Empire of the Ring

Chapter 43: Park Jongil’s Decision (4)

Hearing the noise from outside, Gerhardt’s family came out to the barbecue party. All the men looked ready to get drunk like marathoners preparing to start running at the start line. Looking at Korean soju* bottles on the table, Youngho was satisfied. Yunsuh had sent them from Korea when she shipped clothes from factories. Soju was perfect for a barbecue party. Youngho and Jongil spoiled the others’ taste by insisting that they drink soju instead of wine with meat. Now they were used to having soju at barbecue parties.

The size of the farm was about 42700000 sq. ft. It was greater than the size of Yeouido**. Youngho had left room for a wine factory. Because of the Fatima siblings’ love for animals, the farm family was now bigger with a cat and a dog. The water for the farm was pumped from a river nearby.

Youngho opened the farm for visitors and had events for the public such as barbecue parties to stop any more intruders at the farm. If the word spread out and people knew that the farm was always crowded with visitors, and the farm was majorly supported by the government, mafias or thieves would not dare to come to the farm again.

The Fatima siblings’ first day of school finally came. They had been making a fuss since early morning. They were not used to waking up early, but now they needed to be at school by 9 AM. Youngho became busy looking after them. They could leave the farm after 8 AM.

Being nervous for the first day, the siblings all looked awkward. The thought of going to separate classes must have been stressful for them. Zeynep complained, asking if she really needed to go to school, while Szechenyi looked excited to meet new friends. Fatima took care of her siblings by adjusting their outfits.

Youngho could not but laugh at their different behaviors. The international school consisted of mostly foreigners. Its comparatively open and free class environment would feel like heaven for the Fatima siblings, but not knowing anything about the school, they looked tense. After taking them to each class, Youngho left the school for his office.

Later that day, wondering how they liked the first day of school, Youngho went back to school to pick them up. Their faces were a spectacle. Zeynep talked like a rapid-fire gun as she walked him through her day and Szechenyi also told him that he made many friends. Fatima did not say much, but it was obvious that she had been the center of the boys’ attention.

Youngho was having tea with the director when he received a phone call from Sergey. Youngho and the director were absorbed in a victorious mood after counting their profits from the store in Sumqayit. The call broke the mood. He answered the phone in front of the director. The director only knew about that the mafias related to the Sumqayit store. Youngho did not tell him about the intruders at the farm.

“Mr. Lee, I lost track since I’ve been busy taking care of my henchmen. My boss prepared a gift for you to apologize for our men.”

“Mr. Sergey, I’ve already forgotten about the incident. You don’t need to apologize again.”

“If you get the time, I’d like to meet in person and talk about business. We’d like to import Korean industrial products in Russia, and it’d be great if you could help us.”

Youngho hung up after setting up the time and location of meeting. As Youngho sighed, the director asked, “Mr. Lee, Sergey is the third in order of Southern Russian mafias. Why is he calling you?”

“He said they want my help in trading Korean products. Phew, I don’t want anything to do with them.”

The director had a worried look on his face. He comforted Youngho, saying, “Mr. Lee, Yaniv, the boss of the mafias is known to be a great businessman. You’ll be fine since our government is behind you.”

The director was confident as a high official of the police department.

“I think it’s a good idea to improve the relationship with them through business. I know a politician who’s related to them. I’ll tell him to support you,” he continued.

“Well, if you say so, I’ll try. What a fate I have; I always have to face some difficulties in order to get a business deal.”

The director laughed hard at Youngho’s remark because it reminded him about the militia’s beating, terrors from porcelain traders, and a threat from the clothing retailers. The director made sure that he would back him up. He had already received 2,500 manat for his portion of the Sumqayit store, so he had enough reason to support Youngho.

Youngho and Sergey planned to meet at a French restaurant on the 43rd floor of Flame Tower, which was a famous landmark in Baku. Sergey made a fuss of greeting him. He was a totally different person from the night at the farm. He dressed up in a suit accessorized with a blue pocket square, and he even had brown glasses on. He looked like a successful businessman.

“Mr. Lee, this is from my boss.”

It was a little container. Inside, there was a luxurious watch from Swiss. It was not too flashy, but it was a famous watch that cost about ten million won. Youngho wanted to return the gift, but he could not reject it since it was a gift from Sergey’s boss, which he brought to improve their relationship.

“Well, this is just too much.”

“You can take it freely. It’s just my boss’s way of apologizing.”

“Okay, I’ll take it. Please tell Yaniv that I appreciate his gift.”

Sergey looked relieved as he saw Youngho’s comfortable face because he had to discuss an important business with Youngho.

“Of course my boss was right. He said such a bold person like you would take the gift. Most people would not take a gift out of favor from us because they fear that we’d have dark intentions and we’d change our words to demand something in exchange later. Well, our projected image is that bad.”

Sergey made a surprising comment and Youngho looked at his face. His eyes were calm and clear. He looked like a bright person. Youngho wanted to talk to him more.

The French course meal, which started with an appetizer less than a spoonful size, lasted for an hour. Sergey talked a little bit about his life and family during the meal before getting to the point: the business.

“Mr. Lee, our organization encompasses the southern parts of Russia, Kazakhstan, and even Uzbekistan. Except for Russia, the other regions lack daily necessities. We thought importing quality Korean products would be a great business.”

“I get your point, but you could contact Korean companies. They’d be glad to provide their items. Why do you need me in the process? What’s the real reason?”

He had heard of Russian traders based in Vladivostok of the Maritime Province*** who traded Korean products from well-known Korean harbors in Sokcho or Busan. They could import Korean products as many as they want from them. Youngho wondered why they needed to go through Youngho.

“We have many competitors. If we go through you, we could import goods unknowingly. Also, we are suggesting a business as a way to apologize.”

Youngho wanted to reject his offer if they seemed like they were going to take advantage of him. However, Youngho decided to wait until he found out the conditions for the business.

*Soju – popular Korean hard liquor

**Yeouido – a large island on the Han River in Seoul, Korea

***Vladivostok – a city in the Golden Horn Bay in Russia, Russia’s largest port is located in the city