Chapter 142: Cause and Effect (6)
TL: Hanguk
For a restaurant, getting hold of a cheap daily wine wasn't all that difficult. But when it came to wines that were pricier and harder to come by, simply keeping up a smooth, steady supply could raise a restaurant's standing.
Especially with high-end Cult Wine, being able to source it directly through distribution at wholesale rather than at auction meant that simply being able to obtain it at all was a gain in itself. So Harry's proposal just now was premised on the assumption that there was Cult Wine that would be going up for auction down the line.
"Let's do that, then."
I accepted without a second thought. How many bottles of Cult Wine did a restaurant even go through in a year? There was no need to fret over inventory, I figured. He was a lawyer Warren trusted, and judging by the skill this lawyer had shown handling Chloe's farm case, a price like this was, if anything, a bargain, I thought.
"Thank you. I don't think you'll be disappointed."
He wiped away his sweat and gave a faint smile.
"By the way, your younger brother must be quite the cook?"
"Absolutely. He's a graduate of the CIA (The Culinary Institute of America)."
"Ah..."
The CIA, founded in 1946, was America's finest culinary school, a private college with a reputation and authority so lofty it was called the Harvard of the cooking world. It was impressive enough that even I, who knew little about cooking, had heard of it.
"From what I've heard, Mr. Brian once put together pairings to match a full course menu for a UC Davis alumni event..."
"And how exactly did you come to know that?"
"There's nothing in Napa Valley that I don't know about."
The sheer confidence of the man...
"It would mean a great deal to me if you'd come by and offer some advice."
"Haha..."
Warren, who had been watching from the side, cut in.
"You've put together pairings before?"
"Ah, yes... I just kind of threw one together once, that's all."
"Threw one together?"
Seeing Warren's puzzled look, Harry stepped in.
"To call it thrown together, from what I heard it was quite refined, with real quality to it. I even heard that one restaurant used that exact pairing and earned high praise for it. You're very modest, Mr. Brian."
At those words, Warren's eyes lit up.
"Couldn't I get a taste of that myself?"
"...... Maybe later."
"You'd better do it for me sometime. If you need one, I can bring in a decent chef, at the very least. Or we could go to whatever restaurant you name. Say what you will about me, but I'm a man who lives for the pleasure good food brings."
"Yes, yes... Anyway, thank you so much for helping out with Chloe's matter. When will everything be wrapped up?"
"I plan to close it out in two days. The more favorable your position, the better it is to settle quickly. Unexpected variables always crop up."
It was a point I heartily agreed with.
Two days later, in the morning, in a small conference room in Lodi County.
Beneath the fluorescent lights sat a single long table, alone in the room, and four people faced one another across it.
On the left were Chloe and Harry; on the right, Jack O'Connell and his lawyer, Greg Richard. Given the circumstances, the mood in the room was cold, as if an Arctic cold front had swept through.
But as though the chill in the air meant nothing to him, a sweating Harry dabbed his forehead once with a handkerchief, then pulled out a thick file and slid it to the middle of the table.
"Shall we begin, then."
Greg was the first to speak up.
"Mr. Harry, we've no intention of wasting time either. We both know where things stand, so shall we get straight to the terms?"
Jack sat with his arms crossed, chewing on his lip. Chloe kept her hands folded neatly on her lap, but Harry noticed that her fingertips were trembling faintly.
"Very well. The terms for my client, the Chloe Harris Farm, remain the same as last time. We're demanding priority use rights to 51% of the annual permitted pumping volume of the WS-3 well."
It was a demand Greg had fully expected, so he answered as if he'd been waiting for it.
"We can't accept that percentage. Water rights belong to the landowner. The well sits on my client's property, and he's borne all of the maintenance and equipment costs to date."
"Correct. Which is why we aren't touching ownership of the well itself. What we're asking for isn't direct ownership but a Pumping Easement. And that Easement will be recorded on your farm's land as an 'attached right'. By Deed."
A Deed, in the United States, was the document by which rights related to real estate (ownership/right) were officially recorded and transferred. It was the equivalent of a property registration certificate in Korea, and in the U.S., every time a right came into being, a separate Deed document was created and recorded with the county.
An easement deed, moreover, refers to a certain right of use over another person's land, which meant that, in the end, [a record granting someone else priority use rights to this land] would remain on it.
Greg shot back in a gruff voice.
"That's the bigger problem. The moment this Easement Deed is recorded with the county registry, this land is left as 'farmland with 51% of its water claimed by someone else'. Even if he tries to sell the farm later, the value drops sharply."
"Then should I take it there's no settlement?"
At Harry's calm question, Greg bit his lip. He'd blustered at first, but when the other side responded as if to say they could take it or leave it, his chest went tight.
"So here's the thing... we've considered going up to 25%. A quarter of the annual permitted pumping volume. Any more than that and there's no way to keep the farm running."
At this, Jack gritted his teeth and added.
"And even this is us giving up as much as we possibly can. Any more, and we can't farm at all."
But Harry calmly shook his head.
"Oh dear... that's quite different from my own math. As I understand it, the wholesale price of pistachios shot up 18% in 2004 and 30% in 2005, then held at its peak last year. This year's good harvest is expected to bring prices down, but you've surely already made more than enough on it."
When Harry produced that unexpected detail, the rise in pistachio wholesale prices, Jack's mouth fell open.
"No, that's..."
"Mr. Jack O'Connell has already turned a sizable profit, and of that, how much could the cost from water usage amount to, a few percent at most? And yet you can't run the farm on 51%? For my part, I can only read that as... an unwillingness to settle. I can't interpret it any other way."
Watching a flustered Greg and Jack biting his lip in anguish, Chloe was inwardly astonished by Harry. He spoke without the slightest heat, almost as if he were bored, and yet the other side was completely at a loss.
"There's no guarantee the pistachio harvest and wholesale prices will stay this good forever."
"Hmm... you're working from a standard that's quite different from ours. And I can't understand how you talk as if a major loss every year were a foregone conclusion."
"And if it isn't a foregone conclusion?"
"The annual permitted pumping volume of the WS-3 well is registered with the NSJWCD at 300 acre-feet. So the 51% we've demanded comes to roughly 153 acre-feet. As things stand, my client needs at least 100 acre-feet a year to repair the damage from the groundwater contamination and to sustain pear cultivation over the long term."
"And?"
"What we're asking of the farm isn't a cap, it's priority. If actual usage comes in under 100, O'Connell Farm can simply use whatever's left over. I'm obliged to point out that talking as if an annual loss were a certainty could seriously mislead any third party looking on."
Jack swallowed hard.
"Then what happens if we end up needing to use 200?"
"Then that would be a problem. But in that case, you could just pay us and buy it, couldn't you?"
He said it as if it were no issue at all, but for Jack it was enough to drive a man up the wall. It meant paying someone else for water that came up through a well dug into his own land.
"Ha, hahaha..."
Ignoring Jack, who had burst into a hollow laugh, Greg spoke.
"I understand perfectly. Still, no matter how I look at it, 51% is excessive. It needs adjusting. Please take into account that pistachios are a water-intensive crop."
Sensing it wasn't going to work, his forceful opening bravado vanished and he folded at once. At that, Harry glanced sidelong at Chloe. He was checking her wishes, and Chloe gave a small nod.
Seeing it, Harry turned back to Greg and spoke.
"Very well. You'd do well to count yourselves fortunate that my client is so merciful. I'll adjust it to 40%."
Even as he thought it could have been worse, Greg made another proposal.
"I appreciate that, but just a little more than that..."
Before he could even finish, Harry declared in a heavy voice.
"Forty percent. I've conceded plenty. There's no room for negotiation."
Faced with an attitude that made it clear any further push wouldn't get him anywhere, Greg turned to look at Jack. It meant that only two choices remained, either to accept the offer here or to take the lawsuit all the way to the end.
Jack closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and gave a bitter smile.
"Damn it... nothing else for it. Let's do it that way."
At that, Harry let a faint smile touch his lips for the first time.
"Very good. Then let's sign the documents I've prepared. One Pre-Litigation Settlement Agreement, and one 'Pumping Easement & Water Use Agreement', two in all. These agreements will be recorded with the Recorder's Office in Lodi County and San Joaquin County."
Jack and Greg, who had anticipated all along that they'd end up here settling, were satisfied with the figure of 40% and signed the agreements, and Chloe, satisfied in her own way, signed as well.
For her part, she felt relieved that rather than clinging desperately to 51%, she had secured water resources against a possible drought while trimming down whatever might have left the other side holding a grudge. These, she figured, were terms both sides could be satisfied with.
On top of that, having locked in such an enormous volume of water resources meant the value of the land she owned had risen substantially. It had become land with a permanent water use right attached.
After the settlement was concluded, in the car heading back to the office with Harry, Chloe spoke.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, everything worked out."
"It was my job to do."
Harry, who had somehow managed to cram himself into the driver's seat, drove surprisingly well.
"But how do we actually check O'Connell Farm's irrigation volume?"
"There are a few ways. One is to mount a circular chart recorder on the wall of the pump room and have it log the water flow in real time. Put that recorder behind bulletproof glass and have the keys held by a designated notary and by you, Ms. Chloe, and the other side won't be able to cheat."
"Ah..."
"Another is what's called the Power Audit. Instead of measuring the water use, you measure the electricity. To pull water up from deep underground you have to run a massive industrial pump, and that eats up an enormous amount of power."
"Wow! So electricity usage is basically water usage?"
"Exactly. Since tampering with flow meters is so common, checking the electricity this way is actually far more precise. From now on, O'Connell Farm's water usage will be laid bare for you and your descendants to see, plain as the palm of your hand, for good."
"That's incredible. How should I pay you?"
"No need. Someone else has already covered it on your behalf."
"Huh? But I'd like to pay... couldn't I just refund them and pay it myself?"
Watching Chloe speak so firmly, clearly in earnest, Harry regarded her with fresh interest.
"They seem to be people close to you. Is there really any need for that?"
"I've already been helped so much. And I'm a farm owner. I was taught that I have to handle my own affairs myself."
Mildly impressed, Harry broke into a broad smile.
"I see. But what I wanted wasn't money, it was something else. Wine, to be precise. I've received something worth more to me than money, so there's no reason for me to charge anything extra."
Guessing roughly at what he meant, Chloe's lips twitched.
"So I owe another debt, then."
"It's only natural, over the course of a life, to receive help from someone. What matters is what you do afterward. Do you take the help and forget it, or do you live diligently and pay it back? That's usually where people's lives tend to diverge."
He grinned, his eyes barely visible beneath his thick eyelids. To Chloe, those words felt strangely weighty, meaningful in a way she couldn't quite place.
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