The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 40

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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 40. Unexpected Occurrences (1)
Lee Hyeon-seung ate his ramen with an expression as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
“….”
He buried his face in the bowl and didn’t speak a word until he finished every last bite.
“That was delicious. Truly, from the bottom of my heart.”
From the heart—it wasn’t mere flattery.
[You have delivered genuine emotion through your cooking.]
[You have delivered successive emotions in a short span of time.]
His eyes were brimming with sincerity, after all.
The effect that sincerity produced was remarkable.
[The title 【Cooking Infused with Sincerity】 has been strengthened.]
[The effectiveness of therapeutic cooking increases by an additional 10%.]
[Experience points surge dramatically.]
[You have leveled up.]
The title I originally possessed had been strengthened.
‘This is really something difficult.’
I only wanted to give him a gift befitting a sincere apology.
Yet it feels as though I received the greater gift instead.
With a level-up granted all at once, my satisfaction deepened even further.
I too was genuinely delighted.
“I’m relieved.”
“Then I’ll see you again next time.”
As Hyeon-seung stood to settle his bill, his face appeared noticeably more at ease than before.
It had been a good meal.
* * *
So it really was wonderful.
For emotion to linger, there must be a lingering aftertaste left behind.
“Is it possible the Youtuber’s other name is Unemployed?”
This person. He comes far too often.
“Criticism the moment a customer arrives? Is this really a proper restaurant?”
“No… it’s just that you come by so often every single day.”
“There’s also the good thing about bringing in considerable sales.”
“Wow. That’s quite shameless.”
“Let’s call it a fact based on reality.”
Ever since that day he ate his life-changing ramen, he’d been coming by every single day.
Ten days straight!
And not just once a day either. On the worst days, he’d eat lunch and then show up again in the evening, claiming he’d finished filming nearby and decided to stop by.
‘Without physical evidence, I can’t prove it, but he’s definitely coming here for our restaurant.’
In my view, that wasn’t the honest truth.
It felt painfully obvious he was coming to film, not to eat.
“Aren’t you getting tired of it?”
“How could I get tired when the food changes every time?”
“You keep ordering your ‘life ramen’ every time. Starting today, life ramen is banned.”
“Heh. Until today, at least….”
“I’m joking. Just joking.”
It wasn’t bad, though.
Having a regular customer like this after so long felt good.
Hyeon-seung turned out to be quite the conversationalist.
Every time he visited, he brought fresh news like a mother bird carrying food in its beak.
“By the way, have you heard?”
“What now? Yesterday it was about some Youtubers asking if they could film here. The day before that, it was about Jang Owner Street, right?”
“Ah, that’s just small talk.”
“Wow. When you told me yesterday, you made it sound like some major news.”
“That’s precisely the talent of a storyteller, isn’t it?”
“Ha ha. Fair point, I suppose.”
Though when he’d mentioned the rumors about Jang Owner Street yesterday, he’d been quite serious about it.
Apparently, Jang Owner was opening several more stores.
He’d brought in gourmet Youtubers to launch them, and he’d been upset about being left out of it.
Forgiveness is one thing, business is another, he’d said.
There was nothing to be done in the face of capitalism’s cold logic.
‘And the Youtubers who came with him even stopped by wanting to apologize.’
When I thought about it, quite a lot had happened in the span of ten days.
But now he was bringing up something new again?
‘If it’s a boring story, I’m really banning life ramen for a while.’
I’d meant to warn him off.
But what I heard next was actually quite interesting.
“They’re holding a festival.”
“What?”
“A festival centered around the New City District.”
It was unexpected news about a festival.
This was actually welcome news.
Festivals always brought increased foot traffic.
The problem was what came next.
Just as Korean language depends on what comes at the end, the rest of the story was even more interesting.
“But it seems like it’s somehow connected to Jang Owner?”
“Oh, now that’s interesting?”
It truly was interesting news.
* * *
A sudden festival announcement.
I understood that much.
“Didn’t we have quite a bit of fun with the cooking competition last time?”
“True. We held it right after becoming Market Owner, and it was more successful than expected. They say the atmosphere at City Hall improved because of it too.”
A single festival draws in a considerable amount of foot traffic.
This wasn’t a one-time event either.
We’re planning to expand and continue the Gourmet Street festival that already existed. It means we have both tradition and justification secured.
“Hasn’t the Youth Mall been gradually losing people since then?”
“Well, it has. But it’s not completely ruined either.”
“So you’re saying we should ride this momentum and try it.”
“That’s about right.”
Looking closely, it’s hard to say everything was a complete success.
“If we help the Youth Mall again with this momentum, wouldn’t that help with reelection too?”
“Definitely. Momentum is a real thing. You work well.”
“Right. You do work well.”
Using the festival as leverage for assured success wasn’t a bad choice either.
There’s just one thing that bothers me.
“But does Jang Owner have any room to get involved in this?”
“I’m not sure. That’s still something I’m curious about.”
Jang Owner is apparently connected somehow.
But what exactly is the connection?
I was slightly curious about that.
But it was just curiosity.
Jang Owner and Older Brother seemed to have the same troubled expression.
*crack*
Then Older Brother offered an unexpected opinion.
“When you think about it, does it matter either way?”
“Why?”
His attitude was that it didn’t matter whether Jang Owner got involved or not.
“If Jang Owner is involved, the festival will just get bigger, right?”
“Right?”
“Then we benefit either way, don’t we?”
“!!!”
“Oh, that’s true! You’re right.”
Now that I heard it, it made sense.
It’s a festival, after all.
We couldn’t hold a festival while leaving ourselves out entirely.
No matter what happens, if foot traffic increases, we benefit too.
“Isn’t this like Jang Owner cooking up something and giving it to us?”
“Ha ha. It might turn out that way.”
“The more I think about it, the better it seems.”
To think we’d benefit just by staying put.
‘Is fortune really turning around like this?’
Even when things went well, they seemed to go remarkably well.
Though Jang Owner did voice one concern.
“Even if they cause trouble over there, it’ll probably just be broadcast coverage, right? We’ve already weathered the Youtubers, so we can handle broadcast attention.”
“That’s true. At worst it’s just broadcast coverage, and honestly, I think we can treat it as if it never happened from the start.”
“Right. We’ve never cared about that sort of thing anyway.”
Though it was a valid concern, I didn’t think it was something to truly worry about.
“In any case, as long as the festival happens, that’s what matters.”
“Exactly. It’s good! Ha ha.”
“Then should we start preparing ingredients in advance to match the festival period?”
“Right! We should do that.”
“And we can prep what we can ahead of time too.”
“Wow. We’ll have a lot to do.”
“That’s for sure.”
That day’s meeting ended on a pleasant note.
Simply increasing ingredients to match the festival period and preparing components in advance seemed like quite a solid idea.
‘This should be enough, right?’
* * *
Time passed quickly.
In the meantime, I visited the Dawn Market every single day.
‘What new dish should I try this time?’
I was there to figure out what dishes to prepare for the festival period and what ingredients would suit them.
“Wow. Heavy load again today.”
“There’s quite a bit, so… ha ha.”
Older Brother came along with me.
What business would my coffee-selling brother have at the market?
He’d made the excuse about researching new desserts.
‘He’s doing this all out of consideration for me.’
I understood without him saying it—his thoughtfulness in going to the market together and helping out.
Every time, I felt genuinely grateful as we finished up at the market.
And as we walked back together in pleasant conversation.
“You’re still not thinking about getting deliveries from a food supplier?”
“Not yet. I haven’t found a reliable supplier, and besides, there’s something special about going to the market in person, you know?”
“That’s true enough. Even with coffee beans, they say it’s different when you actually visit the farm versus just receiving deliveries.”
“Wow. You’ve actually been to farms?”
“That’s right! I’ve managed to visit a few places. Every time, I couldn’t close a deal, and I regretted it so much… Ugh… I should have made contracts with several of them back then!”
“Wow. Direct contracts with local sources—that sounds amazing.”
“Right? Let’s go together sometime when we get the chance.”
“Yes. Let’s definitely go once.”
Talking about coffee and ingredients, we were able to walk for quite a while.
After hurrying into the New City District to get to the store, it wasn’t long before I spotted something.
“Huh…? What’s this?”
“It looks like they really are holding a festival.”
I’d stumbled upon something quite interesting.
[The 20th Gourmet Street Festival!]
Small banners hung from every street lamp.
Long banners stretched across the overpass above the road as well.
There was far more setup than I’d expected, and it was already quite spectacular.
“Wow. Looks like they’re setting up a photo zone over there.”
“Right? And they’ve even installed flowers. Wow. Was the Gourmet Street Festival always this big?”
“No. It wasn’t this scale last year.”
“They’re really putting in the effort this time.”
Photo zones. Flower beds.
Advertisements were already running on the bus signboards.
And on top of that, there were invited musicians coming for the festival.
It was quite impressive for a regional festival.
‘How much is all this costing?’
Even with the market putting in effort, this seemed like it would raise eyebrows.
But the answer turned out to be simpler than expected.
“Right. The budget… Ah…! Look, there it is. Sponsored by Jang Owner’s stores.”
“Wow. They really spent money properly.”
“Yeah. But since it’s through sponsorship, it’s not illegal, right?”
“That’s right. Local companies usually donate to regional festivals anyway.”
“Jang Owner’s involvement is a bit ambiguous, but it’s not entirely wrong either.”
“Either way, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
I’d been somewhat concerned about the consecutive festivals.
But at this level, it really seemed like it would be a tremendous success.
And thanks to that, many customers would surely visit our store.
“I’m really looking forward to the upcoming festival.”
I genuinely anticipated it.
Right up until the event was about to begin.

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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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