Chapter 49: William Bancroft

At 3 p.m., the factory once again buzzed with intense energy.

The workers’ hands, now engaged in additional production, moved much faster and more cheerfully than in the morning.

The news of the first successful sales did more than just encourage them; it seemed to have planted an unshakable confidence in everyone—a sure sense that “we did it.” Where the shadow of doubt once lingered, hope and passion now overflowed.

“I’ve checked the temperature! It’s holding exactly at 250 degrees!”

One worker shouted out loud as he looked at the massive pressure cooker’s gauge.

Lee Jun-hyuk climbed up to the small office on the second floor and opened an old ledger.

He needed to carefully record today’s sales and the new additional order just received from Heung Trading Company. Gripping his pencil, he scribbled down each number, filling in the boxes one by one.

He felt grateful.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar car sound came from outside.

Brrrrr.

A low and smooth engine sound.

It was a whole different class from the clattering trucks he usually heard out in front of the factory.

It sounded expensive.

Such a noise didn’t fit this industrial area at all.

He looked out the window.

A black Cadillac had come to a stop in front of the factory.

It looked as if it had just been washed, the gleaming body dazzling in the afternoon sunlight.

A neat chauffeur in a crisp uniform stepped out and opened the back door.

A middle-aged man emerged.

He was a white man in a flawless gray suit and fedora.

His face was unfamiliar.

But from the overwhelming aura he exuded as he got out, and the way he walked without a hint of hesitation, there was something unusual about him.

“Who could that be?”

As Lee Jun-hyuk was descending the stairs with a wary thought, he heard Yu Ilhan’s startled voice from downstairs.

“What brings you to our factory?”

“I’m here to see Lee Jun-hyuk.”

The stranger’s voice was low and dry, but carried an authority that seemed to press down on people.

Lee Jun-hyuk entered the workshop.

The loud clatter of machines had stopped.

All the workers had paused their tasks, eyeing the unexpected visitor with tense expressions.

“I’m Lee Jun-hyuk.”

Lee Jun-hyuk stepped forward.

The man looked him up and down.

It was a brazen and rude gaze, as if he were appraising livestock at a market. After a moment, the man smirked, almost mockingly.

“You’re much younger than I expected. I heard you were twenty-seven.”

“It would be polite if you introduced yourself first.”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke formally but firmly.

The man reached into his coat pocket and handed over a business card.

“William Bancroft – Representative of Bancroft Company”

“Mr. Bancroft. What brings you to our factory?”

“Just came for a look around.”

Bancroft said this as he arrogantly glanced around the factory.

“I heard some Orientals were running a canning factory. Just couldn’t believe it, that’s all.”

His tone was dripping with undisguised contempt and scorn.

“So it’s true, then, that even monkeys are doing business these days.”

A low wave of murmurs spread among the workers.

Some of them openly wore furious expressions.

Especially Yu Ilhan—his face flushed bright red with indignation.

But Lee Jun-hyuk remained calm.

“There’s nothing here for you to see. Please leave now.”

“My, how rude to treat a guest that way.”

Bancroft snorted.

“They say Orientals are at least polite, but I guess that’s just another lie.”

Lee Jun-hyuk took a step closer.

“Mr. Bancroft. This is my sacred place of business. Uninvited guests need to leave.”

“Ha, made a few bucks and now you think you’re on top of the world.”

Bancroft pulled a Cuban Cigar from inside his suit. Without hesitation, he struck a match and lit it.

“You can’t smoke in a food factory.”

Yu Ilhan could no longer contain himself and stepped forward.

“That’s a clear violation of hygiene regulations.”

Bancroft shot Yu Ilhan a cold glance.

It was the look one might give to a worm crawling along the roadside.

Deliberately, Bancroft exhaled a long, slow stream of cigar smoke. The gray fumes, reeking with a foul odor, drifted across the pristine workspace like fog.

“Hygiene regulations?”

He sneered.

“You think food made by Orientals is ever hygienic? What do you know about hygiene? Who knows what gutter you scraped your ingredients from? Maybe you’re putting food fit for dogs in those cans.”

Walter’s fists tightened and went pale with rage.

The other workers were no different.

The morning’s proud, lively mood in the factory had darkened in an instant.

Still, Lee Jun-hyuk was as composed as ever.

He knew that showing emotion here would be admitting defeat.

“Mr. Bancroft.”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke quietly, but his voice was icy cold.

“What’s the real reason you came here?”

At that, Bancroft’s eyes changed.

His easy, mocking expression vanished, replaced by a cold hostility that coiled like a snake.

“For a monkey, you’re pretty sharp.”

He dropped his cigar to the floor and ground it under his expensive shoe until nothing but ashes remained.

“Fine. No need to waste time. I’ll be blunt. Shut down this business, right now.”

All sound in the factory vanished as if it had been erased.

Only the faint noise of cooling machinery could be heard.

“What did you say?”

Yu Ilhan asked in disbelief.

“Are you deaf? Shut down your filthy canning business right now!”

Bancroft shoved his hands into his suit pockets.

“This Brooklyn belongs to us white folks. This isn’t a place for yellow monkeys like you to crawl in and start a business.”

“What do you mean by that…”

“Especially the food business. Absolutely not. You think I’ll allow savages like you to make food for great white men to eat? That’s an insult to all of us.”

Lee Jun-hyuk let out a deep sigh.

He had anticipated something like this.

But he hadn’t expected it to come so soon, or in such a blunt and low manner.

“Mr. Bancroft. America is a free market economy. Everyone, regardless of skin color, has the legal right to do business.”

“Legal?”

Bancroft scoffed.

“What’s the law worth? With just one call to New York City Hall or the Public Health Authority, inspectors will swarm this place by tomorrow. For hygiene violations. I’ll have them tear this place apart until they find a speck of dust, and shut you down.”

It was a threat.

An undisguised, brazen threat.

“And who knows? Maybe one night the factory will just happen to catch fire.”

The workers gulped in fear.

He wasn’t above threatening arson.

At last, Lee Jun-hyuk’s expression hardened for the first time.

“Are you… threatening me?”

“Threatening? Not at all. It’s a friendly warning, a warning.”

Bancroft strode up to Lee Jun-hyuk.

The distance between the two men was less than a single step. The nauseating stench of cigar smoke and expensive cologne mixed, stinging his nose.

“Listen carefully. I’ll give you until tomorrow. Either you close your business voluntarily, or…”

He trailed off meaningfully.

“Or you’ll learn firsthand just how terrible the consequences can be for ignoring my warning.”

Bancroft turned toward the door.

But at the threshold, he stopped and glanced back, playing the victor.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

A cruel, mean-spirited smile twisted his lips.

“American Sugar Trading Company? You think those people will protect you? Rockefeller, Vanderbilt—they’re powerless here on the streets of Brooklyn. This is my turf.”

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Moments later, the Cadillac’s engine purred, and the car drove off, leaving a cloud of dust.

The factory fell into heavy silence.

It was like a funeral parlor.

“That bastard…”

Yu Ilhan muttered, clenching his trembling fist.

His face was burning with rage and humiliation.

“How dare he come into our sacred factory and…!”

“Calm down, Dr. Yu Ilhan.”

Lee Jun-hyuk firmly gripped Yu Ilhan’s shoulder.

“If we lose our cool with people like that, we lose.”

But the workers’ faces remained dark.

Especially the older workers who’d lived in this neighborhood a long time—they looked scared and worried.

“Boss…”

Walter spoke up cautiously.

“If it’s Bancroft… he really is capable of doing anything. That family may have fallen from grace, but they were once railroad tycoons—generation after generation, they’ve greased the palms of local police and New York City Hall officials. I’ve heard he even has connections with the Public Health Authority and the Fire Department.”

The other workers began to whisper among themselves.

“It’s the Bancroft Family, right? Even if they’re ruined, they’re still like kings in this neighborhood…”

“He threatened arson! That guy really would set the place on fire.”

“Can we handle that kind of trouble?”

The anxiety spread through the factory like an epidemic.

Just an hour ago, the place had been filled with the high spirits of success, but now all that was gone without a trace.

Lee Jun-hyuk thought to himself.

“Bancroft? Never heard of him.”

He searched his memories from his previous life.

His name appeared neither in the history books nor in books on economic history.

A man who left no name in history—probably just another local strongman.

But judging by the workers’ reaction, at least in Brooklyn, he had real power.

Lee Jun-hyuk climbed up onto a worktable.

When he stood on high, every worker’s gaze turned toward him—their faces tense with worry and fear.

“Everyone, please listen to me for a moment.”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke calmly. His voice was so composed that it drew everyone’s attention.

“To be honest, I’d never even heard of this Bancroft until today.”

“But one thing is clear: There’s not a single reason for us to give in to threats like that.”

Walter hesitantly raised his hand.

“But boss, he’s not just any lowlife. The Bancroft Family may have fallen, but they used to run the Railroad Business…”

“So what?”

Lee Jun-hyuk interrupted.

“Just because his ancestors were railroad barons, do we have to shut down the factory we worked so hard to build? What did we do wrong?”

The workers looked at each other.

No one could answer.

“There’s always someone out there trying to sabotage an Oriental business.”

Lee Jun-hyuk gave a bitter smile.

“I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly, or in such a blatant and low fashion… But this is a hurdle we would’ve had to cross eventually.”

At his words, Yu Ilhan lifted his head with determination.

“The boss is right!”

He raised his clenched fist and shouted.

“What did we do wrong? We’re working hard, making good products, and running an honest business! Why should we have to hide?”

Walter, too, slowly but firmly nodded.

“That’s right. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”

The frozen atmosphere in the factory slowly began to shift.

“But… what if he really does set a fire…”

One worker still voiced his worries.

“We’ll prepare for that, of course.”

Lee Jun-hyuk said realistically.

“Starting today, we’ll have to put a night watch on the factory. And…”

He paused to think.

“I’ll try contacting George Howard at American Sugar Trading Company tomorrow morning. He might know something about Bancroft.”

At those words, a faint sense of relief spread across the workers’ faces.

The powerful Director of American Sugar Trading Company.

If they got help from that network, maybe things would work out.

“All right, let’s get back to work.”

Lee Jun-hyuk clapped his hands.

“We’ve got additional orders to fill, and tomorrow’s shipments to prepare in advance. All we have to do is our job. Ignore garbage like him.”

The workers gradually returned to their stations.

The air of unease hadn’t disappeared completely, but at least the factory was moving again.

As Lee Jun-hyuk climbed the stairs to the office, Yu Ilhan followed close behind.

“Boss, are you really going to be all right?”

“Honestly, I’m not.”

Lee Jun-hyuk answered frankly. Of course he wasn’t all right.

“But we can’t kneel to threats like that before we’ve even started.”

“If he really does set a fire or sends someone…”

“We’ll deal with it then. For now, we do what we can—tighten up security.”

Once inside the office, Lee Jun-hyuk slumped deeply into his chair.

‘For a saboteur to show up this quickly and in such a vulgar fashion…’

Yu Ilhan entered, having made up his mind, and closed the door.

“Boss, I’ll sleep here tonight. I’ll protect the factory.”

“There’s no need for that…”

“There is. Someone must be here.”

Yu Ilhan’s face was more resolute than ever.

“These are products we made with our sweat and blood. If a piece of trash like that tries to destroy them, I could never forgive it.”

Lee Jun-hyuk gazed at Yu Ilhan for a moment.

He saw a burning love and pride for the factory in his eyes. This business was no longer his alone.

“Thank you. But it’s dangerous to be alone.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll try to find some trustworthy security personnel.”

Without hesitation, Lee Jun-hyuk picked up the phone. The first person who came to mind—

“Hello? May I speak with Kim Young-soo?”

A moment later, Kim Young-soo’s voice came through the receiver.

“Ah, Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk! What’s going on? Did you get another order already?”

“Boss, I called because I need a big favor.”

Lee Jun-hyuk briefly explained the day’s events—the visit and threats from Bancroft, and the need for night security.

“Hmm… Bancroft, you say…”

Kim Young-soo paused, thinking.

“Ah, I know that filthy family. Made some money with the Railroad Business in the past, but now they’re going broke. Real nasty, notorious for racism in this neighborhood.”

So he knew about them, too.

“Would you happen to know any reliable security personnel?”

“That’s no problem. Among the people I know, there are some Veterans who fought in the Europe War. They’ve all had trouble finding work since the war, so they’d be glad to have this kind of job.”

“Thank you so much, boss.”

“Of course. We compatriots have to help each other. I’ll send you two men tonight.”

After hanging up, Lee Jun-hyuk felt a little lighter.

“I’ve arranged for security personnel.”

He told Yu Ilhan.

“Still, I’ll stay as well. Who knows what could happen.”

He was a stubborn man. Lee Jun-hyuk didn’t try to stop him anymore.

Around 6 p.m., as promised, two men arrived at the factory.

“Mr. Kim Young-soo sent us.”

The man in front said. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and white, appearing to be in his mid-thirties.

“I’m Jack O’Brien. Fought in the Europe War.”

He pointed to his companion.

“This is Tony. Also a Veteran.”

Tony appeared to be Italian. He was smaller than Jack, but looked sturdy and tough.

“How much should I pay per month?”

Lee Jun-hyuk asked straightforwardly.

“Eighty dollars per person will be enough.”

Jack replied.

“From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., we’ll guard the factory.”

The contract was settled quickly.

Both men had the professional attitude of former soldiers.

After all the workers went home, the factory grew quiet again.

Lee Jun-hyuk took one last look around the workshop.

The five hundred extra cans produced today were lined up neatly on the shelves.

“We’ll sell even more tomorrow.”

No matter how much a guy like Bancroft tried to interfere, there was no reason for them to stop.

“Boss, you can go home now.”

Yu Ilhan said.

“Tony, Jack, and I will watch over things.”

Lee Jun-hyuk nodded.