Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 449

451

Chairman Shin Chun-oh quietly called Director Choi Jin-young.

“Director Choi.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“I heard that CEO Kim is finally opening next week?”

“Yes, that’s right. The opening date is set for next Sunday.”

“Did you say Sunday just now?”

“Yes, he’s opening on Sunday.”

“…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh, lost in thought, asked again.

“It’s rare to open on a Sunday. Is there a special reason for opening on Sunday?”

“I was curious about the reason, so I looked into it, and it’s because of the students.”

“Students? Why students? What does it have to do with the opening?”

“He invited them.”

“Invited?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh tilted his head at the word invitation.

Not all restaurants do this, but sometimes, as a gesture of goodwill, they invite the village elders to commemorate the opening.

However, that is also not common and very rare.

But a moment ago, Director Choi Jin-young clearly said that Hyun-sung invited the students. Therefore, Chairman Shin Chun-oh tilted his head because he couldn’t understand it at first glance.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked immediately.

“Did you say you invited the students?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Which students are you talking about? There will be elementary, middle, and high school students.”

“All of them.”

“All of them?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh tilted his head once more. Even though it’s a rural area, if you add up elementary, middle, and high school students, the number will be considerable. But he said he invited all those students, so it was only natural that he was taken aback.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked immediately as if to confirm again.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was a little skeptical at first, so I checked one more time, and it was true.”

“Even though it’s a rural area, if you add up elementary to high school students, the number will be quite large. Are you saying he invited all those students?”

“Yes, that’s right. There are a little over 1,800 students in total.”

“Huh…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh just laughed as if he had nothing to say.

At that time, Director Choi Jin-young immediately opened his mouth again.

“That’s not all.”

“Does that mean there’s something else?”

“Yes, he invited all the elders over sixty in the village. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand CEO Kim’s thoughts. No matter how much money a person has, how can he invite more than 2,000 people? I’m just dumbfounded.”

“Hmm…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh didn’t say anything, wondering what he was thinking.

After a while.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh, with a smile on his face, opened his mouth again.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Has he only done that once or twice?”

“That’s true, but I think it’s a bit much this time. How can he invite more than 2,000 people, not just a hundred or two?”

“Tsk.”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh had nothing special to say. Of course, it wasn’t the first or second time Hyun-sung had surprised people, but even Chairman Shin Chun-oh himself couldn’t help but be surprised in this case, even though he said that.

“To be honest, I don’t understand it either. Who in the world would give free meals to more than 2,000 people on the opening day, not just a hundred or two?”

“It’s not just a simple meal, it’s meat.”

“Meat?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s voice grew louder at the word ‘meat’ without him realizing it.

Not just a hundred or two people, but a whopping 2,000 people. He thought he would naturally feed them a meal since he invited so many people. But he said he was feeding them meat, not just a simple meal, so his voice grew louder without him realizing it.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked again.

“You’re saying he’s feeding them meat, not just a meal?”

“Yes, so he ordered 100 pigs. Anyway, CEO Kim’s brain structure must be completely different from ordinary people.”

“Haha, it’s a relief it’s not beef.”

“Ah, is that how it works? Anyway, CEO Kim only looks like an oddball to me. Honestly, no matter what anyone says, I won’t see CEO Kim as an ordinary person anymore.”

Director Choi Jin-young shook his head.

Perhaps it’s a natural reaction. Usually, even a house that serves a bottle of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] as a service on the opening day is rare in reality. But he said he would feed 100 pigs to more than 2,000 people, so how can he think normally?

Chairman Shin Chun-oh smiled and opened his mouth again.

“Putting that aside, if next week is the opening, the greenhouse must be full of vegetables by now.”

“According to the reports from the friends dispatched to the site, it’s art.”

“Art?”

“Yes, various vegetables planted in 100 greenhouses, not just ten or twenty, are growing with a week’s difference, and the sight is truly art.”

“Well, it’s amazing to grow vegetables in the middle of winter in that cold Gangwon-do [mountainous province in South Korea]. Moreover, it will be even more so because of its large scale. By the way, do you hear that vegetables really grow well in the middle of winter even in that cold place?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh was just amazed.

If it were the southern region, he might know, but it’s a mountainous area in Gangwon-do, which is said to be the coldest in winter, not anywhere else. Chairman Shin Chun-oh wanted to check one more time whether it was really growing properly since he said he was growing vegetables in such a place.

Director Choi Jin-young’s answer followed.

“I was also wondering about that, but CEO Kim knew enough about the problem from the beginning, so he made the greenhouse with the most attention to heating from the beginning.”

“Did you make it with special technology?”

“Yes, he buried pipes in the ground in the form of a boiler in the greenhouse.”

“Pipes?”

“Yes, that’s right. He designed it so that hot water circulates through the pipes. Therefore, vegetables can grow normally even in the cold mountainous areas of Gangwon-do. But the strange thing is how CEO Kim knew that method.”

“Of course, he must have received help from an expert, right?”

“That’s what’s strange. According to the report, CEO Kim supervised the construction of the greenhouse from the beginning, not with the help of an expert.”

“What are you talking about?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh was just dumbfounded.

Even at first glance, this doesn’t make sense.

Of course, he doesn’t know the details because he doesn’t farm, but he has never heard of building a greenhouse in that way until he reached this age.

So, he naturally thought that he had received help from an expert, but since Hyun-sung said that he had directly supervised it from the beginning, Chairman Shin Chun-oh couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Hyun-sung already knew that there was such a method in his previous life and carried out the construction, but it is natural that Chairman Shin Chun-oh, who has no way of knowing that fact, cannot understand it. He wouldn’t even dream that Hyun-sung had returned.

Director Choi Jin-young’s answer followed.

“I was also taken aback at first, so I checked again, and it was true. But what’s even more amazing is that there is no such method of burying pipes in the ground like laying a boiler in Korea yet.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“CEO Kim is the first…….”

“Wait!”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh raised his hand to cut off Director Choi Jin-young’s words. Then he asked again immediately.

“Are you saying that CEO Kim is the first to develop that method? Does that make sense?”

“That’s why it’s strange and amazing. How did CEO Kim know and construct the method that even the Rural Development Administration doesn’t know…….”

“Wait!”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh raised his hand once again to cut off Director Choi Jin-young’s words.

“Did you say that even the Rural Development Administration didn’t know that method?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then, isn’t it true that CEO Kim is the first to develop it in Korea? Did you hear that CEO Kim has applied for a patent?”

“Patent, you mean?”

“Yes, of course, if even the Rural Development Administration doesn’t know, you should apply for a patent, right? That way, you can properly receive patent fees from that patent in the future.”

That’s a natural story. If that’s the case, you can earn a huge amount of money just from the patent fee.

However, the words that came out of Director Choi Jin-young’s mouth were absurd.

“He donated it.”

“Donated? What are you talking about?”

“I heard that someone from the Rural Development Administration had already visited CEO Kim.”

“So, he donated it there? Is that what you’re saying now?”

“Yes, that’s right. But he set a condition.”

“Condition? What condition?”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh stared intently at Director Choi Jin-young as if he were curious. It was a story to answer quickly.

Director Choi Jin-young, who couldn’t know that, immediately opened his mouth.

“He told them to supply it to the rural areas for free.”

“For free? Are you saying that instead of applying for a patent, he will teach the method to rural areas across the country for free?”

“Yes, that’s right. He made it possible for anyone to learn the method through the Rural Development Administration if they want to. So, he taught all the processes to the Rural Development Administration this time.”

“No, how much is that worth…….”

Chairman Shin Chun-oh made a regretful expression as if he was a pity.

Perhaps it’s a natural reaction. If he had only applied for a patent, he would have had income from it for a long time.

Chairman Shin Chun-oh opened his mouth again.

“It’s a pity.”

“That’s what I’m saying. If he had only applied for a patent, the income would have been considerable.”

“Isn’t that the difference between us and CEO Kim? We’re trying to make money with it somehow, and CEO Kim is trying to revive the rural economy rather than money. Anyway, I can’t figure out CEO Kim’s head no matter how much I think about it.”

“Yes, I think so too. I don’t know the meaning, but I don’t know how you can think of that.”

Director Choi Jin-young shook his head from side to side again.

Then Chairman Shin Chun-oh asked again.

“Then you won’t be able to go on the opening day?”

“I think it would be better to visit a few days after the opening. It will be too busy with over 2,000 people, so it will be uncomfortable for each other to visit at that time.”

“Hmm, I guess so. Then let’s set a date to go once a few days after the opening. Anyway, I’m curious about how it’s decorated.”

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll prepare it that way.”

Director Choi Jin-young bowed his head as if he knew and left Chairman Shin Chun-oh’s room.

***

“It’s already time…….”

Hyun-sung looked at his watch and got up from his seat. The office staff had already left work, and he was in the middle of organizing documents alone.

“Time flies so fast.”

It seems like it was only yesterday that he first started construction, but it’s already been four years, and the opening is in three days.

To be honest, it would be a lie if he wasn’t afraid at first.

He had been in business for a long time in his previous life, but he had never done it on such a large scale. Of course, the industry is completely different, so he couldn’t help but be afraid.

But thanks to the people who helped him, he was able to come this far.

Among them, the most helpful was Manager Yoo Min-chul. Without his efforts from the basic construction to today, he would not have been able to come this far so easily.

And Baek Doo-soon and Jo Han-sung are also grateful connections. Both of them are military connections, but they are more enthusiastic than anyone else like old friends.

Baek Doo-soon was a natural farmer as expected. He is fast and responsible enough to do the work of several people alone, so he is very helpful while working together.

And Jo Han-sung is also not an easy guy.

Thanks to him, he was able to fill the bus driver and van driver positions with reliable guys. Above all, everyone is a military connection, so the system is solid, so it seems better.

And one more person, Shin Yu-bin.

She was the one who suddenly came to him one day a year ago and asked about the future of the countryside. She unexpectedly showed her talent in gathering people.

As a result, thanks to her, he was able to find many employees without much difficulty. Among them, the most rewarding thing is that graduates who had graduated and gone to other places returned to their hometowns.

Anyway, thanks to many people, he was able to open safely, and in the future, he will be able to operate thanks to those people as well.

“Then shall we go now?”

Tring.

It was when Hyun-sung was about to turn off the lights to leave the office. The phone suddenly rang.

He turned around and quickly answered the phone.

“Hello?”

-Is CEO Kim Hyun-sung there?

The moment Hyun-sung heard the voice, he knew who it was right away. The person who called was Lee Gwang-soo, who was guarding at Kang Sang-dae.

“Oh? Uncle? What’s going on at this hour?”

-Ah, are you the CEO?

“Please speak comfortably like before.”

-No. I can’t do that. I was a student back then, but now I’m a respectable CEO.”

“Uncle, really……, anyway, are you okay?”

-I’m fine, but I have something to confirm, so I called you like this.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head while answering the phone. Even at first glance, he couldn’t find a reason why Lee Gwang-soo was calling now.

It wouldn’t be a simple greeting call.

And anyway, his retirement is still three years away. In that situation, what’s going on…….

After thinking for a while, Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“Did you say confirm just now?”

-Yes, CEO.

“Tell me what it is. If it’s something I can answer, I’ll tell you right away.”

-It’s not that, but I called to confirm about the job you mentioned last year.”

Hyun-sung tilted his head once again. Lee Gwang-soo still has two years left until his retirement. But why is he suddenly talking about getting a job?

“Did you say get a job just now? As far as I know, there are still two years left until retirement. Did something happen?”

-That’s me…… sob.

Suddenly, a sobbing sound was heard over the receiver.

Hyun-sung urgently called Lee Gwang-soo.

“Uncle!”