Chapter 39: The Body and the Land are One (2) Tteok-twig-sun-ramen-gimbap, the foundation and completed form of bunsik.
Among them, Jinseo focused on whether tteokbokki, fried food, and gimbap could be replaced with locally sourced ingredients.
Ramen was excluded, since it relied heavily on prepackaged instant noodles.
Soondae was similarly excluded for the time being.
The first thing Jinseo attempted was securing a local supply of flour used in various bunsik dishes such as tteokbokki and fried food, and this was easily resolved thanks to Oswald.
"Flour? If it's for bunsik, I can provide as much as you need! Ah, you'll still pay for it? And you won't sell too much of it?"
Oswald was even pleased that he was finally able to provide Jinseo with proper help.
Fortunately, the grain reserves stored at Falstead Castle were quite sufficient, and flour from other regions could also be purchased.
On top of that, Oswald arranged access not only to flour, but also to other grains, vegetables, and fruits.
Jinseo was now showcasing the results of that support in front of the customers.
"Wow, so that's how tteok for tteokbokki is made."
"Just looking at it makes my mouth water."
Many eyes gathered on the square metal machine placed on the table.
When flour was poured into the opening at the top, tteok for tteokbokki automatically came out from below in a simple mechanism.
"If we could buy something like that, couldn't we make tteokbokki at home?"
"What about the other ingredients? Don't bother—just buy it from the food truck."
Strictly speaking, compared to tteok-making machines in Korea, many steps had been omitted, but there was no way the customers would notice.
To begin with, the current machine had been acquired using mileage and was far superior to machines in Korea.
It even had a function that produced tteok automatically even if whole wheat was inserted instead of flour.
I didn't think I'd ever do this kind of upgrade… but I ended up doing it anyway.
Previously, most of the ingredients used for bunsik could simply be purchased in Korea, so Jinseo never felt the need to spend mileage on such upgrades.
However, he was now in a situation where returning to Korea was impossible.
Jinseo decided to seriously introduce local ingredients and additionally upgraded the fish-cake-making machine and the soondae stuffer.
Unlike Korean machines that required learning separate operating procedures, these processed most steps automatically once ingredients were inserted, making them extremely convenient.
Moreover, the machine could produce not only tteok for tteokbokki but also long garaetteok, making it versatile.
Wait a second. It doesn't have to be just flour… AI, can I put rice into the tteok-making machine?
{Yes, that is possible.}
After hearing the AI's reply, Jinseo took out a sack of rice from the extra trailer, slung it over his shoulder, and came back out.
"Jinseo, what's that?"
"That looks like a grain I've seen before."
When Oswald and Fedora approached and asked, he tore open the sack and showed them the rice grains in his palm.
"This is a grain called rice. It's a staple food in Korea. The rice used in kimchi fried rice and omelet rice is made by cooking this."
"Oh, so that's what rice is."
"You can make tteok out of this rice too?"
"Originally, tteok itself is traditionally made from rice. Tteokbokki tteok is usually made from flour, though."
Jinseo replaced the flour with rice and restarted the tteok-making machine.
When he adjusted it to produce thick garaetteok instead of standard tteokbokki tteok, everyone looked at Jinseo with eyes full of anticipation.
Imagining what new bunsik he would present this time.
"It's very hot right now, so please wait a moment."
After letting the freshly extruded garaetteok cool somewhat, Jinseo cut it into appropriate sizes and served it to the two of them.
"Would you like to try it?"
Oswald and Fedora speared the white garaetteok with forks and took a bite.
"I expected it to be bland with no seasoning at all, but the clean flavor is surprisingly good."
"The taste is nice, but the texture is clearly different from flour tteok! Rice tteok feels much chewier. But… hmm."
Fedora tilted her head with an expression that suggested something was missing.
"Freshly made garaetteok is fine on its own. But it does feel a bit lacking, right? It's better with something to dip it in."
Having expected that reaction, Jinseo brought out small dishes containing sugar, soy sauce, and honey.
"Hm, I prefer soy sauce over something sweet."
"If it's not spicy, I much prefer something sweet."
Watching the two eat according to their preferences, the other customers only looked on hesitantly, unable to approach.
"All right, this is rice-made garaetteok. Everyone, please try some."
Jinseo piled the large batch of garaetteok onto a big plate and gestured to the customers who had been licking their fingers in anticipation.
They immediately crowded around him as if they had been waiting for it.
"Oh! It's so chewy."
"It's pretty good even on its own. I'd buy it just like this."
Customers accustomed to the texture of wheat tteok from eating tteokbokki began eating the rice garaetteok without hesitation as well.
Watching the garaetteok disappear rapidly from the large plate, Jinseo started producing tteok for tteokbokki again.
Unlike when making tteokbokki, he didn't separate the pieces stuck together, instead skewering them whole and frying them.
Then he mixed ketchup, gochujang, and other seasonings to make a sauce on the spot, brushed it on, and served it on a plate.
"This is tteok skewers. It's also a tasting sample, so please feel free to try it."
As tasting time came around once again, the customers all held tteok skewers in their hands with happy expressions.
"It's red but not spicy. Does it have the ketchup you put on hot dogs?"
"It's much less spicy than tteokbokki—I love it. I like this sweet flavor."
The tteok skewers were also well received, and Jinseo decided to prepare one more bunsik item for tasting while he was at it.
Fedora's expression earlier, when she had eaten plain rice garaetteok and felt something missing.
That alone told Jinseo exactly what he needed to make.
Of course—there's no way she'd be satisfied with just plain garaetteok.
Jinseo went up into the food truck and began making tteokbokki with the tteok he had just produced.
He also added fish cakes made directly with the fish-cake machine, using seafood obtained earlier at Orden Harbor.
There was no need to ask Fedora to taste it first.
She approached on her own, drawn toward the tteokbokki slowly cooking in the red sauce.
"I knew it! I knew you'd make that!"
"Yes, let me check it briefly before serving."
Jinseo picked up one piece of rice-tteok tteokbokki, tasted it, and nodded.
Good. It's been a while, so I was worried, but it turned out well.
"All right, this is the final tasting. Please try both, and place your used fork in front of the plate you find tastier."
For easy comparison, Jinseo prepared tteokbokki made with wheat tteok and rice tteok separately and placed them on different plates.
Unlike the usual wheat-tteok tteokbokki, the rice-tteok version, made with thick garaetteok, stood out, and people gathered around it first.
As always, Jinseo served Fedora a version with special sauce.
But as her gaze demanded, it was made with rice tteok rather than wheat tteok.
"T-that voice of His—"
After taking a bite of the thick rice-tteok tteokbokki, Fedora suddenly sprang to her feet.
Here it comes.
Predicting what would happen next, Jinseo covered his eyes and turned his head aside.
But noticing the surrounding gazes, he calmly sat back down as if nothing had happened.
"…I almost heard a voice. Ahem!"
She steadied herself while making the sign of the cross, then resumed eating the rest of the rice-tteok tteokbokki.
"Ah, this chewiness that delights the teeth… and the harmony with the fish-cake broth is exceptional as well."
Fedora savored the rice-tteok tteokbokki with the happiest expression she'd worn yet.
Watching her and the customers enjoying bunsik with the same expressions, Jinseo smiled.
"That was delicious. It's still great."
"It's so good I almost feel bad eating it for free. You'll add it to the menu soon, right?"
"You should sell plain garaetteok too!"
As customers finished tasting and left their comments, used forks began piling up in front of the plates one by one.
Now that tasting was over and everyone looked satisfied, the majority of customers who tried both versions raised their hands for the rice-tteok side.
"They're both good, but I prefer the wheat-tteok one."
There were also those like Oswald who preferred the original tteokbokki.
"And eating this wheat-tteok tteokbokki gives me a strangely nostalgic feeling. I feel more relaxed, more at ease. Is it because it's made with local ingredients?"
Not only Oswald, but the customers who chose wheat tteok gazed into the distance with wistful expressions.
Simplicity, comfort, and nostalgia.
All emotions people felt while eating bunsik.
Right. Bunsik has always been that kind of food.
After accidentally acquiring the food truck and starting this business, bunsik had come to be treated as a high-end cuisine on the Francia Continent.
But Jinseo once again resolved not to lose its essence.
In that sense, the full introduction of locally sourced bunsik was a success.
"I like this rice-tteok tteokbokki more. When will it be officially added to the menu?"
Of course, there were also those who simply enjoyed bunsik itself, regardless of such considerations.
Like Fedora, who was now spearing tteokbokki and fish cake together and swallowing them in one bite right in front of Jinseo.
"It can be done immediately. However, since rice can't be obtained locally, it will have to be a limited item."
"Hm, that's a shame. Are there seeds for that rice grain? If so, it wouldn't be bad to grow it here."
Oswald suddenly joined the conversation and pointed toward the thick brush behind the food truck.
"If we clear that area, we could secure farmland. Somewhere else would work too."
"Or there's farmland managed by Kaysus Cathedral! If you're willing to use it, please let us know anytime."
"There are seeds. It's just that…"
Since installing the subspace upgrade in the food truck, Jinseo had stored many items.
Not only ingredients, but various goods as well—one of them being seeds of plants that didn't exist on the Francia Continent.
He had planned to get a small garden someday and grow them, but he'd long forgotten amid focusing on business.
But it wasn't just because he was busy.
"I'm not sure if they'd suit the local climate and soil. I don't really know much about farming."
"Then wouldn't it be simplest to invite a farmer from Korea?"
"As you know, I can't return to Korea for a while."
"Ah, right. Hmm… I wanted to resolve it while we were at it, but that won't work. Then how about leaving it to the farmers within the castle?"
"There's a brother who's managed the Church's farmland directly for decades. Wouldn't consulting him solve the issue?"
The discussion expanded far beyond simply making bunsik with local ingredients, leaving Jinseo struggling to keep up.
"Everyone, please calm down. Give me some time to think."
Jinseo sat down on a backless round stool and sank into thought.
From the perspective of someone who had never farmed even once, no clear solution came to mind.
As he pondered, Jinseo casually glanced at the food truck's cash box, then belatedly thought of a new option.
AI, are there upgrades related to agriculture as well?
{Yes, there are. Please wait a moment.}
Really? That's a relief. I should've asked you sooner instead of struggling on my own. Also, listing grades will make the list too long, so just list the names.
{Understood.}
A moment later, upgrade items related to agriculture began scrolling across the status window.
As Jinseo read through the densely packed list, his gaze stopped midway.
Greenhouse? The kind of greenhouse I know? Can it be applied to rice farming too?
{Yes. It can be applied to all edible plants.}
But rice usually requires transplanting—would that be efficient?
{That will not be necessary. Simply planting the seeds will automatically cultivate them until harvest.}
Right. A greenhouse powered by magic would naturally go beyond my common sense. I worried for nothing again.
Relieved that the issue had been resolved so easily, Jinseo's expression soon twisted slightly as he checked the greenhouse upgrade's rank.
What? Why is this an SS-rank upgrade?
{This is a high-tier upgrade that encompasses multiple lower-tier upgrades, which is why a high rank has been applied.}
Ah, that makes sense. No wonder it requires that much mileage.
The greenhouse upgrade didn't merely provide appropriate nutrients and moisture for crops.
It adjusted the climate automatically and even prevented pests and diseases—a truly perfect greenhouse.
For that reason, the mileage required for the greenhouse upgrade far exceeded that of previous upgrades.
In the end, Jinseo decided to postpone it for the future and gave up on the greenhouse upgrade.
"Rice farming isn't possible right now, so we'll consider it later. For now, when are the ingredients we ordered from elsewhere supposed to arrive?"
"I've made contact, but it'll take time to prepare the quantity you requested. And since it's far away, considering travel time, it'll take quite a while."
In Korea, as long as you avoided traffic accidents, problems during transport were unlikely.
But this was the Francia Continent—another world entirely.
There was a high chance of encountering bandits or monster attacks during transport.
There was also the risk of spoilage along the way.
It'd probably be better if I drove the food truck to pick up the goods myself. And then…
Jinseo recalled the kraken he had personally hunted before.
What if, on the way back after collecting the ingredients, I hunt some edible monsters?
Having gained confidence from the battle with the kraken, monsters no longer frightened him as they once had.
But back then, he'd had the escort's help, as well as Fedora's blessing that raised his physical stats.
This time was different—it was purely for Jinseo's personal business, so receiving the same level of help would be unreasonable.
The Cardinal would probably come along, but that would put him in an awkward position… so no.
Instead, Jinseo thought of the most suitable person who could help him.
Among all the inhabitants of the Francia Continent he'd met so far—the strongest, and the one who ate the most.
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