Episode 10: Encounter
"You don't need tomatoes?"
"Tomatoes?"
"Yeah, if you plant them, you'll be able to eat your fill of tomatoes this summer."
Two weeks had passed since I spread the compost.
I had come to the farm supply store to buy seedlings for my vegetable garden, and the shopkeeper recommended that I get some tomatoes.
Come to think of it, I had eaten tomatoes often when I was young.
My mother used to sprinkle plenty of sugar over bright red tomatoes and give them to me, and in the countryside where there weren't many snacks, there was nothing better.
"I'll take some tomatoes too."
After a moment of deliberation, I ended up buying tomato seedlings as well.
After driving home, I parked next to the vegetable garden and began unloading the prepared seedlings one by one.
Lettuce, perilla, and green onions, as well as peppers and tomatoes—these were the crops I would plant in my vegetable garden, and just thinking about planting and eating them made me feel full and content already.
I had prepared the field with irang in advance. The raised portions for planting crops are called duduk, and the indented portions on the inside for people to walk through are called gorang.
And together, these duduk and gorang are called irang.
Each crop has its own suitable irang and planting method, and I too had learned this from my farming teacher, YouTube.
I took out the lettuce first and prepared to plant it in the first irang.
There are many types of lettuce—leafy lettuce, red lettuce, green lettuce, romaine, and so on—and I had bought seedlings of red and green lettuce, which I used to buy often at the supermarket.
On YouTube, some people covered their irang with black plastic mulch and some didn't, but they said covering it was better because weeds wouldn't grow.
However, covering the rows with plastic alone was difficult, and since I was planting for myself to eat rather than to sell, I decided not to use it.
I planted the lettuce seedlings at regular intervals, and perhaps because they hadn't grown yet, it felt somewhat empty.
But once the lettuce grew and the leaves multiplied, it would soon become lush.
After finishing the lettuce, I began planting perilla.
The leaves of this perilla are called kkaennip, and there is nothing better than wrapping meat in them with lettuce.
Also, eating perilla leaf pickles made with them is a total rice thief; just thinking about it made my mouth water.
After planting the lettuce and perilla, I planted green onions beside them.
Just like the shopkeeper had run out of green onions last time, green onions are used a lot in cooking, so I had definitely planned to plant them.
So I was going to fill an entire row of irang with green onions, but there was one thing that worried me.
It was the green onion hell.
I had heard that, unlike other crops, green onions boast an enormous growth rate.
They say they grow faster than you can eat them, so people who grow green onions in their vegetable gardens joke about it, calling it green onion hell.
I hadn't experienced it yet, but it seemed I was planting quite a lot. Moreover, since I lived here alone, the chances of not eating them all were very high.
'If there are leftovers, I'll just take them to Mandeok's grandmother or Yongcheon Supermarket.'
I wondered if I should reduce the amount, but sharing crops like this is the kindness of the countryside, so I decided to plant them and see just how much they would grow.
After planting the green onions, it was time for the peppers and tomatoes.
Unlike the earlier crops, peppers and tomatoes needed to be tied to supports so they wouldn't fall over, so the work would take longer.
I tried to straighten my back and catch my breath, but something approached my foot.
Startled, I looked down, and seeing the little fellow rubbing his face against my foot, I laughed.
"Nabi."
****
A small yellow cat.
I had tried to get close to him by sharing fish, but at first, he would just eat and run away.
It was cute watching him eat while growling, but it was a shame.
After that, just in case, I prepared food for him and left it on the wooden porch.
Just as my mother used to prepare food for stray cats, I did the same, and remarkably, he came back.
He would come to the house when it was time to eat, and after a few days, instead of going elsewhere, he spent his time sleeping on the wooden porch.
A week passed like that, and I was able to touch his body for the first time; the soft feeling was wonderful.
When I petted his head and body, he seemed to be in a good mood and began to purr.
I named him Nabi, and this too was heavily influenced by my mother. She had called all cats Nabi.
At first, I considered a different name, but my mother's voice calling "Nabi" kept coming to mind, so I just started calling him that.
Fortunately, he seemed to like the name; whenever I called him Nabi, he would roll over happily.
And I came to know that this fellow was a gaennyang.
Since Nabi had made the wooden porch his home, I had looked up his breed out of curiosity.
I found out that his breed was a Korean Shorthair.
It is a grand name, but simply put, it is a native Korean cat.
Nabi was a typical stray cat; usually, stray cats are shy and sensitive, wary of people.
But Nabi was not like that.
He had seemed a bit shy at first, but as time passed and we grew close, he changed.
When I was working, he would come rub against me like this. I heard that cats like this are called gaennyang because they have dog-like personalities.
"Are you hungry? Let me finish this, and then we'll eat."
Meow.
His appearance, as if answering, made me laugh, and I wanted to finish work quickly to play with him.
"I rested a bit, so shall I get back to work?"
I moved to plant the peppers, but then my phone rang.
I answered right away, and it was Mandeok.
"Minu, can you talk right now?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Do you have time this evening?"
If having dinner and doing laundry counted as plans, then I had plans, but aside from that, I didn't have much going on.
"I have time, but what's up?"
"I'm meeting someone this evening. If you have time, come with me."
Since he suddenly wanted me to meet someone, I was curious who it was.
"Who?"
"He's a guy who grows sweet potatoes in Hwasan-myeon. He returned to farming like you a few years ago."
"So?"
"He made some money from farming after coming back. I thought talking to him might help you. If you have time, let's eat together."
The reason I was farming wasn't to make money.
I had enough money to last a lifetime.
I was farming for peace of mind, but hearing Mandeok's words made me curious.
There are many young people who return to rural life from the city to earn money.
The government also provides loans at low interest rates, like return-to-farming support funds.
But I had heard that there weren't as many successful return-to-farmers as one might think.
After all, farming is a business in a way; if everyone who invested succeeded, the countryside would be overflowing with people.
There are just as many who fail after investing, and they return to the city with nothing but debt.
Although it was just a small vegetable garden, taking care of it had shown me many difficulties. So hearing that he made money from farming, I felt a pure curiosity about how he had managed it.
"Really? What time are you meeting him?"
"Come to Jangnam Tongdak on Tongdak Street at 7."
In Haenam, there is a street lined with restaurants called Tongdak Street.
It became famous after being featured on a TV variety show, and it is widely known as Tongdak Street despite not selling fried chicken.
Instead of fried chicken, six kinds of course dishes made with chicken are served. I had gone there with my father before, and it wasn't bad.
"Okay, see you this evening."
****
"It's finally over."
It was already 5 PM when the vegetable garden work finished.
The peppers and tomatoes took longer than the other crops, and fixing them to the supports so they wouldn't fall had been difficult.
I had planted one row each of regular peppers and Cheongyang peppers. I don't particularly like dipping Cheongyang peppers straight into ssamjang, but when added to cooking, their sharp, spicy taste is charming, so I had planted them.
I put away various tools like the spade and the seedling trowel in the shed and went inside to get ready to go out.
After showering and changing, I grabbed my car keys, and of course, I didn't forget Nabi's food.
"You'll have to eat this today."
I poured cat food into Nabi's dedicated bowl.
Nabi liked rice, so I used to share some of mine with him, but today I was eating dinner out, so I couldn't give him rice.
Even so, the little fellow buried his face in the bowl and ate the cat food happily.
"I'll be back."
I petted the head of the little fellow eating his food and got into the truck.
There was still some time, but making someone wait is bad manners, so I planned to go early.
After about a twenty-minute drive, I arrived at Tongdak Street.
When I had come with my father before, it was the weekend, so there had been many cars, but since it was a weekday, there weren't as many.
I was parking and about to enter the restaurant when someone called out to me.
"Minu!"
It was Mandeok; he was smoking a cigarette.
"Hey, Mandeok."
I greeted him, but he suddenly shouted at me.
"Song Minho!"
He had messed up my name again.
I knew it was his complex, but changing a name he had called me since childhood wasn't easy.
"Sorry, sorry. Minho. You came early?"
"I had business in town, so I came straight here."
"I see. How did you meet that guy who grows sweet potatoes?"
He mainly grows rice. Sweet potatoes seemed completely unrelated, so I was curious how he knew him.
"We got close taking classes together at the Agricultural Technology Center. He's one year older than us, but since he has a good personality, we decided to be brothers."
"I see. Did he make a lot of money with sweet potatoes?"
"Yeah, his father grew sweet potatoes, and after returning to farming, he inherited it and expanded the business. It went well, so he made a lot of money. He even switched to a Mercedes recently."
"Oh, impressive."
"Now I'm thinking about quitting rice and growing sweet potatoes after hearing that."
Changing your main crop is harder than you think.
Mandeok seemed quite envious, and for some reason, I felt like teasing him.
"You have a foreign car too."
"Me?"
"Yeah, what are you going to do with a Bongo?"
I pointed at the Bongo he was driving, and he got angry as if dumbfounded.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes. You drive a Porter too. You'd be jealous too if you saw that guy's car."
Mandeok's reaction made me laugh, but honestly, I didn't think I would feel very jealous.
I had enough money to go up to Seoul tomorrow and buy a Lamborghini Murciélago if I wanted.
It was possible, but driving a car like that on these country roads would definitely wreck the body.
Just then, a car began entering the parking lot.
It was a sleek black Mercedes, and somehow I felt that it was the car of the guy Mandeok had mentioned.
The driver who got out spotted Mandeok and greeted him warmly, then extended his hand to me for a handshake.
"Hello. I am Gu Sangho, growing sweet potatoes in Hwasan-myeon."