One week had passed since I received the oath from the Dragon King.
“Kimchi! I want to eat Korean Kimchi!”
Kasia had been like that for several days.
If it were just a matter of not having any, it would actually be a relief. I could simply go to the Market and buy some.
“I told you, it’s still too early…. Even if we want to make Fresh Kimchi, the Banchu haven’t fully grown yet.”
“Che. You picked them just fine last time!”
She seemed to remember when I used the young leaves to make Milfeuille Nabe. However, the appropriate size of a vegetable differs depending on the dish.
“Kimchi can only be made in larger quantities once the Banchu have grown properly. So, let’s wait just a little longer before we make it.”
Kasia tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and then replied.
“Uh…. Is that so?”
Yes, I almost had her.
“Exactly. So let’s wait just a little bit more.”
“But! Those young leaves were incredibly delicious last time. Wouldn’t the Kimchi be just as delicious then!”
Ugh, she didn’t fall for it.
In the end, unable to overcome Kasia’s stubbornness, I headed toward the Farmland.
“Fine, I get it. But you’re harvesting them yourself, right?”
Kasia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“What are you talking about? I always help you when you’re doing the Nongsa, don’t I?”
She didn’t fall for that either. She’s really grown up.
“Y-yeah. Fine. Let’s do it together.”
My mouth watered at the sight of the lushly planted Banchu.
“Why are these Banchu growing so slowly?”
“I was wondering the same thing. The other Crops grew so well that we’ve harvested them several times already! Why only my Banchu!”
Perhaps because Kasia was the one who planted and raised them, Sympathy had not been established. In other words, Rapid Growth had not been applied.
“You’ve been saying kind words to them, watering them on time, and taking care of them properly, right?”
“O-of course! Who do you take me for!”
Indeed, every time I saw her, she was treating them with the utmost care. At that level, Sympathy should have been established.
‘At this rate, I might not be able to entrust the Nongsa to the Elves later.’
“Isn’t the day the Elves you requested at the tribe meeting supposed to arrive the day after tomorrow?”
“Do you think they might be different?”
“I do.”
“Hmm…. I actually thought you would raise them well and they would be the ones to fail.”
Kasia had been living with me while maintaining Sympathy. I thought that would naturally have an influence on the Crops as well.
I picked a single Banchu leaf, lightly brushed off the dirt, and brought it to my mouth.
*Crunch—*
Seeing how thick and full of moisture it was, there was no problem with the quality.
In fact, it was better than the Banchu I used to know. That meant they were growing well and were delicious… so what on earth was the problem?
“When are we going to start? Can we not just finish this first and then think about the rest?”
Ah, right, we decided to harvest the Banchu.
“Sorry. I was lost in thought. Are you planning to turn all of these into Kimchi? It’ll be hard. The quantity is quite large, too.”
Kasia had cultivated a new patch of land next to the existing Farmland to create her own Banchu field. Its size was even comparable to my Peanut Field.
Kasia… she has a bigger hand than I thought. Is it because she’s a glutton?
“Yes. We shall make it all. How could we be the only ones eating something so delicious? Our tribe is right next to us.”
Ah, I was only thinking about putting her to work and hadn’t thought about sharing the Kimchi. Haha.
“Right, then. Let’s harvest all of these Banchu.”
“Understood. Let’s see who can harvest more! Start!”
Kasia brandished a knife and dashed forward like the wind.
“Huh? What?”
In the blink of an eye, Kasia’s knife was already flashing in the air.
*Thwack!*
With that sound, a Banchu fell. Kasia shouted.
“I got one! I shall be the winner!”
“Wait, already?”
I stared blankly at Kasia and the fallen Banchu before hurriedly picking up my knife.
“This is foul play! I wasn’t even ready yet!”
I scrambled into the Banchu field as well. Kasia’s laughter echoed through the field.
“Hahaha, then you shall lose!”
“Kasia, that’s cheap!”
Even though I’d been tricked by Kasia, a smile naturally formed on my lips.
Perhaps because we were harvesting competitively, the only sound echoing in the field was the sound of harvesting Banchu rather than our voices.
After gathering all the Banchu, we returned to the house.
“Now, shall we try making Fresh Kimchi with these Banchu leaves?”
“Understood. But what is Fresh Kimchi?”
“What? You said we were making it without even knowing what it was?”
“I meant I do not know the details! I simply guessed it was a type of Kimchi!”
Come to think of it, although she had been settled on Earth for a while, it made sense that she wouldn’t know.
Since Kasia didn’t use a Smartphone, the only ways she obtained information were from the television she often watched and from me.
“What we’re making is Baechu Kimchi. And the kind you eat without fermenting is called Fresh Kimchi.”
“Fermentation? How do you ferment it?”
“Usually, we do something called Gimjang in the autumn. We mix the Banchu with seasonings so they soak in well, and then store them in a cool place.”
“If we’re just going to eat the Fresh Kimchi anyway, why do we bother fermenting it?”
Oh boy.
As I kept answering, Kasia’s questions were endless. Still, Kimchi is the pride of the Republic of Korea! I couldn’t give a half-hearted explanation.
“When Kimchi ferments, the flavor deepens. The aroma becomes richer, you could say? It gains a lot of good nutrients and can be stored for a long time.”
“Didn’t you say we could only make Fresh Kimchi with these?”
“Well, yes. We could do it if we tried, but Fresh Kimchi will be more delicious at this time of year.”
Kasia nodded as if she understood. Can we start now? I looked at Kasia to see if she had any more questions, and she was staring at me intently.
“When do you plan on starting? Let us begin at once.”
“What? You’re the one who kept asking—never mind, let’s just start.”
I took the ingredients out of the cupboard.
Red pepper flakes, minced garlic, fish sauce, plum extract, and salted shrimp. If even one of these is missing, the taste and the quality of the finish drop.
“Now, before we wash the Banchu thoroughly, we have to strip the outer leaves like this. They’re tough and have the most dirt on them.”
It was nice to see Kasia following along diligently. However, the quantity was so large that it took a long time.
“Phew. There sure are a lot.”
“Minho.”
Kasia called my name seriously. Wh-what is it? Did I do something wrong?
“Y-yes?”
“How about we just make enough for the two of us first?”
“Just the two of us? So you’re saying we should only turn a few Banchu into Kimchi?”
No way. Not after we went through all that trouble to harvest this many Banchu.
“…Indeed. We have only just begun, and it seems it will take a very long time.”
“What are you talking about? Once you start a job, you have to see it through to the end. No backing out. Next, we have to cut the Banchu.”
I couldn’t allow her to pull out after she was the one who wanted to do it first.
I had originally planned to wash the Banchu before trimming them, but I changed my plan after seeing the quantity.
It seemed better to separate all the leaves first and then wash them all at once.
I can’t believe she’s already tired when there’s still so much to do. It can’t be helped. I’ll have to do the hard work.
“Alright, Kasia, you cut the base of the Banchu here. I’ll separate the leaves.”
Kasia, not realizing this was still an easy part of the process, picked up the kitchen knife with a dejected expression.
As Kasia passed me the Banchu with the bases cut off, I separated the leaves and stacked them neatly to the side.
‘I think we’re about halfway done…’
I checked the remaining amount… and there was still a mountain left.
“…There’s still that much left?”
“…. Are you willing to stop now?”
“No. We’ve come this far, we can’t stop. Let’s pick up the pace.”
At this rate, it would take an eternity to make the Fresh Kimchi. I’d rather increase the speed, work intensely, and then just ache for a day! Or faint.
As I continued to stack the Banchu leaves, there was no longer enough space in the kitchen to keep them.
“Wait a moment.”
To properly make the Fresh Kimchi, I brought out red rubber basins and a sack of Salt from the Feed Storage. I thought about doing it outside because of the dirt and water splashes, but it would be a chore to carry all these Banchu back out. And I’d have to bring them back in once we were done.
“Wh-what are these huge things used for?”
“I’m going to put the Banchu in here and wash them all at once.”
I filled the rubber basins with water and swept the Banchu leaves into them. As I expected, I needed at least three rubber basins.
“You saw what I did, right? Kasia, after you cut the bases like before, separate the leaves just like I did.”
I knelt on the floor. From now on, it was a war against Banchu leaves.
First, I swirled my hands through the water to filter out the debris. Since the bugs were gone, only dirt and dust floated to the surface.
After changing the dirty water once, I sat down properly this time. Even if vegetables look clean, if you look closely, there are contaminants stuck to them. Those have to be rubbed off.
*Squeak, squeak!*
Worried that something dirty might still be attached, I rubbed each leaf until it made a squeaking sound. Before I knew it, Kasia, having finished her task, plopped down in front of the neighboring rubber basin.
“Do I just rub them like this?”
“Yes. You’re not just rubbing them; you’re wiping away the dirt, so watch closely and make sure they’re clean.”
“Understood.”
Once the Banchu leaves were all cleaned, it was time to salt them. I cut the Banchu leaves diagonally and mixed them with saltwater in a clean rubber basin.
“…The Kimchi I know is red. When exactly are we going to make it that way?”
“Kimchi takes a lot of work. We’re almost done.”
“Understood.”
I planned to make the seasoning while the Banchu leaves were salting. But… the ingredients I had were nowhere near enough.
They were just ingredients I had prepared for general cooking. I hadn’t planned on making Kimchi in such large quantities, so the supplies were insufficient.
“I’ll be back from the Market soon. Once the Banchu leaves have wilted a bit, give them a toss.”
“Understood. Go ahead.”
I drove to the Market and bought all the ingredients for the Fresh Kimchi seasoning in sacks and large containers. What would I have done if I hadn’t bought a car?
“They’ve salted through in the meantime.”
I squeezed the water out of the salted Banchu leaves. If you don’t squeeze it out properly, water will keep coming out of the Banchu and the flavor will become bland.
“Kasia, could you slice some Green Onions?”
“How should I slice them?”
“Slice them diagonally, just like the Banchu.”
Ever since I started growing Green Onions, I haven’t used any other kind of onion. There is no better Ingredient than my Green Onions.
*Tak, tak, tak, tak.*
The speed was appropriate, and the sound was rhythmic. It seemed Kasia had learned how to use a knife to some extent. She was evolving from an Elf who only lived in the forest into a modern person.
‘It’s quite a rewarding sight.’
Watching Kasia’s back as she cooked, the corners of my mouth automatically curled up. Just then, Kasia stopped slicing the Green Onions and asked.
“Minho, is this right? Something seems strange.”
The Green Onions Kasia had sliced were too thick.
“Slice them a bit thinner. That way the seasoning will be evenly distributed.”
Kasia gave a dissatisfied look but picked up the knife again. Ahem. I should make the seasoning.
I mixed the red pepper flakes with the ingredients I had prepared earlier.
Every region has a different method, such as adding fruit or fish, but I planned to leave all that out and make it clean. When I took a small taste, the ratio was just right.
Because the volume was so large, it was hard to get the ratio right, so I made a little and kept adding things until the amount was also perfect.
I was so absorbed in making the seasoning that I only just noticed Kasia was standing next to me, watching.
“Now, let’s finish the Fresh Kimchi.”
“Ooh! Finally!”
Seeing Kasia’s moved expression made me laugh. It was simple labor, but trying to do so much was certainly exhausting.
Next time she does something else, she’ll probably remember this process.
Finally, I placed the Green Onions on top of the Banchu and poured the seasoning over them. Now, I just had to toss it gently so the seasoning mixed well.
‘Should I add sesame oil?’
Since we were going to eat it right away, I decided to add sesame oil. That way, the smell would be savory and pleasant from the start. After drizzling the sesame oil around…
“Fresh Kimchi is finished!”
“Yeeess! It is finally complete!”
Kasia, who had been waiting desperately, sat down with a happy expression. She must have been very tired.
“Have a taste and see if it’s to your liking.”
“Ah—”
I picked up a piece of Fresh Kimchi and put it in her mouth. I was looking forward to her evaluation. It should be delicious, right?
“How is it? Is it good?”
“Mmm, mmm! Mmm! It is delicious! The savory aroma and the crunchy texture! It is completely different from the Kimchi I usually eat!”
“That’s a relief. The other Elves will like it too.”
Seeing her squeal that Fresh Kimchi was better than fermented Kimchi made me think she was an Elf after all. They certainly prefer fresh things.
*Ting—*
Just then, the door opened and Jinsu walked in.
“Oh, Brother! what is that smell? It smells delicious!”
He was nowhere to be seen from the Banchu harvest to the preparation, but he certainly has luck with food.
Still, I shouldn’t say anything to Jinsu, who must have been training with Little Pepper.
“Welcome. I just finished making Fresh Kimchi. Do you want to try some?”
“Of course!”
The crunching sound was refreshing. I took a bite too.
*Crunch, crunch.*
“Wow! It’s incredibly delicious! But… is all of this Fresh Kimchi?!”
He only just noticed the rubber basins filled with Fresh Kimchi.
“I’m going to share some with the Elf Tribe. Do you want to go to Elysium with Kasia?”
I didn’t ask because I was tired or lazy. Jinsu lives here too, and the Elves will be coming to learn Nongsa, so wouldn’t it be good for them to get to know each other beforehand? Yes, absolutely.
Only after dumping(?) the Fresh Kimchi delivery task onto Jinsu did I finally have time to rest.
“Ugh, my back.”