Chapter 55
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Gun-Ho usually came to work at his Korean restaurant at 9 AM .
All other staff arrived at the restaurant around 10 AM, and by 11:30 AM the restaurant was already ready to serve customers . When he ran his restaurant in Noryangjin, he had one kitchen lady working for him, so Gun-Ho had to handle various work himself . Here was different . Since the labor cost was low in China, he could hire eight workers . They all had their own role and work, so Gun-Ho didn't really have to work at all .
"There are four ladies working in the kitchen, and Dingming takes care of the counter . For the hall serving, Mae-Hyang Kim and other two ladies handle it . This is going great so far . "
Gun-Ho usually sat at an unoccupied table and read a Chinese local newspaper . He particularly paid attention to articles about real estate . While he was reading a newspaper, he sometimes asked Mae-Hyang to translate the sentences he couldn't understand . There was another thing he did in the restaurant . Whenever Korean workers or Korean businessmen who had a business in China came to the restaurant in the evening, Gun-Ho was the one who served them . This job couldn't be delegated to the staff .
"Let's look around at West Lake today on a bike . It seems like they are building new luxurious apartments in Baochoolu area around West Lake . I want to see it . "
The West Lake area was filled with tourists when Gun-Ho arrived on a bike . Gun-Ho had fun riding his bike there .
"Whoa, the residential community over there has a lot of luxurious single houses . They look like the houses in Seongbuk Town in Seoul . How much would they cost?"
Gun-Ho sometimes stopped his bike to eat street food . He ate Hotteock*, some other snacks and a bottle of water .
"Haha . The Chinese merchant understood my Chinese when I asked them how much it was . "
After looking around at the West Lake area, Gun-Ho came back to his restaurant around 5 PM . There wasn't any customer for dinner yet . They would start coming in after one or two hours .
"Where is Mae-Hyang Kim?"
Gun-Ho looked around the hall and found Mae-Hyang having a meal with a lady at the table behind a column .
"Oh, G-jjong, you came back . This is my friend . "
Mae-Hyang stopped eating when she saw Gun-Ho coming into the restaurant and introduced her friend who she was having a meal with to him .
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"Hello . "
Mae-Hyang's lady friend stood up to say hello to Gun-Ho .
"She is my hometown friend . She graduated from Jilin University and came to Hangzhou City to find a job . "
"Oh, really? Enjoy your meal . Don't mind me, please . "
Gun-Ho sat at another unoccupied table .
"Do we have an evening newspaper?"
Gun-Ho started reading the newspaper . Even though he couldn't speak Chinese, he could read a newspaper . Well, he at least could understand the big titles in the newspaper . If he saw something he couldn't understand, he would mark it and ask Mae-Hyang later . He was reading the newspaper when Mae-Hyang came to talk to him .
"Umm, G-jjong . Do you by any chance need Poodao?"
"Poodao?"
"A private tutor . For your Chinese language . "
"Oh, there is a private tutor for the Chinese language?"
"Umm… my friend over there, she is staying with me right now . Once she finds a job, she will find her own place . She majored in Korean language in college . If you—G-jjong—need a private tutor, she can maybe teach you two hours a day . What do you say? She speaks Korean and Chinese very well . You can pay her 600 Yuan (72,000 won) . "
"Hmm…"
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"She has experience with teaching a Korean when she was in Shanghai . She is very good at it . "
"Let me talk to her . "
Mae-Hyang's friend came to Gun-Ho; she seemed to be shy .
"What's your name? I'm Gun-Ho Goo . "
"I'm Eun-Hwa Jo . I am from Jilin . "
"You are a Korean Chinese . Is it possible to get Poodao in the restaurant? The place could be distracting . "
"That's totally fine . You can do it anywhere . This restaurant is cozy since it is a hotel restaurant and a perfect place to study . "
"What time would be good for you?"
"I guess the mornings should be good since you won't have customers in the morning . "
"Let's do it then . How about from 8 AM to 10 AM? The kitchen ladies will come to work at 10 AM . "
"That sounds good . I agree with you . "
Gun-Ho started having his private lesson from Eun-Hwa Jo on the following day .
Eun-Hwa had a very decent accent since she was from the north . She spoke the standard Chinese language . She also spoke Korean very well . Gun-Ho's Chinese improved notably .
"Eun-Hwa Jo is playing her role very well as a teacher . She is giving me a lot of homework . "
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Gun-Ho did his homework diligently . After completing the conversational Chinese book, Eun-Hwa brought the elementary textbooks used from 1st to 6th grade and started teaching Gun-Ho using them .
"Chinese children know about 3,000 Chinese characters once they graduate from elementary school . If you, G-jjong know the same, you won't have any problem reading a Chinese newspaper or magazine . "
After two months, Gun-Ho started hearing and understanding simple Chinese .
It had been four months since Gun-Ho came to China .
Gun-Ho was doing well in China . It was summer already . It was really hot especially the southern area of Yangtze River . It felt like being inside an oven . However, Gun-Ho's restaurant was cool . Its air conditioner worked great since it was in the hotel building . Some of the restaurant staff stayed in the restaurant even after their work hours because the restaurant was cool and pleasant while their homes were really hot .
One day, Dingming came to Gun-Ho from the counter and said there was someone on the phone looking for him .
"Who is it?"
"He said that he is from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and he wants to talk to G-jjong . "
Gun-Ho thought he wouldn't be able to converse through the phone with a bank with his level of Chinese language fluency . So he called for Mae-Hyang .
"Why don't you take the call for me?"
Mae-Hyang picked up the phone and told the person on the other side of the phone that she was the interpreter .
"The branch manager of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China would like to meet with you, G-jjong . "
"Me? For what? Ask him when would it be convenient for us to meet?"
Mae-Hyang got back to Gun-Ho and told him what the branch manager had told her, "He is suggesting 12 PM tomorrow at the Pinghoo Chinese restaurant & bar around the West Lake area . "
"It's not difficult to meet with him . Tell him that I will be there . "
The following day, Gun-Ho went to the Pinghoo restaurant & bar with his interpreter, Mae-Hyang . He took a taxi instead of his bike because he thought it was not appropriate to show to a bank's branch manager .
"I guess I will have to rent a car or something when I meet people like this . "
The Pinghoo bar was huge . When they told the bar that they were the guests of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the staff in Qipao led them to the second floor . It was a private room with the West Lake view through the window . The view made Gun-Ho feel cool . The branch manager and others with him were already in the room waiting for Gun-Ho . The branch manager looked like he was in his late 40s . He was with two other female bank staff who both looked like in their 30s .
"I'm sorry that I am late . I'm Gun-Ho Goo . "
"Nice to meet you . I'm Jangbingchao from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China . "
Gun-Ho gave him his business card that said, 'CEO of Mando Food Co . , Ltd . ' . He also gave it to the two other staff as well . The branch Manager handed over his business card to Gun-Ho . His business card said 'President' instead of 'Branch Manager . '
"President? The president of the bank came here from Beijing headquarters?"
Mae-Hyang took a look at the business card, and said,
"That means a branch manager . In China, we refer to a branch manager as a president . "
"Oh, really?"
Gun-Ho smiled bitterly once he understood the meaning of the president .
Note*
Hotteock – A popular street food that is similar to a pancake that has sweet fillings .