I shook off my stray thoughts and continued my lecture to my parents.
“There’s no need to worry too much. I’ll be doing everything at first, so Dad and Mom just need to watch and get used to it visually.”
At such confidence, my parents couldn’t help but look worried, but since I had done well up until now, they didn’t dampen my spirits with words of concern any further. Rather, Dad asked more actively.
“Then how do we do the acetic acid fermentation?”
“It’s simpler than you think. If you let the liquid finished with alcohol fermentation contact air well, the acetic acid bacteria in the air will turn the alcohol into vinegar. You see this right here?”
I pointed to the air hole at the top of the tank as I spoke.
“Once the alcohol fermentation is done, you just need to open this stopper to let air flow through. The important things are maintaining cleanliness and temperature management, but I’ll check those meticulously too, so don’t worry.”
Mom tapped Dad’s arm with a relieved expression.
“See, honey? I think our son is more amazing than we thought, don’t you?”
“Yeah... When did he learn farming and how to make vinegar like this? Do American high schools already teach this kind of thing in such detail?”
“This is why everyone sings the song of studying abroad.”
At my parents’ reaction, who didn’t know the circumstances, I could only let out a bitter smile.
“Once everything is set, there’s really nothing much to it from there. What’s important is patience, you could say? It takes several months from the first fermentation until the vinegar is complete. About four to six months? Since this depends on the condition, I can’t say for certain right now. But whatever happens, the quality will be good.”
“Then can we sell this for money?”
“Of course. I’m going to get it placed in a department store right away.”
“Goodness... I really hope it turns out like you say.”
And so, our family of three began making vinegar from grapes with low commercial value. It was a process I had already done several times in my past life, and because I was doing it with equipment slightly more professional than back then, I wasn’t worried about failure.
After spending several days going back and forth between school and the farm, dedicating time to the juicing and fermentation process, the weekend soon arrived.
On a bright weekend morning, when I arrived at the cherry farm, there was much that was new again.
“It’s so vast...”
Redwood Farm was also fifteen acres (roughly the size of six soccer fields), so it couldn’t be called small, but that was by South Korean standards; in America, a fifteen-acre farm was considered extremely small.
On the other hand, Chloe’s family cherry farm was on a different scale from the start. Located in the Brentwood area, about an hour and a half drive from Napa Valley, this farm had neatly arranged trees stretching endlessly from the entrance.
“Wow... At this level, it’s practically a cherry kingdom.”
As I slowly drove the car along the trail in the center of the farm, Chloe spotted me from afar, smiled brightly, and waved. Her gleaming blonde hair sparkled in the morning sunlight.
“Brian, over here!”
Today, unlike her usual refined appearance, she was dressed in comfortable casual clothes—light jeans, a white t-shirt, and a plaid shirt thrown over it—but Chloe’s unique beauty was not hidden in the slightest.
“Hi, Chloe.”
“Thanks for coming out early on the weekend. Honestly, I was in a rush and you were the only one I could think of...”
Chloe swept her hair back with a slightly nervous smile. It was a sight rarely seen from Chloe, the ‘Queen’ of the school, so it felt a bit unfamiliar.
“But what’s going on? Is there a problem?”
“More than a problem arising... Follow me.”
Chloe frowned slightly and guided me to a small log cabin-like place located in a corner of the farm.
While Korea has spaces like gazebos and huts, America has these log cabins that seem like they’d be full of bugs and mice, places that serve as storage for various farm materials and resting spots.
Sitting in the chair placed in front of the log cabin, which provided shade from the pouring sunlight, the cherry trees came into view at a glance.
Sitting on the creaking chair, Chloe looked somewhat different from the hot girl I saw at school, but that didn’t mean I felt an immense attraction to her. I hadn’t been able to feel attraction to Western women even in my past life; it wasn’t for any special reason, just preference.
“This year, Dad started a strange competition.”
“A competition?”
Crossing her arms, Chloe looked at the young trees beside me, let out a light sigh, and opened her mouth.
“He gave my brother and me plots of land the same size, and said he’d see who harvests more cherries this year. This side is my section, and the far end over there is my brother’s section.”
She pointed with her finger, but I couldn’t actually see it. It was that vast.
“So you have a brother?”
“Yeah, that big lazybones Brandon.”
The moment Chloe talked about her brother, she rolled her eyes slightly and pouted. It was clear that the competitive spirit between siblings was showing.
“Does Brandon know farming well?”
“No, he doesn’t even care. But the manager attached to my brother’s side is the employee Dad trusts the most. My brother would get a harvest even if he just fooled around.”
Only then did I understand why Chloe had called me. In truth, she knew absolutely nothing about farming, and she wanted to win the competition against her brother.
It was a scene that might come out of a movie, drama, or novel, but Chloe’s face looked quite serious.
“Could this affect the inheritance?”
“Probably?”
I could understand why she, who seemed to have little interest in school classes other than her football team boyfriend, wanted to win this competition.
“So you called me to help you?”
“Yeah. I saw you during class before, and you seemed to know something about agriculture? How about it? If you help me...”
Her suddenly making a sexy expression wasn’t even funny.
“Arman helped with the work too, so of course I should help. But even if I teach you, it might not produce tremendous results immediately. Is that okay?”
“You said it won’t be effective?”
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be effective. I said tremendous results might not come out immediately. There’s a big difference between the two.”
Chloe made a somewhat displeased expression but soon nodded.
“I understand.”
She looked like she didn’t really understand, but I composed my voice and explained the solution.
“Farming is simple. It’s all about sticking to the basics and managing consistently. Don’t be greedy from the start and thoroughly stick to the basics. Then results will surely follow.”
“The basics?”
“For example, regular weed management, using natural pesticides for pest and disease prevention, precise irrigation management, things like that. And cherries are especially sensitive to temperature, so from now on you need to check temperature changes well and observe the trees’ condition carefully.”
“Huh... There’s so much to do? I thought I just needed to water them well?”
Chloe looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, and I became even more dumbfounded.
‘She really has no concept of farming whatsoever!’
But suppressing my irritation and managing my expression, I answered calmly.
“I think I know why your father started this competition with you and your brother. Farming is ultimately a battle with yourself. The more diligent and hardworking person takes more. Your father is testing you. To see who cares more about the farm. And he probably intends to give the farm to the one who cares more.”
As I said that, I looked at the cherry farm that had caught my eye. At the thought that this endlessly stretching cherry farm belonged to Chloe’s father, I gulped.
‘Lucky bitch...’
“Anyway, isn’t there a fertilizer that gives cherry trees special effects?”
For a moment, I almost shouted, “What kind of thieving mindset is this?” in Korean. Seeing her try to get results through shortcuts without intending to stick to the basics, she was exactly like John Anderson, who ruined Redwood Farm.
“... Basics come first.”
“So there is one?”
She wasn’t bright, but she was quick-witted. However, I had no intention of telling her everything I knew. There were even farming methods I knew that were too valuable to share at this point in time, so I definitely had no intention of sharing such advanced information with her.
“One thing.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll tell you just one thing. If you stick to the basics I taught you, even that alone will be enough of a plus factor...”
“I got it, so hurry up!”
Chloe looked at me with eyes full of anticipation.
‘So impatient...’
Lost in thought for a moment, I shrugged.
“But this is unbalanced for me to teach. All you did was call Christina over once, but the information I’m telling you today is incomparable to that.”
“So?”
“It means... there should be something more. Ah, drop that weird look. I have no intention of experiencing how strong your football boyfriend’s fists are.”
“Tch...!”
“Hmm?”
Chloe bit her lip and thought for a long time before speaking.
“If I win and get a lot from Dad, I’ll give you a day’s sales. How about that?”
A day’s sales from this huge farm would be tremendous. This meant that this stupid kid was babbling without knowing what she was saying.
What farm owner would listen to their daughter’s boastful promise?
“I can’t until you get a promise from your father.”
“Then?”
“Hmm... If you win, send some cherries to our farm, at cost price.”
I thought she would seriously ponder this, but...
“What? I thought it was something else. I’ll just give them to you.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not asking for some for our family to eat, I’m asking for the farm. Because I’m going to make wine.”
“Ah... for wine? Then do you need a lot?”
“Not a huge amount. Hmm... one and a half tons?”
“Sure.”
Chloe nodded so easily that it made me uneasy.
“Aren’t you deciding too easily?”
“A ton isn’t that much. Maybe if it were ten tons. Would harvesting from about here to here make a ton?”
She waved her finger and pointed to one visible section of the farm.
“......”
American farm owners truly were on a different level.
With this, I felt at ease.
“Soil acidity is important for cherries. They prefer pH 6.0 to 7.0, but if soil acidity increases, nutrient absorption becomes difficult, to put it simply. In such cases, using acidifying fertilizer can restore water and nutrient absorption efficiency. Even just this will be effective. Of course, you should follow the basics and add tips like this on top.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Write it down.”
Only then did Chloe hurriedly pick up the notebook and pen she had prepared. Was it even praiseworthy that she had at least prepared a notebook and pen?
“Soil acidity is important for cherries...”
I explained it exactly as before, and as Chloe diligently wrote it down, I immediately got up.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I told you everything, didn’t I?”
“So you’re leaving?”
“Yeah. You’re not asking me to do the farming for you too, are you?”
“No, but...”
Perhaps any man she had asked for something until now had helped her as if they would pull out their own liver. But I was different from those fools. And most importantly, this farm wasn’t mine, was it?
As I walked away leisurely, I heard Chloe’s voice from behind.
“Didn’t you say you have nothing to harvest or sell from your farm? Then don’t you have nothing to do? If you help me instead, I’ll pay you a good daily wage.”
Speechless, I slowly turned around.
“What? A daily wage?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just... don’t I have more to learn?”
“Sorry, but I have things to do. I’m making vinegar.”
“Vinegar? Does that... make money?”
“Hey! You must think grapes are only for making wine? You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“Sorry... Honestly, I really don’t know much.”
“Just wait a bit. I’ll show you Redwood Farm brand vinegar getting placed in South Coast Plaza.”
“......”
As I turned to leave, I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back again.
“Ah, by the way, how did you know? That we have nothing to harvest at our farm.”
“Ah, that... Ileana told me. She said your farm is struggling.”
“Ileana?”
“Yeah, didn’t you know? Ileana is the daughter of the Silver Oak Farm owner.”
“Reeeally?”
I had learned new information.