Empire of the Ring

The next morning, the Evenk family was waiting in front of the campsite.

The boy who was about 15 years of age and had a scar on his thigh, was able to walk on crutches made out of rough wood.

“You can walk now.”

“My thigh is still very sore, but it’s bearable.”

“But don’t overdo it, or you might limp forever.”

Dudinka came out to say a word of appreciation.

“We’ll be at the grazing land if we go for one more day. I think we should part ways here. We don’t let strangers in here even if that person is a friend of Irtysh.”

“We’ve checked out the region enough, so we’d better head back too. If you come down to the Taiga forest in the winter, please come to the warm spring forest. I’ll have enough food and ammunition prepared for you.”

The ammunition you gave me will last me for a year.”

“Your boy will need a gun for hunting too. Guns are more efficient for hunting.”

Having a pretty solid bow was a sign that the child with a leg injury was a hunter.

Youngho suggested it because he wanted to have the bow. Dudinka didn’t know what to do when he said he could give him an extra shotgun. Guns were an indispensable necessity to protect the reindeers and one’s family in the tundra. It would be a lie if he did not want a gun.

“Will you give me that bow? Then I’ll give you this gun.”

“Really?”

Barter was common in this place. Asking for a trade for what he got was a fair way to have a deal. The boy received the gun and Youngho got a bow. The child had a proud look on his face. Youngho thought that he was the youngest child in the world to have a gun.

Then the little girl, who was watching closely, took off the hideous leathery warmer from her neck and gave it to Youngho. She also wanted to trade it for a gun. Thinking that she would be able to handle a gun since she was as big as the boy, Youngho told one of the crews to bring out more guns. This was because if a man or woman could not hunt, it was a reason for disqualification as a tribal member of the Evenk community.

“I think this is a very important talisman for you, if you have another item, I’ll exchange that for you.”

The child ran to the tent and came out with a woolly sable hat. It seemed that she brought the most precious thing that she had. For the Evenk people, fur hats were a must to survive the winter’s cold. Youngho did not want to accept it.

Youngho put the gun in her hand to relieve her. He pretended to wear the hat on his head, and gave it back, saying, ‘It’s small.’ But, the girl was puzzled by his action since the deal was already over. The Evenks would never withdraw their deal once it was made. The barter was already done and calling it off was not an ideal situation. Youngho had to take the hat no matter what.

He taught Dudinka and his children how to shoot, assemble, and disassemble the gun, and provide them a generous amount of ammunition, combat ration, and miscellaneous daily supplies.

“Mr. Lee, are you telling me to just take all this? I’ve only given you a few red stones.”

“How can I just go when I received that precious amulet of yours? It’s just a legitimate exchange.”

“I can fill my leather pocket with the stone any time if I want to. But it’s only good for us, not for outsiders, isn’t it?”

“I’ve heard it’s good for a particular machine, so I’m taking it. If this is determined as ruby, this will really bring luck to the Evenk people.”

“I don’t want such luck. The number of Evenks are decreasing rapidly. All I want and hope for is to live peacefully and quietly as our ancestors did.”

They did not want to eat well and live well but just wanted to live quietly. If the natural rubies here were said to be of good quality, there would not be shedding of blood as it used to be in the past, but they would definitely not live in peace or quiet. It would be impossible to not break their peaceful lives.

***

It was a great achievement that Youngho learned a little about the Evenks’ culture as he got to spend a few days with them in this expedition.

He found that there was ruby in the area, but he feared that this might destroy their peace. He did not want to be the one to reveal it to the world even though it would be one day. However, due to the diamond stones found in the Taiga region, this place would soon be exposed to the world as well.

He wanted to let the Evenks in the tundra region live in peace.

In order to not disturb their lives, Youngho would have to find rubies on his own, not from the Evenks. He would tell D Drones that he got the rubies from the black market in Krasnoyarsk since he did not trust the American company with the rubies. Since Dudinka said that the red stones could be seen by small streams, Youngho did not have to get their help, so he would not expose them to the world.

On the way back to the ship moored along the river, Youngho and his crew searched every little stream and collected any reddish stone they could find since they had no knowledge about rubies. It would be a success if one-tenth of them would turn out to be real rubies.

“Boss, if you walked around diligently, you’d pick up one or two rubies a day.”

“If it’s found like that, I’m going to hide the fact that there are rubies in the tundra until the end.”

“…”

“I have a way to make it work without breaking the Evenks’ peaceful lives.”

“It’ll eventually be rumored one day, even if it’s not from us.”

“I know that but I don’t want to hear that it’s because of me.”

Maybe a lot of people already knew about the rubies, but this might be ignored because most of them were not economically profitable. Still, it would be convenient for him to collect them without making any rumors.

“Don’t you think we’re collecting too much for having bought them from the black market?”

“If I say that the mafias are involved in this, D Drones won’t say much since Americans don’t like mafias.”

Since the rubies would be used as an industrial material, Youngho told the Countryside Force guards the purpose of the expedition. He did not forget to make sure that they would keep it a secret to anyone. Since their mission was finding rare mineral for the future of the autonomous state, they were motivated to support the ruby business. They would have to search the region for rubies the whole summer until the winter came, they were still proud to play a role in the state’s development. Especially, the Serbian guards were impressed that the prince consort had joined them in the expedition.

***

When Youngho came back to the ship, a solid log bungalow was already being finished. The crew brought prefabricated building materials from the autonomous state to make a base in the tundra region. Since the crew would stay here for the summer to collect rubies, a bungalow was necessary as it would serve as an outpost of the tundra for the time being. There was nothing less than a strong log bungalow to make long-term residents feel safe and comfortable without being threatened by bears or the Great Lamb. After it was done, the team decided to withdraw the area with only 10 members left.

“Do you really think two light armored vehicles are enough?”

“One is enough, but we’re taking an extra just in case. Five of us will take turns to search the area. We’ve taken all the vehicles from the logging site, so we’ll have to give back at least one.”

“Nothing’s going on there right now. All they need is an airboat.”

“No, this is a small place, and we don’t want to do too much maintenance.”

It was not like they did not need the vehicle, but they were only giving it back since it was taken from the logging site. At the logging site in the Taiga forest, ten workers were working to build a dock under the responsibility of two Countryside Force guards.

Youngho ordered the crews of the car ferry and the freighter of the autonomous state to pass by this region every time they sailed through the Yenisei River. Even though the guards had satellite phones, it would still encourage them to see the state’s ships coming in and out of their working area.

It was two days after Youngho and the crew arrived at the riverside dock of Krasnoyarsk. In the meantime, he received a report that the freighter that carried Nikolay’s gold bars had safely arrived at the Port of Tromso.

Eriksson also called Youngho in a very excited voice.

“Mr. Lee, these are pure gold bars. They don’t need to get examined. Their weights are not identical, but that makes them more attractive. My higher-ups will always welcome such a deal.”

“I can’t guarantee that, but if the client wanted to make more deals in the future, he’ll definitely go through me again. I can promise you that.”

Youngho did not know if Nikolay had any more gold bars, but the deal opened up the possibility for future deals because businessmen would never put everything out on their first deal. Youngho also left the possibility open to Eriksson because if he said that there were no more deals, he might get less commission from the Information Agency.

Eriksson’s superiors would understand Youngho’s words as that he would be deciding whether to have a future deal with the agency based on how devoted they were to Youngho, which would be shown as to how big the commission was.

“The rest of the money was deposited into your account, Lee. The secret auction will go smoothly too. I hope the client was satisfied with our deal this time.”

“I’m sure you’re satisfied enough. He’s already looking forward to seeing me again, so look forward to another opportunity.”

Nikolay was unable to control his face when he found out that a large amount of money had been deposited. He had Andrei and his bodyguards on the freighter with the gold bars just in case, but he could not believe how smooth the transaction went. Although he was an oligarch, he must not have had this amount of cash with just one deal.

Youngho was making another deal as he drank tea with the impressed-looking oligarch.

“As you know, it’s important to choose the nationality of a ship.”

“Can a Russian register a ship as another nationality?”

“Yes, you can. If that happens, the Russian government will not be able to tamper with it either. It’s in accordance with international maritime law.”

When Youngho pointed out Nikolay’s concerns, he looked swelled.

“If we can overcome the ice of the Yenisei River and the Arctic Ocean, Siberia will be developed at a tremendous rate. I and Mr. Yaniv have already ordered several icebreakers. Sooner or later, you’ll see giant freighters breaking ice and sailing up the Yenisei River.”

When Young-ho explained it as if he was explaining a well-painted picture, Nikolay smiled looking like a dreamy boy.

“You are showing the big world to me who’s like a frog in a well. Siberia is wide but it is nothing compared to the ocean. I’d like to get out of here and stretch my influence now. But I’m worried about the cost of building an icebreaker.”

“There are no ship owners who pay the whole cost of a shipbuilding order. They use a very good system of ship financing.”

“…”

“It’s not that difficult to get a loan of 40 to 50 percent of the shipbuilding cost depending on the financial situation.”

“Do you know such a route, Mr. Lee?”

“Of course, I know. There is a Danish shipping company, which I’m a shareholder of. I can check it out for you right now.”

“I’d like to hear more about it.”