I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 188



Only Noblemtl

188 I can’t see that sight again

“Quinton. Are you sure these are the best ingredients?”

I looked at the food on the table and asked him a question.

He has collected commonly used materials within the limits of what he can afford.

At first glance, it looks clearly different from the materials I have been using so far.

In the United States, there are grades of vegetables established by the Department of Agriculture.

Among the four grades, the food materials that Quinton brought were the second grade, US Commercial grade.

It was a grade widely used for commercial purposes, but it seemed insufficient to me, who only handled Grade 1 and organic.

“It’s common for companies to use US No. 2 (Grade 3). It’s hard to make a margin if you use Grade 1. Remember, what we’re making is a $3 meal.”

It would be difficult for the average person to distinguish between first and second grade. I decided to give up my greed.

Maybe because I have never cooked with cheap ingredients before, there were many times when the food I made did not taste as good as I had imagined. I think I will have to go through more trial and error than I thought when preparing a menu.

“We can’t always use the best ingredients. Fortunately, agricultural and livestock products in the U.S. are much cheaper than in Korea.”

“Should I just serve regular fruit like apples or bananas for the school lunch? Some places serve oranges.”

Quinton asks, looking at the feeding program guidelines.

But I think differently. The thought of putting an apple or a banana on a plate makes my body tremble. This is absolutely impossible.

“I’ll take care of that. I have a menu in mind. Anyway, I can’t upload it all at once.”

“Canned pineapple is sometimes served in smaller containers?”

“That’s even more so. That’s not fruit, it’s candied sugar. I’ll make it first, so let’s taste it and then talk.”

Pilaf goes well with oriental salads. Adding the idea of ​​fruit to this, a Korean-style ‘salad’ naturally came to mind.

In the US, I can’t use nuts because of allergies and I can’t use a variety of fruits because of the price, but those handicaps aren’t that difficult for me.

Put the egg yolk in a bowl and beat it with a whisk. Add lemon juice, mustard, salt, and honey and mix well. Add olive oil little by little and blend with a hand blender. The desired texture will gradually start to appear. Add malt vinegar and pepper to adjust the acidity and a luxurious homemade dressing will be complete.

Boil the potatoes and carrots.

While the water is boiling, cut the apples, celery, bananas, and cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. Cut the boiled carrots into bite-sized pieces as well, and mash the boiled potatoes and mix them with the dressing.

Mix the diced ingredients and dressing well, then sprinkle with finely chopped green onions.

We need an ingredient that can replace the crunchy texture of nuts and the rich flavor of fat.

Frying and crumbling the bread and sprinkling it on the salad brings out the right flavor.

“Let’s taste it.”

Crunchy.

Fresh cucumbers make a delicious crunch when chewed. The overall taste is mild, perhaps due to the mashed potatoes. However, the strong acidity of malt vinegar and honey combine to create an addictive taste.

Salty, sweet, and sour flavors are well balanced.

The textures are also varied. Boiled carrots and bananas are soft to chew, and cucumber and celery provide crunch. And the fried breadcrumbs add a rich, crunchy taste to the salad. The refreshing scent of green onions at the end was perfect.

“Ah… That’s good. I guess it really matters who cooks?

It’s amazing how you can make such a delicious dish with such simple ingredients. I’m not an expert, but I’m sure kids will love it.

I especially like the celery and banana. They are crunchy and soft. I also like the texture of the dressing, which is thick and not runny, probably because it uses potatoes.”

Quinton gives a thumbs up.

Honey is cheap in the US. There is no reason not to use it, as it offers luxurious sweetness at a low price.

Although I have been relatively stingy with sweets, I have no intention of being unnecessarily stubborn about the students’ school lunches.

Quinton is looking for a chef.

Qualified young chefs are reluctant to work in catering establishments, but Quinton was a capable manager.

Chefs are in a profession where there is no guarantee of life after retirement. They move around from place to place, so they have little retirement pay and are paid so little that they cannot save money.

Quinton is taking a cue from this and is ramping up his hiring, interviewing mostly retired chefs.

There will also be the Philadelphia and Washington advances of the Hundred Dishes, so even ten bodies will not be enough.

* * *

Ring ring ring.

“hello?”

-Sir, this is Na Moon-ho.

“Yes. I’m listening. What’s going on?”

Moon-ho Na, who is in charge of investment distribution, sends me a report every month.

I heard that after starting the business, he started working in a few movies and dramas for small amounts of money, and now he is seriously looking for a big deal.

-The piece you mentioned has finally come out. I have confirmed that the script is being circulated among the actors.

I told Namunho about a work he absolutely had to catch.

I had instructed her to tell me the author’s name and follow up, as she might sound like a shaman if I told her the specific title of the work.

I didn’t know that the knowledge I learned from my older sister, who is a fan of this drama, would be helpful.

“Are you sure this is Eunji Park’s work?”

-Yes, that’s right. It’s called ‘My Love from the Moon’ and they’re supposed to start filming this fall. But I’m sorry, I don’t have any time.

“What are you talking about?”

– It’s SBB’s own production. Since the broadcasting station is in charge of everything from investment to production, there’s no room for us to interfere. At best, maybe we can sign a PPL contract later?

Namunho speaks cautiously, as if he feels sorry.

At the time, it was a work that had a budget of over 10 billion won for a drama, so I thought it had received external investment, but I was wrong. However, this work must be caught.

It’s not yet time for Netflix to enter the Korean market, and Korean dramas are being sold overseas at cheap prices.

SBB signed an official distribution contract with a local broadcaster for just 600 million won for this work, which caused a syndrome throughout China.

Although the film earned hundreds of billions of won in sales in China, little money came back to the production team and actors.

And the huge success of this work has provided the ground for many local Chinese media companies to grow. We will never see that again.

“Please set up a meeting with someone from the broadcasting station. I will go there myself.”

-Yes? Oh… Okay, I understand.

Stop.

That’s good. I happened to have some work to take care of in Korea.

Although it was a sudden schedule, I was able to leave for Korea with peace of mind because there were people who could take my place.

* * *

“Hello. My name is Shin Je-hee. I am also the largest shareholder of JH Pictures, which is run by President Na Moon-ho.”

The meeting took place in the drama department director’s office. I greeted the writers, producers, and directors politely by handing them my business card.

Then, as President Na Moon-ho came in and sat down, a full-fledged conversation began.

“The screen doesn’t capture the real thing very well. It’s much more beautiful in person.”

Author Eunji Park looks at me and smiles.

“Ahem… Kim Moo-kwan is here.”

“I’m Jang Tae-san. I’m in charge of directing.”

The director was a middle-aged man with a stubborn look.

PD Jang Tae-san, who looks innocent, bows his head to me and greets me.

“I made the position because the CEO said he could invest a lot of money, but as you know, this drama is SBB’s ambitious project. We have already decided to produce it ourselves.”

The director takes the initiative, as if there is no time to waste on useless discussions.

“Just in case, aren’t you interested in other dramas? There are a few dramas we’re planning to produce that need investment….”

I thought he would meet me easily, but he had an intention. He took out several scenarios from the drawer and brought them over.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in other works. I’m a fan of writer Park Eun-ji.”

“Oh my! Really?”

The indifferent director decided to persuade the writer later and focused on winning him over for now.

“Then we will give you a fancy PPL. We don’t usually make promises like this, but since you are Chef Shin, we have to make it special for you.”

The director signals to the writer with his eyes and guides me in another direction. Drama versions are always short on money.

However, it seems that they have no intention of allowing direct investment as the script is quite good.

“Director.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m not interested in advertising fees or additional royalties.”

The largest portion of the revenue that broadcasting stations earn from dramas comes from advertising revenue and additional rights from reruns and rebroadcasts. Of course, indirect advertising such as PPL and sponsorships that appear only through subtitles also account for a large portion of revenue.

“Really? Then where should I distribute the profits?”

The director’s face brightens in an instant. He looks like he’s caught a fool.

“Just give me the overseas rights. I won’t ask for anything else.”

Yeah.

Both the director and the producer look embarrassed.

I understand.

Even if it was just a small amount of money, it must have been quite fun to receive 100 to 300 million won in overseas copyrights and export it to various countries.

“That would be difficult too. I don’t know if you know, but in this industry, it’s rare for a broadcasting station to give up overseas copyrights.”

The director smacks his lips as if he feels regret.

“3 billion.”

“yes?”

“omg!”

The PD and writer groan and scream with their mouths covered.

“I will invest 3 billion. Will that be difficult?”

I can clearly see three people tapping away at calculators in their heads.

Even if it is a blockbuster production with a total budget of over 10 billion won, there will not be even 2 billion won in spare money in the early stages of drama production. Even that is mostly emergency funds set aside for casting actors.

The remaining production costs are covered by filming, signing sponsorship and PPL contracts, and selling advertisements.

So they could never refuse my offer to invest 3 billion before filming even started.

“Ha. Still, it will be difficult to hand over all overseas rights. Please understand that it is the broadcasting station’s policy.”

The director, who had been thinking for a moment, shook his head and said.

Were they too proud? Their obsession with copyright is stronger than you can imagine.

“Then I will only take over the copyrights for China and Taiwan for the same amount. But I will also have to include the digital license in the contract. Will that be difficult?”

Even if you try to sell the copyrights to both countries, the limit would be hundreds of millions of won. The OTT market is still in its infancy in Korea, so digital copyrights are not even a big consideration in the first place.

If they refuse even this, then I have no choice.

President Nam Moon-ho shook his head desperately as he looked at me. I could hear his desperate cries for him to stop, but I ignored them.

bang.

Writer Eun-ji Park slams her script on the desk.

“If you don’t accept this, I won’t use this script. It’s 3 billion won! With that amount of money, I can hire all the actors I want and still have some left over, so why are you hesitating?”

In the drama industry, the writer is absolutely the boss.

The PD is sending a hot gaze to the director, begging him to please accept it.

“Hahaha! As expected, you’re hot. Of course I should give you that much. Should I sign a contract right away?”

The director’s butt is so heavy that it seems he knows how much I want this piece. But I’m sure he’s cheering inside, thinking it’s a jackpot if he signs the contract at this point.

“great.”

The director’s face looks extremely satisfied. I hope he doesn’t have a stomachache later.