38: Chapter 38

At the end of March, the cherry blossoms in Gyeongsangnam-do bloomed. Chairman Wang Shunyi sat in the car heading to the Gyeongnam Ingredients headquarters. Outside the window, a sea of pink and white looked like someone had spilled paint across the hillside. He had no heart to look at the flowers; in his hands, he flipped through the final version of the agreement sent by the lawyer. He had read the clauses on the paper over a dozen times; he could recite them even with his eyes closed.

Zhang Junhao was driving, and Park Min-ji was sitting in the back seat. The three of them did not say much. Inside the car, there was only the sound of the navigation system, occasionally announcing, "Speed camera 500 meters ahead."

The Gyeongnam Ingredients factory was on the edge of an industrial zone. It was a gray-white building with an old sign hanging at the entrance, weathered by wind and sun, the lettering slightly faded. Choi Jae-hoon was standing at the entrance waiting, wearing a dark blue suit with his tie tied neatly. His hair had been restyled, and he looked much more energetic than the last time they met. Standing beside him was a man in his forties wearing glasses and holding a folder, likely the company's financial manager.

"President Wang, welcome." Choi Jae-hoon bowed first, then extended his hand.

"Chairman Choi, I've kept you waiting." Chairman Wang Shunyi shook his hand, feeling that the other man's palm was rough and strong—the hand of a man who had spent his whole life in industry.

The signing ceremony was arranged in a small conference room on the second floor. A dark green tablecloth covered the long table, on which sat a few bottles of mineral water and a pot of artificial flowers. The lawyer divided the agreement into two copies, giving one to Sunyi and one to Gyeongnam, and both sides read through them. The conference room was very quiet, with only the sound of turning pages.

Chairman Wang Shunyi turned to the last page, signed his name, and stamped the company seal. Choi Jae-hoon also signed; his handwriting was very neat, stroke by stroke, as if he had practiced calligraphy.

"Happy cooperation." Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up and extended his hand.

"Happy cooperation." Choi Jae-hoon shook his hand without letting go immediately. "President Wang, the company is in your hands now. Please take good care of those employees."

"Rest assured."

After the signing ended, Choi Jae-hoon took Chairman Wang Shunyi to tour the workshop. The seasoning packet production line was semi-automated, handling everything from ingredients and mixing to packaging and sealing in one go. The machines were loud, and they had to shout to speak. Choi Jae-hoon pointed out several key nodes while introducing them. Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded as he listened, occasionally leaning in to check the nameplates on the equipment—the production dates were from five years ago, and some had already started to rust.

"How long has this line been in use?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

"Five years and three months," Choi Jae-hoon said. "It's still in decent condition, but it might need to be replaced in two years. The speed of this packaging machine can no longer keep up with the order volume."

Chairman Wang Shunyi noted it down in his notebook.

The dehydrated vegetable workshop was in another building. As they entered, a wave of heat hit them. Several large dryers were running, and the conveyor belts were covered with diced carrots and chopped spinach. Workers wearing white coats, hats, and masks moved between the machines.

"Daily production capacity is twenty tons," Choi Jae-hoon said. "Our dehydration technology is considered leading in the country; it can maintain the color of the vegetables and over eighty percent of their nutrition."

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up a handful of freshly dried diced carrots and examined them in his palm. The color was true—orange-red—and it smelled slightly sweet. He put them in his mouth and chewed; they were crispy, not like they had been dried at all.

"Indeed, not bad." He said.

After touring the workshop, the two returned to Choi Jae-hoon's office. The office was small, with bookshelves stuffed with folders and industry journals. On the wall hung a calligraphy piece that read: "Integrity as the Foundation." Choi Jae-hoon brewed two cups of tea, pushed one toward Chairman Wang Shunyi, and held the other himself.

"President Wang, how do you plan to deal with Park Chan-hyeok?" Choi Jae-hoon got straight to the point.

"Within three months, I will gradually reduce the supply volume to zero." Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the teacup, blew on it, but did not drink. "It won't be a sudden cutoff; I'll leave him some buffer time."

Choi Jae-hoon nodded. "Park Chan-hyeok is a small-minded person. If you cut off his supply, he won't let it go easily."

"I know."

"Also, my eighty employees—" Choi Jae-hoon paused. "You said you wouldn't lay anyone off."

"No layoffs." Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the teacup. "But efficiency must be improved. I will send a few people over to help you optimize the production process. They are not coming to seize power; they are coming to help."

Choi Jae-hoon looked at him, was silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Alright, I trust you."

On the way back, Chairman Wang Shunyi leaned against the passenger seat with his eyes closed. Zhang Junhao was driving, and Park Min-ji was scrolling through her phone in the back seat.

"President, what did Chairman Choi mean by that last sentence?" Zhang Junhao asked.

"Which sentence?"

"He said, 'I trust you.' It sounded like there was another meaning behind it."

"He is worried that we will suck Gyeongnam Ingredients dry—lay off the staff, close the factory, and swap out the brand." Chairman Wang Shunyi opened his eyes. "That's why I'm sending people over—not to manage him, but to help him. To let him see that we genuinely want to make this company successful, not to tear it down."

Park Min-ji leaned over from the back seat. "Who do you plan to send?"

"Brother Jun-ho, you go first and stay for two weeks to sort out the production process. Then let In-pyo go to see what can be improved on the technical side. As for finance, Young-ae can go once a month to reconcile the accounts."

Zhang Junhao grunted in acknowledgment and said nothing more. The car got on the highway, and the cherry blossom trees outside the window formed a pink-and-white line, retreating rapidly.

It was already evening when they returned to Seoul. As soon as Chairman Wang Shunyi entered the office, Kim Tae-min walked over with a few printed sheets, his expression not looking good.

"President, Park Chan-hyeok has made a move."

Chairman Wang Shunyi took the papers. It was a screenshot of a news report, with the headline: "Shunyi Foods Maliciously Acquires Gyeongnam Ingredients, Cuts Off Competitor's Supply Chain." The report quoted Park Chan-hyeok: "This is an act of unfair competition, and we will take legal action to defend our rights."

"When was this published?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

"Three o'clock this afternoon. Several media outlets published it simultaneously; the content of the drafts is almost identical, so it must be a press release."

Chairman Wang Shunyi put the paper down and sat in his chair. "Brother Jun-ho, what do you think?"

Zhang Junhao leaned against the doorframe and thought for a moment. "He wants to wage a public opinion war. To make the public think we are the bad guys and he is the victim. To force us to make concessions."

"Minji, prepare a statement," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "Just say that the acquisition is a normal business transaction and that there is no malicious competition. Gyeongnam Ingredients sold voluntarily, the price was fair, and the procedures were legal. Keep the wording polite; don't get into a shouting match with him."

"Okay."

After the statement was issued, the internet argued for two days. Some said Park Chan-hyeok deserved it—why didn't he talk about fair competition when he was imitating the fire chicken noodles before? Others said Chairman Wang Shunyi's methods were too ruthless, poaching the supplier and acting dishonorably. Back and forth they argued, but the hype died down quickly. Consumers were more concerned about when the "buy one get one half off" promotion would happen again.

What really gave Park Chan-hyeok a headache wasn't public opinion, but the supply chain.

The supply volume from Gyeongnam Ingredients decreased week by week according to the agreement. The first week saw a ten percent reduction, which Park Chan-hyeok was able to make up for from other suppliers. The second week saw another ten percent reduction, and he started to get a little anxious. By the third week, another ten percent reduction meant his production line had already started experiencing downtime due to a lack of materials.

He urgently contacted several backup suppliers. One was in Chungcheongbuk-do, but the scale was too small, and the capacity was insufficient; one was in Jeollanam-do, but the quality was poor, and there were foreign objects in the samples sent; another was in Incheon, but the price was thirty percent higher than Gyeongnam's. Park Chan-hyeok gritted his teeth and signed the contract, but he knew clearly that costs had gone up, quality had gone down, and competitiveness would definitely take a hit.

What made him even more irritated was that the attitude of the investment institutions he had been negotiating with had suddenly changed. The venture capital firm that used to call him every day to urge him to submit supplementary materials had suddenly gone silent. He had his assistant call to ask, and the other party said, "We are conducting an internal evaluation; we will notify you when there is news." Later, he found out from other channels that the venture capital firm had shelved his project, the reason being "too much supply chain risk."

Park Chan-hyeok smashed a cup in his office.

In mid-May, the first-quarter financial report was released. Chairman Wang Shunyi projected the data onto the whiteboard: sales of 4.2 billion, net profit of 850 million, and a profit margin of 20.2 percent. Compared to last year, sales had increased by forty percent, and net profit had increased by fifty percent. Everyone in the conference room stared at those numbers, and no one spoke.

"This performance was achieved while acquiring Gyeongnam Ingredients and bearing the costs of the merger," Chairman Wang Shunyi turned around and looked at everyone. "If the one-time expenses of the acquisition are excluded, the net profit margin exceeds twenty-five percent."

Zhang Junhao clapped first, and then everyone followed suit. The applause wasn't loud, but it was genuine.

"President, what about the target for the second quarter?" Kim Tae-min asked.

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up a pen and wrote two lines on the whiteboard: "Sales of 5.5 billion, net profit of 1.1 billion."

"Isn't that too high?" Park Min-ji asked softly.

"Not high," Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the pen. "After integrating Gyeongnam Ingredients' production capacity, our raw material costs can drop by five to eight percent. Plus, the second quarter is the peak season, and GS and CU both have major promotions. 5.5 billion is achievable."

After the meeting ended, Chairman Wang Shunyi returned to his office and opened his computer. There was a new email in his inbox from Park Chan-hyeok.

"President Wang, I would like to meet and talk with you."

Chairman Wang Shunyi stared at those words for over a dozen seconds. What did Park Chan-hyeok want to talk about? Peace? A show of force? Or something else?

He picked up his phone and glanced at the date: May 17th. Outside the window, the sun was bright, and the distant Namsan Tower appeared exceptionally clear against the blue sky. He thought for a moment and typed a few words in reply:

"Fine. You set the time and place."

After sending it, he placed his phone face down on the desk and leaned back in his chair. Outside the window, the cherry blossoms had already faded, and the leaves were shining green. Downstairs, the delivery couriers were still tying goods onto their trucks, one after another, moving quickly as if they were racing against a deadline. He watched for a while, then picked up the documents on the table and continued flipping through them. Acquiring Gyeongnam Ingredients was only the first step; there was still much more to come. But he wasn't in a rush. One step at a time, he would eventually reach the place he wanted to go.