chapter 10
First of all, I left money as a reserve.
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Now it was time to start making dried persimmons. If you take all the persimmons in the village, there are about 500,000.
It was a figure that could be guessed because persimmon production was constant every year.
I was planning to buy half of them. The plan was to turn 250,000 persimmons into dried persimmons.
Processed products have a higher margin than primary products.
As the margins were high, it was a lot of work and the risk was high.
“All the other persimmons will be moved to our home refrigerator.”
We shared work. Me and Kahi moved the other persimmons to the warehouse, and Minseok recorded the number of persimmons collected from house to house.
Kahi is a truck driver and does not hesitate to carry things.
That was also the decisive reason for choosing her.
“But why don’t you make dried persimmons and just put them in the warehouse?”
“I do not remember? That way you can get rid of the bitter taste.”
“right. I forgot.”
Gahee then nodded her head. This was something I learned from Hwang Yu-shin. If Daebong persimmon is made from dried persimmon as soon as it is picked, the marketability of the persimmon has deteriorated due to its astringent taste.
Dried persimmons piled up in my father’s freezer. It was a facility that cost a lot of money. Beef was invested in processing, but it was not used and would become obsolete. But it was useful for making dried persimmons. This was because it had the ability to control humidity and temperature.
It was perfect for storing persimmons.
It was something I had in mind when I decided to make dried persimmons. The refrigerated warehouse was full of daebonggam.
They were all things that would become dried persimmons.
When I put the persimmons in the warehouse, my father also helped me. I brought out the words I had been saving to my father.
“Father, I think it would be better to sell cows now.”
“Cow?”
Selling cattle meant admitting that my father’s business was ruined. He took a deep breath.
“It’s better to sell before the price goes down further. And soon, we will compete with dried persimmons.”
“Will you give me time to think?”
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Normally, you would have refused. But now it was different. My father also started to believe in me. It was my faith as a farmer.
I also trusted my father. Asking for time meant organizing things.
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Once the cows were organized, they could only focus on the dried persimmons.
* * *
It was early December.
By this time, it should have already been dried in the duct. Our things didn’t even peel, let alone dry.
Kahi asked me every day if it was time to cut the persimmons.
Each time my answer was the same.
“Now is not the time.”
“Then when are you going to do it?”
“When the time comes.”
250,000 troops were crouching in the warehouse. There is not much time left before they will see the light.
The reason that dried persimmons are not made now is because of the imminent abnormal temperature.
This year, persimmon farming was a bountiful year nationwide. But dried persimmons are not like that.
It was because of the unusual temperature that hit mid-December. All the dried persimmons hanging in the deokjang were rotten because of the weather, whether it was winter or spring.
If you peel it off now, it will be a mushy piece of cake.
Even before mid-December, the signs began to appear.
“Isn’t the weather so strange?”
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Minseok, wearing a thin jacket, asked me.
“It feels like spring, not winter.”
“It’s warm like early summer in the middle of the day.”
As expected, there was an abnormal climate.
wheel of fortune
A serious abnormal temperature phenomenon appeared.
“The temperature across the country is…”
The news was all about the weather. It also showed people taking their coats off in the middle of the day.
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Not only was the temperature high, but it rained often. It was like a midsummer rain.
It was not normal winter weather. As the warm winter continued day after day, the sound of a song erupted from the dried persimmon farmhouse.
There was something wrong with the dried persimmons hanging on the deokjang.
Sometimes receiving warm temperatures was also a process for making delicious dried persimmons. However, if it is dried at high temperature for several days or several days, it will melt.
If it rains there, the worst will happen. It will mold and rot.
“If we had dried the dried persimmons, we would have been in trouble too.”
“That’s it.”
Father and mother sighed in relief as they watched the news.
“But how do you know?”
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Minseok looked at the news and looked at me. In the meantime, the persimmons of my arbitrary decision were kept in the freezer.
I’ll be working on dried persimmons soon, so I just said wait.
At that time, Minseok obeyed my words. It was only today that I expressed my curiosity for the first time.
“I made a prediction based on the data.”
“Is that possible? Even a meteorologist couldn’t figure it out.”
“I got valid data by analyzing the records.”
I took out the notebook from the drawer. Minseok looked at the material I had put out for a while.
“It really is, the temperature in December fluctuated every year.”
“Like you said, I am not a meteorologist. But I am also a farmer who is sensitive to winter weather. It’s subtle, but it’s just that the temperature is more likely to rise.”
“You are an agricultural genius.”
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Of course, we knew in advance that extreme weather would happen. Nevertheless, the data were carefully analyzed. As a result of the analysis, extreme weather events could be predicted. On the one hand, the incompetence of the Meteorological Agency killed the farmers.
A week later, reports began to appear that the average temperature was returning to normal.
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Minseok ran to me as soon as he saw the news.
“Deokmyeong-ah, the winter you left home is coming back.”
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
Minseok made a face that his body was itchy.
“Now is the time to make dried persimmons in earnest.”
That said, there was a problem. It is too late to make dried persimmons. Dried persimmons had clear aging properties.
I had to sell them all on New Year’s Day.
As Yushin Hwang said, there were few people who looked for dried persimmons as snacks. Dried persimmons were a special food for holidays.
If we didn’t aim for that time, we had to make a promise to the next year.
Kahi seemed to know what I was worried about.
“When are you going to cut all of that stuff?”
She was also a disciple who learned the technique of dried persimmons from Hwang Yu-shin along with me. He was well aware that the most difficult part of the process of making dried persimmons was peeling them.
It was a whopping 25,000 persimmons. Even if all the villagers were mobilized, there was not enough time.
* * *
Renting a human hand in the countryside is both easy and difficult. When it’s easy, it’s when everyone is playing with their hands. Difficult times are when everyone has a lot of work to do.
Just because it was winter, the countryside was not as idle as it used to be. There were farmers who started onion farming, and there were people who took care of the facility houses.
Besides, it was a time of year-end gatherings and events. It was possible to purchase persimmons with the trust of the villagers, but there was a limit to borrowing a hand.
“How many people in the village can participate in the work?”
I asked Gahee. I left the job to her. Some of the villagers regarded her as a granddaughter.
That’s why I entrusted it to her.
“All ten people allowed it.”
“Ten people…”
The moment she announced the results was uncharacteristically her face. Not being able to mobilize more people was a look of self-blame.
“Will it be that number?”
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Minseok, who didn’t notice, asked me.
“I need to find out more. Some places I’ve known First of all, get in the car. We’ll talk as we go.”
I said as I got into the car. Min-seok and Ka-hee followed.
“Hey, Gahee. Are our parents among the ten?”
“right.”
She said in a crawling voice. Her family was also included.
I envisioned about 30 people. The deadline was three days. That’s about 3,000 persimmons per person.
We saved 10 people, so we need 20 more.
I took the steering wheel and Min-seok sat in the passenger seat. Ka-hee, who was sitting in the back seat, looked bad.
“Kahee, you worked hard.”
“no. What is suffering?”
Her eyes in the mirror were wet.
I was well aware that she struggled to find people. Some of them knew each other well because they spent their childhood in the village.
She spoke bitter words to people who made excuses for being busy. It was a story I heard from my parents.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
Minseok looked out the window and asked me.
“But where are you going?”
“I want to go shopping.”
“shopping?”
Kahi’s eyes twinkled at the word shopping. It was like someone who died and came back to life. I parked my car in front of a large grocery store.
“Hygiene. mask. Gloves. I will buy an apron. You should buy as much as possible. You’ll need three of each. You have to change it every day.”
I passed the list of things to buy to Kahi and Minseok.
While they were buying, I went to the machine shop.
It was to rent a peeler to cut persimmon skins.
“How much is the rental fee per day?”
“It’s fifty thousand won a day.”
It wasn’t cheap. But the peeler had to be unconditional. It was because the work was much easier even if I only picked the faucet with a machine. There was nothing more than a machine to cut down on wasted time.
“How many peelers are there in all?”
I searched all the agricultural machinery shops and rented a total of ten persimmons. While I was renting things, Kahi and Minseok also finished their purchases.
* * *
“Did you rent all the machines and save all the people you work for?”
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Minseok asked while looking at the persimmon.
“Everyone said they would. First of all, I only received the promise verbally.”
“Where did you go every day? You’re here to save people.”
At Minseok’s words, Kahi stared at me. It was the eyes that thought I was deceived.
I went looking for people even before the extreme weather hit.
I also contacted the head of the orphanage, and even met people in facilities for the disabled.
Then I found a place where long-time veterans had gathered.
It was the best place to find a persimmon peeler.
“Hadong Women’s Hall.”
Kahi opened her eyes wide and read the sign. Unlike ordinary senior citizens’ halls, it was a place where grandmothers gathered.
I took out the bread and cookies I had prepared in advance. I’ve never been here empty-handed.
“Grandma, I’m here.”
“Our grandchildren are here.”
When the grandmothers watching TV in the hall saw me, their expressions changed. He smiled brightly when he said that he had come.
Kahi and Minseok looked surprised at the attitude of the grandmothers to me.
“What are you doing there? Help me with this.”
I put the bread and sweets I brought on a plate. They helped me too.
“Deokmyeong-ah, leave that behind and come here.”
The grandmother who called my name was Lim Soon-ye, who was particularly fond of me.
“why? grandmother.”
“I have someone to introduce to you.”
“Introduction?”
“Flower, come here. Because this kid has some amazing talents.”
Grandma Im Soon-ye grabbed my wrist and headed towards the sofa. There was an old woman sitting there.
The name Flower Nim was not a stage name. Kim Kkot-nim, that was her real name.
“Even if I’m fine.”
“When are you curious? Why are you saying two things with one mouth?”
“When did I say that?”
Kim Kkot-nim, she was the person I had been waiting for.
“You pretend to be deceived and give it a try. Because everyone here did it.”
The old lady looked around. It was meant to be done by everyone. Grandma pretended not to win and sat down.
Everyone in the hall watched me and my grandmother, eating bread and sweets. Kahi and Minseok also joined the ranks. All eyes were full of curiosity.
“Think lightly. Soon the new year will dawn. Just think of it as a New Year’s horoscope.”
“New Year’s fortune. I’m new to that.”
“I’ll put a card, so pick your favorite card one at a time.”
I took a tarot card out of my pocket. This was also a decisive opportunity for me to get closer to the grandmothers.
From the beginning, my grandmothers didn’t treat me kindly. There were some who felt burdened by the unfamiliar young man. To relieve the burden and get closer to them, I prepared tarot cards.
It was an idea based on the grandmother’s fortune-telling with GoStop.
Tarot cards were also recently introduced to Korea. When I offered to take a look at the mysterious Western solitaire, the grandmothers showed interest.
We held tea parties every day and looked at Tarot fortune-telling. Thanks to that effort, we were able to become the relationship we are today.
There was even a grandmother who would go out to help if it was my job.
Grandma Kim Kkotnim carefully selected the cards.
“I picked them all.”
She picked three cards as I told her. It was a three-card spread method. It was the basic technique of tarot divination.
It was a tarot skill that looked forward to the past, present, and future using three cards. It was the most basic way. It was also a rule that a person who was new to Tarot could easily accept.
I turned over the cards she chose one by one.
“This is Grandma’s past.”
She looked intently at the hermit card that she first turned over.
“My grandmother has gone through a lot of hardship in the past. You’ve never done what you want. But there was always a desire to fulfill in my heart.”
“Looking back, I think it was.”
Shouts erupted all around. There was also the taste of the grandmother’s response.
“Currently, you have drawn a female emperor card. With this card, you can see what it is like today.”
“How is my present state?”
“You are working very hard. I can see you working hard every day to achieve what you couldn’t achieve in the past.”
She looked at me with surprised eyes. He was changing to a serious look.
“The Female Emperor card is linked to the card of the future. Whether your hard work will pay off or not, you can tell by looking at the next card.”
“Are you connected to the future?”
The moment the last card was turned, people’s eyes were focused. I felt like a great fortune teller.
“What card is this?”
she asked with anticipation.
“It’s the wheel of fortune.”
“The wheel of fortune.”
Everyone was watching my mouth.
The reason I got closer to the grandmothers at the Hadong Women’s Center was to secure a manpower to cut the persimmons. It was a good place to secure seasoned careers.
There was also the expectation that I would be able to meet Kim Kkot-nim’s grandmother.
I’ve seen her in the past. I remember him more because of his unusual name and neat appearance.
It was a person who appeared in an advertisement for a large corporation. Because of her unique history.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
My grandmother was a person who learned to read at a late age. He wrote a poem with the words he learned and won the New Year’s Literature Award.
He was a man of many talents besides the ability to write. He was a person who would be helpful not only in dried persimmons, but in many other ways.
Even with me, it was a relationship that would be woven like the wheel of fate.
“On the first day of the new year, I have very good news.”
“really?”
The girl rubbed her grandmother’s face for a moment. Astonished like a girl, she covered her mouth with her hand.
I was just surprised. This is because she did not tell anyone about the New Year’s Literary Competition.
“But you have to do something for good things to happen.”