Chapter 27

The bear stew is now mine, Chapter 27

027: A Series of Blockbusters / Five Months Later, Mart Employee Interview

As he leaned in, unexpected words slipped out of Sasha’s mouth.

“Daar~gg.”

“...Egg?”

“Yeah, remember when I threw an egg at that punk in the parking lot with Zhenya?”

“Why did you do that?”

“That punk turned out to be the son of the Icos CEO.”

“Huh?”

Look at this.

It means Zhenya is connected to them, right?

“I was so surprised to see Zhenya coming out of that house. This smells fishy, doesn’t it?”

“Are you saying Zhenya was tailing me?”

“He probably had someone else do it.”

“Man, that’s what I’m saying. So Zhenya knew I was importing goods from Korea and told the Icos CEO’s son, who then started importing Korean products?”

“Something like that.”

Zhenya wouldn’t have specifically suggested importing chocolate pies. Then why did Icos decide to import chocolate pies?

There are so many good products in Korea.

“Did you not know that you needed to include Unicorn to import?”

“There was about a week’s difference, so they probably didn’t know.”

Because the import failed due to Unicorn, Icos asked for the deposit back, but Iryon refused.

It all fits together.

“Is Zhenya trying to stab me in the back? No, that doesn’t make sense. Hmm, this is a bit strange.”

“It is a bit strange. Just because they’re importing other Korean products or chocolate pies doesn’t mean you’ll be affected.”

“You’re right.”

The situation is a bit complicated, but there’s no need to overthink it.

Zhenya must have persuaded the Icos people to import Korean products.

Ultimately, the chocolate pies were a lucky hit.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.

No one else knew that chocolate pies would be a blockbuster.

Except for Nikolai.

So, I need to wrap up the Icos issue here.

Nikolai chose a direct approach over dealing with minor issues.

“Do you know where the headquarters is?”

“Now?”

“Let’s go. To settle things.”

“Without an appointment?”

“What manners do you show to those who put their forks on my plate without permission?”

Nikolai urgently called the site manager, who was giving instructions from afar.

“Do you have something to say?”

“More equipment and personnel will be added this week.”

“I just received a call from the CEO.”

“Among the additional personnel, there will be employees from the construction company acquired from Unicorn. Please lead them well.”

“If you’re worried about friction, don’t be. I’ve been in the field for almost 30 years; I know how to manage people.”

“That’s reassuring. I’ll leave it to you.”

After leaving the construction site of the large mart, they headed to the Icos company.

* * *

“You were in too much of a hurry, and now things have turned out like this.”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“Sorry? Do you know how much money we’ve lost?”

“...”

Icos CEO Pyotr, still angry, turned to Zhenya.

“How could you give such information without checking it thoroughly?”

“You know there were no issues until then.”

Zhenya was right.

There were no problems with the customs procedures when the contract was signed.

But then the port of Vladivostok suddenly put a stop to it, and things went wrong.

It’s hard to blame Zhenya, but Pyotr needed someone to vent his anger and shift the blame.

He couldn’t blame his son, who was supposed to succeed him, so he targeted Zhenya.

“Father? Who’s your father?”

“You gave permission, didn’t you?”

“I never said that.”

“Father!”

At that moment, the intercom buzzed.

- Mr. CEO, someone from Unicorn is here.

“Unicorn? The Unicorn Group?”

- What should I do?

“...”

Pyotr thought for a moment.

They came because of this incident.

We can’t do business if we become enemies with the Yusupov family in Russia...

“Let them in.”

- Understood.

Soon, the door opened, and Nikolai and Sasha entered.

‘These young ones represent Unicorn?’

Wrinkles formed on Pyotr’s forehead, who had expected someone older.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Pyotr.”

“Hmm, I heard you’re from Unicorn.”

“Yes, I’m Yuri Yusupov’s grandson and Ivan’s son.”

“Oh, Ivan...”

Thinking of the previous conflict over the company acquisition, Pyotr trailed off.

“I handle all the Korea import and export business, so I came here personally.”

Nikolai, who had only seen Zhenya from behind, noticed him as he was about to sit down.

Enemies meet on a narrow bridge.

‘Today might be the day I fall off the bridge.’

Smirking at Zhenya, Nikolai sat down, and Pyotr, tilting his head, sat opposite him.

“Is this the chaste and pure Zhenya, who only looks at one man? Have you eaten?”

“...”

“Were you busy investigating me? Or should I say, tailing me?”

Struck by the accurate accusations, Zhenya flinched and averted his gaze.

Pyotr’s unnecessary cough confirmed it.

“Huh, do you know each other?”

This guy doesn’t know they were engaged.

So, Zhenya was lying to him...

“I know. We were engaged a long time ago. Didn’t Zhenya tell you?”

“...I never heard that.”

Pyotr’s expression twisted.

“So, you didn’t know that he called off the engagement when our family was in trouble?”

“You didn’t know that, huh? Then you didn’t know about Zhenya’s complicated relationships with men, either?”

“Today, I’m hearing a lot of new things, I see.”

Zhenya clenched his teeth and trembled.

That’s enough.

Pyotr will handle the rest.

“Let’s get to the point. Did Ivan send you?”

“I told you, I handle the Korea import and export business.”

“Why are you here when you have a contract with Iryon?”

“What could I do when they begged for help? Our company isn’t that heartless. And there’s an issue to resolve with Icos, right?”

We need to settle this, as there’s no problem with the contract.

If Unicorn gets involved, there won’t be any diplomatic issues between Russia and Korea.

Without diplomatic issues, the only problem is Icos, which is why we’re here.

“What’s the issue? The import is over.”

“Is chocolate pie the only product from Korea? You can import other things.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can import anything that Unicorn doesn’t import.”

“Can you guarantee that?”

Pyotr’s eyes gleamed with greed.

But greed often leads to downfall.

“I’m the one responsible. However...”

“You must have some conditions.”

“We’re not in the business of digging holes. If you show some goodwill, we’ll approve it.”

“I understand. That’s always been the case, so let’s do it.”

“And the money issue with Iryon will be settled here. Definitely.”

“That’s...”

Although the contract doesn’t allow it, the amount is significant, so he hesitates to agree.

In such situations, showing strength is the right approach.

“Do you know that Yuri Yusupov is very close to President Yeltsin?”

“...We’ll settle it here.”

“To maintain a long-term relationship, we need to avoid any friction. I have a problem with Zhenya.”

With that, Nikolai stood up.

There was no reason to stay longer, and he didn’t want to see Zhenya anymore.

“Contact us within three days. Otherwise, we’ll go elsewhere.”

“Contact us sooner.”

“Then, good luck.”

“Take care.”

Expecting a confrontation, Pyotr was surprised to reach an agreement.

Smirking, he turned to Zhenya coldly.

“I only recently found out that the Romanov family lost all their money. You fooled me so well, acting like nothing happened.”

Thinking of how he was deceived by that old man Alexei, Pyotr’s anger boiled.

“It’s good that the Yusupov family called off the engagement. We were never engaged, so I’ll just say it here. I don’t want you to see my son anymore.”

“...Father?”

“I told you not to call me that!”

“...”

“Break up with Zhenya immediately! If I see you together after this, you’ll be fired. Your allowance will end today. Got it?”

The son nodded, not deeply in love with Zhenya.

He could always find another woman. Without an allowance, he couldn’t do anything, so he followed his father’s orders.

After that, Zhenya started seeing different men.

The family still had some resources, but not enough to care for Zhenya.

So, Zhenya began seeking wealthy men.

However, these men only saw her as a plaything, and she gradually deteriorated mentally and physically.

* * *

Icos called the next day, even though Nikolai had given them three days.

- We plan to import ten products, excluding what Unicorn imports.

“That’s up to you. Just show some goodwill.”

- Understood.

Thus, Icos resumed importing from Korea.

Of course, Nikolai’s pockets swelled.

However, the imported products were unpopular in Russia, and Icos suffered significant losses.

* * *

As chocolate pies spread across Russia, reactions began to show.

Ivan’s distribution network extended to even the smallest rural shops, and the speed at which chocolate pies sold was astonishing.

An unexpected event made chocolate pies a blockbuster.

‘President Yeltsin will attend the inauguration of South Korean President Kim Young-sam and discuss the FTA...’

On TV, not only the ministers and the delegation but also President Yeltsin were shown drinking tea and eating chocolate pies.

This scene lasted for almost ten minutes, not just a few seconds.

It was like a ten-minute non-stop commercial.

With the President and ministers as models.

At that time, there were many substandard products, and trust in products was low.

But the President’s food was different, and chocolate pies inadvertently gained a premium image.

The next day, the market responded.

“Did you get the 500 boxes of chocolate pies?”

“I can only deliver them tomorrow evening because I have other clients to visit.”

“In that case, let’s order 700 boxes. Why are so many people suddenly asking for them?”

Small shops were like this, and larger stores placed even more orders.

“Why are we doing a tasting when we’re short on stock?”

“Unicorn insists on it.”

“Do we really need to when they’re selling so well?”

“What if a Unicorn employee finds out and we don’t get the stock? Is that okay?”

“...No, it’s not. Let’s do it as usual.”

Meanwhile, Nikolai, who had caused a nationwide sensation, was eating a lunch box ramen at his grandfather Yuri’s house.

“See, I told you it would work.”

“Ha, I only mentioned chocolate pies to the administrative director. I didn’t expect such a good response.”

“I should thank the director. I can’t eat all of it alone.”

Especially in Russia, it’s even more so.

“That’s a good idea.”

“How does the lunch box ramen taste?”

“It’s not bad, but it might take a long time to sell as explosively as you say. People’s tastes don’t change easily. Chocolate pies have a familiar taste because of the chocolate, but this is different.”

Ivan had said something similar.

People’s tastes don’t change easily, so it might take a long time for Russians to get used to lunch box ramen.

A week later.

Nikolai, about to eat a lunch box he had stored in the kitchen, tilted his head.

“Mother, does anyone else eat these lunch boxes besides me? They seem to be missing.”

“Oh, those? I’ve been eating them, and your father has been eating them too. Yesterday, he sent the driver to get a box from the warehouse.”

At first, they found it strange, but now they eat more than Nikolai.

* * *

A month later.

“Mr. Park, how are you?”

- I was just about to call you. What’s going on?

“What do you mean? You received the payment, didn’t you?”

- That’s why I’m asking. Are they all sold out already?

“Yes. Please send 4 million boxes as soon as possible.”

- What?

Twice the 2 million boxes sent last time?

- We sent that amount with China in mind, but it’s all selling in Russia...

“The rumor that two pies are enough for a meal is making them sell even better. They’ll keep selling.”

-Ha. What a miracle...

“Run the factory 24/7. We’re also planning to export to the former Soviet republics soon.”

Once we have a stable market, we’ll build a factory in Russia.

That’s when Russia will take its first step towards becoming a manufacturing powerhouse.

- This is all thanks to you, Mr. Nikolai. I’ll never forget this favor.

“You can forget the favor, but not this.”

- Oh, that? Of course. I’ll transfer it to your account right away.

“Sure. And for the chocolate pies, try making them with different flavors. Raspberry, strawberry, cherry, apple—fruits people like.”

- I understand. I’ll inform the product development department right away.

The news of chocolate pies being a blockbuster reached Korean companies.

This led to an unexpected side effect.

- Can we adjust the export date for the lunch boxes?

“The contract says October 1st, and you set that date to allow time for new product development.”

- We want to export the existing lunch box products first.

- That’s a bit difficult.

If we agree once, we’ll have to agree to bigger requests later.

Eventually, those requests will become the norm.

Since the lunch boxes are definitely going to be a blockbuster, we’ll stick to the original contract date.

It’s only a few months’ delay.

We also received a call from Ottogi Mayonnaise but cut it off immediately.

Thus, chocolate pies continued to be a blockbuster, even for the second and third shipments.

During this time, Ivan and Nikolai also signed contracts with the former Soviet republics.

Since they had many trading partners from the Soviet era, the contracts were easy to sign.

Indeed, similar reactions appeared in those countries as well.

* * *

In July, Nikolai placed a nationwide newspaper advertisement.

“The job listing for the mart employees looks great.”

“It’s a favor from our major shareholder. And, Mr. Nikolai, do you have any ideas to attract more customers?”

“I do, but...”

Even as a major shareholder with 12% of the shares, I need to get what I deserve.

“A little more... significantly.”

“If the results are as good as last time, I’ll add 3%.”

“Alright... lean in...”

Sasha giggled, mimicking the gesture.

“Deliver the newspapers for free to households that don’t subscribe.”

“Delivering for free will cost a lot...”

“Ah, Mr. CEO, don’t you need to invest first? People find it hard at first, but once they get used to it, it becomes natural.”

“...?”

“So, deliver the newspapers first, and then sign subscription contracts to increase circulation.”

“Right.”

“Then, you can raise the advertising rates or get more ads from companies to make more money.”

“Wow, what a brilliant idea! You’re amazing.”

“And some people will keep posting ‘no newspaper’ signs on their doors, but you must keep delivering. Even if they complain, keep delivering.”

Korean newspapers used this method to increase and maintain subscribers.

It worked well.

Later, when the internet became popular and people stopped reading newspapers, they exported newly printed newspapers, inflated by fake subscriber numbers, in containers to Southeast Asia.

It’s embarrassing to think about now.

“You must keep delivering, no matter what. Got it?”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

The results of Nikolai’s idea became apparent after about 40 days.

“The number of subscribers increased by 37% nationwide! It’s still growing.”

“See? It worked as I said. So, my share is now 15%, right?”

“Yes.”

“I plan to reinvest the dividends based on my shares. Just give me the statements and invest the money in the newspaper company.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“The newspaper company needs to grow for my shares to increase in value. So, please reinvest.”

“Yes, I’ll do as you say.”

* * *

The U-Mart employee interviews had a special aspect.

Nikolai decided to differentiate U-Mart by hiring 50% of the employees as attractive men and women.

Today was the first day of those interviews.