🔊 TTS Settings
∼Chapter 04∼
“Welcome! Welcome to Life Tavern!”
“Huh?”
The traveling peddlers looked at one another in bewilderment at the enthusiastic welcome.
Normally, at a tavern, the most they would hear was a curt,
“Lodging? A meal?”
But Hayeon greeted them with a bright smile from the moment they entered.
“Come this way. It’s nice and cool here, with a good breeze.”
“Y-yes. All right.”
“You must be tired. Give me your luggage. I’ll keep your bundles safely inside.”
“Our luggage too?”
“Yes. I’ll keep them somewhere safe, so you can relax and focus on your meal.”
Hayeon practically took the traveling peddlers’ bundles out of their hands.
It was a carefully calculated move designed to make sure the peddlers wouldn’t turn around and leave.
“Th-thank you.”
The traveling peddlers stared at Hayeon with bewildered expressions.
They had never received treatment like this before.
It almost made them feel like aristocrats.
“Ugh, this is a little heavy.”
“If it’s too difficult, you can just leave it there…”
“No, it’s fine. Mister Munsik! Please help me carry these over there!”
“All right! Whoa! These are heavy!”
Hayeon and Munsik began hauling the bundles with great effort. The traveling peddlers watched them with curious eyes.
“Heh heh, goodness. I’ve seen all sorts of things in my life.”
“You said it. This is the first time I’ve ever received treatment like this.”
“That young lady sure is attentive.”
“Is that all? She’s pretty as well. She’s practically a fairy!”
Even through the eyes of people from the Joseon era, Hayeon was considered exceptionally beautiful.
Her spotless, fair skin and large, clear eyes were particularly striking.
Although she wore a short hairstyle that was completely out of place for this era, even taking that into consideration, Hayeon’s beauty was unrivaled. She was no less beautiful than any daughter of an aristocratic family.
With such a woman greeting them with a radiant smile, the traveling peddlers could hardly take their eyes off her.
“She’s beautiful. So beautiful…”
“I think coming here was a good choice…”
“Heh, if I’d known it would be like this, I should have come here sooner.”
In truth, this was also one of Hayeon’s highly calculated strategies.
‘There was a statistic that hiring attractive employees increased sales by 30%.’
It was an open secret that hiring attractive men and women could increase sales.
That was why, regardless of everything else, businesses often selected front-of-house employees based on their appearance.
In the service industry, appearance was practically a weapon.
So, under the pretext of making an investment, Hayeon had bought new clothes and new shoes and dressed herself up.
‘Heh. Compared to people here, I’m practically a celebrity.’
Hayeon had never paid much attention to dressing herself up because she had been so absorbed in her work.
But now that she had fallen into Joseon, she had to make use of everything she had.
Whether it was her appearance, her knowledge, or anything else.
“Ahem. Since we’re hungry, shall we order something to eat first?”
“Ah, look at me. Let’s order quickly.”
“Then, eight bowls of rice soup…”
Just as the traveling peddlers were about to order rice soup without a moment’s hesitation—
“Wait!”
Bang!
Hayeon hurried over and placed a wooden board on the table.
“What’s this?”
“It’s our tavern’s menu. Take your time and choose whatever you’d like.”
“A menu?”
The traveling peddlers, who were seeing a menu for the first time in their lives, opened their eyes wide.
“W-what’s this supposed to be?”
At the very top of the menu, a set meal had already been added.
[Assorted Set]
(For 2) 2 bowls of Life Rice Soup + 1 pollock pancake / 12 ◎
[Rice Soup]
Rice soup / 4 ◎
Life Rice Soup / 5 ◎
[Pan-Fried Dishes]
Chili pepper pancake / 2 ◎
Potato pancake / 3 ◎
Pollock pancake / 5 ◎
[Seasoned Vegetables]
Bean sprout salad / 2 ◎
Wild garlic salad / 4 ◎
[Alcohol]
Rice wine / 3 ◎
Dongdongju / 3 ◎
Life Liquor / 5 ◎
The traveling peddlers were considerably shocked when they saw the variety of food and the prices written beside each item.
“There are this many kinds of food at a tavern…!”
“No, more importantly, all the prices are written down!”
“I’ve never seen a place so honest about its prices!”
The traveling peddlers examined the menu with fascination.
In an era when the concept of fixed pricing did not exist, prices were generally determined according to whatever amount the owner demanded.
That was why travelers ordered rice soup wherever they went across the country, since it had a relatively consistent price and helped them avoid being overcharged.
But when the 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 traveling peddlers became absorbed in the fun of choosing what to eat and stared at the menu for quite some time.
“Since everything is written here, it makes me want to try a little of everything.”
“Then how about rice soup… and a bowl of rice wine? Ah, should we order some pollock pancakes too?”
“Order them. Order them. Let’s have a proper feast today.”
“Life Rice Soup…? What’s this?”
Hayeon, who had been listening to their conversation nearby, answered the question.
“Ah, that’s a special rice soup that we sell only at our tavern.”
“You only sell it here?”
“Yes. It’s rice soup made with our tavern’s secret seasoning added to the regular version. You’ll regret it if you leave without trying it.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing that it could only be eaten here, the traveling peddlers’ hearts began to lean toward the Life Rice Soup despite its slightly higher price. After all, the price difference wasn’t very large.
“Hmm, then let’s give it a try. I’ll have the Life Rice Soup.”
“Then I’ll have Life Rice Soup too.”
“After receiving this kind of treatment, how could we not try it? Let’s all have Life Rice Soup.”
The eight men nodded and were about to place their unified order when—
“Wait.”
Someone noticed that there was an assorted set on the menu and shouted.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to order the set for two? If we order that, the pollock pancakes are only 2 jeon!”
“Oh! What?”
“Wow, at that price, they’re practically giving them away!”
Upon discovering that they could get pollock pancakes for only 2 jeon as part of the set, their attention shifted toward the assorted set.
Their spending had gradually increased from basic rice soup, to Life Rice Soup, and finally to the assorted set.
This, too, was one of Hayeon’s carefully designed strategies.
“Then give us four two-person assorted sets. And two bowls of dongdongju. We should have a drink today.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Hayeon accepted the order and turned away with a smile inside.
‘Just as planned.’
They would originally have ordered nothing more than a single bowl of rice soup.
But after looking at the menu, they had added the assorted set and even dongdongju.
Instead of earning 32 jeon, Hayeon had made 54 jeon.
That was an increase in sales of a whopping 81 percent.
A short while later,
Okbun came out carrying steaming bowls of rice soup. Plenty of meat and green onions were piled on top of the milky broth.
“Here are eight bowls of Life Rice Soup!”
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
As the earthenware bowls were placed on the platform, anticipation began to appear on the traveling peddlers’ faces.
“Wow, that looks incredible.”
“Shall we give it a try?”
Just then—
“Wait a moment.”
Hayeon suddenly approached carrying a small plate.
A piece of fish, beautifully browned from grilling, sat on the plate.
The traveling peddlers looked puzzled.
“We didn’t order this.”
“Are you sure this is ours?”
“It’s a complimentary service.”
Hayeon said this while winking.
“Complimentary service? What’s that?”
“Ah, it’s something extra. Free of charge.”
“Free?”
“It’s a gift to commemorate you being our first customers today.”
Hayeon lowered her voice playfully and whispered.
“For your information, I’m giving this to you without the owner knowing, so eat it quickly. It’ll be a big problem if she finds out.”
“Hahaha! What a hardworking young lady! I’ll gladly eat it. Thank you.”
“We really don’t know what to say to all this treatment.”
The traveling peddlers broke into broad smiles at Hayeon’s small gesture.
In truth, a single piece of fish cost very little.
But the effect it created was enormous.
After receiving Hayeon’s hospitality, which treated customers like royalty, the taste of the rice soup itself was hardly the most important thing anymore.
The service alone had already made Life Tavern worth visiting.
“Ahh, this is incredible!”
“Wow, the rice soup here is absolutely amazing!”
“This is the best rice soup I’ve ever had in my life!”
Caught up in their good mood, the traveling peddlers quickly polished off their bowls.
Satisfied smiles spread across their faces.
“That’s the best rice soup I’ve had in a long time!”
“They didn’t give it the name Life Tavern for nothing!”
After happily finishing their meal, the traveling peddlers began settling the bill.
“So, I suppose it’s time to pay?”
“54 jeon… That is a bit more than I expected.”
“But we ate well, didn’t we? If not now, when would we ever get to eat something like this again?”
“That’s right. If only we had more time, I’d want to come back again tomorrow.”
The traveling peddlers counted out their copper coins one by one and handed them over.
Jingle, jingle.
The cheerful sound of the coins rang through the tavern.
“Here. 54 jeon.”
“Thank you. And please take this with you as well.”
Hayeon said this as she handed them a piece of paper.
“What’s this now?”
“This is called a coupon.”
“A coupon?”
“Ah, let’s just call it an exchange ticket.”
Hayeon stamped the paper to show them.
The stamped paper contained the following words:
[5 Stamps / 1 Potato Pancake]
[10 Stamps / 1 Bowl of Life Rice Soup]
“You get one stamp for every bowl of rice soup. Once you collect the required number of stamps, we’ll give you the item written there for free. It’s a benefit reserved for regular customers of Life Tavern.”
“All that is free? Good heavens!”
“I’ve never seen a tavern like this before!”
Faced with one service after another, the traveling peddlers were almost dizzy with amazement.
They carefully tucked the exchange tickets into their clothing as though they had received precious treasures.
“Life Tavern… I’ll remember this place.”
“Then thank you for the meal.”
“Yes. Please come again.”
As soon as the first customers, the traveling peddlers, left, Okbun came rushing out of the kitchen.
“Did they leave? They’re gone?”
“Yes. They all left.”
“So, how much did we make?”
Instead of answering, Hayeon opened the pouch containing the copper coins.
Inside was an amount of money that Okbun had never seen in her life.
“Gasp! This much…!”
But that excitement lasted only a moment.
The tavern owner asked worriedly,
“But if we keep giving things away like this, will there be anything left for us?”
“What do you mean?”
“We lowered the prices, gave them free fish, and later we have to give them free rice soup too. Won’t we end up losing money?”
“Auntie, don’t worry. Selling things this way is definitely more profitable.”
“How?”
Hayeon kindly began explaining to the puzzled Okbun.
“How long do you think those people were sitting here?”
“About… 30 minutes?”
“Yes. That’s right. Only 30 minutes.”
The advantage of rice soup was its fast turnover.
Since the broth was already prepared and all they had to do was add the meat and green onions, the food could be served quickly. And because customers simply mixed the rice into the broth, the meal itself didn’t take very long.
“But in those 30 minutes, we made 54 jeon. What do you think would happen if we had more customers like them?”
“Our sales would increase even more?”
“At that point, earning two nyang an hour would be nothing. We could make nearly 20 nyang a day.”
“20 nyang!”
Twenty nyang was roughly equivalent to 1.4 million won in modern currency.
For the old tavern, which struggled to earn even one nyang a day, that was an unimaginable amount of money.
“And those people will come back because of the exchange tickets.”
“They’ll come back?”
Hayeon continued confidently.
“And they’ll spread the word too. You can’t even put a price on that. They’ll promote us themselves without us spending a single penny on advertising. That’s called viral marketing.”
“I-Is that so…?”
At some point, the tavern owner had stopped understanding what Hayeon was saying and simply kept nodding.
“Just wait and see. Before long, we’ll be so busy that there won’t even be room to set foot inside.”
Hayeon stared meaningfully at the group of traveling peddlers disappearing into the distance.
