Chapter 29:
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Lee Hak-jae became more cautious.
"Yes, they gave four billion won."
"Four billion? Oh, my!"
"There are rumors in Chungmuro that Sunyang Group has involved itself in the movie industry. This should be due to the number of initial funds."
"False rumors end in drivel. You don't have to care.”
Jin began rubbing his throbbing forehead.
"Should I do something?"
"Production companies are like implementers when it comes to construction. You can't make a movie without a contractor. You have to collect a lot of steps for each part.”
"Then..."
"Yes."
"Well…"
Chairman Jin stopped rubbing his forehead.
"Leave it alone."
"What?"
"He'll know when it screws up, that one shouldn't spend their money on humanity.”
It was a shocking remark for Lee Hak-jae. The chairman's concern was not his son, but his grandchild.
"Do you mean Dojun?"
"Yes. Even if it's your biological father, you will feel keenly that it's not worth spending money if there is no possibility. If you spend 4 billion won on being tough and unshakable by humanity, it will be cheaper than a tuition fee.”
"What if the movie succeeds...”
"He's been unemployed all his life. Do you think just anyone can do business? If filmmaking is so easy, why would there be failed movies? There are a lot of movies that fail even if they have a good producer or director, how can they succeed?"
Unlike Chairman Jin, who was convinced of his failure, Lee Hak-jae had a different opinion.
In many cases, unknown new directors succeeded at the box office.
What if he succeeded?
Rather than anger that his son was out of control, he would love and expect more from his grandson, Jin Do-jun, who he recognized as his son, Jin Yoon-gi, who he abandoned.
If the movie failed, it was a lesson, and if it succeeded, it was a confirmation of their thoughts about him.
Whatever the outcome, Chairman Jin was likely to burst into laughter at the end.
"By the way, Hakjae."
"Yes, sir."
"Young-Joon is graduating next year, right?"
Suddenly, when asked about the eldest grandson, Lee Hak-jae was hesitant. How old was he?
"Send him to Germany when he graduates."
"Germany? It's unusual there. Will it be okay?"
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The Monday protests, which began in Leipzig in September 1989, sparked pro-democracy protests throughout East Germany.
To appease the protesters, East Berlin general secretary, Günther Shabovsky, announced a policy of liberalizing travel at a press conference.
But something huge happened there.
At the press conference, an Italian reporter asked the question, "When will the border opening be implemented?" and the general secretary mistook the border opening for travel liberalization and made a fatal mistake of answering "immediately without delay".
Shortly after the interview, an Italian reporter, who was not good at German, mistook the liberalization of travel for the removal of the Berlin Wall and sent a telegram to his home country.
The news spread across the U.S. to West German television that night, and Germans quickly flocked to the Berlin Wall.
They had tools in their hands and began to break down the Berlin Wall. Not only Berlin but all of Germany was falling into a quagmire of chaos.
"The fall of the Berlin Wall is a symbol of change in Eastern Europe. You should see it in person and feel the change within your body. It's his job to find an opportunity in it.”
"Isn't he still immature? Getting some experience in Korea...”
"It's better to have experience in Germany. Don't you think you can experience a lot in a short time if you roll in a place where the world is spinning?”
Really?
Lee Hak-jae's doubts had not disappeared. He wondered whether the purpose was to let him gain experience or to expose Jin Young-joon's incompetence.
"I see. I'll arrange a seat at the Frankfurt branch."
Chairman Jin, who looked satisfied, opened his mouth a little cautiously.
"And… I'm thinking of building a home appliance factory in East Germany, what do you think?"
Chairman Jin, who was convinced that East Germany would collapse, was quick. If West Germany's money was released to East Germany, it was tantamount to another huge market.
Lee Hak-jae knew what Chairman Jin wanted.
Building a white home appliance factory could be carried out immediately with just a finger flick. At that level, he would have called in the president of Sunyang Electronics, instead of himself, and ordered it.
There was a different meaning to this.
"I'll meet with Rep. Park and discuss it."
"Yes, do what you want and rip it off."
He intended to build East Germany's home appliance factories with national money.
Any desired title could be given to it. 'The support of underdeveloped East Germany' was the most plausible, and 'the method of support' was a production plant that could create jobs.
It was not all, but making the most of the country's money to build a factory and later absorbing it as a net positive asset of Sunyang was something he had done countless times.
Those who were involved in the national affairs would not spare money to make their own pockets full. The business of inflating their pockets was best done by a chaebol like the Sunyang Group.
* * *
"It's an investment contract. Take a look. Let's see your English skills."
Oh Se-hyun smiled with curious eyes, but it didn't last.
"I can't read such professional content. Just explain it."
There was disappointment in his eyes, but he didn't care. In the past, when I reported, I only said the core. It was the prerogative of the boss to be briefed on the main points.
"Yes? Is it difficult?"
Oh Se-hyun started, reading the contract for the second time.
"First, the total investment is $9 million. It stops at that because we can't go further. This is the limit allowed by investors who have already invested first.”
"How much is it per week?”
"40 cents."
I was a little surprised because my estimate was 60 cents. I knew it would be listed at a face value of 30 cents when it was listed on NASDAQ next year, so I thought I would ask for at least twice as much.
"Is it a good price?"
Oh Se-hyun changed into the attitude of a person reporting accurately as he pretended not to know what he was doing.
"Dell Computers will go public next year at a face value of 30 cents. The expected price at the time of listing will double, and it will fluctuate over time. But the average price is definitely more than 40 cents."
"Well, that's a good deal."
Michael Dell would have had no choice but to offer good terms.
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The stock I had secured would one day be in Michael Dell's hands. The more stocks you secured, the more solid your management rights became.
All Michael Dell had missed was that the stock price would rise much steeper than he had expected. For that, I was going to acquire a lot of money.
"So, the negotiations ended easily. Now for the difficult part.”
Oh Se-hyun once again brought out a thick piece of English material.
"I have yet to decide the candidates for where to invest the remaining $6 million."
Oh Se-hyun paused while explaining information on the companies that were nominated for investment.
To explain the reason for the investment, technical terms such as PER, PBR, PSR, WACC, Net Asset Valuation, Expectations Of Future Net Cash Flows, and Cash Flow Discount Methods continued to emerge, so he shook his head as if embarrassed.
"Well, let me say this simply. A safe investment and a little risky one."
"Where is the safe investment?”
"It's the edical fields like Pfizer, Johnson & Jones, and Boston Scientific. The stock price is stable and the dividend is good because it has a steady surplus. In particular, medical care can be seen as solid because it is difficult for late-stage countries to catch up.”
In the manufacturing sector, where fierce competition did not stop, one flagship product caused stock prices to fluctuate.
However, in the medical field, stock prices only soared every time a new drug was released, showing an iron fortress that rarely collapsed. As such, it was a difficult area for latecomers to catch up. It was the best choice if only stability was considered.
"It's a bit risky, but Microsoft is the place to try."
Was Microsoft risky? Wasn't this Bill Gates?
Hadn't they already joined hands with IBM to make DOS successful?
He must have misunderstood my surprised look.
"It's unfamiliar, right? Actually, I don't know much about computers like this either."
"Why is it risky?"
"They kept releasing new computer operating systems, but the market response was not very favorable. According to the information, the third version comes out next year, and it's hard to determine what will happen if it fails. In addition, there are rumors that IBM will break up with Microsoft by developing its own operating system."
Was Windows 3.0 coming out next year? Was it 3.1? It was unclear.
Well, it didn't matter. It was only a year or two difference anyway.
Windows 3.0 introduced virtual memory in earnest, which significantly enhanced multi-tasking capabilities, and provided a more beautiful and colorful interface due to improved performance of graphics cards.
Starting with 3.0, IBM PC-compatible models with relatively low prices and scalability would rapidly emerge as strong competitors for the expensive Apple Macintosh, and Microsoft was the company that would dominate the global PC market. Enough to kick the mighty Macintosh out of the periphery.
It was very interesting for me, who lived in an era when Apple became an absolute powerhouse again with iPods and iPhones. There was no eternal winner.
"Uncle, who recommended Microsoft?"
"It's Rachel. Do you remember her? From a New York company?"
"Oh, that madam?"
"What? Ajumma? Ha ha. She's only 30 years old. If Rachel had heard this, she would have been furious.”
[T/N: I'm sure most of us already know this, but for the record, 'Ajumma', sometimes spelled ajoomma, is a Korean word for a married, or middle-aged woman.]
We would have to wait and see, but Rachel seemed to be the best talent at Miracle Investment.
"What should I do?"
"What do you think, uncle?"
"I was attracted to Rachel's opinion.”
Oh, that was a surprise. He made it clear that it was an area he didn't know well. And yet he's considering investment.
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"It may sound strange, but iIhave a feeling. A feeling that Rachel's conviction would be right. That's what I'm attracted to. It keeps dragging on."
As I kept looking at him curiously, he burst out laughing.
"Haha. Of course, the backup data was fine too. It's worthy enough for us to take a chance. And… your luck isn't normal, so I thought it might be a good idea to bet."
"Well, let's do that. I'm driving my luck around, so it's going to work. Hehe."
We laughed together, but Oh Se-hyun's eyes showed expectations. It would bring hundreds of times that expectation. Didn't this gentleman have a 2% stake?
Now, we had to start the next step.
"Uncle, I have a favor to ask you."
"Yes, say it."
"There's land in Bundang, right? There's still...”
"Huh? That land? It keeps going up, right?"
"Really? I don't know much, but... Anyway, please sell that.”
Startled, he waved his hand. This was because land prices were rising day by day.
"Huh? Why sell it? Just hold it. You can sell it when the price hits the vertex."
I was not selling it because I didn't know that. You should not miss out on something more important just to earn a few billion more.
"Do you hang out at a company in New York?"
"What? Oh!"
Oh Se-hyun slapped his knee.
A fortune of $15 million would go to just two companies. And there was no promise of when to retrieve it. It should be allowed to stand for at least a few years.
Wasn't it impossible for four talented people in the company to just stare at the stock charts?
"Then that money will be the fund for Miracle to operate."
"Yes, but only use half and hold the other half."
Technically I didn't know anything. It only used fragmentary knowledge of the future. If I didn't know the future, would I have invested in Dell Computers and Microsoft?
Right now, my knowledge and skills were beyond the reach of that woman, Rachel.
Half of the money from the sale of the land left would go directly to my tuition. Every action they took in the process of making investment decisions would be recorded in my textbook, and Oh Se-hyun, a talent from a huge company called Power Shares, was my tutor.
Together, we would experience and learn about the world-class real economy. It was not a waste to lose all that money.
[T/N: Guys, I won't have much time to translate this book as I have resumed school (I hope you can bear with me). I just finished my resumption test at school last week and have already started my daily 7-7-like school attendance. I will make sure to try as much as possible to squeeze in time for translation. Thanks for your support!❤️]
And... This 👇 is totally coincidental. I never knew today was the Chinese Lunar New Year until my sister informed me about it. Nevertheless, Happy Chinese Lunar New Year to all China citizens reading this, C-drama/novel fans and anyone who cares!!
PS: The title of the last chapter was changed. I misunderstood the wording.
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