CH41 - Fertilizer and Heavy Equipment

The Blue House.

"How did it go?"

"President Woo is trying to merge Samo Textile along with three member companies of the Textile Association. The Industrial Bank has inquired about it."

The chief secretary placed the financial reports of Samo Textile and the three-member companies in front of the president.

The three-member companies were already bankrupt, and Samo Textile had a debt ratio of over 400%, effectively making the Industrial Bank the real owner of the company.

As with any large company, the capital ratio determined who held the management rights, and it was up to the government to decide.

"Help them well."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

The president pushed the report aside without looking at it.

It was a directive to transfer management rights to President Woo.

"And when the company is organized, call that guy."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Aren't you curious about why I'm calling him?"

The president sharply asked the chief secretary, who kept repeating yes.

"Oh, yes. What should I tell him?"

"Tell him to come up with a plan for the fertilizer plant."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

The president knew that if Woo Chansu swallowed up Samo, it meant he was confident about the fertilizer plant.

He felt good inside.

He believed Woo would completely remove the influence of JPA due to his nature.

'Nationalizing the fertilizer plant! That would secure all the rural votes for me.'

It felt like the groundwork for the long-term rule was complete.

****

"Chansu, we got approval! It's approved!"

Sambok burst in excitedly, waving the corporate registration certificate, though there was no need to look at it separately.

"Daese Industrial merges four textile companies"

It was already announced in a small notice on the economic page of the newspaper.

It was as if they were openly advertising that the Blue House had backed them. With Samo being swept away at once, even the media seemed to be aware of it.

"The merger, right? It's in the newspaper too."

"Geez, they published it before the official registration approval?"

It's a dictatorship.

It was the same as saying, 'You know I've got your back, right?' openly.

"Let's focus on our work. Are all the assignments done?"

Due to Daese Industrial swallowing four companies at once, it took two days just to allocate the manpower.

"We named Hongyang Textile, Dongnam Fiber, and Hanseong Weaving as Plant No. 2, Plant No. 3, and Plant No. 4 respectively and assigned one old manager to each."

"With the old managers going there, the production lines should be fine. Leave the plant manager position vacant and evenly distribute the technicians. They'll complement each other."

"Got it."

Meanwhile, Sambok had recruited an influential person named Kam Young-hwan, which greatly helped in selecting experienced veteran technicians.

"Set up a branch in Busan as per your suggestion. Promote Chief Kam to manager."

"Is that okay?"

"Do it immediately. Judging by his handling of work, he won't be seen as a parachute appointment."

A Busan branch was essential.

Most exports passed through Busan Port, so it was time to establish an independent department handling import-export customs clearance.

"Somehow, we've completed the integration of raw materials, knitting, fabric processing, and sewing. Can we grow this big?"

Here, sewing referred to making clothes with sewing machines, not making stuffed animals.

With Samo Textile and the association member companies expanding their sewing lines, things turned out that way.

They seemed to believe they would dominate the clothing industry starting with the Polytech military uniform business.

For me, I couldn't just throw the sewing workers out on the street, so I created a sewing business division. The business expansion was only slightly ahead of schedule.

'What are you worried about? There's no winner's curse in the 60s.'

Entering the 21st century, there are frequent cases of bankruptcy due to excessive mergers, but the 60s were an exception.

In the 60s, as long as products were properly made, exports wouldn't be cut off. It was a time of over 16% annual high-speed growth.

"To feed the employees, you need to frequently visit Bando Hotel. Rent a showroom on the first floor to display fabrics and meet foreign buyers. Most importers have offices there."

I remembered the old-timers regretting not having a showroom there when foreign buyers were mainly at Bando Hotel.

The old-timers only thought of it after retirement, but I can implement that idea now.

"A showroom at Bando Hotel... meeting buyers... Wow, how did you come up with that?"

"That's why I'm the president. I think about company matters even in my dreams!"

When I shrugged my shoulders, Sambok gave a half-resigned expression.

Okay, I'll give you that. It felt like that kind of acknowledgement.

Haha, no matter what I do, it's fun with Sambok.

"Report immediately after meeting buyers. I'll prioritize them."

Honestly, I don't know all the American customers of the 60s. But I want to take care of potential major clients in the future, even if the current volume is small.

"Okay. I trust you. By the way, shouldn't we also visit Ulsan since we're back in Korea?"

"Yes, we should visit the Blue House first, then Ulsan. While in Ulsan, we'll also visit Younggwang Synthetic in Masan."

"You're visiting there too?"

"Of course. He's going to be the chairman of the Korean Textile Association, so we need to see him. Also, to express our gratitude."

I said it as if it was a formal greeting, but I was really curious.

How could he not betray when Samo's temptation must have been quite sweet? I couldn't resist my curiosity.

Boom! Boom!

"What's that?"

A loud noise came from somewhere.

Looking out the window, I saw smoke billowing from Hyesung Nylon.

I was startled thinking there might be a fire, but the people around me reacted differently.

"Oh dear, Mr. Hwang is at it again. Chansu, when you meet President Hwang in Ulsan, tell him to look after his father."

"What happened?"

"Don't you see? Mr. Hwang keeps experimenting with waterproof breathable fabrics and blows things up several times a day. Only President Hwang can stop him."

"What? That sound was an experiment? I told him not to do it! It's dangerous."

"Do you think we didn't try to stop him? He used to show his face, but now he's shut himself in completely. You won't be able to do much either."

"But I still have to stop him."

I rushed towards Hyesung Nylon.

"Hohoho, I tried not to get caught by President Woo, but I failed."

Mr. Hwang was coming towards our factory, dusting off his sooty clothes. He seemed to want to see my face despite shutting himself in.

"I told you it's dangerous. Just wait a bit longer. I'll be back early next year. It's only a few months away."

"Wait for what? At my age, I do things when I want to. Why delay?"

"..."

I had nothing to say.

At his age, it was reasonable.

"Don't worry, I'll succeed before you come back."

"Yes, I trust you."

Instead of stopping him, I ended up encouraging him.

"Chansu! Phone! Phone!"

"Phone? Tell them to call back later."

"No, no. It's them, it's them!"

From the second-floor office, Sambok kept pointing at the receiver and calling me.

It must be the Blue House.

Yeah, I wondered when they would call.

"Go on. You seem busy."

"See you next time."

"Sure, sure."

Mr. Hwang patted my back and turned back. Now that I had encouraged him, I was curious about how far he had progressed.

"This is President Woo Chansu."

<This is the Blue House. You are requested to come.>

As expected, it was the Blue House when I received the call.

"Yes, I understand."

<Aren't you curious about why you're being called?>

"Well, it's probably about what to do with the fertilizer plant."

<... >

"Just send a car. I can't drive my own."

<Understood. We'll send one shortly.>

Click.

"I'm going to the Blue House."

"Are you heading to Ulsan directly afterwards?"

"Yes, from Ulsan, I'll leave by warship. No need to see me off."

"Hmm, a chicken and soju gathering became our farewell party."

"If it was delicious, then that's a party."

At the Baekgu unit in Jinhae, I could board a supply ship and head straight to the foreign post.

"Got it. I'll take care of Polytech."

"Here, take this. It's a gift."

"A gift?"

Sambok tilted his head and frowned immediately after opening the document folder I handed him.

"Congratulations on your promotion. Director Lee Sambok."

"Damn it, how much more work are you going to give me?"

"If it's too hard, appoint plant managers for each plant. That'll make the work easier."

I wanted Sambok to appoint plant managers.

There would be plenty of work, and efficiency would be higher if each plant manager united around Sambok.

"You want me to take care of all the plants."

"Not just the plants. Don't forget to set up a showroom at Bando Hotel and take care of buyers."

"Oh gosh. Sambok is dead."

He flopped onto the chair, pretending to be a corpse, so I massaged his shoulders.

I'm an evil boss who even makes zombies work. Haha.

"If there's an emergency, send a telex."

"Do well. I'm not going far."

Sambok poked my solar plexus as he saw me off.

A black official car was already waiting in front of the factory.

***

The Blue House Guest House.

"You're here, come in."

"You called for me, Your Excellency."

"Did you think you could escape by running away?"

"I was just busy with work."

The president only smirked at my answer.

"Pour me a drink."

"Yes, I'll fill your glass first."

I picked up the kettle and filled the president's glass.

As expected, the kettle contained makgeolli.

The side dishes were pajeon and tofu kimchi.

Who would have thought I'd share with the president what I wanted to share with Mr. Hwang? The rumor that he subdued company presidents with makgeolli was true.

"So, what about the fertilizer plant?"

"It's nothing special. I'll commission BR Company to design it and start construction next year."

Since the fertilizer plant was a plant-type facility, BR Company could design it well.

Being a large construction company, BR Company couldn't be unaware of a fertilizer plant.

Honestly, I could do it myself, but designing alone without CAD or polymer simulation tools would be insane.

"You're going to handle the construction yourself?"

"Yes, by early next year, Daese Chemical's employees will have completed the factory construction, and I can supervise it."

"Will 200 people be enough?"

He even knew the number of my employees.

"We can hire day workers as needed. There won't be any delays."

"That's not what I mean, also take on the operation of the fertilizer plant."

"Thank you for the offer, but it's difficult."

"Why?"

"I want to focus on exports. The more we export, the more dollars we earn, and I want to work tirelessly. I don't think I'll have the mental space to handle domestic business."

"!!!!"

Even if I get close to a dictatorship, using export as an excuse keeps me relatively free.

At this time, fertilizer plants were cutting-edge industries with good cash flow, and thus, they were also the president's slush fund factories.

There's a reason why the saccharin smuggling incident happened through a fertilizer plant.

Originally, Suseong Jeotang should take over as per history.

Looking at it now, I ended up replacing Suseong and pushing aside Samo.

It was originally a fiercely contested business between the top two conglomerates in the 60s.

In any case, I absolutely refuse to be pushed into smuggling for slush fund creation.

The answer was not to get involved from the beginning.

There's no need for a fertilizer plant in my plan.

"Hahaha! Good excuse. Very good."

"Your Excellency, it's not an excuse, but truly I don't have the time..."

"Enough. You said you'd do your best with U.S. military supplies. How can I argue with that? Drink."

The president poured me a makgeolli, overflowing.

Even a college freshman wouldn't drink in such a manner.

"Thank you."

I tried my best to empty it, but he filled it up again.

Damn, I shouldn't argue anymore.

"Tell me, what else will you do in Vietnam?"

"..."

"Depending on what you say, the tax on timber will be determined."

'Dictator! Deciding taxes at will.'

I pushed away the fertilizer plant only to get a bigger assignment.

I felt a resolve to work myself to the bone.

"Uniforms, jungle boots, gloves, and all U.S. military equipment."

"That's a given. You mentioned Polytech."

"..."

Damn, was that such an obvious business?

You told me to build ports.

"Say something new!"

"I'll use a lot of domestic cement and rebar."

"I heard from Hyunsan. Told them to take care of it."

"..."

President Wang already reported it?

He must have stopped by the Blue House before going to build highways in Thailand.

"Not that, but something that greatly helps the nation like timber."

"... I want to repair machinery."

"Repair machinery?"

"The rainy season in Vietnam is long and relentless. The roads turn into mud, making it hard to get out once stuck. It's a place where used equipment inevitably piles up."

"You want to make money by repairing U.S. military equipment?"

"I want to make money by breaking it."

"!!!!!"

Trying to communicate with this man using brain is a bad idea.

Such gambling would lead to ruin.

The answer is to lay everything out straightforwardly and ask for help. Of course, that strategy should benefit the national economy.

"What should I help with?"

Okay. This much should be enough.

I have other items, but I'll stick to this card.

"Send me 300 graduates from this year's engineering departments."

"Three hundred?"

"It's a golden opportunity to handle all sorts of equipment, from heavy machinery to trucks, jeeps, and planes. We need to give this chance to those who've learned even a little professionally."

"!!! Wow!!"

The president was impressed.

Those trained people will eventually be mine, right?

"I have one more request. Please allow duty-free import of used equipment to Korea."

"What do you mean! Duty-free!"

"That way, the U.S. military will send Vietnam's scrap equipment to U.S. military camps in Korea."

"!!!!!"

"The U.S. military can justify it by saying they're selling surplus equipment cheaply to civilians."

"You want to... take that?"

"For the prosperity of the nation."

It's a perfect excuse to get equipment at a bargain.

I'm a true patriot.

At this time, even nationwide, there were only about 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment. And even that was so outdated that it was almost useless.

To properly engage in heavy industry, I alone need at least 1,000 large cranes.

Missing the opportunity of the Vietnam War means never getting them.