I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 237

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 237
Mark gripped my shoulder firmly.
“Sung-guk, be honest with me. You always talk like everything is part of your master plan, but really you’re just lucky, aren’t you?”
“Mark… do you know I deliberately enrolled in that high school just to meet you?”
“To make you create FaceNote? With just a few snacks?”
“Yeah. My prediction was spot on. You stayed up all night building FaceNote for Jessie and a handful of snacks.”
“And then you’re launching a startup here in Silicon Valley?”
“In a few years, you’ll probably go public on the Nasdaq too.”
Mark burst out laughing.
“You’re impossible. Why don’t you just prophesy that you’ll become one of the world’s richest men!”
[Hmm… that’s probably what will happen anyway….]
I shrugged.
Just then, my phone rang loudly.
“Mark, see? Even my phone is on my side.”
“You’re hopeless. Just answer it.”
I picked up the call quickly to escape Mark’s nagging.
“Hello?”
– Sung-guk? Is that right?
“Yes… is this Ed?”
– Wow, you remembered my name.
[I’m Jeon Sung-guk.]
Ed Crawford continued right after.
– Sung-guk, if you’re free Saturday evening, would you like to have dinner with Britney and me?
“Britney’s doing well?”
– Yes, actually Britney has been wanting to see you again. We’d like to treat you to dinner as a token of our gratitude. I know you’re busy… but Britney also has a favor to ask. If you could spare the time, we’d be very grateful.
“Hmm… sure.”
– Then… it may not be much, but I’ll prepare dinner at our place.
[Hmm… it does seem like it might not be much….]
But I wasn’t in a position to refuse the invitation.
“That works. Just give me your address and I’ll come by. Mark will join me too.”
– Then it’s truly an honor. I’ll do my best to prepare a good meal. It’s such an honor that both of you will be coming.
“Ed, take good care of Britney. We’ll see you this weekend.”
I hung up and looked at Mark.
“Ed wants to thank us over dinner. And he mentioned he has some kind of favor to ask….”
“I’d bet anything it’s asking to join FaceNote. Something like that, right?”
“What’s Ed Crawford’s profile like?”
“From what I saw on FaceNote, he seems like a diligent and reliable student.”
“Hmm… so a diligent student fell in love with a blonde beauty raised in a cult?”
“Sung-guk, don’t be so cynical about it. Ed probably just wanted to help Britney.”
“Yeah… let’s think of it that way for now.”
* * *
Weekend evening.
I was finally heading toward the meeting place with Ed Crawford.
Mark drove down an unfamiliar road, constantly checking the navigation system.
“Sung-guk, we’re going the right way, aren’t we?”
“Yeah. The navigation is telling us, so why?”
“No, it’s just that this neighborhood looks like where really rich people live.”
I double-checked the address Ed Crawford had sent us.
Mark was right—it was an affluent neighborhood near San Francisco.
“Is his father wealthy? Ed didn’t seem like it.”
And soon we arrived at a beautiful Mediterranean-style house overlooking the beach.
Mark and I got out of the car with bewildered expressions.
As if waiting for us, Ed came running out.
“Sung-guk! Mark! Thanks so much for coming!”
“Ed….”
Mark was at a loss for words, and I quickly pushed him on the back.
“Mark, don’t be so awkward. Come in with confidence.”
“Uh….”
Ed scratched his head and explained the situation.
“Actually, when I explained everything to my parents, they said you’re like benefactors, and they insisted it would be wrong to treat you poorly at my shabby apartment, so they made a fuss about it.”
“This house is really nice.”
“Oh, yes… My parents mainly use this place to relax on weekends.”
[Wait, so he has another house? I didn’t think Ed was like that—a rich kid?]
I was shocked internally, but I acted as composed as possible.
Mark’s eyes widened too.
Ed, looking embarrassed, scratched his head and led us inside.
“My parents also use FaceNote because I pestered them so much. So they know all about the Britney situation. When I said I wanted to get Britney out of that cult, they helped me very actively.”
“Hmm… Your parents seem like very enlightened people.”
And as we opened the door and stepped inside, Ed’s parents greeted us warmly.
“You’re Sung-guk, right? And that’s Mark?”
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Mark Zuckerberg.”
Mark quickly greeted Ed’s parents.
“Come on in.”
Just then, Britney came out from the kitchen and greeted us.
“Britney looks well.”
“It’s all thanks to you two.”
[Hmm, it seems more like it’s thanks to Ed than us?]
Ed’s weekend house resembled the vacation homes I’d owned in the United States in my previous life.
And finally, the dining room came into view.
Mark and I locked eyes.
Mark whispered quietly.
“Sung-guk, what exactly is Ed’s identity?”
“Did you notice anything strange about FaceNote?”
“He seemed just like any other college student to me….”
At that moment, Ed’s Father spoke to us as he noticed our hushed conversation.
“You two must have been quite surprised, yes?”
“Yes, honestly. We came rather casually since Ed said he’d treat us to dinner.”
Wearing the hoodie and checkered shirt I always wore.
“When Ed said he wanted to treat you two to dinner, we insisted on preparing it ourselves. That boy would probably just buy hamburgers from McDonald’s anyway.”
“We actually like McDonald’s.”
At my words, Ed’s Mother smiled gently.
“Before the marriage, my family was actually the founder of McDonald’s.”
Mark and I were so shocked we couldn’t say anything.
Ed’s Mother continued.
“But as you know, in the previous generation, we sold McDonald’s to Ray Kroc, and we simply inherited the fortune from that sale.”
Just as Ed’s Mother said, the McDonald brothers had founded McDonald’s together before selling the company to Ray Kroc. So the current McDonald’s had no stake from the McDonald family.
Of course, it was obvious they’d received an enormous sum of money when they sold to Ray Kroc.
“When Mark and I have meetings, we eat McDonald’s all the time.”
“We don’t have a stake anymore, but we still buy from there often. Ed especially loves it. Oh, I’ve been talking too much. Please, sit down. Today we’ve prepared a light course dinner instead of McDonald’s.”
* * *
Ed’s Father poured wine.
[This is the wine I used to enjoy in my past life!]
“Sung-guk, you’re underage so no alcohol for you, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded with tears welling in my eyes.
Everyone except me accepted the wine.
And the dishes began to arrive.
It was certainly not a light course dinner. It was closer to formal French dining.
[This wine pairing with this course would be perfect….]
I gulped down the sparkling water.
“By the way, didn’t Ed say he had a favor to ask?”
“Actually, I want to find Britney’s parents. I thought with Sung-guk’s help, they could be found through the media, but we haven’t heard anything yet.”
Britney was too young to remember, and the DoubleX followers wouldn’t reveal where they’d taken Britney.
Britney’s face grew sad.
“I just want to confirm what situation her parents are in now. That fact alone.”
“Sung-guk, we plan to sponsor Britney until she adapts to society. So this is a proposal we’d like to make.”
Ed’s Father took a sip of wine and opened his mouth.
“My son told me that FaceNote’s influence is tremendous. Britney has a faint memory that she might have had a younger sibling. If that’s the case, the sibling would surely be old enough to use FaceNote. So we’d like to post an advertisement on FaceNote searching for Britney’s parents… what do you think?”
We hadn’t yet placed any advertisements on FaceNote.
“I know this is a rushed proposal. But since our son’s friend is involved, we want to do our best to help.”
“Sung-guk, Mark. I’m sorry. It seems like a difficult request….”
Ed was deeply apologetic.
“Sung-guk, Mark. Honestly, the advertising cost doesn’t matter to us at all.”
Ed’s Father was saying my favorite words.
It was also something I’d frequently said in my previous life.
“To be honest, my wife’s family background is impressive, but our family made our fortune supplying milkshakes to McDonald’s.”
I nearly shed tears internally.
A marriage between the descendant of McDonald’s founder and the son of a family that supplied shakes to them!
I looked at Ed.
[You’re truly a diamond spoon of this era, Ed!]
I answered calmly.
“Thank you for Ed’s Parents’ kindness. However, our FaceNote doesn’t yet have separate regulations or policies regarding advertising. But I believe it’s only natural that FaceNote takes the lead in finding Britney’s parents. After all, FaceNote played a role in Britney understanding the world and escaping DoubleX.”
I decided to look one step ahead rather than at immediate profit.
“I appreciate Ed’s Parents’ proposal, but I think it would be better to run an advertisement for free on FaceNote for a week to help find Britney’s parents.”
Ed’s Father seemed somewhat moved by my words.
“Sung-guk, are you serious?”
“Yes… of course.”
“Sung-guk, I’m honestly deeply moved. The reason Ed lives such an ordinary school life is because once people learn about our family background, they only want something from us.”
Hyenas existed the same way in Korea and the United States.
“But thank you so much for making such a courageous decision.”
“There’s a Chinese idiom called ‘the one who ties the knot must untie it.’ It means you must solve the problems you create. Since FaceNote started Britney’s situation, FaceNote must resolve it.”
“Sung-guk, but about the advertising cost…”
“I’ll only accept one dollar. Eventually, FaceNote will generate advertising revenue, and I’m uncomfortable doing it completely free. Of course, this is confidential.”
I stated it plainly.
Then Ed’s Father burst into hearty laughter.
“Sung-guk, and I have another favor to ask, if you don’t mind. Our Ed is extremely interested in FaceNote.”
“Dad… I told you not to mention that.”
Ed stopped his father with an embarrassed expression.
It seemed he was about to ask for a job referral.
“Ed’s Father, I think Ed’s skills are more than sufficient to submit a resume to our company. However, we will conduct interviews fairly.”
“Hearing you say that makes me very happy as a father. Well, let’s stop talking about work and enjoy dinner now.”
* * *
As soon as the advertisement to find Britney’s lost parents appeared on FaceNote, within days Britney was able to find them.
Britney’s parents were running a small grocery store in Chicago, and flyers searching for Britney were still posted in front of that store.
A FaceNote user who saw this informed Britney’s parents, and Britney dramatically reunited with them.
Of course, after that, Britney tearfully parted with Ed Crawford and headed to Chicago where her parents lived.
Through this incident, FaceNote ran advertisements across the nation once again, and the number of users increased exponentially.
“Sung-guk… did you know middle-aged users tripled?”
“Britney really gave us great advertising.”
“By the way, Ed actually applied for the internship position we’re hiring for. What should we do?”
“Mark, what do you think?”
“Honestly, his credentials are solid—nothing to complain about. The only issue is whether it might look like favoritism to the other employees.”
“Mark, then conduct an interview. If he passes, bring him on. During the internship period, he’ll compete fairly with the other staff members anyway.”
I smiled inwardly.
In truth, as I was leaving Ed’s Weekend House, Ed’s Father had given us a small gift.
A lifetime McDonald’s voucher.
– Sung-guk, this is just a token of my appreciation. You should accept it graciously.
– Well… I’m accepting it purely out of goodwill.
I had inevitably succumbed to the temptation of McDonald’s.
[Korea has jjajangmyeon, so America has McDonald’s, right?!]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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