Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho and Jae-Sik Moon continued to talk over the phone.

Jae-Sik said, “Right, Daewoo Company went broke, and a Korean company—Young An Hat Co., Ltd—acquired it subsequently.”

“Young An Hat Company? It sounds familiar. I’ve heard of that name before. Where did you get all that information?”

“There was a meeting presided by the Korean consulate for the Korean people in Guizhou Province the other day, and I went there. When I told them that I came to China to run an intercity bus service business, they told me the story.”

“Really?”

“It seems that there is some sort of association of Korean residents in every large city in China. Some of them were organized by the area’s residents while some were founded by a certain school’s alumni or by other specific groups.”

“Haha, is that right? Korean people indeed love to make a group. We have that sort of association even in Korea too.”

“I guess that people try to get together since they feel lonely in a foreign country. That’s nice. They can share information and help each other.”

“I guess so.”

“Oh, you know what? I gotta go now. Someone just told me that the city’s transportation department’s director is here. I will keep you posted on the bus lines.”

“Sounds good. Keep up the good work.”

Around an hour later, Gun-Ho received another call from Jae-Sik Moon.

“The director of the city’s transportation department just left.”

“Why did he come?”

“He said that he’d like to have you here in person again.”

“Me? Why does he want to see me? I have you there representing our interest.”

“He said that you only signed the letter of intent, and he needs you to sign the actual contract.”

“You can do that, Mr. President Moon.”

“Well, it seems like he wants to have some sort of official ceremony while you are here, like inviting journalists, signing the contract, and having a press conference.”

“A press conference?”

“Yeah. He seems to want to make an official announcement about the joint venture business.”

“I see.”

“I just read an evening paper. They were talking about our joint venture. It said that a Korean business partner company will pave the road and also will soon run an intercity express bus line all the way to Guiyang City, and it will certainly make the Antang City’s residents’ daily life better and more convenient.”

“Haha, really?”

“Hold on one second. Don’t hang up. The vice president is talking to me about something. I will be right back.”

After a moment, Jae-Sik Moon came back.

Gun-Ho asked, “What is it? Anything urgent?”

“He is asking if you could come here next Thursday, so they can have a contract signing ceremony.”

“I don’t understand. The joint venture company is already established, and it already started its business. Why do they want a contract signing ceremony now?”

“I think they still have to do it for the record. You know, they are government employees. Formalities are very important to them.”

“Okay. I will be there on Thursday then. I will just try to have fun during the trip. Please ask them to send me a car to Guiyang City to pick me up.”

“Sure. I will see you then.”

Gun-Ho received a call from his sister.

“Gun-Ho, my husband met with GH Mobile’s assistant manager the other day.”

“Oh, he did?”

“We will take over their transportation work for the products that go to A Electronics. We will have to make a trip between Jiksan Town and Danjin City twice per day.”

“Really? That’s great.”

“We need two Mighty 2.5 Ton Super Cap Cargo Trucks.”

“Really? I guess you will have to buy them then.”

“My husband asked me to ask you if it’s okay to buy them.”

“He doesn’t have to ask me about whether he can buy a truck or not. It’s up to him.”

“According to him, if we buy a new truck, we can’t get the truck right away since it takes time to manufacture the truck’s top part. So, he said that we’d better buy used trucks, maybe trucks with less than 50,000 kilometers on it. We already found two truck drivers for this work.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, as I said, you don’t have to ask me. Just do what you have to do.”

“Also, I received an inquiry from a potential client company. They contacted us via our website. It’s a two-year work, and they will need a 4-ton truck.”

“Hmm, really?”

“So, my husband found a 4-ton truck from somewhere. It’s a used one with 60,000 kilometers on it. He said that he bought it from a company that was going out of business, so he could get it for a very low price.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Well, now we have 30 trucks. When he had to go to GH Mobile in Jiksan Town to meet with their assistant manager, I was alone in the office. I had to go to the bank at that time, but I couldn’t because someone had to be in the office. I think we need to hire someone who will be in the office all day long. It’s not because I need help for work, but I need to be able to go out freely without worrying about the office.”

“If you think you need to hire a worker, then do so. It’s not something that I should get involved in. Do what you think you have to do.”

“Speaking of which, I actually have someone in my mind. When I worked at the paper cup manufacturing factory, they had this young lady doing bookkeeping. She doesn’t have a job right now. I think I’m going to ask her to join us.”

“Did she quit the paper cup factory? Maybe because their pay was not good?”

“Well, the factory doesn’t often pay the workers on time. Also, she said that a director over there touched her frequently, so she quit.”

“Touching her?”

“Yeah. I know that guy. He often made unwelcome and unpleasant sexual comments too. He didn’t directly do that to the old ladies like me, but he often targeted young lady workers who were not married. He was indeed a disgusting sicko.”

“That bookkeeper lady must be pretty.”

“No way! She is average. That director guy didn’t seem to care about a woman’s appearance when it comes to sexual harassment. He is a pervert. No wonder why he is still single! He is almost 50 years old.”

“Okay. Hire whoever you want, sister.”

In the evening, Gun-Ho received a call from his mother.

“Gun-Ho, how’s your wife doing? She must have a big belly by now.”

“Yes, a little bit, mom.”

“You can find out the gender of your baby by now. Has she had an ultrasound? Did she see anything that looks like a bullet?”

“I’m not sure about a bullet, but it’s a boy, mom.”

“What? It’s a boy? Oh, my goodness. Hahaha, I’m so happy that I finally will have a grandson. I’m sure your father will be excited. Now, I have a grandson who will share our family name.”

“Mom, no one cares about that sort of thing anymore. I just want a healthy baby regardless if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“We still need a son in the family. You don’t know yet, but a son is more helpful. Since you are running a big business, you need a son.”

“There are so many competent and able female businesswomen these days, mom. Oh, that’s right. Some females even get elected for a country’s president, or some of them even run a conglomerate.”

“Be good to your wife, okay? If she wants to eat something, you should get it for her. You have to take good care of her now. For a woman, her husband is the most important person in her life. Keep that in mind.”

“Okay, mom. Don’t worry about it.”

“You know what? Jae-Woong’s wife gave birth to a baby girl.”

“Really? That’s very nice. Tell him that I congratulate him on being a father.”

“Your aunt is not very satisfied though. She said that her daughter-in-law has no reason to look down on her, especially when she failed to have a son in the family after all.”

“She shouldn’t say that. I can see why she doesn’t get along with Jae-Woong’s wife. She should rather thank her for bringing a beautiful granddaughter to her. She will never make a happy family like that with her son and his wife. Young people these days are reluctant to have a baby at all. Many of them prefer to enjoy their life without a kid. Jae-Woong’s wife is a good woman having a child.”

“I agree with you.”