Empire of the Ring

"Jong-il. Don't get sidetracked and just fly to Batumi straight from New York."

"Where would I get sidetracked? You know all I do is to work."

Jong-il would have been definitely sidetracked if Youngho did not call him but he was impudently lying.

Purchasing the shipyard was not easy that Jong-il who had gone to transport intelligence devices had to be summoned. It was because the workers were digging in their heels. Even with a great offer, it was not easy for them to leave their hometown.

"I need your hand. The technicians here would rather apply to other shipyards in Batumi. Man, it's hard."

"What? Those hillbillies don't know what they're turning down. What's their problem? Do they have gold buried in Batumi?"

"They'd rather stay in their hometown even if that means living poorly."

"Okay. The loading process will be done by tomorrow. I'll fly right after I'm done."

Youngho had thought that a great offer would get them right off to the autonomous state but it was not as easy as he thought. The management of Ararat Shipyard also was having a hard time because of its technicians' strong outbreak. They blamed the management for selling them out.

The autonomous state was fully ready to receive new immigrants. A nice housing had been readied for them, and the facilities of the city were operating normally that there was no inconvenience for living. The only concern the new immigrants would have was the windy and cold climate in the autonomous state that was different from Batumi.

The only reason that Youngho wanted to take over the shipyard was to relocate technicians to the autonomous state since he needed people, not money.

It would be a dream job if housing and a generous payment were guaranteed in the Caucasus region but since Youngho had set a condition that all of the family members of the workers would have to move too, it became an obstacle. The workers who had harshly opposed the idea of living in the autonomous state, in the beginning, were now accepting the autonomous state somewhat positively but there was still a long way to go. It was a mistake to gather all the 150 workers and try to convince them at once.

People could not judge for themselves if they were in a group. Therefore, Youngho and Il-kwon began to meet people in small groups and that seemed to be working.

They would have their own picturesque house if they worked for ten years, electricity was free, and groceries were provided at a production cost. The autonomous state was a safe place that could provide its residents with all sorts of educational privileges. The autonomous state also had its own airfield and wharf. These kind of facts were enough to attract mothers and children. Most importantly, they were glad to hear that the state had plenty of work positions.

It was inevitable for Georgians to like the offer since they had been suffering a low employment rate and low wages. Not to mention, Kim Chun's pictures also made the state seem like a paradise.

"If you have any technician friends around you, please recommend this to them as well. If they passed the interview process, they'll get an immigrant's status right away."

Cho Chul-hwan and Um Sang-taek who could now speak Georgian fluently were explaining to the workers.

"Are you sure that the houses in the pictures will be ours if we worked for ten years?"

"Most certainly. Also, the state's car ferry regularly travels to Istanbul while stopping at Batumi on the way. You could always visit your hometown on the ferry at any time. If it was an emergency, you could use the light airplane as well."

"Are you kidding? For laborers, it's not easy to make time to travel."

Some people reacted negatively.

"You will be given fifteen days of break both in the summer and winter. Our autonomous state's leadership team is quite laid back and we have a lot of official breaks."

"As much as we want to visit our hometown often, I'm concerned about traveling cost."

Because their lives had been hard, they could not even dream about traveling outside their hometown.

"For our residents, traveling cost is free. If there are too many travelers in the future, we'd charge you but we're only going to receive money for gas."

The technicians and their families who listened to the explanation seemed to be satisfied with the answers that was given to them.

***

Kim Chun came to Batumi on the car ferry.

He was too excited to receive immigrants that he could not wait at the state.

"Boss. We can't pass a special occasion like this. Why don't we drink together tonight?"

As soon as he saw Youngho's face, Kim Chun asked to drink together. He was that excited.

"Why are you asking to drink? You can't even drink."

Kim Chun could hold his liquor better now since he had been drinking with Youngho's group often, he still could not handle drinking too much though.

"When would we drink if we won't drink on a day like today? I resolved the immigration issue with the Atyrau's regional government. I'm determined to get rewarded tonight."

Youngho could see how busily he had been going from places to places to make this work. Although there would not be a country like Kazakhstan that could easily receive immigrants without problems, with Kim Chun's personality, he must have been raising his voice to push the officials who were slow to process things.

"We've not even made a list of the immigrants' names yet. How did you even process this?"

"I just gave them a rough estimate of the immigrants' number. Well, it's an autonomous state anyway. They don't have to know the details. We can make their passports and residential cards later when we report their profiles from the autonomous state."

Although he said that the process was easy, the process of receiving immigrants would not have been as simple as he said. It was only possible since Kim Chun had submitted an official document that he would follow through the immigration process properly. Being a social butterfly, he would have used all of his connections to make it happen.

Youngho could let out a sigh of relief only after watching the car ferry with the first 400 immigrants on board and leaving Batumi's Port.

The faces of the families on board were half full of excitement and expectations. Thankfully, no one seemed to have a somber look. Not only they were satisfied that they received the overdue payments now but also they were full of hope for their new start. It was not a forceful relocation since they decided their own move, and as they knew that they could visit their hometown any time, their hearts were light.

Although some technicians were still being stubborn to stay, it could be resolved with one call from his colleague who moved to the state first.

The Arirang Autonomous state was still extremely grateful for the first 400 immigrants. They were added population and highly experienced technicians. Many people would rather live in an advanced country than an underdeveloped country even if they lived poor lives.

They liked the offers and awesome pictures of the state but Youngho's touching appeal to build the new-born state together would have also made a difference in their hearts.

"We don't need those old facilities but we must get that rail crane."

"That crane can carry up to a hundred tons of weight. Do we really need that?"

"It'll be useful for us in the near future. It's almost new."

Not being able to manage the finance only with yacht building, Ararat Shipyard had begun a rail crane to start repairing business but it was a huge mistake for the company.

The reason why Youngho wanted to take it was that he had seen so many ships that needed repairing soon in the Caspian Sea including Arirang Shipping's vessels. He expected to receive ship repair requests in the near future.

The crane had a barometer to determine if a shipyard was only a shipbuilding facility or also a ship repair yard. That was why Youngho had to bring it no matter what.

Most of the other facilities were nearly scrap metals but Kim Il-kwon was still meticulously making a list to take the most out of the old shipyard.

Youngho could not help but smile since he gained immigrants and shipbuilding technology for the autonomous state from an unexpected place. Now if raw materials could be secured, the state would be a place where any kind of vessels would be made and customized in any way.

***

Things moved fast and flawlessly so far.

The first group of Batumi's shipyard technician families was already adapting to their new lives in the autonomous state. There were still the second and third group of technicians, about three hundred and two hundred people respectively, who were waiting to move. It was about a hundred people more than what was estimated in the beginning since the technicians' relatives had joined too. It was only possible because the technicians spread the word that the autonomous state was a great place to live.

The construction of an exclusive naval wharf next to Arirang Wharf was still in the process.

It was indeed a great strength added to the navy to have a shipbuilding yard that was a ship repair yard as well. This was why Lieutenant Commander Victor Jun showed up with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Lee. Would it be possible to repair our naval vessels as well?"

"Of course, commander. I have 150 specialized technicians now. What can't we fix now?"

"You just astound me, Mr. Lee. How were you able to make the technicians' families move as well?"

"Well, I made a condition when I purchased the shipyard. I won't buy it if a single one of them refused to move."

It was an absurd condition but except for some of the elderly and some technicians who were sick, everyone had agreed to move to the state, which was still amazing.

"Our naval vessel's engine is always troublesome that we often had to let it stay at a dock. I shouldn't be worried from now on."

"Exactly. Don't you worry no more. I'll make sure to make your ships sail like a new naval vessel on the sea."

Russia's military technology was well-known by others. However, their production technology of small vessels was below standards. Their vessel bodies were outstanding but their engines were always problematic.

"I'd like to change some arms on the vessel. Do you think your technicians can install weapons?"

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Do you know the weak points of a missile boat? Its light offensive weapons are not so effective."

He was talking about machine guns and Vulcan automatic cannons. It seemed that he was going to wrap the small vessel with weapons.

"Are you going to install a heavy machine gun or automatic cannon?"

"How did you know? I want automatic cannon."

Youngho had to know since he had installed cradles all over his car ferry already.

"It's simple if you're only installing cradles but it'd be nice if you have room to install a defensive wall."

"We have enough room. If we could install two on each side, our vessel would have no match."

His ship was the only missile ship in the Caspian Sea already. With those cannons added, it would be a lump of weapons floating on the waters.

"It wouldn't look nice from the outside. It might be better to install heavy machine guns because they take less space. I know the ship is built for battles but you need to also think about the aesthetic view."

At his remark, Commander Jun laughed hard.

"Hahaha…"

"At least the Kazakh navies should have some swag. You know that missile is already heavily armed, I feel like it's going to sink in the water soon."

Youngho could not help but smirk to see missile launchers laid crisscrossed together on a palm-sized ship. Any naval vessels made in Russia looked like that. It would look better if it was a bigger sized ship.

"Commander Jun. Isn't a missile ship going to sink anyway if it was shot by a missile just like other ships?"

"…"

"The new shipbuilding technology I took over this time is the technology to build quick and sturdy vessels."

"Are you planning to build new vessels?"

"If you want, I'd like to make a test vessel."

Commander Jun was intrigued.

"The Navy had made one in the past but it failed the speed test. If you could resolve that problem, I'm sure we'd most definitely be willing to support it."

"I wonder how much budget you have."

"I don't think we have plenty but we can guarantee a minimum profit."

He did not look confident but it was better than asking to provide a vessel at a production price.

"Very well. I'll go ahead and try making the best vessel. If the navy doesn't like it, we can use it as a patrol boat."

"That's not a reckless plan. You'd only have four vessels including the ones that are coming from Korea."

"I targeted that when I bought the shipyard but I want to provide for the Navy's needs as our priority."

"The Defense of Defense would pop the champagne when you report this."

"Well, we haven't even designed a ship yet."

"Well, Mr. Lee. Whatever you do, I trust you."

"Alright. Isn't this a win-win business?"