Goblin Library - Chapter 213

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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 213.

Lee Gang-hun’s business was progressing smoothly. The locals were initially puzzled by the method of bringing prefabricated structures made in advance in Korea and simply installing them, but when they saw the beautiful and elaborate catalogs, they became utterly captivated.
Thus, Lee Gang-hun signed contracts with people who wanted to purchase prefabricated houses. And the water and sewage infrastructure projects had already begun.
The wealthy who had started buying land thinking it would be profitable, and the bureaucrats who had contracted for homes to live in, exerted pressure to begin construction immediately.

At the village entrance, a crane began lowering prefabricated structures onto a concrete foundation marked out in rectangular sections.
“Angle, angle! Direction! Direction!”
As a Korean worker gestured with hand signals, the hired local worker relayed this to the crane operator, adjusting the direction of the structure.
“Okay! Okay!”
As the structure descended smoothly onto the concrete foundation, the Korean worker verified that each corner aligned with the marked positions on the concrete.
“This part doesn’t quite match here.”
Jang Moon-sik, a technician from the Prefabricated Construction Company brought from Korea, shook his head and turned toward the local worker.
“Hey, move it this way just a bit!”
The local worker interpreted Jang Moon-sik’s instructions and conveyed them to the crane operator. The crane operator then adjusted the building incrementally to align the lines.
“Okay!”
At Jang Moon-sik’s signal, the building descended to the ground again.
Whoosh!
Watching the building descend so smoothly, Lee Gang-hun approached with a smile.
“The crane operator’s skills are excellent.”
“I was selective in choosing him.”
At Jang Moon-sik’s response, Lee Gang-hun nodded. When placing prefabricated structures on concrete foundations that were already prepared, they had to fit precisely according to the blueprints.
That’s why Lee Gang-hun had asked the presidents of Heavy Equipment Companies with whom he’d built relationships through selling components to introduce him to crane operators.
And he had brought the most skilled one among them.
As the first prefabricated construction block descended, Jang Moon-sik entered inside with the workers.
After completing the fixing work inside, Jang Moon-sik instructed them to lower the second block next to the first one.
This was how prefabricated structures were assembled—construction blocks descending and fitting together layer by layer.
While watching this, several cars approached and stopped, and Chinese people got out.
“Welcome.”
As Lee Gang-hun approached the Chinese visitors and greeted them, they nodded.
Watching the building being assembled, Wang Ju-myung spoke.
“Seeing it assembled like this, it feels like something is actually taking shape.”
Then, pointing to the site where water and sewage construction was actively underway, Lee Gang-hun said.
“Once the water and sewage work is finished, it will really be very quick.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Wang Ju-myung nodded, then looked at the local residents.
“But… do we have to live in the same village as those locals?”
At Wang Ju-myung’s words, Lee Gang-hun’s eyes narrowed slightly. He understood the implication—that poor people like that didn’t belong in an upscale neighborhood.
But soon, Lee Gang-hun relaxed his expression and spoke.
“It’s the same area, but the homes we’re actually selling are located some distance from here.”
“Still, living in the same village is the same thing, isn’t it?”
Lee Gang-hun chuckled at Wang Ju-myung’s remark and posed the question back to him.
“You won’t be doing the cleaning or laundry yourself, will you?”
“Of course not.”
“Once the village is established, we’ll need people to handle those tasks. The residents of that village will be the ones to do it.”
“Couldn’t we hire people from the city instead?”
“There are good people nearby, so there’s no need to go all the way to the city. Besides, the people here have wonderful, kind dispositions.”
Wang Ju-myung looked at Lee Gang-hun and asked in response to his words.
“Why didn’t you just keep a greater distance then?”
“You can’t build homes just anywhere. In my assessment, the location we’ve chosen is the best in this area.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Gang-hun pointed toward the lake to show Wang Ju-myung, who still seemed unconvinced.
“Water symbolizes wealth from a feng shui perspective.”
Wang Ju-myung showed interest at the feng shui explanation. Seeing his attention, Lee Gang-hun continued.
“When you have abundant water like a lake in front of your home, your fortune for wealth improves. Conversely, if it’s behind you, your wealth fortune becomes blocked. Of course, I don’t know enough about feng shui to speak definitively about building homes on both sides of a lake, but… feng shui teaches that having a lake in front is beneficial, so there’s no real need to build on both sides, is there?”
“That’s… true enough.”
“That’s why we can’t distance ourselves too far from the local village. If we go too far, we’d have to position the lake to the sides or behind us rather than in front.”
“Come to think of it… I’ve never seen a home built with the lake behind it either.”
As Wang Ju-myung nodded in agreement, Lee Gang-hun smiled and watched the prefabricated building being assembled.
I knew that Chinese people paid great attention to feng shui, but Wang Ju-myung’s reaction exceeded my expectations.
It seemed like a good idea to include feng shui-related information in the catalog.
“It looks like the 1st Floor is already complete.”
“Since we just bring the blocks and assemble them, it takes at most a full day, or as little as half a day to completion.”
After hearing Lee Gang-hun’s explanation, Wang Ju-myung watched the building being assembled and spoke.
“But we have famous prefabricated buildings in China too, you know.”
“I’m aware. The ** Building was erected one floor per day using prefabrication methods.”
“Yes, you do know.”
His implication was that since China had such things, there was no real need to import from Korea.
Observing Wang Ju-myung’s demeanor, Lee Gang-hun subtly glanced over at the vehicle he had arrived in.
The car Wang Ju-myung had driven was a luxury vehicle beginning with B. It was the kind of car that, as people often joked in Korea, would make you instinctively collapse if you were involved in an accident with it.
“I once mentioned this when discussing business with important dignitaries in China… there are certainly fine automobiles in China as well.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Wang Ju-myung squinted while looking at his own vehicle.
He was an intelligent man. That’s why he had steadily climbed the ranks to become a high-ranking official.
Being such a person, he immediately grasped the meaning behind Lee Gang-hun’s words.
Lee Gang-hun smiled and spoke.
“But everyone’s tastes are different, aren’t they? People purchase what they like according to their preferences.”
In response to Lee Gang-hun’s words, Wang Ju-myung looked at the prefabricated building and asked.
“Do you think that will suit my taste?”
“Taste is a personal matter, so it’s difficult for me to say with certainty. However, it’s truly been built beautifully. I do hope it matches your preferences, Wang Daren.”
Wang Ju-myung nodded in acknowledgment.
“I wish that were the case for me as well.”
He continued with a smile.
“Staying at the hotel for so long has become inconvenient. If this house suits my needs, I’m planning to have my wife come stay with me.”
“Ah! In that case, we’ll need to assemble Wang Ju-myung’s unit a bit larger.”
“That would be ideal.”
“Then please tell me later about your family size and your wife’s preferences. I’ll have it built to match your specifications.”
“Can the blocks be customized the way we want?”
“Of course. We can make the kitchen larger or expand the windows as needed.”
Wang Ju-myung nodded at Lee Gang-hun’s words.
He then spoke briefly with the Chinese visitors who had come with him.
In the meantime, as the assembly up to the second floor was completed, the workers began laying soil on top of it.
This method blocked the intense sunlight unique to this country and had the effect of lowering the indoor temperature during the day.
Watching the workers finish laying the soil and begin planting grass on top, Wang Ju-myung asked Lee Gang-hun.
“You’re planting grass?”
“There are photographs in the catalog.”
Lee Gang-hun pulled out the catalog from his document folder and showed it to him.
Just as he said, there were photographs of prefabricated buildings with the same form as the one currently being constructed.
In the photographs, the building had grass laid out on the rooftop of the second floor, with shade structures, sofas, and chairs arranged on top.
“I thought it was just a promotional image.”
“Furniture aside, everything else must be done exactly as shown in the catalog.”
“But will it grow well?”
“We planted a variety that grows well. As long as you water it frequently and maintain it properly, it will grow beautifully.”
Wang Ju-myung nodded and spoke while looking at the assembled building.
“May I go inside and take a look?”
“Right now there’s only the framework inside, so it doesn’t look very presentable. Please wait until after assembly is complete and the interior work is finished.”
Then Lee Gang-hun spoke to the customers gathered nearby.
“The reason I’ve brought all of you here today is so you can see how our buildings are installed and assembled. This way, you can verify just how safe the homes you’ll be purchasing are.”
“Won’t it be finished today?”
Lee Gang-hun laughed at the man’s question and replied.
“We’ll do the assembly today and complete the interior work. Tomorrow we’ll finish the final touches, and in the afternoon the furniture will arrive. Of course, we’re bringing in sample furniture, so when you receive your own units and move in later, you’ll need to purchase your own furniture.”
The man asked again in response to Lee Gang-hun’s words.
“So the house will be completed by tomorrow?”
“The model house will officially open three days from now. So please come visit us again at that time.”
“But if it’s finished tomorrow, why do we need to wait three days?”
“One day to complete it, one day to personally inspect and test whether there are any additional needs inside, and then we open the next day.”
The people nodded at the reasonable explanation and continued watching the workers labor on the prefabricated building for a while longer.

***

Kim Ki-chun sat in the conference room, listening to his employees’ reports.
“You’re telling me there’s no information on what Lee Gang-hun is doing?”
“As you instructed, sir, we investigated the paint sector, but we’ve found nothing.”
When Lee Gang-hun had visited, Kim Ki-chun had seen a Chinese paint catalog in his briefcase. Now he was using his employees to uncover what business Lee Gang-hun was planning to enter.
If the opportunity looked promising, he would steal the business idea for himself. Otherwise, he would sabotage it.
“Have you looked into specialty paints being exported from Korea to China?”
“We’ve investigated automotive paints, aircraft paints, and even the newly developed specialty paints, but there’s no information suggesting Lee Gang-hun has made contact with any of them.”
Kim Ki-chun’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the report before speaking.
“You’ve checked everything thoroughly?”
“We’ve contacted all companies that produce enough volume to export to China and gathered information from them.”
“What about wholesalers?”
“We’ve looked into those as well.”
“The smaller ones too?”
…
As the employee fell silent, Kim Ki-chun’s expression grew darker.
“We’re dealing with Lee Gang-hun. That man wouldn’t handle a large volume from a single major supplier. He’d gather smaller quantities from multiple smaller distributors and send them all at once.”
“Then how small should we go in our investigation?”
“Everything except neighborhood retailers.”
“Understood.”
The employee answered obediently, but his heart was burning with dread.
To verify all the mid-tier distributors across the entire nation…
A sigh escaped him involuntarily.
Meanwhile, Kim Ki-chun sat with a grave expression, drumming his fingers on the table.
He was lost in thought, trying to decipher what Lee Gang-hun was truly planning.

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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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