800,000 dollars.
That was the cost of taking over a farm spanning fifteen acres—roughly eighteen thousand pyeong—and of that, the money that actually came out of Dad’s bank account was forty thousand dollars, a little over fifty million won in Korean currency.
In other words, we had acquired a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard about the size of six soccer fields for barely more than fifty million won.
“Let’s really make this work.”
“Honey, I can work really hard.”
Dad and Mom held each other’s hands tightly and shed tears, and—
“Just trust me. Just me... I’m telling you, I’ll bring all those vines back to life.”
I blustered confidently in front of my parents, soothing their anxiety.
No matter how true it was that we’d acquired the farm for only forty thousand dollars, the loan interest and principal weren’t going to disappear. Naturally, if the farm went under, that loan would become a burden borne entirely by our family.
The reason I had used every trick I could in the negotiations with John Anderson—nothing illegal, but still as underhanded as possible—was to reduce the loan amount and lessen that burden any way I could.
Assuming a ten-year term at just a 5% interest rate, reducing the loan by one hundred thousand dollars would cut the monthly principal and interest payments by a thousand dollars. I had no choice but to rack my brain desperately.
People were always most motivated when they first started something with what was theirs. It was the same with business; people threw themselves into it with the greatest passion right after opening shop. That was why my parents, looking only to me, were brimming with determination.
“So all of this is really ours now?”
Early the next morning, the day after the farm acquisition was finalized and all the documents were in our hands, my parents and I stood at the entrance to Redwood Farm. Warm sunlight settled over the land as usual, but today, the silence blanketing the entire vineyard and the cool air felt especially cold.
A vast vineyard stretched endlessly before us. Of course, compared not only to America’s immeasurably huge landmass but even to the farms around us, it was no bigger than a speck. Even so, my parents and I felt an indescribable surge of emotion.
“Yes. It’s all ours.”
Mom said, one hand pressed to her chest.
“My, my heart is trembling. I’m happy that all of this is ours, but... what if it fails?”
“Still, Useok managed to drive the farm price way down, so even if things go worse from here, we won’t end up out on the streets.”
“Honey...? Is that really something to say?”
“Ahem... I’m just saying. We’ll make it succeed.”
Dad, who had tried to reassure her only to be scolded by Mom, cleared his throat and turned his head. Before the conversation could drag on, I started walking first.
“Let’s go.”
I had already been here once, but coming again felt different. Problems I hadn’t noticed before began to stand out one by one. Before, they had been someone else’s children; now, they were mine.
“The condition is a lot worse than I expected. After John Anderson decided to sell the farm, he basically let it go.”
Dad spoke as we slowly walked along the farm road. His gaze rested on the diseased grape leaves that had turned yellow and the vines dusted white with powder.
“Yes, it looks that way.”
“Useok, we have to assume this year’s crop is finished. The grapes hanging there now have no marketable value.”
I had expected as much, so I nodded calmly without surprise.
“If there had been anything marketable, Mr. John Anderson wouldn’t have handed it over at such a low price. It’s fine. Let’s spend a year letting the vines recover their strength.”
Thinking about a year’s worth of interest made me dizzy, but my parents had already prepared themselves for that much. We had known from the start that the farm’s condition was bad.
“Then from now on, we just do it the way you told us, right?”
“Yes. The diluted milk solution. You remember what I told you last time, right?”
Dad, his face filled with hope, nodded.
“One cup of milk to ten cups of water. You’re saying that really works?”
“Yes. And if we mix in natural sulfur powder and treat the trees with the worst disease first, we can at least get the pests and disease under control quickly. That way, we can hope for next year.”
It wasn’t as if there were no farms using this method even now. No, it was actually a fairly well-known farming technique, but the conventional method of spraying pesticides was easier, more intuitive, and faster in effect, so the previous owner clearly hadn’t bothered trying to look into other methods.
Dad looked over the grapevines once more. His expression was still full of worry, but at the same time, I could glimpse a sliver of expectation.
“Then shall we try it right now?”
I picked up the buckets and sprayers I had prepared and stepped toward the vines. Dad watched me for a long moment, then silently picked up a bucket and followed behind me.
I mixed the milk and water in the ratio I had prepared beforehand to make the diluted solution, then measured out the sulfur powder precisely and blended it in.
“If we spray this evenly over the grape leaves and stems, their condition should start improving in a few days.”
“I’ll try too.”
“Honey, you take this side here... I’ll try over there.”
As I carefully sprayed each grape leaf one by one, my parents watched what I was doing closely, then soon began repeating the same action. At first, Dad’s face had been filled with anxiety and doubt, but as time passed, it gradually changed into conviction and anticipation.
Around lunchtime, the farmhands who had once worked here began appearing one by one. It seemed Dad had contacted them in advance.
“Oh, Jaeho. Did you really take over this farm?”
At the cheerful voices of his old coworkers, Dad smiled and shrugged.
“That’s right. This time, I’m the owner of this farm, so you can trust me and follow my lead, can’t you?”
At his words, everyone laughed and nodded. But I was startled, since I hadn’t expected other workers to show up.
“Dad, wait a second...”
“Hmm?”
I pulled him somewhere quiet and asked.
“Are you thinking of hiring those people? For us to hire them...”
“I know. That’s why I don’t plan to hire them for long. I only called the ones whose livelihoods would be in immediate trouble if they couldn’t work right now. Besides, it’d be hard for just us to handle pest control across a farm this large. I thought hiring them for exactly one week wouldn’t be too much of a burden for us, so I called them.”
“That’s true, but...”
After thinking for a long while, I called Mom over too. Then, after confirming the workers couldn’t hear us, I spoke.
“Then let’s do this. Since things turned out this way, Dad and Mom should pick all the grapes currently hanging on the vines.”
“Huh? Don’t tell me you’re going to sell those? They’re far too low-quality to sell...”
“I know. Don’t worry, I’m not going to sell them like that. Still, please store them in a warehouse the workers can’t access. Dad, keep a firm hold on the key, and make sure you check the CCTV and security system. Even if they’re low-quality grapes, someone might steal them and go around scamming people with them for no reason.”
“Then... don’t worry.”
And so, while the workers focused on disease and pest control, my parents and I harvested the unmarketable grapes.
“You worked hard.”
“You did too.”
“Our son worked so hard. I feel so reassured.”
The three of us, who had come out at dawn, rested only briefly around lunch, and kept working the whole time, returned home completely exhausted. Even so, we were happier than ever. In particular, perhaps because I didn’t usually exercise, after I got home, washed up, and ate dinner, I couldn’t do anything else and collapsed straight onto my bed.
The next day, I wanted to keep devoting myself to the farm, but I had been given the mission of going to college, so I made do with a simple breakfast and headed to school.
But when I got there, the way people looked at me had subtly changed. It was as if they were all looking at some strange creature.
I found out why their gazes were so odd through Rachel.
“Brian! I heard your family took over a farm?”
“Ah...”
As expected, that seemed to be the reason.
“Is it true?”
“Yeah. It is. We acquired Redwood Farm this time.”
“So that’s why you gave up on becoming an accountant. I knew there had to be a reason. You should have told us earlier. Everyone misunderstood.”
I shrugged.
“Is there really anything to call a misunderstanding?”
“Still. You’re a bit different from us now.”
Rachel’s eyes held something like admiration. Only then did I understand why everyone’s gaze had changed a little when they looked at me. I was no longer the son of immigrant laborers, but the son of a farm owner, and they must have found that alien.
The feelings Rachel—an Asian and fellow immigrant—had were a little different from those of the existing Americans.
“I’m the same. My direction just changed a bit. From accountant to farmer.”
“Right. You look good. Work hard.”
Rachel crossed her arms and disappeared as if she had no further business with me. For some reason, I had the feeling I would no longer have anything to do with her. Since I had chosen blue collar over white collar, she had probably decided there was no longer any reason for us to meet.
I understood Rachel. She had her own way of living.
After class ended, I didn’t go straight home. I moved around almost at a run before stopping in front of an office.
Knock, knock!
When I knocked and went inside, a man in his mid-forties with a refreshingly bald head looked up.
“Hello, Mr. Miller.”
“Oh, Brian? What brings you here?”
“Yes. Well, I’d like to join the Agriscience Club.”
Agriscience Club was an organization where students learned and practiced various topics related to agriculture and science. In this club, students did real-life connected projects, hands-on learning, and community service. It provided a great deal of practical help, but it could also earn you very important points for entering an agricultural college.
“The Agriscience Club? You?”
He was startled that an Asian student was applying to an agriculture club.
“Yes. The truth is, my family took over a grape farm.”
“Did you? Well now... which farm?”
“Redwood Farm. So I’d like to start learning a bit about agriculture. Would that be possible?”
“Of course. When can you start?”
“For me, the sooner the better.”
“Then, by any chance, college too...?”
“Yes. I’m thinking of UC Davis.”
“Oh—then activity in our club will be essential, won’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. I’ll cooperate as much as I can. Come starting tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
After joining the Agriscience Club like that, I left school and headed for the farm. I tossed my bag into the farmworkers’ break room and ran to the warehouse, where I saw my parents in the distance harvesting the low-quality grapes.
“Dad! Mom! I’m here! Come to the warehouse!”
When I waved, my parents slowly approached.
“After picking grapes all day, I think we’ve harvested about a third. But what are you going to do with them? Aren’t we throwing them away?”
Mom took off the hat covering her hair. Though she looked exhausted, her expression was bright.
After taking the key from Dad, I flung the warehouse doors open and smiled faintly at the grapes neatly stacked in boxes.
“Throw them away? We’re going to make vinegar with these.”
“Vinegar?”