Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Business Proposal

Until yesterday morning my head was full of the social party after the knighthood investiture.

Dance? One can learn. Contacting D'Annunzio, he hadn't returned to Florence yet. So the talk of calling him again as dance teacher ended.

The problem was the partner.

Considering the extensive spotlight of the media that would pour on me that day, a person who has the mental strength to handle that and willingly dances with me was needed!

Was there such a person around me? There was none at all! Miss Edith was excluded from the start. This was rude to propose.

I acknowledge I'm a peculiar case. In situations where an ordinary person's mental would burst I returned alive firmly with sanity several times.

From the start how many people in the world have the experience of receiving 1-on-1 meal entertainment from a monarch of one country? I even won all the poker there?

Probably this investiture would also bring stress equivalent to that, but I absolutely couldn't bring up words of asking for help to Miss Edith.

At least a person rich in social party experience so dance is ingrained in the body, and who can laugh off all kinds of misunderstandings that would arise dancing with me at that place... Where find such a person?!

Just go that day and request anyone eye-catching to dance?

But Lord Frederick said to decide the partner in advance. He wasn't a person who would say such words for no reason.

If saying let's dance with anyone and getting rejected? I'm disgraced but the royal's face would also be crumpled for sure. So he surely said to definitely decide.

"No choice. Shall I shake off one debt at this point."

Fortunately there was a breakthrough.

It was the moment to receive the price of living virtuously until now.

A person well-versed in social circles who can recommend a dance partner perfect for me, and who owes me a tremendous debt.

One of the trio who seized London social circles.

And that person who couldn't repay the debt owed to me on time so interest snowballed, and is even now stamping feet waiting for me!

The mistress of His Majesty Edward VII, the Countess of Albemarle!

I was planning to be introduced to a partner on the condition of slightly reducing the interest of the debt she owes me.

From the start the Edward Sandwich itself was a recipe I sold to her to treat His Majesty's picky eating.

At Windsor Castle at that time I postponed receiving the price of the recipe. And while busy I briefly forgot, but with the disclosure of the recipe and the aftermath the value to settle from her swelled tremendously!

When I visited the villa on the outskirts of London last time, I took out the direct contact she secretly handed me from my bosom.

She said if needed contact as many times as good please?

I willingly decided to do so. I had Joe invite the Countess of Albemarle to the restaurant.

And not even a few hours passed, she appeared together with one unfamiliar man.

The Countess of Albemarle was wearing a splendid dress tightly cinching the waist, as if hurriedly jumping out from another social party or refreshment meeting.

Lately London was a busy time with social parties.

That is because a new parliamentary session recently started.

Members of parliament scattered on summer vacation from Scotland to Ireland gather again to London with their families.

Members of parliament are busy, what do the remaining families do?

They do social parties!

Full-scale socializing is between April and June when parliament ends, this time is called 'The Season' and balls or various events were continuously held to find pairs for noble men and women of marriageable age.

Now like between late October and November when parliament starts is called little season and a period when social activities preparing for next spring and summer resume.

So my restaurant also lately was gradually increasing customers.

"Oh my, Sir Durand! You've become even more tall and handsome in the meantime? Do you know how much I waited? I waited stamping my feet! Why did you call me so late!"

"Words that if someone hears might misunderstand are prohibited, Countess."

And I steadily looked at the guest she brought together. In the sense of explaining who.

He was a man with a round face wearing round glasses, a cozy impression.

"Ah! This side is Sir Marcus Samuel the alderman of the City of London. An acquaintance that would clearly be helpful if knowing so I brought despite the rudeness!"

"Alderman...?"

I looked at him with an interesting gaze. Although meeting various people in the meantime directly meeting an alderman was the first.

City of London. The center of Britain's finance and commerce and autonomous district. Here Lombard Street was also the outer lower area of the City of London so not completely unrelated.

The City of London is the richest area in London. So the political positions here are mostly occupied by rich people from finance or commerce.

Among them the alderman position is the highest honorary position one can obtain only through various lobbies and networks.

The reason rich people aim for this position was simple. To become the Lord Mayor, that is London mayor one has to become an alderman to obtain voting rights.

London's administrative system is very strange, only the City of London is called the formal 'City of London', and the West End and East End are managed by a separate 'London County Council'.

What constitutes the county council are local councilors elected by general vote. Different from alderman from terminology.

So if saying alderman in Britain, generally it meant the rich members of the City of London.

And the reason rich people so eagerly want to become Lord Mayor was obvious.

If becoming Lord Mayor, immediately upon term end automatically invested as knight bachelor the lowest honorary title!

In fact the Lord Mayor was no different from a position opened saying here for the status rise of commoner origin rich people who brought infinite money to the government in the British Empire. So the term was only 1 year. Because it was an unofficial sale of offices position!

But if a person who already has knighthood becomes Lord Mayor?

In that case it was customary to specially confer a one step higher baronet title.

The difference between baronet and knight is whether hereditary. From baronet one can pass the title to descendants, a real noble.

So this alderman named Marcus Samuel the Countess of Albemarle brought, was one of the top rich people in London, and a person who someday becomes London mayor and invested as baronet that talk!

But the reason I hesitated was also another reason.

The name Samuel, this is a name derived from Hebrew so almost only Jews use.

A big shot of Jewish origin who entered London's high society!

Moreover if the queen of social circles the Countess of Albemarle even directly brought and introduced to me...?

To do that what business on earth does one have to do?!

My curiosity was immediately solved.

"Hello, I'm a person named Marcus Samuel ordinarily doing oil business in Europe. I've been longing to meet Teacher Durand famous in London until now. It's a great honor to meet like this."

Oil business?! It's oil? If the oil business operated by Britain's top rich person...

The last explanation was directly added by the Countess of Albemarle smiling.

"Oh my, ordinary?! So humble! Sir Durand, this person is the founder of Shell Transport. A tremendous company with thousands of employees all over the world!"

Shell?! Shell?

Isn't that a super giant energy company that controls the world's oil and natural gas market together with Exxon Mobil in the future?!

There was a reason receiving knighthood as Jewish origin and even becoming alderman. This person sitting in front of my eyes, incomparable to Mr. Henry or the Earl of Derby, in a way a tycoon to the point of being within the top ten in current Europe!

Literally previous life's oil prince level.

So my voice also naturally became polite.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jean-Paul Durand. You seem to already know well who I am, by the way for what matter...?"

"To make a business proposal! The spicy taste course dish a while ago, I was very impressed. I don't know what sauce, but I discovered great possibilities there! Clearly such potential that might receive the love of people all over the world in the distant future! If commercializing that and selling in Europe how about it? If only lending your name, I'll definitely show making it trend all over Europe with my power."

Spicy taste course dish? The day I made cheese dakgalbi? Surely did this person also come to my restaurant that day?

So now wanting to commercialize my gochujang, right?

For me there was no particular reason to refuse. The world's best rich person saying let's do business together why refuse?

But what slightly caught was, that gochujang was something I separately bought at the Joseon legation so the background to unilaterally mass produce in Britain doesn't work that point.

According to Lee Ha-yeon's modified recipe, meju powder sent from Joseon was absolutely needed.

If the amount to make and eat personally it doesn't matter, but to mass produce one has to make meju powder and import but is that possible now...?

So I roughly turned that and explained to Sir Samuel. He seemed not to care.

"Ah, Joseon? You're talking about that small peninsula country attached under Qing, right? I've also heard the name. Because I'm doing business of ripping off oil to Japan. Don't worry. The ingredient problem I'll somehow solve with my power. Just in time the person who went as minister to Joseon is a person who owes me a big favor."

Why so active?! Is gochujang that much...?

Of course a person who was selling oil suddenly saying he'll sell food ingredients is a bit sudden, but anyway a trader so there would have been his own calculations.

Coming out to this point refusing was a bit like that. Moreover there was also a good point for me. If mass producing gochujang at the factory, one can make and eat things like jeyuk bokkeum every day without botheringly procuring one by one, right? And kimchi!

If only properly making kimchi numerous Korean foods derived from that could be easily made together with gochujang!

There would be many employees below, then can't one immediately dump all the bothersome matters according to business operation on this person? Use like a second Mr. Pitton?

And in fact if a business proposal, there was one more I wanted to dump.

"I'm fine. But by any chance how about the fish ball supply business side? That would also be quite profitable."

"Fish ball you say...?"

"Yes, please do the fish ball business together on that side too. That's my condition."

Fish ball. In the end Mr. Henry's side declined the proposal for the reason of no capacity.

And the clause that my recommendation letter is needed I also hurriedly rejected through Colonel Ludwig.

In fact I thought businessmen would madly run to me saying let's do business together, but when opening the reality was completely the opposite.

Rather food factory owners trembling watching citizens' eyes and no one putting business proposals to the Admiralty situation even became!

Because London citizens' eyes who became able to make and eat fish ball as much as they want at stalls or homes due to recipe full disclosure became too high, if not making products satisfying that standard they'd eat curses for sure so everyone fled!

So it became a more burdensome situation for me. If knowing it would be like this I should have just stayed still!

Because of meddling for nothing now if not obtaining a fish ball business operator I'm caught in a dead end of becoming sorry to Colonel Ludwig!

"Hmm... Fish ball you say..."

Certainly, Sir Samuel also seemed to have looked into various aspects. He didn't hastily bite the proposal and started pondering for a long time.

But why ponder? If burdensome just give up the gochujang business?

Gochujang business or whatever, compared to the oil business he does is a small matter not special. This person isn't originally a food industry businessman either.

Somehow he seemed to have a separate personal reason he must commercialize gochujang.

And that part was exactly the point I had to attack. I threw bluffing without an inch of hesitation.

"You dislike? If dislike just make it as if nothing..."

"No, it's not that I dislike! I just calculated if it's a matter I can handle. I'll accept, that business."

What? Why coming out so desperately? Surely, did dakgalbi suit his heart to that point?

"But it's a sauce of taste not familiar in current Europe, is there marketability to the point of pondering?"

"There is! There is! That tremendous taste chicken dish! That will definitely change European food culture!"

"Yes? Change food culture?"

"Yes! And it will definitely become so. Because the Department of Food Innovation plans to push that! That sauce is the weapon with the highest possibility of becoming the vanguard of European cooking strategy!"

"Department of Food Innovation...?"

Department of Food Innovation?

Something a familiar word. Clearly a few days ago, a few words he muttered when visiting Mr. Royce's workshop.

Cooking innovation department? Royal cooking exchange department? Didn't he mention such strange government institution names?

At the time I just dismissed as nonsense, but if such words come out from the mouth of tycoon Sir Samuel...

"Ah, it's information not disclosed because still embargo state, but anyway the matter most related to Sir Durand so I'll tell. Tomorrow morning, the British government plans to announce the establishment of a new secretary of state level department. That name is the Department of Food Innovation! It will be a department supporting various businesses and policies to spread British cooking all over the world. And I am a candidate for that minister position. Ahead I'll often visit you to seek advice so please take good care!"

"Yes? Advice?"

"Isn't it fun? The picture of knocking down all France, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany with British cooking called the worst in Europe! I've long wanted to try such a role! So Sir Durand's spicy taste sauce is needed! That will become the biggest secret weapon! You said it's a sauce originated from the eastern country Joseon? But the top producing country will be the British Empire!"

Tremendous ambition.

And somehow, a suspicion that as a Jewish businessman he wants to vent the resentment he received all his life in all Europe in such a way arose!

Revenge! Now Sir Samuel was thinking of terrorism on all Europe with British cooking!

I looked at the Countess of Albemarle sitting next to me with a reluctant expression.

The countess slightly opened the fan and covered her mouth, quietly smiling.