After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 53

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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 053

 

I joined hands with Arit Barma.

 

However, this was merely a verbal agreement at best.

 

‘There’s something I need to do before creating an actual consortium.’

 

Kang Hyeon requested a meeting with Prime Minister Lao Sing.

 

Unfortunately, that request was not accepted.

 

-The Prime Minister is currently in Canada.

 

The position of Prime Minister is very busy.

 

He was staying overseas, not within India.

 

Though they couldn’t meet, that didn’t mean they couldn’t discuss matters.

 

He conveyed his purpose to the secretary.

 

“Please tell him I have matters to discuss regarding the recently discovered nickel mine.”

 

-Understood. I’ll convey the message and contact you.

 

The nickel mine was a very important resource from India’s perspective as well.

 

Since the original discoverer wanted to discuss something related to it, there would surely be some action.

 

His judgment was exactly right.

 

-A 10-minute video call is possible.

 

Only 10 minutes.

 

It was short, but that alone was sufficient.

 

At the appointed time, he faced Prime Minister Lao Sing through a video call.

 

“It’s been a while, Prime Minister.”

 

-Have you been well?

 

After a brief greeting, they got to the main point.

 

“I plan to form a consortium with the Barma Group for exploration of the recently discovered nickel mine.”

 

-How unexpected. Aren’t you two practically enemies with such a bad relationship?

 

“There are no enemies in business. What should be prioritized is whether cooperation with them brings greater benefits.”

 

-That’s quite a capitalistic way of thinking.

 

“I consider that the highest compliment for a businessman.”

 

-Haha! You’re always interesting. Well, KH Construction already has priority rights for exploration, so that’s fine. But you didn’t contact me just to say this, did you?

 

Prime Minister Lao Sing hit the nail on the head immediately.

 

Kang Hyeon also got straight to the point without beating around the bush.

 

“I would like you to give the mining rights for this mine to the Barma Group.”

 

-Mining rights?

 

“Yes. If the Barma Group collapses, 30,000 jobs from the group and its affiliates will disappear. Combined with related companies, nearly 100,000 citizens will become unemployed. This would be a very heavy burden for India.”

 

-Hmm, I was just seriously thinking about the Barma Group myself. But asking for mining rights is a different matter.

 

Exploration rights and mining rights were completely different stories.

 

Checking Prime Minister Lao Sing’s reaction, Kang Hyeon continued his proposal.

 

“I understand. But the Barma Group is a company that grew in India and built India’s infrastructure. You wouldn’t want such a place to collapse either, Prime Minister.”

 

This was exactly why he had joined hands with the Barma Group.

 

From India’s perspective as a developing country, nurturing domestic companies was more advantageous than attracting foreign enterprises.

 

This was the same politically as well.

 

Marketing using patriotism worked well with citizens in any era.

 

Especially for developing countries, patriotic marketing always worked.

 

This applied whether it was political or commercial.

 

‘Even in our country, patriotic marketing worked until the early 2000s. In today’s India, there’s a high possibility it would work sufficiently.’

 

Prime Minister Lao Sing couldn’t be unaware of this fact.

 

That’s why his expression on screen showed deep contemplation.

 

But his deliberation wasn’t long.

 

-First, form the consortium. If you truly put the Barma Group at the forefront, I’ll personally manage this matter.

 

It wasn’t a direct OK sign.

 

But this level of mention was sufficient.

 

“I won’t disappoint you.”

 

-Yes, I’ll trust in your capabilities.

 

* * *

 

Kang Hyeon immediately met with Han Ho-jun, the section chief from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

 

“What? You’re forming a consortium with the Barma Group?”

 

“Yes. LC Energy Resources’ conditions are excessive. More importantly, if we form a consortium with Korean companies, the Indian government might reject it.”

 

“We can handle that on our end. More importantly, the Barma Group’s license for exploration…”

 

“They have it. And they also possess all licenses related to mining.”

 

This gentleman seemed to have looked at him too superficially.

 

Had he not even checked such basic aspects?

 

Confusion was evident in Section Chief Han Ho-jun’s expression.

 

Perhaps different reports had gone up the chain of command.

 

That’s probably why he kept trying to persuade him.

 

“If Energy Resources’ conditions are the problem, I’ll try to persuade them from the middle.”

 

“It’s already too late.”

 

“Too late?”

 

“I’ve already discussed this matter with Prime Minister Lao Sing.”

 

“Lao Sing…? Don’t tell me you have connections with the Indian Prime Minister?”

 

“I’m acquainted with Prime Minister Lao Sing through several matters. Thanks to that, he’s showing me consideration this time as well.”

 

Section Chief Han Ho-jun could no longer speak.

 

He apparently hadn’t known that he was acquainted with the Indian Prime Minister.

 

But he had no intention of ending the conversation like this.

 

There was no reason to unnecessarily antagonize the government.

 

“For this exploration, it looks better if an Indian indigenous company takes the lead. However, our Korean company KH Recovery will be at the center of the consortium.”

 

Taking the lead and being at the center were different stories.

 

The Barma Group would proceed with the construction, but KH Recovery would have the higher stake in the consortium.

 

This structure was one the Korean government would have to favor as well.

 

‘If we go with that structure, there’s definitely more room to negotiate with the Indian government. Even if LC gets involved, they couldn’t have drawn out conditions like this.’

 

Perhaps because he was smart, you could feel his mind spinning rapidly even from here.

 

Soon he nodded and answered.

 

“Understood. Then we’ll prepare to provide support as well. By the way, what companies are you thinking of negotiating with for the remaining consortium positions?”

 

“I plan to proceed in the direction most beneficial to us.”

 

“Still, if you could consider Korean companies, we’d be grateful.”

 

“Of course. After all, wouldn’t it be better for Koreans to stick together?”

 

“Haha! Thank you for saying that.”

 

Lip service was always necessary.

 

Of course, if the results turned out differently, lip service could become problematic.

 

‘I said I’d consider it. I didn’t say I’d include them.’

 

Korean language was subtle in its distinctions, so he could think about it when the time came.

 

* * *

 

The battery industry grew rapidly alongside the development of electric vehicles and data centers.

 

South Korea also benefited from this, with representative companies being LC Energy Resources and SS Battery.

 

These two companies, which started as subsidiaries of Korea’s major conglomerates LC Group and SS Group respectively, achieved rapid growth with the expansion of the battery market.

 

Originally SS Battery had the upper hand, but LC Energy Resources began to surge ahead riding on Tesla’s growth.

 

Currently, LC Energy Resources held the industry’s top position and the gap had widened.

 

In this situation, SS Battery was struggling to find a breakthrough.

 

“The ESS market has already been dominated, so finding new clients is difficult.”

 

“We’re trying to make deals with Tesla again like LC, but it’s not easy.”

 

Negative news was continuing one after another.

 

Lee Tae-sik, the representative of SS Battery and third son of SS Group, let out a sigh.

 

‘Every meeting, all I hear is that it’s not easy, that it’s difficult.’

 

The executives, who were supposedly the company’s elites, were only saying such things, making him sigh involuntarily.

 

They needed to come up with countermeasures, but all they did every day was complain about how difficult things were.

 

Since he didn’t want to hear it anymore, he changed the agenda.

 

“What’s happening with the nickel mine discovered in India? We sent our staff there too, right?”

 

“Ah, yes. We sent them urgently, but apparently our local team contacted people from KH Construction through LC Energy Resources.”

 

“That’s also too late?”

 

“Well, the government tends to favor LC Energy Resources when it comes to batteries…”

 

“That’s exactly why! Didn’t I say we should do lobbying or whatever it takes?!”

 

At Lee Tae-sik’s irritated response, the executive who had been answering quietly retorted.

 

“We know that, but… we backed the wrong side during the presidential election…”

 

“Haah…”

 

Originally, SS Battery had been splitting the industry with LC Energy Resources.

 

The reason they were now falling behind LC Energy Resources was precisely because they had backed the wrong side in the presidential election.

 

‘If only my brother hadn’t listened to that shaman…!’

 

To sacrifice the group’s fate over a shaman’s nonsense.

 

It was truly ridiculous, but surprisingly, it was a common occurrence among Korea’s major corporations.

 

There was a reason why prosecutors in the movie “The King” visited shamans to guess who the next president would be.

 

“Phew…”

 

He bore responsibility too for not being able to stop it back then.

 

That’s why he was trying to save SS Battery somehow, wasn’t it?

 

The problem was that he couldn’t see any solution at all.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“We just received urgent breaking news from India.”

 

“Breaking news?”

 

“Yes. KH Construction has bypassed LC Energy Resources and joined hands with the Barma Group.”

 

“The Barma Group is…?”

 

“It’s an indigenous Indian group. There was news recently that their chairman was arrested.”

 

Whether their chairman was arrested or not.

 

That wasn’t what mattered.

 

What mattered was that LC Energy Resources had been bypassed.

 

“Doesn’t this mean there’s room for us to get involved?”

 

“If we move right away, there seems to be a possibility. According to what we confirmed through government channels, LC Energy Resources appears to have made a misstep.”

 

“Move immediately. Contact our people in India and tell them we’ll accept all of their conditions.”

 

“All… of them?”

 

“This is our chance to close the gap with LC Energy Resources! We can’t just sit here dumbfounded and let the distance widen again!”

 

Representative Lee Tae-sik shouted urgently.

 

At his outcry, the executives began moving swiftly.

 

Seeing this, Representative Lee Tae-sik thought.

 

‘This might be our last chance.’

 

There wasn’t enough time to weigh the pros and cons.

 

They had to secure this contract even if it meant accepting everything the other party wanted.

 

He had nowhere left to retreat.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile.

 

At the Indian nickel mine that had caused major ripples in the battery industry, exploration was in full swing.

 

“We’ll begin exploration.”

 

The exploration team was quickly assembled.

 

The Barma Group had a team on standby so they could depart immediately once permission came from the Indian government.

 

KH Construction also had Cha Tae-hun Vice President participate in the team as a representative, waiting to depart at any time.

 

And once permission came from the Indian government, the exploration team quickly began surveying the mine.

 

“This area is dangerous, so you need to be careful.”

 

The guide repeatedly told Cha Tae-hun Vice President, who was following at the rear of the exploration team, to be cautious.

 

The exploration work was not easy.

 

This was because the scale of the discovered mine was larger than expected.

 

Moreover, since no one knew what variables might occur during initial exploration, safety was the top priority.

 

As exploration continued for several days, the mine shrouded in mystery gradually revealed itself.

 

“We found it.”

 

At the sound from ahead, Cha Tae-hun Vice President quickly moved forward.

 

Arriving where the miners had gathered, Cha Tae-hun Vice President’s eyes lit up seeing the green mineral in their hands.

 

“Is that nickel?”

 

“Yes. And there’s an ore vein over there.”

 

Where the guide pointed, green-glowing ore veins were embedded throughout the wall.

 

Even to the naked eye, it was a considerable amount.

 

But what mattered was what level of purity this sample had.

 

“Please put the sample in here.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Having secured the sample, Cha Tae-hun Vice President quickly left the mine.

 

* * *

 

The sample discovered at the mine was immediately transported to the research institute.

 

All that remained was waiting.

 

Kang Hyeon waited at the hotel for the composition analysis to be completed.

 

‘Judging by the intensity of the light, there’s a possibility the purity is high.’

 

When he first discovered this hill, the intensity of light that appeared was quite strong.

 

If it had simply been a mine containing nickel, that level of light wouldn’t have appeared.

 

He was certain the nickel’s purity would also come out high.

 

Bzzing-!

 

Then, a vibration announcing the end of waiting rang out from his smartphone.

 

Kang Hyeon checked the number and immediately answered the call.

 

“Yes, Cha Vice President.”

 

-President! The purity came out to 99.5 percent!!

 

99.5 percent purity.

 

Essentially, nickel with the highest grade purity had been discovered.

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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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