“Okay. Just a moment.”
The screen went off and Han Ki-tak disappeared. Soon the screen turned on again and a surprising scene appeared.
All the colleagues of the Jirisan farmers appeared on the screen. Colleagues from the office, the ranch, and the store were in full force.
There were also teachers Im Si-baek and green tea farmers. Bang Hyun-sik and young farmers who run salad containers were enormous.
It’s almost impossible to fit everyone on the screen.
All shouted in unison.
“Have a good job and come back safely.”
It was a surprise event prepared by Han Ki-tak. Me and Lee Jang-woo burst out laughing at the sight.
The fatigue in Antarctica disappeared like snow.
* * *
The day the salad container was supposed to come in.
We got on the trailer and went out to the port.
The salad container was unloaded from the icebreaker.
It is a 40ft container, 12m long and 2.6m high.
The work was done very carefully. If anything goes wrong with the salad container, it’s a big deal.
He also urged the driver to control the trailer.
The salad container was safely loaded onto the trailer and headed to base.
The salad container was placed next to the power plant. Because there were electricity and purification facilities there.
I put down the salad container and told Lee Jang-woo.
“Please check the inside. I will do some work.”
The salad container had been manufactured to fit the Antarctic terrain. It was necessary to check whether any problems occurred during the movement.
I entrusted the inspection to Lee Jang-woo and started working on the seedlings.
Inside the salad container were the ingredients needed for the seedlings.
I entered the base with some seedlings.
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Originally, I had planned to do seedlings at the same time as growing in a salad container.
There was no need for that now. This is because, while making the bean sprout growing machine, they made the equipment for seedlings.
An unused cup sterilizer was made into a seedling device.
Thanks to this, we were able to save space in the salad container.
Crops to be planted in salad containers are butterhead and kaipira.
The seeds were planted and watered in a medium made by melting rocks at over 1,600 degrees Celsius.
It was when I was working on a seedling for a while.
Someone entered the studio.
Eun Jae-min is the chef.
He was holding a yellow basket.
“What’s going on?”
“The bean sprouts grew like this.”
He held out the basket to me. There were fresh bean sprouts in it.
“I grew up well.”
“I plan to cook with these bean sprouts for dinner tonight.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
Come to think of it, I can’t even remember the last time I ate bean sprouts.
“Now that salad containers have arrived, I will eat salads soon.”
“It will take some time for the seedlings to finish planting.”
“What kind of salad is it?”
“Butterhead and Kaypira.”
“These are my favorite things. I will make a delicious salad for you.”
Eun Jae-min said with a smile on his face.
I immediately turned around to see if there was anything else to do except to show off my bean sprouts.
As I was about to leave, I asked him.
“Chief Eun Jae-min.”
“yes?”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Say anything.”
Eun Jae-min answered with a relaxed face.
“Are you going to stay here for another year?”
“Haha, yes. I decided to stay one more year.”
“Why?”
There was already a member of the crew saying that they wanted to go back to Korea.
Jaemin Eun was different. They decided to stay here for another year.
I wondered why.
“I feel alive when I am at the Antarctic base.”
“Do you feel alive?”
“The crew at the Antarctic base need me. This is the first time I have felt rewarded while cooking.”
Eun Jae-min’s eyes were shining brightly. His heart was felt.
He was a chef in charge of cooking in the Navy.
He seemed to feel a sense of satisfaction that he did not feel in the navy here.
I said with a smile.
“I look forward to cooking bean sprouts.”
“I’m looking forward to the salad too.”
* * *
After completing the seedling work, we moved to the power plant building.
Inside the salad container, Jang-Woo Lee was busily moving.
His expression hardened.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“The air pump is not listening.”
The salad container had a structure in which water and nutrients circulate.
Connected by a single pipe, water and nutrients were supplied to all crops.
In addition to water and nutrients, oxygen was supplied. The air pump does its job, and it seems that the machine freezes and melts and breaks down while in transit.
“Nothing to worry too much about. Because I prepared a spare.”
Lee Jang-woo erased his hard expression and said.
“Are there any other problems?”
“I checked all the functions to control temperature, humidity, light quantity, and even the concentration of carbon dioxide. No other place.”
“Then we only need to replace the air pump?”
“right.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
If the pipe for the water and nutrient solution had broken, the problem would have been bigger.
The air pump wasn’t much of a problem.
“Good job, let’s go to dinner. By the way, tonight’s menu will be a special meal.”
“A special meal?”
Lee Jang-woo asked with curious eyes.
* * *
A guest came to dinner.
Captain Dogi Kim introduced the guests to the crew.
“These are people from the Chilean base. It’s an Antarctic neighbor.”
At the word ‘neighbor’, the Chilean base people laughed out loud.
“The reason we invited the Chileans is to share a special meal with them. Chef Eun Jae-min made a special meal with bean sprouts grown at the base.”
The crew cheered at the word bean sprouts.
There was no food, but some were salivating.
Lee Jang-woo, who was next to him, asked quietly.
“If it is bean sprouts, is it bean sprout soup?”
“I wish there was a warm soup for anything.”
Lee Jang-woo nodded at my words.
Everyone sat down at the dinner table. The long-awaited evening appeared soon after.
Today’s special meal is bean sprout soup.
It wasn’t just bean sprouts.
Squid was also seen.
“Is this right?”
Lee Jang-woo said while looking at the bean sprout soup.
The Chilean crew were wide-eyed at exotic food.
I did just that. This is because bean sprouts are a food that only Koreans eat.
“I will enjoy this food.”
All the crew ate hot bean sprout soup. There was even a member of the crew who ate while blowing his breath because it was too hot.
Jang-Woo Lee and I also put a spoon.
There was no fishy smell of bean sprouts. The crunchy texture kept going.
“The bean sprouts grower, I think you did a good job.”
Lee Jang-woo said while eating soup.
As he said, the bean sprout growing machine is a huge success.
When I returned to Korea, I wanted to make it properly.
Eating the hot soup made me feel good.
It’s time to finish eating and go home.
Captain Dogi Kim approached me. Next to him was a Chilean crew member.
I made eye contact with Captain Kim Do-gi.
He replied to his eyes when he asked what he was doing.
“Benjamin said he really wanted to meet Mr. Deokmyeong.”
“My name is Benjamin.”
A Chilean crew member next to Captain Kim Do-gi greeted him and gave a brief introduction.
Benjamin Sanchez is the commander of the Chilean base. He said he has been staying at the Chilean base for three years.
Unlike the Korean crew, the Chilean base people often stay at the Antarctic base for a long time, and Benjamin was one of them.
Unlike Korea, Chile was close to Antarctica, so it was possible.
The Chileans have even installed an airfield here on King George Island.
We were also able to get to the base with the help of the Chilean Air Force.
Benjamin Sanchez was interested in me because of the salad container.
He asked me in detail about the salad container.
“Then do crops grow without soil?”
“you’re right. With a hydroponics system, no soil is required.”
“Then do you only water the crops?”
“It provides nutrients along with water.”
“When you say nutrient solution, are you referring to the form of ions dissolved in water?”
“You know. It’s actually ionized fertilizer. 12 elements, including nitrogen.”
“How many degrees does the salad container keep? Is it possible to control the humidity?”
“The salad container is kept at 15-20 degrees. Humidity can also be controlled. The relative humidity range is set at 50-80%. The concentration of carbon dioxide is also maintained at 350 ppm.”
His eyes widened at the thought of being able to automatically adjust the temperature and humidity levels of carbon dioxide.
“Can we grow salads soon?”
“I expect to be able to eat salads before Christmas. Then I hope you can visit the Korean base again. We can serve salads to the Chilean crew as well.”
Captain Dogi Kim also nodded.
Sharing a salad is an expression of being able to do anything.
Even when the Korean crew were in distress, I knew that the people at the Chilean base had helped.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
Maintaining a good relationship with them is beneficial to the people at the base in Korea.
“I heard that the vegetables we ate today were made by our own growers here.”
“I made a bean sprout grower using a broken refrigerator.”
“The salad container looks like a very sophisticated device, doesn’t it look like it’s easy to make?”
“It depends on the crops you grow.”
“Can we even make something like that in a Chilean base?”
Benjamin asked me.
When I avoided an immediate answer, he said.
“I don’t mean to ask you to do it for free.”
I pricked up my ears and listened to him.
He made an unexpected offer.
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We moved to Captain Kim’s office.
As he moved, Benjamin said without hesitation.
He said he wanted to set up a hydroponic plant at the Chilean base.
He knew very well that there was no such thing as a complete facility like a salad container.
I expressed the opinion that it would be good to use the things in the base just like I made a bean sprout growing machine.
I listened quietly to him. I was thinking of rejecting it in the best possible manner.
He seemed to have read my mind.
“I know it’s not going to be easy. Because Mr. Deokmyeong came to install salad containers at the Korean base.”
“Hopefully the next opportunity will come.”
“To be honest, I don’t think the next opportunity will come.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the Chilean government is not going to spend money on making salad containers.”
Benjamin’s candid expression made me feel embarrassed. Captain Kim Do-gi quietly listens to him.
“Oh, I see. It’s unfortunate.”
That was when I thought the conversation would end.
Benjamin Sanchez made an unexpected offer.
“What if, under these conditions?”
“Conditions?”
“I will introduce you to a person who can be of help to Mr. Deokmyeong.”
“A man?”
Before coming here, Benjamin worked as a researcher for the United Nations Environment Programme.
He made various connections there.
The person I will introduce to you is someone I met while working there.
“Mohammad was very interested in hydroponics. Maybe it will be a good opportunity for Mr. Deok-myeong.”
The person he offers to introduce is Mohammad Salah.
the prince of dubai As a person with a lot of interest in the environment, he has experience working for the United Nations Environment Programme.
It’s a tempting proposition.
“Mohammad is not an easy person to meet. If you introduce me, there will be no problem.”
Captain Benjamin said with strength in his eyes.
A confident face It didn’t seem like a bluff.
If what he says is true, it is certainly an attractive proposition.
Beyond a simple relationship, it was an opportunity to export our technology to Dubai.
Before that, there was one thing I wanted to check.
“Why would you want to set up a hydroponic plant at your base in Chile? Isn’t Chile close to Antarctica?”
Chile was bordered by Antarctica. He even operated an air base on King George Island.
I wondered why he was greedy for a hydroponic plant.
Benjamin had a worried expression on his face.
After a while, he opened his mouth.
“As you know, the Chilean government has an air base on King George Island. However, the reality is that government support is poor. The reason the government established the air base is to claim sovereignty over Antarctica.”
“Your sovereignty?”
“The territorial dispute in Antarctica is also a long-standing task.”