Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Chapter 41 A Return Gift (1)

The Palace of the Supreme Emperor, where the noble beings known as heavenly gods resided.

But it was extremely rare for them to gather in one place.

For those who governed all creation, the world changed far too quickly, and simply fulfilling their assigned duties was already overwhelming.

Attending a suddenly convened meeting would not reduce their workloads, so the heavenly gods gathered there wore displeased expressions.

Moreover, this was already their second such meeting recently.

"Old Woman Mago, let's be honest with each other now."

"What do you mean?"

"We have eyes and ears too. How long do you intend to hide this? That man arbitrarily helped a dragon ascend and even brought it back to the mortal world."

"Heh heh. The dragon attained enlightenment and ascended on its own, and I was the one who told it to descend."

"Do you truly not know what will happen if a being from the Celestial Realm descends into the mortal world?"

"What descent are you talking about! He came here so suddenly that I merely sent him back to put his affairs in order."

'If no one makes an issue of it, it isn't an issue.'

It was a defense backed by the authority and experience carried by the name Goddess Mago.

Old Woman Mago had lived since long before any of them became heavenly gods, and neither her age nor her power allowed them to challenge her lightly.

But the shocking news that followed stirred up the hall once again.

"I heard you even gave him crops from the Celestial Realm. Did you authorize that as well?"

"What?"

"No, then what on earth is this..."

"It was only two thousand years ago that a single herb of immortality threw an entire nation into turmoil! Ha!"

"Didn't I say long ago that there was a problem! If someone can freely travel between the Celestial Realm and the mortal world, wouldn't he think to hide a medicinal herb in his clothes and take it with him?"

-Thump. Thump.

The clear ringing sound of Old Woman Mago's staff striking the ground silenced everyone and drew their attention.

"Enough! If you intend to condemn a dragon even for repaying the kindness of its benefactor, then relinquish your positions as heavenly gods and go take seats as judges in the Kingdom of Yama."

"Old Woman Mago, this is not a matter that can be dismissed so easily! Everything born and raised in the Celestial Realm possesses mysterious powers. The mortal world will be unable to handle them."

"Indeed! Even you do not know what he might do with such precious things, Old Woman Mago!"

_____________

"We'll have to make kimchi for the winter."

"What did you say?"

"Fox has such big ears, but he can't hear very well. We're making kimchi for the winter."

"I wasn't asking because I couldn't hear! You're going to make kimchi with vegetables grown in the Celestial Realm?"

"Yes, because they're cabbages."

"It seems you still don't understand, but if even the most insignificant object from the Celestial Realm falls into the mortal world improperly, it can plunge the world into chaos. It's outrageous enough that Yongman has returned, yet now you intend to make kimchi with cabbages from the Celestial Realm!"

"They're just vegetables imbued with divine power. They're not much different from the vegetables we eat as wraps at the coffeehouse."

"No, even so, there are certain principles..."

"We can't throw them away, can we?"

Not only had I filled the car, but I'd even needed Yongman's help to bring them all back.

Besides, weren't cabbages the very vegetables whose prices occasionally soared through the roof, earning them the nickname "golden cabbage"?

"I'll make a quick trip to the market before it gets any later. Lia, want to come?"

"Yes!"

"I shall come as well. Staying in the coffeehouse all the time has made me restless."

"Then I'm coming too!"

"You need to guard the coffeehouse, raccoon dog. You can't even use shapeshifting arts, so where do you keep thinking you're going?"

"The same goes for you, Elder."

"Hm? Why me?"

"There isn't enough room in the car for everyone."

There were sixty heads of cabbage in total. Even buying just the seasonings needed for kimchi would make it difficult to fit everything into the car.

"Then we'll be off."

"See you later!"

And so Lia and I got into the car and headed straight for the market.

Since it was almost closing time, even finding a parking space didn't take long.

"But how do you make kimchi for the winter?"

"I'm not really sure either."

"Then what do we do?"

Lia asked with a puzzled expression.

"There's a way. You'll find out soon enough."

This was a traditional market with decades of history.

It was a place where knowledge of all kinds of cooking, not just kimchi-making, had accumulated.

There were surely as many experts who could teach us how to make proper kimchi, the kind of knowledge not written on MeTube or blogs, as there were shops.

And my prediction proved exactly right.

"Oh, goodness gracious, aren't you adorable! Would you like some candy?"

"Are you a child actress or something?"

"Sweetheart, how old are you?"

"I'm four!"

"Oh my, you speak Korean so well!"

From the moment we entered the market, elderly shoppers and shopkeepers greeted us warmly.

Older people were especially fond of children.

Of course, few people disliked children, but in a market where children's laughter had become rare, Lia was receiving even more affection.

And I took advantage of the gathering crowd to quickly reveal my real purpose.

"I'm thinking of making kimchi with her, but I don't know anything about it. Could you possibly teach us?"

"Making kimchi?"

"How many cabbages are you planning to use?"

"I've already bought sixty whole cabbages."

"Such a handsome young man, and you certainly think big! You bought all those to make kimchi with just the two of you?"

"But I only bought the cabbages and don't know anything else, so I came straight to the market. I thought I'd try learning from the elders here."

"What a sensible young man! I wish my son were half as thoughtful. Anyway, making kimchi is easy! You know coarse salt? Dissolve about three handfuls in a large basin..."

"How are three handfuls supposed to wilt sixty cabbages! They're spring cabbages, so they're firm. You need to put in a generous half-gourdful."

"Oh, three handfuls or half a gourd, what's the difference?"

And so, only after an intense discussion that lasted until the surroundings began to darken did we finally obtain a proper kimchi-making recipe and carefully selected seasoning ingredients from the market.

"Heave-ho!"

"I told you I'd carry everything."

That was what I said, but I really didn't have enough hands.

The ingredients filling the car were so numerous and varied that I began wondering whether I'd gotten myself into unnecessary trouble.

"Phew. Now, shall we go find the real thing?"

"The real thing?"

"We're still missing red pepper powder."

"That's right!"

Red pepper powder.

It was such an important ingredient that some people even said the true heart of kimchi was not the cabbage but the red pepper powder.

And it was something I absolutely refused to compromise on.

This was already my first attempt at making kimchi, so I couldn't use substandard imported pepper powder for its most important ingredient.

But finding domestically produced red pepper powder was surprisingly difficult, even in this traditional market where they supposedly sold everything imaginable.

Except for one place.

'Red pepper powder? Oh, there's hardly any domestic stuff these days. If you're that particular, you'll have to buy a half-and-half mixture.'

'Even the mills around here use Chinese peppers. People who really want domestic ones grow their own and bring them in to be ground, but they don't sell them. Unless you try Granny Choi's mill, maybe.'

'Oh, don't even tell him about that place. Their prices are like a department store's.'

'No matter how expensive it is, isn't that the only place selling domestic red pepper powder right now?'

'Where is that place?'

'You're really going there?'

'I want to make it delicious, even if it's expensive.'

'Then there's something you absolutely have to say when you get there.'

'Pardon?'

'What you have to say is...'

After learning that mysterious password(?), finding the rumored mill was not particularly difficult.

【Choi's Mill】

The sign really did say Choi's Mill. It was the very place the merchants and shoppers had tried so hard to discourage us from visiting.

It looked ordinary from the outside, though...

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Oh, hello there. What brings you here?"

The person who emerged from the mill was a middle-aged man with a kindly face.

"I'd like to buy some red pepper powder."

"Here you go. The small bags are fifteen thousand won, and the large ones are thirty thousand."

His thick hand pointed toward the red pepper powder displayed on the counter.

"Do you have any domestically grown ones?"

"Domestic? Haha, you must not know, but it's hard to find domestically produced red pepper powder in the market. I can grind peppers for you if you bring them in. Would you like me to?"

"No. I heard you have peppers harvested at Grandma Okja's house."

There was a brief silence. Then the man nodded emphatically, picked up a red landline telephone, and called someone.

"Were you asleep? No, it isn't a delivery of rice. There's a customer here who wants to buy your peppers, Grandma. What should I do? Uh-huh, all right. I'll take good care of him. Yes, get some rest."

Only then did I understand why the elders had told me to mention Grandma Okja, whom I'd never even met.

Here, the seller held all the power.

Even at the mill, which served as the retailer, the supplier's permission was required before a sale could be made.

Apparently, the elders had contacted Grandma Okja while we were making our way to the mill.

"I haven't seen you around before. How does a young fellow like you know about Grandma Okja's peppers? Whose son are you?"

"Oh, no. Someone just recommended this place."

"Haha, the women around here don't even spread the word because they're afraid there won't be enough pepper powder left for themselves. That's surprising. If I grind the peppers today, they'll be ready tomorrow morning, so come back then."

"All right. Should I leave a deposit?"

"Hahaha! Where else in this market would you find such a handsome young man and such an adorable child? Just go on!"

"Thank you."

With that, all the preparations for making kimchi were complete.

Though I had to admit that what had started as a simple attempt to ask for a construction company's contact number had grown somewhat out of proportion.

______________

The next day, at a construction site near Gyeonggi Province.

A scrawny worker was walking around a nearly completed building, scolding the other workers.

"You idiots! The shoring's a month behind and the concrete's ten days behind! Are you all going to slack off and still collect your daily wages?"

"Ah, Worker Choi really needs to fix that temper of his. Assistants can't last three days with you around. You'll never become a foreman like that."

"Oh, come on, Boss. You've got another twenty years in you. Why would I need to learn to be a foreman?"

"Even so, you've got to teach the youngsters so you can call them back for work later."

"There aren't any youngsters worth teaching. They're all lazy, and the moment things get a little tough, they run off. Tsk. That Yongman fellow was dependable, though. Still haven't heard from him?"

"Nope. His phone's turned off, and they say he hasn't shown up at any other sites either."

"I wonder what happened to that young fellow. He must have some circumstances that keep him from getting even a single proper document. Nobody but you would hire him, Boss. I wonder if he's at least eating properly."

Construction labor might be looked down upon, but it was still legitimate employment. A worker's identity needed to be verified.

There was no way the fake identification card and documents Yongman had cobbled together by clumsily asking around could have passed inspection, but the foreman had accepted them without a word.

He knew perfectly well that he would be responsible if anything went wrong. But after spending his entire life watching people at the bottom of society, his experienced eyes had recognized Yongman's extraordinary innocence.

Assuming the young man must have circumstances he couldn't discuss, he had allowed him to keep working.

For eight whole years.

That was why his sudden disappearance caused more worry than disappointment.

"But what are all those cars?"

"Where?"

"Over there."

The foreman, who had noticed the cars late because he was busy chatting about his concerns for Yongman, physically turned Worker Choi's head toward them.

"What the hell? Are those gangsters involved with this building? Why are so many black cars coming in?"

"You saw the building owner last time. That old woman with gold rings on every finger."

"Then who are those people? Huh?"

The answer came quickly.

Because the person stepping out of the luxury sedan was someone they knew very well.

He was dressed in an expensive suit and accompanied by several attendants, but it was unmistakably Yongman.

"HEY! YONGMAN, YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!"

"Good grief, don't run around on the construction site."

The joyful greeting of their reunion after so long echoed through the site, accompanied by a hearty stream of profanity.