55: Chapter 55 Responses from All Parties

The first week after going public, Chairman Wang Shunyi's office was piled high with flower baskets.

There were some from Mirae Asset Securities, some from the Korea Exchange, some from Nonghyup Bank, and dozens from suppliers.

The first thing Kim Tae-min did every day when he arrived at work was to collect the greeting cards from the flower baskets, register them, and then, per Chairman Wang Shunyi's instructions, call every sender to express gratitude.

"President, Ottogi sent a flower basket too." Kim Tae-min placed a greeting card on the desk with a subtle expression.

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked it up and took a look. The card read, "Congratulations to Shunyi Foods on a successful IPO," and was signed by the President of Ottogi Foods. The handwriting was neat and careful.

"Call them back to thank them. Keep the tone polite."

"Yes."

Kim Tae-min left. Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the card and leaned back in his chair. Ottogi sending a flower basket was an interesting move. Rumor had it that Ottogi wanted to acquire Sunyi and had been rejected twice. Now that Sunyi was public with a market value of 900 billion, even if Ottogi wanted to swallow them, they couldn't. Sending a flower basket was a gesture of goodwill, but also a statement—we aren't fighting anymore, let's each go our own way.

Zhang Junhao pushed the door open, holding a stack of documents with a smile on his face. "President, the people from the Production Headquarters want to treat you to a meal. Since we've gone public, everyone wants to celebrate."

"How many people?"

"All of them. There are over 600 people in the Production Headquarters, plus headquarters, logistics, and sales, totaling over 1,200."

Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment. "Host them in batches. Starting next week, host one batch every evening, about 100 people per batch. Choose a barbecue restaurant near the company, and the budget is 50,000 won per person."

"50,000 won?" Zhang Junhao was stunned. "Isn't that too much? A standard company celebration is usually 30,000 won."

"A standard company is a standard company. How many months of overtime have Sunyi's employees worked this year? The people on the production lines didn't even take a break during the Spring Festival; they came back to work on the second day of the Lunar New Year. 50,000 won for a good meal is what they deserve."

Zhang Junhao nodded and turned to go make arrangements.

At 2:00 PM, Park Min-ji came in with the financial statements. She was wearing a black knit sweater today, and her hair was down, making her look softer than usual.

"President, the preliminary data for the third quarter is out."

"How is it?"

"Revenue is 160 billion, an 8% increase over the second quarter. Sales of Vegetable Cheese Noodles and Spicy Noodles are still climbing, and the impact of Nongshim's price war is smaller than expected."

Chairman Wang Shunyi took the report and flipped through it. "And profits?"

"Operating profit is 12 billion, with a profit margin of 7.5%. It's a bit lower than the first half of the year, mainly due to rising raw material costs. The prices of soybeans and vegetable oil are both going up."

"Can we hold out?"

"No problem for now. But if they continue to rise, we might have to consider price adjustments by the end of the year."

Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the report. Price adjustment—this term is sensitive in the food industry. Consumers are very price-sensitive; even a 100-won increase could potentially affect sales. But if they don't raise prices, profits will be squeezed. The first annual report after going public cannot look too bad.

"Hold out for now. We'll talk when we really can't hold out anymore."

Park Min-ji closed the folder but didn't show any intention of leaving. She sat down on the sofa, which was rare. She usually left immediately after discussing business, crisp and efficient, not staying a minute longer.

"President, Director Lee from Ottogi came to see me earlier."

"What for?"

Park Min-ji said nothing, but Chairman Wang Shunyi understood.

"Interesting," Chairman Wang Shunyi commented.

"There's one more thing." Park Min-ji paused. "President Kim called me this morning and said he wanted to treat me to a meal."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at her. President Kim—Kim Dong-hyun wanted to treat Park Min-ji to a meal?

"He wants to treat you to a meal?"

"Yes. He said he's always wanted to thank me for speaking well of Kims."

"Did you go?"

"Not yet. I wanted to ask what you think."

Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment. This man, his heart isn't bad, but he's a bit anxious. He understood Kim Dong-hyun's intent; this was an attempt to get Kims integrated into Sunyi as much as possible. Ultimately, he was probably afraid that the old employees would get the short end of the stick. Or perhaps Kim Dong-hyun felt that as long as the finances were merged, Kims would be safe and wouldn't be sold off or shut down.

"Go. Just have a meal, don't talk about work. If he brings it up, just say everything is up to the President."

"Understood."

Park Min-ji stood up, walked to the door, and turned back. "President, do you remember what you said on the day we went public?"

"Which part?"

"'Going public isn't the end; it's the beginning.' I think you're right."

She pulled the door open and left.

Chairman Wang Shunyi sat in the office, looking out the window. The sky over Seongdong-gu was still gray, but on the residential buildings in the distance, the colorful quilts were gone; they had probably been taken inside. He remembered living in a semi-basement two years ago and hanging out quilts too. The quilts back then had a moldy smell that no amount of sun could remove.

His phone rang. It was Chief Zheng from Mirae Asset Securities.

"President Wang, the stock closed at 32,100 won today, with a market value of 963 billion. Nongshim fell 0.5% today, with a market value of 980 billion. The gap has narrowed to 17 billion."

"Did Chief Zheng call just to tell me this?"

"There's one more thing. Several institutional investors want to meet with you privately and asked if you have time. They are very interested in Sunyi's overseas strategy."

"Next week is fine. Tell them to come to the company to talk."

"Okay. I'll arrange it."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up and walked to the whiteboard. On the whiteboard, there was still that number he had written a few months ago—'1 Trillion'. Looking at it now, that number wasn't far off.

He wrote another line on the whiteboard—'Overseas: 15%'.

Then he picked up his phone and called Lee Chang-ho.

"Brother Chang-ho, where are you?"

"At the R&D center. We're still adjusting the seasoning for the new product."

"What new product?"

"Vegetable Fish Jerky. Made with soy protein, the texture is almost like real fish. Two flavors: spicy and soy sauce."

Chairman Wang Shunyi was stunned. Vegetable Fish Jerky? He had never told Lee Chang-ho to make this.

"Who told you to make it?"

"Nobody told me. I thought of it myself. President, didn't you say we need to release new products? Nongshim is fighting a price war, we won't follow, we'll release new products. That's what you said."

"I was talking about Vegetable Cheese Noodles and Spicy Noodles."

"Those two are already on the market. It's September now, three months left until the end of the year. If we don't release new products, what will we do for these three months?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi held the phone, not speaking. Lee Chang-ho was a man of few words, lacking a strong presence, but when it came to doing things, he never waited for others to urge him.

"When will it be ready?"

"The seasoning needs two more weeks. Packaging design and production scheduling—it should be on the market by early November at the earliest."

"Good. Let me taste it when it's done."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi walked out of the office. The hallway was quiet; most people were out running business. He walked to the pantry, poured a glass of water, and stood by the window looking down. Parked downstairs were several trucks with the Shunyi Foods logo—a green bowl with steam rising from it.

The water in the cup was a bit hot. He blew on it and took a sip.

Kim Tae-min walked over from the other end of the hallway, holding a briefcase. Seeing Chairman Wang Shunyi, he stopped and bowed.

"President, I found you just in time."

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded. "Aigoo, Tae-min-xi, how is Kims feeling after the IPO?"

"It's okay. I just checked; revenue is stable, and profits are slowly recovering. After writing off that bad debt, the books don't look great, but there's no problem with cash flow."

"What about the employees? You've been going back and forth, did you find out how the morale is?"

Kim Tae-min hesitated. "To be honest, it's a bit low. Everyone knows Sunyi is going public, but Kims isn't the main entity. Some employees feel like Kims is going to be abandoned."

"What did you tell them?"

"I said no. The President said Kims will continue."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at Kim Tae-min. There was something in this man's eyes, not loyalty, but trust. He trusted what Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

"Brother Tae-min, Kims will not be abandoned. But Kims needs its own path. Sunyi does high-end, Kims does mid-end; two brands, two lines, not fighting, but complementing each other. After going public, Sunyi will have money, and Kims will have money too."

Kim Tae-min nodded. "I believe in the President."

"Call Lee Jae-hoon here."

"Okay, President."

Before long, Lee Jae-hoon knocked lightly on the door and walked in, holding a marketing plan.

"Jae-hoon-ah, just leave it there. I'll look at the marketing plan and get back to you."

"Yes."

Lee Jae-hoon left. Chairman Wang Shunyi stood at the pantry door holding his water cup, watching his back. Lee Jae-hoon's gait was a bit strange; he dragged his left foot slightly, as if he had been injured. Chairman Wang Shunyi had never asked him why.

The water in the cup had gone cold. He poured it out, returned to the office, and opened the envelope Lee Jae-hoon had sent.

The marketing plan was well-written. Kims was going to launch a new instant noodle, called 'Kims Seafood Ramen', priced at 2,500 won, targeting the mid-end market. The plan included a detailed schedule, budget, channel strategy, and risk assessment. The last two pages were Lee Jae-hoon's handwritten notes; the handwriting was a bit messy, the wording a bit old-fashioned, but you could tell it had been written stroke by stroke—

"President, the recipe for Kims Seafood Ramen is the old recipe from former President Kim; I had people improve it three times. The broth uses real anchovies and kelp, no seasoning powder. The cost is 15% higher than regular instant noodles, but the taste is different. I want consumers to know that Kims' products are made with sincerity."

Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the plan, picked up the phone, and dialed Lee Jae-hoon's number.

"Jae-hoon-xi, I've read the plan. Seafood Ramen, let's do it."

"Thank you, President."

"One more thing. Next week, the Production Headquarters will have a dinner party; bring the Kims team leaders and above with you. Sunyi and Kims, let's have a meal together."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds. "Okay. Thank you, President."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi leaned back in his chair. It had started to rain outside; raindrops hit the glass, blurring the residential buildings outside. September rain, not heavy, but dense, like someone in the sky was sifting sand.

He closed his eyes.

The numbers in his mind were spinning. 960 billion, 1 trillion, 15%, 160 billion. These numbers were strung together like beads, forming a line; he couldn't see what was at the end of the line. But the line itself was clear; every step was taken on solid ground.

His phone rang again. It was Zhang Junhao.

"President, the dinner party is set. Starting next Tuesday, the first restaurant is that Hanyi Barbecue place behind the company. I told the owner, we've booked the whole place. About 120 people per batch, budget is 50,000 per person, drinks extra."

"Include drinks in the budget."

"Then it will be over budget."

"If it's over, it's over. How many times a year can we go over?"

Zhang Junhao laughed on the other end. "Okay, I'll include everything."

"Brother Junhao."

"Hmm?"

"On the day we went public, you were in the trading hall, you didn't drink that cup of coffee in your hand; did it get cold later?"

"Huh? ... I forgot. I was too nervous, staring at the big screen, my hands went stiff."

"Me too," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "My legs were shaking a bit; luckily, my pants were dark, so it wasn't noticeable."

Zhang Junhao laughed out loud. "President, you shake too?"

"I'm human too."

He hung up. The rain was still falling, and the sky had darkened. Chairman Wang Shunyi turned on the desk lamp; the yellow light shone on the documents, feeling warm. He read Lee Jae-hoon's marketing plan again, and next to the two pages of handwritten notes at the end, he wrote a line in pencil—

"Sincerity, consumers can taste it."

Then he picked up the next document and continued reading.