NOVEL NEXT 53
“Wow~ It was truly impressive. Her eyes suddenly changed, and she said, ‘We’ll help you build the strength to endure the winter.'”
Kang Yu-ha let out an impressed “Kroo” while scratching her throat.
“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”
This woman’s embellishments are excessive. It was simply a smooth negotiation with the village elders that went well. Why is she talking about it like some heroic tale?
“And she was so polite to the elders. Do you know how many grandmothers offered to introduce their sons or grandsons just today?”
“Is that level of courtesy not expected in business?”
“It’s remarkable, I tell you.”
Kang Yu-ha exclaimed, turning her body abruptly. This woman sure talks a lot.
“Usually, when people say they’re doing ‘business,’ they’re as stiff as if they’ve got a neck brace on. They act like bowing once would be the end of the world, you know?”
As if I haven’t seen such people before. I’ve encountered countless individuals like that.
Even among franchisees, there were some. After opening three or four franchise locations, they’d start looking down on customers, strutting around arrogantly.
But that approach doesn’t last long.
In business, relationships between people are paramount. How can one expect to succeed when they ruin the most fundamental relationship—the one with customers?
‘…Am I sounding too much like an old fogey?’
Ahem. I swallowed my words, internally reviewing them once more. Despite my youthful appearance, my inner thoughts were those of a seasoned businessperson with decades of experience. I’d caught myself about to say things inappropriate for my apparent age quite a few times.
“Speaking of which, Reporter Kang, how did you manage to sweet-talk the village chief into finding you a place to stay?”
“Haha. That much I had to do myself. I couldn’t possibly burden you with that too, CEO Song. Fortunately, the chief mentioned having a spare storage room, so I’ll be able to stay there tonight.”
Kang Yu-ha grinned, adding that having grown up with her grandparents, she was confident in handling such matters.
“When you leave tomorrow, please don’t forget about me… I don’t even know the bus schedule!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take care of you.”
“Thank you.”
Kang Yu-ha let out an exaggerated “Phew” of relief. As expected of a reporter, she was quite sociable.
“By the way, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Well, it depends on what kind of questions you have in mind.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just personal curiosity.”
Well, unless she wants to get on my bad side, she won’t rush to publish an article breaking our agreement. I gestured for her to go ahead and speak.
Excited, Kang Yu-ha started chattering away.
“It’s about that ‘long-term contract’ thing. Just hearing about it, it seems like such a great method. Do other franchise businesses use similar approaches? I’m completely clueless when it comes to corporate operations.”
Ah. So that’s what she was curious about.
Fair enough. Anyone would think along those lines. If it’s such a good method, wouldn’t everyone be able to procure ingredients cheaply this way?
“Long-term contracts certainly have many advantages. But there’s one critical drawback.”
“And that drawback would be…?”
“This contract is only beneficial under the assumption that the number of franchises remains relatively constant.”
“Ah!”
Kang Yu-ha let out an exclamation mixed with realization.
That’s the trap of long-term contracts.
“I see! If you promise to make bulk purchases for ten years, but the number of franchises significantly decreases during that time, the company would have to shoulder all the excess inventory.”
“Exactly. That’s why it’s a difficult method to choose unless you’re confident you can maintain a certain number of franchises.”
Everything has its pros and cons. Even long-term contracts couldn’t have only advantages.
“From what I heard, it seems you’re purchasing quite a large quantity.”
“We’ve agreed to buy all the items produced in this village.”
The village chief’s smile was so wide, I thought it might split his face.
“All of it…… Everything?!”
Kang Yu-ha asked, her mouth agape. That’s because stretching out on both sides of the path we were walking on were vast fields and rice paddies.
Various crops were growing on the plains that extended until they were blocked by the mountain ridges. Right in front, those are onions, and those over there must be potatoes.
I could roughly guess what they were just by looking at the shape of the leaves.
“Is, is that okay? As far as I know, the official number of
“Not at the moment, no.”
But I was confident.
“By the time all of this grows and is harvested, it won’t be enough even if we take the whole village.”
As I pointed to the fields before us, Kang Yu-ha wore a somewhat dazed expression.
“…You’re certain. Certain that it will turn out that way.”
“Of course.”
“That’s amazing. For a salaried worker like me… it’s a level of guts I could never hope to imitate.”
Kang Yu-ha said, swallowing hard.
“Isn’t it? The business is just starting, and no one knows how it will turn out. Yet you’re looking one step ahead, anticipating greater growth like this….”
An ordinary person might not understand. But for me, it was as natural as following predetermined steps.
After all, that’s what it means to walk a path you’ve already traveled once.
Kang Yu-ha seemed to ponder something deeply before cautiously asking.
“But… if long-term contracts have such pros and cons, wouldn’t it be better to contract in a way similar to others? Confidence is good, but shouldn’t you be more cautious about long-term contracts?”
“Well, there are various reasons, but it’s largely a measure to increase liquid cash.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
I turned the question back to Kang Yu-ha.
“How do you think franchise headquarters make money?”
“Huh? Well. I’m not sure, but I guess they take a certain percentage as fees in the name of brand royalties, and also……”
“Consulting, interior design, and ingredient supply. These three are the main sources of income for headquarters.”
That’s usually how it goes.
“Among these, the most lucrative regular income source is actually the ingredient side. Until now, we’ve been almost giving up on this profit due to our small scale, but don’t you think it’s about time we started collecting it?”
This was probably what Choi Yeo-hae meant by “income source” as well.
For now, we’ve designed it to reduce the company’s profits a bit, focusing on helping the franchises establish themselves well.
But now that we’ve passed the sprouting stage, it was time for the headquarters to establish its own profit structure.
Kang Yu-ha seemed to understand roughly, nodding in agreement.
“I’d like to ask just one more thing. Why this village in particular?”
Kang Yu-ha asked, pulling out a notebook from her chest and scribbling something with her pen.
The person who had been casually chatting while strolling had disappeared, replaced by Reporter Kang facing her interview subject.
I blurted out without any particular explanation.
“Because there’s nowhere else.”
“……?”
I smirked, swallowing the rest of my words. It wouldn’t make sense to her even if I explained anyway. It might just lead to unnecessary complications later.
Why here, of all places? Well……
‘Because next summer’s record-breaking heavy rains will ruin most farms’ crops.’
But this place, Jihyang-eup, was the exception to that flood’s impact.
Firstly, its high altitude made it safe from the damage of overflowing rivers, and being slightly off the path of the monsoon front, crop damage was relatively minimal.
‘Before my regression, around this time, I was struggling with skyrocketing produce prices.’
It was impossible to maintain our already low profit margins buying from regular markets. So I thought it might be better to deal directly with farms and went looking for suppliers.
But the harvest was so poor that most refused, saying they didn’t even have enough for their regular customers.
‘That’s when I found this place after asking around.’
Being inexperienced and an outsider, I almost got run out of the village. The rain had even cut off the bus service then, and it took days of living alongside the villagers to earn their trust and finally secure a deal.
‘Good quality, low prices, and relatively stable production.’
It was the best farm I could choose.
So, to prepare for the impending surge in agricultural prices, it made sense to contract with ‘this place’ ‘now’.
‘But I can’t say it like that. I can’t predict rain that hasn’t fallen yet.’
I just smiled brightly and quickened my pace.
“Let’s go. The sun will set if we dawdle. There are no streetlights here, you know.”
“Huh? …No, wait. What do you mean there’s nowhere else?!”
“Let’s hurry~”
I walked on, changing the subject without answering. Despite Kang Yu-ha’s repeated questions about the reason, I offered no particular response.
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Ding!
– Song Woo-yeon: Team Leader Jo, would you like to come taste test a new menu item?
Jo I-ruk set aside the pile of documents he was reviewing and picked up his phone. By now, he was almost afraid of getting messages from Song Woo-yeon.
She always acted on her own, but the results were invariably impressive. It was just Jo I-ruk who felt his stomach churn at these sudden developments.
Tak, tak.
[I’ll be right there.]
He sent a brief reply and stood up. He remembered that Han Mi-ae’s
He recalled Song Woo-yeon mentioning she was going there to develop a new menu item.
‘A new menu item…….’
Still, this request was relatively tame. For whatever reason, this young CEO seemed to be able to create any dish with ease.
‘Wasn’t it CEO Song’s recipe for the soup rice and chicken feet dishes too?’
Thinking about it that way, he couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation of the new menu item.
In no time, he drove over, and Song Woo-yeon greeted him with a bright smile.
“Here, try this!”
And the dish she presented was a vibrant red chicken feet dish. The spicy aroma tickling his nose was impressive.
Just looking at it made his mouth water, but the fiery appearance also made him nervous.
Jo I-ruk discreetly observed Song Woo-yeon’s expression. Her smiling face revealed nothing. Finally, Jo I-ruk cautiously picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of the red sauce-covered chicken feet into his mouth.
And then…….
“Ssssssip!”
A tingling spiciness on the tip of his tongue!
Before he knew it, he was gulping down water, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“It’s, it’s too spicy!”
Jo I-ruk said, almost whimpering. To this, Song Woo-yeon responded as if she had been waiting for it.
“That’s exactly it!”
“Pardon?”
“That’s what I intended.”
Song Woo-yeon said with a grin.
“The name…… shall we call it ‘Nuclear Chicken Feet’ for now?”