Brrrrrrr-
In front of the Starlight Food Building, a trailer truck was parked. Inside, there were Hana’s clothes. They had bought so many clothes that they needed a trailer. Bora, Haru, and Maru couldn’t help but stick out their tongues in disbelief.
“Even if we try each one once, it seems impossible before winter ends.”
“Right? It’s not just a few outfits, it’s like hundreds.”
Department store employees were unloading and moving the clothes from the trailer. The Starlight Food office staff thought about helping, but the department store employees politely declined. They were responsible from purchase to delivery.
All the office staff could do was show where the closets were. There were closets in Hana’s room, but there was also a separate room just for clothes, like celebrities have. Bora, Haru, and Maru had already cleared out the closets the day before.
The fall clothes they would need next year had long been donated to an orphanage. The boss’s words were simple: “We can buy next year’s fall clothes next year.” Hana was still growing, and there was no reason to wear the same clothes.
Kim Sehee’s desire was to dress Hana in new brands every time. Seeing Hana in nice clothes made her smile. And money wasn’t an issue. The clothes they bought now were worth hundreds of millions, but to Starlight Food, it was pocket change.
Starlight Food had made 10 trillion won in sales in just six months. And their operating profit was on track to exceed 8-9 trillion won. Other companies would probably scream at them to shut up.
In manufacturing, operating profit is hard to come by. Keeping 5-6% is considered good, and hitting 10% makes people ask for your secret. Of course, these days, with various industries, high operating profits are more common.
Take the gaming industry, for example. It’s a high-value industry where the only real cost is employee salaries. Just click a mouse, create game items, and sell them. It costs almost nothing to make, and you can produce endlessly.
Yet, Starlight Food could even surpass the gaming industry’s profits. This was possible because of Hana’s plants. If Hana’s plants required the same care as other plants, their profits would have tanked.
But Hana’s plants thrived even in harsh, concrete environments. Just plant the seeds, give them water, and they grow. No additional costs. This was a huge advantage.
Farming is an industry full of variables. Sudden climate changes, typhoons, and other natural phenomena can ruin everything. Eliminating those variables meant massive profits.
And in just 2-3 weeks, the plants grew to maturity, with a harvest speed unmatched by any other plant. Hana was Starlight Food’s greatest treasure. So, investing this much for Hana was no big deal.
Bora went up to the building to instruct the department store employees on how to organize the closets. Winter clothes shouldn’t all be lumped together, as it would make choosing outfits later a hassle. Following the boss’s orders, they planned to separate and categorize the winter clothes.
“Put this here, and the padding over there…”
Bora diligently explained to the department store employees how to arrange the clothes. As fellow wage workers, it was best to keep things friendly.
With over ten department store employees moving the clothes, it seemed like it would be done quickly. Each person wasn’t just carrying one outfit; with hangers, they could carry multiple, so it didn’t take long. The last employee placed the final outfit in the closet, and it was done.
A senior-looking employee in a suit and white gloves handed Bora a document. It was proof of delivery confirmation. Since all the clothes were checked, Bora signed without hesitation.
And so, Operation Clothes Move was successfully completed.
—
Although Tangle is only sold in Korea and the U.S., getting it separately isn’t that hard.
It wasn’t legally banned or anything, so you could just buy it from middlemen. Of course, it was more expensive than buying it at Walmart, but what could you do? People living in Korea and the U.S. could just go to the store and buy it, but for those in other countries, Tangle hadn’t been officially imported yet.
Rumors had it that once the supply was secured, it would be exported to various countries. I figured it would probably go to the West first, like Europe, where there are more bald people. After all, Westerners tend to have more hair loss issues than Asians. Plus, they’re generally wealthier than Southeast Asia or other Eastern countries, so their purchasing power was higher.
“Just like Tangle, our Starlight Grapes don’t grow anywhere else. Even if they did, they’d just turn into some useless, tasteless fruit.”
At the vice president’s words, Director Marzo of Moët Chandon was left speechless. Could they really monopolize this magical grape? Marzo imagined making wine with it and was convinced it would become even more popular than it already was.
The most important things in wine are taste and aroma, and Starlight Grapes nailed both. And the competition couldn’t even use these grapes. Sure, they could secretly buy some of the grapes circulating in the market, but getting enough to make wine was nearly impossible. Plus, it would be more expensive than buying directly from Starlight Food.
Prices go up during distribution, after all.
“I think we’ll need to have a discussion with Moët Chandon as well.”
Marzo had expected this to some extent, but he didn’t think they’d be so direct.
“I’ll be waiting for a good answer.”
“And if Moët Chandon refuses, what do you plan to do?”
“We’ll just have to find another partner.”
The vice president smiled bitterly as he spoke. Starlight Food was holding onto a treasure—like a gold mine that never runs out. This was actually a bad sign for Moët Chandon. Just imagining a competitor making champagne with these grapes sent shivers down their spines.
Starlight Food’s wine factory and manufacturing process were top-notch, not falling behind even compared to Moët Chandon. They were competing on marketing and other factors, but if a competitor got their hands on these grapes?
It would cause a massive shift in the wine market. If Moët Chandon couldn’t have them, they had to make sure no one else could either. But in modern society, that was impossible.
Back in ancient times, you could just strong-arm competitors into not buying the grapes, but now? There was no way to threaten them, either with force or money. In fact, if Starlight Food got fed up and went to another wine producer, it would be a disaster.
“I’ll bring back good results.”
Marzo realized this was a major turning point. He now had a desperate reason to convince the board. If they let these Starlight Grapes slip into the hands of another wine producer, who knows what kind of fallout there’d be. After all, they were confident that no grape in the world could match the taste of these.
Starlight Food also had a bit of a “take it or leave it, we’ll just go to another wine producer” mindset. After all, they were the ones holding the cards.
—
Thanks to Marzo’s desperate efforts, Moët Chandon decided to use Starlight Grapes. They couldn’t completely abandon their existing grape farms, so they adjusted the ratios. Of course, over time, the proportion of Starlight Grapes would increase. And since the price was good, there was no reason not to use them.
