Empire of the Ring

The season had turned to winter, but the temperature had not yet gone down below 14 degrees in Fahrenheit. It was not until the end of December that the cold snap would make it difficult to do outdoor activities. The weather now felt like spring to Youngho.

There was still a decent period of time left until the river would be frozen.

Even if the river was frozen, Youngho had a sturdy car ferry and freighter that acted as icebreakers, so they would be able to sail even in the mid-winter.

At Arirang Wharf, the last crop of this year’s wheat was just loaded on a ship to Azerbaijan. Although it was a poor harvest, the amount of crop weighed about 1,500 tons, so Youngho could save his face to the Azerbaijani government. It was not a huge amount, but the government was relieved to receive a stable, regular grain trade from Youngho.

The government had a deep trust in him, knowing that he would not trouble Azerbaijan like other traders.

On the first day that wheat was transported to Baku, Youngho was invited to the presidential palace for dinner. This was proof that the Azerbaijani government was appreciative of the grain trade.

After the freighter full of the last crop left the wharf, a car ferry replaced the empty spot. The ferry was coming from Volgograd and Istanbul to deliver wine, carpets, and wolf fur. The best thing about operating a car ferry was that vehicles that carried freight could be shipped as they were. There was no hassle to load and unload cargo like freighters, and that meant people could save time.

The only thing that was lacking were passengers on the ferry. The standard of living was not so high in the countries of the Caspian coast, so there were not many travelers who used a passenger ship yet.

However, it was certain that using a car ferry was an innovation in distribution. A car ferry vessel was the only means that could move wines effectively in a short period of time. Risk factors of delivering them by land had disappeared as well. In terms of time and cost saving, no other means of transport was like the ferry.

“What would we have done, if there was no car ferry.”

“I had a hard time taking this for the farm. If I hadn’t, we would’ve paid so much for delivery costs.”

Kim Chun was proud that he was the one who insisted to take the ferry under the farm’s property when Youngho gave his shipping company to Jong-il. His mind was preoccupied with the convenience of the ferry, he was not aware of the costs for operating the ferry. Not wanting to knit pick on that, Youngho wished that he would realize the problem of the huge costs. Then Jong-il, who was quick to act, said a word.

“Commissioner. Frequent sails cost a lot and you also need to consider the depreciation cost. It’d be the best to load the vessel to fullness and ship goods at once or you won’t be able to handle the shipping costs in the future.”

“Of course I know all about that but for now, I want to comfort the residents since they could not travel freely until now. I know Boss said that they could use vessels freely to travel, but they just didn’t want to bother you when the vessel was under the shipping company’s property.”

Youngho was not aware of such fact

Although it was a prince consort’s company, it was run by a management specialist. And Choi Sunkil must not have been an easy person to ask a favor for the residents. So, they would rather not ask to travel on a ship. However, now that the farm had its own vessel, the residents’ requests were overflowing.

Since Kim Chun, the commissioner of the farm, was trying to do a favor for the residents, Youngho let it go. Kim Chun was not someone who would act upon something without a deep consideration.

“I feel a little embarrassed, but I have to say this to you. It was such a blessing to meet you, commissioner.”

“Phew, you’re trying to flatter me so you can shove me around, aren’t you?”

***

The big corporation’s outstanding and orderly task processing ability astonished Youngho. H Rotem had already completed building temporary roads to transport minerals from the mine near Koryoin town.

The roads were paved to Arirang Wharf to prevent dust. The corporation was now building a dock for minerals transport and it would be ready by next spring. Since H Rotem used farm’s equipment, so many heavy equipment technicians of the farm were hired. Kim Joo-hyuk who just returned from Korea was directing the road construction site.

“Vice President Kim. You’re going to wear out your body if you work too hard.”

“Hi, Mr. Lee. Well, I don’t know much about construction, but I’m the person in charge of this. I should be working hard.”

“The severe weather will start soon. I’m a bit worried about workers’ health.”

The company’s belonged to a global enterprise, H Corporation, and Youngho knew that it would try to push the construction even in the mid-winter since it could not wait for another five months to pass the long winter.

“Mr. Lee. I need an open-air storage yard near the wharf. Could you spare me some land?”

“Aren’t you loading minerals right away after the trucks arrived?”

“We decided to deliver the minerals from another mine in the west through this route. It’s much more efficient to do this way than to transport them by land.”

Transporting goods from western Kazakhstan was more efficient to use Arirang Wharf than using Trans-Siberian Railway to a port in Vladivostok and to transfer them to a ship. From Arirang Wharf, small ships could travel to Istanbul from a canal and from there, goods could be transferred to a large vessel so it could pass directly through the Suez Canal. It was a short-cut route.

“Did you arrange a temporary open-storage yard in Istanbul?”

“We haven’t figured that out yet. My staffs are working hard. I’m sure we’ll get one sorted soon.”

“Do you mind if I arrange one for you? I have some friends in Istanbul and business connections as well. Also, our security service company’s guards are working there too.”

Kim Joo-hyuk’s eyes sparkled to hear Youngho’s offer.

Although the corporation had outstanding staffs, it was difficult to rent a middle open-storage yard in a foreign country. If Youngho helped him, he could take the credit as his achievement in the corporation. By the time he answered Youngho, his smile was telling that he had done calculating everything in his brain.

“Mr. Lee. If you could introduce one for me, it’d be the same as my achievement. I’ll contact the steel mill in Istanbul right away. The employees there probably couldn’t have figured out anything yet.”

Youngho also wanted the minerals gone as soon as possible since he could only be paid for the minerals, only after he had delivered them. If he wanted to, he would be able to arrange an open-storage yard. There were Mustafa, Kemal who owned a large market chain business, and Mehmet from Eti, the food company in Istanbul.

Giving a good impression to the corporation would also be beneficial for Youngho. If the corporation recognized that Youngho was a great connection to different businesses around the countries of the Caspian coast, there would be more business opportunities for him in the future. There were so many things left to take advantage of the corporation for him, so it was important for him to impress the corporation.

***

Youngho had a deep understanding of Southeastern Europeans’ social tendencies.

They rarely refused to do favors for their acquaintances if asked. They rather appreciated being asked to do a favor and actively tried to help, since asking a favor meant that they were friends. Since Youngho knew more about the Southeastern Europeans’ culture, he had offered to find a storage yard for Kim Joo-hyuk.

Although it would be possible to prearrange a good yard with a high cost but paying that much for minerals would be a huge waste, since they were not a complete product like cars and electronics. The corporation had a small budget for the yard, which made it difficult to find one.

Istanbul was a global port city and a middle stopover for all sorts of products.

There were also a lot of foreign businesses in Turkey. They all needed a yard to store their products, so without Youngho’s help, there was a little chance for H Corporation to arrange a decent yard in time.

At the international airport in Istanbul, late November’s rain was dripping.

It was already winter in Kazakhstan, but Istanbul was still in late fall.

Unlike a city that struggled with frequent terrorism, the airport was crowded with travelers from the world. The nation was listed in the risky travel site, but that fact did not seem to suppress people’s curiosity. Or maybe, people were numb about terrorism since it was common.

The H Corporation’s staffs at the steel mill in Istanbul were waiting for Youngho and Kim Joo-hyuk with hopeful eyes. They were waiting to hear good news since they could not arrange a storage yard yet. Their faces showed that they were pressed for time.

“Mr. Kim, welcome. We appreciate your voluntary help.”

A middle-aged man, who seemed to be in charge of the group politely welcomed Kim Joo-hyuk.

“Executive director, Yi. I’m only here as an assistant. Mr. Lee, here is the one who’s going to help us today.”

Director Yi already knew about Youngho, but it was his first time seeing him.

“Mr. Lee. We already booked a hotel. We’ll escort you there.”

Youngho could not help, but cringe since the staffs of the steel mill were treating him like a special guest. Their expectation for him was high.

He had contacted different people to ask for help and all he needed to do now was to wait for their call back.

“Director Yi, please treat me as your friend. I’m overwhelmed by your great welcome.”

“What are you talking about? For our company, Mr. Lee, you are a VVIP. I was told by the vice-chairman to do you proud.”

This kind of treatment was a voiceless pressure for Youngho to succeed in getting the open-storage yard. He did not feel comfortable.

“Well, I’d become an incompetent businessman if I don’t succeed this time.”

“Hahaha. We’re not giving you any pressure here, but it’d be a lie if we said that we’re not expecting much from you. If we can arrange a long-term storage yard this time, we’d be buying in more mineral resources from Kazakhstan and the Caucasus regions.”

Because Russia and China were the two countries that wildly drew in mineral resources from all over the world, any country was eager to get resources. Especially a global corporation like H Corporation had an extreme thirst for them.

Taksim Square, Istanbul was a place where global companies, banks, and hotels were concentrated. There were also two hotels where Zeynep Security Service was in charge of the security.

As soon as Youngho arrived at one of the hotels, the security guards of Zeynep Security Service, who had received the word ahead, welcomed him at the lobby.

Personally, they were his juniors from the Korean Navy Special Forces, the U.D.T. Unit, and officially, Youngho was their boss, the chairman of Zeynep Corporation. Knowing that he never let go of his hardworking juniors without rewards when he met them privately, the employees were not going to let this opportunity go.

This was why the guards who were off-duty that day came to see him at the hotel.

H Corporation’s staffs were startled to see a bunch of bulky Korean guys in Istanbul.

“Why are you guys here when you’re not working? Go take some rest.”

“Well, since our boss is here, we wanted to hang out with you. It’s been a while.”

The security guards of Zeynep Security Service were comfortable around Youngho to ask for a drink.

“Whoa, okay. Since you guys worked hard, I’ll treat you tonight. Let’s see who can drink more tonight!”

That night, the hotel’s bartender could not go home in time because the staffs of H Corporation and Zeynep Security Service did not leave until the early morning.