10: Chapter 10 First Contact

The opening of the new office was like stepping on the gas for this small car that had just hit the road.

The odometer on Kim Dong-xu’s second-hand motorcycle clocked over a thousand kilometers in a month. He went from knocking on every door of the convenience stores and supermarkets in Seongdong-gu to being proactively greeted by the owners. The number of partner stores grew from twenty to forty-five, and he even extended his reach into the neighboring Gangdong-gu; although he only secured three deals there, it was a start.

After Zheng Xiuzhen took over the online store, the notification sounds from the backend never stopped. Following Lee Soo-yeon’s advice, she retook the product photos and compiled the customers' spicy challenge videos into a collection at the top of the detail page, causing the conversion rate to inexplicably rise by nearly twenty percent. When Chairman Wang Shunyi went to check the backend, she was clattering away on the keyboard, replying to a nitpicking customer. While she muttered, "Is this person just here to cause trouble?" her hands were typing, "Dear, thank you very much for your suggestion; we will work hard to improve."

Over at the night market, Chairman Wang Shunyi hadn't let things slide. He set up the stall at six o'clock sharp every day. The "Spicy Challenge" had been running for a month and was still going, though there were more onlookers now and fewer actual challengers—most people just watched the video of the boy looking for water all over the street after being overwhelmed by the spice, laughed, took a photo, and left. However, the "stamp cards" were effective; some people had already collected two cards and the third was almost full, asking him if they could exchange them for river snail rice noodles. He said yes, and the person actually made the exchange.

After a month, the total sales column in the ledger showed just over 15,000,000. After deducting expenses, the net profit was about five million.

On Friday night, only Chairman Wang Shunyi and Zhang Junhao remained in the office. Zheng Xiuzhen had left at six, and Kim Dong-xu had gone back to sleep after finishing his last delivery.

"Sunyi, I think we should hire two more people." Zhang Junhao leaned back in his chair and closed the ledger.

"Hire for what?"

"Production and packaging. Right now, all the goods come from your friend. Will he be able to keep up if the volume increases? If we set up our own small workshop, even if it's just for portioning and packaging, it'll look better to the outside world, and it'll give you peace of mind internally."

Chairman Wang Shunyi put down his phone and thought about it. He could get as much as he wanted from his storage space, but he couldn't say that. The matter Jun-ho raised was actually a good way to provide cover.

"Alright. Find a place, somewhere close to here. It doesn't matter if it's small."

"Got it."

Just as he finished speaking, the phone rang. An unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Chairman Wang Shunyi?" The voice on the other end was polite but well-enunciated, clearly from a professional company.

"Speaking. Who are you?"

"Kim Sung-min, Purchasing Manager of Canhe Foods." The other party paused. "Our president, Mr. Park Chan-hyeok, would like to meet with you to discuss a potential partnership."

Chairman Wang Shunyi’s fingers tightened slightly around his phone.

Canhe Foods. A medium-sized food company with an annual turnover of 300 billion, producing instant noodles, snacks, and drinks. It was well-known in South Korea. While it was a cut below Samyang and Nongshim, compared to his small stall, it was like an elephant and an ant.

"What kind of partnership?"

"President Park didn't go into much detail; he just asked me to contact you. When would be convenient for you? We can accommodate your schedule."

Chairman Wang Shunyi glanced at Jun-ho, who raised an eyebrow.

"Next Monday, at three in the afternoon."

" OK, I'll send the address to your phone.. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby on the first floor.."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi explained the situation. Jun-ho frowned. "Canhe Foods? What do they want with you?"

"I don't know." Chairman Wang Shunyi put his phone on the desk. "But I don't feel quite right about this."

"Then are you still going?"

"Yes. To see what he's up to."

Monday, 2:45 PM.

Jung-gu, Canhe Foods Building. Ten stories high with a glass curtain wall and two black imported cars parked at the entrance. Chairman Wang Shunyi and Zhang Junhao walked into the lobby, where a middle-aged man in a gray suit met them. He introduced himself as Kim Sung-min and led them to the ninth floor.

The ninth-floor corridor was quiet, the carpet so thick that footsteps were silent. Product posters and rows of honorary certificates hung on the walls. Kim Sung-min stopped in front of a door and knocked twice.

"President Park, Mr. Wang has arrived."

"Come in."

The conference room was large, with a rectangular table that could seat twenty people. At the end of the table sat a man in his early fifties, slightly pudgy, with meticulously combed hair, wearing a deep blue suit and cufflinks that shimmered. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were as heavy as weights, fixed on Chairman Wang Shunyi from the moment he entered, scanning him from head to toe.

"Please, sit." Park Chan-hyeok stood up, as warm as if he were meeting an old friend. "Young man, come, sit across from me."

Chairman Wang Shunyi and Jun-ho sat down. Kim Sung-min didn't take a seat but stood by the door, as if ready to leave at any moment.

"Mr. Wang, I've heard much about you." Park Chan-hyeok smiled, his tone carrying a sort of condescending friendliness. "I've been hearing your name often lately—fire chicken noodles and river snail rice noodles are very popular among young people. Remarkable."

"President Park, you flatter me. It's just a small business, nowhere near Canhe's level."

"Oh, don't be modest." Park Chan-hyeok waved his hand. "I've seen your data. Sales exceeded ten million in just a few months. In the Korean food industry, such speed is rare."

Chairman Wang Shunyi smiled and didn't respond.

Park Chan-hyeok stood up and walked to a whiteboard. Several charts were pinned to it, showing the market share distribution of instant noodles—Samyang, Nongshim, and Ottogi accounted for over ninety percent, while the remaining small slice was crowded with a bunch of small companies.

"Mr. Wang, the Korean instant noodle market is already monopolized by giants." Park Chan-hyeok pointed to the pie charts. "For a medium-sized enterprise like Canhe, life isn't easy."

He turned around and looked at Chairman Wang Shunyi.

"But your products are different. fire chicken noodles and river snail rice noodles—they're brand new, with no competitors in the market, and young people are buying in. If you do it right, the next big hit will be yours."

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Park Chan-hyeok returned to his seat, leaning forward slightly with his hands crossed on the table.

"So, I've come up with a proposal. Canhe Foods will acquire your brand. You'll receive a sum of cash plus shares in our company. At the same time, we'll hire you as the Brand Director, specifically responsible for the operations of these two products. What do you think?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi was in no hurry to answer. He looked at Park Chan-hyeok; the smile was still there, but the warmth in his eyes had mostly faded, replaced by a shrewd scrutiny.

"How much does President Park intend to offer?"

Park Chan-hyeok extended his right hand, fingers spread.

"Five hundred million."

Five hundred million won. About two and a half million RMB.

Chairman Wang Shunyi quickly did the math in his head. His current monthly profit was five million, which meant sixty million a year. Five hundred million was less than ten years' worth of profit. By acquisition standards, this price didn't even reach a P/E ratio of ten.

Furthermore, the brand would no longer be his. How fire chicken noodles and river snail rice noodles would be handled in the future would be up to Park Chan-hyeok. It might just end up being placed haphazardly on supermarket shelves like ordinary instant noodles, slowly draining its reputation.

"President Park, thank you for your recognition." Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up. "I need time to consider."

Park Chan-hyeok’s expression stiffened for less than half a second before returning to its kind appearance.

"Of course, of course. For something this big, anyone would need to think it over." He also stood up and extended his hand. "However, the market doesn't wait. It would be a pity to miss out. I hope to hear good news from you soon."

"I will give you an answer as soon as possible."

Handshake. Park Chan-hyeok’s palm was thick and dry, and he gripped firmly, as if he wanted to crush something.

Walking out of the building, the cold wind of Seoul hit them in the face. Chairman Wang Shunyi took a deep breath.

"What do you think?" Jun-ho asked.

"Five hundred million is too low." Chairman Wang Shunyi buttoned his suit. "We're making five million in profit a month now. Based on a P/E ratio, it's worth at least a billion. He's trying to take advantage of us."

"Then reject him."

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't nod or shake his head. He stood on the sidewalk, watching the flow of traffic.

"Jun-ho, did you notice?" he said. "He kept saying 'the market doesn't wait' and 'it would be a pity to miss out.' On the surface, he's worried for me, but in reality, he's applying pressure. He wants me to feel that if I don't sell to him, I'm finished."

Jun-ho thought for a moment, his face darkening.

"Moreover, his purpose for the acquisition might not just be for our products." Chairman Wang Shunyi took a step forward and then stopped. "He wants to eliminate a competitor."

"We're not in direct competition with Canhe."

"Not now." Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at him. "But what about later? Once we grow big, we'll eventually enter his territory. Park Chan-hyeok isn't stupid; he can see that. So while we're still small, he'll either recruit us or..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

Jun-ho didn't ask further, and the two of them walked along the street. It was getting dark, the streetlights weren't on yet, and the streets of Seoul were a hazy gray.

Only one thought kept rolling over in Chairman Wang Shunyi’s mind—there was something not so simple hidden beneath Park Chan-hyeok’s smiling face.

Rejection was certain. But he had no idea what would happen after that rejection.