NOVEL NEXT 52
Murmur, murmur.
The elders gathered at the village community center were each voicing their thoughts.
“What’s this all about? Why are we being summoned during our busiest time?”
“Ah, haven’t you heard? Some important guest from Seoul is coming today. Just be patient!”
“But who’s coming from Seoul?”
My, my. It seems many of the elders have come without knowing what’s going on.
“Ah, you’re here!”
The village chief, who had just approached the community center, spotted me and called out in recognition.
“Wait a moment. I’ll give the elders a brief introduction~.”
“Yes. Please keep it brief. I’d like to explain the details myself.”
“Of course, of course.”
The village chief smiled and waved his hand dismissively. Then, clearing his throat, he opened the door to the community center and went inside.
“Well, well~. Elders, have you had your lunch?!”
I could hear the village chief exchanging pleasantries and setting the mood from beyond the door. As I waited patiently for the right moment, Kang Yu-ha whispered beside me.
“Do you know him already?”
“No, this is my first time meeting him in person. I’ve called a few times, though.”
“But why is he being so friendly? Rural villages are usually quite insular.”
“It’s simple.”
There are many ways to win people’s favor, but there’s a universal approach that works everywhere. Especially if you already know the other person’s preferences, as I do, it becomes even simpler.
“Contrary to appearances, the village chief here likes wine.”
“What?”
“It seems it’s hard to get wine in a rural area like this, and it’s not easy to go far to get it. When I gave him some wine I brought as a gift, he was overjoyed.”
Bribery, after all, works well regardless of time and place.
When I scratched his itch just right, her face lit up with delight.
Kang Yu-ha looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“Just for that?”
“What do you mean, ‘just for that’? Reporter Kang, have you ever heard of someone bringing wine to a rural village?”
“Well… no.”
“This is also about sincerity. It’s a gesture showing that I’m thinking of him.”
Who wouldn’t appreciate such a thoughtful gesture? Especially a village chief in a rural area.
There were probably more people who tried to throw their weight around, treating them like country bumpkins. In such times, a sincere gesture of goodwill can mean even more.
The excited voice of the village chief penetrated through the door.
“And this~ is something our guest from Seoul brought for our elders to enjoy~!”
Ah, it seems he’s giving it out now.
“Did you prepare something else?”
“Nothing special. Just some wine and simple refreshments.”
“What? Wine?”
Kang Yu-ha’s eyes widened as she asked again.
“Not makgeolli?”
“People often make this mistake. They assume that elders naturally prefer traditional things.”
It’s not entirely wrong. The elders wouldn’t want to drink wine every day either. But most of them would happily accept a glass of wine for a special occasion, just once amidst their daily routine.
The cafes and restaurants that young people like—why would the elders dislike them entirely?
They shrink back because they’re afraid of the judgmental looks from people who think it doesn’t suit their age.
Of course, they might find it unfamiliar since it’s not a taste they’re used to. But isn’t it the virtue of elders to grumble a bit and then brag to others, “I tried this new thing the other day, but it wasn’t to my taste~”?
“It has a unique flavor.”
“Is this what young people like these days?”
Just as the atmosphere had softened with this new topic of conversation,
“Alright, alright. Listen while you drink. Our guest is coming in.”
The village chief knocked on the door, signaling for us to enter. I straightened my clothes and took a deep breath, then exhaled.
Then, I flung open the door and stepped inside.
“Good day, elders.”
As I bowed, I could feel their gazes sweeping me up and down.
“This is our guest from Seoul. You know the crops you’ve harvested recently? They have something to say about that.”
“Our harvest?”
An old man sitting in the front row asked, staring at me intently.
“Young lady, you’ve come a long way. But if you want to buy our produce, why not just go to the local supermarket or nearby market? What brings you all the way here?”
“Haha. Despite appearances, I run quite a large business. I came in person because I’d like to make bulk purchases.”
Naturally, there’s a world of difference between buying one bundle of green onions and buying a thousand bundles.
The advantage of buying in bulk is that you can significantly lower the unit price compared to small-scale purchases. Of course, this is assuming you can handle such large quantities.
While the currently operating stores might be fine this year, from next year—or even as soon as the second half of this year—they would need a large supply of ingredients.
It’s not realistically feasible for store owners to wake up at dawn every day to attend vegetable auctions.
This is where the franchise headquarters should step in to manage the overall ingredient supply.
‘Of course, some companies seem to sell ingredients at prices much higher than market rates. But that only leads to dissatisfaction among franchisees.’
Who would happily accept having to buy at prices higher than what they could get at the mart right now?
‘We can buy cheaper in bulk, but that alone isn’t enough.’
With just that margin, after deducting the necessary fees for the headquarters, the price ends up similar to or slightly below market rates.
That won’t do.
There’s only one way to supply high-quality ingredients cheaper than market rates even after adding the headquarters’ fees.
And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do now.
“Sure. We’d be happy to sell more. How much do you need?”
A grandmother sitting nearby chimed in.
“Everything.”
“…Huh?”
“I’d like to purchase everything this village produces.”
“Now, now, young one. That’s not how you do business!”
An old man tapped his cane on the floor as he spoke.
“Why should we trust and rush to sign such a contract, hm?”
“That’s right. What if you go bankrupt within a year? We’d be left high and dry after working hard all year!”
Their concerns are all valid. It’s a reaction I fully expected.
For farmers, the most challenging issue is the lack of transparency in the supply chain.
Even if you grow crops, it’s all for naught if you can’t sell them. So, the safest approach is to avoid large contracts with untrustworthy parties.
That’s why this method is necessary.
As the murmuring subsided and the room quieted down, I spoke.
“I’m not looking to make just a one-time purchase.”
This is the key point.
“I’d like to establish a 10-year long-term contract.”
“……!”
The atmosphere among the elders changed dramatically at my words.
Even those who had been grumbling about leaving their seats now had a serious look in their eyes.
“A long-term contract…?”
“Let’s say there’s a vegetable that usually costs 500 won.”
I raised my voice and slowed my pace to make it easier for the elders to understand.
“Depending on whether it’s a good or bad harvest year, this vegetable could cost 50 won or 5000 won.”
It was entirely possible, given that vegetable and produce prices change slightly each year.
This is especially true for fruits like apples or pears that are difficult to import.
“Regardless of such market prices, let’s agree to always maintain a price of 500 won. For 10 years.”
“Hmm……”
“Is, is that good?”
The elders tilted their heads, seemingly perplexed. The old man in the front row raised his hand and asked,
“Listen here, young one. Wouldn’t we be at a loss then? We’d have to sell for 500 won even when we could sell for 5000 won?”
“Conversely, there will be times when you’ll sell for 500 won what you could only sell for 50 won.”
I’m not sure which scenario would be more frequent.
In the end, vegetable prices tend to converge towards an average, so neither side should suffer significant losses.
“That’s why the duration is important. The longer it is, the more equal the burden becomes for both parties.”
The probability of getting heads when flipping a coin is exactly 50%. But if you flip it only ten times, it’s hard to predict which side will come up more often.
What if we increase the sample size? If you flip it a hundred or a thousand times, the number of heads will approach 50%.
Similarly, with this long-term contract, the longer the period, the less likely it is for either party to suffer a loss.
“Ahem. Even so, if it’s just the average price anyway, why bother with a long-term contract? You’re saying it’s the same as selling each time in the long run?”
“It will give you the strength to endure the winter.”
Winter is traditionally cold and hungry.
“What if I said I only wanted to make a one-time purchase, and then crop prices changed due to a good or bad harvest? What if vegetable prices became 50 won or 5000 won?”
I looked around at the audience as I spoke. By now, the elders were listening intently to my words.
“Naturally, one side would want to terminate the contract. If it became 50 won, I’d want to terminate the contract and buy cheaper elsewhere. If it became 5000 won, you elders would want to terminate the contract.”
This is the problem with short-term contracts and transactions.
“But what if it’s a 10-year long-term contract?”
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
“Even if you take a small loss this time, there will be times when you benefit in the future. Based on this trust, when vegetable prices fall, I’ll help you elders, and when they rise, you’ll help me.”
And this,
Was the only solution for supplying affordable ingredients.
I grinned at Kang Yu-ha, who was staring at me with a dazed expression from the back.
‘Reporter Kang, I’m counting on you for that feature article later.’