CH15 : Shipment

"No, no."

"Haha, President Woo, you should try it too. You'll probably throw up what you ate last night."

They teased me as if it was nothing.

"Hyesung, it looks good. Dissolve it in water and start the fire."

"Yes, Father. Please check the flame strength."

President Hwang Hyesung dissolved the dye in the heated water and inserted the fabric.

Then, he lit the gas burner to heat the drum.

"Increase the flame a bit. Good... good... that's it. Heat it for 5 more minutes, then move it to another drum."

"Got it."

Despite the heat, Mr. Hwang put his hand into the drum's water to measure the temperature.

"Is that okay?"

"Even with a thermometer, he insists on doing it this way. He says feeling it with his body is the most accurate method. It looks random, but if you measure with a thermometer, each drum's temperature is exactly 20 degrees different. The last drum is boiling, so it's naturally 100 degrees. A light colour like mango finishes dyeing in about 30 minutes at 100 degrees."

It seemed crude and dangerous, but his calm demeanour made me wonder if my worry was misplaced.

"So, you pre-treat at 30 degrees, gradually raise the temperature by 2 degrees per minute, and finally leave it in a 100-degree solution for 30 minutes."

"President Woo, you're very smart."

It was just a few drums set up with conditions for each temperature.

Honestly, with proper equipment, large-scale dyeing seemed feasible.

"Is this it?"

"No. After-treatment is necessary to finish the dyeing properly."

"After-treatment?"

"After dyeing, you have to leave it in this steam bath for about 20 minutes. This reduces color bleeding and maintains the fabric's size. After that, you remove the fabric's fluff, and the job is done."

A steam bath was a kind of large steam ironing process to smooth out the fabric.

The steam bath had a thermometer indicating 120 degrees, meaning it was heat-treating at 120 degrees of saturated steam.

Heat-treating nylon, which is sensitive to heat, was quite a remarkable know-how.

'Did he remember all this?'

It seemed Mr. Hwang had crossed the Hyeonhaetan with painful memories etched into his body.

**

"What are you doing? Come here and take a look."

"Yes, sir."

Helping the Hwangs with the fabric's pre-treatment and dyeing, time flew by.

Before I knew it, Mr. Hwang called me over, holding the post-treated fabric.

"How is it?"

"... It's impressive."

Honestly, I didn't expect this level of quality.

The fabric maintained nylon's smoothness while feeling as cosy as cotton.

Dyeing was not just about coloring fabric; it was a technique that determined the texture.

And the vivid yellow color was stunning. It looked like a perfectly ripe mango under tropical sunlight without a single blemish.

"You like it, don't you?"

"But..."

I couldn't finish my sentence.

While the yellow was impeccable, the green was not. It had a somewhat dull and murky hue.

"Yes, the yellow is at an acceptable level, but the forest color isn't satisfying. However, this is the best I can do at the moment."

"I understand."

The green-dyed fabric wasn't uniform. In sunlight, it looked mottled.

"Father, won't dyeing the dark colour once more improve it?"

"Stop it. Would adding more dye satisfy President Woo? He's the type to burn fabric if dye gets on his hands."

"That's true. It's unfortunate. If only we knew what that peculiar substance of yours was..."

"Peculiar substance?"

"Yes, it's a secret substance used by Japanese synthetic companies for deep dyeing, but we have no idea what it is."

"Enough, boy. One day, I'll discover it."

Light colors like yellow could be done as they are now, but dark colors like green seemed to require more substance.

The current additive was already quite complex; dyeing was indeed a sophisticated skill.

"Mr. Hwang, can you describe what that peculiar substance was like? Could you explain it to me?"

"Well, it smelled nauseating and, when tasted, it made your tongue tingle and your nose run."

"Nose run?"

It sounded like he was describing the taste of fermented skate.

Could it be an ammonium-based substance?

"Yes, the Japanese would always plug their noses when dealing with that secret substance."

"They plugged their noses?"

If even the Japanese smelled it without special protective gear, it must be an ammonium-based substance.

'What ammonium-based substance could be used for dyeing? Ammonium chloride? Ammonium nitrate? No... How could you taste those? Then... could it be ammonium acetate?'

The thought of ammonium acetate made my eyes light up. We had used glacial acetic acid for pre-treatment earlier.

It made perfect sense to use ammonium acetate as a dyeing agent.

"I'll check the chemicals for a moment."

"Chemicals?"

"I think I know what that peculiar substance is."

"Really?"

Mr. Hwang quickly opened the cabinet where the chemicals were stored, revealing all sorts of chemicals.

'There it is! The ingredients!'

In the corner were sodium acetate and ammonium chloride.

I quickly mixed the two substances in a porcelain dish to react them.

Though the purity wasn't high, I could synthesize yellowish ammonium acetate.

As someone in the plant industry familiar with various chemical reactions, this synthesis was a piece of cake.

"Huh? The smell is similar."

"It's ammonium acetate. I think we should add this to the dye bath."

"Let's do it. Let's do it right away."

"Yes, sir."

Sensing it, Mr. Hwang took the dish and ran to the dye bath.

He mixed the ammonium acetate into the green dye drum like adding soy sauce, then tasted it.

"... This is it. This is the taste!"

"Father! Did it work?"

"Hey, son! Calm down! Let's try it first."

"Yes, Father."

Even as he told his son to calm down, Mr. Hwang's face was flushed with excitement.

After a deep breath, Mr. Hwang personally took the wooden spatula and started dyeing it.

As the fabric passed through the drum, the forest colour changed.

Unlike before, the colour became vivid and uniform.

"Wow, the dyeing speed is much faster..."

"Father, this is an incredible discovery. Look at the colour."

"Put it in the steam bath. Hurry!"

"Yes, Father."

The three of us eagerly placed the fabric in the steam bath, staring intently.

Our curiosity was so strong that we grabbed the fabric as soon as the heat treatment was done, not even letting it cool.

"Ah, hot!"

"Father, the dye doesn't come off even when it's hot."

"The dye is uniform, and the shine is excellent."

"The colour saturation is perfect. It's top quality."

"I agree. This is top quality."

"Yay!!!"

"Hooray!! Hooray!!!"

Mr. Hwang and I jumped in joy, shouting hooray. The quality was truly perfect.

It was so fine that it could be mistaken for silk. It looked like fabric produced by state-of-the-art 21st-century automated equipment.

"Sniff... Sniff..."

As Mr. Hwang and I celebrated, Mr. Hwang suddenly buried his face in the fabric and started shedding tears.

"Father, why are you crying? We succeeded brilliantly."

"Sir..."

"Thank you. President Woo, thank you so much."

He kept repeating his thanks, seemingly without end.

It was clear how much effort he had put into uncovering this secret substance. Mr. Hwang's wish had been fulfilled.

"Why are you crying? Now, all that's left is to make a fortune."

"... I don't need money... This is enough. This is enough for me."

Mr. Hwang, suddenly feeling embarrassed, turned away, repeating that this was enough.

"Mr. Hwang, please handle the dyeing for us. How much should we pay per yard?"

"How could I charge you, President Woo? Just pay for the materials. Dyeing will be free."

"No, I should at least cover the chemical costs. I'll pay 5 won per yard."

"What! 5 won per yard?"

Even 5 won per yard was less than 2 cents per yard.

I sold it for 65 cents per yard, so paying 2 cents for this quality dyeing was only fair.

"Father, President Woo is willing to pay 5 won per yard for dyeing. We can probably get proper dyeing equipment."

"Is that so good? You'll be rich soon, boy."

If President Hwang became rich, wouldn't Mr. Hwang also be rich? It was as if he was talking about someone else's son becoming rich.

"Father, aren't you happier? You cried out of joy just now."

"When did I cry? Tears just came out of my eyes. When you're old, your eyes sting and tear up for no reason."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

"Sigh. This boy."

The two got along very well. Although they were father and son, they seemed more like close colleagues.

"Mr. Hwang, I can start bringing the dyeing orders today, right?"

"Of course! Bring as much as you want."

"Son, we'll need to hire more staff."

"Yes, Father."

I had found a reliable partner.

Sambok, that guy, would probably grumble a lot when he came back.

He'd say he wandered around without knowing we had an expert right next to us.

****

End of March,

Time flew by without a moment to rest.

Before I knew it, winter had passed, and forsythias were blooming everywhere.

"Chiefs, this is your salary for the month. Good work."

"Thank you, President."

I handed out salaries to the female workers and also gave salary envelopes to the chiefs.

The factory acquisition was completed in mid-February, so the March salary was essentially the first proper one.

"Everyone, please check your pay slips."

"Oh my! So much."

"It's not a lot; it's accurately calculated. Remember, this isn't for overtime, but for the incentive due to overproduction."

"Yes, we understand. Incentives."

The chiefs, who received the salary envelopes, were the happiest.

Instead of pushing for overtime, I chose to provide incentives for overproduction.

Since Sambok said each machine produced an average of 4,000 yards, it was easy to set the overproduction targets.

As a result, the employees focused on running the machines faster and maintaining them to avoid minor breakdowns.

This way, we had less overtime compared to other companies but produced more, and naturally, the salaries were higher.

There was no need to waste time in front of the machines, and any breakdowns were immediately addressed.

"Please take turns resting on Sundays. Your bodies aren't made of iron."

"Rest? We need to earn as much as we can while we're young."

"Still, you should sleep 8 hours a day. The company's food is free, so make sure to eat properly."

They were so dedicated that they even attended night school.

"Oh my, why are you chatting so long? Everyone, go to the yard; it's time for the shipment ceremony."

"Yes, Chief."

Sambok came up to the second floor and ushered the chiefs out.

With excited faces, the chiefs put their salary envelopes deep into their inner pockets and carefully buttoned them before leaving the office.

"Is the shipment ceremony ready?"

"Yes, it's all set."

"Have the subcontractor's goods arrived?"

"Everything's here. Not just the nearby Shinshin, Shinwang, and Hanil, but also Samwoo Weaving and Hansam Synthetic from Busan. A total of 200,000 yards! It was tough."

"Is that tough for a man? If you want to earn money, you have to do at least that much."

I shrugged my shoulders.

Honestly, it was tough for me too.

"At least that much? Isn't that too much? How many times did you lie in the yard due to quality issues and burn fabric and call the company presidents?"

I had burned fabric in front of the company presidents in turns. Without such drastic measures, perceptions wouldn't change.

"Is the quality inspection done?"

"Oh, changing the subject, huh?"

"Did you check the test reports?"

"Yes, I did. I did all the tests you wanted: stretching, tearing, washing, wringing, rubbing, and more. Honestly, I wondered what I was doing. Phew."

It was a primitive but effective quality control method.

Thanks to all the effort, I got the test reports I wanted.

I only dealt with subcontractors who provided test reports.

It might be stringent, but dealing with me wasn't a loss for the subcontractors.

I supplied nylon yarn at 58 cents per pound, 2 cents cheaper than the Japanese, and paid 5% more for fabric than the market price.

All this was possible because of the partnership with Hyesung Nylon.

Of course, I had contributed significantly to Hyesung Nylon.

Not only did I solve technical issues, but I also bought nylon raw materials with my dollars.

"Are Mr. Hwang and Hwang Hyesung here?"

"They've been waiting. Go out and read the ceremonial text and offer the drink."

"Okay."

Sambok pushed my back towards the yard.

The atmosphere was already festive.

"President Woo is here!"

"Woohoo!"

"President Woo, over here. Over here."

A grand table was set up, and Mr. Hwang from Hyesung Nylon was wearing a traditional hat, and holding the ceremonial text.