The Junk Dealer Makes Good Money

[Episode 64] Grandma Kim

There was only one village around where the shredding plant was located.

And most of the villagers were elderly people.

“Grandma, are you here?”

At the entrance to the junkyard, an old woman with a troubled expression appeared on top of an old stroller.

Seeing this, Siwoo Lee ran forward.

Then she pulled the stroller that Grandma was pushing with her.

“I’m always thankful. How do you know when I am coming?”

“You always come at the same time. There are quite a lot of phages today, right?”

“Because my neighbors know I’m selling my scraps, so I always collect them like this. Thank you so much.”

“Sit here. I will take care of the rest.”

Si-woo Lee hurriedly put down the paper piled up in the stroller.

Si-woo Lee, who gave the paper away without paying attention, took out a ten-thousand-won note from his pocket.

“Thank you as always, young man.”

“no. It’s my job.”

For the past two months, it was an old woman who showed up at the shredding site every morning at 7 am.

Since the employees had yet to go to work, Si-woo Lee was able to talk with his grandmother comfortably.

“Anyway, the young man is amazing. Because I’m here at this time every day. Does your boss give you a lot of money?”

“You take care of me a lot. Isn’t Grandma having a hard time?”

She never dreamed that a young man like Lee Si-woo would be the representative of Nuri.

At Shi-Woo Lee’s words, the old woman smiled faintly.

It was a difficult age to move, but this was the only way to live.

And before the creation of Nuri, I used to walk an hour every day to a nearby junk shop.

However, after Nuri was created, an hour turned into 10 minutes.

“You don’t know how comfortable it is to be here.”

If I collected phages all day, I only got a few thousand won.

It was very difficult for her to travel long distances for an hour to get the money.

Therefore, it was a great fortune for her to have a junk dealer and Nuri close to her home.

“But aren’t you scolding the boss? Can I give you this much every time?”

“it’s okay. The price of an item is under my jurisdiction. It’s a piece of paper that I’ve worked so hard to get, but I can’t give you a few thousand won.”

“still… … .”

The grandmother, unaware that Si-Woo Lee is the representative of this place, had a worried expression on her face.

“Do not worry. Because it’s not cut. But is Grandma living alone?”

“yes. yes, what… Who wants to live with an old man with a broken body?”

“What about the children?”

“You guys are too busy to eat! Do you see your face only twice a year, Lunar New Year and Chuseok? What makes you so busy… … .”

Siwoo looked at him sadly as he took a deep breath.

Fortunately, the villagers tried to help Grandma as much as possible.

They were supporting the elderly living alone with the village development fund.

Although the village received a subsidy of about 100,000 won a month, it was not a lot of money.

“It will be difficult to make a living, so you will not be able to give up your job.”

“Ahh, I guess I should just go. suffer.”

“Yes, Grandma. Please enter carefully.”

The old woman got up from her seat and walked forward with the stroller, then turned her head.

“Would you mind cleaning up your belongings here?”

“Are you organizing your belongings?”

“I’m an old man who doesn’t know when to leave, so I can’t leave the work behind me to my children.”

“Well… You have to buy it for a long time.”

“I don’t know if it’s a human thing. Is it possible?”

“… It is possible.”

“Then I want a young man to take care of my belongings.”

“I will do that.”

Shi-woo Lee, who showed a bitter expression, nodded his head.

In general, when an elderly person living alone dies, a nearby junk dealer clears the house.

And the cost is paid by the town hall or district office.

Therefore, it was Siwoo Lee who could not refuse.

“thank you.”

An old woman who visits without missing a day for two months.

It was a look that looked more lonely today.

One by one, the employees went out to the yard after work.

Lee Jun was busy telling two new drivers the location of the customer and the dispatch today.

The yard was stabilized by the joining of Moon Jae-shin and Jin Jun-sik.

This meant that Siwoo Lee did not have to guard the yard.

After changing from work clothes to casual clothes, Siwoo Lee entered the office.

“CEO, do you have an appointment?”

“It is not a promise. I’m coming to see the village head, Mr. Kang.”

I had something to discuss.

All the manpower and capital of the headquarters were transferred to the shredding plant.

It would not be surprising if this place was now Nuri’s headquarters.

No matter how much it grew, this place was used as an important point of Nuri.

Therefore, it was also important to maintain a strong relationship with the villages nearby.

“Oh, and he asked me to tell you that the funds were ready, which Director Jin said.”

“It’s fast. As I said this morning, Director Jin must have worked hard.”

“But where are you going to use the 10 million won? … .”

I had a place to use it.

This morning, Si-woo Lee had instructed Eun-soo Jin to prepare funds.

It was prepared without difficulty because there was quite a lot of operating funds left, but Eunsoo Jin expressed concern.

It was because I had no idea what Shi-woo Lee would do with the money I had prepared in a hurry.

“It’s good for society.”

“yes?”

“I’ll tell you about that later.”

The words of my grandmother who came this morning immediately reminded me of a volunteer project.

Perhaps the beginning was small, but I thought it would be of great help to society.

Siwoo Lee spared no words and left the yard.

I moved to the village hall to meet the village chief, Lee Young-geun, whom I met when I was doing civil engineering for the first time.

* * *

“Did you come from the junk yard over there?”

As we entered the town hall, the elderly were watching TV.

Director Lee Young-geun found Lee Si-woo and greeted him warmly.

Anyway, because I’ve seen my face once before.

“How you doing? I’m here to talk to you, do you have time?”

“Time is always overflowing. Come this way.”

Lee Young-geun, who entered the room on the other side of the hall, came with a drink in a glass.

“thank you.”

“Ah, the village grant you gave me back then is being put to good use.”

“Fortunately, the. Actually, the reason I came to Mr. Lee is to ask you one thing.”

“What request?”

Perhaps this is not an unreasonable request, Lee Young-geun expressed concern on his face.

This was because he was concerned that he might make a request that could cause harm to the villagers.

“I want to do one business in Nuri.”

“business? Even with that huge scale, it’s not enough to start another business… … .”

“When the elderly living alone die, I would like to start a business to organize their belongings. Of course, we will cover the cost of processing, Mr. Lee.”

“How is that business? Isn’t that service?”

“I’m a business person, so even if it’s volunteer work, it will become a business if the scale is large.”

It was a part of a social contribution project for the elderly living alone without any relatives or families.

The first thing I wanted to do was this village.

“Hmm, so what do I have to do for you?”

“Will you contact me when there are no survivors or when family members cannot handle their belongings?”

Si-woo Lee held out his business card to Young-geun Lee.

His eyes widened when he saw the business card that said he was the representative of Nuri Recycling.

It must have been an employee of a company called Nouri, because he did not know that a young man could be the representative.

“And to the elderly living alone in the village or to those who do not receive support from their families, Nuri would like to support a part of their living expenses. You can literally think of it as a donation.”

“I promised not to file any complaints in return for receiving 10 million won from the village development fund. But why are you doing this?”

At Lee Young-geun’s unfamiliar question, Si-woo Lee showed a bitter expression.

“At 7 o’clock every day, there is an old woman who visits the junk store. Come and put paper in the stroller.”

“Ah, aren’t you talking about Mrs. Kim’s grandmother?”

“I don’t know your name. He said so. When I die, can I organize my belongings?”

“Hmm… … .”

“There is a big reason for being a company located near this town, but I think you should contribute to society as much as you earn, Mr. Lee.”

Lee Young-geun, who checked Lee Si-woo’s eyes, smiled.

It flowed in from the outside and a huge antique statue was created in a snap.

It was quite far from the village, so the noise wasn’t that loud.

In addition, a fairly expensive soundproofing wall was erected in order not to cause damage to the village.

“In the name of Nuri, items worth 10 million won will be donated to the villagers. If you tell me the necessities you need within this week, I will prepare it.”

“Are you going to donate to the village in the yard where you can organize your belongings for free?”

“I want you to think of it as a small sincerity. We may not be able to provide you with the desired level of items every month, but we will do our best to match the items that Mr. Lee wants.”

“… It’s different from young people. They say that it is difficult to live, and they do not care about how their neighbors live.”

Is it because I can afford it that much, or is it because my grandmother, who comes to visit me every day, is on my mind?

Siwoo Lee himself couldn’t figure out why he was doing this.

It was just something I wanted to do.

“I want you to think of me as a member of this village. It’s not about wanting to look pretty or to earn attention. I really want to help the villagers.”

“… I’ll write down a list of necessary items and hand it over to you. First of all, as the head of the village, I want to thank you for making this choice. Most of the villagers will probably appreciate it.”

“I’m glad it’s helping the town.”

“It’s a village with only 30 households, so there aren’t many necessary items. Besides, the town development fund you donated still has a significant amount left.”

* * *

Si-woo Lee asked Young-geun Lee to investigate the necessary items and returned to the yard.

“CEO, Jaejoon Won, managing director of Gangdong Steel, is here.”

The stage of designating Nuri as a target has been completed.

Jae-Jun Won personally visited Nuri to tell the truth.

At Kang Pil-joong’s words, Si-woo Lee hurriedly entered the office.

“Mr. Won.”

When he entered the office and bowed his head, Jae-Jun Won stopped talking to Jae-Shin Moon and got up.

“CEO Lee, it has been decided to designate Nuri as the target. There was quite a bit of scrap metal, would you like to ship it tomorrow?”

The price was already on the rise.

The unit price of Daehan Steel was over 350 won, and the unit price of Gangdong Works was close to 370 won.

At the news that shipments start tomorrow, Siwoo Lee smiled faintly.

“Thank you, Mr. Won.”

“The good news from Nuri worked. Because the board of directors unanimously voted for the designation.”

“Fortunately, the. That was the moment when I was still worried.”

The junk dealers in this area were maintaining a good relationship with Nuri.

The figure of Si-woo Lee, who moved based on trust, was established as the image of Nuri.

“Then I’ll see you next time, Vice President Moon Jae-shin.”

“Yes, Mr. Won. Please enter carefully.”

Jae-Jun Won said goodbye to Si-Woo Lee and Jae-Shin Moon and left the office.

Young-geun Lee, who had just met, rushed into the yard, and the two people’s movement lines overlapped.

Lee Si-woo, who came to meet Won Jae-joon, blinked at the sight of Lee Young-geun running away.

“Chief?”

There was no way the necessary items had already been arranged.

It had been less than 20 minutes since we met.

“Grandma Kim… You fell.”

“yes?”

Lee Si-woo’s expression hardened at the news that the person who had been correcting until today suddenly collapsed.

“They said that he tripped over a stone beak while going to the supermarket. He has now been taken to the hospital.”

“ah… Do you know where the hospital is?”

“They said they would be transferred to Yongin Jeil Hospital.”