The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 75

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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 75. Two Conditions
“…Yes. I’ve made my decision.”
My resolute voice cut through the silence, and both older brothers looked up.
Their faces were etched with bittersweet relief mingled with deep regret.
Jang Owner spoke first, his voice heavy.
“So you’re giving up too, aren’t you? I’m sorry. It’s such a good opportunity, but we couldn’t help you through it together.”
“I’m really sorry. Here we are, calling ourselves your older brothers, yet we’re just burdening you….”
Older Brother hung his head low as well.
The weight of being unable to stand together as providers pressed down upon their shoulders.
But I shook my head lightly toward them and spoke with conviction.
“No. Haha. I’m not giving up.”
“What?”
“I’m going to purchase it.”
At my unexpected declaration, both brothers’ eyes widened like lanterns.
“Pur, purchase it? You alone, without us?”
“Even if it’s interest-free, how much do you have to pay back each month! There’s no way you can do it alone!”
“That’s right! We should somehow take out more loans ourselves….”
Facing the two of them as they panicked and tried to dissuade me, I offered a confident smile.
“It’s fine. You both don’t need to overextend yourselves. Instead, I’m thinking of going to the Old Gentleman and proposing one condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. If he helps me with just one thing, it should work out.”
Yes, there was a condition.
I had learned something from this ordeal.
‘I need to think more about the future.’
Whether you call it habit or not, with memories from my past life deeply rooted in me, I had been living in the present.
Looking far ahead into the future was my weak point.
I felt it this time.
‘I thought the store would eventually succeed no matter when. Then I should have considered expansion too.’
If I hadn’t known, that would be one thing.
But now that I know, shouldn’t I correct it?
To fix that habit, I was planning to add one more condition.
‘This should work out perfectly.’
* * *
This time, the Old Gentleman came to find me.
“Old Gentleman, thank you for coming despite your busy schedule.”
“Heh heh. What’s there to be busy about? So, have you given it some thought?”
Lee Man-geum, who had come after receiving my call.
The Old Gentleman glanced around the bustling restaurant once and asked me.
I answered without hesitation.
“Yes. I’ll sign the contract. I’m going to purchase the factory.”
“Oh… Is that so! That won’t be easy to manage.”
Color returned to the Old Gentleman’s weathered face. I smiled calmly at him and added my words.
“That’s right. It will be difficult to manage. That’s why I have two conditions.”
“Conditions? Heh heh, let’s hear them. I’ll accept any conditions you propose.”
“The first is the repayment method. Rather than paying back a fixed amount each month, I’d like to repay you by setting aside a certain percentage of our restaurant’s profits.”
“In modern terms… would you call that a running guarantee?”
“Oh. Exactly!”
I hadn’t expected the Old Gentleman to know such terminology.
It was something I hadn’t anticipated.
‘Ah, so that’s the difference when someone has actually run a business.’
Thanks to that, things became easier.
There was no need for lengthy explanations.
“If business goes well, you’ll receive your money faster, and we won’t be crushed under rigid fixed expenses. It also shows that I have that much confidence in my cooking and business acumen.”
At my bold proposal, the Old Gentleman’s eyes widened for a moment, then he burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahahaha! That’s just like you. You don’t want to be squeezed by fixed monthly rent, right? Fine, I certainly trust your business sense!”
“Thank you for seeing it that way.”
“Looking at the customers here, it’s clear as day. I’ll accept those terms. So what’s the second condition?”
Having easily cleared the first hurdle, I immediately brought up my next plan.
“You said you know the D-dong Factory Owner well, right? I’d like to ask you for an introduction.”
“D-dong? Why? Are you planning to purchase that too?”
“No, I don’t think the D-dong Owner would be willing to sell. Instead, I’m thinking of renting it.”
“Hmm. You’re planning to expand that far? I thought expanding just Buildings B and C would be sufficient.”
“For now, that’s true. But I’ve learned something from this experience.”
“Learned something?”
The Old Gentleman looked at me as if taking my measure.
It wasn’t a test.
He simply wanted to hear what I was thinking.
“Whenever it comes, the restaurant will need expansion again. So we must prepare in advance. We can’t go through something like this twice.”
Preemptive expansion.
That was the lesson I’d learned from this ordeal.
I couldn’t just settle for the present like I had in my past life—I needed to look further ahead.
Even if we purchased Buildings B and C to make them fully ours,
to handle the explosive growth in customers and ingredients that lay ahead, it was better to secure D-dong in advance.
Upon hearing my answer, the Old Gentleman laughed heartily.
“Well said! Haha. I’ve certainly taken a liking to you.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“Haha. My approval means nothing. You’ve simply made the right choice.”
Perhaps his heart had already inclined toward me.
His expression remained bright throughout.
He seemed pleased that the factory was being passed on and preserved in another form.
But even so, I couldn’t escape my keen eye for detail.
‘He’s clearly delighted that the factory is being preserved. However….’
I could see there was still one worry weighing on him.
‘His son. That son is what truly troubles him.’
Even though he had managed to protect his own factory.
He seemed to believe he had failed to protect his son.
Perhaps the Old Gentleman would give the money coming in from this to his son. Even if he knew that would be the same as pouring his own money directly into the franchise.
‘He’ll do it.’
That’s what parents are like.
Regardless of my thoughts on the matter.
The Old Gentleman slapped his knee and spoke.
“My word, you’ve got a sharp eye for seeing ahead! Excellent! That fellow who owns D-dong, we’ve been like brothers for decades. Let me give him a call right now.”
“Thank you so much!”
The Old Gentleman immediately pulled out his phone and made the call.
After that, everything moved swiftly.
The D-dong Owner, already troubled by the difficulty of disposing of the empty factory, readily accepted the lease contract thanks to the Old Gentleman’s guarantee and the growing reputation of the thriving Factory Canteen.
‘Done. This completes all the perfect preparations for expansion.’
In that moment, the small weight of anxiety that had lodged in my heart washed away cleanly.
* * *
I pushed forward quickly to make up for the time we’d lost.
Crunch, bang! Crash!
Heavy, rough construction sounds echoed continuously from one side of the Store.
A massive renovation project—demolishing the old factory’s concrete and erecting a new framework!
But the peaceful atmosphere inside the Restaurant wasn’t significantly disrupted.
‘It was the right call to keep the wall and work around it.’
Building B and Building C were undergoing interior renovation to connect them into one massive Restaurant.
The wall adjoining our Restaurant in Building A had been left standing for now.
We had agreed to open that wall only at the very end, after all the interior design was perfectly complete.
‘Thanks to that, business isn’t affected.’
Even though dust flew and loud noises echoed from beyond that wall every day, business itself faced no problems whatsoever.
The slight noise that did come through was managed by turning up the music and using my skills to reduce the sound.
As always, Customers enjoyed their meals peacefully and left satisfied.
“That’s the end of today!”
After the whirlwind of the lunch rush ended, break time arrived.
I was catching my breath while wiping down the empty Tables.
Then, Jang Owner and Older Brother approached me hesitantly, their aprons still on.
Gone was their usual hearty demeanor.
Both their faces were filled with deep remorse and a sense of debt.
“Little brother. We feel terrible about this.”
“That’s right. From buying the Building to this massive construction project, how are we letting you shoulder such a huge burden all by yourself?”
“Tsk… Here we are, supposedly the older brothers, yet we can’t offer a single bit of material help and just end up freeloading. I’m so ashamed I can’t even lift my head. I’m sorry.”
The two of them, thoroughly deflated, heaved heavy sighs one after another.
Toward those burdened shoulders, I grinned broadly and answered with easy confidence.
“Come on, you’re not burdening me at all. I chose to do this because I wanted to. Besides, I’m a pretty strict building owner, you know?”
“!!!!”
“Once the building is complete, I’ll be collecting rent from both of you without fail. No excuses. Ha ha.”
“But still, considering current market rates, thanks to the Old Gentleman, the rent here is much cheaper than other nearby shops, right?”
“That’s right. Even so, this is a completely renovated new building, and you’re really okay with just that amount? We feel so bad about it.”
Both of them looked genuinely apologetic.
It seemed they wanted to raise the rent if possible, since part of the expansion was for their sake too.
Considering the remodeling costs, that might be fair. But.
‘Should I live in this world all alone?’
That wasn’t what I wanted to do.
It wasn’t because I was a pushover.
We had built this place together all this time.
Even if I was the central pillar.
Without these two, I might never have made it this far.
‘There’s also the debt of giving up the Youth Mall to come here.’
That’s why this was an act of goodwill.
If I made too big a deal of it, it would become awkward, so I threw in a lighthearted joke instead.
“Let’s just call it the strong bond between us. Or if you prefer, consider it a fair exchange. Ha ha.”
“A bond, sure, but a fair exchange?”
“Having you two run your restaurants steadily by my side is worth far more to me than a few months of rent. You know, right? Real synergy only happens when our three restaurants come together.”
“!!!!”
“Wow….”
At my firm yet warm words, deep emotion spread across both brothers’ faces.
The Jang Owner’s eyes grew slightly red at the rims as he nodded roughly, his nose twitching.
“You’re… such a grateful younger brother.”
“We’ll do our best as your older brothers for life. No, really, we’ll bury our bones here.”
As warm laughter passed between us, the Jang Owner glanced sideways at the construction blueprint spread across one of the tables.
His gaze lingered on one corner of the intricately drawn blueprint.
“By the way, little brother, I was looking at the blueprint and got curious. What’s that space over there?”

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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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