I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 339

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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 339
At a hotel restaurant in Beijing.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, Jeon Tae-guk, Adam, and I occupied a private room.
Of course, given that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was moving personally, security was airtight, and all of Samjeon’s Beijing representatives had assembled.
However, they were all in disguise, so at first glance they appeared to be ordinary restaurant patrons.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung had already contacted the Chinese Public Security Bureau and secretly installed cameras in the room where Wang Meng and Han Myung-seok would meet.
Of course, this would have been problematic in Korea, but this was China.
Moreover, since the Chinese Public Security Bureau understood that a company connected to Communist Party officials had its ideas stolen and sold, such illegal acts posed no issue.
While we ate, we watched the room where Wang Meng and Han Myung-seok had reserved in real-time through the monitor.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung even passed around glasses of strong baijiu.
“Adam seems to be adjusting well to life in Korea?”
He posed a pointless question.
[Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung is nervous….]
Anyone could see that Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was different from his usual self.
He had been drinking continuously since the airplane, and now he was asking Adam meaningless questions.
Of course, Adam had no way of knowing Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s true feelings.
Adam accepted the baijiu, took a sip, and shook his head.
“Life in Korea suits me fine, but I can’t seem to adjust to baijiu.”
“Take it slowly.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Beside me, Jeon Tae-guk chattered away while eating.
“I haven’t slept and I’m exhausted…. Dad, do we really have to watch them get arrested?”
“….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung drank his baijiu without a word.
As he had said on the airplane, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was savoring this moment of revenge.
I sipped my baijiu slowly and kept my eyes on the monitor.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung glanced at me, and a faint smile crossed his lips.
[What does that mean?]
Just then, Han Myung-seok entered the monitored room. He looked somewhat haggard.
And soon Wang Meng arrived.
The two men checked the time and began their conversation.
Their discussion was straightforward.
Don’t sell below a certain price, or I’ll try to negotiate up to this amount. That sort of thing.
[They have no idea what’s about to happen….]
My lips curved into a smile as well.
A moment later, the door opened and the buyers of industrial secrets entered.
There were two of them, and Wang Meng already knew them well.
Han Myung-seok stood and greeted them, and soon the four ordered food and drinks.
With his tension eased, Han Myung-seok opened his laptop and explained the program Adam had created.
And amid the lively conversation, Wang Meng subtly quoted a price.
The other party naturally tried to haggle, and Wang Meng showed reluctance.
“This idea is being created by Jeon Sung-guk, the representative of FaceNote. If you knew how difficult it was for us to extract it, you’d understand why that price won’t work.”
Wang Meng continued to brazenly attempt price negotiations, when suddenly someone burst through the door and pointed a gun at the three of them.
The four startled men froze, unsure what to do.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung bent his body forward to observe the scene intently.
The person holding the gun was from the Chinese Public Security Bureau.
“Hands up, all of you, right now! You’re under arrest for stealing Chinese industrial secrets!”
Wang Meng shrugged and pulled his wallet from his chest.
After all, there was nothing money couldn’t solve….
But it was a principle that only worked when you could pay more than the other side.
The moment the officer saw Wang Meng’s wallet, he twisted Wang Meng’s arm behind his back.
It unfolded like a scene from a Hong Kong action film—Han Myung-seok, Wang Meng, and the corporate representatives who’d come to purchase the technology were all swiftly apprehended by the officers and dragged away.
Click.
The room door opened and Secretary Yang, who had been waiting outside, entered and explained the situation.
“Chairman, the Public Security Bureau has arrested everyone. Wang Meng and Han Myung-seok will likely be detained by tonight, and the representatives from the other company will undergo further investigation.”
“I see….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung then filled everyone’s glasses with baijiu.
“Come now, let’s toast to our successful revenge!”
* * *
Whether from the baijiu or not, Adam passed out cold, and both Jeon Tae-guk and I were quite drunk.
While in the room, Jeon Tae-guk had only grumbled without saying much, but he’d consumed quite a lot of alcohol.
I opened the refrigerator and took out some water.
“Brother, could you give me some water?”
“Sure….”
I handed the water to Jeon Tae-guk.
With his eyes slightly clearer, Jeon Tae-guk drank the water and exhaled roughly.
“Sung-guk….”
“What is it?”
“When I was eating earlier, I had a strange thought….”
“What kind of thought?”
“Honestly, I think I understand why Father brought us here. Grandfather always said to repay both kindness and grudges until death, so it seemed like this was coming from the industrial espionage incident Father suffered before.”
[So Jeon Tae-guk isn’t completely oblivious after all….]
I quietly drank my water.
“But you know… honestly, I’m not even sure if we needed to go this far. Han Myung-seok is a scoundrel, sure, but once he’s handed over to the Chinese Public Security Bureau, his life is essentially over. His parents seemed like such good people….”
“Brother, how can someone who’s going to inherit a company speak with such emotional bias?”
“I suppose…”
Jeon Tae-guk gulped down more water.
“Sung-guk… watching you in the room earlier, I realized you look way more like our father than I do.”
[In this life, I’m visually overwhelming, though?]
Jeon Tae-guk slowly shook his head.
“Of course you’re handsome. But why do you and Father do everything exactly the same way? Watching you both smile at the camera screen like that gave me chills… Sung-guk, be honest with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you… Father’s son?”
“….”
I took a sip of water.
In my previous life, I was Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s son. But not in this one.
“Brother, stop talking nonsense and let’s sleep.”
“Yeah, we should sleep…”
Jeon Tae-guk buried his face in the pillow and fell asleep.
* * *
– Chinese authorities strongly hinted at strengthening penalties regarding industrial espionage going forward. They announced that the recent industrial espionage case involving a Korean would serve as an example.
The industrial espionage case involving Wang Meng and Han Myung-seok was also a major issue in Chinese news.
It was essentially an attempt to sell confidential information from a company connected to Communist Party officials to another company, so sensitivity was inevitable.
I closed my laptop and headed down to the restaurant.
Jeon Tae-guk and Adam were still in bed, unable to get up from the alcohol they’d consumed yesterday.
In the sunlit window seat, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was having breakfast.
Exactly seven o’clock.
In my previous life, I too had eaten at seven in the morning.
Secretary Yang spotted me and pulled out the chair across from Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung.
“Sung-guk, sit here.”
“Thank you.”
As I sat down, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung pointed to the eggs Benedict he was eating.
“This is delicious.”
“I’ll have the same.”
The eggs Benedict arrived shortly, and between us there was silence.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung read through the newspapers one after another, as did I.
Reading the newspaper, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung asked me in a murmur.
“What do you think will happen to China in the future? There’s talk that the Communist Party’s generational transition will begin soon….”
The current Chinese State President was Hu Jintao.
“Chairman, who do you think will be the next likely State President?”
“Well… wouldn’t Bo Xilai be the frontrunner? He has the prestige of coming from a famous political family, and he’s quite popular with the people…”
“But he has many enemies as well.”
I answered calmly.
“At that level of position, it would be strange not to have enemies.”
“People have never really liked those who already have so much.”
At my words, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung looked up at me.
It was a signal to continue.
“I believe Hu Jintao’s open diplomacy won’t last much longer. If Bo Xilai were to succeed him, he could inherit that prestige, but I don’t think that’s possible. Bo Xilai’s greatest weakness is his overconfidence.”
“Overconfidence?”
“Popularity and family prestige. A situation where he has nothing to fear. But as you well know, overconfidence is always the greatest cause of defeat.”
Bo Xilai, intoxicated by his own popularity, attempted to wiretap Hu Jintao and was caught red-handed, thoroughly exposed and cast into ruin.
“Then, do you have a prediction for the next national chairman?”
“Xi Jinping.”
I answered with certainty.
“That’s unexpected?”
“Well, people who reach the very top of an organization tend to be quiet and persistent rather than flashy.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung nodded slightly.
“Xi Jinping is conservative, so is that why you said the era of open diplomacy is coming to an end?”
“Yes. After all, the Communist Party is still the Communist Party.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung understood immediately.
No matter how much the nation opened its doors to the world, state power remained absolute under Communist Party rule.
China was a country where that formidable state power could transform everything in an instant.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung patiently matched my pace while I finished my eggs Benedict.
He peppered me with questions ranging from China’s issues to various social problems, and I spoke freely.
The moment I set down my fork, he set down his as well, then smiled softly.
“I remember the first time I saw you….”
[Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung, why are you bringing up old memories so unexpectedly?]
“When you were just beginning to toddle and walked toward me, do you know what you said?”
Of course I remember precisely. Father.
I shook my head calmly.
“Right. No matter how much of a genius you are, you can’t remember those early childhood days.”
“But you definitely said it then. Father….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung stood up first.
“Thank you for today’s conversation…. By the way, I have a business trip to Japan in early March. How would it be if Alpha went along?”
“Our company too?”
“This isn’t my idea—it’s a proposal from the former chairman of Hyojin Group. There’s an IT-related expo being held in Tokyo, Japan, and she thought it would be good if Alpha’s employees attended as well.”
“I’ll adjust our schedule once you provide the dates.”
“The company will be in turmoil with the industrial espionage matter, so taking this opportunity to attend the expo and clear your heads would be a good approach.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Secretary Yang will look into the details and notify you.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung left first.
* * *
Jeon Tae-guk, Adam, and I boarded the airplane back to Korea.
Jeon Tae-guk stretched languidly.
“I couldn’t even drink properly on the way to China because of Father.”
“Brother, the Chairman said he’d send Alpha employees to the Japan expo in early March.”
“Yeah… I heard. I’ll go to clear my head anyway. Between the Lee Sun-hwa situation and Han Myung-seok, the employees’ morale is seriously unsettled.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
At that moment, a message arrived from Secretary Yang.
– The Tokyo IT Expo in Japan runs from March 10th to March 12th. Please let me know the number of attendees, and I’ll arrange the flights and hotel reservations.
– I went back to Korea and discussed it with the staff.
I paused mid-message.
“William… no, hyung. What year is it this year?”
“What do you mean? It’s 2011. Sung-guk, you’re a soldier. Soldiers should be sensitive to dates.”
[If it’s March 2011… the Great East Japan Earthquake will happen!]
Jeon Tae-guk stared at me strangely.
“Sung-guk, what’s wrong?”
“No… maybe we shouldn’t go to this Japan expo….”
Just then, another message alert chimed.
– Hyung, it’s Min-guk. Dad says he’s going to Japan in March for a food expo. I was thinking of going with him. Hyung, Dad absolutely refuses, but… could you lend me some money for a plane ticket?
– Absolutely not!
I quickly sent Min-guk my reply.

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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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