Chapter 22
Chapter 22. Farming Season
==========
“Uh, hey. See that Tractor parked up ahead?”
The man gestured towards the field visible at the end of the farm road.
“Pull the car over there.”
Taeseo parked the car behind the Tractor, which was positioned close to the field embankment to avoid the narrow road.
As he got out of the car, the Tractor’s motor roared loudly.
The sound was so deafening he wanted to cover his ears, but the restaurant owner’s husband paid it no mind and called out loudly to the man standing in the middle of the field.
“Village Head! Village Head!”
A foreign worker unloaded the pesticide sprayer from the Tractor’s cargo bed, ensuring the hose wouldn’t tangle. The Village Head, hose strapped to his back, sprayed pesticide across every corner of the wide field. The pesticide sprayed from the end of the hose dispersed over the field.
“Hey, Village Head, Village Head!”
The Village Head recognized the restaurant owner’s husband’s voice and waved towards them. Seeing this, the restaurant owner’s husband said,
“He saw us and waved, so he’ll be back after he finishes spraying that plot over there. Just wait a moment.”
Taeseo, his ears ringing from the noise, simply nodded.
After about fifteen minutes, the Village Head, finished with his work, walked towards the embankment, gathering the long pesticide hose.
“What brings you here, Mr. Seo?”
The restaurant owner’s husband approached the Village Head. The Village Head, having climbed onto the embankment, loaded the hose into the Tractor’s cargo bed and looked at Taeseo and Hyunwoo, who stood beside the restaurant owner’s husband.
“These are employees from Namkyung Development. They’re regulars at our restaurant. I brought them because they wanted to hear from the villagers about the development.”
The Village Head looked at the two men and spoke with a troubled expression.
“Is that so? But what can I do? I have to spray the fields over there today, so I don’t think I’ll have time. They say it’s going to rain next week, so I have to finish spraying all the fields this week.”
Hearing this, Hyunwoo rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.
“If that’s the case, we can help with the work.”
“Oh my, that would be a great help. It’s already hard enough to find workers these days…”
Taeseo scowled at the Village Head’s delighted expression.
Seriously, now farm work too…
“Once we finish spraying that field, it’ll be done. If we work diligently, we can finish in three hours. If you help with the work, there’s no reason I can’t tell you about the village’s situation. I’ll make time to answer any questions you have.”
Anyway, I’ll find out what I need to know by following them around and asking. Or, if all else fails, I can just bribe them with money. Why do I have to work?
“Thank you, Village Head.”
Unaware of Taeseo’s thoughts, Hyunwoo seemed excited about finishing the land compensation work and returning to the Seoul headquarters.
The restaurant owner’s husband, whose meddling nature was as broad as his wife’s, spoke with even more enthusiasm than Hyunwoo.
“Then I’ll have my youngest son bring us some makgeolli, so please wait.”
“Mr. Seo looks like he’s here just for the drinks.”
Taeseo thought the same, but the restaurant owner’s husband spoke with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
“What are you talking about? If the Namkyung Development people convey our side’s position well, it’s a win-win situation. Since a young man is offering to help with the work, I should at least treat him to some makgeolli.”
“You’ll get nagged by your wife. Didn’t you get yelled at last time for wandering around instead of minding the restaurant?”
“What does a woman know about outside affairs?”
Taeseo couldn’t help but laugh at his words, finding them absurd.
He said a woman knew nothing of outside affairs, but from Taeseo’s perspective, it seemed the restaurant owner’s husband was living off the money she earned.
“Then what should we do?”
Since he had to help with the farm work anyway, it was better to pretend to work and gain their favor.
“We’re moving to that field over there. Please help hold the pesticide hose. It’s bigger than this field, so holding the hose is no easy task.”
After finishing tidying up the hose, the Village Head drove the Tractor towards the adjacent field.
Taeseo, rolling up his sleeves, also drove his car, following behind the Tractor.
\ \ *
As they helped with the work, the pesticide application in the field sped up. Contrary to the Village Head’s estimate of three hours, the work was finished in two.
It was the height of summer with the sun blazing, but as the sun’s intensity weakened, the heat became more bearable.
As soon as they finished spraying pesticide and tidied up the hose, the restaurant owner’s son appeared on a motorcycle.
On the back of the motorcycle was a delivery box containing makgeolli and pajeon. The restaurant owner’s husband yelled at his son.
“You damn brat! I told you to get makgeolli ages ago, why are you only coming now!”
“Dad, I have a personal life too. I can’t just come when you call or leave when you tell me to.”
“What personal life does a jobless bum at home have?”
“If you’re out, I have to do food deliveries.”
He explained that at Seongwoo Baekban, they delivered food to the fields during the farming season.
The workers, having finished their tasks, spread out the food brought by the restaurant owner’s son on the embankment and sat down on the dirt ground.
After just two hours of holding the pesticide hose, Taeseo’s legs were trembling. He didn’t get this tired after two hours of weightlifting, but he was extremely fatigued from using different muscles.
Paper cups filled with makgeolli were passed around among the people sitting in a circle. Taeseo was about to refuse, saying he couldn’t drink due to driving, but Hyunwoo preempted him, saying he couldn’t drink takju and passed his cup. Thanks to that, Taeseo could drink makgeolli without worry.
The foreign worker drank the makgeolli with surprising eagerness. The Village Head tore off a large piece of pajeon, put it in a paper cup, and handed it to the foreign worker.
“Ttuon, eat a lot.”
The Village Head’s gaze was full of warmth as he handed food to the foreign worker. Taeseo, seeing foreign workers in the countryside for the first time, watched the two of them with curiosity.
“It’s thanks to foreigners like Ttuon that we can still farm. It’s so hard to find young workers these days.”
“Don’t you have children? Besides, I heard farming is profitable these days.”
“The country buys our rice, so it’s not hard to make a living, but young people don’t want to do hard labor.”
Hyunwoo, listening from the side, added,
“My parents also farm. They told me not to inherit the farm but to study and get a job at a company. That’s why I came up to Seoul and got a job at Namkyung.”
“That’s right. It’s the same for me. This area only has land to live off of. So, even the young people who are left are becoming like idle loafers…”
Taeseo thought of An Yunho’s friends who gathered in front of the convenience store every day. The restaurant owner’s husband, sitting next to him, added,
“It’s not just the young people who become loafers. Look at Yunho’s Father.”
Yunho’s Father was referring to Ahn Yuna’s paternal uncle. Taeseo listened intently, hoping for information about him, but the Village Head interrupted and stood up.
“You all keep drinking. I’m going to check the Tractor’s coolant.”
The conversation in the field ended there.
As the four men took a few bites, the pajeon was gone, and the makgeolli quickly ran out.
Meanwhile, the Village Head, having refilled the Tractor’s coolant, got on the vehicle and told them to follow him.
Taeseo, who needed more information about Ahn Yuna’s family, handed the car keys to Hyunwoo and followed the Tractor without complaint.
The Tractor drove slowly. On the narrow single-lane road, they repeatedly had to pull over to the embankment to let oncoming cars pass, and it took a long time to reach the Village Head’s house.
In front of the Western-style house was a square-shaped faucet area. The Village Head, Hyunwoo, and Taeseo turned on the cold water and washed themselves.
Only after washing off the dirt and dust at the faucet could the three men enter the house.
The single-story house was old, but the faded curtains smelled of sunlight, and the rubber tree leaves inside the house sparkled without a speck of dust. It was a neat household, as if the mistress had meticulously cared for it.
As the Village Head announced his presence inside, the mistress peeked out from the kitchen, separated by a lattice door.
“You’re back? Did you finish spraying?”
“Yes. People from Namkyung Group came with me.”
“Namkyung Group?”
“Yes. They helped with the spraying, so I was thinking of treating them to dinner. Did you cook enough rice?”
“Rice isn’t the problem. The side dishes are.”
“There are plenty of vegetables from the field, so we can make side dishes by picking anything. If you don’t mind simple side dishes, come in.”
Did the rural kitchen have a magic pantry? Or was the claim of simple side dishes a lie? The mistress set out a round table laden with food.
While eating, they learned that the rural house had an agricultural freezer as large as a typical home’s master bedroom, where they stored all sorts of ingredients.
Taeseo had never seen a man in this village who didn’t drink, and indeed, the Village Head accompanied dinner with alcohol.
Alcohol was practically Taeseo’s specialty. There was nothing like alcohol to liven up a boring life. When he felt a little tipsy from drinking, his life felt less dull, so he had tried all sorts of liquor.
However, even for Taeseo, new types of alcohol began appearing on the table one by one.
They started with common infused liquors like Plum and Ginseng, and later opened a Mistletoe infused liquor.
When they opened the Lespedeza cuneata liquor, Taeseo refused, saying it was useless even if he drank it. The Village Head then brought out Frog liquor, made from real frogs.
