The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 16



< Debut >

He continued to buy up Okto located in the Sacramento Basin at dirt-cheap prices.

I was doing this through my broker David and at some point the buying speed slowed down noticeably.

‘Surely… you noticed?’

By this point rumors were starting to spread everywhere.

Because some guy from the East was ruthlessly raking the land near Sacramento.

The existing landowners will just watch the situation unfold clutching the land deed in their hands and wondering ‘Has any gold been discovered around here?’

‘Anyway those who are quick-witted…’

American landowners were not originally willing to sell their land easily.

I don’t know about modern times.

At least that was the case in this era.

‘So the majority of American farmers today are tenant farmers or hired laborers for farm owners.’

It was only because the land I bought was a wasteland that I was able to obtain this much.

I looked at the map and smiled happily.

Still I bought more than I thought and the lands in my name were all gathered together.

“majesty.”

“Yeah. Are you back?”

“yes.”

I bought the land and did other things at the same time.

He took special measures to instill a lot of work motivation in the Koreans he had brought with him.

From now on it will be they not me who will farm this land.

“How do immigrants react?”

“They must have felt the harsh reality. They must have also realized how compassionate Your Majesty is.”

I didn’t bother to keep my people locked in my house.

I took a look around outside.

After assigning people who could speak the language they were placed one by one to live with the group and observe firsthand the lives of immigrants who had just arrived in the United States.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

‘You may not have felt this under me but you will feel it very keenly as soon as you step out the front door.’

The contract terms are extremely harsh.

First of all without a permanent residence permit you cannot enter into a tenancy agreement.

At least 2 years and at most 5 years.

You have to work like a slave for a meager wage of $15 a month to get the right to live on American soil.

But now I was skipping these procedures and signing the tenancy contract right away.

Anyone with a bit of brain power will know how good the conditions they are working under are now.

‘The same goes for tenancy agreements. Aren’t the white landowners all calling for a 9 to 1 settlement ratio?’

I am different.

Of course the basic contract was the same as with other landowners.

9 to 1.

I am 9 and they are 1.

You might protest that this is too much for the same people as us.

If you look at it on the same line everyone would choose me.

If you think about it the reason why Korean businesses pay lower wages than regular businesses when applying for a working holiday visa is because of the language barrier.

‘I am here….’

The carrot offered to immigrants was that settlement rates could change flexibly depending on performance.

The 9 to 1 settlement ratio applies only to low performers up to the bottom 30%.

Below average 8 to 2.

If you are between the top 30% and 50% it’s 7 to 3.

From then on it’s 6 to 4.

And if you’re in the top 1% it changes from 4.5 to 5.5.

The saying goes that the most productive person takes more than the landowner.

‘It may be a loss-making move but it’s the best way to increase productivity.’

At first glance you might think that I might be at a loss but that wasn’t the case.

Even the land I bought is like that.

Now imagine that land is a wasteland but it becomes a farm.

Land prices will rise significantly.

This is true even in California’s representative octogonal Delta region.

Isn’t it more than 10 times more expensive than the land I bought?

‘It’s a wasteland that was bought for a pittance. What would happen if the rice were to spill out of that land?’

Just as when the rent for a building goes up the value of that building goes up.

The price of land will also be like that.

Even if you only go up by 9 or so in the Delta region you’ll earn 15 times more.

Even if you only follow half of it you will still have more than 8 times as much left over.

It was never a damaging action.

‘Because you never know when or how you might need money.’

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

It would be good if land prices rose quickly.

That way we can sell it for a higher price even when we are in a hurry.

“Furthermore isn’t Your Majesty taking care of them under better conditions than the locals?”

“yes.”

“Once everyone realized this fact some of the grumbling crowd became quiet.”

Wherever you go there are bound to be people who complain and grumble about things as if they were breathing.

But even a small spark can spread until it burns down the entire grassland.

I tried to solve this by letting them know where I was.

“Ah… I have one thing to ask of you.”

“Please speak.”

“I absolutely cannot tolerate any act of interfering with other people’s farming to increase my own performance. You must watch this closely.”

Because it is an act that is detrimental to me as well.

We must compete with each other to increase productivity.

It was absolutely unacceptable for one tenant farmer to hinder the productivity of another farm for his own survival.

“Don’t forget what I’ve been emphasizing since last time. From now on the comrades here are your family.”

“All right.”

After finishing his report Choi Hyun-woo tried to go outside.

“Oh… by the way.”

Then something occurred to me and I quickly grabbed Choi Hyun-woo.

“How is it going?”

“Is this the agricultural corporation that Your Majesty proposed?”

The rice industry can be seen as a collection of several industries.

A farm that grows grain.

A processing company that purchases these and peels them.

A warehouse that stores polished rice.

Lastly distribution companies that export domestically and internationally.

I didn’t want to just run a farm.

I don’t know about other industries but the rice industry in the United States currently has no competitors so I wanted to get the lead first.

“Here it is.”

Choi Hyun-woo handed me a bundle of documents.

At the same time he pointed to the empty space in front and asked my opinion.

“I’ve almost finished filling out the paperwork. All that’s left is to name the company. Do you have a specific name in mind?”

“What about the Carl Grain Company?”

The three letters in front of California are CAL.

And it is a name that combines grain which means grain.

When I suggested it Choi Hyun-woo filled in the blank space.

“Ah… It would be good to have several subsidiaries under the company such as Carl Rice Carl Witt and Carl Cone.”

No matter how I think about it an intuitive brand is the best.

Like US Steel for example.

‘We already have US rice.’

Well US Rice means American rice.

It’s too intense.

Most of the rice produced in California will not be consumed in the United States but will be exported to Korea and Japan.

That’s why such an obvious name isn’t very good.

Because when they buy this product it feels too foreign.

“Don’t rush and do it thoroughly. Farming won’t start until next spring anyway right?”

“I will keep that in mind.”

* * *

Thanksgiving Day one of the biggest holidays in the United States is approaching.

If you translate it into Korean it could be called Thanksgiving Day.

The origins of this day date back to when the Puritan immigrants first settled in the Americas.

They were once on the verge of starvation but they were saved when they learned new farming methods from Native Americans that were perfect for the New World.

It is said that when the crops were finally harvested they shouted “Hurrah!” and gave thanks to God.

That day is Thanksgiving.

I looked at the map of the lands I had just purchased thinking about the origins of this day.

‘It also means that farming must be done to suit the local soil…. The early Puritan settlers also had difficulties growing grain.’

I know the future well.

If history goes on as it has rice farming in California will surely be successful.

However some kind of insurance device was needed.

Careless.

Because a natural disaster or human error could ruin an entire year’s crops.

‘The best thing is that we have support from the federal government….’

Agricultural subsidies are the best safeguard.

Modern America has also provided financial and material support to American farmers to make agriculture competitive.

‘But is it possible in this day and age?’

As far as I know the subsidy policy started after the Great Depression.

This was a time when capitalism was at its peak.

‘First of all… I need connections.’

You have to know politicians.

Then I can make or change the laws I need.

‘Let’s start managing our connections slowly from now on.’

To meet them a point of contact was needed.

So I rolled my head again.

“You come here and look.”

Woo Hyun-sik who is in charge of my finances looks at me with slightly anxious eyes.

The eyes are wary of where the money will be spent again.

“How much cash do you have available right now?”

“I have about five hundred thousand dollars in banknotes ready to be used right away.”

It cost a lot of money to buy the land.

Although I could have gotten a loan using the land as collateral I thought it would be better to use cash first considering the loan interest so I ordered Woo Hyeon-sik to set aside money separately.

“First send about $10000 to the gubernatorial campaign. In cash.”

There will be a gubernatorial election in November next year.

All politicians tend to run for re-election.

It will be no different for George Pardee.

That’s why it must be very solid by now.

Because American elections are half decided by money.

How much donations are being collected?

How much of it you put into the election determines whether you win or lose.

Of course that may be different if an unavoidable election issue such as a major disaster or panic breaks out.

“Ten thousand dollars you say?”

Woo Hyun-sik made a sad face.

He is my financial manager.

He seems a little resentful at the thought of his money going to some tough guy.

“Send it again in a week. Send it again in a week.”

“Yes? Then you will be giving a total of 30 thousand dollars just in donations.”

“Yeah I know that. I can do math too.”

Woo Hyun-sik paused for a moment.

He protested to me silently asking if I really had to carry out his orders.

But as soon as I opened my eyes he stopped resisting and went to the safe.

‘Thirty thousand dollars is cheap.’

I need to meet the head of the state government but can’t I afford this amount of money?

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes for a moment.

* * *

For Thanksgiving he sent a donation to George Pardee the current governor of California.

Carl Grain a grain company.

The Synthetic Association a fun Korean organization.

And my name.

Divided into three separate parts.

‘It’s about time I got a call.’

As a modern person I often watch video streaming sites in my spare time.

I also watched a lot of live broadcasts by BJs.

The current situation can be seen as similar to the situation where a baby whale if not a large whale appeared during a live broadcast on YouTube.

‘Governor George Pardee will definitely contact me.’

I waited leisurely for George Pardee’s call.

Do that for three days.

“Boss. An official document has come down from the state government.”

Max looked around me with a curious look on his face.

“What does it say?”

Since I had nothing to hide I put the document down and told the group what it was.

“It’s an invitation.”

“An invitation?”

“okay.”

I also said with my own mouth the detailed information written inside.

“I heard that a federal official from the Department of Agriculture will be visiting California next month. There will be a banquet there… I think they’ve invited me to that.”

He didn’t ask me to meet him right away.

Why?

Well that’s suspicious.

Being a prince too.

Even companies I’m hearing about for the first time.

There was also a Korean community in a country that I didn’t even know where it was located.

At first glance it seemed like they were trying to gather some information.

If you meet me for no reason and make me feel bad I might fall for your competitor so you must be careful.

‘Hmm… I’ll kill time and gather some information related to me first.’

Max who was next to him seemed slightly outraged.

“No. How much did you support him? All he got was an invitation?”

I know.

I spent 30000 dollars or 600000 dollars in modern terms and I only received one invitation.

of course.

‘It’s just an invitation to the general public. But if you knew the value of this invitation you’d think differently.’

This means that depending on how you use it you can get your money’s worth back.

Lobbying begins with establishing contact with the subject.

As the saying goes “well begun is half done” this act was extremely important so it was important to approach the subject naturally.

“I’m so angry. I shove dollars in him. And the boss is being treated like this.”

Max looks at his brother his chest pounding.

Aaron’s face was very dark as if he thought he had blown his money this time.

I preached to those two the way the world works.

“That’s how all high-ranking officials are. People like us have to work hard to shove dollars into their dirty assholes before they can say a word.”

Of course a single word from his mouth can sway the market.

I didn’t explain it in detail because these two don’t know its value yet.

‘More than that it’s a procession of federal officials… and an official from the Department of Agriculture visiting here?’

The federal government building is located in Washington D.C.

Those who are heavy-assed must have a purpose for visiting this place that is the furthest from there.

It looks like they’re coming to see what they can do for California’s growing agriculture industry….

If I do this well I might be able to get what I want easily.

I smiled and prepared for the next one.

Because I had to buy clothes to wear to a party next month.

<Debut> End