"Ugh… where am I?"
Li Yang groaned, clutching his head as he sat up.
White walls, white sheets.
He was alone in a bed in an all-white room.
He remembered what had happened.
"A hospital?"
He had pushed the CEO out of the way and taken the knife.
He looked at his trembling hands.
"I'm alive. I didn't die."
He didn't know what had given him the courage to do that.
All he could remember was the thought that the CEO couldn't die.
"Is the CEO safe? How long have I been here?"
He pulled out the IV from his wrist and slowly got out of bed.
His legs were weak and trembling, but he held onto the bed and took one step at a time towards the door.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Just then, the door opened, and a nurse entered.
She saw him on the floor and exclaimed,
"Patient! Patient!"
She rushed over to him and helped him up.
"You're awake! Doctor! I'll call the doctor…"
Li Yang asked weakly,
"How long… have I been here?"
"You need to rest. Please get back in bed."
The nurse helped him back into bed, and he asked again,
"How long have I been unconscious? What happened?"
The nurse hesitated and then said,
"It's been over two weeks since your surgery. Please rest. I'll go and call the doctor and your family."
She hurried out of the room, and Li Yang slumped back in bed.
"Two weeks. Two weeks…"
***
"I'm so glad you're awake. I was worried you wouldn't wake up."
I rushed to the hospital after receiving the call and took Li Yang's hand.
"He says he heard from the nurse that you arranged for a private room and the surgery. He's grateful."
I shook my head.
"It's nothing. You saved my life, this is the least I can do."
Li Yang smiled.
"He's asking if you're alright."
"Of course, thanks to you. Now, all we need is for you to recover fully."
Li Yang's smile suddenly disappeared.
"He's asking if you caught the culprit. He doesn't think it was a random attack."
I smiled.
"I know. It was an assassination attempt. And I know who did it."
Li Yang's eyes widened.
"He's asking if you reported it to the police."
I shook my head.
"There's no evidence, so I couldn't report it."
Li Yang bit his lip in frustration.
"But don't worry. I might be generous to my people, but I'm not soft enough to let someone who threatened me get away with it. I've already started my revenge. I'll make them pay and bring them to their knees, so just wait and see."
I smiled at the bewildered Li Yang.
"Anyway, don't worry and focus on recovering. There's a lot of work waiting for you at the company. We're opening a store soon, and I want you to be in charge."
Li Yang's eyes widened.
Having accompanied me for the past few days, he had a rough idea of the scale of my business and the importance of the store. He was surprised that I was entrusting him with such a responsibility.
"The inventory will be managed in conjunction with the factory, so it won't be too difficult. You'll be the manager, in charge of the staff and operations."
Li Yang waved his hands.
"He says you don't have to do this out of gratitude. He says it was his duty as an employee to protect you. And he's not qualified for such a high position because he's uneducated."
I looked him in the eye and said,
"It's true that this is a reward for saving my life. But if it were just a reward, I could just give you money."
I tapped the bed.
"The cost of this private room, your medical expenses, the reward for the doctor, the blood I acquired through unofficial channels… it's about 200,000 yuan."
Li Yang's eyes widened at the exorbitant amount.
"I gave the doctor 100,000 yuan. There's no reason I can't give you more than that for saving my life. I can even give you 1 million yuan."
Li Yang gulped at the mention of 1 million yuan, an amount he could never earn in his lifetime.
"But what I'm offering you is much more valuable than money."
I clasped my hands and looked at him.
"Opportunity. I'm giving you an opportunity. An opportunity for a 21-year-old who just escaped the life of a heihaizi to rise to a high position, to become the envy of others. An opportunity to prove that even a heihaizi, rejected by his own country, can succeed. You say you're uneducated?"
I shook my head.
"That's not the answer I want to hear. If you're uneducated, learn. If you don't know something, study. And prove yourself. Prove that I made the right choice. Prove that you deserve this opportunity."
I said with a serious expression,
"If you reject this opportunity because you're uneducated or because you think it's not the right time, fine. I'll give you 1 million yuan right now. There will be no hard feelings. You can just continue working at our company like before. You'll get promoted if you prove your competence, just like the other employees."
I raised my index finger.
"The only difference is whether you prove yourself at the top or start from the bottom with 1 million yuan. The choice is yours."
I smiled at Li Yang, who was staring at me blankly.
"Of course, I won't stop you if you want to use the money to start your own business, but I wouldn't recommend it. Business isn't just about money."
Li Yang suddenly started chuckling softly.
I watched him silently, and he wiped away his tears and said,
"He apologizes for laughing."
"You're free to laugh. But why did you laugh?"
"He says he never imagined such good fortune would come his way."
"Good fortune, huh."
Li Yang stopped laughing and started to get out of bed.
I was startled and tried to stop him, but he insisted, got out of bed, and faced me.
He bowed deeply and said,
"He thanks you for the opportunity and promises he won't disappoint you."
I smiled and extended my hand. Li Yang smiled and shook it.
"I look forward to working with you, Li Yang."
After shaking hands, I helped him back into bed. He asked with a curious expression,
"He's asking what you meant by starting your revenge. And who the culprit is."
I chuckled, remembering a conversation I had with Park Jong-bum a few days ago.
***
"Good work."
Park Jong-bum's chuckle came from the other end of the line.
[It was nothing. It was quite entertaining.]
While Park Jong-bum was setting the stage, I was waiting near the meeting place with the thugs, prepared for any unexpected situations.
"What did you agree on?"
[80/20 split. Chen Fei covers all the expenses, and I provide the technology.]
"Did he agree easily? Chen Fei is not an easy opponent."
[He was happy when I showed him the restored IC chips and said I would fully disclose the technology once the factory is built.]
I chuckled.
"Excellent. Proceed as planned. We're going to bleed him dry. As I instructed, make sure everything is top-of-the-line when you build the factory. Dust collection, ventilation, materials… spare no expense. Act as if people will die from toxic fumes if we don't."
Park Jong-bum laughed.
[Should I install a sterilization system like in a real semiconductor factory?]
"That's a great idea!"
[How much should we aim for? Give me a limit, and I'll work within it.]
From what I had gathered, Chen Fei's assets were about 500 million yuan (50 billion won), with 40 billion won in Renyi Investment and about 10 billion won in real estate and other assets.
That meant he owned about 20% of Renyi Investment Corporation.
"We're going to take all 50 billion won. And bury him in debt. That's true revenge."
My eyes gleamed.
"The fall is always harder for those who have more to lose. I'll show him what rock bottom looks like."
[But sir, do you think he'll invest 50 billion won? Not all of his assets are liquid.]
"No problem. He's the chairman of Renyi Investment Corporation."
Chen Fei had two options.
He owned 20% of Renyi Investment, but he couldn't withdraw that money if he wanted to remain chairman.
So he could either have Renyi Investment Corporation invest in the business, or he could borrow money from the company and invest it himself. But would he share such a lucrative opportunity with the other shareholders?
"He'll never let the company invest. He only owns 20%. He would only get one-fifth of the profit after sharing it with the other shareholders. With Chunha Trading's success as a precedent, he won't want to share."
[I see.]
"He'll probably borrow money from the company at a lower interest rate than what he usually charges. But even a lower rate is still a significant amount. It'll be fine if the business is successful, but I won't let that happen. Chen Fei will eventually drown in debt and be ousted from the company."
[That would be satisfying.]
I nodded at Park Jong-bum's words.
"By the way, how's the situation in Korea?"
[It's bad. Thailand requested an IMF bailout just two weeks ago. There are rumors that Korea might be next.]
Southeast Asian countries, which had once enjoyed rapid economic growth, started experiencing current account deficits and a sharp rise in exchange rates in 1996, just like Korea.
Thailand was the first to surrender to the IMF, and other Southeast Asian countries were also in a precarious situation. But the Korean government maintained that Korea's economy was on a different scale and there was nothing to worry about.
"I see."
[So many companies are collapsing that only the large corporations make the news anymore. Kia Motors recently signed a debt rescheduling agreement. They're practically bankrupt. But we're thriving.]
Amidst the unprecedented economic downturn, with even Kia Motors, ranked 8th in the business world, collapsing, Chunha Trading was the only one thriving.
As companies fell like dominoes, the government lost control, and we were flooded with inventory and raw materials being secretly sold off from failing companies.
For those selling company assets, secrecy and speed were paramount, and Chunha Trading, which offered full payment in cash, was the perfect buyer.
[We're not directly involved in the embezzlement, so we can just feign ignorance if there's a problem later.]
I smiled.
"Just keep doing what you're doing. Let others take the risks, and we'll just collect the profits. And start buying up machinery and equipment from bankrupt companies."
[Machinery and equipment?]
When a company went bankrupt, machinery and equipment were usually the least valuable assets.
They were mostly specialized for specific tasks, and the relocation and installation costs were so high that their resale value was low.
When the economy was good, similar companies might buy them for cheap, but in a recession like this, they were just scrap metal.
"We can buy them for just the scrap metal price, right?"
[Yes, but what are you going to use them for?]
I smiled slyly.
"I'm going to sell them to Chen Fei."
[What?]
"He thinks the IC chip restoration technology is something special. Let's sell him the equipment needed for it."
I chuckled.
"I'll show him the magic of turning 1 million won worth of scrap metal into 100 million won."