When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 13



Only Krnovel

13. How much have you researched?

Boom boom!

The spirits carefully picked and moved the crops.

They are able to lift crops that are much larger than their size and put them into baskets with ease.

In particular, the earth spirit was so strong that it could even lift a full basket and move it to one place.

However, the spirits of all attributes, including the life spirits with the weakest physical strength, were sufficiently doing their part.

Even the guys who usually just roll around on the floor are showing great enthusiasm and putting forth effort.

“Phew, that’s enough. Good work, everyone.”

Oh Hyun-seong said, clapping his hands.

It was quite a lot to do alone, but thanks to the spirits that helped with the harvest, the whole job was done in a few minutes.

After distributing snacks to the delighted spirits, he loaded the crops onto a truck and transported them to the storage area inside his home.

‘There were times when I was busy expanding the strawberry field, but the crops I had previously planted have now all taken hold.’

Several days have passed since the first sowing of various crops.

Before he knew it, Oh Hyeon-seong’s field had taken on the appearance of a very nice field.

The image of newly planted crops growing after the math was completed and the image of crops that were still in full bloom but not yet harvested were combined together.

The apple tree that was in the seedling stage had also grown a lot, and although it had not yet borne fruit, it seemed that it would bear fruit in a few days.

This is an incredible speed considering that it usually takes 2-3 years to grow seedlings after planting them.

At first, I felt proud to see how much the empty land, which was very rough at first, had changed after I cultivated it myself.

I feel like my heart has become richer for no reason.

Of course, this was largely due to the help of the spirits.

“Finally… it’s the long-awaited dinner time.”

Oh Hyun-seong went into the kitchen for the first time in a long while and started to do something called ‘cooking’.

First of all, the first thing I turned on was the rice cooker.

I harvested the rice that I had grown in the field and took out the rice that had been returned after being milled.

Then he took out the secret ingredient.

What was left empty in the sink was none other than ‘gochujang’.

For the past few days, he has been making meju with the soybeans he harvested.

I had to bring in a dryer for meju because I had to dry it quickly, and although it was a lot of work, I had to make it myself somehow.

Fortunately, some seasonings, such as salt and sugar, have not lost much of their flavor compared to the past.

In addition, mankind has created various stimulating sauces, thanks to which it has been possible to attempt to mask the taste of the original ingredients.

But a proper ‘jang’ was never created.

‘I realized this time how important soybeans are to our country’s food.’

Gochujang, doenjang, soy sauce.

It was the very foundation of Korean food, and without it, almost all Korean food could not be made to taste its original flavor.

So, he made meju through trial and error, and although it was a bit rough because the ingredients weren’t perfect, he somehow managed to make gochujang.

Now, all preparations are complete.

He took out potatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, etc. and started cooking them, then ambitiously put down the finished meal on the table.

‘…at las.’

Pure white rice with steam rising from it.

It is different from factory-made rice, which is dull in color.

The white, glossy rice grains gave off a dizzying fragrance.

Oh Hyun-seong, unable to bear it any longer, lifted his spoon and stuffed a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

“hmm…”

Oh Hyun-seong closed his eyes and savored the taste.

An indescribable feeling of deep happiness spread through my mouth.

‘Yes… this is rice… not that weird lump of clay, this is real rice.’

Rice made from freshly milled new rice.

The stickiness and softness, everything was perfect.

But it didn’t end there.

As I turned my head slightly away from him, the stewed gochujang showed off its intense red color.

I took a bite and it was spicy and tangy, with a sweetness from the onions. I ate it with rice, scooped out the toppings, and also ate the stir-fried potatoes that were a side dish.

I emptied the table in an instant without even having time to think about anything.

“Whew…”

Oh Hyeon-seong finally stopped when his ship was full.

It was a really decent meal.

It’s unbelievable.

‘How long has it been since I’ve felt this way… I wouldn’t have any regrets even if I died right now.’

I really thought it was a good decision to return to farming.

If I had lived in the city, I would have lived my whole life stuffing stinky factory products into my mouth and then died.

And soon a strong motivation arose.

‘It wasn’t easy, but the result was a great success. Although we squeezed the maximum out of the limited ingredients… we will continue to expand the menu.’

He would have been fine with eating this diet for the rest of his life.

Even a bowl of rice, let alone a stew or stir-fry, was a luxury that even the head of state could not enjoy for the current generation.

But as long as the opportunity was open, there was no reason not to reunite with the countless past menus that were waiting for him.

He had the most intense goal since he became a farmer.

‘But there are some things that need to be done for that to happen.’

His private property extending below the house.

Unlike the completely hidden upper part, there were empty lands where no barriers were placed.

Oh Hyun-seong planned to build two buildings there.

The first building is a warehouse.

The storage room attached to the house was already full just for storing seeds.

There was no place to put the harvested produce, and a space was needed for multiple purposes in the future.

Even just the soybean paste dryer takes up quite a bit of space, and I’m thinking of getting a home rice mill as well. If these things keep increasing one by one, even this large house won’t be able to handle it.

And the other one is a stomach farm.

I had told people around me that I was going to start farming, and since I had even started trading recently, I couldn’t just leave the land empty.

I plan to set up an indoor farm that is not too obscured so that others will not suspect anything.

However, that would require quite a lot of money.

Even excluding the various secondary costs, just building a building on bare land would inevitably incur a large expense.

Ring! Ring!

At that moment, the cell phone in my pocket rang.

I thought it was someone, but it was actually a call from Seungsoo Yoo.

“Brother! Brother!”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“The deal will proceed as per the ratio negotiation! The department store contacted me and said that this case will proceed without any penalty!”

I can hear his voice gasping for excitement.

“Haha, that’s good. What did I tell you? I said it would be okay?”

“That’s ridiculous! I thought it would never work out because you were so firm… Oh, right! What on earth did you do after getting the contact information from the person in charge last time?”

“I just asked someone I know at the department store there if they could look into it again since there was someone who had been wronged.”

“Ha, you have connections at Hankyung Department Store too?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not some great connection, but it wasn’t overturned because of what I said. It was literally just a reexamination. It was an unavoidable accident, and the department store thought your farm was valuable in the long term, so they made that decision internally.”

“Brother… I… Thank you so much…”

Yoo Seung-soo’s sobbing voice can be heard occasionally over the phone.

He was also happy to see the guy so genuinely happy.

I’ve been receiving a lot of help with farming recently, so I think I should provide this level of service.

“Cheer up, your farm has been recognized that much.”

“Thank you so much… If you need anything from now on, just ask! I’ll put everything aside and come running!”

“I told you not to overdo it.”

Oh Hyun-seong hung up the phone and let out a sly laugh.

However, there is no way that a department store would rescue even one truly wronged person.

There is a reason why things suddenly change.

“I guess… I guess we’re starting to get a reaction.”

***

There is a natural products corner in the food section of Hankyung Department Store.

This was a rather unique differentiation strategy.

Although there has been a considerable demand for it recently with the development of breeding technology, it has never been mainstream in the premium market.

Compared to advanced synthetic crops, its place was extremely small.

Wild crops have always had a biased image in the public perception, and an image far from high-quality.

However, creating a separate natural product corner in one corner of the food hall was a rather unconventional plan for Hankyung Department Store.

Of course, even now that it has established itself to some extent, its scale cannot be considered large.

Because it was only a small space placed in the very corner of the food court.

However, the position that Oh Hyun-seong took was limited to only one item among them: strawberries.

But that one item has caused quite a stir.

It has been only a few days since Ohyeon Farm’s strawberries were introduced to the food court.

The strawberries were a huge hit and sold out in an instant.

There was such a fierce competition that people had to line up every morning.

Compared to the real crops grown by Oh Hyeon-seong, it is a downgraded version with inferior taste, aroma, and texture.

But even that downgraded version felt ‘alive’ in a way that had never been seen before.

Although the taste was lacking, the palates of people accustomed to factory food violently accepted even that lacking taste.

“That’s really great. Honestly, when you were piloting the wild corner, I had little idea that this would work.”

The executive across the desk nodded and said.

“What kind of foresight was that? Who would have thought that a single strawberry would cause such a fuss? The rise and fall of our department store’s name is already more effective than the dozens of viral marketing companies.”

Limited supply and exploding demand.

Reviews from those who have tried it are heating up social media, and its popularity has already skyrocketed.

As people came in smelling money, strawberry reselling even occurred, and the term ‘strawberry crisis’ began to appear in various internet articles.

These topics will soon be featured on the main news channels.

Usually, even if word of mouth spreads, it takes time, but there has never been a product like this in the history of department stores.

Of course, because the quantity is small, the sales themselves are not that great.

Compared to the sales volume of a huge department store, selling a few strawberries is child’s play.

But what’s important is topicality.

The issue and the topic soon led to an effect of attracting customers, and sales across all stores increased.

It was to the point where all the other natural products next to the strawberries were sold out.

“If things continue like this, you will probably get promoted, and my lifeline will be safe for the next few years.”

“Go, thank you.”

“Well, by the way, I heard something strange. Something like there’s no more supplies prepared… some kind of nonsense like that.”

“That’s… The contract was only for the first batch. I’ve already contacted the farm owner dozens of times, but he hasn’t answered…”

Park Jeong-tae was sweating profusely.

He also had not expected an issue of this scale at all, so he was busy responding to the crisis.

“Okay, so this product that was such a huge hit is going to end up like this because the next contract hasn’t been signed yet? If Daesung Department Store happens to get the contract, all of this will go straight to their mouths?”

The distorted expression on the executive’s face became fierce.

“Go out there right now and get a contract somehow!”

***

“Huh? The person in charge came all the way here.”

Oh Hyeon-seong said after seeing Park Jeong-tae come to the front of the house.

Park Jeong-tae, who was sweating profusely, finally managed to tell the story of what was making him so nervous.

“I… I came here to continue the story from last time…”

“Strawberries, you say? That’s great. I was just looking for a place to deliver my next batch.”

“That, that please sign a contract with us!”

“That’s right. I also wanted to continue supplying to Hankyung Department Store. Of course, as long as the contract conditions are met.”

Oh Hyun-seong said with a smile.

“Oh, by the way, you know that the unit price starts at three digits, right?”

“Yes… yes.”

Park Jeong-tae nodded his head gloomily.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────