“Given this area, harvesting once a week is the most appropriate average when considering labor intensity and cultivation period.”
Efficiency was the most crucial aspect of labor.
The goal of producing 50kg per month wasn’t set arbitrarily.
It was an optimized value, refined through meticulous calculations and multiple trials and errors, taking into account labor hours, the quantity of matsutake mushrooms produced, and their quality.
“At 450,000 won per kilogram, 50kg a month means 22.5 million won monthly.”
And if you generously calculated living expenses, fuel costs, and the expenses for managing the field?
“Let’s say the monthly profit is roughly 20 million won. Considering income tax, health insurance, and national pension, plus my living expenses… I can’t build a building in Cheongdam-dong with this. It’s not going to work.”
Ha Suyoung immediately went to the Galactic Divine Tree in the backyard, rolling up his sleeves confidently as he called out.
“Father!”
– “You’ve come, my son.”
“I think I’ve grown. I feel like I can handle two drops of elixir every day without any issues. I seek your wise judgment. Please, give me more elixir!”
– “You’re commendable. I admire your spirit.”
“Then?”
– “But no, my son. The time when you think you’ve adapted to the pain is the most dangerous. If you make a mistake then, you might end up gone forever.”
A branch suddenly bent like an arm, making a gesture as if slicing a throat.
– “One drop a day! Only on the seventh day, two drops! So, a total of eight drops a week! No more than that! This is all for your sake!”
“No, Father. If you truly care for me, shouldn’t you administer an intensive early dosage so I can shed my humanity as soon as possible? Don’t you know that early education and preemptive learning are all the rage these days?”
– “This guy, even just taking the elixir is more than enough preemptive learning. The candidate right before you was given one drop a week, and he went mad in less than half a year. That was already 300,000 years ago.”
“What? What did you say?”
Did I hear that right?
One drop a week?
And he went mad in less than half a year?
“So, you intended to give me one drop a day from the start?”
– “After seeing your reaction to the first dose, I thought one drop a day would be fine.”
“Then how much pain did that sunbae from 300,000 years ago endure?”
When I—first and last—took the elixir, the pain was so excruciating I fainted, barely waking up after more than half a day.
And yet, you thought it was okay for me to take one drop a day?
The friend who took one drop a week went mad in half a year?
“Did you just leave that mad friend… as he was?”
– “Of course, I treated him. Despite his lack of talent, he boldly demanded to become a franchise god, such a cute kid. How could I leave him be?”
“He boldly demanded? Then he’s not my hyung?”
– “That’s right. I never adopted him. He was a prince exiled from his country due to a coup while I was trying to take a nap for about ten thousand years on the planet Porog. I helped him a bit out of pity, but I didn’t adopt him.”
“Why not?”
– “How could I adopt him when his mother was still alive? I just played the role of a guardian for a bit.”
Hearing him talk about ten thousand years as if it were a short nap, Ha Suyoung realized his father truly was a god.
– “It’s all meaningless. Anyway, one drop a day, and on the seventh day, two drops—no more than that. Got it?”
Ah, this won’t do. With 20 million won a month, I can’t even dream of a building in Cheongdam-dong.
How could I buy a building where the monthly rent alone was ten to several dozen times that amount?
Even a kindergartener could do this simple math.
“Father, is there anything else besides the elixir? To become a great franchise god ruling the universe, shouldn’t I undergo some special training or complete an educational course?”
– “Ah, you’re a commendable kid. Don’t worry. As soon as you shed your humanity, the shortest full package education course will begin. I’ve already meticulously divided each stage into 398,112,089,761,335 parts.”
Is this how engineering students feel when they despair over the syllabus at the start of the semester?
– “So don’t worry about anything and just focus on taking the elixir. Anyway, with your current state of mind, even if I teach you something, it won’t sink in or make sense to you.”
“Still, can’t I at least take an introductory course… or a liberal arts course? To get familiar with it in advance rather than knowing nothing at all…”
– “No matter how you look at it, in your current state, it’s just a meaningless waste of time.”
His tone subtly changed.
It was the intonation his father used when he was contemplating whether to do something.
This was his chance!
“If I could at least grasp the basics of why I need to become a franchise god, I might be able to endure the pain of taking the elixir with a bit more willingness, my esteemed father.”
– “Hmm… Since you’re so eager to learn, I can’t just stand by. Alright. I’ll think about what would be good to teach you now. It might take some time since I need to decide on the content that matches your level.”
“Yes, Father. I’ll wait with a joyful heart.”
* * *
After a week, about 12kg of matsutake mushrooms were harvested.
Ha Suyoung packed the harvested matsutake mushrooms into Styrofoam boxes filled with natural cushioning material.
Then he called President Jeon Seongryeol.
– “Hey, it’s me. Got anything?”
Usually, people would ask how you were at first, but the first thing he said when he answered the call was, “Got anything?”
This guy is quite the workaholic. But that’s better.
“I have 12kg. I just finished packing. When would you like to make the transaction?”
– “I can do it right now. Where should we meet? I can come down to Busan.”
“There’s no need for that. I’ll come to your place. How about we do the transaction in the parking lot like last time?”
– “Got it. Should I prepare cash? Does it have to be cash? What about a bank transfer?
“Either is fine, but cash would be appreciated.”
– “I’ll prepare cash.”
“Thank you.”
Ha Suyoung loaded the matsutake mushrooms onto the truck and headed to Seoul.
When he arrived at the apartment complex parking lot where President Jeon Seongryeol lived, Jeon Seongryeol was already waiting with an employee at the same spot as last time.
“You said 12kg, right? Is the quality the same as last time?”
“Yes, it should be almost the same. It’s exactly 12.25kg but just consider it 12kg.”
“How can I do that when there’s a difference of 112,500 won? I’m a professional distributor, and if I mistreat the producer, I won’t survive in the long run. I’ll pay you exactly 5,512,500 won.”
At 450,000 won per kilogram, 12.25kg would indeed be that price. Without even looking at the goods, Jeon Seongryeol immediately took out a thick envelope.
He added three more 50,000 won bills to the envelope and handed it to Ha Suyoung.
“I added 37,500 won for fuel costs. It’s 5,550,000 won.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, Manager Kim. Take the boxes to the store and then go straight home.”
“Yes, President.”
The employee, who answered politely, transferred the boxes from the truck to another truck.
Jeon Seongryeol turned his attention back to Ha Suyoung.
“By the way, why is it 12kg this time instead of 50kg?”
