There are many types of meat like pork, chicken, and duck, but if I had to pick the best, it would probably be beef. That’s why beef boasts the highest price among all meats.
Of course, there might be cuts of other meats that are more expensive than beef. But on average, beef is probably the priciest.
And there it was, piled high on the table. It was a clear message to eat as much as we wanted. Just looking at the never-ending pile of beef made me feel full already.
*Sizzle—*
The beef was cooking deliciously. Jiyu and Yumi were holding their chopsticks, their eyes sparkling. Yep, Jiyu and Yumi were definitely third graders. At that age, even the smallest things are exciting.
Of course, my eyes were sparkling too. Beef like this wasn’t something you could eat every day. If it were me in the past, I’d be checking my bank account with tears in my eyes before eating. But now, it was different. I could eat it anytime, no problem. Heck, with the money I had, I could probably build a Beef Building.
I asked the boss how much they earned, and while I’m not sure exactly, it’s probably at least in the billions. For a third grader, that’s a lot of wealth. No wonder I’ve transcended material desires.
“This looks so good!”
The meat was done. Seeing the beautifully cooked beef, I couldn’t hold back anymore. With a nod from the employee, Jiyu, Yumi, and I started digging in with our chopsticks.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
“So delicious…!”
Jiyu and Yumi were wide-eyed, savoring the beef. I took a bite too. The juices bursting with every chew satisfied my taste buds completely. Since I’d had beef from Starlight Farm before, I wasn’t completely shocked.
But Jiyu and Yumi had never tried beef from Starlight Farm, so they were eating it with pure awe.
“This is so good!”
“Me too! This is the best beef I’ve ever had in my life!”
Dipping the beef in the sauce made it even more flavorful. I dipped mine in sesame oil with salt. The nuttiness of the sesame oil mixed with the saltiness created a smooth, rich taste. I smiled brightly as I took another bite.
There’s nothing better than eating beef grilled by an employee with your close friends. Looking around, the other kids were also happily enjoying their beef. Of course they were. How could you not smile eating something this delicious?
And so, our class got to enjoy this special, delicious beef instead of the usual school lunch.
I started thinking that maybe we should let the whole third grade have some too. If only our class kept getting special treatment, the other classes might get jealous. And I didn’t want that.
—
“Huh…?”
I woke up to something hitting my face. It’s the weekend, so I could sleep in, but… I opened my eyes to see Nabi pawing at me, demanding to play. I picked her up. I still wanted to sleep, so I held her tightly to stop her from moving.
“Meow!”
But Nabi didn’t seem sleepy at all. Even in my arms, she wriggled around, trying to break free. I had no choice but to let her go. She started pawing at my face again. I had no choice but to get up.
When Nabi wakes you up like that, you can’t stay in bed. I stretched and shook off the last bits of sleep. Picking up Nabi, I said:
“Since you woke me up, today’s menu is Nabi stew!”
“Meow!!!”
Nabi seemed to understand perfectly. She thrashed around even more when I mentioned stew. I wondered what she’d look like in a pot. Of course, that’s not happening.
—
Oh Ye-rin managed to finish the delicious seaweed soup. Honestly, after giving birth, I thought I’d lose my appetite and leave food uneaten. But instead, I wanted to eat even more seaweed soup.
The seaweed in the seaweed soup was pretty ordinary, but the taste of the beef and the broth in the soup was unforgettable. It was probably the best seaweed soup I’ve ever had. Sorry, Mom, but the seaweed soup from this postnatal care center was way tastier than yours. There was no comparison. Of course, if I said this to Mom’s face, I have no idea what she might do. If her daughter said the seaweed soup she made was tasteless, she might just grab the rod of justice.
Anyway, Oh Ye-rin held her full stomach and drifted off to sleep. Normally, she wouldn’t be able to sleep due to chills and stomachaches, but today, for some reason, she felt at ease and fell asleep comfortably.
The next morning, Ye-rin woke up feeling refreshed. She showed incredible recovery in just one day. Even she couldn’t believe it. She thought there would be severe aftereffects since it was her first childbirth, but after eating yesterday’s meal, there was no sign of any discomfort.
“How’s your body, Ye-rin’s mom?”
“Ah… I feel so much better. I feel like I could even run if I wanted to.”
“Right? There’s something about this postnatal care center! I didn’t believe it at first either.”
Ye-rin moved around with her lighter body. She even had seaweed soup packed with beef for breakfast. Of course, it was so delicious that she didn’t leave a single drop of broth. She thought the seaweed soup from this center would leave a lasting impression even after she went home. In fact, she wanted to know what was in the soup right now.
Ye-rin got up from the hospital bed and walked to the restaurant that made the seaweed soup. She thought they might share the recipe since it wasn’t some corporate secret.
“Ah, the seaweed soup? We just throw in seaweed bought from the market. Nothing special.”
Since Ye-rin already knew the seaweed was ordinary, she asked differently.
“Where do you get the beef that goes into the seaweed soup? The beef was really delicious.”
“Ah, that’s beef sold by Starlight Food. It’s cheap and tasty.”
“Ah, I see.”
“These days, postnatal care centers use beef from Starlight Food in their seaweed soup. We tried it too, and it worked so well that we’ve been using it ever since.”
Ye-rin couldn’t help but nod unconsciously at the mention of Starlight Food’s beef. She was very familiar with the company. When she was pregnant, she suffered from severe morning sickness. Just the smell of most foods made her nauseous. People with severe morning sickness usually can’t eat, and Ye-rin was exactly in that situation.
Back then, Starlight Cherry Tomatoes became a ray of hope for her. Eating just one cherry tomato made her feel as full as if she had eaten a whole meal, and she didn’t have to worry about morning sickness. Even if she couldn’t eat anything else, she could still manage one cherry tomato.
That’s why Ye-rin had a good impression of Starlight Food. It was the food that saved her from hunger during her worst morning sickness.
—
With Starlight Food’s beef hitting the market, postnatal care centers started to change. Many centers began using this cheaper beef in their seaweed soup instead of imported beef.
What was even more fascinating was that mothers who ate the seaweed soup with this beef showed incredible recovery. And even more peculiar, the newborns who drank their milk grew up strong and healthy. The rate of healthy growth without any illnesses skyrocketed.
Everyone kept it hush-hush, but they believed the beef in the seaweed soup made the mothers healthier and boosted the immunity of the newborns who drank their milk. Detailed research would be needed, but there were already plenty of samples.
Of course, it wasn’t like the animals were growing at some monstrous speed.
