Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Vegetable Price Surge
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-Next up in the news. Crop damage is mounting from over a week's worth of relentless downpours. Kim Min-seong is on the scene.
-Yes, this is Kim Min-seong reporting. Heavy rains centered on the central and southern regions have wreaked havoc on farmland. I'm here at one of the hardest-hit areas. As you can see, all the seedlings in the fields have been...
-Rainfall exceeding 260mm in a single day has devastated crop production, sending food prices skyrocketing. Spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and more have seen sharp increases. With the monsoon rains unrelenting for ten straight days, spinach prices have jumped about 65% in just one week...
-Lettuce prices have surged 121.8% over the same period. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 12th, some vegetables are already showing dramatic price hikes due to the flooding. People are even joking that it's not 'lettuce' anymore, but 'gold-chu.'
-With lettuce prices more than doubling, folks are saying it's rarer than meat. A 40-year-old restaurant owner in Seoul, Mr. A, lamented, "Prepping ssam veggies has become a real burden. With ingredient costs doubling or more, I'm losing money even when I sell."
[Sizzle-crackle.]
In the pitch-black room, only the TV screen glowed faintly. Jo Yi-ruk stared wide-eyed at the news.
It was still going on about the skyrocketing vegetable prices.
"...As expected."
Jo Yi-ruk muttered softly.
"I was right."
Song Woo-yeon's choice had been spot-on once again. And that meant Jo Yi-ruk's judgment was solid too.
"Sure~. Park over here... Huh?"
Through the smoothly rolled-down window, a startled face appeared. I flashed a grin and replied.
"Should I pull in even closer?"
"Woo-yeon!"
Kim Jong-chun's face lit up in shock.
"You could get hurt—move back a bit. I'll park right up against the shop."
"Y-Yeah, okay!"
Kim Jong-chun scurried aside. I swung the wheel sharply, parking the truck snugly against the store with practiced ease.
Even as I stepped out after parking, he stood there with a dumbfounded look.
"Why are you here? Today was supposed to be HQ pickup day..."
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, his eyes went wide.
"Wait, more importantly—do you even have a license?! You didn't before!"
"Nope."
"...!"
"Just got it. Regular Class 1."
"What?! First I'm hearing of it!"
"Of course. I got it yesterday."
I pulled my driver's license from my pocket and held it up. I'd been putting it off, but with more solo drives coming up, I finally went for it.
Naturally, I'd driven plenty before regression, so no lessons or practice needed.
I squeezed in the written and skills tests, then breezed through the road test in no time.
'The examiner next to me stared in disbelief as I handled the truck flawlessly without a hint of nerves.'
He probably suspected I'd been driving without a license. Too young-looking for a retest after revocation.
"Yesterday?!"
"Yep."
"This kid's got no fear! License one day and straight to driving a truck?!"
Sure, it was a puny mini-truck barely worthy of the name, but still reckless for a newbie. I got his reaction.
But hey, twenty years accident-free. ...Pre-regression, anyway.
"You saw it earlier. Parked right up tight. Still worried?"
"...True, that was smooth."
"I'm fine. Guess I'm a natural-born driver."
I brushed it off casually, and Kim Jong-chun tilted his head, puzzled but buying it. 'Maybe...?'
"Had some branches to check on, hear what the owners think. Loaded up and headed out."
"Not just a spot inspection?"
"Haha. Kinda, yeah."
"You little punk. If it weren't me, some other owner would've had a heart attack. Right?"
Fair point. Popping up unannounced during HQ pickup would've spooked anyone.
But seeing folks hustling at dawn like this? Worth it. Plus, scouting which spots the staff actually opened on time.
"Good thing you passed, Uncle."
"Whew. Dodged a bullet. Sleeping in today would've been the end."
"Lucky break~."
We could toss dark jokes around easily now. We faced each other and chuckled.
"So, everything okay lately?"
"Yeah. We're better off than most."
Kim Jong-chun's face darkened slightly. He'd overheard the woes of neighboring shops.
"It's wild how you keep veggies so cheap right now, Woo-yeon. I get shocked at market prices myself sometimes."
"They've shot up big time."
"Don't remind me. Another ssam rice place down the alley's barely breaking even on old menu prices—says he's crying over it. Can't just shut down, though..."
"Right? And losing regulars on top."
"Where do you even source this stuff? HQ's not selling at a loss, is it?"
Kim Jong-chun eyed me worriedly. I grinned.
"Don't worry. We're making margins on all of it."
"Sheesh. What kind of magic trick is this?"
"It's just the surge making it look cheap. Not that cheap compared to last year's prices."
"That's 'cause it's last year's baseline!"
Exactly.
"And we locked in contracts last year, so that's the baseline."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
No need to dive deeper. Bottom line: scoring goods cheap helped hugely through this mess.
'Prices drop later, we'll pay more then. But the real win's maxing profits in good times—and enduring the bad ones.'
Most shops crumble in the 'bad times.'
Not from missing peak earnings. They just lack the grit to hunker down through slumps or crises.
"Anyway, Uncle—no more dawn KakaoTals every day. You send them without fail."
After I chewed him out big-time, he still snapped pics at open every morning. Like a check-in badge.
Sweet at first. I replied with "Hang in there!" every time. Now I just read, no reply.
"Leave it. It's my pact with myself too. Annoying? Mute notifications."
"Already did."
"What, you punk?"
We bickered and burst out laughing.
"Thanks, Uncle."
For showing people really can change.
I meant it from the heart. Pre-regression, I met countless franchisees. Bad habits form easy. The reverse? Pure agony.
Kim Jong-chun dragging himself out at dawn daily? Total reinvention.
I appreciated every bit of it.
He blinked in surprise.
"For what?"
"Never mind. Got more stops—no time to linger."
"Gotcha. I'll unload quick!"
Kim Jong-chun wheeled over the cart and started unloading the truck like a pro.
Soon, he thumped the truck's rear.
"Done~! You're good!"
"Got it. See you next time."
"Yeah~!"
He was rushing inside with the cart—open prep time crunch.
I climbed back in, gripped the wheel.
Next stop already locked in.
Just like with Kim Jong-chun, I smiled at the guy whose eyes bugged out and jaw dropped when our gazes met.
"Uh... Huh?!"
"Been a while. Ji Sang-woo."
"Boss Song?!"
Ji Sang-woo nearly jumped out of his skin. Typical reaction.
Hitting Kim Jong-chun then him? Totally deliberate.
'These two changed the most from pre-regression.'
Ji Sang-woo's still under observation, but sales trends solid, inspections clean so far.
I hid that, grinned playfully.
"What? Came to inspect myself—got something to hide?"
"No way!"
Ji Sang-woo waved it off emphatically.
"Just startled a busy guy like you shows up. Uh, want some tea inside?!"
"Nah. Don't mind me—keep working. I'm really just dropping this off."
He glanced hesitantly, then started hauling goods. I watched, then spoke up.
"How's your mom doing?"
Last I heard, he'd thanked me profusely for spotting her liver cancer early.
Jo Yi-ruk gave me the weirdest look when he called me his savior.
No updates since—wondered how treatment was going. Hope she's recovering well.
"...My mom?"
Ji Sang-woo froze mid-motion at my question.
The mood shifted abruptly. I tensed up instinctively.
"Our mom, you see..."
Ji Sang-woo spoke in a slow, deliberate tone.