Round 136

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“What is an actor?”

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Ara tilt her head in confusion and ask again.

“You’ve seen TV at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, right?”

“Oh! The people on there!”

“The people who come out on TV are actors.”

“Do they dance and sing?”

Suddenly, Ara, sitting on Purr’s back, started to bounce. Her awkward dancing made me burst out laughing.

“Why is our Ara so cute?”

“I am cute!”

Seeing Ara eagerly asserting her cuteness, I wondered if she could try a small role for the experience. Of course, it would depend on the contract terms.

This time, we sped back at full speed without any interruptions and returned in no time. Checking the mini-map in real-time, I could really feel Purr’s speed. If I weren’t an awakened one, I wouldn’t have been able to handle Purr’s speed.

– Neigh.

Before long, I saw the village and my family relaxing comfortably inside it. Ara stood up and waved her hands excitedly while doing a little acrobatics.

“I’m here!”

Seon-ah was the first to react to Ara’s shout. Hugging Kkumuris and the slime in her arms, she jumped up and ran over.

“Ara!”

“Seon-ah Seon-ah!”

Anyone would think they hadn’t seen each other for months. Ara quickly jumped off Purr and ran to Seon-ah. Seon-ah, unable to let go of Kkumuris and the slime in her hands, hugged Ara tightly. Watching their dramatic reunion, I greeted my mother and father.

“You’re back?”

“Where have you been?”

“I had some business to take care of far away. It took longer than expected, so I worried you.”

Just then, my father approached and handed me some documents. They were related to the construction project.

“I’ve sent the PDF files to your phone, so keep those for now.”

“Yes. But the amount seems less than I expected?”

“This is just the beginning. More expenses will come.”

I nodded at my father’s words, though the initial cost was indeed lower than anticipated. I had expected higher costs considering the materials, heavy equipment rental, and labor wages.

‘It’s all about connections!’

The price was about two-thirds of the market rate. It seemed my father had hired people through his connections. I should personally thank them later. My father might call me a fool, but I believe in treating acquaintances well to maintain their value. 

‘So as not to lose the preciousness in familiarity.’

“Did you check the soybeans?”

“I checked and turned them over before I left. Would you like to see them?”

“Sure. Let’s go have a look.”

Curious about the soybeans, my mother went straight to check the ones drying on the straw. Ara was too busy chattering to Seon-ah about her recent experiences, so I let her play and entered the storage room.

“What is this?”

I came to check the soybeans but found a furry ball curled up. I had definitely put it inside the house last time, yet here it was again.

“Gomgom, if you sleep here, you’ll get a stiff neck.”

Gomgom was breathing evenly in his sleep. As before, he didn’t budge when I touched him. I decided to just let him sleep.

“We should put some straw inside Gomgom’s house next winter.”

“All the kids here are just too cute.”

My mother stroked Gomgom and then carefully checked the soybeans.

“I’m not sure either. Is it going well?”

“Isn’t it going well?”

Since my parents had never made soybean paste themselves, they didn’t have much knowledge about it. 

Still, with the internet being so well-developed nowadays, we could manage most things by referencing online resources.

“Oh, I brought something back this time.”

“From China?”

“No, I just brought it today.”

We went back outside to find Bokkeum. 

Bokkeum was standing idly by Ara’s side, and Seon-ah pointed at him and asked.

“Why did Bokkeum’s bag change so much? It looks strange.”

“It evolved after synthesis. Now it functions as both a bag and a shield.”

“…Bokkeum seems a bit pitiful.”

Bokkeum now not only carried our luggage but also acted as a shield. However, it wasn’t my fault. It just turned out that way after synthesis. 

Anyway, putting aside Bokkeum’s changes, we started to take out the bamboo shoots and bamboo. I wasn’t sure if they were the same species as Earth’s bamboo, but they looked similar.

“Oh, is this bamboo?”

“Probably?”

I nodded uncertainly. 

As I took out the bamboo, Ara chimed in.

“It’s delicious.”

“Is it? I’ve never seen bamboo shoots before.”

Seon-ah examined the bamboo shoot in her hand, and honestly, it was also my first time eating bamboo shoots.

“What do you mean? How have you never had bamboo shoots?”

“I haven’t, so I’m saying I haven’t.”

“You must have had them when you were young. You just don’t remember.”

I wondered if my father was right. 

Anyway, everyone found the bamboo and bamboo shoots fascinating.

“Is there a bamboo forest here?”

“Yes. It’s a bit far.”

We could go if we wanted, but it was quite a distance. 

Riding Purr at a moderate speed, it would take about 5 hours; at full speed, it would take around 2 hours.

‘It took about 10 hours to reach the sea.’

Taking breaks along the way would extend the time further. 

If we ever had plenty of leisure time and my family wanted to see it, we could plan a dungeon tour.

“Have you tried this?”

“I tried it just before coming. It was okay.”

“I can’t trust your ‘okay.’ You said something incredibly delicious was just not bad.”

“Did I?”

I must have become picky from eating too many delicious things lately.

“Well, since you say it’s okay, I’ll look forward to it a little.”

“It’s delicious!”

Ara nodded vigorously.

However, Seon-ah found Ara’s enthusiastic reaction hard to trust and smiled awkwardly.

“Ara… eats anything well, so it’s cute.”

“Yep!”

We took out the large cooking equipment from the storage. 

There was a wide variety of cooking tools, thanks to the thorough preparations by Ara Hongryeon’s side. 

“There’s enough to eat plenty, Ara.”

“Woohoo!”

The two bamboo shoots that must have seemed meager to Ara. 

But now we could steam dozens at once.

“Kyu-seong, you can grill the bamboo shoots too.”

“Oh, we don’t have to steam them?”

“Mom will grill them, so you can steam them.”

Accepting my mother’s offer to help, I started steaming the bamboo shoots. 

Steaming was simple, just putting them in the steamer, but grilling took a bit more time.

“We have to peel off all the shells.”

When grilling, we had to remove the bamboo shoot shells first. 

Eventually, the family gathered together to peel the shells.

“Heheh.”

“Oh, you’re doing well.”

Ara and the Kkumuris also started peeling bamboo shoot skins beside us. Ara’s movements were awkward, but with her strong physical abilities, she peeled the skins off briskly. 

The Kkumuriss, though weaker, peeled the skins delicately and carefully. 

Once the skins were removed, my mother immediately started grilling the bamboo shoots. She mentioned that it was good to season them, but…

“We only have salt and sugar.”

“Oh dear.”

We had no choice but to sprinkle a little salt. 

As the spaces for soybean paste, red pepper paste, and soy sauce grew, I thought about preparing some commercial products to fill the gaps. 

‘Just hold on a bit longer…’

There was no real reason to hold on, but my pride kicked in. 

“By the way, I heard you failed at making tofu last time?”

“Yes. It was harder than I thought.”

“Let’s try making it together next time. I’ve never made tofu myself, but we can do it if we try.”

“I’d appreciate your help.”

Rather than grilling, we ended up stir-frying the bamboo shoots, and soon a rich aroma filled the air. 

Even from peeling the skins, a fragrant grassy smell had wafted, but now it was combined with a savory scent. 

“All done!”

Seon-ah proudly exclaimed, looking at the peeled bamboo shoots. It seemed she had peeled everything that was intended for eating. 

“It smells good.”

“Yes. It doesn’t taste bad either.”

Just then, my mother finished stir-frying the bamboo shoots and was transferring them to a bowl. The bamboo shoots in the steamer would take a bit longer, so we decided to taste the stir-fried ones first. 

“Wow.”

Ara drooled at the sight of the piled-up bamboo shoots and trembled with anticipation.

“Can I eat now?”

“Yes, let’s eat. Mom, you should stop frying and eat some. I’ll take over.”

I had already eaten, so I was fine. I decided to just take one bite.

I picked up a bamboo shoot and bit into it. It was still a bit hot from the frying, but I blew on it to cool it down and chewed slowly.

Crunch!

“Mmm!”

This had a different feeling. It felt fresher than the steamed ones. It was probably because of the firmer texture.

‘Can it taste this good with just salt?’

According to my mother, the flavor of bamboo shoot dishes usually depends on the seasoning. No matter what kind of seasoning is used, it sticks well to the bamboo shoots, making you taste the seasoning more than the bamboo itself. 

However, even the bamboo shoots seasoned lightly with salt were very delicious. 

I wondered if bamboo shoots always tasted like this, but then my parents’ comments made me realize that wasn’t the case.

“Wow, I’ve never had bamboo shoots this tasty before.”

“Right? This feels like a completely different kind.”

Neither Seon-ah nor I remembered eating bamboo shoot dishes, even though we were told we had as kids. We thought this was the usual taste, but apparently not. 

Seeing everyone enjoy it made me happy, so I decided to harvest more bamboo shoots the next time I checked on the Millennium Ginseng.

Chomp chomp!

Beside us, Ara was eating enthusiastically, making up for not being able to eat earlier. Even so, she was still taking care of the slimes and Kkumuriss that had gathered around.

“Eat a lot!”

-Hehe.

Kkumul~!

While we were busily stir-frying more bamboo shoots, the ones we had put in the steamer were also done. We saw people blowing on the hot steamed bamboo shoots and peeling off the skins.

“This is quite a delicacy in its own way.”

“Oh my, the texture is really unique. I prefer this one.”

“Mom, I like this one better too. It’s a bit bland since it’s not seasoned, but it tastes much better with a bit of salt.”

The texture is quite addictive.

As we had our bamboo shoot feast, my father was the first to pat his belly and step back.

“Ah, this is good.”

“How is it? Do you think it’s good enough to send to Jae-seong?”

“Of course. I haven’t eaten a lot of bamboo shoots, but these are the best I’ve had.”

We prepared some bamboo shoots and bamboo separately to send to Jae-seong. Meanwhile, our well-fed younger sister cheerfully approached me.

“Brother.”

“….”

“Have you thought about it?”

“Ah, Iron Blood?”

I had thought about it, but I couldn’t give a definite answer yet.

“It depends on the contract terms, but if it’s short-term or a one-time thing, it should be fine. Ara seems to like it too.”

“Then should I send a reply email?!”

“No, let’s first check with CEO Baek. I should have received a message by now.”

“Oh, right. You said you know CEO Baek Tae-seop’s contact. Is that true?”

Seon-ah, tilting her head in disbelief, soon spoke as if she couldn’t understand.

“What?”

“It’s just hard to believe. Knowing the personal contact of CEO Baek Tae-seop, that sounds unbelievable.”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

Seon-ah seemed at a loss for words at my nonchalant response.

Well, it might be hard to believe. Being personally connected with the CEO of the second-largest guild, or rather, the second-largest company in the country does sound…

‘It’s pretty incredible.’

It felt so natural that it didn’t really hit me, but seeing Seon-ah’s reaction made it all sink in.

Anyway, I thought I’d probably received a message by now. I wondered if I had kept them waiting unnecessarily.

“I’ll step outside for a moment to check if there are any messages.”

“Sure.”

(To be Continued)

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