Maru was constantly anxious.
As he rode in the truck and entered Chunha Resources, he felt uneasy seeing the shabby panel walls. He felt uneasy seeing the mountains of scrap piled up. He felt uneasy seeing the employees in their worn-out clothes, sorting through something. And finally, when he saw the two simple beds placed side by side in the container, he sighed.
"…Are you sure this is okay?"
"Of course! It's tough now because it's still the early stages!"
"Are we both sleeping here? What about the other employees?"
"All three of them live in other nearby villages. I drive them to and from work in the truck. Oh, by the way, that's your job now too."
Ignoring Maru's sigh, I introduced him to the employees and immediately took him out on the road in the grapple truck.
As promised, I would be completely transparent with Maru. I took him everywhere with me like glue, showing him how I conducted business.
"You bought this for 115,000 won, 385 kg at 300 won per kg? Who would buy this?"
"Ugh, this is filthy. You're saying this is worth money?"
"You paid 40 won per kg for that earlier, but now it's 200 won? Isn't it the same iron? What's the difference?"
"My back hurts from sleeping on that simple bed."
After a week of complaints, doubts, and questions, the day came when we had accumulated a decent amount of material. I contacted the wholesaler, scheduled a delivery, and shipped the goods. When Maru saw the sales price that day, he couldn't help but be shocked.
"This is 100 won per kg??? And this is 2,500 won??? Didn't we buy this for 40 won?"
"It's not just because the price went up. We had the employees sort it, so there are labor costs involved."
"But they only worked for a few days. How much profit is this?"
"At least double, maybe even five times the purchase price."
"Well, it's good that we're making money because it's selling, but why are those people buying this stuff?"
"They buy the metal, compress it, and it goes into a furnace at a smelter. Then it becomes steel, which factories use to make products. Consumers buy and use those products, discard them, and we collect them and sell them to the wholesaler. It's resource recycling."
I shrugged as if to say, "See?"
I felt proud and validated seeing Maru's dumbfounded expression as he looked at the delivery receipt.
Even though I had been treated with basic human respect when visiting factories to collect, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was looked down upon for being a junkyard owner. It felt like all of that was being compensated for in this moment.
"So, do you see those scraps as money now? It's an occupational hazard. Everything starts to look like money."
"You're right… That's money."
From that day on, Maru started learning actively. The flow of the junkyard business, what was ferrous and non-ferrous metal, what seemed profitable and what didn't, how to determine prices, and so on.
I couldn't stop him if he decided to become independent after learning, but I asked him to help me for at least two years, and Maru readily agreed. Having him around for almost a month made a difference compared to working alone.
We could comfort each other when things got tough, share our inner thoughts that we couldn't tell the employees, have a drink of makgeolli before bed. Bringing Maru on board was definitely the right decision.
"So, how about this month? It's even higher, 12 million won."
"It's really easy money, hyung."
"I told you, believe me when I tell you something."
Maru and I clinked our makgeolli glasses and took a shot.
"Ah, makgeolli after work hits different."
"But hyung, it seems like a new junkyard is opening near the industrial complex. I saw them putting up iron panel walls on a site while passing by earlier."
"Really? It was about time."
It had been nine months since the switch to the registration system. New junkyards were popping up one by one in promising locations across the country. Ansan Industrial Complex was so vast that two junkyards weren't enough.
"Did you give the bribe to the person in charge of the new company we signed a contract with?"
"Of course, I did. He looked like he couldn't believe I was giving him something like that."
About a month ago, I started giving pocket money to the people in charge of waste disposal at companies that produced relatively expensive materials.
About 20,000 won for every 200,000 won worth of waste I collected.
It wasn't a huge amount, but it wasn't insignificant either. There was only one condition for the bribe.
When newcomers entered the market, they had to inform me of the purchase price offered in their quotes, and if the prices were the same, they had to sell to me.
They probably agreed thinking it was just pocket money, but the scary thing about this kind of bribe was its persistence. 20,000 won accumulated to 200,000 won, and it became the employee's weakness.
In the end, employees who wanted to keep receiving the bribe and didn't want their bosses to find out had no choice but to sell to me.
Moreover, I wasn't asking them to deceive their bosses or sell at ridiculously low prices. It was just a simple request to inform me of the quotes and I would match them.
"They gradually get caught in the trap."
"That's right."
"Anyway, I've conquered all the metal companies in Ansan Industrial Complex. If we just maintain this, the volume will increase as those companies grow."
"Congratulations, hyung. I'm envious."
"Speaking of which…"
I quietly said to Maru,
"Maru, you're here now at Ansan Industrial Complex. I think it can run smoothly even without me. So, I need to go out and expand our business. I'll check in once a week, so please take charge here while I'm gone."
"What? Hyung, I've only been here for a month. I don't know anything. You're leaving this place to me?"
"I haven't even been in this business for a year. We're already struggling to manage even with our existing clients. We need to hire more employees, and we can't handle new clients right now. You can at least maintain the current clients. Don't you remember that I started this junkyard after just one month of working in the field?"
Maru hesitated, feeling burdened.
"It's a bit… overwhelming."
"In return, I'll increase your salary to 2 million won."
"…Really?"
A monthly salary of 2 million won was a considerable amount in 1994. When Maru was surprised, I added,
"Yes. And save your money diligently. Do you want to be an employee forever? I'm not satisfied with just this small industrial complex. I'm aiming for national, even global domination. How can I be tied down to this small complex? Then who will run this junkyard?"
"Well…"
"You know my income, right? This could be yours. You never know what might happen, but it wouldn't hurt to gain some management experience in advance."
"You're right. Alright, I'll do my best."
After two days of handover, I drove the truck to Seoul, to the previous owner's junkyard. His junkyard was the same as before. Still shabby and old.
He had been running a junkyard here for over a decade. Just roughly calculating the amount President Cha of Changjo Resources had earned in just five years, it must have been at least hundreds of millions of won.
I wondered if the previous owner wasn't even richer. Thinking about it that way, a New Grandeur wouldn't even be considered a luxury.
"Sir! I'm here!"
Just like when I first visited, the owner was hammering away. He turned his head towards me when he heard my greeting.
"Well, well, look who it is. Park Sol! It's been a while."
I felt good seeing him so welcoming.
"How have you been?"
"I've been doing well. How's your business?"
"It's going incredibly well. I might have even surpassed you, sir."
"Hahaha, of course a young man should be successful. How can you compare yourself to an old man like me? Come on in."
I entered the office with him and shared what had happened in the past six months.
When I told him about Changjo Resources, he said, "He must have been making a fortune," with a hint of envy. He applauded and cheered when I mentioned the amount of scrap I was collecting per month.
"It's definitely different being near an industrial complex. I only deal with household waste, so I don't know much about that side of the business."
"Is that so? It's definitely a different game. We don't have grandmas and grandpas with carts. Oh, sometimes 1-ton truck owners stop by and sell us stuff, but it's not common because it's a remote location."
"I see. It's good to see you doing well."
I felt good seeing him smile. Now that I was running my own business, I realized what a huge favor he had done me by sharing all his know-how in just one month, including the contact information, prices, and even sensitive details about the wholesalers.
I wouldn't share that information with anyone other than Maru.
"So, what brings you up here?"
"The industrial complex is completely stable now. I'm looking for new opportunities. I came to see if you know anything."
"New opportunities?"
"Ah, by opportunities, I mean…"
"I know what you mean. I've learned a lot from talking to my son. I'm not that out of touch with the X generation."
"Oh, you know about the X generation?"
"They talk about it on TV all the time, how could I not know? Anyway, new opportunities. Then wouldn't it be good to target places near your junkyard?"
"I thought about that, but wouldn't it just be a slight increase in my current income if I secured another nearby industrial complex?"
"That's not a 'slight' increase…"
I thumped my chest and said,
"I need to level up. How about targeting large corporations or mid-sized companies?"
The owner shook his head.
"That's very difficult. Small businesses are completely different from large corporations or mid-sized companies."
He explained that small businesses mostly manufactured simple parts as subcontractors, but large corporations were different.
Large electronics companies that manufactured finished products produced not only waste but also a massive amount of semi-finished products called "semi-goods" and defective products that were finished but had minor flaws. Many of these defective products had flaws so minor that they wouldn't affect their functionality.
For example, a slight gap in the plastic seam of a TV.
If these products were released into the market, they would damage the market price of genuine products, so the security regulations were strict and they only dealt with wholesalers with proven sales and scale.
"In short, they don't trust small players?"
"That's right. The wholesalers aren't fools to do business while paying VAT(Value-added tax). They do it because they need to build up their sales records to be able to target large corporations. It's still too early for guys like you and me."
"I see… But…"
My eyes sparkled as I said,
"Those defective products… I smell money."
The owner said sternly,
"Don't even think about it. Do you know how good corporate auditors are at tracking things down? If you get caught, you'll end up in jail instead of making money."
"Yes, yes, I wasn't seriously considering it right now."
"Right now? Are you saying you'll try it later? Stop thinking about useless things and focus on your current business."
I agreed with him and changed the subject.
"Anyway, going back to what we were talking about. What other opportunities are there?"
The owner started pondering.
As he was thinking, I looked around and saw something interesting. I walked closer and saw it was a computer.
"Wow, sir, are people throwing away computers these days?"
"It seems like a lot of people are throwing them away while upgrading to 386* or 486* computers."
"Still, it's surprising. They're throwing away these expensive computers? Are they broken?"
"But they're a real headache."
"Why?"
"You know those green circuit boards you see when you disassemble appliances?"
"The ones with chips on them?"
"Yeah, those. They used to be small in washing machines and TVs, so we just threw them in with the scrap metal. But computers have these huge circuit boards, and they're a pain to deal with. No one wants to buy them."
He showed me a circuit board that was almost the size of two placemats. It had a green base with black chips densely packed on it.
"This is a circuit board?"
"Yes. I wish someone would take these. Do you want them?"
"I'll take one if you're giving it away."
"And about your question about new opportunities, I don't know much, but I heard that insurance companies hold auctions."
"Insurance companies hold auctions? What would I bid on at an insurance company?"
"I'm just telling you what I heard, so take it with a grain of salt. When there's a car accident or a fire at a store, if they have insurance, they receive an insurance payout, and once the payout is complete, the damaged property becomes the property of the insurance company. They then collect those items and hold auctions to sell them. You could try that."
"That doesn't sound bad. Even if I buy them at scrap metal prices, I could make a decent profit by extracting the non-ferrous metals."
"Well, I heard it's not as profitable as you might think. Since it's an auction, there's competition. But if you consistently win bids, it can be quite lucrative. You can look into it."
"Okay, thank you."
After hearing about the auctions, I returned to Chunha Resources. I took out the circuit board that the owner had said was a headache.
"What is this that's so difficult to dispose of?"
I examined it from all angles and then tried to break it in half. I thought it would snap easily because it looked hard, but it tore apart with great difficulty, like cardboard.
"What is this made of?"
The torn section looked like a hard sheet, but upon closer inspection, I saw something brownish. I peeled it off carefully and saw it was copper.
"What the…? There's copper in this?"
TL/n -
Hyung - Older brother
386 or 486* computers:
-Intel 386 32-bit microprocessor designed by Intel. The first pre-production samples of the 386 were released to select developers in 1985, while mass production commenced in 1986.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I386
-Intel 486, officially named i486 and also known as 80486, is a microprocessor. It is a higher-performance follow-up to the Intel 386. The i486 was introduced in 1989. It represents the fourth generation of binary compatible CPUs following the 8086 of 1978, the Intel 80286 of 1982, and 1985's i386.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I486