I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 224

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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 224
Mark and I followed the Restaurant Employee’s guidance to the most secluded table in the establishment.
The Winklevoss Brothers were seated there, looking remarkably identical as always.
Tyler stood up first and extended his hand.
“Hello, Tyler.”
As I greeted him first, Mark glanced at me with a slightly surprised expression, then whispered.
“Sung-guk, how did you know?”
“The one with a mole at the corner of his right mouth is Cameron. Since he doesn’t have one….”
“Ah, Tyler!”
“Exactly.”
I quickly shook Tyler’s hand.
“Sung-guk, you’ve grown so much since we last saw each other.”
“Interestingly, I keep growing, but all my Harvard classmates seem to have stayed about the same.”
“Well, we entered college as adults, but you didn’t.”
“I was joking, Tyler.”
“Ah, were you?”
[Still can’t pick up on jokes.]
I exchanged greetings with Cameron, the one with the mole at the corner of his right mouth.
“Sung-guk, Mark. It’s been such a long time.”
“Thanks for coming all the way to San Francisco to see us. But I heard this Restaurant is nearly impossible to get a reservation for. How did you manage it?”
“I’ve been coming here frequently while looking to invest in the Silicon Valley area. I guess I got lucky.”
“A regular’s privilege.”
As I spoke, Cameron and Tyler laughed awkwardly.
The conversation naturally shifted to Mark’s romantic life.
“Mark, I thought you’d live alone forever.”
“What are you talking about, Cameron? I thought Mark was marrying his computer.”
Cameron and Tyler continued with their tactless jokes one after another.
Mark simply savored the succession of course dishes with genuine enjoyment.
“Sung-guk, try this. It’s incredible.”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
I too enjoyed this Restaurant beside Mark for the first time in a long while.
[I used to come here often in my previous life….]
In this life, the more money I earned, the more reluctant I became to spend it, making it impossible to book a place like this.
Being reborn seemed to have properly imprinted my frugal father’s genes into me.
Cameron and Tyler didn’t ask about work at all until the meal was nearly finished.
They only reminisced about our brief time at Harvard.
I also deliberately avoided bringing up work.
Only after finishing dessert did Tyler look at us.
“Sung-guk, Mark. Could you show us your company tomorrow?”
[So they’re finally showing their true colors.]
“I’m busy this morning. Can you come by in the afternoon?”
“We’ll work around your schedule!”
Tyler answered readily.
* * *
On the drive home in Mark’s old used car, Mark asked me with a serious expression.
“Sung-guk, what are those twins really up to?”
“They want to see our company with their own eyes and assess whether it’s worth investing in.”
“Then they shouldn’t be posting such ridiculous things on the anonymous message board! That post is making the employees anxious and the investors nervous.”
“Mark, the Winklevoss Brothers don’t care how many salarymen’s livelihoods and business owners’ survival depend on the words they speak. All that matters to them is whether a company will bring enough profit into their own pockets.”
“Sung-guk, there’s something I’ve never understood… The Winklevoss Brothers are already wealthy. So why do they want to become even richer?”
“That’s because….”
I was once a tycoon myself.
I never knew how much money accumulated in my accounts, and I only understood that no matter how much I swiped my credit card today, my wealth would grow again tomorrow.
But I was always hungry.
I wasn’t comparing myself to ordinary people living on salaries. I compared myself to the world’s richest men or competing corporations of similar scale.
No matter what I did, it felt insufficient and left me parched.
That hunger drove me to lead my companies like a madman, yet I was never satisfied for a single day.
Mark looked at me.
“Sung-guk, why did you suddenly stop talking?”
“Just thinking about something. I suppose the Winklevoss Brothers still feel like they don’t have enough.”
“Money? I wish they’d give me some of that. Then I’d marry Mi-mi right away.”
[Mark, in a few years you’ll be even wealthier, so don’t worry.]
I quietly gazed out the window.
“Mark, what do you think happens when you drink saltwater?”
“Saltwater? Where did that come from?”
“Money is like saltwater. It seems to quench your thirst right away, but later it only makes you more parched. So you need to drink more water, but… all I have left around me is saltwater. That’s what money is. The more you accumulate, the more intense your thirst becomes….”
“Sung-guk, sometimes when I look at you….”
“I seem like an old soul?”
“I don’t even need to say it anymore….”
“Now I can tell what you’re thinking just by hearing your footsteps.”
Mark smiled softly.
When I first met Mark at school, I never thought we’d stay together this long.
I had planned to develop FaceNote and then abandon it.
But living this second life, I realized that ultimately, people were what mattered most.
If I hadn’t had people like Mark by my side…. I still would have become wealthy, but not as spectacularly as I am now….
I shrugged.
“Oh, Sung-guk! Aren’t we filming the Intern tomorrow? The company’s doing it in the afternoon.”
“That’s why I asked you to come.”
“What?”
“I’ll naturally get the Winklevoss Brothers to appear in 【The Intern】. After all, they’re already with my father’s investment company anyway. They’re fairly well-known. The mere fact that they came to see FaceNote from such a company will change our value entirely.”
“Sung-guk, you’re saying you’ll turn the tables on the Winklevoss Brothers plan we were trying to use?”
“Mark, you don’t need me to explain anymore. You’ve got it now.”
“I know that much already!”
Mark shrugged his shoulders.
* * *
I handed cups filled with coffee to Mark and Lim Mi-mi.
“Mark, Lim Mi-mi. Today’s going to be rough.”
The afternoon had 【The Intern】 filming scheduled, and I had to conduct salary negotiations with key staff members in the morning.
“Sung-guk… shouldn’t you have called in a salary negotiation specialist?”
Mark still carried his worries with him.
“We’re not firing anyone right now, so there’s no need to bring in a specialist.”
As the American economy deteriorated, numerous companies began mass layoffs.
Tragic incidents where unemployed workers, resentful of their dismissals, came armed with guns and opened fire dominated the news every other day.
Mark seemed to be worried about that.
“Still, employees excluded from salary negotiations could become resentful.”
“Separating the wheat from the chaff can’t wait. If an employee becomes dissatisfied because someone else’s salary rises while theirs stays the same, I’d be grateful if they left on their own.”
“I’m still a bit worried… Mi-mi, please go easy during your department’s salary negotiations. Understood?”
“Mark, don’t worry. Everyone in our department is having salary negotiations, so that won’t happen.”
“Ah… well, that’s a relief then….”
“Mark, just drink your coffee. I have mountains of work to do all morning.”
I drained my coffee in one go.
* * *
The salary negotiations finally began.
The internal messenger conveyed the names of those who would have salary negotiations, the times, and the names of the staff members assigned to each.
Of course, there were those who didn’t receive the message.
Mark and Lim Mi-mi took charge of the developers, while I handled the planning and marketing department staff.
Knock. Knock.
I heard a knock on the door.
Soon the door opened and the tall Steve entered.
He was an employee who majored in business administration at Stanford and joined FaceNote.
“Hi, Steve. Have a seat.”
“Sung-guk, it’s been a while.”
Steve sat down.
He looked somewhat nervous.
In fact, nearly all FaceNote employees were young talents for whom this was either their first or second job.
That meant they had almost no experience with layoffs or salary negotiations.
“Steve, the company is going through a major transition right now, so I wanted to have various conversations with you. Personally.”
“Actually, I have something I’m curious about. Sung-guk.”
“Feel free to ask.”
Steve hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Sung-guk, is the company really in danger right now?”
“Hmm… Does it really look that way to you, Steve?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. FaceNote’s user base is growing, but…”
Steve trailed off.
After all, I was his superior.
“Steve, I know you’ve worked hard for FaceNote all this time.”
Praise moves even whales to dance, so I decided to start with that.
And even in America, most employees from good universities likely spent their school years as model students, just like in Korea.
Praise definitely worked well on people like that.
Steve’s expression visibly relaxed.
“Steve, that’s why I wanted to discuss your salary with you. If you feel the company is in danger and want to move to another firm, I won’t stop you. But if you continue working with us, I believe you should earn more than you do now.”
Steve’s face grew progressively brighter.
“Sung-guk…”
But I hadn’t made a definitive offer yet.
I presented Steve with a new salary figure—thirty thousand dollars more than his previous compensation.
“What do you think, Steve?”
“Well, I…”
“Do you need time to think about it?”
“No, Sung-guk. I’ll take this amount.”
“Steve, your first paycheck at the increased rate will be deposited in twenty-four hours. If you change your mind, please let me know within that window.”
“Sung-guk, that won’t happen.”
Steve left with firm conviction.
The other employees who came in afterward were offered salary increases ranging from twenty to thirty thousand dollars, and most accepted.
To the one employee who refused, I said only one thing.
“Pack your things and leave FaceNote immediately.”
And that employee left FaceNote right then and there.
* * *
The morning ended with salary negotiations, and lunchtime approached.
Mark came in with a hamburger, accompanied by Lim Mi-mi.
“How did the salary negotiations go?”
“Good. It looks like about two developers will be leaving.”
“Mark, do we need those positions filled immediately?”
“Not really.”
“Then let’s proceed with hiring two developers and one marketing employee through the Intern spinoff.”
“Sir, but… I saw posts on the anonymous forum. There’s dissatisfaction from employees who didn’t get salary negotiations, and some are saying the negotiations are just for show.”
“Once the increased salaries are deposited in twenty-four hours, everyone will quiet down. And employees who didn’t get raises this time will work harder for the next opportunity.”
I took a bite of my hamburger.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
The door opened shortly after, and an employee stepped in. It was Adam, one of our programmers. He’d been excluded from this round of salary negotiations.
He worked diligently enough, but his contributions hadn’t been particularly noteworthy.
In that moment, we all tensed.
What’s more, Adam seemed to be hiding something, keeping his hands behind his back.
Could it be? A gun?
Mark and I locked eyes.
We had no guns, no weapons of any kind.
[Damn it… I should’ve bought a gun.]
I calmly picked up the remaining hamburger and offered it to Adam.
“Adam, have you had lunch? Would you like a hamburger?”
“I, well….”
“Adam, is there something you wanted to say?”
“Sung-guk….”
“What is it, Adam?”
Adam hesitated before finally speaking.
“Did you know my name?”
“Adam, I know every single employee at FaceNote.”
“I see….”
Adam nodded softly.
“Adam, what’s this about?”
“Well….”
Adam suddenly brought his hidden hand forward.
In that unexpected moment, as we all held our breath, what came into view was a small potted plant.
What?
At least it wasn’t a gun.
“Sung-guk, it’s a plant.”
“Adam, where did you get this plant?”
“I’ve been growing it since I joined FaceNote. When I first started, it was only the size of my pinky finger, but now it’s grown a bit larger than my hand.”
We held our breath, waiting for Adam’s next words.
“I’ve heard that other plants grow much faster than this one, but mine seems to be growing slowly. Six months have passed, and it’s only grown this much.”
So?
I blinked.
“Sung-guk, I think I’m like this plant. I seem to be growing more slowly than others. When I went to the plant shop and asked about it, the florist told me that while it grows slowly, its roots are stronger than any other plant’s. Sung-guk, even though I’m slow, my roots are as strong as anyone’s… so please think of me when you look at this plant.”
Adam held out the potted plant to me.
I could see that Mark and Mi-mi were already holding back tears.
“Adam, you keep the plant. I’m too busy to take care of it properly. If I don’t water it regularly, it might die. But Adam, I promise you this: I will never forget you. Even if not frequently, I’ll keep watching what you do. And I promise you this too: I’ll make sure to compensate any employee who stays through the difficult times.”
Adam bowed his head with a grateful expression.
“Thank you, Sung-guk…. Thank you.”

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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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