcilable enemy with Han Cheong-ho. You probably know who’s backing me now, so I won’t say much.”

Ahn Jung-woo couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t know.

His pride as an information broker did not allow it.

Tae-soo has no backing.

Future information is his backing, and the grudges of his previous life are the reason.

“Second, I can’t stand seeing pro-Japanese people like Han Cheong-ho prospering and only filling their own pockets.”

This is Ahn Jung-woo’s reason.

It is a justification that Tae-soo mentions to shake him.

“Korea was liberated at the end of the liberation. But the liquidation of pro-Japanese factions was glossed over.”

“Yes, Han Cheong-ho must pay the price for taking the lead in pro-Japanese activities.”

Tae-soo speaks of the reason why Ahn Jung-woo is working so hard in the shadows, the belief that sustains him.

Ahn Jung-woo outwardly pretended to be calm.

But he clenched his fist so hard that his veins bulged.

“Your determination to stand against Han Cheong-ho.”

Tae-soo stood against Han Cheong-ho from beginning to end.

He knew it was a rough road, but he didn’t avoid it.

“I’ll admit it.”

Ahn Jung-woo finally nodded.

“I have a proposal.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll give you all 11% of the Cheongil Oil Refining shares I have.”

Ahn Jung-woo was convinced.

That Tae-soo would never refuse this offer.

Because Tae-soo is aiming for Cheongil Oil Refining.

“But there is a condition.”

“What is it?”

“Become my daughter’s guardian.”

It was an unexpected condition.

“Are you perhaps talking about marriage?”

“Didn’t you already refuse that? It’s literally a guardian.”

He said firmly.

“Jang Mal-dong is too old.”

Tae-soo chuckled.

“Is it okay to call the Elder you serve by his name like that?”

Ahn Jung-woo scoffed.

“Don’t play dumb. I don’t think you wouldn’t know.”

“Did you know?”

“That’s why I came to see you in person.”

Ahn Jung-woo looked straight at Tae-soo.

“If you want to eat Cheongil Oil Refining, take my hand.”

Ahn Jung-woo has 11% of Cheongil Oil Refining’s shares in his hand.

“Aren’t we allies?”

“I don’t refuse the hand that is offered. We are allies.”

Tae-soo grabbed Ahn Jung-woo’s hand tightly.

But the follow-up was different.

“But I don’t need Cheongil Oil Refining’s stock.”

Ahn Jung-woo’s hand, holding Tae-soo’s hand, naturally tightened.

“What are you going to do? It will be difficult to eat Cheongil Oil Refining without my stock?”

“The target of the transaction is wrong.”

Tae-soo was also a father.

So he couldn’t receive it.

“What your daughter needs is not a guardian. It’s a father.”

Tae-soo smiled.

“I know what you’re planning. That’s why you came all the way to Saudi Arabia to find me, worried about your daughter.”

Ahn Jung-woo’s eyebrows twitched.

“What do you mean?”

“Stop doing dangerous things. Stop meeting Moon Se-gi and stirring things up.”

Ahn Jung-woo was planning to assassinate President Park Jung-hwan.

August 15, 1974.

He attempts to assassinate him using the commemorative ceremony held at the Seoul National Theater.

But the assassination fails, and the First Lady is killed instead of Park Jung-hwan.

The mastermind is Moon Se-gi.

But it was later revealed that this man was behind it.

“Did you know?”

“Isn’t the information power of my backer great? He’s watching you.”

“Hmm.”

Ahn Jung-woo closed his eyes.

Since the plan, which is a matter of security, was exposed from the beginning, the result will be obvious if he pushes it forward.

Ahn Jung-woo opened his closed eyes and looked at Tae-soo.

“I’ll scrap the exposed plan. I’ll repay this information with something else.”

Anyway, this assassination plan will fail.

There’s no need to deliberately invite danger.

“But I hope you accept the guardian proposal.”

“If you think about your daughter, why don’t you stop doing dangerous things this time?”

It is true that he is concerned about his daughter, but it is not comparable to the great cause.

“Are you going to stay in Saudi Arabia and continue the construction? It will be difficult to shake Cheongil Oil Refining properly as it is.”

“I was about to go to Korea anyway.”

Tae-soo raised his head and looked in the direction of Korea.

“I’m going to meet Park Jung-hwan and make a deal.”

But there is a place to stop by before that.

There is something to ask of Saudi Defense Minister Khalid.

“I’ll go in separately later. You go first.”

Tae-soo smiled.

“I’ll see you again in Korea.”

“I will.”

Ahn Jung-woo turned his back.

‘He’s definitely not easy.’

The proposal he was sure of didn’t work.

On the other hand, he had no choice but to accept Tae-soo’s proposal.

Because he had no intention of forcibly pushing forward with a reckless and impossible task.

‘It’ll be fun.’

I’m looking forward to how Kang Tae-soo will take away Han Cheong-ho’s Cheongil Oil Refining.

Ahn Jung-woo said after walking a few steps.

He was still turned away.

“Han Cheong-ho will go to find Choi Moo-ryong.”

He probably will.

“Something very interesting will happen soon.”

“Something interesting?”

“Didn’t you properly alienate the two this time?”

It’s not what Tae-soo did.

But Ahn Jung-woo was adamant that it was Tae-soo’s doing.

‘I properly alienated Han Cheong-ho and Choi Moo-ryong?’

Tae-soo is wondering how things turned out that way.