They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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100. Stir-Fried Aralia Shoots (5)

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The wooden platform was piled high with sliced aralia shoots. Fresh pieces kept emerging from my blade. The white fragments stacked upon one another like freshly fallen snow.

As the wind brushed past, the edges of the cloth lifted slightly. I placed a stone to keep it from fluttering away and finally relaxed my rigid shoulders.

“Hnnngh….”

Though mountains of aralia shoots still remained, I’d already completed nearly half. That was something to be proud of.

‘I’ve done it.’

As I gathered the used tools and washed them at the sink, I discovered the spring vegetable skewers I’d left in the Kitchen.

“Oh.”

That’s right!

“Lee Hae-ra said she was coming!”

The spring vegetable skewers were too much for me to eat alone. That’s why I’d promised her to stop by if she got hungry.

“But I should get her inside first.”
“Hm?”

My gaze naturally drifted to the Fake Grandmother sitting on the wooden platform. She sat at the far end, deeply asleep.

“When did she fall asleep?”
“She must be exhausted.”

She’d sliced so much aralia with the vegetable slicer.

I dried my wet hands on my apron and examined the Fake Grandmother more closely. Her expression was far more peaceful than when she was awake.

“She’s just like our grandmother.”

Even though I knew she wasn’t my real grandmother.

I lowered myself very slowly so as not to wake her. I draped Fake Grandmother’s arms over my shoulders and gently hoisted her onto my back.

“She’s lighter than I expected.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Actually feels pretty good.”

I adjusted my posture and slowly stood up. The sleeping body offered no resistance.

I climbed slowly to the Second Floor, opened the door, and stepped inside. I opened Grandmother’s room door, sat on the edge of the bed first to distribute the weight, then released my grip on her legs and gently laid her down.

“She sleeps soundly.”
“Was she tired?”
“After chopping that much, anyone would be tired. You’re the strange one.”
“Ha ha.”
“You’re not human.”

I carefully tucked Fake Grandmother’s body under the blanket. When I tried to remove her scarf, she resisted.

“Seems like she doesn’t want it off?”
“I suppose so…”

It was a scarf Grandmother had given me long ago. I pulled the blanket up to her chin instead. Her breathing remained steady.

“Let’s head back down.”
“Yeah, right.”

I scanned the room once more, then quietly closed the door. I hurried down to the Side Dish Shop.

***

After delivering the spring vegetable skewers and sweet and sour sauce to Myeong-ja’s Bakery, Lee Hae-ra arrived with her hands full.

“This, this is! Food for the Spring Festival, right!?”

Her eyes widened at the sight of the spring vegetable skewers.

“Doesn’t it look delicious?”
“Wait, there are spring vegetables you can’t normally get this season?!”

Lee Hae-ra’s voice grew higher and higher. She made no attempt to hide her excitement. She quickly removed her gloves, stuffed them into her bag, and picked up one of the ramp skewers.

“The ramp sauce is delicious, but… how amazing must the fried version be….”
“You could fry a shoe and it would still taste good. That’s the magic of fried food.”
“R-right, exactly!”

Lee Hae-ra spoke faster. I stifled a laugh and slid over the sweet and sour sauce I’d prepared earlier.

“Just dip it in the sauce.”
“Just imagining it feels dangerous?”
“It tastes even better with alcohol.”
“How do you do it, boss? You slip in and out of my heart so easily. Today at the Advertising Company, I was working with a partner and they were like….”
“Was work difficult today?”

Lee Hae-ra brought the skewer close to her face and inhaled deeply, nodding.

“Yes, even my deputy and team lead said it was rough!”
“I timed that well then.”
“O-of course! I think customers would come just to buy these ramp skewers as a standalone item?”
“You think so? What about at the Spring Festival?”
“The Spring Festival would be even better!”

Lee Hae-ra opened her eyes wide as if she had something to say.

“Did you see the official notice?”
“Oh, yes. I saw the Spring Festival notice.”

I recalled the notice that had popped up during lunch today. The official Spring Festival date, the route, the list of participating shops, and even a carefully produced YouTube promotional video.

“We… we made that video!”
“Really? You did?”

Lee Hae-ra nodded and smiled brightly. Her shoulders lifted slightly with pride.

“Me, go! I edited it myself!”
“You did such a tasteful job with it? I didn’t realize Lee Hae-ra had edited it.”
“Hehe, I did it myself…. And we’re also going to film interview videos for the Spring Festival, you know…!”

In my excitement, I hurriedly ate a skewer of licorice root and ended up choking.

“Cough!”

I’d anticipated this and handed over the glass of water I’d prepared. Lee Hae-ra accepted it gratefully and drank several gulps in one go.

“Hehe… thank you.”
“Take your time eating.”

Even after catching my breath, Lee Hae-ra’s face was still brimming with excitement.

“That’s why, you see. The interviews aren’t just going to be formal, you know. I want to capture the stories of people like you, the owner…!”
“Someone like me?”
“Yes, stories about the shop and the food and… things like that!”

I pondered for a moment. An interview, huh….

“It won’t be very interesting.”
“No, it will!”

Lee Hae-ra shook her head firmly.

“A person’s life story isn’t something you do for entertainment!”

I looked at Lee Hae-ra with an expression caught between amusement and silence.

“Then what do you do it for?”
“Memories of this shop!”
“Mem, memories?”
“And your profession!”

…An interview, then.

I’d seen Cha Seop conduct interviews before. Since I was the one doing it now.

‘A little creepy, actually.’

Lee Hae-ra wore an oddly serious expression.

“I, I want to—!”
“Yes?”
“I want to hear your story, boss!”

I absently wiped the table with my hand. I wondered if I even had anything worth saying. The only thing that came to mind was stories about my grandmother.

“I might not have much to say, honestly….”
“That’s fine!”
“Really? Even if it’s boring and I ramble?”
“Yes!”

Her quick response actually caught me off guard.

“But.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes!”
“Make sure you get a good shot of me.”

At that, Lee Hae-ra burst out laughing.

“Hey, Lee Hae-ra. Why are you laughing?”
“Oh, no reason!”

Lee Hae-ra shook her head, suppressing her laughter. Though she insisted she wasn’t laughing, her lips were already trembling with barely contained amusement.

“An interview captures your face too. You should make sure the shot looks good.”
“R-right. Of course! I’ll jot that down in my notes.”

Lee Hae-ra made a show of writing seriously in her notepad.

“Anyway. Take this.”

Lee Hae-ra accepted the paper bag I’d prepared. Inside were skewers of spring greens and sweet and sour sauce packed separately. The bag sagged slightly from the weight.

“Is… is it okay to receive this much?”
“You deserve to receive plenty, Lee Hae-ra.”
“I’ll enjoy it gratefully!”

Lee Hae-ra nodded enthusiastically.

“What I brought… it’s from some famous chef’s brand. U-organic polyphenol? Extra virgin olive oil, they call it…?”
“That must have cost quite a bit?”
“Oh, I bought it with my first paycheck!”
“Is it okay to accept this?”
“Of course!”

Lee Hae-ra cheerfully shouldered her bag and turned back once more at the shop entrance.

“You… you absolutely deserve to receive this!”
“…Thank you.”

Lee Hae-ra stepped outside with her bag.

“See you this week!”

I grasped the door handle and waved. Lee Hae-ra paused after a few steps and bowed her head in return.

“Take care.”

After our brief farewell, I lowered the shutter and closed the door. The shop fell silent almost immediately. As I switched off the fluorescent lights one by one, I sensed a presence.

Hae-tae had somehow climbed onto the counter and sat beside the olive oil bottle, lowering his head and sniffing repeatedly.

“This is good stuff.”

I removed my apron and asked.

“When did you arrive?”
“Just now?”
“You already ate dinner.”
“Shouldn’t we sleep together tonight?”
“Right, of course.”

I turned off the remaining fluorescent lights and cradled Hae-tae in my arms. I’d left the olive oil in the Kitchen.

“What are they saying at Myeong-ja’s Bakery?”
“They’re already making a fuss about winning.”

Song Ae-rim circled around me continuously, eating the fried dish. She kept saying it was delicious.

“You didn’t give her the broth, right?”
“No. Not yet.”

I turned my body toward the Second Floor staircase and climbed up. I softened my footsteps as I ascended. When I opened the Entrance door, darkness greeted me first. The upper floor was completely night.

“Should I turn on the light?”
“No, I’m just going to wash up and go straight to bed.”

I hung my coat on a chair. Small sounds seemed magnified in the night. Hae-tae climbed onto the sofa blanket first and curled into a tight ball.

“Going to sleep?”
“Meow.”

I confirmed the gourd pieces in the Backyard through the Living Room window, then went in to wash up.

“Sleep well.”

To Fake Grandmother too. Hae-tae’s soft breathing drifted from the sofa side.

***

“Ugh… it’s cold.”

The sudden chill forced my eyes open. Today, there was no sound of Fake Grandmother cooking rice. Only the door hung open. But I heard a faint laugh.

“She went downstairs.”

Hae-tae, who had been on my stomach, opened her eyes slightly and informed me.

“She went downstairs?”
“Go check.”

As Hae-tae climbed out of the car and stretched, I grabbed the padded jacket draped over the chair and headed toward the entrance.

In the backyard, the Fake Grandmother stood without any covering, lifting the cloth slightly to inspect each piece of dried gourd one by one. She seemed to be checking how well they were drying.

“Ji-gu, are you awake?”
“Yeah. I’m up.”

I brought over a blanket and draped it around the Fake Grandmother’s shoulders.

“Are they drying well?”
“Ji-gu, they’re drying nicely.”
“Then should I prepare a side dish now?”

After all, I just needed to wash my face and come back down. Instead of answering, the Fake Grandmother stared at me intently.

“Ji-gu, can you do it?”

Her tone was extremely cautious.

“Yeah.”

I answered briefly. I immediately grabbed the well-dried gourd strips and headed into the kitchen. The dried gourd in my hand was supple, a sign it had dried properly. It was ready to come back to life once soaked in water.

Cooking was smooth sailing. Since it was morning and I didn’t need to open the shop, I could focus entirely on the cooking.

I placed the gourd strips into a stainless steel bowl and gave them a preliminary soak first. The dried flesh slowly unfurled as it absorbed the water.

Just then, Hae-tae came back down from upstairs, having only washed his face roughly.

“That was fast, meow.”
“Just needed to wash my face.”

I smiled brightly, tied on my apron, and neatly gathered my hair.

“Ten minutes?”
“Meow.”

By then, the gourd strips had soaked sufficiently. I couldn’t leave them any longer. If they soaked too long, they’d lose that chewy texture.

“Mm.”

When I picked it up with my hand, it had softened.

“Want to try some?”

Hae-tae approached and snatched one away.

“How is it?”
“Nutty, meow.”

Hae-tae chewed the dried radish greens like cat gum.

Watching that, I set the pot on the burner and turned on the gas. Before the flame picked up in earnest, I added the dried radish greens and drizzled in cooking oil. The order mattered.

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

The moment the dried radish greens began sizzling in the oil, I added sesame oil first. I poured in soy sauce to let the seasoning soak through, then added the kelp broth I’d made yesterday. To bring out that savory depth.

For the salt, I used seasoned salt, sprinkled in perilla powder, and finished with minced garlic and chopped scallions.

The seasonings blended across the bottom of the pot, releasing a nutty aroma. Only then did I begin stir-frying the dried radish greens properly.

“Just a bit longer.”

I lowered the heat and slowly turned everything with a wooden spatula. I didn’t rush. I waited for the dried radish greens to drink in the seasoning and become delicious. Gradually, a subtle gloss began to appear on the surface.

Perfect.

“Ji-gu, are you done?”

I turned my head while lifting the pot at Fake Grandmother’s question.

“Grandmother, I’m done.”

My hands knew first. The moment of perfect flavor had arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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