CH14 : Real Deal

"Chansu, what are you doing? These are for export!"

"Shut up, Mr. Lee. How can we export products like this? Are you trying to ruin the company?"

When I addressed Sambok as Mr. Lee and put on a serious expression, the atmosphere instantly froze.

This is how Daese Group ended up in such a state, starting their first export with this kind of quality.

They kept increasing subcontractors, saying they could buy technology, and that's how Chairman Woo started the corporate mergers in my past life.

We can't let ourselves get a taste for making money with such cheap products.

"Section chiefs, come here. How does this look to you?"

I decided to take this opportunity to give a thorough education. I called over the section chiefs, who were visibly nervous and had them inspect the fabric.

"Sniff sniff. It does smell a lot like new clothes..."

"The ends are a bit frayed, but we can clean them up before shipping, sir."

"The fabric becomes a bit stiff after dyeing, but we can straighten it out with the machines, sir."

"Haah... You guys..."

I was at a loss for words.

The section chiefs didn't recognize the problems at all.

It wasn't that they were trying to avoid work.

They had never seen a properly made product before, and their standards for quality were too low.

"Chansu... no, Mr. President. What exactly do you find unsatisfactory? Didn't I tell you this product was ordered from the best dyeing factory in Seongsu-dong?"

Sambok was pushing my buttons.

Even if the section chiefs said it was okay, you shouldn't just go along with it.

"What's the best about this? The dye is rubbing off on my hands. And can't you see these stains? The colours are different here and there. The fabric is not only pilled but also wrinkled! How can a customer make clothes out of this? It will turn into rags as soon as it's made! Is this what you call dyeing? Get those guys here right now! They need to pay for my fabric!"

It was like getting a new car to shine and finding that they had taken it apart from the engine to the seats.

"Some dye transfer is natural, and those stains... they're just slightly different shades."

"Would you order from us again if you received goods like this? Are we going to do business just once?"

"..."

"We need to sell this fabric to make money, not just once but repeatedly. Don't you want to get rich?"

"I do want to get rich."

"Then we can't do it like this!"

"..."

"What's with that face? Are you not planning to do it right?"

"To do better than this, we'd have to send it to Japan. There's no one in Korea who can do better..."

"What Japan! We need to find someone who does it right here in Korea."

Honestly, I don't know much about dyeing.

But I know this won't increase export volumes. We'd be lucky if we don't get complaints after exporting.

"Mr. President, it might be okay if we wash the fabric a few times and iron it out with machines."

"Stop talking nonsense! Washing old clothes won't make them new. This is already junk!"

Rip! Rip!

I tore up the remaining fabric with a utility knife and threw it in the factory yard.

Then I poured lubricant all over it.

"Gasp! Chansu, that's money! It's money."

Sambok was startled and rushed over.

He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go.

"Shut up! This isn't money. It's poison. Selling products like this will ruin our factory! We'll lose our jobs and everything!"

"No one's going to go bankrupt. Even if it's a bit unsatisfactory to you, it would sell out in the local market. I can sell it. We could easily get 300,000 won for this."

That's why I'm burning it.

"Listen to me. If we sell this, we'll become cheap from that moment on. We'll be called cheap for life! Do you want to sell goods in the market forever? We're an export company! We need to export to get rich! Don't you want to get rich?"

That's what happened to Daese Group.

They neglected technology development, focusing solely on mid-to-low-priced products, losing their growth momentum.

No matter how good the marketing, a manufacturing business without its own technology has limits.

"We'll get rich. We'll export. We'll export!"

"Then burn it! Burn it!"

"Haah, Chansu... but this..."

"Shut up and burn it! Section chiefs, what are you doing? Bring all the defective products! Burn them all!"

"Mr. President..."

"I'm the president and I'm ordering you! Burn it all! I'd rather bite my tongue and die than sell cheap goods."

I gave the sternest scolding I ever had.

Terrified, Sambok and the section chiefs gathered the fabric and set it on fire.

Because it was nylon-based, the smoke wasn't too bad, but the acrid smell of burning hair filled the air.

The female employees who had been watching from the side were trembling, and even passersby outside the factory stopped to watch.

"If we ever produce this kind of trash again, I'll burn down the whole factory! It's better to go bankrupt quickly than to suffer!"

"Mr. President, calm down. The employees can hear everything."

I was doing this so everyone could hear.

"Do you think I can't do it? Should I set it on fire right now?"

"Dong-gu, take the president away. Sung-gu, Yong-gu, come here."

"Yes, Mr. Lee."

"Each of you brings a roll of fabric waiting to be dyed. Today we're going to visit every dyeing factory. Hurry!"

Hah, they only act when I make a scene.

Since we're spending money, we need to make sure it's done right.

"Let go, let go! I'll burn it all! All of it!!!"

"Dong-gu, hurry and take him away! Lock him in the president's office and lock it with a padlock. He might really set the factory on fire if we don't. Hurry!"

"Yes, Mr. Lee."

As I struggled, other employees came out and grabbed my arms and legs, moving me to the president's office.

The president's office was a tiny attic room, so once the door was locked from the outside, it was like a prison.

"Until I get back, don't let the president out. Understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Lee."

Sambok loaded the fabric into his car and left the factory. That's why I bought the car for him.

There must be dyeing experts in Korea if you look hard enough.

"Phew..."

Alone in the president's office, I gradually calmed down.

Honestly, I was so angry earlier that I couldn't hold it in.

"Export Quality Specifications"

- There should be no dye transfer or bleeding when washed in clean water with a neutral detergent.

- If oil stains or discoloration areas exceed 2% of the total area when observed under natural light, it is defective.

- If pilling exceeds 2% of the area, it is defective.

- If the dimensions change by more than 2% after dyeing, it is defective.

I sat at the desk and roughly wrote down the export specifications. In engineering, if something is ambiguous, using 2% as a specification standard usually works.

Human eyes can perceive differences in colour, volume, or length when the variation is about 2%.

There is also a physical 2% rule, but psychologically, the 2% rule is quite prevalent.

In any business, once you start replacing 2% of the existing market share, you enter a growth phase. Economic growth rates are also divided into low and high growth based on 2%.

"Struggling so much made me tired."

I lay down on the floor of the attic.

The sound of fabric being processed continued from the factory, but I wasn't feeling as good as I did yesterday.

Who knew dying would be such a stumbling block?

I must have underestimated the technology of the 1960s, thinking as a 21st-century person.

After all, before I came back, I didn't even know the first thing about nylon.

As a novice, I needed to stay humble.

'This incident needs to implant a consistent quality concept. If left unchecked, it would have been a disaster.'

Looking at the long term, it was good that defects surfaced now.

Once I lay down, it was hard to get up.

Even though I had taken naps here and there, I couldn't remember the last time I slept well through the night.

***

Knock knock.

"Hey, President Woo. Are you alive?"

"Huh!"

Half-asleep, I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Haha, you're alive. It's me, Hwang from Hyesung Nylon."

"What brings you here, sir?"

Through the crack in the door, I heard the voice of old man Hwang.

Click. Click.

I tried to open the door, but the employees had indeed locked it with a padlock.

"They say you burned the fabric and threatened to burn down the factory. Is that why you're locked in here?"

"It was supposed to be for export, but the quality was a mess. You should have seen it yourself."

"No need to see it. That's why the Japanese laugh at our products."

"... The yarn we received from Hyesung Nylon was better than expected. The problem was with the dyeing."

Even though it wasn't Hyesung Nylon's fault, old man Hwang's expression didn't change.

He wasn't here to confirm that.

"I've never seen a president as bad-tempered as you. I need to step in. I might not solve it, but I can help."

"Can you dye fabric, sir?"

It was surprising that old man Hwang offered to help.

Even though he ran a small nylon polymer plant, he wasn't an ordinary person.

"My father was conscripted to build factories for Japanese synthetics during the occupation..."

"Enough. That's a painful memory. Just open the door."

"Yes, father."

Huh? Hwang Hyesung, the future chairman of Hyesung Group, was here too.

Hwang Hyesung was a skilled chemical engineer, but it seemed old man Hwang was more of a genius with technology.

"Hyesung, bring the fabric and come along with Mr. Woo. I'll go ahead and prepare the dye."

"Yes, father."

I had set the fabric on fire to provoke the employees, but it served as a beacon, attracting the Hwang father and son.

***

"Father, we're here."

"Wash the fabric thoroughly if you brought it."

"Yes, father."

Following Hwang Hyesung, I crossed the nylon factory to the backyard.

They had cut a drum in half, filled it with water, and were heating it with a gas flame.

Following old man Hwang's instructions, Hwang Hyesung dipped the fabric into the hot water and started washing it.

He stirred it with a large wooden paddle like he had done it many times before.

"What are you doing?"

"We're removing impurities and oil stains from the fabric with a small amount of detergent in 30°C water. It's preparation for dyeing."

"When did this place have a dyeing line?"

"It's my father's laboratory."

"Laboratory?"

"Yes, my father was conscripted to work in a textile factory during the Japanese occupation. Back then, he used his bare feet to tread on the fabric inside the washing tub instead of using a paddle."

"Treading on it with bare feet? Is that okay?"

Even though it was just 30°C water, prolonged work would cause the feet to swell and peel.

"Of course not. My father's toenails fell off so many times that he no longer has any."

"... Oh my..."

"After the liberation, my father vowed to make clothes better than the Japanese. He wanted to do everything with our technology, from spinning the yarn to cutting the fabric. So dyeing was naturally essential."

Wow, from spinning yarn to cutting fabric... that's impressive.

It explained why Hyesung Group was so committed to the textile business.

Old man Hwang's determination and Hwang Hyesung's drive to fulfil his father's dream were evident.

"Why are you telling him unnecessary things?"

"It's not like it's a lie, father."

"Let's just get the work done quickly."

Old man Hwang was a perfectionist with little emotional expression, but his son Hwang Hyesung was quite personable.

They made a good pair.

"Thank you for helping."

"How do you know it will help? We're just trying, so no need to thank us yet."

Old man Hwang was somewhat of a perfectionist.

He wanted to see if I would be satisfied with the dyeing quality.

"Just for stepping in, I'm grateful."

"Forget it. What colour do you want?"

"Yellow and green."

I unfolded the fabric samples I got from Singapore. Although there were other colour orders, the urgent and large 200,000-yard quantities requested by Razak were yellow and green.

"Mango colour, forest colour."

"Yes, that's right."

He nailed it.

"Father, let's start with the mango colour. It's easier."

"Alright."

Hwang Hyesung brought various dyes and a lot of glass bottles from somewhere.

Old man Hwang started mixing the colours in a tin can, stirring to create the right shades.

"Sir, the colour seems too dark..."

"No, this is just right. It needs to be this dark to come out well after washing."

"I see..."

It wasn't just dark; it had a reddish tint, yet he said it would turn yellow when dyed. Incredible.

"Hyesung, taste it."

"Yes. Sip. Sip... Spit. We need to add more acetic acid and carboxyl sodium, father."

"Really? Sip. Sip... Spit. You're right."

Oh my, they were tasting the dye mixture and having a tasting session like it was a sauce.

They added various chemicals and tasted it repeatedly, just like adjusting seasoning.

"Acetic acid, carboxyl sodium, sorbitol, ethylenediamine, sodium benzoate..."

Even just looking at the names on the glass bottles, it was clear they weren't good for health, but they tasted without hesitation.

Even if they only tasted and spat it out, it was surprising to see them so nonchalantly putting their tongues to it.

"What's with that face? Do you want to try it too, Mr. Woo?"

This is real. The real deal has appeared.