“Yeah, so what brings you here?”
Kim Sehee asked Manager Lee Hangyu. She had a rough idea of why he came, but it had to come straight from the person’s mouth.
“Um… I came to ask for the Boss’s help…”
“What kind of help?”
Kim Sehee smiled consciously as she spoke. She made it clear that she wouldn’t help unless the other person explicitly stated what they wanted. Seeing her reaction, Manager Lee Hangyu hesitated before speaking.
“I heard that the farm run by the Boss suffered relatively less damage from this typhoon.”
“That’s right. Frankly, we can operate the farm normally by next week.”
Kim Sehee already knew Manager Lee’s intentions but pretended to be surprised, acting as if she didn’t know how her farm remained unscathed.
The rice farming across the country was pretty much ruined by this typhoon. Other vegetables and fruits were also hit, but rice farming took the biggest blow.
At best, the output might be 10% of the usual. No, considering the typhoon’s power, it might not even be 1%. However, Manager Lee cautiously brought up something Kim Sehee hadn’t expected.
“Because of this typhoon, the government-operated grain warehouses suffered significant damage.”
“Is that so? I expected some damage from the typhoon, but… not all the grain warehouses were hit, right?”
“Well… the repair work on the grain warehouses was underway, so the damage was even greater.”
This typhoon was sudden. The government’s complacent attitude, thinking a typhoon wouldn’t come in spring, led to this situation. Of course, the government was also in an unfair position.
A typhoon in spring was already unheard of, and it turned out to be the strongest typhoon in Korean history.
They tried to cancel the grain warehouse repairs and prepare for the typhoon, but there wasn’t enough time. As a result, grain warehouses nationwide suffered significant damage.
Kim Sehee, hearing for the first time that grain warehouses across the country were heavily damaged, spoke with a slightly stiff expression.
“So…? Is there no rice reserve left in the country?”
Manager Lee wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief and replied.
“Yes. In a month or two, South Korea’s rice supply will run out.”
“Wow… Is it that serious?”
“Yes. We’re urgently considering importing rice from abroad, but judging by the processing speed, the rice might run out before the imported rice arrives.”
“This… is much more serious than I thought.”
However, there were one or two things Kim Sehee couldn’t understand. It didn’t make sense why the food policy department came to her specifically.
The harvest from the rice farm she operated was small. Of course, if they fully utilized all the land and harvested rice every 1-2 weeks, they could meet the government’s demand, but the government wasn’t asking for that much.
So Kim Sehee was a businesswoman. She couldn’t figure out the other party’s intentions, but at least it was a deal where she wouldn’t lose.
“So you want to buy the rice from our farm?”
When Kim Sehee said that, Manager Lee’s face lit up.
“Yes! We want to purchase the rice grown by Starlight Food at a reasonable price.”
The government’s plan seemed to be to use the rice from Starlight Food’s farm as a temporary fix and then fill the grain warehouses with imported rice… The reason they chose Starlight Food was probably because the Starlight Guild introduced them.
At least, the guys in the guild adored Kim Sehee. And right now, Starlight Food was the only farm in Korea that could produce rice.
“Hmm…”
If Kim Sehee refused this offer, the Ministry of Agriculture would take a huge hit. Of course, in modern society, the importance of rice has decreased significantly, but people still live by the power of rice, right?
No one would starve to death because of a rice shortage. There’s plenty of other food. But the Ministry of Agriculture would face public criticism. How could they let the rice supply run out?
Then the heads of the Ministry of Agriculture would roll. But for Kim Sehee, it was a money-making opportunity, so she decided to save the people at the Ministry.
“Alright. Let’s make a contract then.”
It was a contract that would make the Minister of Agriculture breathe a sigh of relief.
—————————————
“Hana, Hana.”
“Yeah?”
I was walking down the hallway and responded to Jiyu’s call. Jiyu was pointing to the bathroom.
“Okay.”
Roughly understanding what was going on, I went into the bathroom with Jiyu and Yumi.
“Hana!”
Oops, my bad!
Unconsciously, I was about to walk into the men’s bathroom, but Yumi grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back. If I had gone in, the boys might have screamed at the sight of me.
“Why do you keep trying to go into the men’s bathroom, Hana?”
Yumi asked me, but I could only stammer. If I said it was because I’d been doing it for over 20 years and it was just instinct, they’d probably think I was crazy. So, I made up some excuse.
“Hmm… Hana’s just weird, isn’t she?”
When Yumi said that, it kind of stung. Even though I have a child’s body now, I wonder how they’d react if they saw the real me. They’d probably scream and run away.
“Today’s field trip is about making cookies!”
“Really? I’m so excited!”
While washing their hands, Yumi and Jiyu chatted. It seemed like the next class was a cookie-making field trip. Our school must either have a lot of money or some other agenda, because we always have these unique field trips. It’s totally different from high school, where it’s all about studying.
Maybe it’s just the times changing. Back in my day, elementary school was all about regular classes…
“What kind of cookie shape are you going to make, Hana?”
I wanted to say I’d make an alien-shaped cookie from a game, but I figured they wouldn’t get it, so I went with a safe animal choice.
“I’m going to make a rabbit-shaped cookie!”
“Really? A rabbit cookie made by Hana? I can’t wait to see it!”
I asked Jiyu because I felt awkward being the only one sharing my cookie shape.
“How about a monkey for me?”
“I want a cute animal! Like Hana’s rabbit, or maybe a dog or cat!”
We all talked about the animals we wanted to make. But I was worried—with my poor imagination and lack of skill, could I even make a rabbit-shaped cookie? Making something isn’t as easy as it looks. Making a cute rabbit-shaped cookie on the first try might be impossible.
And so, I arrived at the cookie-making classroom with Jiyu and Yumi. The classroom was set up like a cooking school, with large tables and various cooking tools. In the corner, there was an oven.
The kids were already playing around with the cooking tools. Maybe because they were worried about the kids being alone, there were no dangerous tools like knives or scissors. It’s not like there’d be any kids having a knife fight like some tough guys…
“Hana, Yumi, how do I look?”
Jiyu spun around in the apron she had put on. The apron had a cute rabbit face on it. It suited her perfectly. I gave her a thumbs-up and complimented her.
“It looks great on you!”
Then, Jiyu put on a chef’s hat. She looked like she belonged in a commercial. I clapped and praised her style change. It was so adorable and perfect for a third-grader.
Seeing how much I liked it, Yumi quietly put on her apron too. Hers had giraffes on it. I complimented her just like I did with Jiyu. Yumi blushed and smiled brightly at my praise.
Kids really do look best with smiling faces. But soon, I felt Jiyu and Yumi approaching. They were holding an apron. I tried to back away, but they caught me.
“Ah!”
I let out a scream as Yumi and Jiyu forced the apron onto me. My apron had an elephant uncle’s face on it. Is this proof that I have an elephant…? Seeing me like this, Jiyu and Yumi clapped and cheered, looking satisfied.
They seemed to like it even more than I did. While we were fooling around, the teacher came in and started preparing for the cookie-making.
