Chapter 5: Off-season Mushrooms (2)

Jeon Sung-ryeol smiled slightly at his words, feeling unexpectedly proud.

“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, my friend. With experience, I can estimate the weight fairly accurately by eye. It’s around 50 kg, precisely.”

“Wow, as expected from a veteran! I’m glad I approached you first, President Jeon.”

“Just wait a moment.”

“No need to worry. I’ll come with you. While you’re withdrawing money, I might play some tricks with these songi mushrooms. Maybe even swap a few boxes unnoticed.”

“You don’t seem like someone who would do that, but…I appreciate your offer to accompany me. Instead of worrying about box swapping, it’s more concerning if you change your mind and disappear suddenly, leaving me empty-handed.”

After repackaging the songi mushroom boxes carefully, Jeon Sung-ryeol and Ha So-young promptly headed to the bank. It was right when the bank opened, so Jeon Sung-ryeol withdrew around 23 million won in cash. During the wait, he tried probing Ha So-young for more information with various questions but didn’t get any satisfying answers.

“Here’s 23 million won. Would you like to count it?”

“Yes, please give me a moment.”

Ha So-young meticulously counted the money before casually remarking:

“You’re giving me an extra 500,000 won.”

“It’s nothing significant. Consider it a bribe for your favorable treatment.”

“There isn’t anything else I need to favorably treat.”

“If you come across similar items again, bring them to me, and I’ll generously purchase them from you.”

“Haha, does that make us accomplices now?”

“Did you really collect these illegally?”

“Mr. President, it’s not about whether something is legal or illegal. The important thing here is that this isn’t just any iron ore.”

There was a strange intensity in So-young’s eyes, and he exuded a calmness beyond his years. Despite all this, Jeon Sung-ryeol wasn’t put off by him.

“How old are you anyway? You look like you’re in your early twenties, but based on how confident you seem, I’d guess…”

“I’m twenty. Born in two thousand.”

“…”

“No one ever tells me I look older than my age. Most people peg me at exactly twenty.” So-young spoke with such unwavering confidence that Jeon Sung-ryeol couldn’t help laughing.

“You’ll be someone great someday, for better or worse. And I can’t wait to see what happens next!”

“I don’t want to aim too high. Owning a couple of nice, modern buildings in Cheongdam-dong would be enough for me.”

“You should aim for six to seven tons of pine needles, no more, no less. With that amount, you’ll be able to afford construction in Cheongdam-dong.”

“Oh please, where else can I find such pine needles? It was sheer luck that I managed to gather these precious ones.”

Jeon Sung-ryeol sensed Ha So-young’s feigned reluctance from his expression, eyes, and cheeky tone.

“I still look forward to seeing you again someday.”

“Sure thing. If I come across anything similar, I’ll give you a call.”

“That sounds great.”

Ha So-young climbed into the driver’s seat of his truck, waved goodbye through the window, and drove off.

Watching the truck disappear, Jeon Sung-ryeol couldn’t help but marvel at his skills.

“he’s driving a manual transmission so smoothly. Quite impressive for someone young.”

The smooth ascent up the hill indicated he had more than one or two years of driving experience.

On his way home, Ha So-young hummed as he glanced at the envelope filled with cash on the passenger seat. Just looking at the bundle of fifty-thousand-won bills made his feel satisfied.

“One drop per day. Two drops every other day. Three drops every three days…”

It was a relic from an ancient prime deity—a mystical elixir that promised to transcend humanity if consumed steadily, one drop per day.

However, for him…

“It’s excellent mushroom fertilizer.”

Matsutake mushrooms primarily grow attached to the roots of living pine trees. They absorb nutrients through mycelium connected to the tree and transfer potassium, phosphorus, water, etc., via their own rootlike structures. Only when there is a well-established relationship between the tree, fungus, and soil can matsutake mushrooms successfully spawn.

However, songi mushrooms cannot be artificially cultivated; they can only grow naturally. This rarity, combined with high demand, results in outrageously expensive prices. In fact, it’s said that whoever develops a method for artificial cultivation would strike it rich in no time. The problem lies in the extreme difficulty of creating the right growing environment. It’s not just about commercialization—cultivating even one or two in a lab is incredibly challenging.

But using the elixir changes everything.

“We can ignore soil and trees altogether with this, making it truly the best fertilizer for songi mushrooms,” Ha So-young casually explained as he sprinkled the songi caps onto the dirt floor and gently tapped them. This dispersed the spores contained within the caps.

The dirt floor was covered with a wide mixture of pine and walnut leaves, haphazardly gathered from nearby mountains. This was the most challenging part for cultivating songi mushrooms.

“I don’t really need pine leaves, but at least some elements must be present. One never knows how human affairs will turn out.” Ha So-young filled a large basin with water and submerged a glass cup containing elixir inside it. Then he slowly yet firmly stirred to ensure proper dilution of the elixir. As soon as a single drop mixed with the water, the entire basin shimmered golden before gradually fading.

he transferred the diluted elixir solution into a large syringe. On a smooth plastic mat lay scattered fragments of finely torn songi mushrooms. With precision, Ha So-young dripped small amounts of the elixir solution onto each piece.

After applying the diluted elixir to every piece of songi mushroom without any waste, Ha So-young collected them in a basket.

“Why should I be like some prime deity? I hate pain now. In this peaceful era, it’s better to use the elixir like this. Anyway, thank you father.”

He focused on the growth-promoting effect of the elixir and thought about using it to cultivate high-quality crops, such as expensive ingredients that couldn’t be easily cultivated, like songi mushrooms. And his prediction turned out beautifully accurate.

“One drop per day, seven drops per week, yielding 12 kg of mushrooms in one week. A month would produce approximately 50 kg.”

Stepping into the garden, Ha So-young whistled cheerfully while scattering pieces of songi mushrooms across the field.

“By the way, when will you start constructing that building in Cheongdam-dong?” He paused and surveyed his mushroom patch.

In truth, it was too small and humble to be called a field. Instead of being located on a hillside or open countryside, he had cultivated this plot within one corner of his home garden. So-young and his father lived in a house with a large yard situated at the outskirts of Seoul.

The property value wasn’t high due to its inconvenient location, practically rural, but they appreciated having so much space. The reason he chose to grow mushrooms inside a fenced area was out of concern for theft. Although their residence was quite isolated, there were neighbors nearby. Just several hundred meters from their house lay a small village consisting of dozens of families. Most made their living by farming orchards or greenhouses.

“If only my father gave me one hundred drops per day. Then Songi could produce up to five tons each month.” Ha So-young sighed as he gazed at the Galactic Tree.

his father had left this legacy for his well-being, yet it felt so restrictive with just one drop per day. With one drop of elixir daily, he could cultivate approximately 50 kg of songi mushrooms per month or about 12 kg per week. Although he could shorten or extend the cultivation period, the maximum yield achievable with one drop per day was around 50 kg monthly.

Considering the size of his garden, Ha So-young adjusted his harvest schedule to once a week. It proved to be the most suitable arrangement given the available space and frequency of harvesting.