Chapter 8

Hyenas of Capitalism - Chapter 8 (8/215)

"It's worth a try..."

Though not a large amount, the price of copper was so high that it seemed possible.

"But how do we process this? We can't peel them one by one. The labor costs would be too high."

Still, it seemed a shame to throw it away without trying to salvage it.

I cut the chip out of the circuit board, but only gray powder flew out, and I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I don't know. What could be inside?"

The most significant thing I learned from running a scrap yard was this: you make money by doing what others don't know.

By tackling what everyone avoided and didn't understand, I now earn over 10 million won a month.

Just reaching this level with a high school diploma could be considered a success.

"Should I do some research?"

Although I graduated from an engineering school, I was completely clueless about electronics.

I visited the library and looked up various things, but while the performance and functions of the chip were detailed, I couldn't find out what it was made of.

"So it's called an IC chip. It's used in computers and electronic devices."

I closed the book.

"Is this a waste of time?"

I spent the whole day at the library but got nothing.

"If I don't know, I should find out."

I started visiting electronics-related companies in Ansan Industrial Complex to gather information.

But the employees I dealt with were mostly junior managers who didn't know much.

"Should I give up? Damn, let's try one last place—Uyoung Tech. They supply semiconductors, so if this fails, I'll give up!"

I didn't have high hopes, so I gave up quickly. It was too busy to hold onto something that might not work.

Uyoung Tech supplies plastic frames for semiconductors to semiconductor companies, but I went there just in case.

"Hello."

"Mr. Park, hello. Is today the collection day?"

Lee, a manager at Uyoung Tech, whom I had met a few times, greeted me.

"No, I have a question."

"Okay? What is it? I'm busy, so I don't have much time."

"It's nothing much. This."

I showed him the cut circuit board and the removed IC chip.

"This. I need to know what it's made of."

Lee took it, looked at it for a moment, and said,

"This is a circuit board and an IC chip, right? It looks like a computer circuit board."

"Ah, you know. Do you know what it's made of?"

"In electronic devices like this, gold, silver, and copper are used to facilitate electrical signals, but only in small amounts."

A bolt of lightning struck my mind.

"Gold! The gold used in rings and necklaces?"

"Yes, it's in there."

An alarm went off in my head. I quickly said goodbye to Lee and returned to Cheonhajaeon, my heart pounding. My instincts were moving. They were moving non-stop.

"Damn."

But it was premature excitement. The thought of extracting and selling the gold made my heart race, but after investigating, it turned out it was too early.

There was indeed copper, and there was gold and silver, but the refining technology wasn't commercialized yet.

There were rumors that it had been developed in Japan and the U.S. under the name "urban mining," but they were just rumors with no confirmation.

"People aren't stupid; they would have checked this, right?"

I was disappointed, but the feeling of regret didn't go away.

"This definitely seems like it could make money."

Electronics are constantly evolving, and the replacement cycle is getting faster.

Even computers are transitioning from 386 to 486, so 386s are starting to appear in scrap yards.

When the quantity was small, it was too much trouble, and I was busy with other things, so I just mixed a few in with the scrap metal. But as the quantity increases, won't new processing techniques emerge? For now, there's no solution.

"Alright. I'll give up for now. I need to focus on what I'm doing."

I cleared my mind of the circuit board and looked into the insurance company, as the boss had mentioned. There were indeed auctions organized by insurance companies.

But I heard that only designated companies could bid on scrapped cars.

"These guys are colluding, aren't they?"

From the company's perspective, more competitors would drive up the bid price, but only five companies were allowed to bid.

The only auctions open to newcomers like me were for waste materials, mainly burned-out shops, restaurants, or factories.

"To make money, I need to bid on those designated company auctions. Bidding on restaurant waste would only yield burned chairs, tables, and kitchenware. This might not be as interesting as I thought."

The auction date was about two weeks away, but I got the auction list first.

The list had five pages, with 30 items per page, totaling 150 items. "Are there really this many fires in Korea?"

Almost all were restaurants, shops, and supermarkets. The more I looked, the less interested I became, but the occasional factory caught my attention.

"A product warehouse of a wire manufacturing factory. This must be worth a fortune."

Wires are made with copper cores wrapped in insulation. The insulation is easy to remove, and once removed, the copper can be sold as is, fetching 800-900 won per kilogram even if sold to a local scrap yard.

Moreover, the insulation would have melted in the fire, leaving just the copper. A rough estimate of the inventory in the factory warehouse would be needed, but it could be a multi-million or even multi-billion won deal.

"Unfortunately, this is too big for me to handle."

If I had more money, I might take a gamble, but it's a shame.

The next item that caught my eye was a bicycle frame manufacturing company. The factory, not just a warehouse, had been completely burned down.

"Aluminum, I guess. It's still a challenge, but it seems more manageable."

There would be a lot of scrap metal from the factory's machinery. The bicycle frames wouldn't be as numerous as in a warehouse, so it might be worth a try.

"With 10 million won in my account and a 500 million won loan secured by my land, I have 15 million won. I need more funds, but I'll check it out."

I checked the bicycle factory and continued looking, but it was hard to find anything else of interest. There were a few more factories, but they didn't catch my eye.

"Should I check the bicycle factory and the insurance company's warehouse?"

I went to the bicycle factory with a truck, looked at the fire site, and returned. It wasn't a small company.

"What kind of bicycle frame company is this, so big?"

The burned manufacturing line alone was ten times the size of my scrap yard, and there were over ten such factory buildings. It was a massive company.

"Even a rough estimate shows it's beyond my reach. I wouldn't have enough money even if I bought it for scrap metal. Sigh, nothing is easy."

I headed to the insurance company's warehouse, located in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. It was a large facility.

Blackened, unrecognizable objects were piled up like small hills, each marked with a number.

The list and numbers were meant to help find the items.

"Number 4. Happy Restaurant."

I hadn't even looked at the restaurant on the list, but the pile didn't seem too bad.

"That looks like a freezer. That's a refrigerator and an air conditioner. Most are tables and chairs, but if I buy them for scrap metal, it might not be too bad."

Spoons and chopsticks were also mixed in. Restaurants would have a lot of them, and stainless steel spoons and chopsticks have value.

I walked through, estimating roughly and writing notes on the list. The supermarket was mostly burned food and displays, so I skipped it.

As I went through each item, I came to number 87.

"Hmm?"

It was a restaurant, but the amount was three to four times that of other restaurants. There were three visible refrigerators, and there could be more under the debris. It seemed to be a large restaurant.

"Jane and Work Family Restaurant. A Western restaurant. I can see knives too."

What would it feel like to cut food with a knife? I never thought I'd see a high-end restaurant as waste.

"This feels like a good opportunity."

A large restaurant would have a lot of dishes, and some might be expensive. They could be sold at a flea market as is.

I remembered buying a table from a scrap yard when I first started.

"Good feeling. Bid. I'll definitely bid on this."

On the auction day, I submitted the sealed bid documents.

I bid generously on Jane and Work Restaurant based on my instincts but participated in the others more passively.

After deciding to give up on the bicycle factory, I was mostly doing this for fun, so I didn't have high expectations.

Two days later, the insurance company informed me that I had won four bids. It was more than I expected, but I couldn't tell if it would be profitable or not.

"Number 4 Happy Restaurant, Number 21 Soo's Snack Bar, Number 54 Samgyetang Special, and... Jane and Work."

I was slightly hopeful about Jane and Work, which felt the best.

I immediately went to the insurance company's warehouse with a 5-ton forklift to load the items. The quantity was too much to carry in one trip, so I had to go twice.

The round trip from my scrap yard to the warehouse took three hours, and I was exhausted after two trips.

"The forklift fuel will cost a lot. Sigh."

I distributed the leather gloves and masks I had prepared to the employees and started removing the ash with water.

"Ugh, this is really hard work."

The ash was overwhelming, and a mask wasn't enough. I decided to wash everything with water and then sort it.

After a while, the outlines became clearer, and we started sorting.

"Smash the tables and chairs and stack them over there. We can use them as firewood in winter. Move the items that need disassembly, like refrigerators, to this side, and bring the dishes to me for material inspection."

The first Happy Restaurant was unremarkable. I bid 200,000 won, and a rough estimate showed I might make 100,000 won, as I had expected.

The second Soo's Snack Bar was similar. I bid 150,000 won, but the amount of dishes was less than expected, and there wasn't much scrap metal, so I might make 50,000 won.

However, the third Samgyetang Special surprised me.

"Bronze bowls. Bronze is expensive. Lucky."

The restaurant used bronze bowls, spoons, chopsticks, and side dishes. They were heavy and more numerous than I expected. I bid 300,000 won, but the profit could exceed 1 million won.

"Good, good. I can cover the labor and meal costs."

After roughly sorting everything, I moved on to the last one, Jane and Work. I bid 1 million won, more than the others.

It took longer to sort due to the larger quantity, and while the employees were sorting, Maru returned from a collection trip.

"Is there anything useful? Wow, look at the dust. Bro, is this all ash? Your face and the employees' faces are all black."

"Earning money is hard, Maru. So far, it's okay. I think I can cover the meal costs."

Maru unloaded the collected waste from the truck and left again. By the time he returned, the employees had sorted quite a bit.

I picked up a spoon from a pile of dishes and wiped it with a wet cloth.

"Is this stainless steel? It looks silver."

Maru leaned in and said,

"Stainless steel? It looks different, and the color is lighter."

I put down the spoon and wiped the knife next to it.

"It's similar. It's different from the stainless steel I know."

"The color is amazing. Bro, is this silver?"

I looked at Maru and then at the knife.

"Huh? Silver?"