“Nabi!”
I called out to Nabi. Nabi perked up her ears at my voice and came running over.
“Meow!”
Nabi responded as if asking why I called her. I petted her and said, “Nabi, I think you need to go to the grooming salon.”
Nabi’s growth rate was insanely fast. I had heard that cats and dogs grow quickly, but this was beyond ridiculous. She seemed to be growing almost four times faster than other cats. Of course, Nabi was only about three months old. Normally, cats stop growing after about a year and maintain their weight.
Upon hearing this, Nabi just licked my face. If I had mentioned taking her to the hospital, she would have bolted without a word, but the grooming salon was different. There was nothing threatening about it for Nabi. At most, she would get a shower after grooming, and with me there, I could keep her calm.
“Maybe we can go later,” I thought.
I decided to take Nabi to the grooming salon once her fur grew a bit more. Nabi, perhaps sensing my thoughts, snuggled into my lap. I gently stroked her. Being with Nabi always made me feel at ease.
—
A commotion could be heard outside. I peeked out and saw people gathered in the hallway, doing something. I couldn’t miss out on this! So, I slipped on my slippers and went out. Bora, Haru, and Maru were standing there. It was rare to see all three of them together. I quietly approached. Maru, noticing my presence, said, “Hana, you’re here?”
“Yeah. What’s going on?”
I looked around. There was a huge box, bigger than the average adult male. I had to crane my neck to see the top. Maru, hearing my question, said, “Since Christmas is coming, we’re planning to set up a tree.”
“A tree!!!”
My eyes lit up. I had always wanted to decorate a Christmas tree. Watching American dramas and movies, I often saw people decorating trees with socks, bells, and candy canes. I wanted to do that too. Seeing my eyes sparkle, Bora asked, “Hana, is there something you want to do?”
“I… I want to decorate the Christmas tree!”
“Really? But the decorations are coming by mail tomorrow…”
So, it seemed like today was just about setting up the tree. Still, I wondered if there was anything I could help with. I looked around. Bora and Maru were carefully opening the box containing the Christmas tree. A male employee was also helping.
Given the size of the tree, it seemed too heavy for the women to move alone. Soon, a large Christmas tree stood in the hallway.
However, it looked a bit plain without decorations. I wished the decorations would arrive soon so I could start decorating. I had helped decorate once before, but I hadn’t been able to do much since I was new then.
This time, I planned to do everything from start to finish. I was determined to create a tree that was both dazzling and beautiful, showcasing my design enthusiasm. Maru, noticing my expression, gave an awkward smile. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to start decorating.
“Maru, where are the decorations from last time?”
“We threw them all away when we moved the building… They were dusty and worn out, so we had no choice.”
“Really?”
Well, I couldn’t argue with that. Even I had noticed how old and worn-out the decorations were. It was probably for the best. Decorating with new, fresh ornaments might be better anyway.
—
Kim Sehee’s job was to inspect the farms. Of course, she didn’t visit every day, but about once a week. With so many farms, she didn’t have the time to visit daily.
The farm that Kim Sehee was most concerned about was the one harvesting Tangle. Even though it had only been half a year, the sales had already surpassed 1 trillion won, making it a huge success.
It was water. And the surprising thing was that it was only being sold in the U.S. If they sold it in Western Europe, where there are a lot of bald people, they could boast much higher sales than now.
The only downside was that even though they weren’t even using half of the farm, even if they used the entire farm, they couldn’t meet the global demand. It wasn’t like they could plant trees densely. They clearly needed to give enough space. Right now, they were barely meeting the demand of tens of millions of Americans. They didn’t have the production capacity to sell to other countries.
If only the plant could grow elsewhere, they wouldn’t have to worry like this. Of course, if it grew elsewhere, others would have cultivated Tangle too, so they wouldn’t have enjoyed the monopoly effect. In fact, prices might have dropped, leading to declining sales. Tangle was a fruit that only bald people wanted, after all. There was no reason for the whole world to eat it.
So Kim Sehee came up with a new idea.
Like a smart farm, she thought of building a huge building to grow crops inside. If it weren’t for the limited space, building such a structure might not have been a great idea—it would cost a lot of money. But now, things were different.
They had to grow as many crops as possible in a limited area. That meant if they stacked Tangle from the 1st floor up to the 20th floor, they could harvest 20 times more Tangle in the same area. And the higher the floors went, the more Tangle they could harvest, multiplying the yield.
For now, since there was room for other crops, she decided to start by building a farm building for Tangle.
The thought of building a state-of-the-art farm facility made her feel good. A massive Tangle building would be constructed here. And they would be able to harvest much more Tangle. Time was the most critical factor in building the structure. Fortunately, after the Gate appeared, many groundbreaking products had emerged in the construction industry. So building the structure wouldn’t take long. She planned not to skimp on money for the construction.
After all, Tangle was the dream cure bald people around the world were longing for.
—
Japan, heavily damaged by the typhoon, was struggling with a rice shortage. Of course, in modern society, people in developed countries didn’t starve to death or anything like that. Thanks to the invention of nitrogen fertilizers, more food was being grown than needed to feed the entire global population. Frankly, even if the population grew by billions more, they could still meet the demand.
But in Japan, where rice was a staple, the moment people couldn’t get rice, public anger would undoubtedly turn toward the government. Some might say, “Why not just eat something other than rice?” But rice was both a common and essential food.
With Tanaka’s cooperation and connections, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also got involved. They received help from Starlight Group. As a result, a pathway opened for Starlight Rice to be exported to Japan. For now, it was only being distributed through Karasushi, but soon, all Japanese citizens would have the chance to eat Starlight Rice.
“Very well. We will positively consider importing rice from Korea.”
They received a positive signal from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. In the face of an urgent crisis, past tensions between Korea and Japan had to be set aside. Frankly, if they didn’t import rice from Starlight Food within a month, Japanese dining tables might run out of rice. Importing rice from the U.S. or other countries would take too long.
To avoid public criticism, the Japanese government needed Starlight Rice. Other Korean rice couldn’t be purchased because this year’s typhoon had ruined the harvest. Southeast Asia and China were also struggling to meet their own rice self-sufficiency rates due to typhoon damage.
So, for now, Starlight Food was the only place they could import rice from.
