“Ughhh…”
I woke up in bed. Just yesterday, I was in Gangwon-do, but now I’m home, and it still doesn’t feel real. As I sat on the bed, dazed, I heard footsteps from somewhere. Those nimble footsteps could only mean one thing…
“Meowww!”
Nabi came running at me. I gently caught her. Nabi was clearly mad. It felt like she was asking why I left her alone and stayed out. Of course, she was just meowing and crying, but I could kind of understand her.
So, I started apologizing with some head pats. To calm Nabi down, I had to pat her head at lightning speed. Then, she’d melt like pudding. Right now, she was completely melted in my arms from the pats. I gently and coolly stroked her head until she fell asleep. Soon, Nabi closed her eyes and drifted off to dreamland. I wanted to follow her, but sleep just wouldn’t come.
From the sauna yesterday to the massage, there was no way I could be tired. My current condition was top-notch. You could say it was the best I’ve felt all year. Of course, it’s only been two days since the year started.
“Ughh!”
After watching Nabi sleep, I got out of bed. Maybe it’s because it’s school vacation, but nothing was stopping me. Even though the sun was high in the sky, no one was looking for me. I absentmindedly turned on the TV.
Watching TV is one of the best ways to pass time. It’s so addictive that it’s nicknamed the “idiot box.” Even noisy, restless kids stay still when you show them TV.
“Ooh…!”
I saw something amazing on TV. People were zooming across an ice rink, skating so fast. Watching them, a manly desire surged within me. I wanted to put on skates and zoom across the ice too. I immediately ran to the office.
If I could run on ice, I could do anything.
*Thud thud thud!*
With my short legs moving as fast as they could, I made it to the office. I opened the door. People didn’t pay much attention since they knew I often came here to hang out. I did say hi, though.
I ran over to Maru, who was sitting in the corner. Maru smiled at me and said,
“Did you sleep well, Hana?”
“Yeah!”
I dove into Maru’s arms. She gently caught me and sat me on her lap. Her thighs were so soft, like cushions. But that wasn’t the point. I told Maru,
“Maru, I want to do something!”
“Oh? What does Hana want to do?”
*Nod nod.*
I nodded and looked up at Maru. She patted my head while talking. It was the opposite of what happened with Nabi earlier. Back then, I was the one patting Nabi’s head, but now Maru was patting mine. It didn’t feel bad at all. In fact, it felt nice. I think I understood why Nabi felt so happy when I petted her.
“I want to skate!”
“Skate? What’s gotten into you, Hana?”
“I saw it on TV!”
“Really?”
Maru nodded as if she understood. Skating seemed like an easy thing to do. It wasn’t that hard. Just go to a skating rink in Seoul and have fun. That’s it. Nothing else to it. Maru would probably just watch me skate.
I added another request. Skating alone wouldn’t be fun. I needed to call some friends. Jiyu and Yumi would be perfect. And it wouldn’t cost much. Just pay the entrance fee for the rink. Of course, renting skates and other gear would be enough. No need to buy them from a department store for just one day.
Like last time when I went skiing, I could just rent the gear and return it. After all, I’m still growing, so even if I bought the gear, I’d outgrow it by next year. Plus, storing it would be a hassle.
“Hmm…”
Kim Sehee decided to celebrate her trip to Gangwon-do by visiting a farm. She wanted to go home with Hana, but the heavy duty of being a working adult weighed on her. Every now and then, she had the desire to break free from all constraints and live alone with Hana.
She even thought about buying a quiet island to spend her whole life with Hana. Of course, she decided to keep this thought to herself, as she wasn’t sure if Hana would like living that way.
“Is this the milking spot?”
“Yes.”
Starlight Farm raised cows for beef, mainly sold in the U.S., and dairy cows that were just starting mass production of milk. However, the downside of milk production was the raw milk price linkage system, which prevented Starlight Food from lowering prices to increase market share.
Consumers might think, “What kind of system is this?” but upon understanding the details, it made some sense.
Milk is produced by dairy cows. While milk can be obtained from other animals, it’s not as much or as tasty as cow’s milk. However, if dairy cows aren’t milked daily, they can suffer from burst blood vessels and mastitis.
If left untreated, they eventually can’t produce milk, leading to slaughter. But dairy cow meat isn’t tasty, and selling it is a tearful affair. Plus, milk isn’t easy to store. While sterilized milk can last up to a year, regular milk has a short shelf life of just a few weeks, meaning it must be sold immediately after production.
Considering the market conditions, the government created the raw milk price linkage system, setting a minimum price and legally prohibiting sales below that price.
This logic didn’t align with the market economy at all.
However, it was good news for dairy farmers struggling with cutthroat competition. And due to the milk quota system, dairy product companies had to purchase a certain amount of milk.
Thus, Starlight Food’s dairy farms had to yield some market share to other domestic dairy farmers.
Honestly, Kim Sehee felt like cleaning out all the dairy farmers selling bland, watered-down milk. Starlight Farm’s milk was exceptionally rich and delicious.
Blind tests showed that 99% of consumers preferred Starlight Farm’s milk, indicating a strong consumer preference.
The biggest issue for dairy farmers was the cost of feed, which made up most of the milk production costs. While dairy cows were expensive, their numbers could be increased through breeding.
But feed was different. Every dairy cow needed a certain amount of feed daily; otherwise, they’d starve or stop producing milk.
In this regard, Starlight Food had an advantage, buying feed at much lower prices—or rather, not buying it at all, as they used rice straw from Starlight Rice. Essentially, it was free.
Compared to other dairy farms, Starlight Food’s milk production costs were minimal. They aimed to dominate the domestic milk market with this advantage but were hindered by regulations.
Thus, their goal was to maximize domestic production quotas and sell overseas, as companies relying solely on domestic markets couldn’t grow significantly.
