God-Given Business Genius

-Next news. Crop damage is mounting due to heavy rains lasting over a week. Reporter Kim Min-sung reports.

-This is Reporter Kim Min-sung. Recent heavy rains, particularly in the south-central regions, have caused severe crop damage. I’m here at one of the affected areas. As you can see, the seedlings planted in the fields are all…….

-With daily rainfall exceeding 260mm at its peak, damage to agricultural production has led to a crisis in food prices. Prices of spinach, lettuce, and cabbage have risen significantly. With monsoon rains continuing for ten days, spinach prices have increased by about 65% in just a week…….

-The price of red lettuce has risen by 121.8% in a week. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 12th, some vegetables are already showing sharp price increases due to these heavy rains. There’s even talk of lettuce being ‘golden lettuce’ rather than just lettuce.

-With lettuce prices more than doubling, there’s talk of lettuce being more precious than meat. A 40-year-old restaurant owner, A, in Seoul lamented, “The burden of preparing vegetable wraps has increased significantly. With ingredient costs more than doubling, we’re losing money even when we sell.”

Static.

In a dark room, only the TV emitted light. Jo I-ruk, eyes wide open, stared intently at the news.

They were still talking about the rapid increase in vegetable prices.

“……As expected.”

Jo I-ruk muttered softly.

“I was right.”

Song Woo-yeon’s choice had been correct once again. And that was also a confirmation that Jo I-ruk hadn’t been wrong.

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“Yes~ If you could park the car over here…. Oh?”

A surprised face appeared through the lowered window. I smiled and responded.

“Should I pull in closer?”

“Woo-yeon!”

Kim Jong-chun looked startled.

“Step aside a bit, you might get hurt. I’ll park right up against the store.”

“Oh, oh, sure!”

Kim Jong-chun hurriedly stepped aside. I turned the steering wheel sharply, skillfully parking the car close to the store.

Even after I finished parking and got out of the car, he still looked dumbfounded.

“Why, why are you coming out of there? Today is supposed to be the day we receive goods from headquarters…….”

Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, his eyes widened.

“Wait, do you even have a driver’s license?! You didn’t have one before!”

“I didn’t.”

“……!”

“I just got one. A standard license.”

“Wh-What?! This is the first I’m hearing of this!”

“Of course, since I got my license yesterday.”

I pulled out my driver’s license from my pocket and showed it to him. Anticipating that I’d need to drive alone more often, I finally got it after putting it off for a while.

Naturally, having driven a lot before my regression, I didn’t need any additional driving lessons or practice.

I made time to take the written and practical tests, and soon after, I quickly completed the road test.

‘The examiner sitting next to me looked surprised to see me skilfully maneuvering the car without a hint of nervousness.’

He probably suspected I had been driving without a license. I looked too young to claim I was retaking the test after having my license revoked.

“Y-Yesterday?!”

“Yes.”

“You reckless kid! You got your license yesterday and you’re already driving a truck?!”

Of course, it’s a bit embarrassing to call it a truck when it’s just a mini-truck. But since it would be a reckless challenge for a typical novice driver, I fully understood Kim Jong-chun, Manager’s reaction.

But despite appearances, I have 20 years of accident-free driving experience. ……Before my regression, that is.

“You saw earlier, didn’t you? How I parked right up against the store. After seeing that, are you still worried?”

“……Well, that’s true.”

“Don’t worry. I guess I’m a driving prodigy.”

As I brushed it off with a casual remark, Kim Jong-chun looked puzzled but tilted his head as if thinking, ‘Is that so……?’

“I came out with the goods to check on the situation at several locations and hear from the owners.”

“Not conducting a secret inspection as well?”

“Haha. That’s part of it too.”

“Woo-yeon. If it had been any other owner but me, they would have had a heart attack. You know?”

As Kim Jong-chun said, anyone coming out to receive goods without thinking and suddenly encountering the company CEO would be quite startled.

But being able to see someone working hard at this early hour was meaningful in itself. It was also a chance to check if there were any places where employees were opening up.

“Fortunately, you pass, Owner Kim.”

“Phew. Thank goodness. If I had dawdled and been late today, I might have been fired.”

“You were lucky~”

We could now easily exchange such grim jokes. We looked at each other and giggled.

“So, how are things? No problems lately?”

“Nah. We’re in a bit better situation.”

Kim Jong-chun, Manager’s face darkened slightly. He seemed to have overheard about the situations of other nearby stores a few times.

“Woo-yeon, I’m really amazed at how you can provide vegetables at such low prices in times like these. Sometimes when I go grocery shopping, I’m shocked.”

“The prices have gone up a lot, haven’t they?”

“Don’t even mention it. Another owner running a ssambap restaurant in this alley was lamenting how they’d lose money even if they sold at their current prices while maintaining the existing menu. But they can’t just stop doing business…….”

“Right. They’ll lose their regular customers too.”

“Where on earth are you sourcing these goods from? The company isn’t selling at a loss, is it?”

Kim Jong-chun gave me a worried look. I grinned.

“Don’t worry. We’re selling everything with a margin.”

“Wow. I wonder what kind of magic you’re working.”

“It only looks that way because prices have gone up so much recently. If you use last year’s prices as a baseline, it’s not that cheap.”

“That’s because you’re using last year’s prices as a baseline!”

That’s exactly my point.

“The contract was made last year, so last year’s prices are the baseline.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

There was no need to go into detail. In any case, we were able to procure goods at good prices. It would be a great help in overcoming this difficult period.

‘When vegetable prices go down, we’ll be buying at relatively higher prices. But what’s important isn’t how much more profit you make when things are good. It’s how well you endure when times are tough.’

Most stores collapse because they can’t withstand that ‘tough period’.

It’s not because they can’t make more money. It’s because they don’t have the strength to persevere when faced with economic downturns or adversity.

“Anyway. Owner Kim, you don’t need to send me KakaoTalk messages every dawn anymore. How do you manage to send them every single day without fail?”

After being severely scolded by me, Kim Jong-chun had been sending photos every dawn when he arrived at work. It was a kind of attendance check-in.

At first, I found it heartwarming and consistently replied with encouraging messages. Now I usually just read them without replying.

“Leave it be. It’s also a promise to myself. If it bothers you, just turn off the notifications.”

“I already did.”

“What, you brat?”

We burst into laughter while bickering.

“Thank you, Owner Kim.”

For showing me that people can change.

I felt genuinely grateful. Before my regression, I had met countless franchise owners. What I realized then was that it’s all too easy to change for the worse. But the opposite requires enduring excruciating pain.

The fact that Kim Jong-chun had a change of heart and now comes out every dawn to open the store means he’s making bone-crushing efforts.

Knowing this, I was truly pleased with all of Kim Jong-chun, Manager’s efforts.

Though Kim Jong-chun just blinked in confusion and asked:

“For what?”

“Nothing. Besides, I have many places to go, so I can’t delay any longer.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll get out of your way quickly!”

Kim Jong-chun brought a handcart and skillfully started unloading the goods from the truck.

Soon after, Kim Jong-chun thumped the back of the truck with his hand.

“Done~! You can go now!”

“Okay. I’ll visit again next time.”

“Sure~!”

I could see Kim Jong-chun hurriedly pulling the handcart into the store, likely pressed for time to prepare for opening.

I climbed into the driver’s seat and grabbed the steering wheel again.

I already had the next destination in mind.

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Like Kim Jong-chun I smiled at the person whose eyes widened and mouth gaped open upon seeing me.

“Uh……. Huh?!”

“It’s been a while. Ji Sang-woo-ssi.”

“CEO Song?!”

Ji Sang-woo looked so surprised he might jump out of his skin. This is a typical reaction.

Visiting Ji Sang-woo after Kim Jong-chun was a deliberate choice.

‘These two are probably the individuals who have changed the most since before my regression.’

Of course, in Ji Sang-woo’s case, there’s still a need for further observation. But so far, his sales trends have been good, and he passed the secret inspection.

Hiding these inner thoughts, I smiled mischievously.

“What? I came to check on things personally, including surveillance. Is there something you’re guilty about?”

“Oh no, not at all!”

Ji Sang-woo waved his hands emphatically.

“I was just surprised to see such a busy person come all the way here. Ah, would you like to come in for a drink?”

“It’s okay. Just keep working and don’t mind me. I really just came to deliver this.”

At my words, Ji Sang-woo awkwardly looked around before starting to unload the goods. I watched him quietly for a moment before speaking.

“How is your mother’s health?”

The last time I saw him, Ji Sang-woo was extremely grateful, saying he discovered his mother’s liver cancer thanks to me.

You should have seen how strangely Jo I-ruk looked at me when Ji Sang-woo called me his life’s benefactor.

Since then, I hadn’t heard any proper news, so I was curious about how the treatment was progressing. I hope she’s recovering well.

“……My mother.”

Ji Sang-woo stopped what he was doing and stood still at my question.

The sudden change in atmosphere made me unconsciously tense up.

“My mother, you see…….”

Ji Sang-woo began to speak in a slow tone.