[228]Unfinished work 3
“This was originally a wooden warehouse, but it changed into this as it continued to be repaired. It’s a long time ago, but I still remember it. The scent of soiled wood. The smell of drying rice bags and the brown abyss that has turned yellow. “I saved my money from there.”
The grandfather was lost in memories as he touched the building, which was already covered with concrete and bricks.
“It’s windy. President. Please go inside.”
The person in charge of the Sunyang Group History Museum rushed out after receiving the call, standing next to the old man with white breath and fidgeting.
This is because on days when you have a cold, an order is issued from the head office. Although the salary is not high, it is a good position where you don’t have to worry about your salary being cut off as you just manage the building. You will want to stick with it until it gets old and becomes difficult to move around.
“Well, people really… . Just wait a moment. It’s a test to see if you’re doing things right or not. “I know that the day I find even a single crack in the wall of the building, I will be very scolded.”
“Oh my, Chairman. Don’t you know how much I cherish this place, my food source? “He doesn’t even blink when my grandchild gets hurt, but here, if he finds a spider web, he makes all kinds of fuss.”
The person in charge of the history museum lifted the wall of the building with his hands and held it out in front of the grandfather.
“Look. Isn’t it all just a little dusty? “There isn’t a single stain.”
“Hehe, that’s right. “Thank you for taking good care of me.”
Grandfather tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
The sound of grandfather’s shoes rang low in the empty room.
We stopped in front of an old black-and-white photo of middle-aged men in old-fashioned suits smiling brightly.
“… This is when Sunyang Textile achieved exports of $100 million for the first time. “Now everyone has $100 million, but at the time it was a truly incredible feat.”
There were also pictures of bulldozers, excavators, and construction workers using pickaxes.
“Do you know what this picture is?”
“Isn’t this the Gyeongbu Expressway?”
“right. Isn’t this a great history that started with a special order from the President? It was a time when construction and civil engineering companies were going crazy. The construction was rushed like a running race to see who would finish the construction first. That’s how you get noticed by the president. haha.”
The photos that captured shining moments from the past continued.
“This is a picture of the water pipe used during the construction of the Libyan Great Aqueduct. “It’s a ridiculously huge undertaking.”
The Great Libyan Aqueduct is a waterway used to raise groundwater from the southern Sahara Desert and supply water to cities on the northern Mediterranean coast.
This mega-project, which will supply 6.5 million tons of water per day to the northern Mediterranean coast by burying a huge water pipe with a total length of over 4,000 km underground across the desert, has a total construction cost of a whopping $30 billion.
The grandfather continued to explain one by one, reminiscing about the past through photos and souvenirs.
A flushed expression as if you were there at the scene, a non-stop smile, and half-glazed eyes. It looked like a burning torch, not a dying candle.
Like a curator at an art museum, my grandfather explained in detail the anecdotes surrounding each photo and his emotions at the time, then sat down on a chair placed against one wall.
“How do you feel? “Looking at it this way, it seems plausible, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sunyang’s growth.”
“It’s not just that, it’s amazing.”
“no.”
“yes?”
“That’s all fake. haha.”
It’s fake? What does this mean?
“see… . Where was it? Ah, it was probably a ‘Korean-Japanese company’. It’s hard to find traces of this company now, but there are rumors that they are on the verge of achieving $100 million in exports for the first time. I thought this was a big deal. I wanted to be the first. So I made fake documents and announced them to the media.”
Since they said it was fake, I thought it had a different meaning. Everything was in vain, or the focus was on the pointless battle for first place… .
I never thought it was really a lie.
“They made headlines because they said they would give back the money for the rice cakes and ask for their favor. “I made a big fuss, so everyone assumed it was the same and accepted it.”
“Still, there will still be export customs clearance documents, right? If you check that… .”
“Oh, that was discovered right away. The government was also perplexed, but what could they do? Because of the symbolism of exporting 100 million dollars, the people are proud of it as if it were their own work, so there is no reason to complain. The president also made a living by exporting and exporting… . “Uh-huh.”
That may not be everything. It’s obvious that they spent a lot of money here and there and got away with it.
“The Gyeongbu Expressway Speedway was a poor construction project, so it was repaired and made up for later, and the Libyan Waterway construction project was left in the future and ended in a deficit, so it was a waste of time.”
It was not a voice steeped in regret, but a bright voice reminiscing about interesting memories.
“But what do you think of this view of history now? Does it look like a symbol of success?”
“It’s not like, it’s a symbol.”
“okay. It is a symbol of success that goes hand in hand with the history of the Korean economy. “The process was tattered here and there.”
Grandpa held my hand tightly.
“How do you feel? “Are you confident that you can continue to expand this view of history?”
“no. This place has to stop like this. “This is my grandfather’s memorial hall.”
The grandfather raised his eyes at the unexpected answer.
“why? “Don’t you have the confidence to grow it bigger?”
“Children grow up until they become adults. But once you become an adult, your height stops and your size stops growing.”
“Sunyang Group is now a grown-up?”
“Look at Korea’s economic growth rate. It was big enough. “Taking care of your health is a priority so you don’t get sick or wither.”
“so? Are you going to focus only on protecting it? Hey!”
Grandpa’s hand hit the back of my head.
Although it didn’t have much time left to live, it was quite spicy. I said, touching the back of my head.
“Soonyang just needs to stay healthy. Instead, we need to plant another seed, let it sprout, and grow it into a huge tree. “It will be my second cruiser.”
“It’s another cruiser… .”
“yes. Oh, of course, Sunyang will have to pay for the fertilizer needed to grow them.”
A hand flew to the back of my head again. It wasn’t that spicy this time.
“Why are you taking Sunyang’s money? Use your money to fertilize and water. “He has a lot of money!”
When I looked out of the corner of my eye at the expression of the grandfather sitting next to me, he was smiling.
Are you satisfied with this?
“Let’s just get up. “I’m hungry. Should I go eat hangover soup?”
“Aren’t you tired? Get some rest… .”
“I slept all day yesterday. What’s there to be tired about? Hey, let’s go. Here’s how to make seonji hangover soup well. “It’s worth eating.”
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As soon as he came out, medical staff rushed in and helped the grandfather.
“are you okay. I can control my body. You guys are probably hungry too, so let’s go together. “I’ll treat you to a bowl of hangover soup.”
* * *
As I finished my bowl of hangover soup and went outside, the pale dawn light began to brighten.
“You have to go up now, right? “I have to take a long car ride again. Should we go to a hot spring somewhere and get some rest before leaving?”
“There is still a long way to go. “I have somewhere to stop by.”
“Oops, I forgot. “You said you had someone to greet you, right?”
“okay. It’s not that far from here. “Let’s leave right away.”
“Isn’t it too early to visit?”
“I’m old so I can’t sleep early in the morning. It’s an inspiration to wake up before dawn and eat something. are you okay.”
Speaking of Yeonggam, she is not a hidden woman. Who is it?
I drove on the national highway for about an hour.
The place we arrived was neither a complete village nor a small or medium-sized city, but a countryside that can be found everywhere.
We entered a small village with rice fields, greenhouses, and orchards, but paved roads in front of houses instead of dirt roads.
It seemed like they were preparing for farming since dawn, as the lights were already turned on in each house.
The place we arrived at was a rather stylish Hanok, which is hard to find in this rural area. The large yard visible beyond the low wall had a well-maintained lawn, and the house, which consisted of the main building and outbuildings, was so luxurious that anyone who saw it could tell that it was made of a lot of high-quality materials.
Perhaps because we had already heard the sound of a car, an old man with white hair was watching us through the wall.
“Hey. “Why are you not opening the door when you clearly see your brother coming?”
“Oh my gosh, why are you making such a fuss so early in the morning? “Everyone in the neighborhood will wake up.”
He opened the door with a grunt, but he couldn’t hide his joy.
“Did you sleep in the morning? Should I tell you to prepare food?”
The grandfather held the hand of the old man who greeted him in his terrible Gyeongsang dialect.
“I had a bowl of hangover soup. “I’ll bring you lunch later.”
“Just call me and tell me you’re coming. So, it’s time for dinner, but are you staying at Mandako? “You can come and sleep.”
The grandmother followed the old man who spoke in a sad tone and came out to welcome the grandfather.
“Oh my, Chairman. How can this possibly happen? It’s truly been a long time. Oh my, Uzzano? Just wait a moment. “I’ll hurry and prepare breakfast without eating.”
“Thank you. Since you came to sleep, let’s stay together. “Can you bring me some tea?”
“But you still have to eat a glass of rice before you go. How many young men are there? “I’ll get ready quickly.”
Without even having a chance to say anything, the grandmother rushed to the kitchen.
“Jesu is still the same. haha.”
“You can’t even say that. Son of man, if I say something, you won’t even listen to me. Are you kidding? I just do whatever I want. Stop going in. “The wind is cold.”
The old man spoke to his companions.
“Why don’t you go to the annex and warm up your hands and feet? “I’ll leave the boiler on so it gets warm.”
Everyone started screaming as they looked at the grandfather.
“Isn’t the landlord saying it’s okay? “What are you doing if you don’t go?”
Grandpa nodded and everyone went inside the house.
“But who are you? “Son Jang-gyo?”
“okay. He is the youngest in our family. Dojun, say hello.”
I immediately bowed deeply in front of this old man from Gyeongsang Province, stood up, and bowed my head slightly.
“This is Jin Do-jun. “Little grandfather.”
He seemed a little surprised as he fell down on the icy grass without hesitation.
“Hmm… . That young guy is a bitch. “Are you of your blood?”
“It’s noisy. cold. “Let’s go in quickly.”
Seeing them express their happiness in such a way, it seemed like they didn’t have a normal relationship. Who is it?
* * *
As gorgeous as the outside of the house was, the inside was also unusual. From hanging scrolls with stylish calligraphy to ceramics that look like antiques.
If it’s not fake, this old man must be rich. The fact that the house where the two elderly couples live is so large and neat is proof that there are people who do housework.
Sure enough, the person carrying the tea table was not the old woman from before, but a young woman who appeared to be in her thirties.
Judging by the way she bowed her head and left, it was clear that she was not her daughter or daughter-in-law. If they were blood relatives, they would have said hello.
“Cha deiso. It’s the Chinese tea my brother sent me last time. “The taste is as good as it gets.”
“I?”
When the grandfather tilted his head, he immediately frowned.
“That’s right. I am a person who is old enough to take care of things like this. “I just ordered things below my level.”
“Whoever sent it, I bought it with my own money. Complaining without even saying thank you… !”
After the two people raised their tea cups, I also took a sip.
As I drank the warm tea, my body felt like it was melting.
The old man looked at me sitting politely on his knees and asked my grandfather.
“Hey, have you been to Delco? “To Gunsan?”
The grandfather answered by nodding his head once.
“Is this the guy who played with Ji’s two uncles with just one cruiser card? “You look smart.”
This is not a country old man living leisurely in retirement.
Who is it?
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fantasy, modern,
