Chapter 154 - Conditions for a Jackpot (2)

“It’s not bad. It feels more luxurious than the tteok-galbi sold in the markets.”

“Then I’m relieved. What do you think are the ingredients?”

I was curious about that as well.

I knew it wouldn’t be made of meat. If it was made of pork or beef, Lee Soo Bong would not be asking this question.

However, I decided to make his day and gave the wrong answer on purpose.

“I’m not sure. It is a mix of meat and beans?”

“No. None of the meat that you know of is inside it. If we are talking about costs, this would probably cost about 300 won.”

There was no meat inside, just as I had expected. It didn’t even have chicken in it.

Furthermore, the cost is only around 300 won. Now I was certain that this would be a jackpot of a creation.

But I was really curious. Taste-wise, it tasted very similar to regular meat. Just what kind of ingredients must he have used in order to create such a taste?

Did he maybe put some artificial flavoring to make it taste like meat? I don’t think Lee Soo Bong is the type to cook that way.

“Then what is it made of?”

“The main ingredients are beans, wheat, potato starch, and coconut oil.”

Lee Soo Bong suddenly lowered his voice as he answered me. At the same time, he took out a document that he seemed to have prepared in advance. It listed the main ingredients in the tteok-galbi.

As Lee Soo Bong mentioned, there were no types of meat listed on there. All of the ingredients were vegetables or grains. If you made food with these kinds of ingredients, it would probably be good for the body as well.

However, there was an ingredient that I could not recognize.

“Heme protein? What is this?”

“It is the thing that gives us the taste of meat when we eat meat. Some American researchers developed and patented their method of making it, however, our team was able to create a new method to make it.”

“I didn’t know that there was such a thing.”

“The American team had developed a vegetable heme protein, however, we developed an animal heme protein. We used stem cells to artificially culture the protein, making us able to produce a large quantity for a cheap price.”

Listening to Lee Soo Bong made me think that it really was an innovative method. In simple terms, we can create a delicious, ‘meat,’ that is good for your body for 80% less than regular meat. We can help reduce the destruction of the environment in the process.

But that was not all. After listening to Lee Soo Bong’s explanation, I quickly learned that the market we can enter was expansive.

“We can make more than just tteok-galbi. We can make hamburger patties or even just slabs of meat to barbecue. We can replace more than 50% of all meat dishes we eat with this meat. Once the research develops further, we may even be able to replace 100% someday.”

If the artificial culture process using stem cells is solidified, we would be able to make meat of the highest quality.

But it is still in the experimentation phase, so we will need a lot of time until we reach maximum production.

But it was still amazing that they could create such a taste with such low costs. If I used a Chaos Jewel on someone related to this business, I’m sure their value related to money would be extremely high.

“We cannot lose the team that developed this protein. We can give them whatever they want, so please make them our people.”

“Of course. They are people who have a deep relationship with me ever since a long time ago. They are just waiting for your investment.”

I felt as if the room suddenly lit up.

I still had over 3 trillion won laying around, but it looked like I finally found the perfect investment.

“How much is needed? I will supply them with the entirety funding.”

“I’m sure it will be better for us to discuss that with them in person. Let’s meet them for drinks after dinner.”

“I understand.”

Ding dong.

I had been waiting for the doorbell to ring. I could see teacher Lee Soo Bong’s face through the interphone. He was with a middle-aged man who seemed pretty old.

I quickly opened the door for them.

“Hello. I am Kang Hwi Ram.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Park Sung Joon. It is weird seeing someone I’ve seen on TV in person like this, haha.”

His image was different than I had expected. The fact that he enjoyed being in a lab and researching stem cells made me think that he’d be an extremely old-fashioned person, but his clothes and his speech all seemed quite hip.

“I thought my officetel would be better than a bar, so I brought you here. I thought secrecy would be of the utmost importance.”

“You made the right decision. I don’t usually drink, so I don’t like bars too much. I also get to visit such an amazing officetel in the process. Isn’t this great?”

Is that so? Then I will give him a nice gift.

“I will change the deed for this officetel to be in your name then, Mr. Park.”

I answered without any hesitation.

Scientist Park Sung Joon’s eyes opened wide.

“Haha, maybe it is because you are still young, but I like how refreshing your way of doing things is. But it seems burdensome to receive such a house as a present.”

What is there to feel burdened about? This type of officetel is nothing compared to the money we will make with his invention.

Just wait. I will make it so he can live in a much better place in the future. Even a castle might be possible.

“Please take a seat over here. I prepared a few things, so I hope you like it.”

I had called over the most talented cooking student from the Dandelion School in order to prepare something for us.

There wasn’t too much alcohol. I had heard in advance that he didn’t like to drink much.

Furthermore, what was important right now was not alcohol or the food.

Park Sung Joon must be thinking the same thing, as he got right down to business.

“I do not know much about business. I also don’t know how much it would cost to market this item. That is why I just put together a list of equipment that we would need to mass produce it.”

I wasn’t really an expert in that area as well.

But that wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve been able to gather quite a lot of experts after putting my hand into multiple businesses.

And the investment amount wasn’t an issue either. What I cared about most was this person named Park Sung Joon. No, I guess saying that I care the most about his character and future is more accurate.

Although I was so certain I didn’t need to verify it, it is always best to be certain.

Plus, this wasn’t just any type of new creation. I wouldn’t feel like it was a waste to use a Chaos Jewel.

In fact, wasn’t this the reason I saved them up?

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I took out my phone and used a Chaos Jewel.

Information related to Park Sung Joon quickly popped up on my phone.

[Wealth: 97/100]

[Intelligence: 87/100]

[Health: 43/100]

[Morality: 58/100]

Politics: 41/100]

[Violence: 36/100]

******

* Human average/highest value: 50/100

‘I knew it!’

His stat related to wealth was at 97. If you consider how the highest possible value was 100, it was pretty much at the peak.

Now that I think about it, President Kim In Hwan’s wealth was high at 98 as well. It means that President Kim In Hwan will also be extremely rich.

His morality wasn’t bad either. It was at least higher than average.

I just needed to use common sense with him.

Then there was just one issue remaining.

“I will be responsible for the funds as well as the creation of the business. Then I guess the only thing remaining is the individual shares. Have you thought about it?”

It could be the most sensitive issue.

However, the conversation went in an unexpected direction. Both Park Sung Joon and Lee Soo Bong seemed to be handing me the reins.

“To be honest with you, I’ve focused my whole life on research, so I do not know much about that side. That is why I debated it for a little bit before dropping it. Teacher Lee Soo Bong mentioned that Chairman Kang is a benevolent person and that you will give us the best treatment if we leave it to you. That is easier for me.”

“Same with me. Wouldn’t we be off to a bad start if we had issues with dividing up the shares in the beginning? I trust you as well, so please just give us a fair share.”

These guys are experts.

It sounds even harder than asking me flat out, ‘give me this much.’ I need to know at least what they are thinking in order to know what is considered fair.

Furthermore, they could be saying this but thinking about something else in their minds. Are they thinking that I will give them a better deal by saying that they will leave it to me?

Then I will go with a similar strategy. I will speak as if I’m not very greedy about money at all.

I will be able to see how they react and go from there.

“Then how about we do it this way?”

“Go ahead.”

See.

Both Lee Soo Bong and Park Sung Joon’s eyes were sparkling as they waited for me to answer. It meant that they were full of anticipation.

I still kept to the same strategy.

“I will invest 500 billion won and divide the shares 1:1:1. In other words, I am valuing your respective expertise at 500 billion won each.”

Both Lee Soo Bong and Park Sung Joon’s eyes opened extremely wide.

“500 billion won?”

What is the meaning of that reaction? Are they shocked because they think it is too much? Or are they shocked because they think it is too little?

Thankfully, it was the former. Park Sung Joon was first to nod his head.

“I am absolutely fine with that.”

“Me too. But do you think we will need 500 billion won to create the business?”

That would depend on the size of the factory.

Based on the document Park Sung Joon handed to me, it looks like 50 billion won might be enough to get us started. On the other hand, it could even cost 5 trillion won if we start with a large factory.

I was thinking about choosing a path that was neither of those two. To be more specific, I was thinking about doing a mix of the two paths.

“I plan on opening factories in multiple locations to start. I think ten different countries are good to start with for now.”

Lee Soo Bong and Park Sung Joon’s eyes opened even wider.

“Ten countries?”

“Don’t you think that is too much to start? Shouldn’t we look at the market response first?”

There was no need to do that. I already confirmed it with the Chaos Jewel.

This business is guaranteed to succeed.

But beyond that, the product itself is amazing. It is delicious, healthy, and helps with a diet. It has no chances of failing.

Well, there is just one thing that concerns me.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I will do whatever I can in order to turn this into a hit item around the world.”

“But we will need a significant amount to start at ten countries at once… I don’t know if 500 billion won is enough.”

There are over 40 million people in Korea alone. Even if only 10% of them become our customers, that is still 4 million people. That means that we would need to create at least 1 million pieces a day.

China or the US would probably require ten times that amount. 500 billion won is not enough to create enough factories to support that much production.

However, that is for when it becomes a hit product.

Which means, there is the condition that it becomes a hit item first.

That is why I had been thinking about it as I waited for Park Sung Joon and Lee Soo Bong to arrive. How could we turn it into a hit product?

Taste, nutrients, and cheap cost.

It was perfect in all aspects. However, there was just one thing that could become an issue.

I came to the conclusion that we need to overcome that issue.

Would Lee Soo Bong and Park Sung Joon be thinking about that as well? If so, would they have come up with the same solution?

I was curious to know. I also wanted to compare their solution with my method.

“What do you think we need to do in order to turn this into a hit product? Have you thought about that?”

“For food, the taste is the first priority. Being nutritious is important, but it cannot be a hit product if it doesn’t taste good.”

Lee Soo Bong was speaking as if it was obvious.

Technically, he wasn’t wrong. However, it was still just a basic answer.

Park Sung Joon did not seem to have any thoughts about it.

I guess he hasn’t thought that far ahead. The conditions to turn this item into a jackpot.

I cautiously brought up something else.

“We need something else in addition to that.”

Translator: Miraclerifle

Proofreader: Borderline Masochist