Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Poker Game (3)
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“There’s nothing in particular we in Fuzhou City can do for your company. No matter what we try, it just won’t fly.”
A high-end Fuzhou restaurant.
Even after the liquor had made a couple rounds, the other side showed no signs of letting up on their mind games.
The Fuzhou City Party Secretary picked up a finely carved wooden chopstick and wagged it in front of my eyes.
His nose bridge, glistening as much as the grease-slicked chopsticks, twitched nonstop, like he couldn’t contain his greed.
“You must know well how sharp the new power in Beijing is cutting things, right Chairman Han? Isn’t that so?”
The Fuzhou City Party Secretary was blatantly inflating his own value.
Of course, I already knew he couldn’t do much from the start. For now, I decided to play along with his tune.
“As harsh as it is, this kind of sudden administrative sanction is too much. We can’t even run the factory now.”
“You have to consider our side’s position too—we can’t defy the central government. From the beginning, that’s how it is for us.”
Thud. The Fuzhou City Party Secretary lightly slammed his fist on the table.
His theatrical act was so obvious it was embarrassing, and he trailed off into a meek voice, spouting insincere words.
“Even being in a place like this feels so improper. Ahem.”
He stroked his sparse goatee.
Those sly, half-lidded eyes clearly aimed to cash in big on this chance, but something held him back.
Advice from the aide sitting right beside him.
“Heh heh. Please understand, Chairman Han. Our Party Secretary lives by integrity alone.”
“…I hadn’t considered it that far.”
“So, any awkward talks, I’ll handle and respond. You know, practicality lies with the staff, after all.”
I gazed steadily at the two men across from me.
Classic role division. I could tell who to talk to and whose approval to seek.
‘The old man will play coy from behind, while the young aide gets his hands dirty in the mud.’
I nodded.
I popped a few bites of unidentifiable food into my mouth and quickly made my call.
If they’d divided roles like that, their wants were obvious. In that case… better to bluff big from the jump.
A favor I wouldn’t grant anyway, matched by a bribe I wouldn’t pay anyway.
I pulled a leather wallet from my inner pocket and plucked out a single blank check.
One that would tempt them so much they couldn’t fold.
“A shame. I don’t even get a chance to give my best effort.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… rather than words, let me show you.”
Blank check on the table.
Then, a platinum fountain pen nib glided across it like a dancer.
First number: 8. The digit symbolizing wealth for Chinese kept filling in relentlessly.
“I’d planned to keep writing 8s for wealth until you said stop.”
“No, no. Hold on, Chairman Han…”
“But since you’re so hardline, I’ve only got one play left, right?”
The blank check crammed with 8s.
Still thick with the pen’s heavy ink scent, I tore it to shreds right there in my seat.
“From the start, all this wealth on here might as well never have existed.”
“Chairman Han…?”
“No more to say? Then I’ll be off. Looks like I’ll have to handle this in Beijing myself.”
I stuffed the four ragged pieces of the blank check vertically into the mouth of the roast suckling lamb and stood.
“No need to see me out. Goodbye.”
The empty chair loomed behind, stark. Taking that as their cue, Uncle Kim Won-cheol and Aide Yoo Se-na slowly rose too. Awkward but convincing, pouring their all into the act.
“If our chairman’s doing this, we’ve got no options either. Aide Yoo Se-na? Let’s head out.”
“No choice for me either. I’ll stand.”
My hand gripped the gilded dragon door handle tight. No need to hesitate here.
Not to amp up the realism. I just… knew exactly what those two seated wanted.
-Click.
The door latch clicked open, and suddenly a voice from behind.
“Wait…!”
The frantic owner was the Fuzhou City Party Secretary, unable to hold back his anxiety.
“Heh, well… seems like there’s been some misunderstanding between us.”
“Party Secretary…!”
The aide protested softly, annoyed at the breach of his coaching.
But… to a man gripped by desire, such voices were just the buzz of insignificant flies in his ear.
“Stay put! Who do you think brought impropriety to this table!”
“…….”
“We’ll settle your punishment separately. But first.”
Reflected in the metal door handle: the Fuzhou City Party Secretary’s sycophantic grin.
I turned slowly. There stood a greedy pig.
One sinking slowly into the trap, overwhelmed by its own desires.
“After we finish talking with Chairman Han Seo-jun, who graced us with his presence here.”
* * * *
“Heh heh, truth is… we’ve had our own struggles, conflicts, and pangs of conscience on our side.”
Back at the table.
The haughty air was gone; he rubbed his palms and grinned at me.
“Even if it’s a central government order, you’re the company feeding our city—shouldn’t we find some way to accommodate?”
“Your words alone are thanks enough.”
He’d dismissed the obstructive aide, donning a mask of kindness now. Eyes fixed on the torn check bits in the lamb’s mouth, signaling his wants blatantly.
“Win-win for local government and business—I’ll do my utmost. So…”
He looked embarrassed himself.
Awkward smile on his lips, he silently rubbed his thumb and index finger together.
I did as before, pulling another check from my pocket and waving it.
Placing the bait right under his front paw.
“Write down the amount you need.”
“Ahem, truly grateful…”
Like a demon-possessed man devouring bread before the wind hides the crow’s eyes, he scribbled 8s onto the check in a flash.
His greed wrote a bit more than a fair number. Sheepish, he avoided my eyes and handed it back.
‘Damn greedy pig. What, an urn of desires stuffed in that protruding gut?’
Slightly over the line on the white paper. Far beyond what he could cover himself.
Of course… this amount would never be paid. Just like he lacked the power to restart our semiconductor plant.
“Deposit within two days. However.”
“However…?”
“You know, every contract needs a deposit, regardless of type.”
Blatant pressure to act first.
I pinched the check between index and middle finger, waggling them openly.
The Fuzhou City Party Secretary’s final resistance against the hypnotic gesture.
“Ahem, advance action is tough. Everything needs funding upfront…”
“I’m not asking for much. Just a token of promise. For example.”
His eyes shook as I stared him down.
So I said it without hesitation.
This man devouring himself with his own greed… give him the slightest hook, and he’d act.
“Withdraw the local public security forces surrounding our plant right now.”
* * * *
“Disembark! Get off! Hurry up!”
Fuzhou outskirts train station.
Nearly 3 a.m., with the crescent moon faintly lighting the world.
Over 3,000 peddlers moved out of the station in perfect order at the command.
They switched to rattling old vehicles and sped toward the semiconductor plant area.
Leading them, the peddler chief was on a call.
“Yes, President Michelle. Just arrived and moving now. Barely made it—train engine’s about to give out.”
Rumble. Full speed over rough mountain roads, vibrations shaking their bodies.
The peddler chief glanced at the following trucks with a sly smile.
“Looks like we’re in for a real haul.”
“Fees alone could cover a whole train’s worth.”
His subordinate chimed in from beside.
He cupped the window breeze and posed a question.
“By the way… smuggling that much volume to Hong Kong’s gotta have headaches. What’s the plan?”
“You don’t get it yet.”
The chief smirked vilely; a knife scar on his cheek twitched along.
“Once we leave here, no overseers assigned—that’s what I hear. Meaning.”
They’d arrived at the semiconductor plant.
As arranged, the guarding public security had long vanished.
He pointed at the pre-dismantled precision semiconductor gear with a fingertip, finishing his thought.
“Those goods? Doesn’t matter if we don’t send them to Hong Kong—we can divert them, no issue.”
“Whoa, that’s a way…!”
“Anyway, that Michelle President’s out of it, and money hits at dawn. No higher-ups overseeing us… Huh?”
The factory interior should’ve been empty.
But in the eerie darkness, lights off… a man from the news stood there, baton in hand.
Faint sharp liquor scent wafting from his suit jacket.
“Chairman Han Seo-jun…? Why’s he at the site?!”