Chapter 33
Chapter 33. I Released Cola in Nortaris! (3)
Jurgen, Penelope, and Serena.
The three of them stepped into Cola Factory No. 1, riding a Caliburn Model K (four-seater).
Naturally, Serena took the wheel.
Upon confirming the factory interior, an overwhelming resonance pounded Jurgen's chest.
"Ohhh..."
The factory interior, transformed beyond recognition from the dusty brewing facility it once was.
Though it wasn't his first time seeing it today, Jurgen was moved each time.
A syrup maker equipped with a precision mixing module and viscosity control device.
A carbonation injector that included not only the syrup and water mixing process but also bottle washing functions.
A bottling machine equipped with a cooler and vacuum chamber.
Equipment made of corrosion-resistant treated brass gleamed with golden reflected light, flaunting its magnificence.
Though it wasn't real gold, in Jurgen's eyes it looked more beautiful than the royal palace's treasure vault.
"Miss Serena, this is truly... beautiful..."
The great culinary revolution had just taken its second step here!
"Hmm hmm..."
Penelope's nose tingled too.
The first factory had been established.
She even had a business card as co-representative of Y&P Trading Company, Penelope.
Thanks to the misunderstanding about being entangled with the mafia, her position within social circles was somewhat maintained.
At least there was no one openly disrespecting her.
Even if it was uncomfortable, wasn't it better to be an object of fear rather than ignored?
Thanks to those rumors, she'd bought various things cheaply at the auction too.
"..."
Her past, marked by helplessness and failure, flashed by.
This factory felt like compensation for all the pain and grievances.
She suddenly met Jurgen's eyes.
Jurgen was looking at Penelope too.
"It's thanks to you."
"What do you mean? You have also been of great assistance, Penelope."
"Well, that's true, but I couldn't have made it this far without you either. Absolutely not."
Just as the two were creating a heartwarming atmosphere.
"Hwaaaaaang...! Hwaaaaaaaaang!"
A resounding cry like a Caliburn's exhaust note echoed out.
Turning around, they saw Serena on all fours, shedding tears of emotion.
"Hwaaaaaang...! Hwaaaaaaaaang! Thank goodness... I completed it... So magnificently..."
Jurgen and Penelope weren't the only ones happy about completing the factory.
"Hwaang, aaaang... If something went wrong...! It would be terrible...! I was worried...!"
Serena was also crying with relief at seeing their satisfied reactions.
She really didn't know how scared she'd been throughout the entire work process.
Scenes of driving herself like being whipped flashed past like a panorama.
"Serena, at first I only thought you were a strange fellow. But you turned out to be a decent one."
"Miss Serena, thank you so much."
"Sniff... Sob... Yes..."
Penelope's heart warmed seeing Serena moved as if it were her own achievement, and Jurgen wore a pleased smile.
"Now what remains is... hiring employees?"
Though there probably wasn't a beverage production factory in Britannia with this level of technology, it was a worldview limitation, so to speak.
Full automation was impossible.
Thirty production craftsmen divided into two teams working day and night shifts of fifteen each, to handle tasks like preparing raw materials, operating bottle washers, supplying bottles to the line, quality inspection, loading finished products, etc.
Two shift supervisors to manage each line.
Four people to handle sales.
One office management person for attendance management and bookkeeping.
One factory manager to oversee the entire factory.
With Nortaris' Demon Realm industry expanding now, under normal circumstances it might be difficult to find everyone at once, but...
"It shouldn't take that long, right?"
"I agree."
Because Jurgen had the generously giving Polar Suns.
***
When Polar Sun collapsed, the craftsmen employed at the production factory suddenly became unemployed.
Connor, sitting in a tavern drinking beer in broad daylight, was one of those unemployed.
"Aaagh! Beer during the day really is the best. Strangely, it doesn't taste like this when I drink at night. I'd like to live like this forever."
The tavern owner wiping glasses tsk-tsked.
"If you keep this up forever, will your ancestors earn money for you? You need to find a job quickly."
"Well, it'll work out somehow."
Connor, chewing on pickled herring, showed no sense of anxiety as an unemployed person.
"I was thinking of moving to a Demon Realm job anyway."
"What frozen-to-death Demon Realm?"
"A brother I know said there's an opening on the porter side and told me to come in. Says they pay much more too."
That made sense—Nortaris's Demon Realm industry was reaching new peaks day by day.
It was an unprecedented boom.
Adventurers kept pouring in, but there weren't enough porters to transport the mined resources.
As long as you had functioning limbs and were sturdy, getting rehired as a porter was a piece of cake.
But it was a definite fact.
The Demon Realm is dangerous.
Though high-risk monsters had been mostly eradicated, they weren't completely gone.
Terrifying monsters sometimes appeared at unexpected times and wiped out veteran adventurer parties.
Outlaws attacking adventurers were also a danger that couldn't be overlooked.
Even without extreme examples like the above, there were cases where things just went wrong and parties were wiped out.
In such cases, porters without combat ability were excellent bonuses.
There was a reason Nortaris funeral company stocks stayed steady.
"If you go and stupidly get yourself killed, who'll I sell drinks to? Rather than the Demon Realm, how about this place?"
"What's this?"
"It was a factory hiring notice posted on the bulletin board, so I grabbed one."
"Eh, I'm not doing factory work anymore. A man needs to have ambition."
"Just look at it. The conditions are really good, I'm telling you."
Connor, who'd been waving it off, reluctantly took the notice at the owner's repeated urging.
"Well then, let's see... Monthly wage of 3 Crowns? What, that's almost porter-level?"
Something was off.
A craftsman's monthly wage not requiring specialized skills was 1 Crown.
That was the pay based on 6 days a week, 12-hour shifts.
"How many hours a day are they trying to work us? Hmm...? 5 days a week, 2 shifts? Where exactly is this place?"
"They say it's Y&P Trading Company."
"Never heard of it?"
"You know that northern specialty, Cola? They say it's the company that makes Cola."
But the hiring notice was shattering such common sense.
Triple the monthly wage, plus performance bonuses upon meeting production targets, vacation, meals, various other benefits, etc.
They took care of all of it meticulously.
Having read that far, Connor put down the notice.
"Owner, stop joking around. This isn't a factory hiring notice."
"Why would I lie to you?"
"There's no way this is real."
"No, it really is! I would've applied too if not for the shop."
After the argument, as soon as Connor learned the notice wasn't a joke, he grabbed his coat and stood up.
"You said it seemed like a lie?"
"Lie or not, I have to apply. A skilled worker like me, they'd be scrambling to hire me for money!"
"What about the Demon Realm?"
"Is the Demon Realm the issue right now? Anyway, thanks for the good info, owner!"
The hiring quota was only 30 people.
This wasn't the time to sit around drinking.
***
Jurgen offered the best conditions to recruit the best personnel.
Even Penelope, who no longer objected to Jurgen's decisions under most circumstances, read the notice and said,
"Hmm, aren't the conditions excessively good? You don't need to go this far. It's simple work."
The conditions were good enough to warrant that comment.
But he had no intention of changing them.
Employers typically treat production workers as factory appendages, but Jurgen knew.
He knew how good conditions and treatment boosted work motivation and led to good results.
Not only that.
"I've been famous for quick hands since way back. If you ask other people, they all know. Quick-handed Connor."
"I worked at a lemonade factory for 15 years."
"I'll really, really work hard! Please just hire me!"
"I'm Duncan. I have experience running a brewery. I was a factory manager for over 10 years until just recently."
With the unprecedented exceptional treatment, applicants flocked like clouds.
Jurgen just had to choose the most skilled personnel.
Specially selected personnel among skilled workers were assigned to production lines and management positions.
"Wow, we make beverages with such cutting-edge equipment? They kept saying Cola, Cola—now I see why!"
"Wow... How is the factory cleaner than my house?"
"Still, the work's all pretty similar."
"No, it's actually easier. At this rate, I'll get the hang of it quickly, won't I?"
As a result, Cola production got on track so fast it exceeded even Jurgen's expectations.
The initial factory goal was 10,000 bottles per day production, 15,000 bottles after stabilization.
But in just two days they surpassed 15,000 bottles per day, then on the fourth day achieved the remarkable feat of hitting the production equipment's maximum of 20,000 bottles.
"20,000 bottles? 20,000 bottles?"
For reference, Penelope screamed with joy upon hearing this news.
But making lots wasn't everything.
Making it cheaply was also important.
Cost reduction had a tremendous impact on operating profit margin.
Looking purely at manufacturing costs, what's included in the raw material cost per bottle is Cola syrup, water, bottle, cap.
Among these, what takes up the largest portion is the custom-made Contour Bottle.
That's why preparations had been made from the start.
"What will you do about bottles?"
"I'll lower the unit price through regular delivery contracts with glass workshops."
Glass workshops benefit from securing stable revenue, and Jurgen can lower the unit price—a win-win for both.
If they could also fully establish a glass bottle recycling system, they could make Cola even cheaper.
Through this process, Cola's production cost dramatically decreased to an average of 0.4 pence.
"How much was it when we made them one by one?"
"4 pence."
"Now it's one-tenth. So this is why you build a factory."
With production finished, it was time to consider distribution.
"This part seems like it needs to be outsourced to an external distribution company."
"Well, it did pile up tremendously in just one day."
The figure of 20,000 bottles might not be easy to grasp, but based on packaged finished product weight alone it's 14 tons, and in boxes it's over 800 boxes.
Unlike modern times with large container trucks, in a situation where cargo wagons had to haul everything individually, considering initial investment costs and labor costs, it was better to comfortably delegate it.
Skilled coachmen would safely escort the Cola to the wholesale direct sales location.
With production and distribution done, what remained was sales.
"Miss Penelope contributed greatly to this."
"I won't deny it."
The warehouse near Central Station that Penelope had bought cheaply at auction the other day was turned into a 'Cola Wholesale Direct Sales Location.'
The set wholesale direct price was 2 pence per bottle.
The price consumers would probably have to pay through intermediate wholesalers would be around 3-4 pence.
Still expensive, but considering Cola's prestige, it was sufficiently competitive.
After all, isn't a product's price measured by consumers?
Consumers feel less psychological resistance to spending money on what they've assigned value to.
It's the same principle as how people in modern times buy americanos costing 4,000 or 5,000 won per cup without much thought.
"So then... if we sell one bottle of Cola at the direct sales location, 1.6 pence remains?"
"That's right."
"1.6 pence times 20,000 bottles per day, multiplied by 30... Good heavens, 960 Crowns."
"From there, after deducting labor costs, distribution costs, factory management costs, equipment depreciation and operating costs, the remaining money is operating profit."
"I'll calculate it."
Penelope's fingertips trembled finely as she tapped the calculator.
After confirming the final number, she let out a low exclamation as if she couldn't believe it.
"...820 Crowns."
In Korean won, about 820 million.
An astounding figure that made the enormous funds spent on factory establishment seem trivial!
A mythical achievement accomplished in just half a year, starting from a shabby general store on Brellum Shopping Street!
Penelope, who'd been hanging her head, threw her hat and screamed with joy.
"Jurgen! We did it! We're rich now!!"
"We can't declare that yet."
Penelope's calculation was operating profit that assumed a day's production worth of Cola would sell out completely.
And right now, Cola wasn't being sold in the market yet.
The volume produced so far was still piling up in the warehouse.
"Hmm~ That's uncharacteristically pessimistic of you?"
However, both Penelope and Jurgen already knew the answer.
20,000 bottles per day.
There was no way that amount of Cola wouldn't sell.
The next day.
A rumor spread throughout Nortaris.
The rumor that...
Penelope had released Cola in Nortaris.