Chapter 18: Redwood Reserve Vinegar(1)
TL: Hanguk
Once again, time passed in the blink of an eye, and a month was gone.
“Brian! Almost all the aphids are gone!”
At school, Chloe shouted excitedly, but considering the number of ladybugs and lacewings she had personally collected and received support for, it felt only natural.
“That’s great. Since we found it early, the trees didn’t take much damage, so the harvest should be fine, right?”
“Exactly. Thanks so much.”
“No need to thank me. I did it all for myself anyway.”
“Even so, my dad said your opinion was really impressive. And when I told him that if I win, he has to sell us one ton of cherries at cost, he said even two tons would be possible. I did well, right?”
I tilted my head.
“Two tons?”
When I calculated it, about 1.2 to 1.4 tons would probably be enough to make around a thousand bottles of cherry wine. So with two tons, arithmetically, we could produce about 1,500 bottles. The problem was whether our farm’s storage facilities could handle that much.
“Yeah! What do you think?”
She looked like she was subtly hoping I would be happy, but I simply expressed my thanks calmly.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“You don’t look that happy?”
“I am happy. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to get through this year. Of course, that’s if you win.”
Chloe, who had yet to fulfill the premise of actually winning the contest, put on an uneasy expression, when Armando suddenly ran in and spoke up.
“Huh? Chloe. Ethan was looking for you outside.”
“Really?”
“He looked pretty stiff. Did you guys fight?”
“He was being annoying, so I said something to him. Whatever. Don’t worry about it.”
After saying that, Chloe flicked her hair back primly and disappeared.
“Looks like they fought?”
As expected, Armando was very interested in other people’s business.
“Seems like it.”
“Aren’t you curious? About why they fought?”
“Not really... more importantly...”
I took a small bottle out of my bag.
“What do you think this is?”
“What is it?”
“Vinegar we made at our farm.”
“Oh, is this that?”
“It’s almost finished now, so we need to bottle it, but we need to make a label too. I’ve been thinking about who to ask, but do you happen to know anyone?”
At my question, Armando made a strange expression, as if to say what kind of guy you are.
“Why? What?”
“You should know best.”
“Me?”
“Aren’t you close with Rachel?”
Rachel from Taiwan? Tilting my head and trying to recall old memories, I soon let out a quiet exclamation.
“Ah...”
I only remembered that Rachel later became a lawyer, but then I recalled that when she was in Taiwan, she had studied art. And that she was seriously thinking about going into a design-related field.
“Why don’t you go talk to her?”
“Okay.”
After all the classes were over, I carefully took the bottle out of my bag. The purplish liquid inside the glass bottle sparkled as it caught the sunlight. The target was Rachel, who had just finished math class and had her long black hair neatly tied back.
“Rachel.”
When she lifted her head, her eyes scanned me for a moment. Her slender fingers closed her locker.
“What is it?”
“Do you have a moment? I wanted to ask you a favor.”
When I slightly lifted the bottle, Rachel’s indifferent gaze followed it, but soon returned to my face.
“What is that?”
“So, let’s just talk for a moment.”
“... Okay.”
I led Rachel into an empty classroom and poured some vinegar into a paper cup. When I opened the bottle, the sour grape aroma immediately filled the room.
“Wow, this is vinegar?”
“That’s right. It’s made from grapes we grew at our farm. Try it.”
“Me? Why?”
“Just try it first.”
She had a bit of doubt, but perhaps thinking I wasn’t some weirdo, she soon brought the vinegar to her lips.
“Mmm, this is good?”
“Right?”
“Yeah. Since it’s vinegar, I thought it would be super sour, but... how should I put it... it has a rich flavor? It feels refined.”
“Exactly. That’s it.”
“But why did you make me taste this?”
“Actually... this is the first vinegar coming out of our farm. Because of that, it doesn’t even have a label yet.”
“Don’t tell me...?”
“That’s right. Our farm is pretty lacking, so we don’t have the money to commission a professional company... so I was wondering if you could do this for us?”
“Hmm...”
Honestly, there was absolutely no reason for her, who was preparing for college entrance exams, to do this for me. Even so, the reason I could ask so confidently was because this situation was not entirely a loss for Rachel either.
“Think about it carefully. We’re an immigrant-owned farm, and you’d be contributing your talent to help a farm like ours. More importantly, I’m planning to get this placed in South Coast Plaza, the best department store in the region. That means the label you make could be sold at South Coast Plaza.”
“Really?”
“Of course, I mean I’ll try my best. It’s not guaranteed. But what do you think? The taste and aroma are really good, right?”
Rachel’s eyes sparkled. South Coast Plaza is the largest shopping center on the West Coast, housing more than 250 boutiques along with luxury brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier.
Having vinegar with a label she made as volunteer work sold there would undoubtedly be a very significant plus factor when applying to college.
“It does look kind of special... but I’m not a vinegar expert.”
“That’s true. Originally, I was planning to age it here for about another month, but it seems like it’s in optimal condition right now, so I’m thinking of immediately moving forward with distribution in various places. If your label is attached at that point, it would be amazing.”
“Hmm... okay. But I have a condition. Put my name down in small print on the label as the creator.”
“Of course, that much is only right. Deal!”
“Deal!”
Rachel and I bumped fists. As I picked up the bottles and stood up, Rachel asked,
“By the way, you haven’t been seeing Elena lately?”
Rachel suddenly mentioned Choi Soo-Jung, my wife before regression.
“Huh? I haven’t been seeing her.”
“You two were really close.”
“Ah... Elena probably feels disappointed in me. She must have thought I’d go on to a university in New York. She probably can’t accept that I’m staying here to farm.”
“... I don’t know. She looks like she’s having a really hard time.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. I chose my path, and Elena has her own path. It doesn’t match with mine.”
At my cold response, Rachel flinched slightly, then soon formed a faint smile.
“Alright. If that’s how you think, then I guess that’s how it is.”
“Anyway, let’s do our best.”
Since I had another schedule afterward, I quickly left the classroom with the bottle of vinegar and walked briskly. My next destination was the UC Davis Cooperative Extension, because there was someone I needed to give the vinegar to.
It wasn’t strange that this most prestigious agricultural university in the western United States had a Cooperative Extension that oversaw California’s agricultural education and support. Because of that, it wasn’t difficult to find the office on campus.
“Hello. I’m Brian Choi, a student at Vintage High School. I came because there’s something I’d like to give to Director Pierce Morgan.”
When I visited the office and suddenly asked for Pierce Morgan, the staff member standing at the entrance looked flustered, but soon smiled and guided me.
“You came at a lucky time. Pierce happens to be in his office right now. Would you mind waiting a moment?”
“Not at all.”
After a short while, she gestured for me to go inside, and I entered with the bottle of vinegar.
“Oh, we meet again?”
Mr. Pierce Morgan, a very tall man, was sitting at his desk. When he saw my face, he smiled and stood up. He was so tall that I had to crane my neck up to look at him.
“Hello. I brought the vinegar I mentioned last time. It’s finished now.”
“Is that so?”
He seemed to sense that there was some ulterior motive behind my personally bringing the vinegar, but he smiled and gestured for me to sit down. When the bottle filled with purplish liquid clinked as it was placed on the table, he examined it closely.
“Would you like to try some?”
“Of course.”
When I opened the vinegar bottle, the sour grape aroma spread through the office in an instant.
“The fragrance is nice.”
“The taste is even better.”
Using a teaspoon that happened to be in the office, he tasted the vinegar and then widened his eyes.
“Wow. This is incredible.”
“Right?”
He looked into my eyes meaningfully and asked,
“So, I get the feeling there must be another reason you brought this?”
“Haha, that’s right. Actually, as you can probably tell from our appearance, we’re immigrants. While working as laborers on a farm, we happened to take over a vineyard when it went bankrupt through an immigrant support program called SDA (Socially Disadvantaged Applicant).”
“That’s an interesting story.”
“We took over and operate the farm through low-interest loans, but that doesn’t mean there’s no burden at all. Agriculture is a structure where costs keep being spent until results finally come out.”
“That’s true.”
“So we made vinegar, and while I’m confident in the taste, we have a lot of concerns when it comes to marketing.”
He gave a sly smile.
“But we can’t sponsor or promote products from private farms, you know?”
“I know. I was just wondering if you might be able to help us get certified quickly as a farm that uses organic farming methods.”
“You want the certification expedited?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where organic certification is handled?”
“Of course. It’s done under the USDA’s NOP (National Organic Program). That’s why I know you can’t help directly. But I thought you might be able to quickly connect us with a certification body and inspectors, and consult us on preparing the documents. What do you think?”
He looked at me with an expression of genuine admiration.
“You’re an amazing kid.”
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