My head spun, and I stumbled.
“Hyung, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Ah… it’s nothing. The pig got startled, so I did too.”
‘I can see information on living things too?’
I thought the information only appeared on slaughtered meat.
Since I only handled cultured meat even in the year 2157.
But even living pigs?
Shim Young-soo asked with a worried expression.
“Are you all right? You look a bit pale…”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”
Min-jae grabbed my arm to support me.
“Hyung, are you really okay? Should we rest in the car for a bit? You have been overworking yourself lately with the deliveries.”
“No, I’m fine.”
I took a deep breath.
This ability… its scope is wider than I thought.
Let’s stay calm. Naturally.
I looked at the pig again.
It looked like an ordinary pig, but in my eyes, all the information was visible transparently.
“This pig… looks very healthy.”
When I spoke as if nothing were wrong, Shim Young-soo smiled proudly.
“Of course. It’s scheduled for shipment in about a month, and it has grown perfectly so far.”
In a month…?
According to the information I saw, the optimal shipment date was D-28.
The information was accurate.
“Can I touch the other pigs as well?”
“Of course! Take your time looking around.”
I placed my hand on the pig next to it.
More information popped up.
[Living Pig – 95kg Grower]
Current Health: Good
Estimated Carcass Weight: 74kg
Meat Quality Prediction
Intramuscular Fat: ★★★★★
Probability of PSE: 3% (Extremely low)
Remarks
Rapid growth rate
85% probability of 1+ grade upon slaughter
To be able to predict meat quality while it was still alive.
This was an ability on a completely different level.
I checked the information appearing before my eyes one by one.
Min-jae stood beside me, narrowing his eyes and staring at the pig as I did.
Did this guy see something too?
No.
“Hyung, what do you see when you look at it like that? What are you focusing on so much? No matter how I look at it, it’s just a pig.”
“No, it’s just… this one looks particularly healthy.”
Shim Young-soo chimed in.
“You really have a keen eye. These are the ones I manage specially.”
“Special management?”
“Yes, I vary the feed mix slightly and increase their exercise. You can think of them as a test group.”
There was a reason why all the pigs I touched had excellent grade predictions.
‘This farm… is a true treasure chest.’
Min-jae pointed to another pig.
“Hyung, touch that pig too. It’s huge, isn’t it? Hasn’t it grown well for that size?”
I approached it and placed my hand on it.
[Living Pig – 125kg Finisher]
Current Health: Needs Attention
Remarks:
Overweight (Exceeds optimal weight)
Excessive fat accumulation
70% probability of 2nd grade upon slaughter
‘Ah, this one didn’t grow well; it’s just not that good…’
“This pig… seems to have put on too much weight.”
“How did you know? This one is a problem because it eats too much feed.”
Min-jae’s eyes widened.
“It was just obese?”
“It’s just… its belly looks very bloated. Like yours.”
I made a rough excuse, but it wasn’t entirely a lie.
Literally, its belly was bulging…
However, what I saw was more than that.
The ability to predict future meat quality while in a living state.
My mind began to grow complicated.
*****
After looking around the barn a bit more, we returned to the office.
Shim Young-soo brought out some tea.
“So… what did you think after looking around?”
He brought up the subject first as we sat at the table.
I got straight to the point.
“I want to sign a contract now. We’ll start with a moderate amount at first, but we will gradually increase the volume.”
Min-jae glared at me from the side again.
I ignored him and continued speaking.
“Later on, I might even take all the pigs produced at this farm.”
“Hyung!”
Min-jae was startled and hurriedly interrupted.
“Boss, what he said is just our goal. A goal.”
Shim Young-soo had an expression that suggested he didn’t believe my words anyway.
He seemed to think it was just the usual bluffing of a common distributor.
He spoke cautiously with a stiff face.
“Ah… yes, but we also have existing clients…”
“I’ll give you a proper price. Honestly, I only came out today to get pork belly.”
“Yes, that’s why I was a bit surprised. You said you were only buying pork belly, but then you said you wanted to see the farm.”
“At first, I only intended to buy pork belly, but after seeing the farm in person, I thought it would be better to buy the pigs whole.”
“Whole?”
“Yes, by the head.”
Shim Young-soo’s expression brightened slightly.
“Then I just have to raise the pigs and hand them over whole?”
“That’s right. We’ll take care of everything up to the slaughter.”
“But… what will the price be? If you’re doing it by the head…”
“How about 660,000 won per head based on 110kg? It should be at least 10% more than the price you’re selling at now.”
Farm transactions for pigs are usually made based on live weight.
It’s calculated by the weight of the pig raised on the farm when it reaches the optimal shipment weight.
110kg is the standard shipment weight for Korean pork, and it’s known that the carcass yield and meat quality are best at this weight.
If it’s too small, the amount of meat is low, and if it’s too large, excessive fat accumulates, causing the grade to drop.
Therefore, it’s common in the industry to calculate the price based on 110kg.
Shim Young-soo was surprised.
“660,000 won? That… that’s 6,000 won per kg. I’m grateful, but isn’t that too good a condition for live weight price?”
“If the quality of the pigs from this farm is this good, they are well worth that value. I confirmed it earlier in the barn.”
Min-jae was restless, shifting his hips in the chair like a puppy that needed to go.
Eventually, while Shim Young-soo stepped away for a moment, he hurriedly spoke to me.
“Hyung, what’s going on? Is this really okay? Aren’t you overdoing it?”
“It’s fine. If we debone them and sell them by cut, it’ll be profitable enough. I’ll tell you after we finish. Just wait a bit.”
Shim Young-soo called his wife.
“Honey! Come here! These people say they’ll buy our pigs whole? At 660,000 won per head!”
His wife took off her rubber gloves and set them down in surprise.
“Really? But how did you come to our farm?”
As Shim Young-soo explained the situation step by step, his wife’s gaze became more suspicious.
“But… it’s so sudden.”
It was a natural reaction.
Everyone who came must have seen that the farm’s pigs weren’t selling and thought about how to slash the price.
Instead, a person offering a fair price was being suspected of being a scammer.
I could clearly see how these people had been doing business.
They were experts on pigs, but they were fledglings when it came to business.
I answered seriously.
“It’s because of the quality. And… in my view, it seems like you two are raising the pigs properly.”
“You knew the quality immediately just by looking at the pigs in the barn?”
Hearing her words, it did seem strange.
“Ah… I saw the meat… I’m on my way back from seeing the meat at the shop of an older brother in Majang-dong, Boss Shim.”
Flustered, I just made up an excuse with whatever came out of my mouth.
However, his wife still had a look of disbelief.
“Still, it’s too sudden. There are many cases where people make big promises like this and then change their words later… we haven’t been burned just once or twice.”
She didn’t let down her guard, as if she had experience being deceived several times.
“Yes, I fully understand. For now, why don’t we start with the amount that can be sold immediately? I will pay the full amount in advance before taking them.”
Upon hearing the word ‘advance,’ a look of relief finally washed over the couple’s faces.
“I will increase the volume as soon as I confirm the quality.”
“If it’s like that, we can start without any burden.”
“Instead, there are conditions.”
“Yes? Conditions?”
Shim Young-soo’s wife looked at me with an expression that said she knew there would be another motive.
“First, if I increase the volume, please sell to me preferentially over other places.”
The couple looked at each other.
Shim Young-soo asked cautiously.
“Preferential sales? But we also have existing clients…”
“Keep your existing clients as they are. I’m just asking for priority on the portion where the volume increases.”
Shim Young-soo’s wife nudged her husband and scolded him.
“He’s saying he’ll take more when they aren’t even selling, so why do you keep saying things like that?”
“Is… is that so? Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Yes, thank you.”
In fact, my thoughts were different.
Once I started selling and the farm became famous, other dealers would likely flock to it.
I was preparing for that time in advance.
Of course, I intended to pay a fair price.
“Second, please let me see and choose the pigs I will receive myself.”
“You’ll choose them?”
“Yes, at first, I have to compete with the highest quality ones.”
For the first few heads, I had to pick the best ones using my ability.
Shim Young-soo nodded.
“Well, that’s a given. We want to send out the good ones anyway.”
“But…”
His wife asked with a still-worried expression.
“You can’t suddenly cancel after we’ve prepared everything because you said you’d take them. Or you can’t suddenly ask to cut the price while taking them…”
Shim Young-soo hurriedly stopped his wife.
“Honey, don’t say things like that.”
“No, it’s not like we’ve only been burned once or twice. Last time, that person said he’d take 50 heads, so we adjusted the feed and prepared everything…”
The wife’s concern was by no means an overreaction.
In the livestock distribution field, it’s actually quite common for people to say they’ll take animals and then not show up.
The price-slashing tactics of middlemen are a prime example.
‘I’ll take a few dozen heads this week.’
However, when it’s time for the pigs to be shipped, they start negotiating while cutting the price.
The farm owner has already finished all shipment preparations.
Feed adjustment, transportation reservation, and even the slaughterhouse schedule.
But then they lower the price for reasons like ‘they didn’t put on as much weight as expected’ or ‘the market price has dropped lately.’
In the end, the structure forces the farm owner to hand them over while biting the bullet.
Delaying cash payments is also common.
They take the pigs as promised but delay or cut the payment.
The farm owner can’t get the pigs back, so they effectively have no choice but to be victimized.
There are also many cases of reneging on volume.
Saying they need 50 heads this week, but only taking 30 when the time comes.
The farm owner has to shoulder the rest, resulting in a loss.
For farm owners who have experienced these things, a proposal from a new client was always welcome yet anxiety-inducing.
Min-jae quickly chimed in.
“Ah, we can just write a contract for that! Hyung, right?”
“That’s right. We’ll do it after writing a formal contract. And…”
I took a business card out of my wallet.
“This is the business card for our online butcher shop. If you search for it, reviews will come up too.”
Shim Young-soo said as he received the business card.
“You say you sell online?”
“Yes, it’s still on a small scale, but we are growing it steadily. That’s why we need high-quality pigs.”
The couple looked at each other again. This time, their expressions were a bit different.
*****
On the way back to the butcher shop.
Min-jae kept sighing while driving.
“Hyung, what on earth were you thinking making such an unreasonable proposal?”
“Unreasonable?”
“660,000 won per head! If you had stayed still, we could have bought them for 600,000 won a head. What about our margin?”
I replied nonchalantly while looking out the window.
“Min-jae, we have to save that farm for us to live.”
“What?”
The car stopped as it got caught by a traffic light.
I turned my head and looked at Min-jae.
“You, do you know the story of the goose that lays golden eggs or not?”
“Eh? What’s with the fairy tale all of a sudden?”
“You know the story of the greedy farmer who went broke because he cut open the goose’s belly, right?”
“Of course I know. Why are you suddenly talking about something even elementary schoolers know?”
“The lesson of that story is not to be greedy, but the more important core is that you have to keep the goose alive for it to keep laying golden eggs.”
When the light changed and the car moved again, Min-jae replied.
“So, you’re saying Shim Young-soo’s farm is the goose that lays golden eggs?”
“Exactly. If we slash the price right now to increase our margin?”
“The goose will die eventually…”
“Right. Even if it doesn’t go bankrupt, if the farm struggles, the feed quality drops, management becomes neglected, and eventually, the meat quality drops too.”
Min-jae nodded slowly.
“We have to make sure the goose can stay healthy and keep laying golden eggs.”
“You’re saying that’s how we gain competitiveness?”
“Yes. How high would the opportunity cost be for the time spent searching for good meat every time?”
Min-jae became quiet.
“Just look at today. We spent all day driving around to find good pork belly. If our supplier is cut off, are you going to go around like this every time? What if we had used this time for marketing and sales?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Shim Young-soo’s farm is truly a goose that lays golden eggs. I saw it clearly.”
Even though I was the only one who saw it.
“If we pull it off, it’s a win-win for both. The farm gets a stable sales channel, and we get a stable supplier.”
“Hyung, but will we be able to sell that much?”
“We have to sell it. No, we can sell it.”
I spoke with a voice full of conviction.
“With that quality, it’s fully possible.”
“What’s the reason you’re so certain, Hyung?”
“…”
It was difficult to answer.
I couldn’t say that I saw the information of the living pigs.
“Just… try to trust me.”
“I do trust you, Hyung. I just don’t trust this dirty world.”
“Hey, isn’t that the same thing?”
“…”
For a moment, both of us fell silent.
Both Min-jae and I had a lot on our minds.
It was clear what the right thing to do was, but we also knew that the world wasn’t that easy.
“Min-jae.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“You know, when doing business, there are cases where one side sticks a straw into the other, sucks out all the sweetness, and then throws them away.”
“It’s not just some cases; there are tons of them.”
“But that’s what amateurs do.”
“Is that so? On the contrary, those kinds of bastards seem to live better. No?”
“A true master fattens up the goose that lays the golden eggs to keep it healthy.”
“Hmm… that’s true. That doesn’t mean you look cool or anything, though.”
*****
After driving for an hour and a half, we arrived at the shop.
The moment I was about to get out of the car, Min-jae’s phone vibrated.
“Wait a second, Hyung.”
Min-jae checked the text.
His expression changed subtly.
“What is it? What kind of text makes you go into serious mode?”
“Ah… from the company I interviewed with last time…”
“Did you fail again? Jeez…”
Min-jae showed me his phone.
[Congratulations on your final acceptance. Please let us know whether you will join the company by next Monday.]
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