Goblin Library - Chapter 170

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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 170.

While I inspected the warehouse, several middle-aged locals approached the truck.
“Lee?”
“That’s correct.”
“Let’s move the vehicle over there for now.”
At the middle-aged man’s instruction, Mahmoud drove the truck to the spot he indicated.
Mahmoud and I then stepped down from the vehicle, which was now parked to one side of the warehouse.
“Sayed spoke highly of your products.”
“The merchandise is excellent. You must be Khalid, the one I spoke with on the phone?”
“Yes. Let’s examine the goods first.”
As Khalid seemed eager, Mahmoud and I unfastened the waterproof tarp enveloping the truck.
Mahmoud then climbed onto the truck bed, carefully lifted one box, and handed it down to me.
“This is our main product line.”
I extracted one of the component boxes from inside the larger box, opened it, and held out a component for inspection.
Khalid accepted it, examined it from various angles, and even held it up to the sunlight before nodding approvingly.
He then passed it to his companions, who also scrutinized it from multiple angles—and even tasted it with their tongues.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. While tasting components seemed absurd, it was a common practice among people here.
They said it was a way to assess the metal composition in the parts, didn’t they?
“How does it taste?” I asked with amusement.
Khalid opened the box, extracted several more components for inspection, and replied, “Not bad. Let’s see the other products.”
“Not bad. Let’s examine the other products.”
At Khalid’s words, I gestured to Mahmoud, who retrieved two additional boxes.
“The products we brought today consist of three types in total.”
As I opened the boxes and displayed the merchandise, Khalid examined each item one by one, then passed them to his companions with a thoughtful expression.
While they inspected the products, Khalid looked at me.
“The quality is excellent.”
“It’s incomparable to Chinese-made goods.”
“So what about the price?”
At Khalid’s question about pricing, I met his gaze.
“The price was already agreed upon before we departed. The fact that you’re asking again now… does that mean you have other thoughts?”
“We can purchase large quantities. When buying in bulk, shouldn’t the price be reduced accordingly?”
After Khalid’s response, I fell silent for a moment, then laughed and looked at the truck.
“This is something else… I didn’t expect to hear such a proposal after driving all day and then traveling several more hours to get here.”
“We also bear the burden of having to purchase goods while being mindful of the Chinese side. You should consider that burden as well. And I’m not asking for a steep discount.”
“Not a steep one, you say…”
At Khalid’s words, I looked at his companions.
“The people who came with you—they’re company presidents looking to purchase goods together, aren’t they?”
“That’s correct.”
At Khalid’s response, Lee Gang-hun smiled and raised his hand slightly in greeting to them.
“Since we’ve met like this, let’s exchange business cards.”
The company presidents, thinking their business was going well, pulled out their business cards and handed them over one by one at Lee Gang-hun’s smiling words.
Lee Gang-hun received the cards and handed out his own business cards to them in return.
After examining each card with a smile, Lee Gang-hun looked at Mahmoud.
“Cover it back up with the waterproof tarp.”
“Pardon?”
Mahmoud, unaware of what was happening below, looked at him as if asking what he meant.
“I said cover the cargo area back up with the waterproof tarp. We’re leaving.”
“Ah… yes.”
Though puzzled, Mahmoud obediently acknowledged and began covering the cargo area again with the waterproof tarp that had been partially rolled back.
“Lee? What are you doing right now?”
Khalid, who had expected the transaction to proceed toward a price reduction after exchanging business cards, asked without hiding his bewilderment.
Lee Gang-hun smiled at the question and spoke.
“There was once a famous merchant in Korea.”
“A famous merchant from Korea?”
“That was several hundred years ago. Back then, there were no cars or airplanes, so whenever someone wanted to sell goods to a foreign country like this, people had to carry the cargo on their backs and walk hundreds of kilometers. It must have been quite difficult.”
“Why are you telling such a story?”
“It’s an entertaining and instructive tale, so listen for a moment. Anyway, a merchant went to a neighboring country, and would you believe it!”
Lee Gang-hun exclaimed loudly and then spoke with a serious expression.
“The merchants of that country refused to buy his goods.”
Khalid, realizing Lee Gang-hun’s intention in bringing up this story, narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. He was recounting their current situation through an old tale.
Whether it was true or not, that was beside the point.
“Isn’t it possible that a transaction might not go through?”
“That’s true. If a transaction doesn’t work out, the sale might not happen and the contract could break. But… a true merchant shouldn’t do that.”
“Wouldn’t a merchant be even more likely to do so? Don’t merchants stake their lives on profit?”
At Khalid’s smiling words, Lee Gang-hun shook his head.
“That’s right. A merchant is someone who pursues profit. But if you try to conduct business that yields no profit, that won’t work. And my story isn’t finished yet.”
Lee Gang-hun opened the truck door, took out some water to drink, and spoke.
“Anyway, what our ancestor merchant brought to the neighboring country was medicinal herbs.”
“Medicinal herbs?”
“Red ginseng, to be specific…”
“I know what red ginseng is.”
When one of the company presidents in the back spoke up, Lee Gang-hun smiled and continued.
“Red ginseng is world-famous now. Back then, red ginseng was an important medicinal ingredient, absolutely necessary for treating the illnesses of the neighboring country’s people. So our ancestor merchant brought plenty of red ginseng. But they refused to buy it at a fair price. The neighboring country’s merchants thought: surely you didn’t carry all that red ginseng all this way just to turn around and carry it back without selling it.”
“That’s a reasonable thought. After all, if you don’t sell the goods you’ve brought and carry them back, wouldn’t that be an enormous loss? So you’d have to sell them even if the profit is less than expected.”
Khalid smiled and looked at the truck.
“That’s exactly what the merchants of that neighboring country thought. So, what do you think our ancestor merchant did?”
“The way you’re telling this, it seems he carried it all back with him.”
If I had sold at a loss, there would be no reason to speak like this in this situation.
“No, sir. When I took the red ginseng back to Joseon—ah, that was our country’s name back then—the merchant who refused to trade went bankrupt.”
“Then you must have sold it wisely.”
At Khalid’s words, Lee Gang-hun laughed and shook his head.
“I burned the red ginseng.”
“What did you say?”
“They stacked firewood, lit it, and threw the red ginseng boxes into the flames one by one.”
“No, what?”
“For each box that burned… I’m not sure of the price back then, but converting it to current market rates, each box would be worth well over a thousand dollars.”
I used dollars as an example rather than explaining in terms of silver coins or Korean currency from that time, since it would be difficult for them to understand.
I wasn’t certain if that was the exact amount, but either way, I needed to give them some figure so they could grasp just how precious red ginseng was.
“As box after box burned, merchants from the Neighboring Country came rushing over. And they were horrified. These merchants from the Neighboring Country had been refusing to trade to buy cheaply, but red ginseng was a vitally important medicinal herb to that country’s people. So the merchants desperately needed it too, and it was profitable for them.”
“That means… the merchant bought it at the price he quoted.”
“Exactly. From the merchants’ perspective, every burning box of red ginseng was their lost profit, so they couldn’t let it burn. And they had to bear the losses caused by the red ginseng burning in the fire.”
At my words, Khalid paused for a moment, then looked at the truck.
“But this product isn’t medicinal herbs. And while it’s nice to have, there are substitutes if you don’t. So isn’t the story you just told a flawed analogy?”
“No, it’s a fitting analogy.”
“Then you’re not saying you’ll burn it here, are you?”
Khalid laughed. Even if I burned it, they wouldn’t suffer any losses.
“How could I? This isn’t the Neighboring Country, and there are plenty of other places to sell.”
As I watched Mahmoud cover the goods with a waterproof tarp, I spoke.
“The reason I told you this story is… that a merchant’s reputation is paramount. When there’s a set price, if you suddenly try to haggle on the day and place of the transaction… would I come back here again?”
I turned to look at the company presidents as I continued.
“Of course, I could hand over the goods this time thinking I’m breaking off our relationship. And next time, I could suggest we discuss proper pricing. Then you could smile and say, ‘Yes, let’s do that.’ But I wouldn’t believe those words. Besides, the distance here is considerable, so why would I bother…”
As I trailed off with a smile, Khalid laughed.
“I admit the products you brought are good. But you’re not the only one selling these items.”
“Ah! I know that too. Local merchants are pooling their money and bringing in containers of products from other countries, not Chinese ones.”
“You do know.”
“Then… why did you try to buy my goods?”
“That’s…”
Khalid hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Their volumes are rather limited. So for stability…”
“Their prices are triple.”
At my words, Khalid fell silent.
“I did my market research too.”
Khalid smacked his lips.
“But you shouldn’t think it’s expensive. Those merchants also face considerable shipping costs importing from abroad, and they need to make a profit too.”
Then I continued with a smile.
“Still, they do make quite a bit more than that.”
Just as I’d heard from the drivers before, small business owners pooled their money and imported directly from foreign countries.
If a foreign company directly imported goods, China would apply pressure, but when local residents purchased and brought in goods, they didn’t particularly interfere.
Moreover, since the quantities were minimal, there was no reason to block them.
However, small business owners sold those imported goods at inflated prices. One might wonder why anyone would buy expensive goods, but… some Heavy Equipment Companies had to purchase and use them.
The reason was simple. For truly large heavy equipment, sending it for repairs when it breaks down isn’t easy.
The larger the equipment, the longer the repair period, and it’s difficult to identify what’s broken.
So while being mindful of China’s sensibilities, they used foreign parts in large heavy equipment.
And Chinese parts were replaced preemptively before breaking down, preventing them from spreading throughout the work sites.
“So I’ll just leave.”
“Just leave?”
“Rather than conduct business with people who lack credibility, I’ll find other trading partners. And going forward, there’s no reason for us to do business together.”
Lee Gang-hun held up the business card in his hand. At those words, the men’s faces hardened.
They had received the business card for that very reason—they needed to know who he was if they weren’t going to do business with him in the future.
Lee Gang-hun pointed to the boxes lying on the ground.
“Though the deal fell through, I’m giving this as a gift out of respect for Sayed, who made the introduction. So please don’t speak ill of me to Sayed. I’ll simply tell him the business didn’t work out.”
Lee Gang-hun smiled and looked at Mahmoud.
“Did you cover everything with the waterproof cloth?”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Mahmoud nodded and tied the rope.
“All done.”
“Then let’s go.”
As Lee Gang-hun moved to get into the vehicle, Khalid and the Company President’s faces showed bewilderment.
Since Lee Gang-hun said he was coming today, they had already prepared to replace the equipment parts.
If Lee Gang-hun left like this, they would have to replace them with parts that were three times more expensive or inferior Chinese alternatives.

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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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