Chapter 57
Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Monumental Investment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No one invests thinking they'll take a loss.
"No... me? Why?"
I was a bit flustered.
No, I hadn't expected such a massive investment.
Sitting at a café table in front of Babsang, leisurely sipping coffee and letting out a satisfied belch, was the elderly gentleman. It felt surreal, like this couldn't be real life.
He was one of the people who had come with our building owner last time—Mark.
"Hm? Why? Don't like the terms?"
His tall, blonde secretary stood expressionless by his side.
Dressed casually like he was retired, his puzzled gaze made me a little uncomfortable.
No, with terms like these, what exactly does the gentleman get out of it?
"I... just didn't expect such a huge investment."
"Haha! I was deeply moved by your actions. I have tremendous respect for someone like you, Hoon, with such a strong spirit of self-sacrifice."
Ahem... how embarrassing.
As it turned out, he wasn't just some ordinary landlord. He was the owner of a massive investment firm.
The building was just something he'd bought as an investment.
"I'm really fine with it... are you sure you're okay with this?"
At my double-check, Mark grinned.
"I've already lived a long life. Now I want to do some good for the country. That 'popularization of healthy Korean cuisine' you talked about—I'll lend my strength to making it happen. And people like me? We'd gladly buy more time with money if we could. Time that's already passed is the most precious thing of all."
Given his age, that made sense.
"But... what's with this condition? Prioritizing your building for chain store locations?"
"Oh, that? If you're coming to my building anyway, it's good for both of us, right? Not a bad deal for you either. Since I'll have shares in the new company, no rent or anything, of course. You make a lot, and I make a lot too. Kekeke."
The contract terms were straightforward.
49% to 51% shares.
In other words, I'd hold a 1% majority in the joint company. And the investment amount.
The investment... 300 billion won.
Over 200 million dollars—an absolutely staggering sum.
No, I'd told him we didn't need that much, but he insisted that to turn a profit, we had to start with a massive farm from the get-go.
He was incredibly generous.
The conditions weren't bad either.
I just had to achieve mass popularization as quickly as possible and complete a nationwide chain within five years.
He said he'd provide additional funding as needed.
Hmm~ Rebuilding the farm on a massive scale and perfecting the automation system... it wasn't impossible.
"...You really think I'll succeed?"
"I've never failed in an investment once."
Ah, that confidence.
Those eyes that believed in my success without a doubt.
"I'll sign."
Mark gave a nod, and his secretary politely handed me a fountain pen.
Scribble, scribble.
I wrote my name on the contract.
"Here you are, sir."
"Good. Work hard from now on."
He extended his hand, and I shook it firmly.
And so, the first step toward what might become America's largest Korean food company began.
Orion Investment.
A firm famous on Wall Street for consistently high returns.
Its owner was Mark, the very man who had just signed the deal with Ji-hoon.
"Hmm~ The contract went off without a hitch."
Mark looked highly satisfied.
"...Chairman."
The moment they got in the car, his secretary Sara asked cautiously.
"We have no ties to the food industry at all... Is there a special reason for this investment?"
From Sara's perspective, it was utterly baffling.
Orion had traditionally stuck to finance and real estate.
"Hm?"
Mark turned to her.
"Tsk tsk, Sara."
"Yes, Chairman."
"The food was good, right?"
"...Yes. It was excellent."
"Americans don't always look kindly on financial types like us."
"...You're right. Investment is a zero-sum game—someone profits, someone loses."
"Exactly. And I've made enough money. I can't forget that sparkle in that young man's eyes when he talked about his dream. It reminds me of my own youth."
Mark gazed out the window for a moment.
"Sara."
"Yes."
"I didn't grow up wealthy. So when I heard why he was funding school lunches to help kids, it brought back my own childhood. Man... I hated school lunches back then."
"...I agree."
"Yeah. Living long has taught me nothing's more important than health. If our future generations aren't healthy, this great nation of America will sicken and die."
Americans' pride in their country was something else.
Well, it was the world's superpower, after all.
"200 million dollars?"
Mark muttered.
"Make all of America healthy for a measly 200 million? Where else can you find value like that? Hahaha."
Mark burst into laughter.
"And Sara, do you know how much the government allocates annually to child nutrition programs? 32 billion dollars."
"...Ah!"
Sara finally seemed to catch on.
"...You're aiming to dominate the school lunch market."
"Ahem... Can't invest at a loss, right?"
"And Babsang stores in our company buildings? Foot traffic will explode. Building values will rise naturally."
Mark glanced at the long line still stretching from Babsang.
"So, Sara. Still think it's a bad investment?"
"...No, Chairman."
Sara bowed her head.
"It was an excellent investment."
"Ahem. Good. Let's get going. We've got a mountain of work ahead."
"Yes. This way."
Mark got into the car with Sara's guidance.
And with one last look back at Babsang, he thought,
'Good luck, Hoon.'
With the contract done, Mark returned to New York.
Hansang.
Orion Investment.
My new company, born from Mark's investment.
This would be the foundation for opening branches across all of California where I lived.
Of course, we couldn't start right away.
We needed to lay the groundwork first.
For starters, the farm.
An enormous plot compared to the land I'd rented before.
Just standing there, you couldn't even see the end of the vast fields. That's the one we contracted.
Once this farm and production system were fully complete, that's when we'd expand.
Rice? I'd source it from a major distributor.
What I cared about were the essential ingredients you can't have Korean food without.
Onions, garlic. And cabbage for kimchi.
For the cabbage, due to Northern California's temperatures, we secured separate land on the southern coastal region to grow it.
And the most crucial part.
Sauce (jang).
For this, I'd end up asking Dad for tech support again.
He hated the idea at first.
Took some serious convincing.
Mass production.
That was the issue.
Using Dad's traditional earthenware pots, we couldn't handle the volume.
So we brought in 'industrial fermentation tanks'.
Temperature, humidity, fermentation period.
Precise control over everything for consistent quality.
We'd analyze samples of Dad's sauce, replicate the flavor as closely as possible.
Of course, Dad wasn't thrilled with the method.
He'd probably think, "What kind of sauce is this?"
But America is a huge country.
With capital pouring in, production facilities and supply chains started taking shape.
It had already been six months just preparing like this.
The Babsang main store? I popped in often, but I'd basically handed it over to Dong-hyun.
"Hehe, hubby! Look at this~"
Lily had changed a lot over the past six months.
Why? Just look at what she was doing now.
Dressed like she'd jumped straight out of an anime.
She spun around with a twirl, showing off for me.
"Hehe, what do you think? Cute, right?"
Why had it come to this? ...My fault.
My theory was, to learn a language fast, you have to love the culture.
"Hehe, hubby. Can you show me Korean dramas?"
One day, Lily asked.
I freaked out.
No, absolutely not...!
Korean dramas were the biggest culprit in turning foreign women "hell-joa" obsessed.
So-called "borno".
Aimed mostly at female viewers, full of chick flicks tailored to their tastes.
Chaebol heirs chasing after divorced moms with kids in their 30s or 40s, love triangles with hot guys...
Content that normalized total pushover behavior, sucking up every last bit of dignity.
I flat-out forbade it.
So I stuck to historical dramas as much as possible.
Then Dong-hyun, that punk, suggested, "Just go straight to anime."
So I showed her some masterpieces... and the result? As you can see.
Our YouTube channel "Lily Flower Has Bloomed" had surpassed 50 million subscribers.
Views were insane.
Thanks to that, Lily was loaded now.
No longer needed my card.
But for some reason, she still treasured it.
People loved watching our happy daily life.
And the anime cosplay video we did as a Halloween gag? It blew up with praise.
Lily got totally hooked.
From then on, cosplay became a regular thing—shorts videos, photo uploads, a whole new hobby.
Well...
My eyes were feasting, at least.