Chapter 54
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Gun-Ho and Mae-Hyang followed the realtor to the apartment to take a look at it . The apartment was really large . There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms . The interior was a bit outdated but at least it maintained unity, by placing furniture all in white: a desk and a fitted wardrobe .
"Oh! I love this apartment . It's large . Oh! There are two bathrooms!"
Mae-Hyang seemed to be more excited than Gun-Ho .
Gun-Ho felt like he could smell Chinese food in the apartment and he thought he would have to ventilate the apartment by keeping windows open for maybe a day . The current occupant said they could vacate the apartment within three days .
Gun-Ho decided to take it and made a lease contract . It was 120㎡ large, so 36 pyung in Korea .
"I know this is too big for myself, but I want to receive good energy from Marwin . I had been in church and a Buddhist temple—Doseon temple in Dobong Mountain to pray when I was studying for the level-9 government job exam . That didn't work! My mom also went to see Gatbawi Buddha sitting in Palgong Mountain which was located in Daegu City to pray for me . That didn't work either! I failed all of the government job exams I had tried: the level-9 and provincial government job exams . I want to receive Marwin's energy, who is one of the richest men in the world! It might work this time . "
Gun-Ho asked the realtor as he was walking out of the apartment after finishing his tour .
"Where are the most expensive condos or houses in Hangzhou City?"
"The ones that have the view of West Lake are probably the most expensive properties . "
"How much are they?"
"The newly constructed houses in the Hoobinlu area are over 3,000,000 Yuan . "
3 million Yuan is 360 million won .
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"Hmm… That area must be corresponding to Gangnam in Seoul!"
Gun-Ho decided to acquire a real estate in that area someday .
Gun-Ho applied for Alien Resident Certificate .
Once he submitted his business license along with his passport, they scheduled his physical exam . They also confirmed that once he completed the physical exam, he would receive an Alien Resident Certificate . Once he received his Alien Resident Certificate, he could obtain a driver's license and acquire a real estate .
Three days passed since he visited the apartment that he wanted to move in . It was Gun-Ho's moving day to the Hobanhwawon apartment .
He wanted to clean the apartment before he actually moved in . As Mae-Hyang suggested, Gun-Ho hired someone to clean the apartment . He also asked someone to change the toilet after he was told by the realtor that the toilet can be easily replaced, as long as he had money for it .
"Whoa, the apartment looks great once I changed the desk and the bed . I am the king in this space . I can practice speaking in Chinese loudly . No one will ask me to keep it down in my apartment . "
It occurred to him that he wanted to bring his parents here and live together in this spacious apartment .
"A condo in this size and condition will cost several hundred million won in Korea . I had been moving around from one tiny room to another . I guess I lived long enough to see a person like me live in a huge apartment like this . Haha . "
Gun-Ho thought he made the right decision in moving into this apartment, even though he had to pay 2,500 Yuan every month .
Gun-Ho went to the 1 Danwon, unit 202 where Marwin had used to live and walked around in front of that apartment .
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"This apartment produced the man—one of the world's richest men . I will come here sometimes and receive the energy .
Gun-Ho closed his eyes while he was still standing in front of the unit 202 and started praying quietly .
"Dear God, our father in heaven, and dear Buddha—and dear gods in the universe, please help this young Korean man, Gun-Ho Goo to become rich just like Mr . Marwin . "
Gun-Ho felt better after he prayed in his heart .
Gun-Ho purchased a fabulous bike .
The bikes in China had a number tag attached behind them . Since the land was flat and the road was wide, it was easy to ride even for a long distance . And since there were tons of people riding a bike, Gun-Ho didn't feel embarrassed .
"It's nice that I can go anywhere on this bike . There is a basket attached on the front of the bike . It can carry grocery bags . How convenient . "
As he was getting used to the life in China, Gun-Ho didn't neglect his study of the Chinese language . As he learned new Chinese letters every day, he could recognize more letters from store signs on the street; he felt delighted .
"Chaos… that is a supermarket . Chanting… is a restaurant…"
He also became familiarized with roads, streets, and places in the area . Gun-Ho deposited every day, the revenue that Dingming handed over at the end of the day . Sometimes the revenue didn't even reach 3,000 Yuan and that disappointed him . However, that didn't terrify Gun-Ho since his expectation for making money was somewhere else .
"I just need this restaurant to keep going without loss . "
To attract more customers to his restaurant, Gun-Ho visited several travel agencies with Mae-Hyang, which didn't result in an increase of foot traffic to the restaurant .
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"Why would Korean tourists have Korean food when they flew all the way to China to experience Chinese culture? They would rather try traditional Chinese food . "
The restaurant's typical customers were Korean employees of Korean companies who had stayed in Hangzhou City for a long time, international students from Japan, and curious Chinese people . The Korean workers came to the Mando Hotel Korean restaurant because they missed Korean food due to their prolonged stay away from Korea . The Japanese international students came to the Korean restaurant because they couldn't find a Japanese restaurant in the vicinity of the area .
Gun-Ho received his physical exam for Alien Resident Certificate .
The officer in Public Security Office asked Gun-Ho while he was reviewing his application if he was living in the Hobanhwawon apartment . It seemed that they recognized the apartment community with a good reputation .
Korean international students were not often found in Gun-Ho's Korean restaurant because of the relatively high price . However, the Korean workers came to the restaurant pretty often . Gun-Ho became closer with these Koreans .
"Does this restaurant have a new owner now? You seem to be young . "
"I hope to see you often in my restaurant . I'm Gun-Ho Goo . "
"Since you are the new owner, I'd like to tell you one thing or a suggestion . The food here doesn't quite taste like authentic Korean food . Have you thought of bringing Korean cook from Korea?"
"I will definitely consider it even though I can't do it right away because of the labor cost . Once I get enough revenue to bring a cook from Korea, I will do that . "
Gun-Ho had always been polite and kind to customers . The Korean workers sometimes asked Gun-Ho to drink with them . "
"Let's have a drink together, sir . We are all away from our country and feel lonely, right?"
"Maybe next time since I am at work right now . "
"One drink should be fine . Take it . "
Gun-Ho hadn't had these types of experience when he ran the Vietnamese noodle soup restaurant in Noryangjin since he didn't serve alcohol at that time . With alcohol, many customers asked Gun-Ho to drink together or made a joke to him .
"Sir, where do you live?"
"I live in the Hobanhwawon apartment . "
"Oh, that apartment is pricey to rent . You are living in a good place . "
Gun-Ho had never ever heard that he lived in a good place before when he lived in Korea in his entire life . He felt good . 'Those pricks living in Gangnam must have felt this way all the time,' Gun-Ho thought .
It had been a month since Gun-Ho came to China .
He still can't speak Chinese but he can read most of the business signs on the street, and he became more familiarized with the road and direction since he could read . He became healthy as well since he rode a bike every day .
He made a sales statement for the month . After deducting all expenses such as ingredients, labor, maintenance fee, etc . , he made 36,000 Yuan in that month . He needed to put aside 25,000 out of it for the next period rent for the restaurant . That left him with 11,000 Yuan which Gun-Ho could use . From 11,000 Yuan, he needed to pay the apartment rent of 2,500 Yuan . After subtracting the rent, Gun-Ho got 8,500 Yuan on his hand . It's about 1 million won .
"I knew this . "
8,500 Yuan was not much at all to Gun-Ho, however, it was a significant amount of money for most Chinese people . The kitchen ladies took less than 2,000 Yuan per month .
"It's okay as long as there is no loss . "
Gun-Ho tried to comfort himself .
During the past one month, Gun-Ho already received the Alien Resident Certificate and the driver's license . He started collecting information for his real estate investment .