After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 052

 

The Barma Group was in crisis.

 

The reason was Barma Chairman’s arrest.

 

Having been caught committing massive lobbying in political circles, Barma Chairman was arrested and indicted.

 

The media was predicting that he would be found guilty and face enormous fines.

 

Thanks to this, the Barma Group itself was shaken.

 

Though it was a group and a listed company, Barma Chairman’s shareholding was overwhelming and his influence was also great.

 

In this situation, Arit Barma, the eldest son of the Barma family, was appointed as the second-generation chairman.

 

‘This is a headache.’

 

Though he became chairman of the Barma Group following his father, his business acumen was inferior to his father’s.

 

Moreover, when he actually sat in the chairman’s seat, the company’s situation was even worse.

 

‘Even in this situation, did father commit such embezzlement?’

 

It would have been fortunate if the embezzled funds had accumulated as assets, but most of it was used for lobbying funds.

 

Of course, some had accumulated as assets, but those were currently under seizure.

 

In this situation, the company’s finances were becoming more difficult day by day.

 

‘Since father was arrested, sales have dropped by nearly half. Plus, the cancellation of existing contracts is too painful.’

 

The bigger problem was that new contracts were not being signed.

 

There seemed to be no place willing to give new work to the Barma Group, already tainted by lobbying and embezzlement.

 

‘At this rate, all 30,000 employees will end up on the streets. I must at least prevent that.’

 

Even in this difficult situation, the reason Arit Barma took the chairman’s seat was because of the employees the group was leading.

 

The 30,000 employees would become unemployed if the company collapsed.

 

Unable to stand by and watch that, he sat in the chairman’s seat and was trying his best to normalize things somehow.

 

‘To normalize this company, we ultimately need to start new projects.’

 

Money was needed to save the company.

 

That money comes from projects.

 

The problem was that the Indian Government was excluding the Barma Group from new projects.

 

There was no reason to embrace a company that already had risks.

 

But they couldn’t find an exit overseas either.

 

The Barma Group had grown in India and was a company with all its infrastructure in India.

 

Since there was little merit for foreigners to entrust work to them, they couldn’t attempt expansion.

 

Of course, they weren’t sitting idle.

 

They were sending employees abroad and bidding on all kinds of projects.

 

But there were no notable results.

 

“Sigh… At this rate, we’ll really close down without being able to do anything.”

 

He needed to stay strong for the employees’ sake, but he couldn’t muster the strength.

 

Just as his frustration was growing, his secretary knocked on the door.

 

Knock knock-!

 

“What is it?”

 

“Chairman, a guest has come to see you.”

 

“A guest?”

 

“Yes. It’s CEO Kang Hyeon Choi from KH Recovery. He’s requested a meeting with you.”

 

Kang Hyeon Choi.

 

The Korean CEO who sent his father to prison had come.

 

He wondered why he had come here, but there was certainly a need to meet him.

 

‘He’s our third-largest shareholder.’

 

The 11.2 percent stake they held was enough to follow his father and himself.

 

“I understand. I’ll meet with him.”

 

After simple preparations, he welcomed them in the chairman’s office.

 

“I’m Kang Hyeon Choi.”

 

He knew that Asians looked young, but this was an unexpectedly younger person.

 

‘His profile said he was around my age.’

 

Arit Barma was 36 years old this year.

 

Kang Hyeon was younger than him, but Arit felt an inexplicable aura from the man before him.

 

‘Enough to make me nervous.’

 

His eyes were deep and it wasn’t easy to read what he was thinking.

 

Without showing this, he clasped his hand.

 

“I’m Arit Barma. Please sit.”

 

Tea was brought out for the two men sitting face to face.

 

“Please drink.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

After drinking tea and making small talk, he brought up the topic.

 

“Since you came all the way here, it seems you have something important to discuss. Shall we gradually get to the main point?”

 

“Yes. Actually, have you heard the news that a mine containing nickel was recently discovered?”

 

“Yes, I’m aware of it.”

 

There was no way he wouldn’t know.

 

A mine containing nickel held high value in itself.

 

The rumor that a mine containing nickel had been discovered spread quickly through New Delhi, and those involved were salivating.

 

‘If we could get our hands on that place, our Barma Group could also normalize.’

 

Minerals were government property.

 

But if they could mine it and obtain exclusive supply rights, that alone could bring enormous profits.

 

Enough to normalize the struggling Barma Group.

 

‘But why is he bringing up this story to us?’

 

Why was the man before him bringing up the nickel mine?

 

The answer was soon revealed.

 

“Our KH Construction was the first to discover that mine.”

 

“…Is that so?”

 

“Yes. And I think you’ve already figured out why I’m telling this story to the Barma Group.”

 

“Since foreigners have no authority over mineral extraction, you’ve come to ask for help? To the company that was headed by the father you sent to prison?”

 

Arit Barma’s guess was somewhat correct.

 

But the most important part of his guess was wrong.

 

“This isn’t a request. This is the last lifeline given to you and a legitimate business proposal as the third-largest shareholder.”

 

Kang Hyeon had never intended to make this a request from the beginning.

 

He had come to make a proposal he could make as the third-largest shareholder.

 

And he thought the Barma Group wouldn’t refuse this.

 

‘Since Rajendra Barma’s arrest, the Barma Group’s situation has been getting worse day by day. This man, Arit Barma, seems to lack the ability to revive the struggling group.’

 

Before coming here.

 

He had looked into the Barma Group.

 

Just a few months since Rajendra Barma’s arrest.

 

The company was in a rapidly deteriorating situation.

 

Especially as the numerous corruptions committed by Rajendra Barma burst out one after another like festering pus that had rotted to the core, the company was rapidly tilting.

 

‘He won’t be able to refuse my proposal.’

 

His prediction was exactly right.

 

“…I’ll discuss it internally.”

 

This level of response was sufficient.

 

* * *

 

LC Energy Resources.

 

It was a company affiliated with LC Group that manufactured batteries and distributed them worldwide.

 

The batteries they made had global competitiveness, but recently there were various obstacles emerging such as soaring raw material costs, reduction in electric vehicles, and the proliferation of competitors.

 

In the midst of this, India’s newly discovered nickel mine.

 

Amidst all this, a new nickel mine discovered in India.

 

If high-purity nickel could be mined there and they could monopolize it, they would be able to gain an advantage in price competitiveness.

 

“Still no information?”

 

At LC Energy Resources General Manager Jeon Jun-ho’s words, his subordinates submitted their reports.

 

“Yes, it seems difficult to obtain information before mining begins.”

 

“Try bribing those managers to allow preliminary exploration.”

 

“In the current atmosphere, doing that would immediately put us on the Indian Government’s radar. Didn’t Barma Group’s chairman get arrested not long ago on charges of bribing politicians?”

 

“Tsk, what shitty timing.”

 

They had even arrested their own conglomerate leader.

 

What about a foreign company?

 

They might even impose heavier penalties as an example.

 

At times like this, it was best to quietly wait for the storm to subside.

 

“By the way, why is KH showing no reaction at all?”

 

“Maybe they’re dragging out time to somehow raise the conditions a bit more?”

 

“I think so too. They don’t have the ability to explore, let alone mine in India anyway.”

 

“Besides, since the Korean government decided to support us, they’re in a hopeless situation.”

 

LC Energy Resources had already received a request from the Korean government to handle this matter.

 

It could be said this was the moment when all their lobbying efforts were finally paying off.

 

In the end, KH’s only choice was to accept their conditions.

 

“Tsk, these mediocre guys always use the worst strategy of dragging out time to get one more penny.”

 

Having worked with small and medium enterprises more than once or twice, General Manager Jeon Jun-ho thought they would eventually accept the proposal.

 

But it took less than a week to realize their thinking was wrong.

 

“G… General Manager! This is terrible!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“KH Construction has joined hands with Barma Group!”

 

“What? What are you talking about?!”

 

The subordinate handed over a local Indian newspaper.

 

There, KH Construction’s Vice President Cha Tae-hun and Arit Barma, who had become Barma Group’s second-generation chairman, were shaking hands.

 

And there was simple content written in Hindi.

 

[KH Construction and Barma Group form strategic alliance to begin nickel mine exploration!]

 

Crumple!

 

Beyond the crumpled newspaper, General Manager Jeon Jun-ho’s frowning expression was visible.

 

“These bastards…!”

 

* * *

 

Three days ago.

 

Kang Hyeon had another meeting with Barma Group’s Arit Chairman.

 

“Can you obtain exploration rights?”

 

At the meeting, Kang Hyeon answered without hesitation to the first question Arit Chairman asked.

 

“As you already know, priority is given to the original discoverer. If Barma Group takes my hand, you’ll receive exploration rights.”

 

“You could have joined hands with a Korean company too. Why us?”

 

This was the biggest question.

 

He already knew that LC Energy Resources, a major Korean corporation, had stepped forward.

 

It would be common sense to think that Kang Hyeon, being of the same nationality, would join hands with them.

 

But Kang Hyeon had extended his hand to them.

 

To them, who had been enemies until recently.

 

So because it didn’t make sense, he wanted to clarify that point.

 

“Companies that have grown too big have too much to maintain. They were too greedy and tried to take too much from us.”

 

It was a somewhat vague answer, but he could immediately understand what it meant.

 

‘They must have proposed unreasonable conditions.’

 

Just as he was thinking that.

 

Kang Hyeon continued speaking.

 

“Above all, aren’t I Barma Group’s third-largest shareholder? In a way, you could say Barma Group’s profits are my gains.”

 

That was correct.

 

If Barma Group’s stock price rose, Choi Kang-hyeon’s profits would also increase as a result.

 

Thinking about this, joining hands with them could be seen as ultimately returning to his own benefit.

 

“Moreover, to persuade the Prime Minister, joining hands with Barma Group looks better.”

 

“Are you planning to persuade the Prime Minister?”

 

“Yes. The discovery of this nickel mine will surely attract interest from not only India and South Korea, but also other countries like China and the United States. They will try to make contracts with the Indian Government under very favorable conditions.”

 

Mining companies from other countries were actually making moves.

 

Lobbying was taking place behind the scenes and various movements were being detected.

 

In other words, tremendous competition would take place.

 

“In this situation, even as the original discoverers, the possibility of the Indian Government giving mining rights to us foreigners is low.”

 

“The story changes if we, an indigenous company, join the consortium.”

 

“Correct. The subject of exploration and mining would be Barma Group through and through, and then the Indian Government would give bonus points for mining from the start.”

 

It was an accurate judgment.

 

Handing it over to an indigenous company looked better than handing it over to a foreign company.

 

Public opinion would also be more favorable and it would be easier to control.

 

But the biggest problem remained.

 

“The problem is funding. As you know, Barma Group’s current financial situation isn’t good. Even if we obtain mining rights, conducting normal mining operations is…”

 

Mine excavation costs a lot of money.

 

Even when the group was in perfect condition, it was hard to gauge whether they could cover those costs.

 

In the current situation, it was even more impossible.

 

But his worry was merely unfounded.

 

“I plan to provide the funding.”

 

For Kang Hyeon, there was no problem easier to solve than money issues.

 

At his confident answer, Arit Chairman finally nodded.

 

From the beginning, rejection wasn’t an option for him.

 

“I’ll be counting on you.”

 

“I’m the one who should be saying that.”

 

Thus, the two companies that had been enemies joined hands.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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