Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 194

194. 55th. Preparing for the End of the Century – China Edition (1)

Early February, 1999.

I was in the VVIP room of Seoul National University Hospital, looking at Jang Ha-yeon, who was leaning against the bed with a newborn in her arms.

“You worked hard, Noona [older sister – a term of endearment used by a younger man to an older woman]. Thank you.”

“You know it, huh.”

Jang Ha-yeon took maternity leave about two weeks before her due date and was admitted to the VVIP ward of Seoul National University Hospital after a three-way meeting with my grandfather and me. It was a measure taken because I couldn’t trust the Jang family members except for Jang Ho-gun, even though Shinseong Group had Shinseong Medical Center.

I felt relieved to see Jang Ha-yeon smiling.

Even though she was diligent in managing her physical strength by consistently doing strength training during her pregnancy, giving birth in her thirties was no easy task.

I poked the cheek of ‘Dong-dong [term of endearment for a baby],’ who had troubled my wife.

“Hey, how big are you trying to get to make your mom suffer? You should have come out sooner, hehe.”

Our first child, ‘Dong-dong,’ was a son, and his official name was Lee Hyun-bin. It was a name we came up with after discussing it with my grandfather and Jang Ha-yeon, and it contained the wish that he would shine brightly as the first 5th generation of the Haedong Group Lee family.

‘Even if it’s an entertainer’s stage name, what can I do if it has a good meaning?’

No one would throw a fit about using the stage name of an entertainer who hadn’t even debuted yet, and both my grandfather and Jang Ha-yeon were very satisfied. His brains are guaranteed because of me and Jang Ha-yeon, so I have no other wishes other than for his looks to grow up like that entertainer.

“Now, I’ll take care of Hyun-bin. You rest, Noona.”

I took Hyun-bin from Jang Ha-yeon and held him in my arms, grinning from ear to ear.

‘My child…’ I couldn’t believe it no matter how much I looked at him. To think that such a cute child is our first child… I felt like I was flying.

###

A little later.

Jang Ha-yeon and I left the hospital room with Hyun-bin. The place we headed to was the room right next door.

“Congratulations, Hyung [older brother – a term of endearment used by a younger man to an older man].”

“Congratulations, Unni [older sister – a term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older woman].”

The people who received our congratulations were Yoo Hyun-jung, who was lying on the bed holding a baby, and Park Tae-jin, who was sitting in the chair next to her holding a baby.

“Thank you, Director.”

“Thank you, CEO.”

We approached the two people who returned our greetings with smiles.

“Hyun-bin, these are your future friends. You’ll be seeing them often, so you have to get along well, okay?”

I said, looking at Hyun-bin in my arms, and Hyun-bin smiled and laughed happily.

I hope Hyun-bin and Park Tae-jin and Yoo Hyun-jung’s children will get along well in the future. Just like me and Park Tae-jin.

***

Even while Park Tae-jin and I were busy playing the role of loyal butlers to our two wives and children, Standard and Haedong Group were moving forward vigorously.

The result was a business trip to China for me, Park Tae-jin, and Geum Seok-ho in May. We chose a foreign airline to talk comfortably.

“It’s a shame. It feels like just yesterday that I was taking care of Hyun-bin, Jae-min, and Jae-seok.”

I couldn’t hide my disappointment while drinking tea in the in-flight lounge, and Park Tae-jin also smiled bitterly and drank his tea. Ah, Jae-min and Jae-seok here were Park Tae-jin’s sons.

“What can we do? Now that we’re heads of households, we have to work hard to feed our wives and children, right? Don’t you think so, Chairman?”

“Of course, that’s right. For a man, feeding his wife and children is the top priority. Even if generations change, if a man can’t be successful outside, his wife and children will also shrink their shoulders, hehe.”

This time, I smiled wryly at Geum Seok-ho’s hearty laughter.

“Honestly, with the money we’ve accumulated in Standard right now, we could just be rich shutterbugs, taking care of our children and living our lives… But still, Chairman, you’re right, so we have to work hard, hehe.”

Not to mention me, Park Tae-jin also had over 1 trillion Korean won [approximately $850 million USD] accumulated in Standard.

But money isn’t everything, is it? Even if I’m no Socrates, I can’t live like a well-fed pig.

“By the way, we’ll have to part ways for a while when we arrive in Shanghai. That friend Li Shufu is so eager for Standard to invest in him and collaborate with Haedong Motors, hehe.”

The person Geum Seok-ho was going to meet in Shanghai was Li Shufu, the chairman of Geely Automobile. Both of them are not only automobile entrepreneurs but also people who are passionate about cars, so we handed over only the guidelines for the negotiation with Geely Automobile and left it to Geum Seok-ho.

“The people in the remaining seats will help you well. This is our first event, so we’ve only put together the best of the best, haha.”

Right now, all the business class seats and economy class seats on this plane are filled with aces from Standard Capital’s Korean branch and Haedong Motors, from the lowest-ranking employees to the highest-ranking executives. They were all the best of the best, handpicked to make our business trip a success.

Following my laughter, Park Tae-jin also opened his mouth.

“By now, some of the board members and employees of Standard Capital’s headquarters who arrived in Shanghai in advance will have finished their preparations. They said they paid special attention to it because it’s the first time we’re setting foot in China, haha.”

This business trip to Shanghai was the launching ceremony for Standard Capital and Haedong Motors’ China business. It’s a matter of investing in the Chinese stock market and venture companies, as well as investing in Geely Automobile and establishing a local joint venture.

Before we knew it, we entered Shanghai’s airspace and arrived at Hongqiao International Airport.

“Make a lot of good investments and see you at the hotel, hehe.”

“I hope you get good results too, Chairman, haha.”

After exchanging greetings, we split up and got into two Mercedes-Benz S-Class 7th generation bulletproof limousines and two large limousine buses that were waiting in advance, and Standard and Haedong Motors each started their own schedules.

“I don’t know if you’ll like the limousine we prepared, Johnny.”

I blinked at the question asked in Korean by the director of Standard’s headquarters board, who was sitting in front of the back seat of the limousine.

“Why? I like it enough.”

“This limousine was ordered from Mercedes-Benz headquarters for $1 million because Claire and Sun ordered that nothing should happen to Johnny’s safety. Mr. Geum’s is the same.”

To think that the Mercedes-Benz limousine we were riding in was a gift from the two of them… There couldn’t be uncles and aunts who care so much even though they’re on the other side of the world.

“I have to thank them, haha. Are they doing well?”

“Yes. These days, they put Michael and Ryan’s beds in their office and go to work, haha.”

Michael and Ryan were Sun Hae-cheol and Claire’s twin sons. As I listened to Claire and Sun Hae-cheol’s lives, I realized that I had missed something.

“From now on, give all of Standard Capital’s female employees around the world up to 2 years of maternity leave and provide plenty of childcare allowance. Create daycare centers to take care of the children and allow male employees to take leave as well.”

“Understood, Johnny.”

I smiled as I looked at the director who answered coolly, and then I asked Park Tae-jin.

“I think Haedong Group also needs to pay attention to this issue. What do you think, Hyung?”

Park Tae-jin readily nodded his head at my question.

“The issue of women with career interruptions is a loss for individuals, companies, and the country. Individuals see their efforts to enter the company evaporate, and companies lose the talent they invested in and nurtured. The country also loses because such talent cannot engage in economic activities.”

“That’s right. It’s a loss to let people play around in a country with a small land area and not a single drop of oil or a handful of iron ore. Let’s organize it as it goes and submit it to Grandfather.”

After briefly exchanging opinions on Haedong Group’s childbirth and childcare promotion policy, I checked the status of Standard Capital with the director of the headquarters who was facing me.

“Loans are going well.”

“The stock price keeps rising. Above all, Amazon.com is growing into an open market platform, breaking away from online bookstores, after recruiting Jeff Wilke and receiving new investments from us. The stock price increase rate is also high.”

The effect of plugging Jeff Wilke into Amazon.com one year earlier than in the original history and investing $3 billion was very desirable. Looking at the trend in the documents, it seemed like it would easily exceed $120 per share by the end of the year.

That also meant that Standard could get much more loans from JP Morgan. The newly secured 20 percent of Amazon shares were not provided as collateral, but as the stock price rose quickly, more money could be brought in from JP Morgan.

I looked at the documents with a satisfied expression and then looked at the data on this event in Shanghai.

“Hmm…”

I looked at the information of the companies in the documents as if skimming through them, and after confirming that there were companies I wanted, I took out the papers of the two companies and handed them to the director.

“These two companies have unique names. I’ll have to meet them in person. Take care of the rest.”

The director who received the documents immediately took out his cell phone and ordered the presidents of the two companies to be sent to the hotel room where I was staying. Aren’t the two of them people who are more than worthy of meeting in person?

***

A convention center in Shanghai had long lines of people stretching from the entrance to the road. Among them was a Chinese man with a height of 163cm and prominent cheekbones.

‘I need to get an investment…’

This man was a fledgling venture entrepreneur who had started an inter-company e-commerce company in his apartment in Hangzhou on April 4, fed up with the corruption of the public institution he worked for, along with 18 colleagues.

‘I can still manage for now, but in a few months, I’ll run out of cash. I’m even in a situation where I’ll be late on payroll…’

So this man decided to take a gamble on his life and came to Shanghai. He believed that Standard, which had invested in Jerry Yang’s Yahoo, which he had served as a tour guide, would recognize his business.

As he was pacing back and forth, eager to get in quickly, a white man approached him with a file. The white man, looking at the photo in the file, asked him.

“Can you speak English?”

The eyes of the Chinese man who received the question widened. He majored in English in college and learned English through Crazy English [a popular method of learning English in China], so he quickly opened his mouth.

“Yes, I can!”

The white man, pleased with the confident attitude of the Chinese man who answered, smiled and had a brief conversation in English, and the man quickly left his seat and disappeared somewhere.

‘What is it?’

A young man in his late 20s with glasses, who was watching the scene, tilted his head.

Born into a fairly wealthy family, he had started a chatting program company with his college classmates in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and came all the way to Shanghai to get an investment for greater growth.

This young man with glasses swallowed hard as he saw the white man who had been talking to that small man getting closer and closer to him.

‘Is he coming to me? If he’s coming to me, why is he coming? Is it because my father is a member of the Communist Party? Or is it the opposite, using me to…’

All sorts of thoughts ran through his head, and he shook his head violently. His father’s position wasn’t that high to use him to get in line with the Chinese Communist Party, was it?

‘It’s better to be comfortable. If expectations are high, disappointment is also great.’

The white man approached him, looking straight ahead calmly in a way that it’s comfortable to give up.

“Can you speak English?”

At the man’s question, the young man with glasses smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“Yes, a little bit··· haha···.”

“That’s okay. Will you join me? If you join me, you never regret.”

Perhaps to be considerate of the young man with glasses, the white man answered in easy English, saying, ‘If you come with me, you will never regret it,’ and smiled with a kind expression, holding up a plastic card attached to the end of his neck strap.

“Standard Capital··· headquarter executive?”

“Yes. follow me.”

The young man with glasses, realizing that the man facing him was an executive at Standard Capital headquarters, nodded his head vigorously.

“Yes!”

With his answer, the young man disappeared somewhere with the Standard Capital executive.

***

Two hours later.

After arriving at the hotel and having a simple meal, I asked the director of Standard Capital headquarters, who had eaten with me.

“Did you treat the two of them well for dinner?”

“Yes. I had them served the highest-quality course meal at this hotel’s Chinese restaurant. I only provided three small glasses of Maotai [a type of Chinese liquor] each.”

I made a satisfied expression at the director’s answer, who took the cognac he was drinking as an after-dinner drink from his mouth.

“You did well. They must have been tired from coming a long way, so we have to let them relieve their tension.”

The two of them are people who are worth treating well enough. Aren’t they the IT giants of the Chinese continent that I couldn’t even dare to look at in my past life?

“By the way, what are you going to do with the remaining business owners except for the two of them?”

“Prioritize business items and invest up to $800 million. Exclude political colors as much as possible.”

“Still, China is all about Guanxi [relationships/connections]…”

I also know that I have to take care of the Chinese Communist Party. I waved my hand at the director of Standard headquarters.

“It’s a headache to get involved now. None of the Shanghai Gang, the Communist Youth League, or the Princelings [factions within the Chinese Communist Party] can overwhelm the others. It’s not too late to take action when power is transferred from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao.”

Considering the current Chinese politics, which are like a three-legged cauldron, it is better to invest in the business itself so as not to incur the hatred of any one faction. Can’t we make friends little by little?

Above all, this investment proposal briefing was a smoke screen to hide the meeting with the two people who are enjoying a banquet at the restaurant right now. Park Tae-jin, who was nodding his head after hearing my answer, opened his mouth.

“Director, then the remaining $200 million…”

“It’s similar to Google. If I like the business item, I’ll invest $50 million each and promise an additional investment of up to $100 million.”

Park Tae-jin’s mouth dropped open. He seemed very surprised that we would invest 10% of the money we would invest in Chinese venture companies in two companies, but I smiled at him and said to the director of Standard headquarters.

“By now, they should be almost done with their meal, so tell them to come up. Alibaba’s Ma Yun [Jack Ma] and Tencent’s Ma Huateng [Pony Ma], both of them.”