Chapter 4
“Welcome! Welcome to Insaeng Jumak!”
“Huh?”
The peddlers carrying bundles looked at one another in bewilderment at the enthusiastic welcome.
Normally, at a tavern, all they would hear was a curt, “Lodging? Food?” and that would be it.
But Hayun greeted them with a bright smile from the very entrance.
“Come this way. It’s nice and cool here because the wind comes through well.”
“O-Oh, all right.”
“You must be tired, right? Give me your luggage. I’ll keep your bundles inside.”
“Even our luggage?”
“Yes. I’ll keep them somewhere safe, so please relax and focus on your meal.”
Hayun practically snatched the peddler’s bundle from his hands. This was a carefully calculated action intended to prevent the peddlers from turning around and leaving.
“Th-Thank you.”
The peddlers stared at Hayun with bewildered expressions.
They had never received treatment like this before. It made them feel as though they were aristocrats.
“Ugh, this is a little heavy.”
“If it’s too much, you can just leave it there…”
“No, Uncle Mun! Come help me carry this over there!”
“All right! Whoa! It’s heavy!”
Hayun and Munsik began carrying the luggage with considerable effort. The peddlers watched them with curious eyes.
“Heh heh, I’ve seen all sorts of things in my life.”
“Indeed. This is the first time I’ve ever received treatment like this.”
“The young lady is quite attentive.”
“Is she merely attentive? She’s pretty as well. She’s practically a fairy!”
Even through the eyes of people from the Joseon era, Hayun was an exceptional beauty.
Her spotless, fair complexion and large, clear eyes were striking. Although she wore a short hairstyle that didn’t suit the era, Hayun’s beauty was unrivaled. She was no less beautiful than a young lady from a noble household.
With such a woman greeting them with a radiant smile, the peddlers couldn’t easily tear their eyes away.
“She sure is beautiful… So beautiful.”
“Coming here was a good choice after all…”
“Ha! If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve come here much sooner.”
In truth, this too was one of Hayun’s highly calculated strategies.
‘There was a statistic saying that hiring pretty employees increased sales by 30%.’
It was an open secret that employing attractive men and women increased sales. So, regardless of anything else, it was common for businesses to select employees who interacted with customers based on their appearance.
In the service industry, appearance was practically a weapon. That was why, under the pretext of an investment, Hayun purchased new clothes and new shoes and dressed herself up.
‘Heh, I’m practically celebrity-level beautiful here.’
Hayun had never paid much attention to dressing herself up because she had always been so absorbed in work, but now that she had fallen into Joseon, she had to make use of everything she possessed.
Whether it was her appearance, her knowledge, or anything else.
“Ahem. I’m hungry, so shall we order some food first?”
“Oh, look at me, completely forgetting myself. Let’s order quickly.”
“Then, eight bowls of gukbap…”
Just as the peddlers were about to order gukbap without the slightest hesitation,
“Wait!”
Clack!
Hayun hurriedly ran over and placed a wooden board on the table.
“What’s this?”
“This is our tavern’s menu. Take your time looking through it and choose whatever you’d like.”
“A menu?”
The peddlers’ eyes widened. It was the first time in their lives they had ever seen something called a menu.
“W-What in the world is this?”
By now, a set menu had even been added to the very top of the menu.
[Assorted Set]
(2 people) 2 bowls of Insaeng Gukbap + 1 Dongtae-jeon / 12◎
[Gukbap]
Gukbap / 4◎
Insaeng Gukbap / 5◎
[Jeon]
Pepper Jeon / 2◎
Potato Jeon / 3◎
Dongtae-jeon / 5◎
[Seasoned Vegetables]
Seasoned Bean Sprouts / 2◎
Seasoned Myeongi-namul / 4◎
[Alcoholic Drinks]
Makgeolli / 3◎
Dongdongju / 3◎
Insaengju / 5◎
.
.
.
The peddlers were considerably shocked when they saw the types of food and the prices written beside them.
“I had no idea a tavern had this much food…!”
“No, more importantly, all the prices are written down?”
“This is the first place I’ve seen that displays its prices so honestly!”
The peddlers examined the menu with fascination.
In this era, where the concept of fixed pricing didn’t exist, the price was generally whatever the owner demanded.
That was why, to avoid being overcharged, outsiders ordered gukbap wherever they went across the country, since its price was consistent everywhere.
But when prices were displayed this transparently, things were different.
They could order other foods without worrying. On top of that, there was the added enjoyment of choosing the food themselves.
The peddlers became completely absorbed in the fun of choosing their food and stared at the menu for quite some time.
“Since all the food is listed, it makes me want to try a little of everything.”
“Then gukbap and… a bowl of makgeolli too. Ah, should we order some dongtae-jeon as well?”
“Order it. Order it. Let’s eat a hearty meal today.”
“Insaeng Gukbap…? What’s this?”
At the peddler’s question, Hayun, who had been listening to their conversation nearby, answered.
“Ah, that’s a special gukbap sold exclusively at our tavern.”
“It’s only sold here?”
“Yes. It’s gukbap with our tavern’s secret seasoning added to the regular gukbap. You’ll regret it if you leave without trying it.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing that it could only be eaten here, the peddlers’ hearts began to lean toward the Insaeng Gukbap despite its slightly higher price. After all, the difference in price wasn’t that great.
“Hmm, then let’s give it a try. I’ll have the Insaeng Gukbap.”
“Then I’ll have the Insaeng Gukbap too.”
“We’ve been treated this well, so how could we not try it? Let’s all go with Insaeng Gukbap.”
The eight men nodded and were about to place the same order when…
“Wait.”
Someone discovered an assorted set and shouted.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to order the two-person set instead? If we order that, the dongtae-jeon is only 2 jeon.”
“Ooh! What?”
“Wow, at that price, it’s practically free!”
Learning that they could get dongtae-jeon for only 2 jeon by ordering the assorted gukbap set, their preference shifted toward the set.
Their spending had gradually increased from basic gukbap to Insaeng Gukbap, and then to the assorted gukbap set.
This too was one of Hayun’s meticulous designs.
“Then give us four two-person sets. And two dongdongjus as well. We should have a drink today.”
“Yes. Understood.”
After taking the order, Hayun turned around and smiled inwardly.
‘Just as planned.’
These men, who originally would have ordered only a bowl of gukbap, saw the menu and added the assorted set and even dongdongju.
Originally, she should have earned 32 jeon, but instead she had earned 54 jeon. An increase in sales of a whopping 81%.
A short while later, Ok-bun came out carrying steaming bowls of gukbap. Plenty of meat and green onions were piled on top of the milky broth.
“Here are eight bowls of Insaeng Gukbap!”
Clack, clack, clack.
As the earthenware bowls were placed on the wooden platform, anticipation began to appear on the peddlers’ faces.
“Wow, look at the color on that.”
“Shall we give it a try?”
Just then,
“Wait.”
Hayun suddenly approached, carrying a small plate. A piece of fish, grilled to a golden brown, sat on the plate.
The peddlers spoke with puzzled expressions.
“We didn’t order this.”
“Isn’t this ours?”
“It’s a service.”
As Hayun said this, she winked with one eye.
“Service? What’s that?”
“Ah, it means a little extra. It’s free.”
“Free?”
“It’s a commemorative gift for our first customers today.”
Hayun lowered her voice playfully and whispered.
“Just so you know, I’m giving it to you without the proprietress knowing, so eat it quickly. It’ll be trouble if she finds out.”
“Hahaha! What a capable young lady! I’ll gladly eat it. Thank you.”
“I don’t know if we’re worthy of receiving such treatment.”
The peddlers burst into broad smiles at Hayun’s small gesture of service.
In truth, a piece of fish didn’t cost much. But the effect it produced was enormous.
After Hayun’s hospitality, treating the customers like kings, the taste of the gukbap itself was no longer important. The service alone had already given them a reason to have come to Insaeng Jumak.
“Ahh, this is incredible!”
“Wow, this place’s gukbap is absolutely amazing!”
“This is the best gukbap I’ve ever had in my life!”
Drunk on the good mood, the peddlers quickly polished off their gukbap. Their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.
“This is the best gukbap I’ve had in a long time!”
“There’s a reason it’s called Insaeng Jumak!”
After happily finishing their meal, the peddlers began settling the bill.
“Well, I suppose we have to pay now?”
“54 jeon… That’s more than I expected.”
“But we ate well, so who cares? If not now, when are we ever going to get to eat something like this again?”
“Exactly. If only we had more time, I’d want to come back again tomorrow.”
The peddlers counted out their brass coins one by one and handed them over. The cheerful clinking of the coins rang out.
“Here. 54 jeon.”
“Thank you. And please take this as well.”
As Hayun spoke, she handed a piece of paper forward.
“What is this?”
“This is a coupon.”
“A coupon?”
“Ah, let’s call it an exchange voucher.”
Hayun said this and demonstrated by stamping the paper.
The stamped paper contained the following words:
[5 Stamps / One Potato Jeon]
[10 Stamps / One Bowl of Insaeng Gukbap]
“You get one stamp for every bowl of gukbap. Once you collect the required number of stamps, we’ll give you the item listed there for free. It’s a benefit exclusively for regular customers of Insaeng Jumak.”
“All of that is free? Good heavens!”
“I’ve never seen a tavern like this before!”
With the endless stream of complimentary services, the peddlers were almost dizzy.
They carefully tucked the exchange vouchers into their clothes as though they were precious treasures.
“Insaeng Jumak… I’ll remember this place.”
“Then we’ll be going. Thank you for the meal.”
“Yes. Please come again.”
As the first customers, the peddlers carrying bundles left, and Ok-bun hurriedly rushed out of the kitchen.
“Did they leave? They’re gone?”
“Yes. They all left.”
“So how much did we make?”
Instead of answering, Hayun opened the pouch containing the brass coins and showed it to her. Inside was a number of coins that Ok-bun had never seen in her life.
“Gasp! This much…!”
But that was only for a moment.
The proprietress asked worriedly,
“But if we keep giving things away like this, will there actually be anything left for us?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re giving discounts, giving away fish for free, and later we’ll even have to give away gukbap for free. Won’t we end up losing money?”
“Auntie, don’t worry. Selling things this way is definitely profitable.”
“How?”
Hayun kindly began explaining to the puzzled Ok-bun.
“How long do you think those people were sitting here?”
“About… 30 minutes?”
“Yes. That’s right. Only 30 minutes.”
The advantage of gukbap was its fast turnover rate.
All they had to do was add meat and green onions to prepared broth, so the food came out quickly, and because the rice was mixed into the broth, the meal itself didn’t take very long.
“But we earned 54 jeon in those 30 minutes. What do you think would happen if more customers like that came?”
“Sales would increase even more than they are now?”
“Then earning two ‘nyang’ an hour would be nothing. We’d make nearly 20 nyang a day.”
“20 nyang!”
Twenty nyang was roughly equivalent to 1.4 million won in modern currency.
For the tavern, which had previously struggled to make even one nyang a day, it was an unimaginably large amount.
“And those people will come back because of the exchange vouchers.”
“They’ll come back?”
Hayun confidently continued her explanation.
“On top of that, they’ll spread the word for us. The value of that can’t possibly be converted into money. They’re promoting us on their own without us spending a single penny on advertising. That’s what you call viral marketing.”
“I-Is that so…?”
At some point, the proprietress stopped understanding what Hayun was saying and could only nod.
“Just wait and see. Before long, we’ll be so busy that there won’t even be room to set foot inside.”
Hayun gazed meaningfully at the group of peddlers disappearing into the distance.
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