Empire of the Ring

Chapter 64: A Plot Hidden in the Frontline (3)

"Man, you've become a doenjang doctor. How do you know such random stuff?"

Jongil became proud at Youngho's compliment.

"Dude, you need to study. I've been studying since I'm teaching Karajan about Korean fermented foods these days."

Sure enough, Karajan who had been listening to Jongil was putting her spoon in doenjang-jjigae. Jongil had been putting a lot of effort to make Karajan like Korean food. Living with foreigners needed effort due to the cultural differences. Youngho was the same. Whenever he missed Korean food, he just had to satisfy himself with instant ramen and kimchi. However, it changed after Insoo's parents moved to the farm. Insoo's mom felt bad for Youngho, who had not been eating well, so she had been providing meals for the farm family. Even though something like doenjang-jjigae could not be on the table often since the siblings hated the smell, she made it for special occasions like the barbecue party today.

"Mother, do you need more doenjang? Should I tell Yunush to send some more from Korea?"

"No, you don't need to go through the trouble. I brought enough for this year, and father had just planted beans in the garden. We'll be able to make our own deonjang next year."

"Mother, I'll get to see how doenjang is made because you're here."

"Phew, how did you manage to live here if you missed Korean food that much?"

"Mother, there are a hundred Koreans living scattered around Azerbaijan; you've got to make some more so we can provide doenjang under Zeynep Farm's name."

"Of course. There's not much I can do here but I'll cook a plenty of Korean food for you. All you guys need to do is stay healthy."

There were benefits that Youngho could enjoy while having elders in the farm. Insoo's parents were generous, since they had lived in a small rural town in Korea.

"Insoo. You've got to learn the Azerbaijani language and take your fiance and parents for trips."

"Hey, I'm still busy learning English. You think I'd have time to learn Azerbaijani?"

"Study during the night, man. Don't just cuddle with your fiance all night."

At Jongil's joke, Youngho slapped his back with full force. Jongil acted exaggeratedly, like he was dying in pain. Youngho stopped him because even though he said this in Korean, Karajan and Fatima could understand some Korean since they had been studying the language. Everybody laughed, including Szechenyi, which meant that they all understood.

The night of May was getting deeper.

Yaniv contacted Youngho with good news. He had received the approval of President Putin. The mission could only succeed with Russia's cooperation and President Putin thought it was a great opportunity to raise Russia's voice to Azerbaijan. Yaniv laughed, saying he was complimented by the president.

After hanging up the phone, Youngho immediately called Michael. Now that Azerbaijan's side was ready, they needed to let the other camp, the Armenian government, know. The place of the battle would be picked by Armenia.

The fake battle would work the same way as Pakistan and India's battles. To maintain the tension of the war, they would often fire cannonballs into each other's camp. Without making many casualties, they had been doing the same thing over and over for years. It was neither for a battle nor for a provocation. It was almost like a ceremony to show that they were still at war. Now, Armenian and Azerbaijan would be having a similar ceremony soon too at the borderline.

A few days later, a TV anchor was broadcasting the two countries colliding again. The camera showed exchanges of cannonballs and explosions, but no casualty list was reported. The people of Baku were somewhat stirred, but they were also relieved that the war was not expanding any further. The government also issued a statement that the frontline was stabilized and reassured the people to go back to work.

Michael, the director of the CIA's European chapter, called Youngho in excitement and said that the mission was a success. He promised Youngho a reward bonus since Youngho was the one who made it all possible.

From Panama, Edward also called Youngho to thank him. Although he still felt bitter toward his people, he was relieved that the war had not expanded. The situation of Nagorno-Karabakh was also getting better. At the borderline, they bought whatever they needed to continue to live on.

Because Youngho had been busy for the CIA's work, he called Mustafa in Turkey to buy grape plants for the new farm that he bought from Charles Wine Company. Knowing that Youngho had been working for Armenians, Mustafa gladly helped Youngho and did not forget to say to help more Armenians. He was pathetically patriotic. Armenians living outside the land supported the country unconditionally, but the government was putting up a show now to keep the support.

Youngho loved the Armenians' pure and compassionate attitudes, but he despised their politicians. He wondered where all the money remitted from overseas were used for. Of course, they would use the funds for strengthening their army, but the gap between the rich and the poor in Armenia was unbelievable. Youngho had seen so many luxury brands in the downtowns of Armenia, which generated the national income worth half of Azerbaijan's. It did not make sense when poor people were dying in poverty.

Yaniv from Volgograd visited Baku.

He came to oversee the construction of pipelines for oil production at the request of the Azerbaijani government. The deal for investment was already sealed, and he came to Baku to meet President Aliyev and give him a little gift. He was also recognized for his role behind the current mission, so President Aliyev also started looking at him highly.

Youngho was invited as well to the presidential palace because of Yaniv's recommendation. Although Yaniv could not say that Youngho was part of the mission, he could inform the president that Youngho was a great business partner and provider of wine. Yaniv complimented Youngho in front of President Aliyev. It was Youngho's third time meeting the president.

Now that he had a meal with the president, his status is Azerbaijan was lifted even higher. Policemen on the road even saluted Youngho when they saw Youngho's car. Korean corporations that made a foray into Azerbaijan were even being benefited by Youngho unwarily. Korean ambassadors in Korean embassy of Baku often came to Youngho to discuss the difficulties that Korean construction companies and corporations faced in Baku. If he could help solve the problems, Youngho called officials he knew to request resolutions to the problems, and they often granted his requests. Youngho tried his best to help Korean companies since he felt bad that Korea could only survive when businessmen worked hard enduring difficulties they faced in foreign lands. Therefore, Korean corporations usually sent presents to Youngho's farm in appreciation for his help.

Many of them also came to build great relations with Youngho because he was known to be a successful businessman in Baku, who even met the president personally multiple times. They were busy flattering Youngho. When they left the farm, Youngho did not forget to fill their cars with gifts of Korean foods and farm products because Youngho did not want to hear that he acted high and mighty to people for his high status in Azerbaijan.

Many representatives of Korean corporations visited Youngho's farm, and a lot of times, they had meals together with the visitors. Cha Insoo's mom and dad welcomed them because she liked hosting and sharing foods. They treated the guests as if they were their own children.

Moreover, they started learning Azerbaijani from the siblings. Every evening, the conference room in the management quarters got loud with their language class. Even nearing their sixties, their enthusiasm to learn the language was great. It seemed that they were frustrated with not being able to communicate with the farmers working on the farm.

Since Cha Insoo was wholly focusing on the farm work, Youngho could move around freely without worrying about the business if needed.

Regarding Russian matters, Sergey often called Youngho to discuss any issues going around the nation. It was because he trusted Youngho's business insights. He asked for advice to see if he could make money out of different situations. Youngho also asked him to tell even any small piece of information for his business, but he was actually collecting money for the CIA. The quality of Youngho's information was great since he was meeting many high officials. The director, who was now promoted to chief manager, was a good information source for the Azerbaijani government's directions.

Now that Youngho had saved some money from distributing wine, he paid off the mortgage on the Charles company's farm early. He also planned to buy more oak tanks since he would be earning three million dollars from this year's profits. Youngho had not expected that he would make this much money from the farm when he started. After all, the spontaneous decision to install the wine production facility because of the Charles company's unethical business manner was beneficial to his farm.

This year, Youngho would be planting seedlings on the former Charles company's farm and it would make him even more money next year as he could produce double amount of wine. He decided to hire more local people for the farm for the expansion of the business. Also, if he hired more local people, he would have more influence and power in the Azerbaijani government.

However, Youngho's hasty actions were becoming another cause for other tradesmen's wrath. It was a mistake to have forgotten Baku's tradesmen's manners.