Korean TV series: King of Peninsula 1997

Chapter 376 The Story of the Hairy Bear

There is no time to rest, let alone travel in Vietnam.

The convoy moved slowly along the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. Outside the car windows was Vietnam's unique tropical scenery, as well as many French-style buildings.

There are so many French buildings here, and there are some historical factors involved.

Low shops and mottled houses are sparsely arranged on both sides of the road. The paint on many walls has peeled off, revealing the gray-white bricks underneath.

The vendors on the street were dressed simply, some were riding bicycles, some were pushing carts, and they showed no curiosity about the passing convoys, but instead went about their small business honestly.

The black sedan shuttled slowly through the streets. The bustling city outside, such as Tokyo or Seoul, had faded away and looked a bit old and plain.

The shop signs on both sides of the street were marked with faded paint and crooked text. From time to time, a few motorcycles would speed past the vehicles, making roaring engine sounds.

"That's how it is here," Ding Qing smiled. "Don't be fooled by their current behavior. In the past, the local residents here were not honest. Don't be fooled by their appearance."

Li You looked at the outside world through the dark-colored car window glass, his eyes calm and deep.

It is now the year 2001. The airport is located far away from the city center. The area along the way is not luxurious, with no tall buildings or busy commercial areas. Most of the streets are factories and somewhat dirty.

We passed by several rice fields and occasionally a pagoda shining with golden light in the sun.

When there is a traffic jam, there are various three-wheeled motorcycles blocking the front, and there are not many vehicles.

Ding Qing stared outside, and it was as if he was back in his childhood. The place where he lived at that time was also so remote.

Children on the roadside were laughing and chasing each other, and a motorcyclist nearby was looking out the window curiously, but unfortunately he could not see anything.

The rider's face was carved by the sun and wind. Although he was not very old, his face was full of wrinkles.

He looked at the cars curiously, with envy in his eyes.

As the car moved forward, the potholes and unevenness on the road that caused the car to bump up and down disappeared, and the dilapidated buildings gradually disappeared, replaced by clean-looking streets and tall buildings.

After all, Ho Chi Minh City is the current capital of Vietnam. Although it is not as good as those big cities overall, the construction of the city center is still good.

But even so, the city center is still full of motorcycles and vendors, and the vendors on the street keep hawking snacks and goods at a very loud volume.

The car gradually became quiet, with only the sound of the air conditioner and the rare sound of car horns outside coming in.

"President," Xu Zhonglie, who was driving, looked at Li You, "Should we prepare to transfer some personnel here?"

"No need," Li You shook his head, "These are all you need."

"This is Vietnam. The number of people makes no difference."

Due to the impact of long-term wars in Vietnam's history, there are many guns scattered among the people.

This has even led to Vietnamese police frequently encountering gun confrontations while handling various cases.

Once law enforcement becomes difficult, they will ask the border guards to suppress it.

Li You believed that neither he nor the Russian arms dealer wanted to have a conflict here.

He was full of anticipation for the upcoming arms deal, although the other party might have other ideas.

The importance of this meeting not only concerns the interests of the Kinmen Group, but also his base in future major events.

When the car finally stopped in front of the agreed hotel, Ho Chi Minh City Hall was nearby.

You can see that building from some distance away. It has a strong French style. Although it only has two floors, it is also very eye-catching.

The roof is red, the exterior walls are light yellow, and there is a statue in the middle.

“That’s the City Hall in Ho Chi Minh City,” Xu Zhonglie explained. “I went in and interacted with some of the officials.”

“Although the City Hall is a government office and is not open to the public, you can view it from outside.”

"You know a lot," Ding Qing said with a laugh, "What are you admiring outside?"

"The city hall has brilliant lights at night, which is one of the most famous night scenes in the area."

Li You looked at that place for a moment, turned around, straightened his collar, and walked into the hotel.

The best hotels in Vietnam are also luxuriously decorated. If you only look inside, you can't tell they are in Vietnam.

The cold air hits you, pushing the heat from outside out.

"You take a rest first," Ding Qing walked behind him and added, "He will come to see us in a while."

When Li You stepped into the hotel conference room, the sunlight outside the window shone through the gauze curtains and onto the dark mahogany conference table.

The atmosphere in the room was incompatible with this warmth; it was cool and tense.

The Russian arms dealer opposite was looking around, most of his attention was on Li You who had just walked in.

The arms dealer's muscular body was wrapped in a black suit, his thick beard obscured the outline of his face, and his brown hair was loose. "Hello, President Li."

"Hello, Mr. Yule."

Li You had learned his name from Ding Qing before and had specifically inquired about it.

Yule should mean mane or hair in Russian, and now it seems that the name lives up to its name.

Although it may seem a little strange for a Russian and a Korean to meet and speak English, there is nothing you can do about it.

Despite his large build, Yule's gaze was very gentle.

The two nodded to each other, but there was no other expression in their eyes.

As the negotiations began, the air in the conference room seemed to cool down.

At the negotiation table, chips and interests are constantly exchanged.

Li You raised his brows, Yuer crossed his arms, and no one else could get a word in.

The first thing they negotiated was price and quantity, and the issue of hiring veterans was never raised.

Time passed in silence. As Li You's secretary, Li Youmo also recorded the content with the other party's secretary, but his eyes could not help but look at Li You who was sitting in the main seat.

His face showed how seriously he took this negotiation.

Although the streets outside the window in Vietnam were still busy with people and various motorcycles flowing on the streets, the atmosphere in the reception room was tense and the heavy curtains blocked the view from the outside world.

The negotiations in the conference room entered a fierce stage of competing for price.

They clashed over the arms deal, Li You's eyes turned cold and his lips pursed.

He wore a low-key yet expensive watch on his wrist, and the ticking sound became clearer and clearer.

Li You is not short of money, but he cannot suffer a loss in such a place, especially when he has to negotiate other matters later.

Yur's eyes became cunning, he crossed his hands on the table, weighing these things in his mind, and after a while he went straight to the point, his voice low and powerful.

"President Li, we can do it at the price you mentioned," Yuer said, "but we need to reach a cooperation agreement on the hiring."

"I'm curious," Li You said, a little puzzled, "What is the relationship between these retired soldiers and Mr. Yule?"

"."

Yul was stunned for a moment, looking seriously into Li You's eyes, weighing whether to tell the truth.

Li You lowered his eyes again, "If Mr. Yule feels that it is meaningless to say this now, you don't have to say it."

Yuer remained silent, frowned and looked at Li You for a long time, then finally spoke.

"In fact, it's not as complicated as Chairman Li and Director Ding think," Yuer sighed, "It's just to find a job for my former hard-working subordinates to make a living."

His eyes were sad. "Since the disintegration, the country can no longer afford to support so many soldiers. Many regiments have been disbanded. I am the commander of one of them."

Yule still feels regretful when he says, "It was from that time that I started to engage in the arms business."

"Before the dissolution, the Corps did not need to work, and ordinary people also had their own positions," Yur's mouth twitched, "but after the dissolution, a large number of soldiers became ordinary people. Apart from being professional soldiers, they have almost no means of making a living, and there is no suitable means of making a living for them in society."

"This is still good," Yul lowered his eyes, the strong man was full of sadness, "In our country, many people call the last decade the Crazy Era. It was extremely difficult to find a job during this decade. People kept losing their jobs. How can these professional soldiers find jobs when they enter society? When their income has been zero for several years..."

"The consequences can be imagined."

"In the past ten years, we haven't built a single new power plant, let alone a decent large factory," Yule stated the facts, and the entire conference room fell silent. "But thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises have been closed down, or even robbed by the unemployed. The entire country has to rely on its past foundation to survive."

He laughed at himself, "Of course there are also idiots like me. I'm not bragging, but many people do more serious things than me. In addition, various crimes, especially major crimes, have increased dramatically in the past ten years, resulting in the highest crime rate in the world."

“I know Chairman Lee and Director Ding are suspicious, but actually,” Yul patted his chest, “I’m really just looking for a job for them.”

"President Li also knows that we don't get along with them, and many people are unwilling to hire us," Yul sighed, "I have also sold a lot of soldiers over the years, which can be considered as helping them."

Although the words were very sensational, Li You was unmoved.

"It's been ten years," Li You narrowed his eyes, "Can they still maintain their fighting capacity?"

Yuer was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing, "President Li, don't worry about their bravery."

“And not all of them are from ten years ago,” Yule laughed. “The economy has been bad, and there have been layoffs.”

"I know that some media in other countries have been promoting how corrupt our army was before the disintegration. That's a lot of drama," Yul shook his head. "Many of those veterans have been in the military for more than ten or twenty years. They only need some small training to recover."

"To be honest," Li You shrugged, "even the most courageous people will doubt this."

He thought about it and added, "We can recruit a small number of people first, but not too old ones."

(End of this chapter)