International Airport in Beijing.
Woosung buttoned up his coat as the cold wind blew harshly.
As he got into the car, his secretary whispered, “The One’s battery blew up.”
“Then let’s increase the marketing budget. This is the best time to promote our phone.”
Jang Gwangchul asked Woosung, “What happened?”
“Apparently The One’s battery exploded at the opening event!”
Everyone’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I guess their plan to create a longer lasting battery backfired.”
Everyone took out their Blue S2 phones and searched for relevant news.
“The One’s battery explosion: What happened?”
There weren’t many news reports, but it was considered a breaking news.
Jang Gwangchul exclaimed, “This is our chance! We need to milk it now!”
Woosung turned to Park Byungki and asked, “Other than increasing the marketing budget, what else should we do?”
“Hmm…”
Park Byungki thought carefully. Unfortunately, there weren’t many things competing companies could do in this kind of situation.
Park Byungki gave a cautious reply, “Why don’t we do another quality test of our own product and slowly increase its production? I can’t think of anything else right now other than that.”
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
Jang Gwangchul suggested excitedly, “Shouldn’t we do a huge TV commercial? This could be a chance to kill Daeyang.”
“Daeyang still has many fans. If we go too big right now, we may look bad in this situation.”
Woosung turned to his secretary and asked, “What is our schedule for this trip?”
“We need to visit the office first and have dinner with the Zhongguancun government official. Tomorrow, we will visit an investor company. The next day, we will attend the opening ceremony, and then there will be a dinner after.”
Tight schedule was planned for this three-day trip.
KND office in China.
Woosung hired a Chinese business man as the CEO for this branch. A new name was given to this company as well to blend in.
The name they came up was LetChat.
It was the same name as the chat program they were developing for the Chinese market.
“As you suggested, the data center has been built in China too. This is essentially a separate company from Korean KND.” Woosung nodded as Hong Soobum continued, “And per your request, we are also developing an app store named Let Store. It will be included in the Chinese Blue S2, which will be launched next month.”
Woosung replied, “There is a rumor that Google will be booted out from China soon. That means the Chinese customers won’t be able to access Google App Store. That could be our chance to replace it with our own app store.”
“Yes, sir.” Hong Soobum nodded.
Woosung turned to the Chinese CEO and asked in fluent Chinese, “Is there anything you need from me?”
Everyone looked at Woosung in surprise.
The CEO replied in fluent Korean, “So far, I am very happy with everything. Thank you.”
Woosung answered in Korean too, “We consider Chinese market to be one of our top priorities.”
“Good. I heard you are planning to have a dinner tonight with the Zhongguancun local authority?”
When Woosung nodded, the CEO added, “It obviously won’t be a simple dinner. You better be ready for it. Chinese people consider saving face to be very important. You better have something big to offer.”
“How much do you think I should gift?”
“At least 100,000 dollars. If you are going to bribe, you better go big.”
It was a lot of money for such a lower ranking government official.
The CEO continued, “I realize it may seem unfair to you, but this is China and it is how it is. If you go smaller, they will be offended.”
“Alright. I will prepare 200,000 dollars.” Woosung decided to double it. He added, “Tell them that if they can connect me to Jang Min, Hu Jintao’s right hand, I will double it again. If they can introduce me to Xi Jinping or Liu He, I will quadruple the amount.”
After the meeting, everyone decided to have some free time on their own. Woosung visited the Beijing university.
“Department of Economics…”
He was looking for Wu Jirin. In his previous life, Wu Jirin was the man who created the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Terra and ASIC for mining.
Woosung walked into Beijing University’s Economics Department.
“I would like to make a donation for scholarship.”
“P…pardon?”
“I would like to make a donation to thank this university for educating such great students.”
The staff seemed confused and surprised.
Woosung continued quickly, “I would like to donate about 1.5 million dollars. How can I do this?”
When the staff looked flabbergasted, Woosung asked, “I would also like you to find a student for me.”
Beijing University.
It was the best university in China. The head of Economics Department greeted Woosung with a smile.
“Hahaha, I have seen you on TV. It is such an honor to meet you.”
“Haha, you too.”
Across from Woosung was Wu Jirin, who was in his fourth year.
“I heard you want to meet my student Wu Jirin here.”
“Yes, I heard he is to graduate at the top of his class. If possible, I would love to scout him for my company. I will make a donation to the University as a thank-you gesture.”
The head of the department smiled proudly while Wu Jirin looked pleasantly surprised.
Woosung did a quick research on Wu Jirin before coming to the school. Wu Jirin had an excellent grade and was known to be very prideful. He had a sister and his father was a high-ranking government official.
The head of the department said proudly, “He is the best student we have in our school. Haha. He is intelligent, just like his father.”
Wu Jirin nodded with a smile.
The department head asked him, “What do you think? He came all the way here just to meet you.”
Wu Jirin adjusted his glasses and answered, “Thank you for coming here and making such a big donation. I am well aware of KND and its innovative ways. I do have a few concerns though. Can I ask you some questions?”
Woosung nodded.
Wu Jirin continued, “First of all, your company doesn’t have a clear identity. You started out as a smartphone company, but suddenly, you are also doing an internet service business. You are not focused.” Wu Jirin breathed and continued. “You are now preparing to get into the mobile carrier business too. You also are known to have a few different personal businesses on the side. You may do well in all of them for now, but without a clear identity and focus, there is a very good chance your company will disappear soon.”
Wu Jirin was clearly a very intelligent and well-versed young man. Woosung listened calmly.
“In addition, I also researched you, President Kang, and I haven’t found anything about you that was outstanding. The only conclusion I could come up with was that you just have been very lucky so far.”
The department head frowned disapprovingly. He was afraid Wu Jirin’s criticism may cause Woosung to change his mind about the donation.
Wu Jirin continued anyway, “So based on these facts, I don’t find KND to be an attractive company. What do you think, President?”
Woosung looked at Wu Jirin quietly. He was impressed.
Woosung replied, “Do you know the main characteristics of Korean CEOs?”
When Wu Jirin nodded, Woosung continued, “My plan is to grow my company in various different businesses. I am dreaming of making my company the best in the world.”
Wu Jirin didn’t react. He just nodded and listened.
Woosung continued, “The reason I came to you isn’t to get you involved in the existing KND businesses.” Finally, Wu Jirin looked interested.
Woosung said one word. “Bitcoin.”
Wu Jirin’s face became rigid. He knew what it was. Wu Jirin was actually the one who translated the original Bitcoin report into Chinese.
Woosung explained, “I want you to be the head of this business in my company.”
“What do you mean exactly?”
Wu Jirin now looked curious. The department head looked confused.
“Mining, dealership, mining hardware and software, new blockchain technology development, and so on. The possibility is endless. China is very strict with foreign investment and technology. If you become part of my company, you can become the representative of cryptocurrency, which is the future of the financial world.” Woosung added firmly. “Your beginning yearly salary will be 1.5 million dollars.”
It was 200 times the average salary in China.
