Maru and I were lying in two hammocks set up between the trees behind the assembly factory. I stretched and yawned, enjoying the beautiful weather.
"It's already April. The weather's great. Where should we go for a trip?"
"Yeah, we haven't had a proper break because we've been so busy."
The frenzy of collecting computers from schools for nearly four months had finally come to an end. The calls and contacts gradually decreased after the start of the new semester in March, and by April, there were hardly any more calls.
We had collected computers from about 800 schools, totaling around 24,000 units, and sold all the accumulated stock to CEO Wu.
And now I had 2 billion won in cash and another 2 billion won in the bank.
"I'm considered rich now, right?"
"Of course you are, hyung. Rich. Buying a foreign car and a big mansion would be a piece of cake."
"No, no. Those things require a lot of money to maintain. You need a steady income. The volume has dropped significantly since the schools stopped calling."
With the school project over, the only source of computers for now was junkyards, but the supply wasn't great.
Until February, we were collecting over 800 discarded computers from junkyards every month, but now it had dropped to nearly 500.
It was the opposite of what I had predicted when I started, that the volume of discarded computers would increase.
"It's inevitable with the emergence of competitors."
"Tell me something I don't know. I thought we could enjoy this for at least a year, but I didn't expect it to last less than six months. It's a shame, such a shame."
About two months ago, people started appearing all over the country, collecting discarded computers from junkyards.
From individuals working alone to established junkyards with their own sites. As the competition intensified, prices also rose rapidly. Now, discarded computer main units were fetching 50,000 won, and monitors 30,000 won.
It was still a decent profit margin, but perhaps because I had earned billions from school computers in the past four months, the 80 million won we earned in March from Chunha Resources and junkyard computers felt insignificant.
"We need to let go of some employees. We still have 20 people, and after paying their salaries, we're only left with less than 70 million won. At this rate, when will we reach 10 billion won?"
"You're so greedy. The amount of money you have now is more than most people earn in their entire lives, even if they work nonstop."
"You lack ambition, Maru. Tsk, tsk."
I clicked my tongue, got out of the hammock, and looked around the assembly factory. I frowned when I saw a mountain of something piled up in a corner.
"This is a real dilemma. What should I do with this?"
They were parts that had been classified as unusable after countless attempts to repair the collected computers. Motherboards, memory modules, network cards, power supplies, and various other discarded components were sorted by type. It was enough to fill nearly 4,000 computers.
Broken power supplies could be disassembled for scrap metal and copper, but the discarded circuit boards were the problem. No one wanted them, and I had too many to just throw them in with the scrap metal.
Moreover, I had heard that they contained precious metals like gold and silver, making it even harder to let go.
"We have plenty of warehouse space. I'll just leave them here for now. They'll be useful someday."
The emergence of competitors was inevitable, I had anticipated it sooner or later. With the school project over, I started implementing the plan I had been preparing.
First, I bought warehouses of about 3,300 square meters in each province to serve as regional hubs.
When there was no competition, we were the only ones willing to buy discarded computers, even for a few thousand won, and we received requests from as far as Busan. But now that there were others buying them, there was no reason for them to contact us, especially if the prices were similar.
We had to be more accessible. I bought warehouses in seven provinces, excluding Gyeonggi-do and Seoul: Gangwon-do, South and North Chungcheong-do, South and North Jeolla-do, and South and North Gyeongsang-do. I decided to assign one local employee to each warehouse.
However, due to the nature of the business, there were too many loopholes if I entrusted the employees with full responsibility for the warehouses.
I put myself in their shoes and imagined what I would do if I were assigned to manage a remote warehouse.
I could run away with the money meant for buying from junkyards, I could secretly sell the computers stored in the warehouse, I could collude with junkyards and inflate the purchase prices to split the profits… I couldn't touch the warehouse land itself, as it was under the company's name, but everything else depended on the employee's integrity.
I had carefully observed my employees and selected those who seemed the most diligent and hardworking, but money could corrupt anyone.
"If loopholes are inevitable, I need to create loopholes that I can control. And I need to add some padding."
"Loopholes?"
I ignored Maru's question and said,
"Maru, I'm going to meet with CEO Wu. Tell the employees who are being assigned to the regional warehouses to gather after work for a company dinner."
I took the seven employees to a luxurious garden restaurant in downtown Ansan.
We passed through a large gate, followed a pond with a waterwheel, and arrived at the entrance of the restaurant.
The seven employees were all wide-eyed. Maru and I were used to this place, as we often came here when meeting with CEO Wu, but these employees had probably never experienced anything like this.
Their monthly salaries were just a few hundred thousand won, and a decent meal for four people here would cost over 200,000 won. No one in their right mind would come to a place like this.
We followed the waiter to the private room I had reserved. Maru, the seven employees, and I sat down in a row.
"Is the beef fresh today?"
"Yes, we procured the meat from today's slaughter, so it's very fresh and delicious."
"Then please bring enough for everyone. And four bottles of soju."
The waiter closed the door, and silence filled the room.
None of the employees were younger than me. Most of them were over 40.
But I had never spoken to them kindly, except for Maru, and I mostly scolded them, so they were afraid of me.
Maru, on the other hand, treated them kindly, so he was always the communication channel between me and the employees.
And that was intentional. I was only 26 years old. Some of the employees even had sons older than me.
If I started treating them with respect because I was young, they would think they were the boss. That was a lesson I learned from the first three employees I hired.
I had treated them well at first, and when new employees joined, I let them act like seniors. They started working without my permission, and when things got busy, they even complained about the workload.
I was paying them with my own money, and I had to listen to their complaints about being busy? When things got even busier and they had juniors, they even demanded a raise and started slacking off, so I fired them.
It was messy, with them reporting me to the labor office and all, but I managed to resolve it.
"Alright, as you can see, this is a dinner for the employees who will be assigned to the regional warehouses. Fill your glasses."
The employees filled each other's glasses, and I raised my hand high and shouted,
"Whenever we drink at Chunha Resources, we cheer with 'To Chunha Resources!' To Chunha Resources!"
"Cheers!"
I took a shot and thought, "To Chunha Resources." Did these employees really feel that way? I could say with certainty that they didn't care at all.
It was just a workplace for them to earn a living. Nothing more, nothing less.
The company was mine, not theirs. It was foolish to expect company loyalty from them.
'Ultimately, it's all about money. Then all I have to do is offer them a path to achieve that goal.'
As we drank and the meat arrived, I said to the waiter,
"Is everything set?"
"Yes, is there anything else you'd like to order?"
"We'll order more later. We have some things to discuss, so you don't have to come in."
"Yes, sir."
The door closed, and I made eye contact with each employee. I picked up a soju bottle and approached them.
"I'll pour you each a drink. Listen up. I don't know your circumstances or why you ended up working at a junkyard. And I don't want to know. But everyone is the same. Providing for your family is the most important thing. So what do you need? That's right, you need money. You need money to feed your children, send them to school, buy your wife new clothes, and maintain your dignity as the head of the household, right?"
I filled all their glasses and returned to my seat.
"I don't trust people easily. But I trust money. If working with me brings you money and benefits, I believe you won't betray me."
The employees were startled by the sudden mention of betrayal.
"CEO, betrayal? We would never do such a thing."
One of the employees said, and I continued,
"Of course not. Because I'm going to offer you a great way to make money."
I raised my glass. The employees hesitantly raised their glasses as well.
"From now on, think of yourselves as running your own businesses. With my money."
They still looked confused as I took a shot, and they followed suit. I took out a document from my pocket while chewing on a piece of beef.
"This is the price list that will be distributed to you every week. Take one each and read it."
They each took a copy and started reading. One of the employees raised his hand and asked,
"There are a lot of detailed items here. Are we supposed to buy based on this? For example, computer main unit, 286: 50,000 won, 386: 70,000 won, 486: 100,000 won?"
I ignored his question and said,
"You'll find prices for everything from clothes to appliances, chairs, tables, and everything you need in life."
CEO Wu bought not only computers but all kinds of used goods to export to China.
I had asked him for prices for each category and created the list by adding my 25% margin to his final prices.
The numerous items were just bait to keep the employees busy.
There were only about 1,000 computers available nationwide each month, and if I divided them by region, each branch would only get 100-200 units. I added the other items so they wouldn't be idle.
"This is the price list exclusively for you. And this is the price list you'll give to the junkyards."
The format was similar, but the prices were different. The employees looked puzzled, and I said,
"The price difference between your price list and the junkyard price list is about 10%."
I spread my hand and pointed at the employees.
"That's your profit. Buy everything you can, anything that's sellable secondhand."