The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 235



Only Krnovel

235. An unexpected gift (4)

As soon as I arrived in the United States, I started by looking for SAVE Investment Company.

David and a team leader were waiting for me, and we hugged warmly as if it were a separated family reunion.

“Everyone looks good.”

“Does my face look good? I had a hard time winning the U.S. presidential election and going all the way to Russia.”

“You worked really hard. Thanks to you, I received a very nice gift.”

David was one of the reasons why the Su-47 fighter jet came to Korea.

He used his unique ability to build rapport to recruit Russian high-ranking officials, and thanks to this, he received unexpected items.

“A good gift? Thank you for saying that. I was a little worried when they told me they were sending a fighter jet that had been lying idle at the airport. I spent so much money on it, but they sent an abandoned fighter jet. I don’t know why the Russians are so petty.”

“It wasn’t skinny at all. In fact, it was so big that it almost became a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the details, but what is the situation in America these days?”

The story of the Su-47 fighter jet was not good for many people.

I naturally changed the topic, and David also naturally brought up the next topic.

“The situation in the political world is not bad. The Bush administration, which is friendly to us, was re-elected, so it can be said that there will be no people or organizations that will touch us until the next presidential election.”

“You have a good relationship with Senator Obama, right?”

“We maintain a very good relationship. We donate generously, and I personally participate in charity parties and various events. But honestly, I don’t know why I have to be so careful. I’m not at the level of a presidential candidate, am I?”

“He’s at the level of a presidential candidate.”

David touched his ear furiously.

As if his ears were wrong.

And even a team leader who was listening next to him couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Mr. Representative, Representative Obama is black. Never in the history of the United States has a black person become president.”

“That history will change. There are still four years left, so things may change, but it seems likely to me that Senator Obama will be the next president.”

“If that’s the case with the boss, that’s probably it. Okay! I’ll pay more attention from now on!”

David liked this.

David was a loyalist who pushed ahead with everything I said without much doubt.

“Leaving the political issue at this point. Team Leader Han, how is real estate in the U.S. these days?”

“If you look at the indicators, it is clear that we are in a crisis, but strangely, real estate prices are rising. This year alone, real estate prices have risen by about 15%.”

“This is evidence that the bubble is getting bigger. It will continue to rise for another year or two. So don’t move too hard.”

“Every year, we are gradually increasing the amount of insurance coverage. These days, when I go to an insurance company or bank, the branch manager comes out to meet me at the entrance of the building. Don’t you think I’ve caught up with you?”

Who doesn’t like free stuff?

Especially in financial companies where money was the driving force, the person who distributed the money was the king and owner.

Because it was a real estate bubble that they were sure would never happen, Team Leader Han was a very precious guest to them.

“If you’ve made that much money, try signing up for insurance a little more aggressively starting next year.”

“I already have enough funds set aside to purchase insurance.”

“If we talk carefully with Dimon and proceed, there won’t be any major problems.”

“But Mr. Representative, if the real estate bubble bursts within two to three years, won’t the Bush administration be greatly shaken? We may be suspected of intentionally causing this situation.”

There was a team leader who was afraid that we might be the cause of a real estate bubble.

If things turn out like he said, we will be hit so hard that we will no longer be able to do business in the United States.

Not only SAVE Investment Company but also Taewoo Group.

“So, from now on, we have to work very hard. So, Team Leader Han, please make a report from now on informing us of the risk of a real estate bubble.”

“There are a mountain of reports that have already been created.”

“Then David, take Team Leader Han’s report and inform the Bush administration and various politicians. They are warning that the real estate bubble is in a dangerous situation.”

“That’s not difficult, but who would believe that now that real estate is booming?”

“I’m not asking you to believe it. I’m asking you not to believe it. It’s just a formality to cover up.”

The subprime mortgage crisis was an international economic crisis.

As it was a major accident, safety could only be guaranteed by double or triple safety devices.

“I’m saying just pretend to give a warning.”

“There is no need to make a fuss around the neighborhood, just post reports periodically as if sending spam emails to major ministries and politicians. There is no need to do more than that.”

“I understand what you mean! What you’re saying is make me listen with one ear and let it flow.”

“Exactly! We are creating evidence that we warned of a real estate bubble several years ago. The reason we signed up for insurance several years ago is to leave evidence.”

David and Team Leader Han nodded at the same time.

However, the anxiety on Team Leader Han’s face still did not go away.

“Even if you accumulate a lot of evidence to evade, in the end, one person will be criticized. There is a high possibility that we will be the target.”

“That won’t happen. If we don’t step up, there will be a situation where the entire Wall Street can be shaken. Instead of putting us in a bad light, they will grab us by the pants and ask for help, so don’t worry and proceed.”

Team Leader Han’s face has finally regained its color.

“I have an appointment with Musk for tomorrow. However, since we are currently focusing on product development, I am hoping to meet in Texas.”

“It takes about four hours to get to Texas by plane, right? That should be plenty. Say I’m going to Texas.”

“Musk’s factory is located in a very remote place in Texas. We will have a helicopter ready near the airport.”

“It looks like the place is so remote that we even need to use a helicopter. Please prepare accordingly.”

That’s all for today’s work.

I headed to the hotel early to recover from the long flight.

I had to take a plane and helicopter tomorrow, so I forced myself to go to bed early.

* * *

We took a helicopter and moved to the coast outside Texas.

It didn’t end there; we had to drive a long way to reach Musk’s factory.

“Thank you for your hard work coming all the way! I should have gone to New York, but I couldn’t because it was a busy time. Please understand and be generous.”

“It wasn’t that hard of a road. I’ve always wanted to see the Texas coast at least once. Thanks to CEO Musk, I was able to fill one off my bucket list.”

“Thank you for thinking that way. Please go inside and finish the rest of the story.”

I followed Musk into the factory.

However, the exterior and interior of the factory were completely different from what I expected.

Of course, it wasn’t a fancy building, it was Musk who literally started a company in a factory.

What was even more surprising was that fewer people were working inside the factory than expected.

“Did you go on vacation as a group today? It looks like there are fewer people than I thought.”

“… Finding rocket engineers was not an easy task, and we had to have a small number of people. We were only able to recruit the two professional engineers leading the work by giving them two years’ worth of salary in a lump sum.”

Such a harsh environment.

Before his regression, the Musk I knew was a man competing to become the world’s richest person.

But now he was a workaholic and was working on rocket development with a factory and personnel that did not fit his image.

“You must be going through a lot of hard work. But most of the employees seem to be very young.”

“We hired mainly undergraduate students who had just graduated from college. However, I personally interviewed and selected all of them.”

“How about extending the rocket development deadline? I understand that the first rocket will be launched next year, but aren’t you overdoing it?”

“Falcon 1 is guaranteed to be a success. Each and every one of our employees is risking their lives to develop it with the mindset of being a special forces member.”

This was something that only small and medium-sized businesses said.

In large companies, all work was clearly divided, so you only had to look at your own work.

However, in the case of small and medium-sized businesses, there were many cases where one employee had to look after technology development, accounting, and sales, and the word that describes this in a positive way is special forces member.

Well said, he’s a special forces member.

It was a method of dividing work that was no different from that of a chore.

Normally, in cases like this, the chances of the project’s success are very low, but it seems to be working so far because the CEO, Musk, lives there 24 hours a day and lives with the employees.

“You’re putting your all into the rocket business.”

“It is a technology that, if successful, can turn the world upside down. Didn’t Vice Chairman Kim also recommend rocket reuse technology to me?”

“I did say that.”

“I once went to Russia and inquired about the cost of launching a rocket to launch a satellite. But they were a complete rip-off. Even if I could lower the price by half, all the requests for satellite launches in the world would come to me! To make that possible. The company created for this is SpaceX!”

SpaceX.

Right now, I’m in a shabby factory, arguing with a new employee.

Even after just 15 years, it was a company whose corporate value was worth over hundreds of trillions of won.

“Aren’t you short on research expenses?”

“…Actually, it’s not enough. Even though we poured most of the funds from selling PayPal, there are still plenty of places to put money.”

“Can I invest a little more?”

“Are you serious? There were many places that offered to invest, but I turned them all down because I couldn’t trust them. But if you are Vice Chairman Kim, I can trust you and receive investment!”

It seems like there is a real lack of funds.

Musk became a fortune with the proceeds from the sale of PayPal, but the space industry was such a money eater that it made him hang on to the investment money.

“We will invest $1 billion every year for 10 years.”

“That amount of money would give me some breathing room!”

“If you wish, we can increase this year’s investment to $3 billion.”

“Thank you. I will transfer as much of my shares as I can.”

Can people change like this?

Musk used to be confident, but now he was very depressed.

That’s why he first brought up the stake and expressed his gratitude.

“But since you are putting all your effort into the rocket business, the development of electric vehicles may be a little behind.”

“We are trying to be together as much as possible, but we can’t help but be a little negligent.”

“Don’t worry too much. For now, focus on the rocket business, and we will lead the electric vehicle business by investing more experts on our side.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I will make sure your rocket business is successful and your investment will be worth it!”

Some might call him a braggart.

We are confident that we will make the cutting-edge science and technology known as rockets a success with only two experts and new employees who have all college degrees.

But I believed him.

Because he knew very well how to change the world.