Chapter 38

[ Shin Yuwon: Have you two eaten? ]

[ Shin Yuwon: Even before we've opened, to have such passionate conversation... a sea of tears... ]

[ Shin Yuwon: I'll leave a spoonful of love and affection. You two talk comfortably. ]

[ Lim Sujeong: Ah, don't go! ]

[ Choi Pilsoo: I love you too. ]

I closed the chat room.

I knew they would brainstorm intensely even without me. In fact, with me around, they would be more cautious, asking, "Is this menu too much?" while reading the room.

Of course, their hard work isn't just out of pure professional conscience.

'Good thing I gave them incentives.'

For a small cafe, stock options were out of the question, so I decided to give them 3% of the post-tax profit.

That way, I thought they would do well even if I handed it over completely.

However, there were things I needed to address first before running the cafe with them.

'First, labor costs.'

Thanks to Choi Jeonghyun's help, I saved a lot on initial costs.

Still, money was leaking out in various ways.

Right away, the two stores' transfer fees and deposits totaled 70 million.

Moreover, buying kitchen equipment, facilities, furniture, and decorations would easily cost tens of millions.

If they didn't meet my standards, I'd have to buy in bulk to use as "quality conversion" materials.

Of course, my balance was ample.

But seeing the first digit drop to 8 was unpleasant.

"I trust you."

I tapped the new printer.

The previous one's printing speed was so slow it made me furious, so I "quality converted" it.

"Shall we give it a try after a long time?"

First, the stock price, which had risen to 19,000 won, had a significant correction and then rebounded slightly.

It's currently hovering around 17,000 won.

I gathered all the stock information and news and "quality converted" it, but the "preview" didn't show any good information.

"The printing speed is really fast..."

Still, the current return is 62%, and the unrealized profit is 1,500.

I'll hold for now.

Without new positive news, there's a possibility it could drop further, but that's okay.

[ Submission of the result report to the Food and Drug Administration completed, formal product approval application planned (mid-June) ]

The date mentioned in the report I saw before was June.

I plan to check it again when the formal approval comes out.

And it's a company that developed a drug for pancreatic cancer patients.

'I'll buy some stock to support them.'

I thought it would be nice to hold onto it for a while.

Next, our Musk.

His tweets were still causing a stir.

I printed from his first tweet to his recent ones.

And the scheduled tweets that came out after "quality conversion."

[ @nylonmusk ]

[ Summer vacation 10 years from now on Mars! ]

[ @nylonmusk ]

[ To those who ask why spaceships don't use electricity: How about peeing with electricity? ]

Sometimes, SNS feels like a waste of life.

'Looks like ExitTo is out for a while.'

And I was a bit wary of cryptocurrencies.

During the peak of ExitTo, the volatility was really...

Of course, I made a lot of money thanks to that, but if I got stuck, it would be a disaster.

'Musk didn't do much after acquiring ExitTo.'

I needed to find new opportunities.

'Other stocks? Foreign stocks?'

I bookmarked a few domestic and foreign stocks that were trending on the securities page.

Printing everything would take almost half a day and require changing the paper.

For today, that's enough.

"Phew!"

I threw myself onto the bed.

The second problem I needed to solve was at the Shinchon branch tomorrow morning.

*

I got up before dawn and drove out.

The destination was the Shinchon branch.

"Ugh..."

The traces of Seoyeon PC had long disappeared.

Everything that was there before was completely removed, and the basic construction was almost complete.

"You did a good job cleaning up the raceway yesterday."

I checked it whenever I had a chance, but the people from Ilpum and the workers were really on top of it, both in terms of schedule and construction.

'They should be here soon. I'll do it before they arrive.'

I went back to the car and took out a large bag.

"Oof, heavy."

I carried it to the small space that used to be the old owner's storage room.

Next, I took out a black cloth from the bag and covered the entrance and windows.

The bag contained 10 kg of coffee grounds, which I had obtained from another cafe for testing.

'The best would be to convert them into green beans.'

Converting the grounds into green beans would improve the margin slightly, and we could adjust the roasting to improve the coffee.

However, roasting and storing green beans in this store's space would be too much. It's our first time running a business, so there's no need to rush.

'If it goes well, we can move to a larger place or build a factory.'

If so, the grounds would become new green beans.

Without the other employees knowing.

I thought of a few rules.

First, it's better to do the work in the early morning rather than at night after business hours, for freshness.

"Tell them to collect and store the coffee grounds here."

Second, I'll handle the purchase and inventory management of the beans myself.

If other employees get involved, it could be a headache.

Third, the "quality conversion" work will be done in this store.

There's no need to do it at both locations.

'The Hapjeong branch is too small.'

The Hapjeong branch will mainly use the beans I purchase.

I'll collect the grounds and bring them here every few days.

And the grounds produced here will be converted into beans daily and supplied alongside the purchased beans.

"Phew, every day?"

My head was already aching.

I need to come out and work before the other employees arrive, and manage the bean inventory.

'Really, should I set up a factory? Maybe a magic factory concept.'

For now, I'll start with a test.

"Tam!"

I called Tam and lifted the bag.

"Open your mouth! The grounds are coming in!"

Just as I was about to pour them into Tam, a text I was eagerly waiting for appeared.

──────────

The tutorial Ⅶ of 《Brilliant 30s》 is starting...

──────────

I was startled and pulled back my arms.

"Aaah!"

I was afraid the grounds might spill and affect the tutorial.

"Phew, it didn't go in? You didn't eat anything, right?"

I read it again.

──────────

The tutorial Ⅶ of 《Brilliant 30s》 is starting.

◇ Quest: Perform "quality conversion" 5 times at the same place, same time, and with the same materials.

◇ Time limit: 7 days

◆ Reward: Obtain the skill "Macro," and receive a "Macro" coupon (one-time use)

──────────

Ah, 5 times?

Can I keep assigning this bean work to Tam?

There was room for interpretation, but I got the gist.

Indeed, this system was in a league of its own.

However, I thought of another use.

There was something I had always wanted to try.

'Should I give it a shot?'

This was the perfect idea for this tutorial.

A flying factory?

Same place, same time, same materials, 5 times.

And the skill is called "Macro."

'I think I know what it is.'

Probably a skill that automatically performs "quality conversion."

Like auto-hunting in mobile games.

"Tam! My little treasure! Come here!"

I waved my arms in the air to pet Tam, and Tam rubbed against me.

...But I couldn't feel anything.

'Tear!'

Is there no tutorial to let me touch Tam and Coco? Damn!

"This is an impossible love."

I tied the bag of coffee grounds again. I was going to throw it away.

'Same materials, it says.'

It seemed the "Macro" would run using the materials used for the 5 repetitions.

What I needed was not these unknown beans but the actual grounds from the store.

'There's a lot to do today.'

I need to buy beans.

And I need equipment to make coffee to produce the grounds.

'It's about time to buy them anyway.'

Fortunately, the tutorial's time limit is 7 days.

'I need to rent a bigger car.'

I left the store and drove off.

I had many places to visit today.

*

The next day.

Breathing in the cool morning air, I arrived at the Shinchon branch.

After setting everything up, I made coffee in time for the workers to arrive.

"Hello!"

"Oh, Mr. Owner, you're here early."

"Haha, would you like some coffee?"

"Sure. Are you showing off your skills?"

"Please wait a moment. I'll make it refreshing."

Today is the day to make coffee grounds!

Yesterday, I bought 8 used coffee machines at a lower price than the market rate by visiting second-hand coffee machine stores.

And the "quality converted" one is this shiny, sleek machine!

'So reliable, so reliable.'

It was the top-of-the-line model used at Blue Place.

Almost perfect as a coffee machine!

Plus, it has an LED touchscreen for memorizing coffee recipes and counting extraction times.

'Our Pilsoo and Jeong duo will find it easy to use.'

Most importantly, it's a highly reliable product.

In fact, for commercial coffee machines