54: Chapter 54 is officially released.

Just after the New Year holiday, Chairman Wang Shunyi received a call from Mirae Asset Securities. The caller was the head of the IPO project team, a man in his early forties surnamed Zheng. He spoke in a slow, measured way, but every word felt precisely calculated.

"President Wang, we have conducted a preliminary valuation of Shunyi Foods. It's approximately between 600 and 700 billion KRW. If the listing is successful, the financing scale is expected to be between 150 and 200 billion." Chief Zheng's tone was flat, but the numbers themselves were anything but.

Chairman Wang Shunyi held his phone, standing by his office window. Outside was the gray sky of Seongdong-gu, with a few residential buildings in the distance and colorful quilts hanging on balconies. 700 billion. He remembered how two years ago, he was still worrying about the 300,000 won monthly rent in a semi-basement. Now, someone was telling him his company was worth 700 billion.

"Chief Zheng, what is the market capitalization of Nongshim Group?"

"Nongshim is currently at just over one trillion. Ottogi is around 700 billion, and Samyang is at 500 billion. If Sunyi is valued at 700 billion, it could rank fourth in the industry, second only to Nongshim and Ottogi. While there's still a gap with CJ's food division, it has already surpassed Samyang."

Chairman Wang Shunyi was silent for a few seconds. A company that couldn't even make the list two years ago was now aiming for third or fourth place. This kind of speed wasn't achieved through boasting; it required solid performance.

"Good. When do we start?"

"Next week. We'll start with due diligence—finance, legal, operations, everything needs to be checked. If all goes well, we'll finish preparations in the first half of the year, launch the IPO in the second half, and list before the end of the year."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi called Zhang Junhao and Park Min-ji into his office and closed the door. He relayed the valuation from Mirae Asset Securities. After listening, Zhang Junhao spoke first: "700 billion? Did they include the assets of Kims as well?"

"They counted half. Kims' brand value wasn't included, but the factories and distribution channels were. Chief Zheng's logic is that with Sunyi and Kims combined, the revenue has already exceeded 500 billion, and the market share is sixth. A valuation benchmarking Ottogi's 700 billion is reasonable."

Park Min-ji leaned back in her chair, the corners of her mouth curling slightly. "Ottogi has been around for sixty years, and we've been around for two. The capital market really only looks at numbers."

"Numbers are everything." Chairman Wang Shunyi sat down. "The next six months are critical. The finances must be clean, performance must look good, and there can't be any trouble with Nongshim. Jun-ho, keep a close eye on production; there can't be any quality issues. Minji, you're in charge of the financial reports and audits. Every single transaction must be crystal clear."

The two of them nodded.

In mid-January, Nongshim's plant-based series was officially launched. Park Jung-chul personally stood on stage at the press conference, with a row of green product packaging behind him that looked like it was cast from the same mold as Sunyi's plant-based series. It was priced at 2,800 won, ten percent cheaper than Sunyi's. When a reporter asked if he was following Sunyi's lead, he smiled and said, "Nongshim has always been an industry leader; there's no such thing as following."

Chairman Wang Shunyi watched the news livestream. Park Jung-chul wore a deep blue suit, his hair combed meticulously, appearing perfectly at ease in front of the camera. After the press conference, Nongshim's stock price didn't fluctuate much—for a company with a market cap of one trillion, the market had already expected the launch of a new product.

Zhang Junhao came in from outside and threw his phone on the desk. "The people at Nongshim have put the word out that they're going to start a price war with us in the plant-based market until we give up."

"A price war? Did they forget how Kims died?" Chairman Wang Shunyi sneered. "Kims fought a price war for three months and destroyed itself. Nongshim has money and can hold out for a year or two, but while they fight a price war, their R&D investment will decrease, and new products will slow down. We won't follow them; we'll release new products."

"Release what?"

"Plant-based Cheese Noodles and Plant-based Spicy Noodles. The cheese flavor has high costs and will be priced at 3,500 won, more expensive than Nongshim's, but consumers are willing to spend more on cheese-flavored items. The spicy flavor will be priced at 3,200 won, similar to Nongshim's, but ours uses traditional Korean chili paste while Nongshim uses industrial spicy extracts. The taste will be different."

Lee Chang-ho was having lunch when he received the task. He put down his chopsticks, took his notebook, and made a few notes, saying, "The difficulty with the cheese flavor is the texture of the plant-based cheese. The plant-based cheeses on the market are either too hard or too sticky. We need to find the right supplier."

"If you can't find one, develop it yourself," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "Is two months enough?"

"Two months."

"I'll give you two months."

The two new products were launched in early March. The packaging for the Plant-based Cheese Noodles was yellow, featuring a picture of melting cheese that looked very tempting. The Plant-based Spicy Noodles had red packaging with the words "Traditional Korean Spicy Flavor." In the first week of launch, the cheese noodles sold the best. Someone posted on social media, "The cheese flavor is rich, and the stretch effect is amazing." Sales were on par with Nongshim's plant-based series, but the profit margin was five percentage points higher than Nongshim's—because Sunyi's pricing was higher and its cost control was better.

At the end of March, Shunyi Foods' annual financial report was released. When Park Min-ji reported at the board meeting, her voice was very flat, but the numbers couldn't be suppressed—combined with Kims, the total revenue was 580 billion, with a net profit of 32 billion. Their market share held steady at sixth place, and the gap with fifth place narrowed from three percent to one percent.

The applause in the meeting room lasted a long time, and Zhang Junhao clapped until his hands were red.

"Fifth place, a one-point difference." Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up. "Last year we were sixth, and this year we're just a bit away from fifth. Next year, our goal is fourth. Not by relying on Kims, but Sunyi itself."

He turned around and wrote a number on the whiteboard—"1 Trillion."

"Next year, Shunyi Foods' revenue must reach one trillion. Kims will continue to handle the mid-range market, and we won't consolidate their reports. Sunyi itself, one trillion."

The meeting room fell silent. One trillion was more than double Sunyi's current revenue and was roughly the current size of Ottogi.

"President, isn't this goal a bit too aggressive?" someone asked quietly.

"Aggressive? It took Nongshim fifty years to reach one trillion and Ottogi sixty years to reach 700 billion. We went from zero to 600 billion in two years. Is another year to reach one trillion really that aggressive?" Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at the person. "Whether it's aggressive or not isn't decided by words, but by actions."

No one spoke again.

The due diligence in April was the most painful month since the founding of Shunyi Foods. Mirae Asset Securities sent over a dozen people, including accountants, lawyers, and industry analysts, who turned Sunyi and Kims' finance, legal, and operations upside down. They checked three years of invoices, flipped through every supplier contract, and spot-checked quality control records for over a hundred batches of products in the warehouse. Kim Tae-min was busy every day ordering lunch for them, and an untold number of buckets of coffee were consumed.

The biggest trouble was Kims' accounts. Since the food safety incident, Kims had billions in bad debts that couldn't be recovered, which remained on the books. Mirae Asset's accountants required a one-time write-off of these bad debts; otherwise, it would affect the financial health of the listing entity.

Chairman Wang Shunyi called Lee Jae-hoon into his office. "What will happen if we write off those bad debts of Kims?"

"The books will look bad. A large chunk of Kims' profits this year will be eaten up, and it might even fall into a loss again."

"If it's a loss, then it's a loss. The listing entity is Sunyi, not Kims. Kims' losses won't affect Sunyi's listing." Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment. "Write them off. Let Kims start from scratch. Don't let it go public carrying old debts."

Lee Jae-hoon nodded and went to make the arrangements.

In May, Nongshim made another move. Park Jung-chul announced at a press conference that Nongshim would invest 300 billion KRW to build a new factory and expand production capacity. When a reporter asked if this was to counter Sunyi's listing, he smiled and said, "Nongshim's strategy will not change because of any single company."

When Zhang Junhao saw the news, he cursed, "Aish, 300 billion. They really have money."

"Having money isn't necessarily useful," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "They have old factories to maintain, old employees to support, and old channels to manage. We are a new company with no baggage. Out of their 300 billion, maybe less than half can be used effectively. For our 100 billion, every penny is spent where it counts."

The listing application in June was submitted smoothly. The Korea Exchange's review was faster than expected, and it was approved in mid-July. When Chief Zheng from Mirae Asset Securities called, his voice was full of smiles. "President Wang, the review has passed. Roadshow in August, listing in September. Prepare your roadshow materials; the focus should be on growth potential."

The first stop of the roadshow was Seoul, the second was Busan, the third was Hong Kong, and the fourth was Singapore. Chairman Wang Shunyi wore the deep blue suit Park Min-ji had picked for him and gave over a dozen presentations. The content of each was similar—company introduction, financial data, growth strategy, and risk warnings. But the questions at each stop were different.

Investors in Seoul were most concerned about the competition with Nongshim. A middle-aged man in a gray suit raised his hand and asked, "President Wang, Nongshim Foods' market cap is one trillion, Ottogi's is 700 billion, and Shunyi Foods' valuation is also 700 billion. Why should investors believe you can maintain this valuation?"

"Because our growth rate is several times that of Nongshim," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "Nongshim grew by three percent last year, Ottogi by five percent, and Sunyi grew by one hundred and twenty percent. The capital market doesn't look at who is big now, but who will be big in the future. In the future, Sunyi will be bigger than Nongshim."

Investors in Hong Kong were most concerned about the overseas market. A man with a Cantonese accent asked, "What is the percentage of Shunyi Foods' overseas revenue?"

"Currently, it's less than five percent," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "But we have already established a presence in Southeast Asia and Japan, and we expect the share of overseas revenue to increase to fifteen percent next year."

Investors in Singapore were most concerned about a valuation bubble. A balding man asked, "With a 700 billion valuation, your P/E ratio is double that of Nongshim. If next year's performance falls short of expectations, the stock price will crash."

"That's why we won't let our performance fall short of expectations." Chairman Wang Shunyi looked him in the eye. "Since the day Shunyi Foods was founded, there hasn't been a single time our performance fell short of expectations."

On the night the roadshow ended, Chairman Wang Shunyi called Park Min-ji from his hotel room in Singapore. It was quiet on the other end; she was likely still in the office.

"Minji, the roadshow is over. The response was quite good."

"I heard. Chief Zheng called to say that institutional investors' subscription interest has already exceeded the issuance volume."

"That's good." Chairman Wang Shunyi paused. "Minji, have you thought about what we'll become after we go public?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. "We'll become a bigger company. More people, more money, more things to do. But the core won't change—making good products."

"Yeah."

"Get some rest early. You have to fly back tomorrow."

On September 15th, Shunyi Foods was officially listed on the Korea Exchange. The offering price was 22,000 KRW per share, with 9 million shares issued, raising 198 billion KRW. On the day of the listing, Chairman Wang Shunyi wore that deep blue suit and stood in the trading hall of the exchange, watching the numbers on the big screen.

At 9:00 AM sharp, the market opened. 26,400, up twenty percent. The numbers jumped—27,200, 28,500, 29,800. People in the trading hall were clapping, making calls, and taking photos. Zhang Junhao stood next to Chairman Wang Shunyi, holding an untouched cup of coffee, his eyes fixed on the big screen, motionless.

Park Min-ji stood on the other side, wearing an off-white suit with her hair pinned up, looking very professional. She turned her head and said in a low voice, "Congratulations, President."

"Congratulations to us," Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

The closing price was 30,200 won, an increase of thirty-seven percent. Shunyi Foods' market capitalization reached 906 billion. Reporters swarmed, thrusting microphones in front of Chairman Wang Shunyi, and camera flashes went off incessantly.

"President Wang, now that the listing is successful, what are your thoughts?"

"President Wang, what is Shunyi Foods' next strategy?"

"President Wang, are you satisfied with the stock price performance?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi raised his hand, signaling for them to be quiet.

"Listing is not the finish line; it's the starting line. Nongshim is at one trillion, and we are at 900 billion. There's a 100 billion gap. Next year, this gap will be closed. Not through boasting, but through action."

He lowered his hand and turned to walk out of the trading hall. Zhang Junhao and Park Min-ji followed behind him. The three of them stepped into the elevator, the doors closed, and the noise outside was cut off.

"President, what's next?" Zhang Junhao asked.

"Back to work." Chairman Wang Shunyi pressed the button for the first floor. "Listing just means we have more money, but tasks still need to be done one by one."

The elevator arrived. The doors opened to the Seoul sunlight, bright and dazzling. He squinted slightly and walked out.