18: Chapter 18 The New Factory

Chapter 18: The New Factory

The day after the money arrived, Zhang Junhao began looking for a factory space.

Chairman Wang Shunyi gave him a list: at least five hundred square meters, compliant with food production hygiene standards, convenient transportation, and a monthly rent under three million. Jun-ho stuffed the list into his bag, hopped on his second-hand motorcycle, and headed out.

He spent three days in Seongdong-gu, four days in Gangdong-gu, and later traveled to Incheon and Gyeonggi-do. He looked at over a dozen factories, but not a single one was satisfactory. They were either too small, too dilapidated, incredibly remote, or outrageously expensive. One night, he returned, slammed his helmet onto the table, gulped down half a bottle of water, and grumbled, "Finding a factory is harder than finding a wife."

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't respond and poured him a glass of water.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jun-ho's call came through, his voice tinged with excitement. "Sunyi, there's an old factory on the edge of Seongdong-gu. It used to be a food processing plant, six hundred square meters. Why don't you come and take a look?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi dropped what he was doing and hailed a taxi.

The place was on the outskirts of Seongdong-gu, near a fork in the road. There weren't many residential buildings around, which made it convenient for trucks to come and go. The factory was a large single-story building; the white paint on the exterior walls was peeling, revealing the cement underneath. The entrance was a rolling shutter door that rattled loudly as it was pushed up.

The landlord was an old man in his sixties, wearing a faded jacket, waiting at the door. Seeing them arrive, he smiled and nodded. "Go on in and have a look. Take your time."

Chairman Wang Shunyi and Jun-ho walked inside. The floor was terrazzo, with cracks in some places, but overall it was fairly level. The lower half of the walls was tiled in white, while the upper half was painted, with some areas peeling off. The ceiling was high, with several fluorescent lights hanging from steel beams, and ventilation ducts running overhead. Although it looked old, the structure was sound.

"What did they used to make here?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

"Instant noodles," the old landlord replied, following behind with his hands behind his back. "My son ran it for over a decade before moving to Busan, so the place has been empty since then. I've been trying to rent it out, but no one wanted it."

Chairman Wang Shunyi and Jun-ho exchanged a look. Since it was an instant noodle factory, the foundation was already there—ventilation, drainage, and electrical systems were all in place. Renovating it would save a fortune compared to starting from scratch.

Jun-ho pulled out a tape measure, took a few measurements, and jotted them down in a notebook. He then ran outside to check the flow for truck access. When he returned, he brushed the dust off his hands and whispered to Chairman Wang Shunyi, "It's usable. Refurbish the floor, repaint the walls, set up the equipment, and it'll be good to go."

"What about the rent?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

The old landlord held up two fingers. "Two million. If you rent it, that's the price. It's just sitting empty anyway."

It was one million lower than the budget. Chairman Wang Shunyi did a quick calculation in his head and nodded.

They signed the contract the very next day. After signing with his pen, the old landlord looked up at them. "Young men, what brand are you making?"

"La Ziyou," Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

The old landlord thought for a moment and shook his head. "Never heard of it. But that's alright, it's a new brand, take it slow." He stood up and patted Chairman Wang Shunyi on the shoulder. "Good luck."

After renting the factory, the two of them split the work. Jun-ho oversaw the renovations, while Chairman Wang Shunyi focused on the equipment.

The renovation work wasn't easy. The floor needed new self-leveling screed, the old paint on the walls had to be scraped off and repainted, the ventilation ducts needed cleaning and maintenance, and the drainage ditches had to be cleared. Jun-ho arrived at the site early every morning, wearing a mask and working alongside the construction crew. He would return at night covered in dust, with new layers of cement splattered over the dried ones on his shoes.

The equipment side wasn't any easier. Chairman Wang Shunyi visited three equipment suppliers, comparing prices and performance. Local Korean equipment was expensive but offered convenient after-sales service; imports from China were cheaper but had long customs clearance periods and would be hard to repair if they broke. In the end, he chose a medium-sized local manufacturer for a semi-automatic production line—the noodle block, seasoning, and packaging modules combined cost sixty million.

"You got it for sixty million?" Jun-ho asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

"I negotiated for two rounds. The original price was sixty-eight million, and I talked them down to sixty," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "We'll use this for now and upgrade once we grow."

They had to wait a month after ordering the equipment. During this time, the factory renovations were mostly finished—the floor was smoothed, the walls were painted white, new piping was installed for the ventilation system, and several pieces of fire safety equipment were added. Jun-ho stood in the middle of the factory, looked around, and said, "It looks like a proper place now."

Chairman Wang Shunyi leaned against the doorframe and watched for a while without saying anything.

One evening, he sought out Lee Soo-yeon to discuss the brand.

"Xiuyan, what do you think of our current packaging?" He placed a bag of fire chicken noodles on the table.

Lee Soo-yeon picked it up, looked at it, and put it back down. "To be honest, it's a bit tacky. Red background, black text, and flame patterns—it looks like something from a street stall. If you want to get into chains like GS25, this packaging won't cut it."

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded. "Then how do you think we should change it?"

Lee Soo-yeon opened her laptop and showed him a few images. "Look at Samyang's fire chicken noodles—black and red color scheme, the fire chicken mascot—it's instantly recognizable. Nongshim's Shin Ramyun—red and yellow, that 'Shin' character logo—it's simple but memorable. We need to find a professional design firm."

"What's the budget?"

"I've asked a few; it's around five million."

Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment. "Alright, find me a few reliable ones, and I'll take a look."

Lee Soo-yeon found three firms. The first quoted six million with a three-week turnaround; the second quoted four million with a two-week turnaround; the third quoted five million with a three-week turnaround. After reviewing their portfolios, Chairman Wang Shunyi chose the third one: "Visual Power." Their style was clean, impactful, and not overly flashy.

The design process took a month. Visual Power proposed four or five versions. Chairman Wang Shunyi, Jun-ho, and Xiuyan reviewed them together at every meeting, discussing them until midnight. The final version featured a black background with red flames leaping up from the bottom right corner. The words "La Ziyou" were in a bold, slightly tilted black font, with a chili icon in the top right corner indicating the spiciness level. The back of the packaging included product descriptions, nutritional information, and cooking instructions, all with clear fonts and a clean layout.

When Jun-ho saw the finished product, he remarked, "Now this looks like the real deal."

Chairman Wang Shunyi turned the sample over in his hands several times, feeling quite satisfied.

On the day the renovations were completed, Chairman Wang Shunyi stood at the entrance. Sunlight streamed in from above the rolling shutter door, illuminating the freshly painted white walls. The floor was spotless, and since the equipment hadn't arrived yet, the entire factory was empty, creating a heavy echo. He walked inside, his footsteps echoing rhythmically in the cavernous space.

Jun-ho followed from behind and handed him a bottle of water.

"It looks like a factory now," Jun-ho said.

"Just missing the equipment." Chairman Wang Shunyi unscrewed the cap and took a sip.

"It'll be here next week."

"What about the certification?"

"The audit is scheduled for next week. I've prepared all the documents."

A week later, the auditor from the certification agency arrived. He was a middle-aged man with glasses, wearing a white lab coat and carrying a flashlight. He inspected the floors, the corners, and the ceiling, then flipped through the thick stack of materials Jun-ho had prepared—hygiene management systems, production process standards, and personnel health records—checking them off one by one.

In the end, he raised two minor issues: the airflow from the vents in two areas of the ventilation system was insufficient, and two more sets of fire extinguishers were needed. Once these were rectified, the certificate was issued half a month later.

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked over the certificate several times before placing it in the filing cabinet and locking it.

At eight o'clock next Monday morning, everyone was present.

The production line had been tuned, the silver-white machines were polished to a shine, and the conveyor belts were taut. Workers in matching white lab coats, hats, and masks stood at their respective stations. Jun-ho stood at the head of the line, with Chairman Wang Shunyi beside him holding a walkie-talkie.

"Is everyone ready?" Chairman Wang Shunyi looked around.

The workers nodded.

"Start."

Jun-ho pressed the start button. The conveyor belt began to hum, and noodle blocks slowly emerged from the machine, passing through the steaming, frying, and cooling zones before being cut to a uniform size and sent forward in neat rows. On the seasoning line, chili powder, spices, and flavorings were mixed in proportion, filled into small sachets, sealed, and dropped. On the packaging line, the noodle blocks and seasoning packets were bagged, sealed, and labeled in one smooth motion.

The whole process went smoother than Chairman Wang Shunyi had expected. The machines didn't jam, the conveyor belts didn't drift, and the workers made no mistakes.

When the first bag of fire chicken noodles slid off the end of the production line, Jun-ho caught it. He turned it over to look at the front, then the back, and handed it to Chairman Wang Shunyi.

Chairman Wang Shunyi took it without a word.

He tore open the packaging and examined the noodle block—the color was even, and there were no broken pieces. He then opened the seasoning packet, poured a bit onto the back of his hand, and sniffed it. The spicy aroma hit his nostrils, exactly like the previous samples.

He looked up at the people standing by the production line. Jun-ho was staring at the conveyor belt, Lee Soo-yeon was filming with her phone, and Kim Dong-xu had arrived at some point, craning his neck to watch from the back.

"Well done," Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

His voice wasn't loud, but amidst the hum of the machines, everyone heard him.