30: Chapter 30 A New Beginning

During the last week of the year, Chairman Wang Shunyi rented out a restaurant near Hongdae for an all-hands meeting. It was called a meeting, but in reality, it was just twenty or so people gathering to have a good meal and reflect on the year's events.

The restaurant wasn't big, but Chairman Wang Shunyi had booked the entire main hall. A buffet was set up on long tables, featuring bulgogi, spicy rice cakes, seafood pancakes, and army stew—authentic Korean cuisine. Employees arrived in small groups; some wore formal attire, while others were in hoodies, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Choi Min-ju was taking photos with the two newcomers from her team, and Kim Tae-min was helping to hang a banner that read, "Shunyi Foods Year-End Review Meeting."

Chairman Wang Shunyi stood at the front, microphone in hand, looking at the faces below—Zhang Junhao, who had been with him since day one; Park Min-ji, who had joined midway; and the interns who had arrived just two months ago. He suddenly felt a lump in his throat and cleared it before speaking.

"Everyone, let's eat first. We'll talk after we've finished," he said with a smile.

The crowd laughed, and everyone actually went to grab plates and pick up food. Chairman Wang Shunyi also took a plate, piled on some japchae and grilled meat, and sat down next to Zhang Junhao and Park Min-ji.

"Boss, what are you going to talk about later?" Zhang Junhao asked while eating.

"Talk about this year's events." Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up a piece of grilled meat, dipped it in sauce, and popped it into his mouth. "And mention next year's plans."

"The overseas market one?" Park Min-ji glanced at him.

"Yeah." He nodded, not saying much more.

Once everyone had finished eating, Chairman Wang Shunyi put down his chopsticks and walked to the front. The lights in the hall were dimmed, the projector lit up, and the first photo appeared on the screen—it was their very first office, a small apartment near Hongdae, with tables piled high with samples and shipping boxes, and stacks of fire chicken noodles on the floor, leaving no room to walk.

"This was taken last December," Chairman Wang Shunyi pointed at the photo. "At that time, there were only three people in the company—myself, Jun-ho, and Li Dongxu. Li Dongxu couldn't make it today; he's at the factory monitoring the production line."

Someone in the crowd chuckled.

"In January of this year, the first fire chicken noodles were launched. I was running a stall at the night market, selling dozens of packs a day, exhausted to death, but very happy." He pressed the remote, and the screen switched to the next image—a crowd queuing in front of the night market stall, Sister Jin's profile faintly visible amidst the cooking fumes.

"In March, we entered GS25. In May, we released river snail rice noodles and self-heating pots. In July, we received funding from Shinhan Investment. In October, we entered CU and released a limited edition. In November, the family pack was launched, and we entered Homeplus. In December, we sold 8,000 boxes of the premium self-heating pots."

He flipped through the photos one by one; people recognized each one and whispered among themselves. When he flipped to the photo of Sister Jin, Park Min-ji's eyes lit up.

"By the end of this year, our sales revenue is approximately 6 billion, with a net profit of around 1.2 billion. The team has grown from three people to twenty, and our product line from one to eight. We've essentially entered all the major national channels: GS, CU, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, and emart."

He paused and looked at the crowd.

"I didn't do all of this alone. We did it together."

Applause broke out—not perfectly synchronized, but very enthusiastic.

"Jun-ho." Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at Zhang Junhao.

Zhang Junhao stood up, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"From day one, you believed in me. Production lines, procurement, logistics—you've shouldered all the most tiring work. Without you, Shunyi Foods wouldn't be where it is today."

Zhang Junhao opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he only said, "Boss, this is what I should be doing."

"Minji." Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at Park Min-ji again.

Park Min-ji stood up, a faint smile on her face.

"Marketing, operations, channel negotiations—you've done the work of three people by yourself. And—" he paused, "thank you for always being here."

She didn't speak, just bowed slightly. There was some quiet teasing from the crowd, and Choi Min-ju clapped her hands.

Afterward, he thanked the other employees one by one—Li Dongxu wasn't there, and he specifically mentioned that "Li Dongxu is at the factory guarding the fort for everyone"; Choi Min-ju had built their social media from zero to over a hundred thousand followers; Zheng Yilin had established the quality control system, with not a single quality incident in half a year; Kim Tae-min kept the office in perfect order—invoices, contracts, qualification documents, he could find anything within three minutes.

Everyone stood up and bowed, and everyone said a few words. The atmosphere was warm, like a family gathering rather than a company annual meeting.

Finally, Chairman Wang Shunyi flipped the remote to the last slide. A line of text appeared on the screen—"2024, Where to?"

The hall went quiet.

"Next year, our goal is a sales revenue of 15 billion. That's one and a half times more than this year." He paused. "It might be more exhausting, with more overtime, and our hair might fall out faster."

Some people laughed, but their laughter carried a sense of seriousness.

"Specifically, there are a few things to do. First, new products. We need to release at least five, with something new every month for consumers to look forward to. Second, the overseas market. We'll start with cross-border e-commerce, testing the waters in China and Southeast Asia. The Korean market is too small; if we want to grow big, we must go out. Third, brand flagship stores. We won't just rely on channels; we need our own stores to let consumers experience our products directly. Fourth, expand the team to fifty people. Fifth, initiate Series B financing."

After he finished speaking, he placed the remote on the table and looked at everyone.

"I can't achieve these goals alone. I need every single one of you."

The meeting room was quiet for two seconds. Then Zhang Junhao was the first to stand up and slam his hand on the table.

"Boss, let's do it."

Then Park Min-ji stood up, Choi Min-ju stood up, Kim Tae-min stood up, and Zheng Yilin stood up. Everyone stood up.

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at them, his throat tight. He didn't say anything, just bowed deeply.

After the meeting ended, most of the employees left, but a few were still drinking. Chairman Wang Shunyi and Park Min-ji walked out of the restaurant side by side. The winter night in Seoul was very cold, their breath visible as white mist, and the streetlights stretched their shadows long.

"Those goals you mentioned earlier," Park Min-ji said, hands in her coat pockets, walking at a steady pace, "15 billion, overseas markets, Series B financing—are you serious?"

"When have I ever said anything I wasn't serious about?"

She smiled and didn't refute him.

The two walked for a while and passed a convenience store. On the door was a poster for canhe spicy chicken noodles, priced at 1,500 won. Chairman Wang Shunyi glanced at it but didn't stop.

"Minji."

"Yeah?"

"Five years from now, what do you think Shunyi Foods will be like?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Sales revenue of 500 billion, number one in the Korean convenience food market. Entering at least three countries in the overseas market."

He turned to look at her. "You dare to dream even bigger than me."

"It's not about daring to dream." She stopped and looked into his eyes. "It's about believing in you."

The streetlights illuminated her face softly, and the white mist from their breath dissipated slowly in the light. He reached out and took her hand. Her hand was very cold, but she didn't pull it back.

"Thank you," he said.

"You've already said thank you many times tonight." She smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Let's go, I'll see you home."

"I'll see you home."

"You've been drinking. I'll see you home."

"……Alright."

The two continued walking forward, neither speaking again. In the distance, Namsan Tower was glowing, and there was a drunkard singing on the street, the sound intermittent, scattered by the wind.

Back home, Chairman Wang Shunyi took a shower and sat at his desk. Outside the window, Seoul was still bright, and the sound of traffic drifted over from afar, like ocean waves.

He opened his notebook, turned to a blank page, and began writing down what he needed to do next year. He wrote, crossed out, and rewrote. After revising it repeatedly, the final plan was similar to what he had said at the restaurant, but with one extra line: "Take good care of myself and the people around me."

He closed the notebook and leaned back in his chair. The system interface appeared in his mind; he hadn't intentionally summoned it, but it had popped up on its own.

Storage Space: 127 recipes, 54 raw material samples, 32 packaging templates.

Skills: Taste Identification Level 3, Market Insight Level 2, Supply Chain Management Level 2.

The levels weren't high, but they were a significant improvement from half a year ago. He stared at the numbers for a while, then suddenly felt that these numbers didn't matter. What was important wasn't what the system gave him, but what he himself had done.

He closed the interface, stood up, and turned off the lights. The bedroom was very dark, with only a little light filtering through the gap in the curtains—the color of the streetlights.

He lay down and closed his eyes.

There was still a pile of things to do tomorrow. The data after the promotion at Homeplus needed to be followed up, the family pack production line needed debugging, and he hadn't read the overseas market research report yet. And Park Chan-hyeok—he didn't know what tricks that old fox was cooking up again.

But he wasn't afraid anymore. Not because of how strong he was, but because he was no longer alone.

His phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw a message from Park Min-ji.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not yet."

"I've remembered everything you said today. Good night."

He stared at the screen for a few seconds and typed two words: "Good night." Then he thought for a moment and added: "See you tomorrow."

After sending it, he put his phone on the nightstand and turned over. The light from outside filtered through the curtains, casting a blurry halo on the ceiling. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.