How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

The most important issue—the price—had been settled, so the remaining terms of the deal were agreed upon without the slightest delay.

Once all the details had been finalized, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s secretary headed to a separate room to draw up the contract.

Lee Menghong and Team Leader Seo Donghun began carefully placing the small cases containing the diamonds into a large box.

Chairman Zhen Weiliang, who had been watching them, turned to me curiously.

“Director Cha, you could make an enormous profit by cutting the rough diamonds and then selling them. May I ask why you’ve decided to sell them in such a hurry?”

“Chairman Zhen, do you know what lab-grown diamonds are?”

“Of course.”

“Then this will be easier to explain. With the rapid growth of the lab-grown diamond market, the natural diamond market is quickly declining.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang thought Cha Jiham was being overly alarmed.

Lab-grown diamonds accounted for only around 20% of the market.

Even if the artificial diamond market continued to grow, there would still be customers looking for natural diamonds.

The natural diamond market might shrink, but there was virtually no chance of it disappearing altogether.

That was precisely why he had decided to buy Cha Jiham’s diamonds.

He asked what Cha Jiham thought of his opinion.

“I agree with you to some extent, Chairman Zhen. But there’s a problem. The diamonds I have are simply too expensive.”

“There should be plenty of buyers for rare, large diamonds.”

“The wealthiest people in the United States and China are the ones who most often buy such expensive jewels. But lately, wealthy Americans have been selling off their diamonds and buying gold instead. And because of China’s prolonged economic downturn, wealthy Chinese simply don’t have the money to buy diamonds.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang suddenly realized that he was in trouble.

He had decided to buy Cha Jiham’s diamonds because he intended to resell them to wealthy buyers in the United States and China.

But after listening to him, he clearly realized that he had made a mistake in his calculations.

The only way to correct his mistake was to cancel the contract.

But how could he suggest calling off the deal when his own pride was at stake?

“Haa...”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang let out a heavy, dejected sigh.

I understood perfectly well what that sigh meant.

He wanted to cancel the contract right now.

To test my guess, I asked him directly.

“I won’t deny it.”

“If you’d like, Chairman Zhen, I can cancel the contract without charging you a penalty.”

“Is that true?”

“I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep.”

“Assuming I don’t buy the diamonds, who are you planning to sell them to?”

“I plan to sell them to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.”

“To me?”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting this turn of events.

“You can resell these diamonds to someone else, Vice Chairman Wei, so don’t worry.”

“Why don’t you sell them directly to that person yourself, Director Cha?”

“I can’t meet with that person, so I’d like to use you as an intermediary, Vice Chairman Wei.”

“Who the hell is this person?”

“Politburo member Liu Peiqi.”

“That bastard?!”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang was the first to speak.

I stared intently at him, trying to assess the situation.

Noticing my gaze, he immediately explained.

“Three years ago, I sold that bastard 100 gold bars weighing 10 kilograms each. But the son of a bitch paid only 90% of the amount and simply pocketed the rest.”

“May I ask why he did something so shameless?”

“Right before I was supposed to receive the remaining payment, global gold prices suddenly plunged by nearly 10%. So he kept the balance for himself, claiming that world prices had fallen.”

“Couldn’t you demand that he pay the remainder?”

“Of course I protested! But that bastard threatened to ruin my company in response.”

Liu Peiqi belonged to the highest echelon of power within the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Moreover, he was a close confidant who enjoyed considerable favor from Xi Jinping.

He had more than enough power to drive Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s company into bankruptcy.

Knowing that, Chairman Zhen Weiliang had been forced to swallow his anger and accept the loss of 10% of the payment.

“It’s ironic that someone so filthy is one of China’s highest-ranking leaders.”

“Tell me about it. But would a bastard like that really buy diamonds?”

Deep skepticism filled Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s voice.

“You know, Chairman Zhen, that former Politburo Standing Committee member Li Hunin suddenly died of a heart attack, don’t you?”

“How could I not?”

“Politburo member Liu has his sights set on the vacant seat on the Standing Committee.”

“What does his ambition to join the Standing Committee have to do with selling these diamonds?”

“To be selected for the Standing Committee, he needs Xi Jinping’s approval.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang seemed to understand Cha Jiham’s plan.

He intended to push Liu Peiqi into presenting the diamonds to Xi Jinping as a bribe.

“Director Cha, money doesn’t leave a trail, but diamonds do. That bastard knows that too. Would he really risk giving diamonds to Chairman Xi as a bribe?”

I felt the need to persuade the skeptical Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

“If I were Politburo member Liu, I’d give the bribe in diamonds.”

“I’d like to hear why you think so.”

“I have 615 rough diamonds. Once they’re cut, their value will at least double. If we convincingly impress upon Liu that the value of his bribe to Chairman Xi will more than double, he’ll have no choice but to buy the diamonds.”

“Ah, now I understand what you mean.”

“But some groundwork is necessary if we want to make him buy them.”

“What kind?”

Growing impatient, Chairman Zhen Weiliang leaned toward me and urged me to continue.

“First, we need to decide who’s going to buy the diamonds.”

“Didn’t we already agree that I’m buying them?”

The words, ’Didn’t you just say you wanted to cancel the contract?’ lingered on the tip of my tongue, but with tremendous patience, I barely managed to hold them back.

“Understood. First, Vice Chairman Wei, call Politburo member Liu’s younger brother, Director Liu Haoran.”

“What should I say to him?”

“Tell him that you flew to Hong Kong to meet Chairman Zhen...”

I explained in detail the role Vice Chairman Wei Chen needed to play.

“...We need to make sure this reaches Politburo member Liu’s ears.”

“That’s not such a difficult request. Director Pan, connect me with Director Liu.”

“Yes, certainly.”

After answering briefly, Director Pan Kai dialed Director Liu Haoran’s number.

After exchanging a few words with him, he handed the phone to Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen calmly began speaking with Director Liu Haoran.

“Director Liu, it’s been a long time.”

[It certainly has. What can I do for you?]

“I’m in Hong Kong right now. I flew here to meet Chairman Zhen, who’s a major figure in the jewelry business.”

[I see. Please give Chairman Zhen my regards.]

“Of course. Chairman Zhen bought a huge quantity of diamonds from an anonymous businessman. While we were discussing my purchase of the diamonds he has, Politburo member Liu suddenly came to mind.”

[My brother?]

“I wholeheartedly support Politburo member Liu in achieving his great ambition.”

[Oh, is that so? I didn’t know you supported my brother, Vice Chairman Wei.]

“If fate brings us together, we may even become in-laws. How could I not support him?”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen felt as though thorns were growing on his tongue from uttering such insincere words.

But to achieve his goal, he had no other choice.

[In-laws? What do you mean?]

“Your son and my daughter are quite close, aren’t they?”

[Hahaha!]

Director Liu Haoran’s booming laughter grated terribly on Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s ears.

He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment before continuing.

“Let me get to the reason I called, Director Liu.”

[I’m listening.]

“What if Politburo member Liu bought the diamonds from Chairman Zhen and presented them as a gift to Chairman Xi Jinping?”

[And why would he do that?]

“Chairman Zhen has 685 diamonds, 615 of which are rough.”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen adapted what he had heard from Cha Jiham to the situation and relayed it to Director Liu Haoran.

“...Such a gift would be worth three or four times as much as simply giving cash.”

[Is there any chance... they’re fake?]

“The diamonds were appraised by Paul Bachmann, a world-renowned expert. So there’s absolutely no chance they’re fake.”

[I see. By when do you need a definite answer?]

“Chairman Zhen says that if I don’t buy the diamonds, he’ll sell them to Chairman Bongard.”

[Oh! I’m sorry, but I’m very busy. I have to go.]

Click.

In a sudden rush, Director Liu Haoran hung up first.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen openly recounted the conversation to Chairman Zhen Weiliang and the others.

“...Director Liu will definitely contact Politburo member Liu.”

“But will he take the bait?”

Instead of answering Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s question, Vice Chairman Wei Chen turned his head toward me.

Understanding what he wanted, I immediately spoke.

“If I were Politburo member Liu, I’d take the bait.”

“If Director Cha says so, then I’m sure he will. But assuming he does, what should we do next?”

“Director Liu will call Vice Chairman Wei Chen himself.”

I explained in detail to Chairman Zhen Weiliang and Vice Chairman Wei Chen how they should deal with Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

“...If you make him nervous, he’ll buy the diamonds.”

“But to do that, we’ll have to involve Chairman Bongard, won’t we?”

“I’ll call Chairman Bongard in advance.”

“Director Cha, you know him personally?”

I’m not particularly fond of bragging.

But to earn Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s trust, I had no choice but to puff myself up a little.

“I can call Chairman Bongard at any hour of the day or night.”

“Director Cha is telling the truth.”

To lend weight to my words, Vice Chairman Wei Chen decided to chime in.

“If Chairman Zhen wishes, Director Cha can even video call Chairman Bongard.”

“Very well, I’ll take Director Cha at his word. By the way, what should I do about the remaining 10% I never received for those gold bars?”

Before answering, I needed to clarify one detail.

“How much did you fail to receive from Politburo member Liu?”

“About 900 million dollars.”

“I don’t know how much the overdue interest amounts to, but let’s round it up to one billion dollars together with the unpaid balance. If I were you, Chairman Zhen, I wouldn’t bring up that debt.”

“What? You’re telling me to just throw that money away?” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s question made it clear that he had no intention of accepting that.

I shook my head and answered.

“You can simply add the unpaid balance on top of the price of the diamonds.”

“I see. Then how much should I sell the diamonds for?”

“I think around 10 billion dollars, plus alpha, would be about right.”

“That much?!”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang looked as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

I had an idea that would make him understand, so I wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“Vice Chairman Wei told Director Liu that once the diamonds are cut, their value will increase three or fourfold. Those words will reach Politburo member Liu’s ears immediately. That’s why I don’t think squeezing 10 billion dollars out of him will be difficult at all.”

“Hmm, I understand what you mean. Then how much should this ’plus alpha’ be?”

“That premium depends entirely on your abilities, Chairman Zhen.”

“Haha, I understand.”

“Use this opportunity to jack up the price as high as possible.”

“Of course! That’s exactly what I’ll do.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang radiated absolute confidence.