After ringing a few times, Min-Hyeok Kim picked up the phone.
“Hey, how much does your wife make at the international school in Suzhou City?”
“About 3,000 Yuan. Why are you asking?”
“Ask her if she is interested in taking the position of a president of our new company.”
“What? You mean the sales company of Dyeon Korea in the China market? Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m dead serious. Her salary will be around 8,000 Yuan.”
“Hmm.”
“This position with the joint venture could be a risky choice for her while her current job with school is stable but it pays a low salary. She will be paid way higher at the new joint venture.”
“You know she has no work experience in the field, right?”
“There’s a first time for everyone. You and I didn’t have experience with running a company when we started, either.”
“That’s true. But, I’m not sure if she is willing to take the job. That’s the problem.”
“Only one way to find out. Ask her if she is interested.”
“It’s a tempting job offer though given the salary—8,000 Yuan.”
“After three months of the probation period, I will consider giving her a stock option as well if she has an aptitude for it.”
“Stock option?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I will talk to her and will let you know.”
In the afternoon, Gun-Ho went to Dyeon Korea.
He was sitting in his office when he received a call from Jae-Sik Moon.
“We need a semi-tractor-trailer truck. We sometimes get a request for transporting a container. They assume that we could handle container transportation after visiting our website.”
“Does the company have enough funds to buy one?”
“Yes, we do. And, Capital financial institution is willing to make an arrangement for it.”
“I’m not sure the company yard is large enough to park a semi-trailer truck.”
“Don’t worry about it. There are a lot of vacant lands around here. I think I can easily lease some space to park the truck.”
“A semi-tractor-trailer truck is an extremely long truck, isn’t it? You will need a large space to accommodate it.”
“A trailer part can be separated from its tractor unit. So, when we have to park it, we can divide the truck into two pieces.”
“Get one if you think it is necessary. And, from now on, you don’t have to discuss with me about getting an additional truck. I just need to hear the regular report on profits and losses. That’s it.”
“The landowner of the farmland next door came and complained about our business activities. I just told him to sell his land if he has a problem with us.”
“About the discharge of oil, right?”
“The thing is that we haven’t discharged any oil. He was just bitching for nothing. I know that some trashes are blown onto his land, but there is no oil spill. I think maybe he just wants to sell his land to us. That’s why he is bitching to make an excuse to sell his land.”
“He probably didn’t take your offer to buy his land seriously since you suggested it while bickering with him. When you have time, just visit him and make your offer to buy his land.”
“Okay, I will do that.”
“Keep up the good work. I will talk to you later then.”
“Hey, will you come over here this evening for dinner? Jong-Suk will be here around 6 pm. He said he would bring some Jokbal*.”
“Oh, really? It sounds delicious. I will come by on the way up to my home in Seoul.”
In that evening, Gun-Ho went to GH Logistics in Seonghwan Town.
A blue canopy was placed in the front yard, and a lot of wrapping storage containers were piled up on one side of the yard. Inside the office, there was a reception desk just like the one in a bank or a post office. Terms and conditions of transportation were hanging on the wall. There was a banner hanging in the center of the office. It said,
‘Speed, Smile, Service. Be proactive with 3 S.’
Gun-Ho smiled while reading the banner.
There was no one at the reception desk. The worker probably already left for the day. Lots of bills of lading were piled up on the desk. The company looked like it was in good business.
“Hey, you are here.”
Jae-Sik was looking at a computer monitor when Gun-Ho entered the office. Jong-Suk seemed to be not there yet.
“Where is Jong-Suk?”
“He just called saying he is almost here.”
At that moment, Gun-ho heard the sound of a car engine. It was probably Jong-Suk.
“Huh? Gun-Ho bro! I didn’t know you were coming here too.”
“I came here because Jae-Sik told me that you would bring some Jokbal*. How come you have empty hands?”
“Man, who would carry around Jokbal* these days? I asked the restaurant to deliver them to this address. They are on their way here. I guess I will order more of them since you and Chan-Ho bro are joining us for dinner.”
Jong-Suk Park made a call to the restaurant to order more Jokbal*.
“Hi, I’m calling from GH Logistics. That’s right. It’s the location where there used to be an auto repair shop. If you haven’t left to deliver Jokbal that I ordered earlier, I’d like to add one large plate.”
“Don’t we need soju?”
“I have five bottles of soju in my car.”
“I guess you are carrying around your soju in your car all the time.”
“I bought them from a supermarket on the way here.”
Jong-Suk covered the table with a newspaper like it was a tablecloth.
“And you carry around a newspaper in your car too, huh?”
“No, I picked it up on the way here. I thought we would need it.”
“I’m sure these newspapers were not meant to be used for this purpose. Their publisher will have a lot to say to you if they see this.”
It seemed someone arrived on a motorbike. It was probably the delivery man from the restaurant. He placed one large plate of Jokbal* and one medium plate of it on the table. He also brought a large bottle of coke for free of charge.”
Jong-Suk quickly paid for them when Gun-Ho pulled out his wallet to pay.
“Jong-Suk, you are a salaryman. You should let me, the business owner, pay for it.”
“Sir, this dinner is on me. Just don’t forget that I treat you. Oh, I will ask Chan-Ho to come inside.”
Jong-Suk went outside and called for Chan-Ho Eum.
Four men including Chan-Ho Eum sat on a table.
Jong-Suk was very fast in setting the table. Four bottles of soju were already open, and paper cups were all in place. He quickly opened the package of Jokbal* before filling up the paper cups with soju.
“Gun-Ho bro, drink it as much as you want since Chan-Ho will drive for you. Before Chan-Ho started working for you and when you had to drive your Land Rover yourself, you could barely drink. Remember those days?”
“Still, let me have a little of soju.”
“Chan-Ho, you shouldn’t drink tonight, okay? Let me fill up your cup with coke instead.”
Jong-Suk handed a cup of coke to Chan-Ho. Chan-Ho took it with two hands.
“Thank you, little brother.”
“Continue your good service for the big brother. He is really a good man.”
“I know that. Don’t worry about it.”
Note*
Jokbal – Korean dish made of pig’s trotters with soy sauce.
