Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Why Are They Working So Hard?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Why are they working so hard?
"Then I'll count on all of you."
I spoke brightly to the staff and flashed a light smile.
Turning to the general manager standing beside me, I continued.
"General Manager, do you hold staff dinners often?"
The general manager thought for a moment before answering right away.
"We do them once or twice a month, Chairman."
I grinned and made one more request to him.
"They're all working hard, so from now on, make it once a week.
But don't force anyone to join.
When you do have them, don't worry about the cost at all—go for the delicious, expensive stuff. Oh, and right after work today, take the team out for some Hanwoo beef.
Use the corporate card freely.
I'm trusting you all like this, so the welfare has to be top-notch, right?"
The general manager nodded with a bright smile at my words.
"Understood, Chairman."
I looked around and asked the staff once more.
"Anything else to report?"
At that moment, Team Leader Park raised his hand and stepped forward with a cautious expression to make his report.
"Chairman, a large plot of land has come up near Daegu Haany University on the outskirts of Gyeongsan.
It's info from the Gyeongsan City Hall side—they say development is planned there.
It'll require quite a bit of investment capital, but once development is confirmed, we expect several times the profit."
I raised an eyebrow briefly and asked Team Leader Park in return.
"How much funding do we need, and what's our company's current cash on hand?"
Manager Jung Min-ah, standing nearby, quickly checked her materials and replied.
"Chairman, we have about 100 billion won in liquid assets right now.
The plot that's available is around 20,000 pyeong, and if we buy up the surrounding land too, it'll take about 200 billion won."
I rested my chin on my hand and fell deep into thought for a moment.
The buildings the company had already acquired were worth over 1 trillion won, and we had plenty of cash too.
But that money was earmarked for future crypto investments—I didn't want to touch it lightly.
After pondering briefly, I looked at Manager Jung and Team Leader Park and said.
"Our main bank is Nonghyup, right?
I'll talk to the branch manager, so go ahead with a loan.
Once we buy the land and the development news is officially announced, we can decide then whether to sell it off in pieces or build on it to boost the value."
Team Leader Park's face lit up at my decision.
"Yes, Chairman! Got it."
I slowly stood from my seat, looked around at the staff one last time, and gave them my final words of encouragement.
"Keep reporting to me periodically on how things are going, and contact me right away if any issues come up."
The staff nodded and bowed in farewell, and I left the company with a satisfied smile.
Seeing how reliably the employees handled things put my mind even more at ease.
I was already starting to look forward to how the company would grow from here.
The moment Kim Jin-seong stepped out of the company building,
the executives gathered in the conference room.
The employees' faces were filled with more seriousness, enthusiasm, and passion than ever before.
General Manager Lee Ji-hoon looked around at the staff and opened his mouth brightly.
"Alright, the chairman has promised us full support, so let's paint a proper picture from here on out."
Team Leader Park Jung-hyun quickly spread out his materials and pointed to the presentation screen.
"In the case of this Gyeongsan plot, thanks to its location near Daegu Haany University, the most advantageous plan is to develop it into a mixed commercial and residential complex.
The city hall is already internally planning a zone change to commercial use, so once the development announcement comes, we can expect at least a 3- to 4-fold increase in value."
Manager Jung Min-ah immediately presented her financial analysis materials.
"Our estimated total investment is around 200 billion won, but if we use it for commercial facilities focused on leasing rather than selling after development, we could see at least hundreds of billions in annual rental income.
And long-term, it'll boost the company's brand value too, making it much more stable."
All the staff nodded in agreement with Manager Jung's words.
General Manager Lee Ji-hoon said with a pleased expression.
"Rather than staying just a simple leasing company, let's use this chance to rise as the most influential real estate investment firm in the Gyeongsang region.
Honestly, we couldn't ask for a better setup right now.
The chairman trusts and entrusts us like this, and provides welfare on par with conglomerates—don't we owe it to him to deliver solid results and repay that grace?"
Team Leader Park chimed in actively as well.
"Exactly. And from our on-site investigation, there's no proper premium residential-commercial complex or commercial facilities in that area yet, so once this development goes through, we'll secure a virtual monopoly in the market.
If we move fast early on and stake our claim, we'll be the market leaders."
Manager Jung added cautiously.
"The loan shouldn't be an issue since the chairman said he'll talk to the bank directly, and if we quickly acquire the land, draw up a perfect development plan, and actively communicate with city hall, we can speed up the development process a lot."
General Manager Lee Ji-hoon scanned the staff with a bright smile and gave them one final push.
"The chairman trusts and entrusts us, so let's prove it with results.
Isn't this the company we all want to work at for life?
Let's all pull together and make this the top real estate investment firm in Gyeongsang!"
The executives dove into the discussion with bright, confident expressions.
Ideas and opinions poured out as the heated meeting continued, with everyone genuinely pondering the company's future.
The more they discussed, the stronger their goals and determination grew.
Kim Jin-seong recalled the employees' passionate energy and wore a puzzled expression.
'Why are they going so hard?'
In truth, Jin-seong had never intended to dive into anything complicated or headache-inducing from the start.
He'd simply set up the company with the straightforward goal of buying a few buildings, renting them out, collecting monthly rent, and living easy.
Handling everything himself sounded tedious and unappealing, so he'd just hired people to manage it for him.
But the company he visited after a long time was nothing like what he'd imagined.
Every employee brimmed with motivation and vitality, passionately throwing themselves into their work.
It was a strange, unfamiliar sight to Jin-seong.
Of course, it was true that Jin-seong treated his staff the best he could.
With so much money flowing in, labor costs barely made a dent in the monthly interest from the bank, and he provided generous salaries and benefits.
It was just a simple mindset of not skimping on his own people.
But Jin-seong had no idea how much that motivated the employees.
Receiving his trust and faith, along with welfare and pay beyond even chaebol levels,
the staff felt a strong sense of responsibility to deliver results worthy of it.
In the end, the company began growing in a way completely opposite to Jin-seong's intentions.
Moving beyond simple real estate leasing, it was establishing itself as an aggressive, strategic investment firm, and regardless of Jin-seong's wishes, the employees were setting big goals and charging ahead on their own.
Jin-seong didn't know.
He had no clue how deeply the employees trusted and respected him, or how his small gestures of care and faith had become such a massive driving force for them.
If he'd known their hearts, he probably would've freaked out and tried to stop them.
After all, he utterly hated the idea of work scaling up and getting more complex.
But no one knew Jin-seong's true feelings.
Mistaking that the company's growth and bigger profits would make him happy, the employees bulldozed ahead, expanding its scale relentlessly.
How the company—now evolving in a direction utterly unlike Jin-seong's plans—would look down the line, and what his reaction would be when he finally realized the employees' mindset,
no one knew yet.
With Jin-seong's approval, the company sprang into action like it had been waiting.
The employees saw how the chairman rarely showed up at the office as proof of his total trust in them, and they worked with more passion than ever to live up to it.
Among them, Team Leader Park moved the most aggressively.
He wanted to bring massive profits to the chairman who had backed his proposal.
Knowing this land acquisition could be a major turning point for the company,
he poured all his energy into negotiations, determined not to waste even a single won.
"President, we're doing our absolute best to meet your price.
Isn't this amount fair?"
At Team Leader Park's careful tone, the landowner Lee Young-chul let out a deep sigh.
His face clearly showed deep distress.
"I do need to sell urgently, but this land has been in my family for generations. Honestly, aren't you cutting it too low?"
Lee Young-chul's expression mixed attachment to the land with urgent reality.
Team Leader Park gently probed his situation.
"You mentioned it's urgent—what's the rush?"
Lee Young-chul hesitated a moment before confessing in a weary voice.
"Truth is... it's my son. He racked up huge debts with a business venture, and to settle them, I need a big sum by the end of the month. No choice but to put it up."
Team Leader Park seized the opening and persuaded him once more.
"In that case, President, if time is tight, closing the deal now at our offered price might be best for you.
Frankly, this is already stretching our funds, so we can't go higher.
But we'll do everything to process the payment as fast as possible."
Lee Young-chul closed his eyes, wrestling with conflicted emotions.
His son's issue was pressing, and the quick deal appealed.
Finally, he sighed deeply and spoke.
"Team Leader Park, my situation is desperate, so I'll go with your proposal.
But please handle it as fast as humanly possible.
I beg you."
Team Leader Park finally smiled brightly and bowed his head.
"Don't worry, President.
We'll move as swiftly as we can."
Having successfully wrapped up negotiations with the landowner, Team Leader Park hurried back to the company to report the win to the staff.
"General Manager, just finished the land acquisition negotiation.
Bought it 20 billion cheaper than expected."
The general manager couldn't hide his shock, eyes widening.
"What? You knocked off 20 billion? How'd you swing that much?"
The other staff gaped at Team Leader Park too.
He answered with confident pride.
"We drew up the contract with quick payment as the condition.
The owner needed cash urgently, so he wanted a fast deal even at a lower price. We need to pay up quick before other investors sniff it out or he changes his mind and lock in the contract."
As Team Leader Park finished, the general manager beamed pleasedly.
"Well done, Park! With results like that, of course we process it fast!
First thing tomorrow, I'll tell finance to wire the funds immediately."
The staff exchanged bright smiles at his words.
As the mood lifted, the general manager jumped up excitedly, clapping.
"Hey, we can't just let a huge win like this slide.
Soon as the contract's done tomorrow, dinner's on us.
How about the hotel buffet by Suseong Lake? Everyone cool? We saved 20 billion—plenty for that!"
The staff cheered at the general manager's suggestion.
"General Manager's the best!"
"Thanks to Team Leader Park, we're eating good!"
Encouraging each other, the atmosphere grew even brighter.
With the company successfully closing the large plot acquisition, the employees sincerely celebrated each other's achievements.
Securing the deal on far better terms than anticipated laid another major foundation for the company's growth.