“It was fun, wasn’t it, Bora!!!”
Hana spun around Bora, chattering away. Just like Hana said, the movie about the Little Magician Lumi was worth watching. Even for Bora, an adult, the battles were dazzling and grand. And there was an extra bonus.
Hana, who had changed into Lumi’s costume in the bathroom, participated in an event and received a poster of the Little Magician Lumi movie as a reward. The framed picture was of very high quality with clean colors. Hana seemed to really like it, smiling brightly as she held the frame.
It looked heavy, so Bora offered to carry it, but Hana shook her head side to side, insisting she would carry it herself.
Grumble-
After watching the movie, they got hungry. Bora said to Hana, “Hana, should we grab some food at a nearby restaurant?”
“Sure!”
Hana nodded eagerly, as if she had been waiting for Bora to suggest it. It was the perfect timing for hunger. Hana rubbed her stomach and asked, “Bora, what do you want to eat?”
“You should eat what you want, Hana!”
“Then I want pork cutlet!”
Hana’s favorite food was the same whether at the company cafeteria or outside. If it had meat, it was a jackpot. She also liked dishes with few vegetables. On days with lots of vegetables, she tended to avoid those meals. Last time, when she was shown bibimbap, Hana almost fainted.
Perhaps because of her plant-related abilities, she ate fruits and small amounts of vegetables but didn’t like eating the main parts of plants like stems or leaves.
With Hana in tow, they headed to a nearby delicious pork cutlet place. Bora also thought she could benefit from this. It was a time to slack off legally while working. Since she had to grant most of Hana’s wishes, going to the pork cutlet place Hana wanted wasn’t exactly slacking off.
It was all part of the job!
With that mental victory, Bora drove to a nearby popular restaurant. Hana had a big appetite, so they needed to go somewhere with generous portions.
—
Kim Sehee quickly decided after tasting the grapes. There were many domestic wine producers. Among them, she acquired a struggling wine factory at a reasonable price. Building a factory from scratch would have been easier, but time was of the essence. It was a shame to let such delicious grapes go to waste.
Building a factory from the ground up would have taken too much time. In a way, this was a more desirable method. Kim Sehee watched the process of harvesting grapes and turning them into wine. It took a lot of time to ferment grapes into wine. The production process didn’t take much time, but the aging period, crucial for bringing out the wine’s flavor, required at least half a year.
But one grape dramatically shortened that aging period. It took only a few weeks to fully mature. The result of preemptively turning the grapes into wine. While other grapes needed at least half a year to become drinkable wine, this one was different.
In a way, it was an expected result. The plant always brought good outcomes. She wondered if Hana, when she grew up, would become a princess with a massive enterprise. Even now, Hana was the major shareholder of a company worth trillions.
By the time Hana turned 20 and was recognized as an adult, she might rank among the top wealthiest in the country.
“Is this the first wine made as a test?”
“Yes, Boss. It’s made from the first harvested grapes.”
“Hmm…”
Kim Sehee looked at the wine wrapped in luxurious packaging on the desk. It might take time, brand value, and popularity to produce wines worth billions per bottle, but Kim Sehee didn’t care. Because in terms of taste, it was already game over.
Kim Sehee gently opened the cork and was overwhelmed by the fragrant aroma rising from the bottle. Even the most expensive wine in the world wouldn’t stand a chance against this one.
—
Since wine took some time, Starlight Food started selling the grapes themselves. It was still early, so they didn’t distribute nationwide.
As soon as they hit the shelves, they sold like hotcakes. They tasted great and weren’t expensive. As a result, the grape farm turned into chaos.
Cherry tomatoes were so high in calories that eating just one could fill you up, so the demand for them remained steady. You didn’t need to eat many—just two would rack up 2,000 calories.
And coffee? It was a crop that couldn’t be grown in South Korea. Coffee only grows in the coffee belt, so there was no way it would grow in Korea. People were actually happy because it kept coffee prices stable.
As for Starlight Rice, due to government regulations and market reactions, Starlight Food didn’t release it domestically. So, ironically, it was more common to see Starlight Rice in Japan than in Korea. Citizens were baffled, saying, “How is rice grown domestically more visible in Japan?”
But grapes were a different story. There were plenty of farms growing grapes domestically.
Rumors spread like wildfire. Even though grapes were only sold in limited places in Seoul.
“Starlight Food is planning to enter the grape market.”
“Are they planning to conquer the grape market now?”
“I heard from a relative that they’re planning to sell grapes nationwide soon.”
For small-scale farmers, the news of Starlight Food entering grape farming was like a bolt from the blue.
“How are we supposed to compete with Korea’s top conglomerate? I heard their market cap is in the trillions.”
“Not to mention, their taste is superior, and their supply is explosive. Some say the Seoul release is just a test run.”
“What does a giant corporation like that even want with us small farmers?”
Grape farmers were grim-faced and deeply worried. Just last year, Starlight Food hadn’t cared about farming at all, but recently, it seemed they’d found some amazing seeds and were transitioning from a food company to an agricultural one.
Their crops were so good they even captured the picky tastes of the Japanese, selling rice there. They’d been keeping a wary eye on Starlight Food since the cherry tomato sales.
“They’re planning to distribute grapes nationwide within three months? That’s basically telling us to shut down.”
“At least they gave us a heads-up. Other conglomerates would’ve just barged in and bankrupted grape farms left and right. At least they’re letting us mentally prepare.”
“Did you get something from Starlight Food? I’ve been growing grapes all my life, and now they’re telling me to quit and do something else? That’s ridiculous!”
Whenever grape farmers gathered, the conversation inevitably turned to Starlight Food’s grapes. Small farmers had no chance against a giant corporation.
—————————————-
However, distributors selling grapes saw things differently.
“Starlight Food is entering the grape market?”
“Did Starlight Food even grow grapes before? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Well, they must’ve succeeded. I bought some Starlight Grapes in Seoul, and they were huge and delicious.”
“What about the existing grapes?”
“What can we do? They gave us a three-month grace period, so we’ll just have to sell everything by then.”
For distributors, the damage was relatively less compared to grape farmers. Their job was just to buy grapes from farms and sell them elsewhere. In fact, it might even be easier now. Instead of running around to scattered farms, they could buy grapes from one place.
They could also aim for overseas sales. Starlight Food’s crops were incredibly tasty, after all.
Still, there was some chaos, though not as bad as the despair felt by grape farmers.
If Starlight Food got involved in distribution, even the distributors’ livelihoods would be at risk. For now, though, there was no word on that, so they were just watching and waiting.
