Chapter 1442 – 1442. Dark Moon
The chicken shop was a huge hit.
After the streamer named Fisher visited, customers flocked in. Those customers also posted about how delicious it was on social media. There were quite a few who raved about it, calling it a revolution in chicken.
‘That guy Fisher’s influence is incredible.’
I later found out that Fisher was notorious enough to be called a ‘store hunter.’ He would visit stores, taste the food, and give harsh reviews. That was Fisher’s main content. However, very rarely, Fisher would leave a positive review, and those stores all flourished.
Fisher had targeted YuYu Chicken for a bad review, but he ended up giving it a rave review instead.
Thanks to that, all 300 chickens I had prepared were sold out before evening.
‘Neo London doesn’t have a high population density compared to its area. All the people nearby who watched Fisher’s broadcast must have come.’
Even considering the opening buzz, 300 chickens sold out in 8 hours. It was an unexpected mega-hit.
‘This is a problem. We’re running out of chicken.’
At home, I’m doing the brining with Yuria’s help. Chicken meat can be delivered with a single order, so that’s not a problem, but the issue is the brining and the sauce. With sales this good, I couldn’t rely on just Yuria.
‘But doing it at the store is too complicated. Just frying is already tough. I need to use a factory.’
I packed the chicken into boxes. I didn’t forget to put a preservation spell on the boxes and grabbed some beer before heading to the X District manpower agency.
Rose, who was getting ready to leave work, gave me a wry smile when she saw me.
“Who is this? What brings the chicken shop owner here?”
“I brought the chicken like I said I would.”
“I didn’t think you’d actually bring it… Alright. Let’s try this famous Korean chicken. Let’s see what it’s like.”
“Has Korean chicken become that famous?”
“It’s all over the internet. They’re saying that the tasteless chicken has been transformed into food from heaven. The fact that Neo London has been peaceful lately also played a part. Congratulations. Your store is starting to take off.”
She opened the chicken box and let out a small exclamation. It was a half-and-half order.
“It definitely smells and looks different from the chicken I know.”
*Tss* *Clink!*
She opened a can of beer, quickly took a sip, and then bit into the chicken. Rose’s usually calm eyes widened.
“…Wow. This is amazing? This is the best thing I’ve eaten lately. I see why Fisher raved about Korean chicken.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“It’s perfect with beer. I think I’ll eat this two or three times a month. So, what’s the reason you came here? You didn’t just come to give me chicken, did you?”
“I need money.”
“You’re going to take on a request?”
“No. I don’t have time for that.”
“If you need quick cash, you’ve come to the wrong place. Go to a bank. I don’t do money games with my clients.”
“I can’t go to a bank. It’s dangerous with my current identity.”
My identity was meticulously crafted. But in the end, it was a fake identity. If the bank decided to investigate, there was a chance I’d be caught. I was just starting to take off. I didn’t want to take that risk.
“I can’t lend you money. If you need money, take on a request. There are a few simple requests that you could solve in a few hours, so do that.”
“Don’t you want to invest in YuYu Chicken?”
“Hmm.”
“Actually, today, two tycoons who wanted to invest in YuYu Chicken came to my store.”
She stared at the Korean chicken.
“…Indeed. It does have investment value. If you came to ask for investment, you must have a plan. Tell me the plan. If I like it, I might invest.”
“I’m aiming for a franchise. To do that, I need a factory.”
I told her the plan that Yuria and I had discussed.
“…So, what you’re saying is that the factory will receive the chicken, brine it, and make large quantities of the sauce, which will be delivered to the franchise stores every day?”
“That’s right. All the franchise stores have to do is fry the chicken at the right time.”
“That’s simple and good. You know the core of a franchise well. But do you really need to set up a factory? You could just outsource it to an existing factory.”
“That’s true in the short term. But I’m looking at the long term. And more than anything… the core of YuYu Chicken is the brining and the sauce. I want to keep that secret as much as possible.”
“Hmm. Alright. How much investment do you want?”
“20 million credits.”
“…That’s not much? That would only cover the cost of building the factory, wouldn’t it? What about the machines?”
“I’m a 5th-grade mage.”
“Ah. Magitech machines? I didn’t know you were skilled in magitech too.”
“…I’m not that skilled. I plan to buy discarded machines cheaply and modify them. If it’s just for brining chicken and mixing sauce, it’s simple enough.”
“Alright. Let’s write up a contract. 20 million credits isn’t a burden, so I can give it to you right away.”
“And I’d like to hire about three reliable workers.”
“Workers to run the factory? Where do you think you are?”
X Manpower Agency.
It’s a place that specializes in handling workers.
***
I built a factory in District T.
I personally worked on the machines that went into the factory.
Magitech.
It sounds incredibly difficult at first glance, but the core of it is magic. It’s about combining magic with machines to make them run continuously.
‘Complex magitech machines are impossible for me right now, but simple ones are definitely doable.’
Washing the chicken, putting in the right ingredients to brine it, and adding the prepared ingredients to make the sauce in the right ratio. These three processes were simple. They didn’t require complexity or precision.
The important thing was the ratio. That was a bit hard to control, so I decided to order it from a large corporation. They must have made similar things before because the machine was delivered in three days.
‘As expected of a large corporation.’
The factory was built and started operating in ten days.
The factory brined 1,200 chickens a day. That was more than enough for the time being.
***
The wildly successful chicken shop was extremely busy.
Customers were flooding in like a wave. It was hard to even take a break. Karel, who was in charge of the hall, was complaining, so I hired another part-timer. Karel brought his friend, so I was able to hire another part-timer quickly.
‘The kitchen is fine.’
Ten fryers. Four additional auxiliary fryers. A total of 14 fryers running at full capacity.
Can I handle that alone?
I could, even if no one else could.
Because I had the power of magic.
I use telekinesis. At my will, chicken comes out of the refrigerator and plops into the hot fryer. At the same time, the timer is pressed. When the timer goes off, I take the chicken out of the fryer and put it on a plate. I don’t forget to toss it in the sauce. I also use telekinesis to do the dishes.
Using telekinesis, I could easily do the work of ten people.
Telekinesis used little mana, so it was possible. It was said that it consumed a lot of mental energy, but that didn’t apply to me.
‘Still, it’s not like I don’t get tired. I can do this for a while, but…’
If I keep doing this, I’ll reach my limit.
‘I need to find someone to work in the kitchen.’
I need to make the chicken shop run well even without me. And gradually increase the number of franchise stores.
‘Ultimately, I’ll be sitting up high and just receiving reports. That’s the goal… but I still have a long way to go.’
There’s no need to rush.
Business is good. I just need to climb up step by step.
The problem occurred a few days later.
-YuYu Chicken uses old oil.
Rumors started spreading, and customers started to decrease.
It was ridiculous. I was thoroughly changing the cooking oil every 50 chickens I fried. I wasn’t just using cheap oil either; I was using oil that was suitable for chicken.
As soon as I noticed the rumors, I posted rebuttals on the internet and inside the store. I even kindly explained that I changed the oil every 50 chickens.
But the rumors were hard to stop.
“Here we go again.”
A regular customer said, chewing on his seasoned chicken. He was reading the explanation about the oil on the wall. Since there were no other customers except him, I could ask him.
“Sir, do you know something? If you tell me in detail, I’ll give you a free can of beer.”
“Huh? You don’t know yet? It’s that guy, that guy.”
He pointed to the fish and chips shop across the street.
“About three months ago, the fish and chips shop near here went bankrupt because of similar rumors. That guy is a local here, and since he’s from a gang, he has a lot of connections. He’s using those connections to spread the rumors.”
“I don’t even sell fish and chips.”
“You sell fried food, don’t you? After eating this chicken, who would want to eat fish and chips? I wouldn’t be surprised if that shop’s sales have halved.”
“……”
I had seen the owner of the shop across the street a while ago. He didn’t seem like a good person at all.
‘What should I do? Even if I go and say something, he won’t listen… Should I secretly go at night, disguise myself as a robber, and kill him?’
“Boss, just ignore him. This shop won’t go bankrupt because of those rumors. People who know will know that the rumors are fake. Just because the number of customers has decreased a bit… is that enough to go bankrupt?”
“It’s not enough to go bankrupt…”
Even though the number of customers had decreased, sales were still booming.
“People who are going to come will keep coming. This shop has become a well-known restaurant for those who know. Oh, look. As soon as I finished speaking, a customer came.”
This customer was unique.
He was a butler wearing a black suit. With a neat demeanor, he greeted me as soon as he entered the store.
“Greetings. I am Hyde, the butler from the Plat Baron family. Please pack one order of fried chicken and one order of seasoned chicken.”
The butler had dignity.
Not only that, but I could feel power from the butler. The butler in front of me had at least a 3rd-grade level of power.
I realized once again. In Neo London, butlers and maids were by no means lower-class citizens.
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
“I’m glad I came when there weren’t many people. I was lucky.”
The butler looked at the explanation about the oil on the wall. And he chuckled as if he understood what had happened.
“People’s jealousy and greed sometimes make them do foolish things. It seems you’re in a difficult situation, boss.”
“It is difficult.”
“Ignore it. Someone like you doesn’t need to get involved. Rumors that are too far-fetched tend to die down.”
The butler’s attitude was polite throughout.
I realized that the butler had noticed my level.
