The Genius Hitter Who Conquered America - Chapter 34

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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 34
After six hours of grueling travel, the decrepit bus finally came to a halt in the parking lot of a budget motel on the outskirts of San Jose.
Screech!
As the doors hissed open, the players stumbled out like zombies, groaning with every step.
Thanks to the air cushions I had distributed, at least our backsides had survived intact.
But six hours of vibration and noise had drained the vitality from every muscle in our bodies.
“Is… is this San Francisco? Or have we entered hell?”
“This is supposed to be a hotel? Looks like it’s about to collapse!”
“This is the worst. I want to go back right now.”
Three or four players stared at the building that looked ready to crumble at any moment, each voicing their despair.
They had every reason to.
The motel before us had the kind of appearance that would make you believe it was a haunted house.
Some of the others simply collapsed where they stood, too exhausted to even gather their luggage.
“Should we grab some food?”
“Let’s just rest first. I don’t want to do anything.”
“Ah… my life.”
Everything unfolded exactly as I had anticipated.
The euphoria the players had felt after winning the Division Series had completely evaporated.
Things would only get worse from here, not better.
Just then.
I, looking the freshest of everyone, quickly approached Manager Taylor as he gathered his luggage.
“Manager, I have a good idea.”
“An idea? What kind of idea? We don’t even have the resources to begin with.”
I leaned in close to Taylor’s ear and whispered softly.
A brief conversation too quiet for the other players to notice.
But Taylor’s eyes widened instantly.
“Is… is that even possible?”
“I think it might be. I’ve experienced it frequently back in Korea.”
I intended to put that experience to good use.
“Right. It’s… it’s a good idea, but… are you sure? I’m worried it’ll be too much for you.”
“I’m fine with it. Winning is what matters.”
“Okay. I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire baseball career… give it a try.”
Just as Taylor gave his approval.
Several players were gathering to grab dinner.
Mark also approached me and spoke.
“Soo-ho! I want a hamburger!”
I shook my head.
“Let’s eat something other than hamburgers.”
“Oh? What is it? Did you think of something you want to eat?”
“Yeah. Dungeness crab.”
Mark’s expression turned sour in an instant.
“Hey. I told you already. It’s expensive. You know our food budget for the entire series is less than thirty dollars.”
“No, I have a way. Just follow me.”
I walked past Mark toward the cluster of players gathered to eat.
“Have you guys decided what to eat?”
One player answered in a deflated voice.
“We haven’t decided yet. We’re just thinking of grabbing something quick.”
“Then, would you invest ten dollars with me?”
“Ten dollars? Why?”
“I’ll treat you to San Francisco’s famous specialty.”
When it came to San Francisco’s famous specialty, only one thing came to mind.
Dungeness crab.
The players stared at each other with wide eyes, their expressions screaming disbelief.
‘Dungeness crab for the price of a hamburger set?’
‘Is there another specialty I don’t know about instead of Dungeness crab?’
‘Is he seriously trying to collect money and dine and dash?’
But the players could quickly dismiss their suspicions.
After all, what could they possibly get from collecting just ten dollars each?
No matter how low the Minor League salary was, I didn’t seem stupid enough to bolt with this amount of money.
In fact, my performance on the baseball field was shrewder and sharper than anyone else’s.
Among them was the pitcher who had gotten through the crisis with my diving catch in the Division Series.
Ryan Pepiot pulled out his wallet.
“Here’s ten dollars.”
He handed the money to me.
“You’re going to show us magic again, right?”
I accepted the money and nodded briefly.
“Of course.”
At that moment.
“What’s ten dollars?”
Other players began pulling ten-dollar bills from their wallets one by one.
The commotion drew even the other players who had been packing their bags.
“What’s going on? What do you get for ten dollars?”
“He’s going to show us magic.”
“What’s so special about showing magic?”
“The magic involves food.”
“Well, that’s a different story then. We were planning to rest anyway. Here you go.”
In an instant, everyone was offering ten dollars.
Even Commentator Bill and Caster John came over and added ten dollars each.
Then Manager Taylor, the only one who knew my plan, handed me a hundred-dollar bill.
“Use this to buy any extras we might need.”
Soo-ho gave a short nod.
“Thank you. I’ll leave the rest.”
“No. Use it all.”
Finally, Soo-ho approached Casey, who was gathering his belongings alone to head into the Motel.
“Casey. Just ten dollars.”
Casey looked Soo-ho up and down without a word.
‘What strange scheme is he cooking up now?’
But Casey promptly pulled a ten-dollar bill from his wallet and handed it over.
After all, every one of Soo-ho’s strange schemes had worked out so far.
Moreover, Casey was a first-round pick.
To him, ten dollars was pocket change compared to the other Minor League players.
Everyone handed their money to Soo-ho and dispersed to their rooms.
Mark, now alone with Soo-ho, blinked in disbelief.
“Aren’t you taking my ten dollars?”
“You’re coming with me. You’ll give it later.”
“So where are we going?”
“I told you—Dungeness crab.”
“Even at the cheapest, it’s fifteen dollars, you know? You already collected ten dollars. Are you really going to cover the five-dollar difference with your own money? I told you not to do that. Do you think they’d appreciate it?”
Mark corrected himself.
“No, they’d appreciate it, sure. Since they’re not spending their own money. But there’s no need for that, I’m telling you. Do you think they’d repay you or something?”
Soo-ho scratched the back of his head sheepishly and spoke quietly.
“I’m not planning to add my own money.”
“Oh, you’re not?”
“No.”
“Then how are you going to get the crab?”
“There’s always a way. Let’s go. Let’s show the Quakes some magic.”
* * *
Soo-ho was now sitting in the back seat of a van, with Mark beside him.
The driver was the Motel Owner.
Soo-ho had politely asked if he could serve as the driver.
Having earned enough from today’s group of customers, he readily volunteered to drive.
Originally, Soo-ho had planned to pay for it, but now he could save the cost.
‘Especially saving on Uber fare—that’s a decent amount.’
Afterward, Soo-ho pulled out his phone from his pocket.
The results of his search during the entire six-hour bus ride were displayed on the screen.
The map showed the location of the San Jose Seafood Wholesale Market.
Mark was startled when he saw it.
“A, a Wholesale Market? You’re buying Dungeness crab wholesale?”
“Yeah. That way we can get it cheap, right?”
“S, so that’s why you collected the money?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow….”
Mark was momentarily at a loss for words.
How on earth was his mind working to come up with such a thought?
It was inevitable.
From an American perspective, the Wholesale Market was a world beyond consumers.
It was a place restaurant chefs and business owners frequented, not a space where ordinary people rushed in claiming they could buy things cheaply.
When making bulk purchases, people simply used large supermarkets like Costco.
But for Soo-ho, the Wholesale Market was deeply familiar.
Because Korean consumers frequently visited Livestock Markets or Fish Markets in Korea.
Soo-ho had visited them often as well.
It was to eat better food, however slightly, for the sake of maintaining his body.
Therefore, this stemmed from a cultural difference.
‘I wonder what the American Fish Market is like?’
Soo-ho and Mark arrived at a massive warehouse-style market vibrating with the stench of fish.
It seemed closing time had arrived.
Workers in rubber boots had begun cleaning, spraying water across the floor.
Mark was completely overwhelmed by the harsh atmosphere he was experiencing for the first time.
“Um… couldn’t we just go back and eat hamburgers instead?”
“Mark. It’s your turn. Go on!”
“Me, what am I supposed to—!”
“You’re American. Go talk to them.”
Soo-ho gestured with his chin toward a burly Market Manager sorting through ledgers in one corner.
Mark clenched his teeth tightly.
Normally, he would have refused.
Mark wasn’t the type to force himself to do things he didn’t want to do.
But thinking back to what Soo-ho had prepared for his teammates on the bus today.
What was the big deal about just going and saying a few words….
“Um… excuse me? Could I possibly buy some Dungeness crab?”
The Market Manager didn’t even look up from his ledger, responding curtly.
“Retail sales go to the supermarket out front. We’re closed.”
“Ah… that’s not what I meant….”
Mark faltered and turned back to Soo-ho.
Soo-ho poked Mark with his finger and whispered.
“Quantity. Cash.”
“Oh!”
Mark shouted toward the Market Manager again.
“Forty total!”
The roster of players, staff, and accompanying personnel.
Altogether, it came to roughly forty people.
“….”
The Market Manager’s pen froze mid-air.
He slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping across Mark and Soo-ho standing behind him.
“What? How many did you say?”
His reaction made it clear he was interested.
Mark’s voice gained confidence.
“Forty. Right now. Right now! All cash.”
Then Soo-ho stepped forward and slapped a thick wad of cash onto the Market Manager’s desk with a decisive thud.
Especially since most of it was in ten-dollar bills, the stack was quite substantial.
The Market Manager’s eyes widened.
And no wonder—a customer had just appeared who would buy forty crabs in cash all at once, inventory that might otherwise sit unsold before closing.
His gruff expression transformed instantly into a business smile.
“Oh my! I didn’t recognize a valued customer!”
The Market Manager hastily composed himself and tapped his calculator.
“Normally I’d need at least eleven dollars per crab even selling wholesale. But since you came directly and you’re paying cash… nine dollars per crab. How’s that?”
“Nine, nine dollars?”
“What, you don’t like it? There’s really nothing left in this. I’m practically giving it away.”
When a typical merchant says there’s nothing left in it.
You shouldn’t believe them.
But nine dollars was genuinely a very cheap price.
There was no reason to refuse.
After the calculation was settled at nine dollars, Soo-ho spoke up.
“Um… I don’t have anywhere to steam these separately. Would it be possible to steam them here right now?”
“Steaming usually costs extra, you know?”
“Our budget isn’t really that generous…”
Soo-ho’s eyes were filled with a sorrowful gleam.
It was impossible to resist that look of someone struggling in a foreign land.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Twenty minutes later.
Soo-ho and Mark loaded the crabs divided among three enormous boxes—
forty freshly steamed Dungeness crabs with steam still rising from them into the van.
Afterward, the moment Mark got in the car, he let out a sigh as if he’d been holding his breath.
“Phew….”
He exhaled deeply.
Then he glanced around before raising his voice.
“Insane! This actually worked! The Wholesale System is amazing! How did you even come up with the idea to use the Wholesale System? You’re not just good at baseball.”
“In Korea, the Wholesale Market is very active.”
“Thanks to you, I get to taste this local specialty! I can’t wait to eat it. As soon as we get there, I’m slathering it with butter and digging in!”
Soo-ho shook his head.
“If we decided to eat a local specialty, let’s do it properly.”
“What, there’s more?”
“Yeah. This is just the beginning.”
“What is it? Tell me….”
Soo-ho chuckled softly.
“If I give you a hint—teamwork? I want to strengthen our bonds as a team.”
Mark scrutinized Soo-ho with a suspicious gaze.
What does eating have to do with teamwork?
Surely he doesn’t mean something like spreading crab meat on each other, 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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