The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 73

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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 73. Fractures Between
‘A single meal.’
What dish could I possibly serve to the Old Gentleman?
He was someone who had devoted his entire life to protecting that factory, or at least preserving some trace of it.
‘Ah. I have just the thing.’
I did have it.
Back when this place was a sprawling Factory District, it had been the most common dish here.
And the most beloved menu item.
I heated the wok and placed the meat on it.
Sizzle—!
Pork marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce.
The meat cooked with a lively sound on the hot plate.
I couldn’t skip my skills here.
[Skill 【Ingredient Enhancement】 is activated.]
[Title 【Healer】 effect is triggered.]
[Skill 【Medicinal Cuisine】 is activated.]
[Healing Effect: Soothes wounded hearts and calms deep sorrow.]
The spicy braised pork infused with subtle char created the effect.
Beside it, I placed a generously mounded bowl of rice.
And I ladled a warm soup into a bowl.
Then I carefully set the complete meal before the Old Gentleman.
“What is this?”
“It’s a set meal, sir. When you worked at the factory, you must have eaten set meals like this often.”
“…That’s true. Heh.”
“Please, enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
A set meal. A tray laden with generous portions of spicy braised pork.
It’s common enough to find anywhere.
Yet somehow, when you search for it, a proper set meal restaurant is surprisingly hard to come by.
I had served him such a meal.
“It’s been so long. It really has been so long….”
The Old Gentleman silently picked up his spoon.
Then he placed the crimson braised pork atop the white rice and slowly brought it to his mouth.
He chewed the rice quietly, very thoroughly, for a long while.
“….”
“….”
I watched him in silence.
The system’s healing effect, riding on the warmth of the rice, was slowly melting the frozen depths of the Old Gentleman’s heart.
Clink—
As he set down the half-emptied rice bowl, the Old Gentleman began to speak his story in a matter-of-fact voice.
“Your son… he cooks just like you do.”
“Really? Is that so?”
Cooking? That was unexpected.
“Yes. He wanted to make simple home-cooked meals like this for people. That was his dream.”
Based on the raised voices I’d heard at the Factory during the day, I’d assumed his son was pursuing some grand business venture or investment.
So he was running a Restaurant instead.
“But he failed many times. Really, many times.”
“…I see.”
“You’re in business yourself, so you understand… you know? It’s not easy.”
“…Self-employment is truly difficult work.”
I had been fortunate. No, fortunate doesn’t even begin to describe it.
By remembering my past life, I gained opportunities several times greater than others.
Others might not realize it, but I was acutely aware of this fact.
That’s why I gave more to those around me.
It was a way to empty the debt of gratitude buried deep in my heart.
Because of that, I understood better than anyone.
‘…Self-employment. It’s tough.’
Maintaining even one small Restaurant. One shop. It wasn’t easy.
“Yes. So now I wish he’d either run the empty Factory… or better yet, look into something else entirely.”
“But he’s not doing that?”
“That’s right. He insists on the Restaurant. He’s determined to run a Restaurant. Ha ha. Even though he refuses to touch the Factory I built, no matter what.”
“….”
“But I supported him anyway. He’s my son, after all.”
“…Yes.”
The Old Gentleman’s deep sigh settled heavily onto the Table.
“But now he’s asking me to sell this Factory. You saw it?”
“…Yes, I did.”
“If I sell the Factory and give him a substantial sum… he says with a well-known… franchise… anyway, he could do a franchise, couldn’t he?”
“Ah….”
Franchising wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Since he’s failed so many times with his own hands, he thinks if he enters the hands of professionals this time, wouldn’t things work out?”
Just as his son said.
It could fill in the gaps in his lacking expertise.
‘…But that doesn’t seem to be the problem right now.’
I let out a short sigh.
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand emotionally.
When you face your own limitations and fail repeatedly.
That desperation to grasp at the lifeline of franchising.
It was entirely understandable.
At least, I understood it.
“But then, once you sell everything like that, what happens to that factory?”
“…Wouldn’t someone use it?”
“That doesn’t make sense. We can’t even fill it now. That factory… will eventually crumble. It’ll fall apart and collapse, and it will never remain as it is today.”
The Old Gentleman’s bitter gaze turned toward the tightly closed B Factory visible through the window.
‘…The Old Gentleman wanted to preserve that factory’s appearance.’
I realized this was true of any elderly person.
It was the same for the two Old Gentlemen who had lent me the Factory Canteen.
‘Perhaps… they simply wanted to preserve traces of their youth, or rather, the footprints of the lives they’ve lived.’
I understand.
The foundation of a life that fed their families.
Even those rough concrete walls and musty smells.
They are special to them.
‘Because they are the trajectory of the lives they’ve lived.’
I took a deep breath and looked directly at the Old Gentleman as I spoke.
“Old Gentleman. Would you take a look at our restaurant here?”
The Old Gentleman lifted his head and surveyed the interior of the Factory Canteen.
From a single small table.
To the long rows of plants and the kitchen.
“As you can see, we operate by preserving the skeleton and landscape of this old factory exactly as it was.”
“I see.”
“Yes. If we were to use Building B and Building C… while the purpose may change from a factory to a restaurant, we can preserve the factory’s appearance completely.”
My words were resolute.
At that, the Old Gentleman gazed around once more, lost in thought.
Instead of the sound of machinery running in the past.
Was he envisioning the new landscape of the factory filled with people’s laughter and the aroma of rice?
I clearly saw a warm smile flicker across his face for a moment.
‘Perhaps his heart is beginning to soften now.’
I waited for his answer with a tense heart.
‘This time is different.’
I didn’t serve him the set meal just for this moment.
But I had a strong intuition that this time was truly different.
And so I had asked.
“So, could you lend it to us so we can open a restaurant?”
I waited quietly for his answer.
I believed a positive response would come this time.
But then. The Old Gentleman slowly shook his head.
And he spoke with an unexpected firmness.
“…No, I can’t lend it out after all.”
My heart sank at his resolute words.
‘He refuses? Even though I said I would preserve the factory’s appearance… my sincerity should have reached him.’
What could be the problem?
Had my cooking failed to fully open the Old Gentleman’s heart?
I hadn’t even managed to speak before he continued.
“If I merely lend it to you, someday my son might come back and cause you trouble, even try to drive you out. Don’t you think?”
There was an unexpected twist.
“Pardon?”
“So you should buy it outright.”
It felt like I’d been struck hard on the head.
“I’m saying I’ll hand over this entire factory to you.”
“You mean I should purchase it instead of renting?”
“Yes. That’s the only way I’ll agree.”
The Old Gentleman presented a new proposal.
‘This is completely unexpected.’
* * *
‘What is this? What kind of twist?’
KBN Entertainment Bureau Chief’s Office.
“This just won’t work as is…”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying this proposal just won’t work.”
“What do you mean, Chief? Are you rejecting the proposal I submitted right now? You said it was fine before!”
The Entertainment Bureau Chief sitting across the desk closed the file folder with a slap and clicked his tongue.
PD Ga narrowed his brows and countered.
“Chief. This is a proposal that the Mukbang Empress Im Ha-yun eagerly agreed to. It’s guaranteed to be a hit?”
“It’s not that the proposal is bad. Look at the budget you submitted.”
The Chief tapped the document with his finger in frustration.
“Unlimited premium ingredients per episode? Lobster, wild matsutake mushrooms, premium Korean beef cuts?”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s cheap for production costs.”
Broadcasting budgets were enormous.
Material costs like these didn’t actually take up as large a proportion as one might think.
‘Why is he picking a fight?’
Yet he was bringing up the budget. This wasn’t a normal situation.
‘What’s going on?’
A warning bell rang in PD Ga’s mind.
There must be something he didn’t know about.
The Chief continued speaking as if spoiling for a fight.
“What, are you some kind of Mansour? Are you planning to dump our entire Entertainment Department’s quarterly budget into this one program?”
“No, how much are you saying?”
“Is it your money?”
“Even if it’s not my money, I’m not spending it recklessly. And we need to invest to get results and boost ratings. Once ads are attached, we can recoup everything.”
“The budget won’t work. Upper management won’t approve this amount under any circumstances.”
“No. What… For entertainment, this is actually small-scale!”
PD Ga’s lips twisted downward.
I couldn’t scale back the project as it stood.
That unlimited support was the only bait to recruit the prideful Ha-yun.
If things continued this way, it wouldn’t just be a money problem—she wouldn’t cooperate at all.
The broadcasting station had more than enough connections to procure the necessary materials. Especially for local ingredients, such networks were crucial.
Yet here was this obstruction.
‘I’ll have to find an external sponsor somehow.’
That was the moment he began to scheme internally.
“So, I’ve personally brought someone who can generously cover all of your insane budget.”
“Pardon?”
PD Ga’s eyes widened in surprise.
“A sponsor? Who is it?”
Creak. Before PD Ga could finish speaking, the firmly closed Director’s Office door swung open.
“It’s been a while, PD Ga.”
A man with an unhurried gait, impeccably dressed in a neat suit, wearing a warm smile.
Upon seeing him, PD Ga could only stare blankly.
‘Why is that man coming out of here?’

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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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