This Is How I Became a Chaebol

015 : First Shipment

“No, no.”

“Haha, Boss Wu, try it once. You should be able to throw up what you ate last night.”

They made fun of me like it was really no big deal.

“Come, it seems to have happened. Dissolve it in water and set it on fire.”

“Yes, father. Please count the fire.”

President Hwang Hye-seong dissolved the dye in warm water and put the fabric.

Then he lit a fire on the gas burner and started heating the drum.

“Turn up the fire. That’s right… that’s right… done. I think I can heat it up for another 5 minutes and then move it to another container.”

“Okay.”

Old Man Hwang put his hand into the water in the drum to see if it was hot, and measured the temperature.

“Can I go over there?”

“Even if I had a thermometer, they didn’t bother. It is said that the most certain thing is to feel it with your body. It sounds rough, but when measured with a thermometer, the temperature of each drum differs by exactly 20 degrees. Since the last barrel boils, it is only natural that it is 100 degrees. For light colors like mango, leave it at 100 degrees for about 30 minutes to finish dyeing.”

It looked clumsy and dangerous, but the person concerned was so unconcerned that I wondered if my worries were in vain.

“You mean pre-treatment in a 30-degree solution, raising the temperature by 2 degrees per minute, and finally leaving it in a 100-degree solution for about 30 minutes.”

“Boss Wu, you’re smart as well.”

It was like bringing a few drums and setting the process conditions by temperature.

To be honest, I thought I could dye in large quantities if I had the right equipment.

“Is this the end?”

“no. After going through the post-processing step, the dyeing is finished properly.”

“Post-processing?”

“After dyeing, you should leave it in the steam bath for about 20 minutes. This reduces water loss and maintains the fabric dimensions. After that, remove the fluff from the fabric and you’re done.”

The steam bath was a process of straightening the fabric with a kind of large steam iron.

There was a thermometer on the steam bath and it read 120 degrees. That is, it meant that heat treatment was performed in a 120 degree saturated steam state.

Steam treatment was the know-how to heat-treat nylon, which is weak against heat. It was a great know-how.

‘Could I have remembered all of this?’

It seemed that old man Hwang had crossed the Genhae Sea with painful memories engraved all over his body.

**

“What are you doing? I’ll have to come over and take a look.”

“Ah, yes. old man.”

Time passed quickly as I helped Hwang and his father with pre-treatment and dyeing of the fabric.

Before I knew it, Mr. Hwang called me with the finished fabric.

“How are you?”

“… that’s great?”

I honestly didn’t expect it to be like this.

While maintaining the unique smoothness of nylon, it felt as cozy as cotton.

Dyeing was not simply a purpose of dyeing cloth, but a technique that determined the texture.

And above all, the vivid yellow color was so beautiful. It was like seeing a ripe mango without a single flaw under the tropical sunlight.

“You seem to like it.”

“By the way…”

I couldn’t help but blurt out.

The yellow one was of excellent quality, but the green one was not at all. I felt a tingling sensation of something unknown.

“Yeah, yellow is fine, but the color of the forest might not be to your liking. But, for now, this is the best I can do.”

“I see.”

The fabric dyed green was not uniform in color. In sunlight, it looked like a stain.

“Father, if you dye the dark color one more time, it will get better.”

“Arthur. Do you think President Woo will catch your eye if you dye your hair? He was the one who burned the fabric because his hands were stained with dye.”

“I guess so. That’s too bad. Even if I knew what my father’s stuff was, it would be solved…”

“A stingy substance?”

“Yes, it is a secret substance that Japanese synthetic fiber companies add during thick dyeing (濃艶, dark dyeing), but I have no idea what it is.”

“You bastard, stop it. One day I will definitely find it.”

Lighter colors like yellow can be done as they are now, but darker colors like green seem to require more material.

The materials added now are very complicated, but the know-how in dyeing is also amazing.

“Old Man Hwang, how did that secret substance sting you? Can you explain it to me?”

“Well, if you taste the smell that makes you want to vomit, your tongue will tingle and your snort will pour out.”

“The taste of snorting?”

It seemed to express the taste of fermented skate.

So, is it an ammonium-based substance?

“Yes, the Japanese used to cover their noses whenever they took that secret substance.”

“You covered your nose?”

If even the Japanese smelled it, it means that they handled it without any special protective gear.

It was clear that it was an ammonium-based substance.

‘What are the ammonium-based substances that can be used as dyes? Ammonium Chloride? Ammonium Nitrate? No… How can you taste it with your tongue? Then… by any chance, ammonium acetate?’

My eyes widened when I remembered the ammonium acetate. Didn’t you use glacial acetic acid in the previous treatment?

There was nothing strange about using ammonium acetate as a dye.

“I’ll look at some medicine for a moment.”

“medicine?”

“I think I know what that stinking substance is.”

“what?”

At my words, old man Hwang knocked open the cupboard where I stored my medicines, and there were all kinds of medicines in it.

‘have! I have ingredients!’

There was sodium acetate and ammonium chloride in the corner.

I slowly mixed the two substances in a porcelain bowl and let them react.

Although the purity may not be very high, it was possible to synthesize ammonium acetate with nori.

As a person in the plant industry who is familiar with all kinds of chemical reactions, this level of synthesis is chewing gum.

“Eh? How do they smell similar?”

“Ammonium acetate. Do you think I can add this to the salt bath?”

“Let’s do it. Let’s do it.”

“Yes, old man.”

Old Man Hwang also took the whole bowl and rushed to the bath, as if he had come to his senses.

After mixing the ammonium acetate in the drum containing the green dye, as if burning soy sauce, he began to taste it.

“… this is delicious. This taste!”

“father! Are you successful?”

“Hey, son! calm down! Let’s try it.”

When even President Hwang showed an excited expression, old man Hwang waved his hand and calmed him down.

Even the face of old man Hwang, who shouted to calm down, was the same.

Hwang sighed calmly and started dyeing with a wooden spatula.

The color of the forest changed as it went through the drum.

Unlike before, the color became clearer and even more uniform.

“Wow, the speed of dyeing is so fast…”

“Father, what a discovery. Look at the coloring.”

“Put it in a steam bath. hurry!”

“Yes, Father.”

The three of us finally put the cloth in the steam bath and stared at it.

I was so curious that as soon as the heat treatment of the fabric was over, I took out the fabric that hadn’t even cooled down.

“Oh, hot!”

“Dad, even though it’s hot, the dye doesn’t come off.”

“The color is even and the shine is nice.”

“The saturation is very good. It is the best.”

“I agree. This is the best.”

“Yayaaa!!!”

“hurray!! hurray!!!”

President Hwang Hye-seong and I cheered each other and jumped up and down. It was absolutely perfect quality.

It was of the highest quality, so it could be said that it was silk, not nylon. It looked like a fabric spun from a 21st century state-of-the-art automated facility.

“Uhhhh… Uhhhhh…”

President Hwang and I were running for joy, but all of a sudden, old man Hwang buried his face in the fabric and shed tears like chicken droppings.

“Father, why are you crying? It worked out great.”

“Old man…”

“Ahhh, thank you. President Wu, thank you very much.”

I just kept saying thank you over and over again.

Indeed, it seems that they have been trying to uncover this esoteric substance. It seems that old man Hwang granted his wish.

“Why are you crying? Now all that remains is to make a fortune.”

“… I don’t need any money… this is all I need. I just need this.”

Old Man Hwang must have felt embarrassed, but turned around and repeated that this was all he needed.

“President Hwang, please dye your hair. How much can I hit per yard?”

“What kind of money do you get from Mr. Woo? Just getting the actual price is enough. Dyeing will be done as a service.”

“No, I have to pay for the medicine. I’ll give you 5 won per yard.”

“Ugh! Is it 5 won each?”

At 5 won per yard, that’s less than 2 cents per yard.

I sell them for 65 cents a yard, so for a dye of this quality you’ll have to pay 2 cents.

“Father, President Woo pays 5 won per yard for dyeing. I think I will be able to properly equip the dyeing facilities.”

“Are you that good? You’ll get rich soon, you bastard.”

If President Hwang becomes rich, doesn’t old man Hwang become rich too? He said it as if he were someone else’s son.

“Isn’t your father better? You just cried because you were so moved.”

“When did I cry? I just had tears in my eyes. When you get old, your eyes get sore all the time.”

“Ah, yes. You must be.”

“Write. this guy.”

The two got along very well. Even though they are father and son, I felt like a senior and junior colleague who got along well for some reason.

“Chief Hwang, you can leave it to me to dye your hair starting today.”

“sure! Bring whatever you like.”

“Son, we need to hire more staff.”

“Yes, Father.”

I also have a reliable partner.

Sambok’s guy, when he comes back, he’ll be very talkative.

He said that he did not know that an expert was by his side and wandered around in the wrong place.

****

end of March,

Time passed quickly without blinking.

When I came to my senses, when did winter pass? There were forsythia blooming everywhere.

“Old class presidents. This is my monthly salary. Thanks for your work.”

“thank you. president.”

He handed out salaries to female workers and handed over salary envelopes to class presidents.

Since the takeover of the factory was completed in mid-February, I would say that the monthly salary in March is the first proper salary.

“Let’s check each statement.”

“no! so many.”

“It’s not a lot, it’s an accurate calculation. Keep in mind, it wasn’t overtime pay, it was an incentive for overproduction.”

“Yes, I know. incentive.”

The class presidents who received the pay envelopes liked it the most.

Instead of reducing overtime as much as possible, I chose to provide incentives based on excess production.

It was easy to set the excess production because Sambok said that he draws an average of 4,000 yards per piece of equipment.

As incentives began to be given, the staff did their best to run the equipment faster and maintain it so that it did not stop due to minor breakdowns.

As a result, I was able to work much less overtime than other companies, but produced a lot, and of course I received a lot of salary.

There was no need to waste time in front of the machine, and when the machine broke down, it responded immediately.

“Please, take turns taking a rest on Sunday. Because the human body is not cast iron.”

“It’s okay, boss. You have to work hard while you are young.”

“I still need to sleep eight hours a day. The company meal is also free, so I eat it all the time.”

They worked hard, but were so zealous that they attended night college at night.

“Ahh, what are you all talking about for so long? Hey guys, let’s go out to the yard and have a ceremony.”

“Yes, boss.”

Sambok came up to the second floor and drove the class presidents away.

With flushed faces, the class presidents stuffed the pay envelopes deep into their inner pockets, carefully buttoned up the buttons, and left the attic office on the second floor.

“Is the shipping ceremony ready?”

“Yeah, it’s done.”

“Did the subcontractor come in?”

“Everyone came. Not only Shinsin, Shinwang, and Hanil nearby, but also Samwoo Weaving and Hanchang Synthetic Fibers in Busan all came in. A total of 200,000 yards! Ugh, it was hard.”

“What’s so hard about a guy? You have to do that to make money.”

I deliberately shrugged my shoulders.

To be honest, I had a hard time too.

“That much? Wasn’t that too much? How many times have you lied down in the yard, burned the fabric, and called the president of the company for lack of quality control?”

Even in front of the company president, he took turns burning the fabric. Perception did not change without that level of stimulation.

“Have you finished quality inspection?”

“Hey, look at what you’re talking about.”

“You asked if I checked the test report.”

“Yeah, done. Stretching, tearing, washing, twisting, rubbing, etc. I’ve done all the experiments you want. To be honest, I wonder what this is about. Ugh.”

It was a primitive but effective quality control method.

Thanks to all the fucking, I was able to receive the test report as I wanted.

We only dealt with subcontractors that gave us test reports.

Even if the subcontractor is picky, it won’t be a loss to do business with me.

We supplied nylon yarn to the subcontractor at 58 cents per pound, 2 cents cheaper than Japanese-made yarn, and the unit price of fabric was 5% higher than the market price.

Everything was possible because of a partner company called Comet Nylon.

Of course, Comet Nylon also had a lot of help from me.

Not only did I solve the technical problems, but I was able to buy raw materials for nylon with the dollars I had.

“Did old man Hwang and CEO Hwang Hye-seong come?”

“Already waiting. Hurry out, read the congratulatory message and raise a drink.”

“okay.”

Sambok pushed me on the back and headed towards the front yard.

There was already a party atmosphere there.

“Woo boss is coming!”

“Waaa!”

“Boss Wu, come here. Wolf.”

Really, the upper leg was bent, and a splendid table was set up, and old man Hwang of Comet Nylon was wearing a hat and holding a congratulatory message.