Chapter 8: The Cherry Farm in Brentwood (2) TL: Hanguk
I cleared my stray thoughts and continued lecturing my parents.
“There’s no need to worry too much because at first, I’ll be doing everything. Dad and Mom just need to watch and get familiar with it with your eyes.”
At that confidence, my parents looked worried, but since things had gone well so far, they didn’t drain my energy with more concerns. Instead, Dad asked even more eagerly.
“Then how do you do the acetic acid fermentation?”
“That’s simpler than you think. Once the alcohol fermentation is finished, you just need to let the liquid get plenty of contact with air, and then the acetic acid bacteria in the air will turn the alcohol into vinegar. See this here?”
I pointed to the air hole on top of the tank.
“When the alcohol fermentation is done, you just leave this cap open so the air flows well. What’s important is cleanliness and temperature control, but I’ll be checking those thoroughly, so don’t worry.”
Mom lightly tapped Dad’s arm with a relieved expression.
“What do you think, honey? Our son seems more amazing than we thought, right?”
“I mean… when did you learn farming techniques and how to make vinegar like this? Do American high schools already teach things this detailed?”
“That’s why everyone keeps singing about studying abroad.”
At my parents’ reaction, not knowing the circumstances, I could only give a bitter smile.
“Once everything’s set up, there’s nothing much left. The important thing is patience. From the first fermentation to the finished vinegar, it takes months. About four to six months? I can’t say for sure yet because it depends on the condition. But whatever the case, the quality will be good.”
“Then can we sell this for money?”
“Of course. We’ll get it into a department store.”
“Oh my… I really hope things go the way you say.”
So our family of three started making vinegar from grapes that weren’t suitable for sale. I had already made it several times in my past life, and since we were using more professional equipment than before, I wasn’t worried about failure.
After spending several days going back and forth between school and the farm for pressing and fermentation, the weekend soon arrived.
On a bright weekend morning, when I arrived at the cherry farm, everything felt new again.
"It's so spacious..."
Redwood Farm is also about 15 acres (roughly six soccer fields), so it isn’t small, but that’s by Korean standards, and in the U.S., a 15-acre farm is considered quite small.
On the other hand, Chloe’s family’s cherry farm was extraordinary in scale. Located in the Brentwood area, about an hour and a half’s drive from Napa Valley, the farm had neatly arranged trees stretching endlessly from the entrance.
“Wow… this is practically a cherry kingdom.”
Driving slowly along the path in the center of the farm, I saw Chloe in the distance. She spotted me, beamed brightly, and waved. Her golden blonde hair sparkled in the morning sun.
“Brian, over here!”
Today, instead of her usual sophisticated look, she wore comfortable casual clothes, light jeans, a white T-shirt, and a checkered shirt, but Chloe’s unique beauty was not hidden at all.
“Hi, Chloe.”
“Thanks for coming early on a weekend. Honestly, I was in a rush and you were the only one who came to mind…”
Chloe brushed her hair back with a slightly nervous smile. It was a rare sight, since this wasn’t something you often saw from Chloe, the ‘queen’ of the school.
“So what’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“It’s not exactly that something went wrong… just follow me.”
Chloe frowned slightly and guided me to a small log cabin in the corner of the farm.
Korea has pavilions and huts, but in the U.S., there are log cabins that look like they’d be filled with bugs and mice, serving as storage for farm equipment and as resting spots.
Sitting on a chair placed in front of the log cabin, which blocked the pouring sunlight, I could see the cherry trees at a glance.
Chloe, sitting in the creaking chair, looked a bit different from the hot girl I saw at school, but that didn’t mean I suddenly felt some huge attraction to her. Even in my past life, I had never been attracted to Western women, not for any particular reason, just personal taste.
“This year, my dad started some weird competition.”
“Competition?”
Chloe folded her arms, looked at the young trees beside me, let out a light sigh, and began speaking.
“Dad split the farmland into equal sizes for me and my older brother, and he said he wants to 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. That’s how big the place was.
“You have an brother?”
“Yeah, that big lazy guy, Brandon.”
The moment Chloe mentioned her brother, she rolled her eyes slightly and pouted her lips. A clear hint of sibling rivalry.
“Does Brandon know much about farming?”
“No, he’s not even interested. But the manager assigned to his side is Dad’s most trusted employee. Even if he just slacks off, he’ll still get a decent harvest.”
Only then did I understand why Chloe had called me. She basically knew nothing about farming and wanted to win against her brother in the competition.
It was like something straight out of a movie, drama, or novel, yet Chloe’s face looked genuinely serious.
“Will this affect inheritance?”
“Probably?”
She didn’t seem very interested in school classes except for her football-player boyfriend, so now I understood why she wanted to win the competition.
“So you’re asking me to help you?”
“Yeah. When I saw you in class before, you seemed to know a bit about agriculture. So what do you think? If you help me…”
She suddenly made a sexy expression, but it wasn’t even funny.
“I helped Armando, so of course I’ll help you. But just because I teach you doesn’t mean you’ll see huge results immediately. Is that okay?”
“No results?”
“Not no results, but there might not be dramatic results right away. There’s a big difference between the two.”
Chloe looked dissatisfied but soon nodded.
“Okay, I get it.”
Her face suggested she didn’t really get it, but I steadied my voice and gave her the explanation.
“Farming is simple. It’s all about sticking to the basics and managing things consistently. Don’t get greedy from the start and follow the fundamentals thoroughly. Then the results will come.”
“What are the basics?”
“For example, regular weed control, using natural pesticides for pest prevention, precise water management. And cherries are especially sensitive to temperature, so from now on you need to monitor temperature changes closely and observe the trees’ conditions carefully.”
“What… there’s this much to do? I thought I just had to water them well?”
Chloe looked at me with a slightly shocked expression, and I was even more taken aback.
‘She really has absolutely no concept of farming!’
But holding back my irritation and controlling my expression, I answered calmly.
“I think I know why your dad made you and your brother compete like this. Farming is ultimately a battle with yourself. The person who works harder and is more diligent gets more. Your dad is testing you both. He wants to see who cares about the farm more. And he’ll give the farm to the one who cares more.”
I glanced once more at the cherry farm stretching endlessly. Thinking that this entire cherry farm belonged to Chloe’s father, I swallowed hard.
“So… isn’t there some kind of fertilizer that gives cherry trees a special boost?”
For a moment, I almost shouted in Korean, “What a greedy little thief you are.” She had no intention of sticking to the basics and was already trying to take shortcuts just to get results. She looked exactly like John Anderson, who ruined Redwood Farm.
“…The basics come first.”
“So there is something?”
She wasn’t smart, but her instincts were sharp. Still, I had no intention of telling her everything. Among the farming techniques I knew, there were some too valuable to reveal at this time, and I would never give her that kind of high-level information.
“One thing.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you just one thing. Even that alone will be a plus factor, as long as you follow the basics I taught you…”
“Okay, okay, so hurry!”
Chloe looked at me with sparkling, expectant eyes.
‘She’s so impatient…’
I paused in thought for a moment and shrugged my shoulders.
“But this isn’t balanced for me to teach you. You were only going to call Christina once for me, but what I’m about to tell you today can’t even be compared to that.”
“So?”
“I mean… shouldn’t there be something more? And don’t give me that weird look. I have no intention of experiencing how strong your football-player boyfriend’s fists are.”
“Tch…!”
“Hm?”
Chloe bit her lip and hesitated for a while before speaking.
"If I win and get a lot from Dad, I'll give you one day's sales. How about it?"
A day’s sales from this massive farm would be enormous. Which meant this foolish girl was spouting things without even understanding what she was saying.
What farm owner would honor his daughter’s exaggerated promises?
“Not until you get a proper promise from your father.”
“Then?”
“Hm… if you win, send some cherries to our farm at cost. For us.”
I thought she would take it seriously, but
“What? I thought it’d be something big. Sure, I’ll give you some.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not asking for some for my family to eat, but for the farm. To make wine.”
“Ah… for wine? Then you need a lot?”
“Not a lot. Hm… about one and a half tons?”
“Okay.”
Chloe nodded so easily that it made me uneasy.
“Aren’t you deciding too easily?”
“One ton isn’t much. If it were ten tons, maybe. If I harvest from here to here, would that be about a ton?”
She waved her finger and pointed at a section of the farm within sight.
“......”
American farm owners really were on another level.
With that, my mind felt at ease.
“Cherries depend a lot on soil acidity. They prefer pH 6.0 to 7.0, but if the soil acidity rises, then simply put, nutrient absorption doesn’t work well. In that case, using an acidifying fertilizer can restore the efficiency of water and nutrient absorption. Even that alone will have an effect. Of course, you need to follow the basics first, then add this kind of tip.”
“Hm? What?”
“Write it down.”
Only then did Chloe hurriedly take out the notebook and pen she had prepared. I guess I should at least praise her for having brought them.
“Cherries depend a lot on soil acidity…”
I explained everything again, exactly as before, and once Chloe finished taking diligent notes, I immediately stood up.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I told you everything.”
“So you’re leaving?”
“Yeah. You’re not asking me to farm for you, right?”
"That's not it, but..."
It seemed that up until now, any guys she asked for favors had practically bent over backward to help her. But I was different from those fools. And most importantly, this farm wasn’t mine.
As I walked away, Chloe’s voice called from behind me.
“You said your farm doesn’t have anything to harvest, right? Doesn’t that mean you don’t have anything to do? If you help me instead, I’ll pay you a good daily wage.”
Amazed, I slowly turned around.
“What? A daily wage?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… thought maybe I had more to learn.”
“Sorry, but I’ve got things to do. I’m going to make vinegar.”
“Vinegar? Does that… make money?”
“Hey! You think grapes are only used to make wine? You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“Sorry… I actually don’t know much.”
“Just wait. I’ll show you Redwood Farm’s vinegar getting into South Coast Plaza.”
“......”
I turned to leave again, but then suddenly stopped and looked back at her.
“Ah, but how did you know? That our farm has nothing to harvest.”
“Ah, that… Elaina told me. She said your farm was struggling.”
“Elaina?”
“Yeah, you didn’t know? Elaina is the daughter of the Silver Oak Farm owner.”
“Really?”
I had learned something new.