Chapter 12: I’ll Buy Everything

The day after my not-quite-a-dinner with the new employee, Yuha. 

“Boss, you’re late?”  

Yuha was already at the warehouse when I arrived.  

Unlike the casual workout clothes she wore yesterday, she was dressed in the familiar sharp suit.  

As expected, the familiar look is better.  

“Boss, don’t tell me that because it’s a small company, we can just come and go as we please?”  

“I’m not late; I’m right on time. We start at 9:30 and end at 6:30.”  

“Why’d you set it like that?”  

“To match the schedule of the transporters coming by.”  

Soon after, the transporters from the two milling companies arrived one after another.  

Like yesterday, they approached with order forms but paused abruptly.  

Then, they let out whistles.  

“Wow, President Kang Jisung. Good looks really do make life different, huh? Even got yourself a pretty girlfriend.”  

“She’s not my girlfriend.”  

My girlfriend?  

I’d rather pass on experiencing that kind of hellish romance.  

“She’s a new employee.”  

“I’m Jeong Yuha. I’ll be checking the wheat you order from now on. Looking forward to working with you.”  

“Oh, uh, yeah. Wow.”  

“With a boss like him, no wonder you get employees like this…”  

“Let’s cut the chatter and get to the wheat.”  

“Yes, yes.”  

What’s with that sleazy attitude?

‘That guy’s from Yuseong Milling, right?’  

I should congratulate him in advance for being first in line to get fired once we acquire Yuseong Milling.  

“Congratulations.”  

“Huh?”  

“Nothing.”  

“…?”  

Even without specific instructions, Yuha checked the order forms and handled the wheat delivery.  

“Take the wheat from the outer stacks first. Those have been stored the longest.”  

“Yes, ma’am.”  

Watching Yuha handle things so efficiently reminded me of the past when she worked under me.  

‘There was a time when she didn’t know anything.’  

Seeing her now, proactively finding and handling tasks so well, I felt proud.  

But.  

“Jeong Yuha.”  

“Yes?”  

“How did you know the wheat in the warehouse was harvested at different times?”  

I never told her that.  

I hadn’t even mentioned that our company was selling wheat in the first place.  

As I stared at her in disbelief, Yuha looked back as if wondering why I was so surprised.  

“Of course I checked all the company documents when I got here. That’s Gangi Milling’s stack, and that’s Yuseong Milling’s, right?”  

“Correct.”  

“And since there were records of your wheat purchases, sorting them wasn’t hard.”  

“Wheat purchase records?”  

“Yeah, they were on your desk.”  

What’s that about?  

I immediately went to the warehouse office and checked the file.  

There, I found several wheat purchase contracts I hadn’t written, neatly filed.  

‘This…’  

“System, did you do this?”  

[This was not my doing.]  

“Then what?”  

[When items are transferred across dimensions, they are restructured to align with reason. In this case, the items were processed as if you had purchased them.]  

“And the purchase cost is the dimensional investment funds?”  

[Correct.]  

The money spent to develop the dimension’s civilization had been repurposed as wheat purchase funds.  

“…Well, then.”  

It’s not money laundering, but what is this?  

“Still, it’s a relief. I was wondering what I’d say if someone audited where all this wheat came from.”  

[No one in this dimension will question it. The items have been restructured as such.]  

“Got it.”  

Thanks to Yuha, one small worry I’d been carrying was resolved.  

While I was checking the documents, the two transporters left, and Yuha returned to the office.  

“What’s up? Something wrong with the documents?”  

“No, you checked them well.”  

“That’s obvious. By the way, those guys are my responsibility, right?”  

“Yeah, for now, it looks like it.”  

I’d hire a separate manager later, but with no plans to add more staff right now, it’s Yuha’s job too.  

“They only come to place orders at this time, so just bear with it for a bit.”  

“How long?”  

Hmm.  

She catches on to my intentions so quickly—she’s truly a top-notch employee.  

“With your skills, you’ve probably guessed what I’m planning next, right?”  

“You’re making money from wheat deliveries, then buying the equipment and staff of milling companies that file for bankruptcy to run them, right?”  

“Exactly.”  

Yuha had pieced together my plans from just a few documents and small clues.  

“Of the milling companies running out of cash, only three are left. We’ll start acquiring the one that gives up first, which will probably be in about ten days. Not long now.”  

“Five days or so. That’s close. Should we speed it up?”  

By “speed it up,” she meant delivering a fatal blow to a company that would collapse on its own. 

Whether through media play or poaching their clients.  

Talking about ruining a company, yet we were so calm.  

At Spectrum, growing the business didn’t always involve legal, proper, or upright methods.  

‘Yeah, we worked solely for efficiency and growth.’  

Realizing this, I knew there was something I needed to tell Yuha before discussing future plans.  

“Why are you looking at me like that?”  

“There’s something I didn’t mention earlier.”  

“What? Don’t tell me my salary’s getting delayed this month?”  

“It’s just as important. It’s Ribbon Corporation’s number one management principle.”  

At the mention of management principles, Yuha showed interest.  

I looked her straight in the eyes and said,  

“We won’t run things like Spectrum did.”  

“What does that mean?”  

“Spectrum’s number one rule was ‘cut out anything useless.’”  

Anything that didn’t function properly, was useless, or was inefficient.  

At Spectrum, we got rid of all of it.  

Whether it was a system, an item, or a person.  

But that management philosophy got me fired.  

And being fired taught me something.  

It’s a dehumanizing act that destroys people and throws them into the gutter.  

So we won’t operate that way.  

“We’ll go the opposite route.”  

“The opposite of throwing things away means keeping everything?”  

“Not everything. But ‘we protect what’s ours, no matter what.’”  

If something’s lacking, we create an environment to nurture it.  

If a task doesn’t suit someone, we reassign them to another.  

If they’re one of us, we take them along.  

“For those who aren’t ours, we treat them as we always have. But if they’re ours, we stick with them to the end.”  

“So our people come first?”  

“Exactly.”  

A company that prioritizes people, not the company itself.  

That’s Ribbon Corporation’s management principle.  

After hearing everything, Yuha let out a small laugh.  

“I wondered why you named the company something so cheesy, but that’s why?”  

Ribbon (reborn).  

To be reborn.  

A name chosen to pledge to myself to live differently from before.  

“If you don’t like it, say so. I can introduce you to a better company.”  

“Did I say the name was bad, or the company was bad?”  

Yuha chuckled and turned to the monitor.  

With a slight smirk, she said,  

“Following you was definitely a good choice.”  

“Coming here will be the best decision of your life.”  

“I don’t know about that yet. So, we’re not directly messing with those companies?”  

According to our principles, that’s not allowed.  

“Yeah, don’t touch them. They’re going to collapse on their own anyway.”  

“That’s kind of a sad thing to say. Just leaving them to self-destruct.”  

As expected.  

 ***

Five days later, the company we’d been watching, Jeyun Milling, filed for bankruptcy.  

With wheat prices exceeding $390 per ton, they must’ve decided they couldn’t hold on any longer.  

Personally, I think their exit timing wasn’t bad.  

Because wheat prices will keep rising.  

“You really think the war will drag on?”  

“Yeah.”  

“Based on what?”  

“I doubt Han Yeri would talk about something that’s only a short-term spike.”  

The external factor driving up wheat prices is, ultimately, people.  

And people are sensitive to their own interests.  

They might’ve thought the war would end quickly, but as people start smelling money, they’ll get involved.  

“It’ll grow in scale.”  

“World War III incoming?”  

“Not quite. That would go against their interests.”  

It’s profitable when it’s someone else’s war, but when it’s yours, it’s just losses.  

Enough about the war.  

“The contract?”  

“All ready.”  

“Laptop and wheat samples packed?”  

“Yup. All set.”  

“Then let’s go.”  

We got out of the car and looked at the Jeyun Milling factory in front of us.  

Like Gangi Milling and Yuseong Milling, it’s a small-to-medium milling company, though slightly less competitive than the other two.  

“Still, compared to the big corporations, they’re all in the same boat.”  

The underdogs always have their own battles. 

And Jeyun Milling had raised the white flag in that fight.  

“What brings you here?”  

At the entrance of the Jeyun Milling factory stood an elderly man.  

With his bald head and aged appearance, anyone would assume he was a security guard.  

But we, having done thorough research, knew better.  

“You’re President Lee Jeyun of Jeyun Milling, correct?”  

“Yes, that’s me.”  

“We’re here regarding your bankruptcy filing.”  

“Goodness, I filed it today, and you’re already here?”  

Guarding the entrance like a security guard, but this was indeed the president of Jeyun Milling.  

“Yes.”  

“Well, you young folks are quick. Oh, look at me, we shouldn’t talk out here. Come inside.”  

The president unlocked the door and led us inside.

The factory interior, as we observed on the way in, was clean.  

It must’ve been a while since the machines were last run, and the employees probably hadn’t shown up in some time either.  

“The president must have a deep attachment to this factory.”  

“Probably. He’s been running it without missing a single day for over 20 years.”  

He’s someone who skipped vacations to keep the factory going.  

His attachment to it must be stronger than anyone’s.  

Perhaps overhearing us, the president asked with a slightly surprised expression,  

“How did you know I’ve been running this place for 20 years?”  

“We heard. Among the flour suppliers in this area, yours has the longest history and the best quality.”  

Yuseong Milling and Gangi Milling.  

Some bakeries used Jeyun Milling’s flour alongside theirs.  

We learned this through connections with those bakeries.  

“Haha, that’s an exaggeration. Just a small milling factory.”  

“Running it this long, no matter how small, proves your capability.”  

The president, quietly listening, turned slightly and said,  

“…You’re not here for an official inspection, are you?”  

“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Kang Jisung, running Ribbon Corporation.”  

“I’m Jeong Yuha, an employee.”  

At the mention of a company, the president’s expression shifted subtly.  

A mix of bitterness, regret, and yet resignation, as if he’d expected this.  

“You’re here to buy our machines, I presume?”  

“Yes. We deal in wheat, but we’ve lacked a milling factory or the technology.”  

“Ho, a company like that still exists in times like these?”  

“Yes. We’re a recently established company.”  

The president nodded and spoke.  

“Look around. These things would’ve been scrapped if they didn’t find a new owner, so I’m relieved they’re finding one.”  

“Thank you for saying that. Here.”  

I took the documents from Yuha and handed them over.  

The president, looking at them, blinked in surprise. 

It was as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  

If that’s how he felt, he was seeing it correctly.  

“As I mentioned, I intend to buy all of this company’s used assets. That includes your expertise, President Lee Jeyun.”  

I will buy everything from Jeyun Milling.  

Including President Lee Jeyun himself.