Peninsula Landlord

Chapter 505 Identity
Seoul time, 11pm.

The entrance of a pub in Gangnam District.

"I really don't know what to say today. I should have been the one to thank the three brothers for their help, but it turned out that it was Brother Shizhen who paid. This is really..."

Huang Xu looked at Kim Jong Kook, Ji Seok Jin and the other two in front of him, feeling a little embarrassed.

To put it bluntly, the drinking party he organized today was to thank Kim Jong Kook, Ha Dong Hoon, and Ji Seok Jin.

Some time ago, after he and his uncle realized something was wrong, they prepared to transfer the company's directly-operated stores.

After hearing about it, Kim Jong Kook and the other two enthusiastically helped promote and sell it within their circle.

This is also the reason why more than half of so many directly-operated stores can be transferred in such a short period of time.

Kim Jong Kook looked at the apologetic expression on Huang Xu's face and pretended to be angry and patted Huang Xu's shoulder.

"Xiao Xu, what you said is a bit awkward."

"Let's not talk about our relationship first. According to Korean rules, when brothers are around, it's not your turn to pay."

"This is the right and obligation of the eldest brother, you can't take it away."

"Besides, the one who paid today was Brother Shi Zhen. You know his situation. Let alone this meal, even if there were a few more, he wouldn't say anything."

After saying that, he looked at Ji Seok Jin with a half-smile and asked.

"You're right, aren't you, Seokjin-hye?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm there and I need you to pay~!"

Ji Seok-jin first rolled his eyes at Kim Jong-kook, then said to Huang Xu with a smile.

"I am here today thanks to Xiaoxu's care. Let alone this meal, I can treat you every day."

"You don't know, since joining your company, I can finally hold my head high."

Speaking of this, Ji Seok-jin seemed unusually excited.

As a senior figure in the entertainment industry, he is highly respected, whether in terms of professional ability or the ratings of the programs he hosts.

But he has a fatal flaw, that is, although he loves investing very much, he has no outstanding achievements in investment.

He even lost money on everything he invested in and earned a reputation as a bad investor.

Not only outside, but even at home, I feel ashamed about this matter.

Joining Huang Xu's company's store gave him a turnaround. Not only did he regain his face, but he also stood up in front of his wife.

And a considerable amount of wealth was continuously flowing into his pocket.

In this case, why would he care about treating Huang Xu to a meal or two?

After expressing his gratitude to Huang Xu, Ji Seok Jin then teased Kim Jong Kook in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm not like some timid muscle guys who only know how to exercise their muscles and didn't seize such a good opportunity."

"Ah, I."

Listening to Ji Seok Jin's sarcastic tone, Kim Jong Kook felt like crying but had no tears.

Of course, as a good friend for so many years and he is also an older brother, Kim Jong Kook did not mean to be angry.

After all, Ji Seok-jin's investments had often failed in the past, and these people had often made fun of him for this.

Compared to his current sarcasm, what they did was much more excessive.

For example, in their previous recording of the program, there was a segment designed for people who like investing but often fail in their investments.

Now that he finally has a successful project that makes money, he must show it off.

And to be honest, the project that Ji Seok-jin has joined now is really profitable.

He didn't dare to speak about other stores, but he knew the data of Ji Shizhen's store very well.

When they were recording Running Man on Monday, they heard Ji Seok-jin muttering in the dressing room about how much the sales were this week and how much money he could make.

According to the data provided by Ji Seok-jin, the store he joined had a net profit of more than 20 million won every month after deducting various miscellaneous expenses.

Yes, more than 20 million won per month is not a big deal for him now.

He can earn the money by recording one or two shows.

Even if he participated in a commercial performance or a company celebration, he could get almost the same amount of money.

But don't forget that Ji Seok-jin's 20 million is pure profit, which is money that he can deposit into his own bank card after paying taxes.

He needs to share the money with the company first to pay taxes, and then pay his agent, makeup artist and stylist. The rest is his.

However, the price that Ji Seok-jin gets for commercial performances cannot be compared with mine.

For him, this is already a considerable income.

Therefore, in response to his sarcasm, Kim Jong Kook just smiled bitterly and didn't say anything.

However, just because he didn't say it doesn't mean others won't say it.

For example, his loyal younger brother Ha Dongxun.

If he was in a normal state, he would certainly not make such a mistake, but unfortunately, he is not normal now.

Ha Dong-hoon, who was already a little drunk, immediately spoke up to defend Kim Jong-kook after hearing what Ji Seok-jin said.

"Brother Shizhen, your little money is not enough to make Brother Zhongguo jealous."

"You heard what we just talked about, the expansion of the music pub."

"But do you know how much our pub's turnover was last month?"

"How many can there be?"

Ji Seok-jin didn't take Ha Dong-hoon's words too seriously.

As a colleague and good friend for several years, Ji Seok-jin had also visited the bar that Ha Dong-hoon and his team renovated several times to help out and boost its popularity.

So naturally he was not unfamiliar with pubs.

The venue was not very big to begin with, and a lot of space was taken up by the performance stage.

There are only about twenty tables in total, including the booths in the hall and the semi-open boxes, large and small.

And because it is a pub, the table turnover rate is extremely low.

Even though it’s packed every day and you often have to queue, you probably don’t make much money.

Ha Dongxun looked at Ji Seokjin's indifferent expression and didn't get angry. Instead, he chuckled and spit out a number.

"More than a billion."

"What? What did you say?"

"One billion?"

"How is this possible?"

When Ji Seok-jin heard the number Ha Dong-hoon said, he showed an expression of shock and disbelief.

He is no longer the newbie who knew nothing about the catering industry a few months ago.

After several months of practice, although he is still a novice, he has already gotten the hang of it and has a general understanding of the industry.

He really couldn't understand how they could achieve a turnover of over 1 billion won with just 20 tables.

This is a bit unreasonable.

Ha Dongxun looked at Ji Seokjin's shocked expression with a smug and proud expression.

There are many artists in the Korean entertainment industry who have side jobs.

But those who can persist and succeed are rare.

And he, under the guidance of Huang Xu and with the help of Kim Jong Kook, has come to where he is today, and he is quite proud of it.

So looking at the puzzled Ji Seok-jin, Ha Dong-hoon had no intention of hiding anything and explained it directly and proudly.

"Brother Shi Zhen, what you are wondering is why we can achieve such a high turnover with only 20 tables." "Yes, that's what I can't figure out."

Even though he was annoyed with his younger brother Ha Dong-hoon for pretending like this in front of him, Ji Seok-jin still looked at him curiously in order to know the truth and understand why they made so much money.

"I know that the prices at a pub like yours are relatively high, there's no doubt about that."

"But your turnover rate is low. How many times can you turn over tables in one night? Can it be four times on average?"

"No, most of the time it's only two or three times, and occasionally it can be four times."

Ha Dong-hoon had no intention of refutation regarding what Ji Seok-jin said.

After all, anyone who knows a little about this matter or has been there twice basically knows it.

After seeing Ha Dong-hoon admit it, Ji Seok-jin became even more confused and started to settle the score with Ha Dong-hoon directly.

"Look, your monthly turnover is over 10 billion won. Let's not say it's a lot, just calculate it based on 10 billion won. So on average, it's 33 million won per day."

"And if we calculate that each table is turned over three times, the average customer spending per table will be 550,000 won."

"Tell me, what do you sell in your store that can cost more than 500,000 yuan per table?"

"Hehe, Jong Kook, it seems like Seok Jin has really gotten it this time~!"

Faced with Ji Seok-jin's doubts, Ha Dong-hoon did not answer directly, but looked at Kim Jong-kook and Huang Xu next to him with a hint of ridicule in his tone.

His reaction almost made Ji Seok Jin angry and embarrassed.

Yes, the relationship among them is good, but as the big brother, they still have to respect me.

It's not so bad on the show, after all, it's for the show effect. I'm the one with the strongest nose and the weakest one, so being bullied is no big deal.

But in reality, if you still treat yourself like this, it would be a bit unreasonable.

The system of seniority and old-young respect in Korea is not a vegetarian system.

Just when Ji Seok-jin was looking at Ha Dong-hoon's smug expression and could no longer suppress his anger, Huang Xu noticed that something was wrong and quickly spoke up to ease the atmosphere.

"Dongxun, please stop teasing Seokjin."

"Don't be too impatient if Shizhen can't help himself and gives you a lecture. Zhongguo and I won't be able to help you."

"Brother Shizhen, I was wrong."

After hearing Huang Xu's reminder, Ha Dongxun's dizzy brain became a little clearer, and he quickly admitted his mistake to Ji Seok Jin.

Seeing him like this, Ji Seok-jin felt a little helpless.

Huang Xu is here, and this is a public place. Although no one comes up to watch or take photos, there are still quite a few people watching here.

I could only wave my hand to indicate that everything was fine.

Then he repeated his previous question again.

"Why does the consumption of one table of yours reach more than 500,000?"

"There are two main reasons why it can reach such a high level."

After what happened just now, Ha Dongxun answered much more honestly this time. He didn't play any tricks and told the story directly.

"On the one hand, the people who come to our store to shop are not ordinary working class people, but various senior white-collar workers and young people who are not short of money."

“So the prices in the store are generally on the high side.”

"Besides, we are a music bar, so the proportion of alcoholic beverages is not comparable to that of ordinary stores, especially since we have a lot of imported alcoholic beverages."

"Senior white-collar workers, are there any imported drinks?"

After hearing this, Ji Seok-jin actually understood part of it.

Seoul is the largest city in South Korea and one of the most developed cities in Asia.

Although there is still a large number of Korean people whose income is not very high, it can even be said that they can only afford to have enough food and clothing.

But there are still many rich people, especially those working in foreign companies, whose incomes are quite good.

More than 500,000 won does not seem to be a big burden for them.

But can this alone really support this level of consumption?

He still has some doubts about this.

But before he could ask any questions, Ha Dongxun continued his explanation.

"Of course, if we rely on this alone, we won't be able to spend more than half a million yuan."

"The real big money comes from the tips given by the guests to the singers."

"Reward?"

After hearing this, Ji Seok-jin completely understood why the music tavern had such high turnover.

The music bar is different from ordinary restaurants. There are underground singers and artists performing on stage every day.

And if these people perform, or if the atmosphere is right, there will be a lot of people rewarding them, crazily.

Ji Seok-jin, a veteran in the entertainment industry, is quite aware of this.

However, after resolving his inner doubts, Ji Seok-jin suddenly became curious about the profits of their tavern.

Expensive food, imported drinks, and tips for artists.

If these three items are added together, the profits should be terrifying.

Unfortunately, this time he didn't have time to raise his doubts because he was interrupted by Huang Xu's phone call.

"Yeah, we're done. Wait for me for a few minutes. I'll be there soon."

After chatting briefly on the phone and asking the other party to wait for a while, Huang Xu hung up the phone.

Then he said to Kim Jong Kook and the other two with a slightly apologetic tone.

“Sorry, Seokjin, Jongkook, I may have to go first.”

"Why, is your sister-in-law here to pick you up?"

"Where is she? Why doesn't she come over?"

After hearing what Huang Xu said, Kim Jong Kook looked around and after not finding the target, he became a little curious.

As one of the few people who knew the identity of Huang Xu's girlfriend, he was quite curious about how Huang Xu and his girlfriend got together.

Huang Xu never talked about this incident when he was with him, which made him always regret it.

Now that he had this opportunity, he naturally wanted to ask in person.

Unfortunately, Huang Xu did not give him this opportunity, but just waved his hand at him and said.

"It's not convenient for her to come out now. If she is photographed, it will be troublesome."

"Let's chat together when we have a chance."

After saying that, Huang Xu then remembered another thing.

"By the way, Jong Kook and Dong Hoon, don't play too late today. We still have to go to my company tomorrow to make a franchise plan."

"Yeah, I understand. Don't worry."

"Well, that's it for now. I won't accompany you guys, I'll be leaving first."

After Huang Xu finished speaking, he waved at a few people and walked away.

Ji Seok-jin looked at Huang Xu's back and looked at Kim Jong-kook and Ha Dong-hoon with some curiosity.

"From what you just said, Xiaoxu's girlfriend is from our circle?"

"Who is she?"

"If he is so careful, his identity must be extraordinary!"

(End of this chapter)