Chapter 20: Exporting Exploitation V

—Why do you turn your back on me?

Blood poured from where a sword had pierced his torso. It was a fatal wound, yet he seemed unfazed, as if he couldn’t feel any pain.

His fearless demeanor caused the knights surrounding him to falter and retreat, turning pale with fear.

—D-Director! What you’ve done is treason! Surrender quietly!

—His Majesty promised as well! He assured us that Director, should you surrender, mercy would be shown! Please, Director, yield yourself!

—His Majesty? You mean the one unworthy of wearing the crown? The Director chuckled darkly, raising his blade high.

A red aura emanating from the tip instantly spread outward, suffocating the knights with an invisible force.

“Let this be seared into your very being—the price you pay for betrayal.”

Ha So-young woke up yawning and rubbed his head.

“Hmm… Maybe something good will happen today? It’s been a while since I’ve had such dreams.”

After finishing breakfast, he received a call from Jeon Sung-ryeol regarding West Sea Foods’ decision to continue with their export agency arrangement for some time.

“We need to explore other options before the next songi season arrives. For now, it’s best to proceed under these conditions.”

“I understand; after all, time is crucial.”

-Thank you for being so accommodating.

“It’s far better than losing everything by blindly chasing unrealistic goals.”

-If you sell between 1,500,000 won to 2,000,000 won per kilogram, considering West Sea Foods takes 15%, you could potentially earn up to 425,000,000 won.

“Aren’t you expecting too much at two million won per kilogram?”

–‘West Sea Foods told me that Japanese companies have already lined up after hearing the rumors. Japanese gourmets go crazy for premium songi mushrooms.’

“Well, West Sea is everywhere. West Sea Hotel, West Sea Foods…”

–‘They are the number one group in our country’s business world.’

It couldn’t be helped.

“Why would these top conglomerates bother with exporting mushrooms? It’s quite amusing.”

–‘When they covet even street-side tteokbokki businesses, what does it matter about songi mushrooms? Moreover, despite sharing the ‘West Sea’ name, West Sea Foods operates independently from West Sea Hotel.’

“What exactly does West Sea Foods specialize in? Based on their name, I’d guess they make and sell ramen.”

–Y-Yes, how did you know? They also sell ramen. In fact, they hold the number one market share for ramen sales.

“Really? Why haven’t I heard about this before? I love ramen.”

–Have you tried Yoon Ramen?

“Oh, of course! It’s my favorite ramen brand. Wait, but isn’t it made by a different company than West Sea Foods?”

–Actually, Yoon Ramen is produced by Taiyangshin, which is a subsidiary of West Sea Foods.

“Hold on. Taiyangshin sells…”

–They cover all aspects of food products. You can think of West Sea Foods as having their hands in everything related to food – production, processing, sales, and distribution.

“So, being such a large corporation, they demanded a hefty 30% agency fee from the start. Anyway, typical corporate exploitation. Regardless, thank you for your efforts. Lowering it to 15% is greatly appreciated.”

“I didn’t plan to stay long anyway.”

“You’ll handle things well on your end, I’m sure. Please take care of it. For now, I need to focus on cultivating golden silk umbrella mushrooms.”

“Can you really reduce the cultivation cost?”

“Oh yes, absolutely.”

“Understood. Then, I’ll think ahead about how to distribute the golden silk umbrella mushrooms as well.”

After ending the call, Ha So-young retrieved the elixir. With a drop on his chopsticks, he closed his eyes tightly and placed it in his mouth. Soon, a burning sensation akin to swallowing fire spread through his esophagus, radiating intense pain throughout his body.

“Aaaaaargh!” he screamed and lost consciousness.

How long had he been out? When he checked the time, it was already three hours later. Groaning with a throbbing head, Ha So-young staggered to his feet.

“Ouch, even when I was on fire for a week after being hit by the Divine Dragon’s breath, it didn’t hurt this much. It feels like every cell in my body has been disintegrated at the nanometer level and recombined.”

He stepped out to the backyard, searching for the Silver Tree. As if waiting for him, the tree vigorously shook its branches, welcoming him joyfully.

-Oh, son. Your scream today was particularly loud.

“I thought I had gotten used to it, but that unexpected blow really caught me off guard. Today was exceptionally painful.”

-This is all part of the process to cancel your human limits and attain God’s physique. Now, let us begin today’s lesson. Thus, the First Cosmic War commenced, aiming to spread the grandeur of the ancient pagan gods—or rather, franchise gods—throughout the entire galaxy…

Ha So-young fell asleep again today.

The next day:

Ha So-young headed to the meeting place to meet Lee Wonjae, Vice President of West Sea Foods. he deliberately didn’t inform Jeon Sung-ryeol about his schedule for today. he wanted to see what Lee Wonjae had to say without Jeon Sung-ryeol’s presence influencing him.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Lee Wonjae from West Sea Foods.”

“I’m Ha So-young.”

Lee Wonjae greeted Ha So-young politely and handed him his business card. He was deferential, resembling an employee from a smaller company welcoming a buyer.

“You are younger than I expected.”

“Yes, I just turned twenty this year.”

Ha So-young responded nonchalantly, and Lee Wonjae paid little attention to the “just” he added.

“I heard you also supply goods to Baekdu Hotel.”

“I only harvest them. The distribution is handled by Sungyuk Distribution, so I’m not well-informed about that aspect.”

“I’m primarily a producer, after all.”

“But even without Songichul, you’re supplying several hundred kilograms of premium-quality matsutake mushrooms per month. I was initially quite surprised when I heard this. Matsutake cannot be cultivated artificially, can they?”

“We own a mountain where matsutakes grow throughout spring and summer as well. As for how it happens, I don’t fully understand the science behind it. My role is simply to harvest them.”

For an instant, Lee Wonjae’s eyes lit up, but Ha So-young didn’t miss this subtle change.

‘Sigh, businesspeople always have their minds filled with suspicions.’

Ha So-young gradually steered the conversation towards his main purpose.

“You mentioned something about exporting matsutake mushrooms to Japan?”

“Oh, yes. That’s correct.” Lee Wonjae straightened his posture and spoke earnestly.

“I’m not sure how close you are with Sungyuk Distribution, but I question why you would want to add another middleman for overseas exports. As the primary producer, President Ha, it wouldn’t be beneficial for you.”

“Is that so?”

“For Japanese exports only, what if we dealt directly with each other? I don’t know what deal Sungyuk Distribution has offered, but direct trading will undoubtedly benefit you more.”

“It makes sense without any intermediaries involved.”

“If you transact directly with us, instead of the promised 12%, we’ll give you an additional 2%, making it 14%. We’ll take only 10%.”

“Pardon me? What did you say?” Ha So-young paused momentarily, while Lee Wonjae smiled confidently.

Take the bait, come on.

‘Only 12%? But President Park mentioned a 15% share.’

Ask him, ask him.

“So, West Sea Foods originally agreed to take 12 percent of the auction price, but you’re saying if I deal directly with you, it will only be 10 percent?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Ha So-young’s expression hardened slightly, and Lee Wonjae mentally cheered as he thought he had successfully planted seeds of distrust towards Jeon Sung-ryeol within his mind.

However, he was half-right and half-wrong.

‘Who is behind this? Which side is trying to manipulate me now?’

Ha So-young didn’t blindly trust either party. Their stories conflicted, indicating that one side must be lying, yet he couldn’t determine who at this point.

‘Is it President Jeon? Or West Sea Foods? Could it be this guy here? Or perhaps just a ploy by higher-ups at West Sea Foods, with this fellow merely being their messenger?’

At this point, he couldn’t determine anything for certain. All he knew was that someone was lying to him. Ha So-young decided to verify once more.

“You’re sure you’ll give me an additional two percent and West Sea Foods will only take ten percent of the winning bid price? Has it been approved by upper management as well?”

“Of course. It’s up to your decision, President Ha.”

“I understand. Let me think about it.

After all, I have developed a special bond with Sungyuk Distribution over these past few months.”

A “special bond” formed over just “a few months.” Hearing these contrasting words, Lee Wonjae internally smiled, confident that things were going his way.

Meanwhile, Jeon Sung-ryeol had no idea about Ha So-young’s meeting with Lee Wonjae as he unexpectedly received a phone call at that moment.

“What? You want to buy all our songi mushrooms from Japan?”

“Yes, Makemira Investments will purchase them all.”

Jeon Sung-ryeol was taken aback. Why would an investment company be interested in buying songi mushrooms?