Goblin Library - Chapter 210

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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 210.

Lee Gang-hun rose early in the morning and stepped out into the courtyard. The ground was paved with stone.
There, Wang Hong was practicing martial arts dressed in traditional Chinese attire.
It wasn’t tai chi, the famous martial art practiced by many Chinese—this was a powerful, rapid striking technique with sharp, decisive movements.
“Keep going, don’t stop.”
As Wang Hong spoke while executing his strikes, Lee Gang-hun chuckled and moved beside him, assuming a stance as he replied.
“I couldn’t possibly miss my morning training with Wang Tagger.”
With that, Lee Gang-hun began moving lightly as well, mirroring the martial postures Wang Hong displayed.
“You’ve been practicing quite regularly, it seems.”
“It’s because I feel healthier afterward.”
The best way to grow close to someone is to share their hobbies. After becoming acquainted with Wang Hong, he had taught me some of his martial techniques.
Since he only taught the simpler movements and omitted the difficult ones, they were easy to memorize, and I had been practicing consistently.
It wasn’t merely for camaraderie—the training genuinely made me sweat and left me feeling invigorated.
After finishing their morning martial practice, Wang Hong handed the towel beside him to Lee Gang-hun.
“Phew! I’m drenched in sweat.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Wang Hong laughed and replied.
“The weather here is humid—you break a sweat from the slightest exertion.”
“Sweating is what makes it feel like real exercise.”
“Haha!”
An elderly man approached the lightly laughing Wang Hong and handed him a warm cup of tea.
Sipping the tea, Wang Hong looked at Lee Gang-hun.
“I’ll introduce you to some people at lunch.”
“People?”
“I can’t easily conduct business in another man’s territory, but if there are good business opportunities in that district, I can make introductions.”
At Wang Hong’s words, Lee Gang-hun smiled and replied.
“The people currently doing business there probably won’t think favorably of me, will they?”
“They may dislike it, but profit is profit.”
As he spoke, Wang Hong looked at Lee Gang-hun.
“However, if you shake hands with these people, your current business ventures will face some complications.”
“Even if my involvement brings them profit, they won’t want losses caused by me.”
“Exactly. That’s something you’ll need to resolve yourself.”
At Wang Hong’s words, Lee Gang-hun nodded.
“Actually, this works out well.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s remark, Wang Hong looked at him.
“Works out well?”
“If this situation resolves favorably, I won’t be murdered by them.”
“That’s true. But… what will you do if it doesn’t go well?”
“That too… at the very least, they won’t kill me because of them.”
“Even if things go badly, you won’t die?”
So whether things went well or poorly, I wouldn’t die?
Lee Gang-hun chuckled and threw a punch at Wang Hong’s shoulder as he looked at me with bewilderment.
“I’m an acquaintance whom Boss Wang Tagger allows to stay at home—surely he wouldn’t kill me over a mere pittance of profit.”
“Ha!”
Wang Hong burst into loud laughter at Lee Gang-hun’s words.
“Without meaning to, I’ve become your shelter.”
“Boss Wang Tagger has always been my shelter.”
“Huh! You certainly know how to talk.”
Wang Hong shook his head with a smile, then suddenly looked at me.
“I looked into it, and just as you said, Country C is included in the one-on-one policy as well. The announcement will come soon.”
“Then we should move ahead of schedule.”
“That’s right.”
“Should I go and prepare the groundwork?”
“I have plenty of capable people under me. Ah, but just in case, I’ll give your number to them. If they need help, they can call you.”
“Understood. Then… should I arrange for heavy equipment procurement from Korea in advance?”
“Ha ha ha! Yes, do that.”
“And I’ll mention it separately later, but regarding the parts…”
Lee Gang-hun trailed off deliberately. Seeing this, Wang Hong looked at me and spoke.
“But is Korean equipment really better than our country’s products?”
Lee Gang-hun nodded.
“That’s precisely why my business works. Moreover, with heavy equipment, once it breaks down, it has to be hauled to a factory for repairs and then back to the site. During that period, the equipment doesn’t operate, so no money is earned. From the equipment owner’s perspective, the cost of parts isn’t the real issue—the losses from the equipment being unable to function are far greater.”
“That makes sense.”
Concern flickered across Wang Hong’s face as he nodded.
“Can you sell Chinese parts to other places for me?”
“So Boss Tagger needs to use a certain amount of parts as well, I see.”
“If I don’t use them at all, business becomes difficult.”
Lee Gang-hun answered Wang Hong’s remark.
“That would be… difficult to sell at the same price.”
“Is that so? Then if I lower the price, can you sell them?”
Lee Gang-hun pondered for a moment at Wang Hong’s question, then spoke.
“At around 60% of the standard price… I think I could manage it.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s the domestic sales price in China.”
“Is that so?”
Then Wang Hong laughed.
“Ha ha ha!”
“Why is that funny?”
“So you sell so cheaply in our country but charge full price abroad… you’re nothing but a bunch of thieves.”
Wang Hong paused in thought before nodding.
“Then let’s do it that way. Considering your margins, sell it separately at around fifty percent.”
“Is that acceptable?”
Wang Hong shook his head.
“The national policy demands using domestic products, so we can’t go against that… we’ll have to use them. But as you said, it’s better to take losses on parts than to have equipment shut down. So what can we do? We can’t just stockpile them—we’ll have to sell them cheap.”
“Then let’s do it this way.”
Lee Gang-hun spoke as Wang Hong watched.
“I’ll bring Korean products to China. In the middle, I’ll swap them for Chinese products and send them to Country C. And the Chinese products allocated to Boss will be sold directly in China.”
“Hmm… that way we won’t have separate shipping costs.”
“Exactly. As for customs, if Boss pulls some strings, there won’t be any problems. That way, Boss will be using Chinese products, and I’ll distribute those goods in China.”
This way, we avoid the shipping costs of sending Korean products to Country C and the shipping costs of bringing Chinese products back out from Country C.
Of course, there could be issues with taxes and distribution, but by leveraging Wang Hong’s connections and paying appropriate fees, it wouldn’t really be a problem.
“I’ll handle the preparations for that.”
“Hmm… is there something else you want?”
“I want to do business in Country C as well.”
“Ha!”
Wang Hong laughed at Lee Gang-hun’s words.
“So you’re planning to cause trouble there too.”
“It’s business.”
“Hmm…”
Wang Hong thought for a moment before nodding.
“I won’t be able to provide cover for you there.”
“I understand. And I can’t proceed immediately anyway.”
“No?”
“At minimum, I need to wait about a year after Chinese products are distributed and used in Country C before I enter the market. Only then will the locals buy my products.”
“So you’re saying people need to use Chinese products first to realize that products from other countries are better.”
“Yes.”
“So our country’s products are that inferior.”
As Wang Hong squinted and muttered, Lee Gang-hun looked at him and shook his head slightly.
“Stagnant water rots.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“China protects its domestic enterprises. To a serious degree, at that.”
“Is that bad?”
“Protection itself isn’t bad. It’s natural that domestic companies must survive for domestic citizens to thrive. But because of that, Chinese companies lack technological development capabilities and competitiveness against foreign companies. They have such a massive domestic market that they don’t need to sell abroad.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Wang Hong sighed and shook his head.
“You’re right. Since they can sell enough just in the Chinese market without expanding abroad… they don’t bother competing with foreign companies. Even soccer shows that.”
The Chinese soccer market is enormous. Salaries are nearly comparable to European markets.
But the skill level doesn’t match. The problem is that even with such salaries, they’re comparable to those in Europe, so players don’t work hard to sharpen their skills.
That’s why their abilities continue to stagnate. Exorbitant salaries that don’t match their abilities actually hinder the players’ growth.
Wang Hong wiped his sweat and spoke.
“Take a shower and have breakfast.”
“Understood.”
Lee Gang-hun returned to his hotel room, showered, and then had a meal with Wang Hong.

Around midday, Wang Hong and Lee Gang-hun were drinking tea together.
While they were engaged in conversation, an elderly man announced that guests had arrived.
At the old man’s words, Wang Hong rose and stepped out to the courtyard with Lee Gang-hun.
Five men stood in the courtyard, waiting for Wang Hong.
“Haha! Welcome, gentlemen.”
“Boss Wang Tagger.”
“Boss Wang Tagger.”
“Mr. Wang.”
All five of them cupped their fists in salute to Wang Hong—two of them addressing him as Boss, and three addressing him as Mr.
In China, the title “Boss” carried a deeply personal significance. And it was not something one could call just anyone.
It was a title that could only be used once a mutual relationship had been established.
A foreigner calling a Chinese person “Boss” could be laughed off easily enough, but among Chinese themselves, calling someone “Boss” upon first meeting or without intimacy could be perceived as disrespectful.
From this, one could infer that two of these men were very close to Wang Hong, while three maintained a more formal relationship.
As Lee Gang-hun contemplated this, Wang Hong smiled and invited them inside.
“Please, come in.”
At Wang Hong’s words, the men nodded and began to enter, when one of those who had called Wang Hong “Boss” noticed Lee Gang-hun.
“But who is this gentleman?”
“A close brother of mine. He came to China on business, so he’s staying at my home for a few days.”
“Staying at the Boss’s home for a few days?”
Wang Hong nodded, and the men regarded Lee Gang-hun with curious eyes.
After all, allowing someone to stay at one’s home for several days implied an exceptionally close relationship with Wang Hong.
Once the men were seated inside, Wang Hong personally poured tea for them.
Splash, splash.
When Wang Hong raised his cup, the men followed suit.
“Drink.”
Wang Hong took the first sip of tea.
The men who drank afterward exclaimed in admiration.
“This tea has an excellent aroma.”
“It’s Yunnan aged tea, isn’t it?”
When one of them identified the tea, Wang Hong smiled and nodded.
“Chang, my brother from Yunnan, sent it as a gift.”
“Truly exceptional tea.”
The men nodded in agreement, and Wang Hong then glanced at Lee Gang-hun beside him.
Lee Gang-hun steadied his breath, rose from his seat, and bowed respectfully.
“I greet you all, gentlemen. I am Lee Gang-hun, from Korea.”
“So you’ve come from Korea.”
“Your Chinese is truly excellent.”
People exchanged greetings with smiles, when suddenly one man’s gaze fell upon Lee Gang-hun.
“Lee Gang-hun from Korea? I’ve heard that name before.”
“Come to think of it… I feel like I’ve heard it too.”
As people tilted their heads while looking at Lee Gang-hun, Wang Hong spoke with a smile.
“That’s the Korean you all said you’d kill if you caught him.”
“No way? The one selling goods in our territory?”
“That’s the one.”
At Wang Hong’s words, one man looked at him.
“Boss, what is the meaning of this right now?”
“There’s a mutually beneficial business opportunity, so I invited him.”
“Beneficial? We’re currently suffering losses because of the interest payments.”
Seeing the man’s furrowed brow, Wang Hong gently set down his teacup.
Clink!
Yet despite the gentle motion, the teacup struck the table with a sharp sound. At that, everyone fell silent.

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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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