Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Chapter 806: Night in Shanghai City (3) - Part 1

After seeing off Mori Aikko leaving for the film studio, he found himself being left alone in the hotel having nothing to do. He was supposed to go back to Korea, but he didn't want to.

"Well, I don't have anything specific that I have to do even if I go back to Korea anyway."

As a matter of fact, Gun-Ho's companies were doing fine without his presence. Each company had its own competent management people who were running the company's daily operation, and Gun-Ho didn't worry about a thing about those companies' businesses. Maybe it would be better that Gun-Ho wasn't there physically; he didn't want to interrupt their work.

Gun-Ho's role with these companies was to evaluate the management workers' work performances after hearing the report on each company's business, and either praise them or penalize them subsequently.

Gun-Ho watched the TV in his hotel room for a while, and then he walked out of the hotel; he was in a comfortable outfit.

"I will just go out and take a walk around the area. It has been a while since I walked around a city in China."

Gun-Ho went to Nanjing Lu Street where a lot of commercial stores were found.

"Wow. It's so crowded here. I can see how densely populated this country is whenever I come to visit this area."

Gun-Ho walked for quite a while until he found himself standing at Anseo Street.

"I see a business sign for Wang Ba (Internet cafe) over there. I'm going to spend some time there playing online games maybe."

Gun-Ho went into the Wang Ba. Instead of playing online games, he checked the Korean stock market on the internet.

"I don't see any changes in Dyeon Korea's stock. The price hasn't moved but stayed at the same low price. I should wait until the stock manipulators start fiddling with the stock. If I buy or sell Dyeon Korea's stocks enough to affect its price while not many people are trading this particular stock, my move will stand out. And, it could be seen as an effort to manipulate the price, and subsequently, the Korea Stock Exchange may designate Dyeon Korea stock as a stock that must be traded with extra care."

After spending his day in Wang Ba, Gun-Ho came back to the hotel in the evening.

He received a call from Min-Hyeok Kim in Suzhou City.

"I heard that you are in China right now. Which area are you in?"

"I'm staying at the Grand Central Hotel in Waitan."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? We should meet. Let's go to a karaoke or something."

"You don't have to come here to meet me. I came here to take care of some business."

"I can leave now with my car to see you. It doesn't take long to get to Shanghai City from where I am—Suzhou City."

"Please don't. Seriously, I am here on business."

"Are you sure? I thought that it would be nice to have a drink or something with you. Well, if you are on business, then I will leave you alone."

"I'm sorry, man. How's your business there?"

"It's going well. Dyeon China is experiencing a steady increase in sales. It's becoming stable."

"Hmm, really? I know Dingding is good at running the company."

"Dingding has a lot of friends here now. She is popular. She is deemed to be the president of a large company in this area. I can see her feeling proud of herself when she goes to work every morning."

"Haha, really?"

"If she finds out that you are in China, she will definitely go to see you—the chairman from Korea."

"Is that right? Well, I feel relieved knowing that I have two reliable friends and also business partners in Suzhou City, who are running the companies with great care. And, I thank you both for it."

"Don't mention it. Thank you."

"The fact that Dingding speaks English fluently is very helpful to us."

"Dingding has been talking with Mr. Adam Castler in the head office in Korea in English about the business report. I saw her talking with Dyeon India's President Brandon Burke on the phone in English the other day as well. He was asking her to come to visit him in India."

"Hmm, really?"

"So, Dingding asked Mr. Brandon Burke to visit Dyeon China when he had a chance."

"It should be a good experience for both of them to visit each other's company. They will find something to learn from each other's system and policies."

"Dingding is feeling more proud of herself running Dyeon China these days since Dyeon Korea became a public company. She talked highly of you, President Goo, saying that you are an amazing businessman."

"Me? Haha. She is so sweet. Well, I guess I'd better let you go now, so you can take a rest for tomorrow. I will talk to you later."

"Okay. You have a wonderful night in Shanghai City. I really recommend that you visit karaoke there. It will be fun."

"Haha. Okay."

Gun-Ho received a foot massage before having his dinner at the restaurant inside the hotel. When he was enjoying his food, he received a call from Jae-Sik Moon in Antang City, Guizhou Province.

"I was told that you are in China. Aren't you going to visit me here?"

"I can't go there. I even turned down Min-Hyeok's offer to visit me here."

"Really? Why? Are you going back to Korea soon?"

"I will stay one more day here, but I have some business that I have to take care of."

"Is that about the movie production?"

"Yeah, that and also I have some personal matters too."

"I see. The Chinese partners want to hold a board meeting soon."

"Didn't they say that they are going to skip the board meeting this year because I didn't send the second investment fund?"

"I know. They are still nagging me about us not sending the investment fund. I told them that one of President Goo's companies is a public company, meaning that he has enough funds to build the terminal here. So, it's not a matter of whether he has funds ready or not, but it's a matter of whether they keep their promise to transfer the ownership of the land to the joint venture's name or not. I also told them that once the land issue is taken care of, President Goo will send the fund right away."

"Good."

"The terminal building is almost completed, leaving some finishing-up work which will cost a lot. And they are worried about the necessary fund to finish up the building."

"If they ask you again about not sending the investment fund, just tell them that President Goo was about to send the second investment fund, and when he found out that the ownership of the land hadn't transferred yet, he bought five luxurious condos in Antang City instead."

"Should I let them know about our restaurant business with the KFC, the pizza restaurant, and the deep-fried chicken restaurant as well? They probably already suspect that I'm running some other businesses in the city, but I haven't publicly talked about it with them. Maybe I should tell them about it, and also let them know that President Goo invested in this restaurant business too."

"Hmm, just let them believe that your wife is running those restaurants by herself, without mentioning my involvement. That way, they will respect you more thinking that the joint venture is not the only income that you have."

"Oh, you know what? The condos in Huaxi Huayuan… There is no more unit for sale on the market. Every unit on the market was sold before Thanksgiving Day. It seems that the demand is very high."

"Really?"

"I heard that you can name the price. There will be always a buyer who is willing to pay a high price. The market for the condos in Huaxi Huayuan reminds me of the housing market in Gangnam District in Seoul City."

"Hmm, I see."

"It seems that a lot of buyers bought not just one unit but bought several units at once. I heard that one rich man from Hong Kong purchased several of them, and also some high-ranked government officers bought multiple units as well."

"I guess they are making money by renting those units out, huh? Just like me."