Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 173

173

“Aunt!”

“Oh? Yes, you must be going through a lot at such a young age. It’s all because the adults are incompetent.”

Kim Sun-young looked at Hyun-sung with pity and continued speaking.

On the other hand, Hyun-sung was just dumbfounded.

More than anything, he didn’t like the way his aunt, Kim Sun-young, spoke.

She was always like that in his past life. No matter what his father and mother said, she wouldn’t listen and would just stubbornly say whatever she wanted.

Back then, Hyun-sung couldn’t say anything under Kim Sun-young’s pressure and just listened quietly. But now it’s completely different.

Even just counting his age, he had lived more than 10 years longer than Kim Sun-young.

Hyun-sung continued.

“You haven’t changed.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Are you still not hearing what others are saying? Or are you just not listening?”

Hyun-sung didn’t mince his words. He didn’t want to waste time trying to be polite.

Kim Sun-young’s pupils seemed to shake for a moment.

“No, what are you talking about?”

“Shouldn’t you listen to what others have to say at least once? Why do you keep talking about your own things when they say no?”

“Hye, Hyun-sung.”

Kim Sun-young was utterly dumbfounded. It was a completely unexpected reaction. Especially coming from her much younger nephew, it was too shocking.

Then Hyun-sung spoke again.

“And think about it. What parents in the world would force their young child to do business?”

“That means…….”

“Yes, of course, I wanted to do it. My father and mother initially said it was absurd and tried to stop me. But I insisted on doing it, so please don’t say anything more to my father and mother.”

“…….”

When Hyun-sung finished speaking, Kim Sun-young looked at his father, seemingly embarrassed, without saying a word.

Then his father said.

“Stop it. Your aunt is just saying that because she’s worried.”

His father still took care of Kim Sun-young until the end.

Hyun-sung didn’t want to talk about it at length either. He just didn’t like her attitude of ignoring his father and mother, so he did that.

Hyun-sung didn’t say anything more, considering his father’s position. Like it or not, she was his father’s only blood relative.

Silence filled the room for a moment.

After a while, Kim Sun-young looked at his father and said again.

“By the way, are you out of debt these days?”

He wondered when that would come out. Nothing had changed from his past life. Kim Sun-young had said the same thing in his past life. And then she nagged him to the point where his father was embarrassed.

Even though so much time had passed, that memory was still vivid.

But this time it was different.

He could confirm that from his father’s answer.

“I paid it all off.”

“Brother, what are you talking about? The autumn harvest isn’t even over yet…….”

Kim Sun-young was dumbfounded.

Usually, debts are paid off to some extent after the autumn harvest. But that doesn’t mean all debts are cleared. They pay off the urgent ones first, and then pay only the interest on the rest and carry over the principal.

This was the reality of rural life that Kim Sun-young usually knew.

Then his father said again in a loud voice.

“Hyun-sung paid it off.”

“Hyun-sung did?”

What is this again?

Kim Sun-young doubted her ears.

Because it didn’t make sense logically.

When Kim Sun-young made an unbelievable expression, his father continued.

“Actually, Hyun-sung dug up wild ginseng.”

“No, that precious wild ginseng?”

“Yeah, he dug up as many as six roots.”

The expression on his father’s face was brighter than ever. He wasn’t the kind of father who would bow his head to the point of being pathetic in front of Kim Sun-young, who used to nag him in his past life.

“You’re saying you sold it all off to pay off your debts?”

“I didn’t sell it all. We ate three roots and sold the other three.”

“No, you didn’t sell that precious wild ginseng and ate it?”

Kim Sun-young’s voice grew louder. That’s how surprised she was.

On the other hand, his father’s expression was relaxed.

“He said that health is more precious than money and took care of us, so I couldn’t help it…….”

Hyun-sung chuckled at his father’s tone, which seemed to be subtly boasting.

Then Kim Sun-young opened her mouth again, as if she was sorry.

“Even so…….”

“Anyway, thanks to Hyun-sung, we were able to eat wild ginseng and pay off all our debts.”

When his father’s explanation was over, Kim Sun-young glanced at Hyun-sung. Then she asked slyly.

“Is what your father said true?”

“It just happened that way. I was lucky.”

“Our Hyun-sung is such a filial son. He paid off his father’s debts, does business, and is the pillar of the family.”

Hyun-sung smiled. Because the situation was unfolding so differently compared to his past life.

In his past life, around this time, his father and mother would have been bowing their heads, oppressed by Kim Sun-young’s force, even though they had done nothing wrong.

But what about now?

There was no sign of servility in the faces of his father, who was relaxed, and his mother, who was smiling next to him.

Was that why? A smile was also all over Kim Ji-yeon’s face, who was sitting in the back.

Then Kim Sun-young looked at Kim Ji-yeon and asked.

“Ji-yeon, you said you’re in the third grade of middle school this year?”

“Yes, Aunt.”

“Okay, which high school are you planning to go to?”

“I’ve already decided. I’m going to Chuncheon Girls’ High School. My brother has already given me all the tuition and living expenses.”

Kim Ji-yeon had a brighter expression than ever.

On the other hand, Kim Sun-young’s expression widened as if she was surprised. Then she looked at his father and asked.

“Is what Ji-yeon said true?”

“Yeah, and he also bought the land in front of the house here.”

“So you’re saying you sold wild ginseng to pay off your debts, send Ji-yeon to school, and buy land?”

“That’s right.”

His father’s face was full of smiles.

It was a polar opposite image compared to his past life. But Hyun-sung was the only one who knew all these facts.

A smile also spread across Hyun-sung’s face.

Then his mother said.

“Oh, my! Aunt, you must be hungry?”

“Yes, sister. I didn’t realize it was already this late while we were talking.”

“Wait a minute, I’ll prepare a warm meal for you soon.”

It was when his mother was about to get up from her seat.

Hyun-sung got up from his seat first and said.

“Aunt, I bought some fresh pork belly for you, so wait a moment, I’ll grill it over the brazier for you.”

“Hoho, our Hyun-sung bought meat for his aunt?”

“Of course, you’re not many aunts, just one, so I have to take care of you this much.”

It is said that you can repay a thousand *nyang* [ancient Korean currency] debt with just one word.

He had lived for so many years, so Hyun-sung was able to do this much lip service naturally.

Was that why?

Kim Sun-young smiled and continued.

“Hoho, yes, our nephew is the best, thank you. Then, shall we see how well our Hyun-sung grills meat?”

“Yes, Auntieeee~”

He even mixed in a bit of a nasal voice while he was at it.

Kim Sun-young rested for two nights and three days and returned to Samcheok. Compared to returning home the very next day in her past life, she stayed one more day.

The meaning of that day was not simply a temporal concept, but rather that she was mentally at peace, and it must have been a satisfying time for his father, mother, and even his aunt, Kim Sun-young.

All of this was thanks to his regression.

***

A few days later.

Hyun-sung’s prediction came true. The students’ reaction to giving free rice in the morning was explosive. The rumor spread in an instant, and the number of morning customers reached almost 100.

As a result, a rare sight occurred.

“What’s going on from the morning?”

“Oh, I heard they’re lining up from the morning to eat ramen.”

“What, is there gold leaf on that ramen? Why are they eating ramen from the morning…….”

“It’s not that, they say they’re giving away rice for free. They give ramen and a bowl of rice for 300 won, so the students are lining up. Anyway, I heard that the owner is a young student, but I don’t know if he’s making any profit.”

It was a conversation between passersby.

There was another person who was worried about that.

Shin Myung-soon looked at Hyun-sung and asked.

“Boss, shouldn’t we charge at least 50 won for the rice?”

“What do you mean?”

“Not only the students but also the people in the neighborhood are worried. They’re saying you might have to close the store?”

“Haha, don’t worry. I made this decision after calculating everything.”

Shin Myung-soon still had a worried expression.

Of course, she might be worried because the cost of the ramen is more expensive than other ramen. But Hyun-sung’s thoughts were different.

The profit left when not giving rice is about 90 won per bowl. Of course, that amount is possible because he buys ramen in bulk at once. The promotional quantity that gives an additional 20% of the purchase quantity cannot be ignored.

On the other hand, if you give a bowl of rice for free, the profit is reduced to around 50 won. But this is not necessarily a decrease. The total sales volume increases as much as the profit decreases, so the overall change in total profit is not significant.

No, rather, in the long term, total revenue will gradually increase.

It’s 100 people now, but even if it increases a little more, the total revenue will be even higher. It is commonly referred to as high-volume, low-margin, selling a lot instead of making a small profit.

And the important thing is that it was verified in just a few days.

Hyun-sung looked at Shin Myung-soon and said again.

“Maybe after this week, the total revenue will be more than when we didn’t give rice.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it will definitely be. Besides, that’s not all.”