Goblin Library - Chapter 161

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 161

Lee Gang-hun moved with remarkable efficiency. He had to deliver the Osung Manufacturing products he’d brought via Mahmoud’s car, and he needed to secure inventory for the items that various company presidents had inquired about.
Fortunately, securing inventory wasn’t difficult. The problem wasn’t a lack of goods—it was finding places to sell them. Production was constant.
For items available in Korea, I sourced them from Korea. For items unavailable there, I obtained them through Japan.
However, since everything came by ship, the lead times were inevitably long.
So while waiting for the shipments to arrive, I focused on selling and promoting the products I’d brought with me.
“Yes, please send at least a few boxes by air. I know air shipping is expensive, of course. But people won’t place larger orders unless they can actually use the products first, will they? Understood.”
After ending the call with the head office in Korea, I surveyed the warehouse.
It was where I’d been storing the goods brought from Korea, but the inventory was no longer substantial.
It seemed the Osung Manufacturing products would sell out completely.
But that wasn’t the real problem. I needed to sell more going forward, yet I had no stock.
After pondering briefly, I suddenly looked at Mahmoud.
“How’s the economy in the neighboring country right now?”
“Tran?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s neither good nor bad, I’d say. Well, Chinese capital has been flowing into our country lately, so things are picking up there too. Our nation lacks so many things that we import a lot from there.”
“What about the construction industry?”
“Nothing particularly active.”
After a moment of thought, I pulled out my phone.
I searched for something on it, then immediately called someone.
“How have you been?”
[I heard you changed companies.]
At the somewhat uncomfortable tone in the voice, I chuckled. He seemed to think I was calling to ask for a favor.

Park Young-il had told me not to contact acquaintances before the business took off, and he was right. When I worked at a large company, this guy used to cling to me hoping to get some scraps, but now he finds me inconvenient.
My mood wasn’t particularly good, but I still needed to make the deal, so I spoke without showing my displeasure.
“You know I changed companies, but you didn’t even call to check on me? We were university classmates, after all.”
“I figured you’d be busy with your new company, so I was planning to reach out once things settled down. But what’s going on? I’m kind of pressed for time right now.”
“Nothing major. I just want to do a business deal.”
“A business deal?”
“Your company has a branch in Tran, right?”
“Yeah, we do.”
“I’ll send you a product name. Can you check if you have it in stock at the Tran branch?”
Without ending the call, I opened a photo file and sent it to him.
“And if you don’t have it in stock, see if you can source it somewhere.”
“This is… heavy equipment parts?”
“That’s right.”
“So if we have this, you’ll buy it?”
“I’ll buy it.”
“You’re really going to buy it?”
His attitude had been lukewarm just moments ago, but now he was responding. I stated my conditions without showing any irritation.
“But you’ll need to handle the delivery to our location.”
“That… where are you?”
“I’ll send you the address. Check it on a map.”
After I sent the address, he checked it and spoke.
“You’re planning to sell this to that country?”
“Yeah. So do you have it in stock or not?”
Whether he was typing on a keyboard during the call or instructing a subordinate, he would have already figured out the inventory.
“We have the stock, but… the price is the problem.”
“Tell me the quantity first.”
“We’re looking at about two truckloads worth on 5-ton trucks.”
“Give me a 30% discount.”
“Are you insane… does that even make sense?”
“It’s just a proposal. Whether you accept my offer or not is your decision. Think it over and call me back.”
And just as I was about to hang up, I quickly spoke again.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“What country are they from?”
“What country?”
“Where are the items you have from?”
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“It varies by product, but roughly half are from our country and half are… from abroad.”
At the mention of foreign goods, I was glad I’d thought to ask again.
“By foreign, you mean China, right?”
“Chinese products are pretty good these days.”
“That’s your opinion. Stick to Korean goods, no Chinese products.”
“Then the volume… and I haven’t accepted your proposal yet.”
“If you decide to accept that proposal, send only Korean goods.”
After hanging up, Mahmoud looked at Lee Gang-hun.
“Are you thinking of importing goods from Tran?”
“Our products are on a ship coming over, but it’s taking too long. I need to put out some fires before then.”
“Won’t bringing in products from another company reduce our profits?”
“That’s why I told you to sell at a discount.”
“You’d cut the price that much and still sell?”
“I made a proposal. If they don’t like it, they’ll make a counteroffer or reject it. That’s how it works.”
“If they reject it, wouldn’t that be a wasted effort?”
“If it succeeds, I make money either way. If it fails… well, it’s just a phone call. No harm done.”
Lee Gang-hun closed the trunk and looked at Mahmoud.
“Let’s call it a day and rest.”
“Should we have a drink of soju then?”
“Let’s do it.”
When Koreans traveled abroad, their essentials were kimchi, gochujang, and instant noodles, but adults couldn’t leave out soju either.
As Lee Gang-hun headed up to the hotel, Mahmoud eagerly followed behind him.
When Lee Gang-hun entered his hotel room, his phone rang.
It was Je Gal-mun from Daetong Trading Company, who had just made the proposal.
“Have you thought about it?”
Je Gal-mun asked in response to Lee Gang-hun’s words.
“Are you trying to sell goods in that country?”
“Why, are you spreading rumors?”
“We’re still friends. I wouldn’t spread rumors that my friend might get stabbed on the street.”
“Right. That’s why I’m thinking of you.”
Je Gal-mun also knew that if this rumor spread over there, Lee Gang-hun could get into serious trouble.
“But if you sell goods there, won’t you get on China’s bad side?”
“I’m not in a position to be picky about these things right now.”
“So you’re prepared to get on China’s bad side and sell anyway.”
“That’s right.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s answer, Je Gal-mun fell silent as if thinking for a moment, then spoke.
“Ten percent.”
“What are you talking about? I proposed thirty percent. Or should I raise it to twenty percent here? And we negotiate from there?”
Je Gal-mun spoke in response to Lee Gang-hun’s laughing remark.
“We’re supplying the volume, so you’d be sitting back and taking ten percent.”
“I’d like to sit back and take more. And you’d make more too, wouldn’t you?”
“In exchange, we’ll scrape together whatever volume you want from Tran and send it all.”
“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
Lee Gang-hun answered immediately, and his counterpart fell silent for a moment before speaking.
[So… you’re accepting the 10%?]
『Instead, I’d like payment as the goods sell.』
[You’re asking for credit?]
『I don’t have the funds right now. If you can do that, I’ll accept the 10%.』
Je Gal-mun, who had been silent, spoke.
[Fine. But we’ll need to draw up a contract.]
『I’ll have one of our employees call you about it.』
[Sounds good.]
After ending the call, Lee Gang-hun dialed the head office with a cheerful expression.
Once he explained the situation, Park Young-il spoke with a laugh.
[So we’re just sitting back and pocketing 10%?]
『It’s not profit—10% off the product price is substantial.』
[True, it is substantial. But why did Daetong Trading Company accept such a proposal?]
『Daetong Trading Company had no intention of selling goods in this country themselves.』
[Hmm… so even if it’s not a large amount, it’s unexpected revenue for them.]
『Exactly. And for them, selling what’s been sitting in the warehouse and bringing in new stock is more profitable. That way, their suppliers continue producing steadily and the business relationship continues.』
[Right. We need to move the suppliers’ goods to keep them as suppliers. Should we reduce our own volume then?]
『No, sir. You can bring our full volume. The demand here seems to be larger than expected.』
[Understood. Then I’ll go to Daetong Trading Company myself, draw up the contract, and come back.]
『And please propose a long-term business relationship.』
[Long-term?]
『With our current capital, we can’t purchase large quantities of goods and send them here.』
[That’s… true.]
The company Lee Gang-hun worked for was small in scale. Even purchasing these goods had required him to take out loans to make up the shortfall between the company’s funds and the total cost.
And not all of it had been paid in full—a considerable amount remained on credit.
『Continuing on credit will strain the finances of the suppliers we work with.』
[That’s true too.]
『So we’ll buy and sell what we can afford, and in exchange, we’ll bring Daetong Trading Company’s goods here and sell them.』
[We receive goods from Daetong Trading Company in Korea and sell them ourselves?]
『We can put Daetong Trading Company’s goods on credit, and pay once they sell. And like now….』
Lee Gang-hun paused to think.
『We could take about a 5% margin.』
[You’re reducing the margin from 10% to 5%?]
『Right now it’s two truckloads, but if business goes well, the volume will increase. Besides, we’re in a position where we need to receive goods on credit.』
[We’d prefer to take it all, of course….]
『If we’re reasonable about it, there won’t be problems. But right now we’re trying to procure large quantities of goods. We can’t handle that volume ourselves.』
[That’s… true.]
『And while our profit will decrease, there’s another advantage for us.』
[An advantage?]
“We can bring in large quantities on credit. And this deal will significantly increase our trading volume. Daetong Trading Company is a much larger operation than ours, after all.”
[True enough. Compared to what Daetong can source, we’re operating on a much smaller scale.]
“Exactly. If we trade using Daetong’s inventory, our company’s export volume this year will increase dramatically. Which means… the amount we can borrow from the Bank will also increase.”
[Loans, huh… I won’t lie, having access to more credit does make business easier.]
“Indeed.”
[Okay, let’s proceed with that plan.]
“And…”
[What else?]
“I think I’ll need to increase my living allowance.”
[That… hmm!]
Seeing Park Young-il struggle for words, Lee Gang-hun sighed and spoke.
“It was just a thought.”
[Are you… struggling financially?]
“I’m missing Korean food.”
[Is Korean food expensive there?]
“Local cuisine is reasonably affordable, but Korean food is pricey.”
Park Young-il laughed at Lee Gang-hun’s words.
[I thought something serious was wrong. Besides, when you’re working hard in a foreign land, you should eat well. Go get whatever you’re craving and eat your fill today.]
“Are you sure?”
[We’re all just trying to make a living, after all. And bring Mahmoud and his family along too. Make it a proper celebration dinner.]
“Understood.”
[This deal seems to be going better than expected.]
“I agree.”
[But remember the saying—when fortune smiles on us, someone else bears the loss. Keep that in mind and stay vigilant.]
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Lee Gang-hun smiled as he watched Mahmoud, who was now speaking with his family.
“We’re having a celebration dinner with Lee today. Yes. We’re going to Korea Barbecue. That’s right.”
Watching Mahmoud relay the dinner plans after overhearing his conversation with Park Young-il, Lee Gang-hun chuckled softly and spoke.
“Tonight, let’s loosen our belts and enjoy ourselves.”
As Lee Gang-hun stepped out of the Hotel, Mahmoud followed with an excited expression, eager to leave.

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