Omniscient Investment Point - Chapter 292



Only Krnovel

292 My money, my country – 1

(1)

Ryu Jeong-bae is 52 years old.

Although he is still in his prime, his physical strength is incomparable to mine.

It means I have a huge advantage.

Moreover, I occasionally go down to Hongseong to help my parents with their work.

Farming muscles have developed to some extent and are now adapted.

So I said.

“First of all, if you want to experience being over 60, you probably need to let go of some of your strength.”

“Strength? How? You’re not suggesting that I run here, are you?”

The ‘here’ that Ryu Jeong-bae mentioned refers to the tangerine experience farm.

I made a reservation before coming here, and I got the farm owner’s permission to use wearable robots.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my energy on running.

“I want to try it myself.”

“Oh, yes. Okay, I understand.”

It was my first time picking tangerines.

So, in a way, should we say that it is a fair starting line?

No. There was a difference in the muscles of the farm, and the gap in physical strength also became more evident as time passed.

Moreover, I increased the speed too much.

“Oh no, I can’t do this anymore.”

If you try to keep up with it and over-pace yourself, you’ll end up falling behind.

“Okay, so now let’s try wearing the robot?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

A smile appears on Ryu Jeong-bae’s face.

That means it was that difficult.

‘Picking tangerines isn’t really that big of a deal.’

I feel it when I try it.

Honestly, removing the mulberry leaves was more difficult.

Neither of them were done by hand.

I need the help of a pair of scissors, and although I can use a little strength at first, my muscles eventually become so weak that I can hardly even shake hands.

“I understand what you mean. I think it would be possible to understand the feelings of the elderly by wearing a robot in such difficult conditions.”

“Yes, that’s right. Hahaha.”

And after a while, picking tangerines with a wearable robot equipped with cutting scissors couldn’t be more convenient.

“and…….”

“Are you surprised?”

“Yes, we made it, but I think it will be of great help.”

“That’s right. If you wear this to work, you can immediately feel that the productivity increases significantly with the same amount of labor.”

“That’s right.”

In particular, it is bound to be even more efficient when used in agriculture where the population is aging.

However, everything is determined by cost-effectiveness.

That is, if it is expensive, it is less accessible.

So I asked them to make it cheaper, and Ryu Jeong-bae accepted a deficit and released the 990,000 won version.

I wanted to go one step further here.

“How many orchards are there in the country?”

“well?”

“There must be more than a thousand places, right?”

“Hey, what’s obvious? There are probably more than ten thousand.”

“Then, what if I only use one in each place?”

“haha…….”

Did I make some crazy assumptions?

So I modified it a little bit.

“Okay. What if we only use half of them? We’d have to make 5,000 units a year, right?”

While I was working, Ryu Jeong-bae looked at me.

What he said while doing so.

“I haven’t done any thorough research, but there are 10,000 real orchards, and only 5% of them have been penetrated. Wearable robots are a huge hit.”

“Why do you think you can’t do that?”

“You can do it. No, I mean you can do it someday. But it’s not easy to do it in a year.”

“Yes, I’m asking why. Why do you think you can’t do it?”

“That’s because of human habits, of course.”

“Habit? Ah~”

I nodded, thinking I knew what he meant by the habit he mentioned.

That’s right. Humans don’t change their habits easily.

Especially in matters of eating and living, it is difficult to change something due to fear.

Do people like to bite their nails and keep doing it?

No. It’s a bad habit, but since you’ve been doing it, you keep doing it without realizing it.

Laziness is the same, a latecomer will always be late.

Until I quit my job.

As we get older, habits become harder to break.

‘There are many things I can’t fix.’

In that sense, Ryu Jeong-bae is a manager who has a good insight into human nature.

But not me.

Not only did I not have the luxury of living in the world so passively, but now I always live with my left eye looking at my limited lifeline.

Therefore, rather than conform to human nature, I would rather change it.

“How long will it take to break that habit?”

“yes?”

“It’s just putting robots on people who are doing what they’re doing. The question is, how much can we fix it?”

“hmm…….”

Even though I explained it in detail again, Ryu Jeong-bae hesitated to answer.

It seemed like he was pondering the intent of my question.

So I thought this conversation needed to take its time,

“I’ll buy you dinner. Let’s have some drinks together, is that okay?”

“Very good.”

We moved to a black pork belly restaurant near the hotel where we were staying for one night.

(2)

It’s good to have some free time in Jeju Island to get straight to the point.

My first question is,

“Mr. Ryu, do you have a dream?”

It was a sudden reason.

“Yes. Of course.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s be the first to make something that has never been made before.”

“Huh? Haven’t you ever had that kind of experience? If it’s Daehyun Technology, I think you might have.”

“Oh, there is, but what I’m talking about has to be someone who can change the world.”

I smiled and nodded in response.

In fact, all human dreams are similar.

If we break it down by type, isn’t it one of the two: one that leans toward ambition or one that leans toward relaxation?

I’m a little different.

‘I have to live more.’

Until you shit on the wall.

“It’s a good dream. I guess I don’t have to emphasize robots anymore.”

“Well, our company’s main businesses are defense, rail, and eco-plants, so it is certain that robots will be in line with my dream in the future.”

A place that manufactures weapons, conducts railway and bridge projects, and focuses on eco-friendly plants.

But does Ryu Jeong-bae have any interest in the robot industry?

Even so, his attitude up until now has been too lukewarm.

Ryu Jeong-bae snickered as if he had read my gaze.

“I know. It’s a case of words not being consistent with actions. That’s why dreams are dreams.”

“You have to make an effort to make it happen.”

“There is a limit. Just as I kept mentioning economic feasibility to the CEO, the company also demands better growth from me than last year. As a result, it is not easy to enter an industry that is suffering from deficits.”

Ryu Jeong-bae was speaking about reality.

I understand, but I could see that big companies have clear limitations.

When I met this person recently, I was not even sure when the kimchi robot I had requested would come out.

For that to come out, perhaps it will be when wearable robots turn a profit?

Without even knowing my mind, Ryu Jeong-bae asks a question.

“Okay, so how much money would it take to change that habit? I guess I have to answer that question.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Currently, a wearable robot that costs 990,000 won generates a loss of 300,000 won for every unit sold. This loss is after the local government subsidizes 200,000 won.”

I don’t know the exact amount, but I estimated that it would be some amount of damage.

But it was a loss that both Amazon and Tesla suffered in the beginning.

Unfortunately, we are not tolerant of such early losses.

“So I thought about the subscription economy model. I thought I could convince the board of directors even if there was an immediate loss. The conclusion was a failure.”

“What is this picture?”

“Well, those people up there.”

“Oh, yes.”

Above, it refers to the Daehyuncha.

Since Daehyun Technology is a subsidiary there, it is only natural that they would keep an eye on them.

Of course, there were doubts.

“That’s unexpected. I thought Chairman Park Hee-sun was someone who didn’t care about immediate losses.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Then why?”

“He has no intention of getting the robotics industry from Daehyun Technology. No, he didn’t say so, so I guess I should say he doesn’t.”

“… … ?”

What is this?

I thought about it for a while, then slapped my knee!

“No way, Boston Dynamite?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hahaha.”

Boston Dynamite was a company at the pinnacle of robotics.

If you watch the YouTube video, you will see many shocking and terrifying scenes.

For example, a bipedal robot recognizes objects in its surroundings and walks around like a human.

Later on, he finally showed off a 540-degree spin and jump, and it is said that many people were reminded of the Terminator when they saw this.

“So Daehyun Technology will continue to dig into defense, rail, and eco-plants, and Boston Dynamite will mass-produce robots?”

“That’s how I felt.”

For reference, Boston Dynamite was acquired by Daehyun Motors several years ago.

At the time, the M&A of Daewoo Motors, which was able to outsmart its strong competitor Softbank, was evaluated as quite successful.

The rival here is Tesla.

They are also aiming for mass production of humanoid robots.

“Is mass production possible?”

I expressed a somewhat negative view.

Because I knew Boston Dynamite’s past well.

After its establishment, the company was unable to sustain deficits and welcomed Google as its new owner.

However, even though it boasted the best technology, it continued to refuse to cooperate with Goggle’s subsidiaries.

“I don’t know. The only good thing is that the people there have opened their hearts a little, I guess?”

“Will you open your heart? Could you possibly cooperate with Daehyun Technology?”

“At first glance, it seemed like that was what it meant.”

“Well then, that’s good.”

“Yes, haha… … .”

A bitter smile appears on Ryu Jeong-bae’s face.

Did you ever hope that Boston Dynamite would continue to refuse to cooperate?

‘That could be the case.’

Although Daehyun Group has several robotics subsidiaries, Daehyun Technology is the only one that is operating at a loss.

But when a rolling stone dislodges an entrenched stone, it can’t be a good feeling.

“Okay, enough with the story. You still haven’t answered my question.”

I snickered as I watched Ryu Jeong-bae being pulled back into focus.

“You said earlier that each unit lost 300,000 won? Then if you buy 10,000 units, it would be 3 billion won.”

“Well, that’s true. But you don’t think 3 billion is anything special, do you?”

“It’s not money that comes out by digging the ground. Of course, it’s valuable money. That’s why I’m doing this. I’ll take responsibility for the loss.”

“Yes? No… … .”

Ryu Jeong-bae is surprised.

It’s not because 3 billion is a large amount.

In fact, that could have been the beginning.

Our estimate is that only ten thousand will be sold, and how many will be ordered from one orchard?

“As I said last time, think about economic feasibility later. No, I think you should accept initial losses for economic feasibility.”

“Wow, JTS sure has a lot of money.”

“What are you talking about? JTS is not investing, it’s my personal money.”

“uh?”

Ryu Jeong-bae is surprised again.

But my story isn’t over yet.

“I’m betting that Koreans’ habits will ‘change quickly.’ So, let’s go with a subscription economy. One month free, returnable, no questions asked. Then 79,000 won per month. How about that?”

“… … !”