God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 204

[Alley Secret's Army Base Stew Shop New Menu Update.jpg]

(Close-up shot of chocolate army base stew)

Overwhelming visual

→What is this

→Ugh

→What did they put in to make it that color? Hell-risen Stygian army base stew LOL

→I nominate this as the best diet picture of our time. Appetite loss is insane

[Boss, what exactly do you think of MZs?]

Do you see us as m*rons who would eat army base stew with chocolate? Huh?

→[Breaking] MZs lose sense of taste..."I didn't know I liked chocolate army base stew."

→This is why generational theory is problematic. They're looking at us like we're aliens, not humans

→Doesn't MZ include those born in the late 80s too? LOL

[???: Do-kyung-ssi, come down here]

(Chocolate army base stew image)

???: Please try this

(Image of Do-kyung looking surprised at the chocolate army base stew)

→That expression LOL

→The impact is insane

→Do-kyung's expression = Viewers' expression

→Look at him cursing with his eyes LOL

[But isn't SWY quite young too?]

She says she doesn't understand young people's tastes these days, so she's leaving it to DK LOL

Isn't she quite young too? Aren't she and DK the same age?

→She speaks so calmly and gently that I forgot, but when I looked it up, she's really young

→Oh really? They're the same age??? I thought DK was at least 5 years younger

→→If you listen to how she talks, she does seem to treat him like a younger brother

→→→No, I mean, I was hurriedly trying to squeeze out some romance thinking it was an older-younger chemistry

[I actually made and ate the chocolate army base stew]

I saw it on the broadcast and was curious, so I tried making it

The ingredients aren't much different from regular army base stew, just prepare G* chocolate instead of baked beans

First, neatly chop the ingredients

... (omitted) ....

And it's done!

(Miserable-looking chocolate army base stew)

How is it? I even tried to decorate it as close to the broadcast as possible

(Broadcast capture image)

Looks similar, right?

What you're most curious about is probably the taste. I was curious too, wondering what kind of strange food this is and how it tastes, so I made it.

(Image of taking a spoonful)

Let's eat~

The much-anticipated taste is....

(Image of chocolate army base stew thrown in the sink)

Don't you guys ever do this, d*mn it

→What happened to all that effort

→There's actually an id*ot who ate this LOL

→So what does it taste like!!!! You should tell us that!!!!

→→(Original poster) The moment I took a bite, the sweetness of chocolate mixed with the saltiness of army base stew, causing cognitive dissonance. I couldn't tell if I was eating chocolate or army base stew.

→→→Is it just like eating a bite of chocolate and a bite of army base stew?

→→→→(Original poster) Honestly, when the chocolate is hot, it's not as bad as I thought. I can kind of see why they made this a new menu item. But after one bite, you quickly get sick of it, and as the chocolate cools, an unpleasant feeling rises and it becomes the worst.

→→→I can't even imagine what it tastes like if it's not as bad as you thought

→Looking at it again, it really looks like sh*t

"Pfft."

I couldn't help but laugh at the post about someone actually making the chocolate army base stew.

I never thought someone would actually make this.

'Plus, Do-kyung-ssi's expression when he first saw the chocolate army base stew seems to have become almost like a meme.'

I thought the viewer response would be good, but it was even hotter than I expected.

"Oh, is this causing a stir these days?"

Someone suddenly chimed in from beside me. I turned my head to see Im Hye-eun.

She was looking this way with hair clips still in her hair, probably in the middle of hair styling.

"This chocolate army base stew. Do you know many YouTubers are copying it too?"

"Pardon? YouTubers?"

"Yes. At first, they were just making it because it was fun to try. But it seems the views were quite lucrative."

Im Hye-eun showed me a search for chocolate army base stew on her phone.

Various YouTubers had put up titles like 'The Controversial Chocolate Army Base Stew! I Made It Myself' in large letters.

"It's not just cooking or mukbang YouTubers, there are review specialist YouTubers and even gaming YouTubers. It's a trend, I'm telling you~"

It was as Im Hye-eun said. Seeing several YouTubers with familiar faces, it seemed to be quite trendy these days.

"Hooh. Is that so...?"

I had a good idea.

I scrolled through my phone contacts to find Choi Mi-seon's.

"Excuse me for a moment."

I apologized to Im Hye-eun and immediately called Choi Mi-seon.

Ring ring.

-Hello? Oh, CEO Song! What brings you to call?

"Are you doing well, Boss? I've heard a lot. I hear business is going very well."

-Don't even mention it. It's exactly as you said, CEO Song. People are lining up so long it's almost troublesome.

Her voice was full of joy even as she spoke of trouble. Of course. A place that used to be empty with only flies buzzing around had now become the hottest place in the neighborhood. It was enough to feel overwhelmed.

-We've hired more part-timers, and Jun-beom is just frying vegetable fritters all day. We're so busy we can't even catch our breath, but we're that much happier.

"I'm glad to hear you're doing well."

-It's all thanks to you, CEO Song.

I paused for a moment at those words.

-If it weren't for you, I don't know how we'd be living now. It's like we're living a completely new life since meeting you, you know?

My throat tightened at her voice, filled with ecstasy.

-Thank you, CEO Song! I wanted to express my gratitude like this, but knowing how busy you are, I couldn't bring myself to contact you.

"...It's nothing."

I tried to make my voice sound as nonchalant as possible.

The thought that I had completely changed someone's life made me feel strange somehow.

"Oh right. This is why I called. Are customers not asking for chocolate army base stew these days?"

-They ask for it all the time!

Choi Mi-seon chirped as if she had been waiting for this.

-Ever since that broadcast aired, customers have been asking about it one by one. They wonder if we can't sell them chocolate army base stew because they're curious. Some famous YouTuber or something? I don't know much about that, but my son was going crazy asking for an autograph~

"Haha. So what did you do?"

-I told them absolutely not!

Choi Mi-seon declared firmly.

-You told us not to, didn't you? Not to add more menu items. Oh my, is this why you were worried and called? You don't have to worry. We are only! Focusing on this vegetable fritter army base stew...!

"No, about that. Would you consider selling it as an event menu?"

-Pardon?

Choi Mi-seon seemed taken aback by this unexpected suggestion.

-B-but you clearly told us to focus on a single menu item.

"Yes, I did. That's why I'm saying it should be an event menu."

The interest in chocolate army base stew can only be temporary. It's not going to be a steady menu item that sells well consistently.

"Adding one more menu item would decrease turnover rate, but if you say it's limited to 10 servings per day, and only available for takeout, it's a different story."

This isn't food for the general public.

It's just a novelty menu for YouTubers and influencers who are desperate for views. That's why there's no need to allow in-store dining, and no reason to make a lot of it.

"Everyone's probably curious about the taste of the original chocolate army base stew, right? Think of it as an event that can serve as promotion and bring in additional revenue."

-Is, is that okay?

"Of course. When I said 'single menu, maintain the recipe,' I meant don't add unhelpful side menu items. This is completely different in nature."

-I was actually thinking about it a lot because customers kept asking for it. But I was giving up on the idea, thinking I shouldn't do it because of my promise to you...

"I'll tell you officially. You can sell it. Don't worry, I won't take down the frame."

-Oh my, thank you!

Even without seeing her, I could clearly picture Choi Mi-seon bowing while tightly gripping her phone.

-You even take care of things like this. We're living so well with your recipe, I wonder if it's okay for us to be this blessed. I really don't know how to repay this debt of gratitude...

"I've told you repeatedly, right? There's only one way to repay me~ Just make sure the recipe doesn't change."

-Yes, of course!

Choi Mi-seon let out a small laugh. Maybe because I always say the same thing.

-You're so consistent. Oh my, look at me! The break time is almost over.

"Hurry back in. Fighting for today too."

-Yes~ I will. Thank you, CEO Song. Always stay healthy!

Click.

Looking down at the ended call, a soft smile unknowingly formed on my face.

Im Hye-eun, who had been watching from the side until the call ended, excitedly spoke up.

"Wow. This is going to cause another hot reaction for a while, isn't it? The original chocolate army base stew. I can almost hear the YouTubers rushing over."

"Right? This should keep the issue going for a while longer."

Just becoming a topic of conversation serves as promotion for the store. It may be physically demanding, but they need to boost sales now so that they can maintain stability even when the hype dies down later.

"Both our PD and you, CEO. You have an amazing nose for what appeals to the public."

Im Hye-eun said jokingly.

"Why, it's the same with the cast for this recording. I was so surprised. To think that you..."

"We're starting the recording soon~ Everyone please get ready!"

Im Hye-eun's words were cut off by the staff's announcement.

'My what?'

I was very curious about the rest of the story, but Im Hye-eun had to keep her mouth shut to receive the unfinished styling.

Seeing the busy hands moving across Im Hye-eun's face, I gave up on hearing the rest of what she was saying.

'I'm curious what she was going to say. But I guess I'll find out when we start recording.'

I dismissed it as not that important. If Im Hye-eun knows something that I don't, it means Kim Hui-seong PD deliberately hid it from me.

Probably to capture my genuine surprised reaction.

If that's the case, it would be polite to pretend not to know.

'Well. I wonder if there's anything that could actually surprise me.'

Yes.

There was a time when I was that confident.

"...Huh?"

I opened my eyes wide and looked the other person up and down repeatedly. But no matter how many times I looked, their face didn't change.

I couldn't help but mutter to myself.

'Why are you here...?'