Chapter 1443 – 1443. Dark Moon
I handed the packaged chicken to the butler.
The butler bowed politely and left the store.
‘It’s inconvenient that they don’t deliver.’
Neo London was strict about food delivery. It seemed something had happened with deliveries in the past, so they didn’t allow food delivery unless it was by a certified company. It was nearly impossible for a small store like YuYu Chicken to get delivery permission.
“It’s a jackpot.”
A customer who had been watching the situation said. He neatly tore apart the chicken, ate it, and got up from his seat.
“The world of nobles is small. If something is rated as delicious in that world, it’s practically a success in Neo London. Congratulations, boss. Now that it’s crowded, I won’t be able to leisurely eat this chicken.”
“…Thank you. I plan to expand the business, so don’t worry about that.”
“Really? That’s good news to hear. Boss, there are a lot of twisted people in Neo London. They’re jealous of those who are doing well and try to take advantage of the powerless. If you can’t handle it, partnering with a large corporation is one way. Otherwise… hire people. Anyway, boss, I believe you’ll do well. You don’t seem like an ordinary person. I’ll come again later.”
“Please come again.”
He left the store.
I crossed my arms and glared at the fish and chips shop across the street before sighing.
I wanted to barge in right now, but the aftermath was the problem. I was a citizen of Neo London and the owner of a chicken shop. Not a lawless person.
‘Should I sell fish and chips at my store? I have a fryer, so if I just prepare the ingredients…. No. This is a chicken shop. There’s no need to be wishy-washy.’
There was no solid evidence that the fish and chips owner had spread the rumors. I decided to wait and see for now.
The butler who had taken the chicken, Hyde, came again the next day.
“The master was very pleased with the chicken. He said it went well with wine. Please package one fried chicken and one seasoned chicken today as well.”
And the next day, a maid from another family came.
“Can you package seven fried chickens and seven seasoned chickens each?”
The black-haired maid was polite.
“Yes, I can. However, we have a lot of orders right now… so you’ll have to wait a bit.”
“I’ll wait, so please cook it deliciously.”
Clang!
The door opened and another maid appeared. As soon as she came in, her eyes widened.
“Garnet! It’s been ages since we graduated from the academy. Did you come to buy chicken for your master too?”
“Yes, Sera. It’s been a while. Has it been two years?”
“I work at the Hennessy Baron family. What about you?”
“I work at the Gotbell Count family.”
“Oh, the Count family…! I guess that’s to be expected. You had good grades at the academy. Oh, right. Let me order quickly. Please give me five fried chickens and five seasoned chickens each!”
They chatted while waiting for the chicken.
I worked in the kitchen, pricking up my ears to listen to their conversation. I thought there might be information related to nobles that I couldn’t easily access.
But they were more thorough than I thought. They didn’t say a word about the noble families they worked for. They just asked about each other’s well-being and reminisced about the past.
I could feel their thorough professionalism even in their seemingly lighthearted words and actions. They were pros.
“Excuse me, miss. What is this?”
“Oh, that? It’s a coupon. If you collect 10 coupons and bring them, you can exchange them for a chicken. You can use it now if you want.”
“Is this a system for regulars? That’s interesting.”
The maids left without using the coupons. They didn’t say they would come back. They didn’t have a choice. If the master liked it, they would come back on their own.
“Wow. Maids. They’re really cool, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. I wanted to be a maid once too… but it was too hard, so I gave up.”
The part-timers looked at the departing maids with admiration.
It wasn’t strange. In Neo London, butlers and maids were recognized as jobs only the elite could have.
The next day. As the days passed, more and more maids and butlers visited the store. Fried chicken and seasoned chicken had become known in high society.
The citizens of Neo London envied and admired the nobles. They tried to imitate what the nobles did and taste the dishes they ate. Thanks to that, YuYu Chicken’s sales graph continued to rise. It was literally skyrocketing.
Rumors about using bad oil? Those rumors disappeared without a trace.
“I heard you’re looking for franchisees… can I get a detailed explanation?”
“Of course. However, I’m busy right now, so I’d like to talk separately after the store closes. Before that, please read this first.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a booklet about YuYu Chicken. It also has information about franchise contracts written in an easy-to-understand way. Please read it and return it.”
It was a booklet closer to a business plan. I hadn’t made it. I was busy enough running the chicken shop, so when would I have time for that? This was something Yuria had made because she was bored at home.
‘She said she’s been free lately since all the housework is done in the morning…. Well, that’s understandable. Our house is small and we don’t have any guests.’
Yuria had offered to help with the chicken shop, but I had stopped her. I didn’t want to use a great maid like her at a mere chicken shop. After I refused, Yuria seemed to be studying separately at home.
I had glimpsed her studying before, but I didn’t know what she was studying. Her subjects were so vast. Law, programming, tax accounting, magic, city history, etc. The variety was so vast that I wondered if she could even study properly.
‘I should start looking for someone to take over the kitchen and start my magic research.’
I couldn’t keep running the kitchen myself.
‘I need to hire at least two people to handle it. Maybe three would be appropriate?’
Three people just for the kitchen. It might seem like too many, but… YuYu Chicken was doing very well right now. It felt like three people wouldn’t be enough.
‘Even if I hire people, the taste of YuYu Chicken won’t change.’
The kitchen’s job was just to fry the chicken for a set time. The frying time was also set with an alarm. There was nothing difficult.
•••
John Clark, who ran the fish and chips shop across from YuYu Chicken, gritted his teeth and glared at YuYu Chicken.
“Damn it! Why is that chicken shop doing so well?!”
He had even spread rumors that YuYu Chicken was using old and dirty oil, but it had no effect. YuYu Chicken’s excellent response? That was part of it, but the taste of YuYu Chicken was so good that it ignored the rumors. As even nobles started to visit, the rumors John Clark had spread disappeared without a trace.
“Damn…!”
You might ask if it’s not good to have a successful store nearby. It wasn’t at all. People only looked for successful stores and didn’t even glance at the stores nearby. They even stole customers from nearby stores. Immediately, the number of customers visiting his store had decreased by more than 30% compared to usual. People who came to eat fish and chips saw the line in front of YuYu Chicken and started lining up themselves.
‘I’m dying of jealousy!’
He couldn’t just sit still like this.
He called a younger acquaintance.
“What’s the matter, brother?”
“See that chicken shop? Go and get some menus packaged.”
“Ah. That’s the famous chicken shop these days.”
“You know about it?”
“The social circles are buzzing these days about the appearance of a new chicken that breaks the prejudice against chicken. It started in the noble circles and is spreading to the upper class.”
“It’s that famous?”
“Look at the butlers and maids lining up there? They can’t all be servants of noble families, most of them must be servants of the upper class.”
“It’s just a temporary popularity. It’ll die down over time.”
“Hmm. Maybe it will.”
“……”
John changed his plan. Originally, he was going to spread false information on the internet that there were foreign objects in the chicken. But he had a greater greed than that.
What if he sold YuYu Chicken’s chicken himself? His store already had a fryer. If he just knew the ingredients and recipe, frying chicken was nothing.
“Order the chicken and find out the recipe. I’ll give you a generous amount of money.”
“Well, I don’t know if it’ll work, but I’ll try.”
His younger acquaintance returned with the chicken two hours later. The line was so long.
John, who tasted the Korean fried chicken and seasoned chicken, clenched his fist. It was delicious. He had never dreamed that chicken could be so delicious.
‘It’s incomparable to the fish and chips I make….’
Once he tasted the Korean chicken, he didn’t even touch the fish and chips. Especially the seasoned chicken was revolutionary.
“The recipe?”
“I asked the staff while waiting. I wanted to see the kitchen, but it was blocked off, so I couldn’t see it. I don’t know the exact recipe, but they said they fry the chicken twice.”
“If it’s this good, it’s worth hiding the recipe…. But they fry it twice? Shouldn’t it be greasier if you fry it twice?”
“Well, I don’t know much about cooking….”
“Tell your boss. There’s a business that’s worth money.”
“…Indeed. This chicken will definitely make money. It’s already spread to the social circles…. But are you okay, John? You haven’t washed your hands, have you?”
“This is the last time.”
“Haha. I’ll tell the boss. I should get some Korean chicken to go.”
•••
10 AM.
When I arrived at YuYu Chicken, I immediately frowned. The store looked the same as yesterday, but if you looked closely, it had changed.
‘The counter chair is slightly pushed back, and the kitchen door, which was slightly open, is now tightly closed.’
It was evidence that someone had entered my store.
It wasn’t a thief.
There couldn’t be a thief. Because the citizens of Neo London didn’t pay in cash.
‘It must be someone who came to steal the recipe. YuYu Chicken is making insane sales.’
In fact, famous companies had approached me, offering huge sums of money for the Korean chicken recipe. I had refused. It was the same as selling a business item. Of course, they would figure out the chicken recipe in a few days, but… it was important that YuYu Chicken was the origin of Korean chicken.
‘It’s not the work of a large corporation. There’s no need to use such a dangerous method. It’s much better to gather experts and research the chicken.’
