The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 19
Only Noblemtl
19. Chinese Market (2)
Before meeting this guy, I had to study the power structure of the Chinese government, which is not even in my fortune. Currently, the Shanghai faction centered around General Secretary Jiang Zemin is shaking up Chinese politics, but the rising Communist Youth League forces and the traditional princeling party forces are still formidable. The figure who is the godfather of the princeling party is Li Xun.
Although Jang Myeong-guk almost stepped on a landmine without knowing it, he still looked confident on the outside.
I don’t mind them fighting among themselves, but anything that harms me is a problem.
“Hao, if the chief investigator says so, then I have to let it go.”
Pup! You’re waddling your tail, even if you say it well, it must have sent a chill down your spine.
In China, too, political powers were watching each other closely for the presidential position.
While the Shanghai faction and the Gongcheongdang forces are clashing fiercely, it would be foolish to clash with the Crown Prince faction, which is watching from the side.
If you’re not careful, Jang Myeong-guk will be swept away as an innocent sacrificial lamb.
He must have felt it himself, because he tried to raise his voice in front of me, but he had no strength.
After seeing off the drunken CEO Jang, I returned to the hotel I had reserved and took a breather.
“I don’t like it. The food here and the people here.”
[At work, can I only meet people I like?]
“You’re right, but I still don’t like it.”
[Beijing Liquor’s Mr. Oh has a good reputation, so it’ll be better than this place]
“Even so, it’s just a dog.”
The Chinese side that Ariel investigated was no different from a gambling house.
[These are people you will see often in the future. Even if you don’t like them, you should at least pretend to like them.]
“That’s obvious. I’ve been in business for several years, so how could I not do something like that? What’s so hard about pretending to be friendly?”
[You’ll feel better if you think about it so lightly]
“But why are these guys attacking us like this?”
[Isn’t the National People’s Congress of China coming up? This time, it’s a very important meeting where even the chairman will be replaced. Since the chairman will be replaced, the power structure will be completely reorganized. They are all trying to stockpile up their power. What is power? Isn’t it money? Everyone is desperately looking for a source of money.]
“China is communist?”
[That’s true, this is also a place where people live]
“Direct sales would be difficult, right?”
[There is no chin. Everyone in the political world is drooling, so how can we allow it? If we are not careful, it will look like a delicious piece of meat. The answer is to endure as much as possible through exports and then give up.]
“It’s a pity, it’s a pity. Where else can you find a land flowing with honey like this?”
If you make alcohol and send it, you will receive a huge amount of cash regularly.
There is no better business than this because it is free from tax issues, and the unit of cash coming in changes when selling directly.
We are selling for 8 Chinese yuan, but they take our goods and do cash business for over 70 yuan.
How many times the business is that?
Even after deducting distribution and taxes, they earn several times more than we do.
President Jang was busy checking what I had said. All the scheduled meetings were canceled, so my schedule became free.
It seems that the original intention was to show off his connections to me and gain exclusive rights, but that was broken.
It was a red flag that the back row did not reveal the real owner of Beijing Liquor.
With the fire at my feet, how can I have time to worry about myself?
Since I had some free time, I went sightseeing.
[Because China has security issues, I recommend only visiting tourist spots during the day]
“Security issues?”
[If you leave the tourist area, you may become a target of crime. Master, you are obviously a foreigner. China is famous for the criminal organization called the Triad.]
“They say it’s a communist country, but they’re doing all sorts of things.”
[It was quiet before, but the crime rate is skyrocketing as the Chinese government goes all-in on economic development. Crime is getting worse as the gap between the rich and the poor becomes more severe.]
I want to enjoy the nightlife like a young person, but what can I do when Ariel says so? I ended up going to a few famous tourist spots in Pudong District in one day.
The place I went to with some time to spare was Dongwha Trading Company, which had previously been handling the export of toads.
It was a small trading company that imported Korean alcohol and sold it to Chinese wholesalers, and was recommended by Park Seong-gyu, the head of the Toad Sales Division.
A short, stocky, middle-aged man happily took my hand.
“Oh my, I heard from Chief Park that President Cho was coming to Shanghai, but I’m glad to see you like this.”
“I see you’re close with Chief Park?”
“What can I say? When things were tough for Toad, Manager Park and I went to Shanghai several times to try to break into the Chinese market. Hehe, he was promoted to general manager and now we’re like bosses.”
It seemed like Director Park was running around trying to find a way for the company to survive.
If it were a previous toad, it would not have been very competitive in the Chinese market.
Existing products did not suit the tastes of the Chinese people and were not particularly price competitive.
As the Chinese market is large, it is overflowing with a variety of low-priced alcoholic beverages.
“So, is your business going well?”
“Oh my, is this even a business of this scale? At least the trade between the two countries is active, so we can make a living. Since the Chinese people can make a living, various Korean products are selling well. The best among them is, of course, toad soju. Oh, it’s too bad. I can’t do it.”
It seemed like he felt a little sad as he watched the goose that laid the golden eggs from the side.
“Why don’t you try importing it?”
“Oh, don’t say that. I’ll be crushed to death. It’s not like there are one or two powerful people hanging around here. Ants like me will be crushed to death if we even approach them.”
I was just saying that too.
“It looks like toad soju is selling well in China.”
“Don’t even say anything. It’s a craze! A craze! At first, people who avoided it because it was expensive are now going crazy and jumping on it. They say it has a deep and rich flavor and all. It also reduces hangovers after drinking it. I tried it myself, and it’s very popular with Chinese drinkers. So everyone is drooling and trying to secure supplies. It’s said that no bar in Shanghai can do business without toad soju.”
The chairman praised the toad soju until his mouth was watering.
“At this price, it’s 70 yuan, which is equivalent to 10,000 won in Korean currency, but people are buying it and eating it well.”
“China has many rich people, unlike before. The population is 1.2 billion or 1.4 billion. How many of them are wealthy? They can’t sell Maotai or Wuliangyeok, which are more expensive than toads. The taste is comparable to those, but the price is much cheaper, so people like it. Whenever I talk about toad soju to Chinese people, they give me a thumbs up. It’s a very filial product that promotes Korea. It’s a shame······.”
The more I listened to the chairman’s words, the more his cheerful attitude was revealed.
“Do you have any regrets?”
“It’s low-proof. Isn’t toad beer 30 degrees? I wish there was a 52-degree product that Chinese people like.”
“That’s difficult because the Chinese government doesn’t allow it.”
I also tried making one at 50 degrees. I made it for testing and drank it, and the quality was quite good, and since it was expensive, it was worth the money.
But the Chinese government is not issuing import permits.
It’s like they’re clashing with their own country’s products or something.
So I gave up cleanly.
No matter how hard you try to hang on, you’ll only end up with a weak point.
“Then, hey, Maotai and Wuliangyi are very proud of being traditional Chinese liquors, so if Soju wins, they will feel like it will be a loss of face. People here are people who put their lives on the line for their face.”
“For the sake of saving face?”
“If you want to do business in China, you have to keep these two things in mind: guanxi and face. You have to maintain good relations with the government officials on a regular basis, but if they feel that their face has been damaged, they will coldly turn their backs on you. They are also experts at changing their words. They often go back on what they said yesterday. They say they don’t know what they said yesterday, so it’s really hard for me to do business in China.”
The chairman, a businessman who was considered to be doing well in Shanghai, sighed.
“Is it easy to make money on someone else’s land? But it’s fortunate that I can make a living.”
“We need someone like you, Chairman. We need to eat and live.”
“I feel much more encouraged when the boss says that.”
The chairman, who had been observing for a moment, said:
“But I······.”
“I heard that the president is in charge of our food.”
“Ah! Your father is the CEO, so if he’s related, he’s related.”
“Oh, that’s great. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Please? Could I have some ramen…”
The startled chairman waved his hand.
“Oh my! Ramen sells like soju, but I can’t afford it. There’s mayonnaise, right? Our mayonnaise.”
Mayonnaise? Our mayonnaise is a product that has dominated the Korean market as it has a long history. It is a filial product that has supported our food since its early days.
But I didn’t understand why he was talking about mayonnaise.
“Mayonnaise? How can I help you?”
“I want to import it. I tried it once when I was in Korea last time and fell in love with it. I told people around me about it and the Chinese people also responded well.”
“I’ll look into it. If I can help, I’ll do my best.”
After having a light meal with the delighted chairman, who seemed to be satisfied with this answer, I returned to the hotel.
“That must be it, right?”
When I heard the mayonnaise story, I suddenly remembered the maturing barrel that we requested from our food company last time.
[Yes, I see you aged the mayonnaise.]
It was an aging barrel that the father investigator had taken away halfway through the process. How much would that amount of alcohol cost? My back was already bent due to the shortage of rare metals, and the price tag for mayonnaise was just not right.
“Ugh, I have nothing to say.”
[Isn’t it a traditional product of the family? You should think positively about it.]
“Okay, then. What power do I have?”