"Things are going smoothly."
Chen Fei swirled his drink and said,
"The factory will be completed in three days, and we can start mass-producing restored IC chips."
His secretary said with a worried expression,
"But aren't we overextending ourselves? We've borrowed over 400 million yuan from the company. The interest alone is 20 million yuan per month."
Chen Fei smiled.
"We'll be earning much more than that, so what's the problem? Initial investments are always high. It's all for equipment and factory construction. It's not like the money is disappearing."
The secretary's worried expression didn't disappear, and Chen Fei, who would have normally yelled at him, said patiently,
"Why are you so worried? Haven't you seen how much money Chunha Trading is making? They recently started building a massive building on prime real estate in Shenzhen. We confirmed that Park Jong-bum has the technology. All we need to do is start production."
Then he added with a sigh,
"The only problem is that it cost more than we expected. That damn sterilization facility was expensive."
They had spent a fortune installing various facilities on the 66,000 square meter industrial complex site.
Park Jong-bum had warned them that people could die from the toxic fumes generated during the restoration process, so they had reluctantly installed ventilation and filtration systems, which had significantly increased the construction cost to 200 million yuan.
And a few days ago, Park Jong-bum had told them they needed to purchase machinery and equipment, which cost another 200 million yuan.
They had managed to reduce the cost by using secondhand equipment, but it was still a significant amount.
"At least there won't be any more expenses."
The secretary said, still worried,
"But are you sure it's wise to trust Park Jong-bum completely? What if he's playing tricks?"
Chen Fei, who had been trying to be patient, finally snapped.
"Enough! I did my research before investing. Stop being so negative."
He had had his men secretly follow Park Jong-bum even after he demonstrated the restored IC chip technology in a private demonstration. He had confirmed that Park Jong-bum was producing restored IC chips, albeit in small quantities, at his personal workshop before making the investment.
"I have several men watching Park Jong-bum. He can't do anything without me knowing. Stop saying such unproductive things."
The secretary shut up, and Chen Fei clicked his tongue.
"Chunha Trading is making a fortune while we're wasting time. We need to focus on getting the factory operational as soon as possible."
The high demand for restored IC chips was evident from the recent opening of Chunha Trading's secondhand electronic components store.
Chunha Trading had bought and demolished about 20 buildings and started constructing a massive building. They had also rented an entire four-story building next door as a temporary store.
The store was incredibly popular.
It was packed with customers, and there was even a line outside, with people waiting for their turn with numbered tickets.
Chen Fei was envious of Chunha Trading's success.
"Those Chunha Trading bastards must be feeling smug right now. They'll be laughing on the other side of their faces once we start producing restored IC chips."
He imagined crushing Chunha Trading and then checked his watch, frowning.
"Why isn't Park Jong-bum here yet? Call him."
The secretary hurriedly called Kim Jin-won.
Kim Jin-won, Chen Fei's Korean-Chinese employee, was tasked with both interpreting and monitoring Park Jong-bum 24/7 while he was in China.
"He's in front of the restaurant. He'll be here soon."
"He's slow."
A moment later, Park Jong-bum entered the room with Kim Jin-won. Chen Fei greeted him with a wide smile.
"Welcome, CEO Park."
"He apologizes for being late. He says he was inspecting the factory."
Chen Fei nodded.
"I understand. It shows that you're dedicated to the factory. Now then…"
He raised his glass.
"Shall we begin the factory completion party?"
The reason for their meeting was that the factory construction was almost complete.
They had installed all the facilities and equipment, including the sterilization system.
All that was left were the secondhand machines, which would arrive in three days.
Park Jong-bum had said they would be too busy to have a party once the production started, so Chen Fei had arranged this meeting in advance.
The negotiations were practically over, and all that was left was to sign the contract for the 80/20 share split. The atmosphere was amicable.
"Ah, this tastes good!"
Chen Fei drank without a care in the world.
"He says it's just the beginning, and they'll be making a fortune in China."
Chen Fei, his face flushed from alcohol, said,
"Of course. We'll be the best partners, CEO Park."
They laughed heartily. Chen Fei, continuing to empty his glass, said,
"But we need to train the employees before we can start operating the factory. How are you going to transfer the technology? The employees will start working in three days, and they won't be able to do anything without training."
Park Jong-bum nodded.
"He says he's been thinking about that. He was originally planning to disclose the technology after the factory completion and contract signing in three days, but he suggests we move up the schedule. He says they need time for training, so how about tomorrow? He can disclose the technology tomorrow, train the employees the day after tomorrow, and then they can start operating normally in three days."
Chen Fei smiled.
"That works for me. The sooner we start operating the factory, the better. But is it possible to train the employees in just one day? We have hundreds of employees, and you're the only one who knows the technology."
Park Jong-bum, slightly drunk, smiled and said,
"Don't worry. He prepared a demonstration video of the restored IC chip technology on a CD."
"A CD?"
"Yes, he says he can train them easily by playing the video on a large screen."
Chen Fei's eyes sparkled.
"A video demonstrating the technology? Do you have it with you?"
Park Jong-bum fumbled in his jacket pocket and pulled out a CD case.
"He says it's his most prized possession, so he always carries it with him."
Chen Fei licked his lips and muttered,
"The restored IC chip technology is on that CD? So I can learn the technology just by watching the video?"
He realized that if he could get his hands on that CD, he wouldn't have to give Park Jong-bum 20% of the factory's shares. He said to his men,
"Make this a party. Get Park Jong-bum drunk. Do whatever it takes, just make him pass out. And then take the CD."
He looked at Park Jong-bum, who was busy drinking, oblivious to his impending doom.
"You foolish Korean. You let your guard down."
"Hehehe, with this…"
After getting Park Jong-bum drunk and sending him back to the hotel, Chen Fei returned to his office with his secretary and Kim Jin-won.
He looked at the CD in his hand and said,
"The restored IC chip technology is finally mine."
His secretary and Kim Jin-won applauded.
"Congratulations, Chairman."
"Hehehe, Park Jong-bum didn't invest a single penny in the factory, so he has no claim to it. And the technology is mine now. Perfect. Hahahahaha!"
He laughed triumphantly and handed the CD to his secretary.
"Play it. I can't wait to see it."
The secretary turned on the computer and inserted the CD.
"Kim Jin-won, translate everything Park Jong-bum says in the video. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Chen Fei rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Now, let's see."
The video started, and Park Jong-bum appeared on the screen.
There was a table in front of him with a circuit board on it.
Park Jong-bum bowed his head and said,
"He's greeting you and introducing himself as Park Jong-bum."
He held up the board and said,
"He says he'll demonstrate the IC chip restoration process with this board."
"Good, good."
Park Jong-bum bent down, took out a heat gun, and started heating the board.
After about three minutes, he used tweezers to detach the IC chips, their solder melted by the heat, and placed them on the table.
"He says he detached the IC chips with a heat gun."
Chen Fei nodded.
"Of course, he has to detach them before he can proceed. Let's continue."
But then, Park Jong-bum just stood there, blinking, without moving.
Chen Fei waited patiently, but he remained motionless.
Annoyed, he said to his secretary,
"What? Is the video frozen? Why is he just standing there?"
The secretary hurriedly checked the video, but it was playing.
"No, it's playing."
"How long is this video?"
"30 minutes."
"Skip ahead a little."
The secretary fast-forwarded the video, but Park Jong-bum remained motionless, just blinking.
Chen Fei, growing impatient, shouted,
"Further! Further!"
Finally, at the 29:30 mark, Park Jong-bum picked up the IC chips and said,
"He says he's let the IC chips cool down sufficiently."
Chen Fei said with a dumbfounded expression,
"He was just standing there, letting the chips cool down?"
Park Jong-bum said something again, and Kim Jin-won's eyes widened.
Before he could translate, Park Jong-bum bowed his head, and the video ended.
"What did he say? Kim Jin-won! Translate!"
Kim Jin-won stammered,
"He… uh… he says that's it. 'The restored IC chips are complete. Easy, right?'"
Chen Fei said with a dumbfounded expression,
"What? That's it? Easy? This is insane. That's all there is to it? Detaching the chips and that's it? Hey, secretary, are there any other videos on the CD?"
The secretary hurriedly checked, but there was only one video on the CD: the one with Park Jong-bum blinking.
The secretary shook his head, and Chen Fei said in a hollow voice,
"So that's it? It's that simple? He made such a fuss and demanded 20% of the shares for this?"
A thought suddenly struck him, and his face turned pale.
"Bring Park Jong-bum here. Now!"
The secretary said in surprise,
"If this is real, there's no need to bring him here. We can just tell him we figured it out and kick him out of the country."
Chen Fei shouted, his voice almost a shriek,
"It's not that! It's the equipment! All he did was heat the chips with a heat gun! Why did we need all that equipment? 200 million yuan worth of equipment!"
The secretary, realizing the problem, also turned pale and hurriedly contacted his men.
But when they raided Park Jong-bum's hotel room, he was already gone.
"That son of a bitch! He scammed me! Me, Chen Fei! Aaargh!!!"
Chen Fei threw everything in his office, yelling and screaming. His men stood there, dumbfounded. His secretary said in a firm voice,
"Chairman, please calm down."
"How can I calm down?!"
"We need to verify if the technology is real. If it is, we can still make a profit and recover our losses."
Chen Fei took a deep breath and said,
"Verify it! Now! Before I lose my mind!"