The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 247

I walked along, watching Haengun peck at Yujin’s head with its beak.

Is it trying to eat something, like a bug? What a diligent bird.

Yujin waved Jinhyuk’s hand. It’s what she does whenever she’s curious about something.

“Oppa’s palms are hard too-”

“Yeah. It’s because of the calluses.”

“They weren’t like that before?”

Tilting her head like Haengun, Yujin looked up at her brother.

“Right? I guess it’s because I’ve been working out hard lately.”

This was another change that came after letting go of my strength.

The body of an ordinary human being easily gets its skin peeled, blisters, and suffers pain from popping those blisters. And as a reward for growth, it adds hard skin on top of it.

Holding my soft and squishy younger sister’s hand, the difference is even more obvious.

“Does it not hurt here?”

The area Yujin touched was the palm of my hand, which was peeled from blisters.

Jinhyuk’s palms didn’t even have time to regenerate because he was hanging and swinging on the pull-up bar to strengthen his spinal erectors.

“It doesn’t hurt. It gets hard like armor after a while, and then it hurts less. If you overcome it here, you become a stronger person.”

“Ooh-”

Because my sister is always amazed whenever her brother says something, Jinhyuk doesn’t joke around in front of Yujin. Not that he knows how to anyway.

Isn’t this how humans survive, adapting one by one, both in body and mind?

The pain in my body is so familiar that it’s embarrassing to even call blisters pain.

Even a single callus becomes a topic of conversation with my sister, so I’m just grateful.

When I entered Jo Ilheon’s house holding Yujin’s hand, Jo Ilheon was drying medicinal herbs in the yard.

“Rock-Seoheum- You-u hate me-e, but I-i love you so-o much-”

He’s been singing that song for over nine years. I wondered if there was some story behind it, but the answer I got was nothing special.

– “Just because.”

Every time I see Jo Ilheon, I feel like he lives a very natural life.

Eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re sleepy, work when you’re out of money.

A man who gathers the neighborhood kids, becomes their idol, and plays the boss.

After asking my school friends, it turns out that every neighborhood has one of those guys. When that person moves away or dies, another perfectly normal guy starts doing the same thing.

A man who lived like a loafer, but after getting married and having a reliable contracting company called General Farm, he’s now a solid head of the household, living diligently.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t say weird things.

“Hello, Ilheon-hyung!”

“Hello, Jjorongi Uncle!”

Following her brother, Yujin also greeted him cheerfully.

“Oh my! Our star Son-hyung and Yujin are here.”

“Mom said-”

Woof!

Bwee-.

Janggun and Haengun interrupted Jinhyuk.

“Yeah, you guys too-. You came? Let’s see-, since you’re here, I should give you a present.”

Jo Ilheon, who was rummaging through the herb pouch next to him, threw jerky to Janggun and pumpkin seeds to Haengun.

The jerky fell on the ground, and the pumpkin seeds flew over Yujin’s head. You should give them something to eat so they’ll happily accept it.

“Mom said-”

“Uncle, what kind of plant root is this?”

This time, Yujin interrupted her brother.

‘Ah, geez-.’

Mom said······.

Putting aside my unfair feelings, I listened to Jo Ilheon’s explanation.

“This here is something very precious······.”

Jo Ilheon dried medicinal herbs that most people didn’t even know the name of and sold them to Yoo Myungseon at a high price. He would list unconfirmed medicinal effects, saying that if you brew it into tea, it’s good for blood circulation, anti-aging, and prostate strengthening.

Yoo Myungseon, who doesn’t know that her improved health is thanks to Yujin, sent the medicinal herbs given by Jo Ilheon as gifts to the business leaders in Seoul, saying that they should buy them if they feel the effects after taking them.

‘This isn’t even a placebo effect, what kind of effect should I call it? Is it like a con artist’s medicine effect?’

Jo Ilheon, with Yoo Myungseon as his advertising model, was making a good income by selling medicinal herbs. It was a clear example of why veteran celebrities appear in health food commercials.

I heard that there are also con artists who hand out flyers with Chairman Yoo Myungseon’s face printed on them to express bus passengers, holding prize draws. They would sell 5,000 won watches for 30,000 won, especially to the winners.

“This here is called He Shou Wu. It doesn’t grow well in our country.”

Ah, I think I’ve heard of it. I don’t know much because I’ve lived a life without interest in health foods.

Maybe Jo Ilheon’s seemingly true lies aren’t lies at all.

Anyway, let’s get to the point quickly-.

“Mom said-”

“It’s very good for men.”

Oh, geez.

Who said people from Chungcheong Province are slow talkers? They don’t give you a chance to speak.

They may be slow to speak, but their timing is like a sniper.

“If you feed it to a corpse, their urine stream will pierce the ceiling, you know? That’s where the saying ‘piercing the ceiling’ comes from.”

“Ooh-?”

Old habits die hard. Jo Ilheon’s specialty, which is still weird even though he’s become diligent, came out again.

Yujin, you know what? Jinhyuk whispered so that only Yujin could hear.

That’s why people say that Jo Ilheon is ruining all the kids in the neighborhood.

“I came because Mom said she had something to ask you for!”

Phew, I finally said the purpose of my visit in a complete sentence.

“Oh, right. Wait a minute-?”

I’m already waiting quietly, but he told me to wait quietly, so I waited even more quietly.

‘It’s chaotic.’

It’s so hard to get straight to the point with these people.

Even if you want to borrow a hoe, they ask if you’ve eaten, if you slept well last night when there was thunder, if you’re finally going to plow the long field over the hill, if a hoe will do, you should use a mattock, no, I’ll help you, so let’s finish this and go together, don’t just stand there, help me······.

‘It’s chaotic, but it’s quiet.’

The world is changing rapidly, but this rural village is slow like the wispy clouds in the blue sky.

It’s a relief that it’s been a long time since anyone said there was a thief in someone’s house.

Of course, the appearance of the neighborhood has changed a lot.

Nevertheless, the reason it feels quiet is because the people are the same. People who are always in their place, doing their work.

Like a Buddha statue in a temple, like a statue of the Virgin Mary in a church, like a cross, when you miss them and go to see them, there are neighbors sorting grains in the yard. The power that makes you feel attached to the neighborhood and have affection for it comes from them.

‘It feels like my second life is jumping into my first life and causing a ruckus.’

If Jinhyuk’s first life was a simple straight line, his second life is noisy, loud, and tangled with disorderly relationships, making it difficult to express in a diagram. Would it be easier to understand if I said it was similar to Jang Jinnam’s permed hair?

“Here it is-.”

After a short time of looking at the He Shou Wu leaves and roots neatly spread out on the mat, Jo Ilheon came out of the shed, rustling a black plastic bag.

“Let’s see, this is······. Jinhyuk-hyung! Should I give you the peeled ones, or the unpeeled ones?”

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, I came without even knowing what Mom had asked for.

There was a reason why I trusted Mom that much, but it wasn’t like Jinhyuk, who used to keep everything in his sight and move according to plan.

Anyway.

“What is it?”

“This is castor bean.”

“Castor bean? What is that?”

Ricinus.

It’s mainly used for extracting oil.

“Every summer, the heat is terrible, so she’s probably getting this so you don’t get stomachaches. Oh my-, why is this so hard to open?”

Jo Ilheon struggled because the bag was too tightly tied.

In Jinhyuk’s neighborhood, they used to steam and eat young castor bean leaves as wraps in the summer. If you wrap rice and soybean paste in the glossy leaves, you can finish a bowl of rice in no time.

It’s not just tasty.

“If you eat this, you won’t get stomachaches in the summer, you know? And the poop that comes out will be as big as our Jinhyuk-hyung’s arm.”

“Ooh-?”

Yujin, there’s no poop that big. Jinhyuk whispered again.

Even though it’s gotten thinner than before by reducing its volume, how dare poop compare itself to Jinhyuk’s arm?

“It also makes your intestines very strong, so Mom is getting this so our Yujin can have a good summer.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Unlike his struggling hands, Jo Ilheon’s mouth kept chattering.

Watching him pitifully, Jinhyuk picked up another plastic bag.

“Should I open this one too?”

“Yeah-. Go ahead.”

Jinhyuk easily opened the plastic bag.

There were a lot of beans the size of the first joint of his middle finger.

“They look like kidney beans.”

“Right? Those are the peeled ones.”

They weren’t as curved as kidney beans, but their shape and color were similar. If you look closely, they look like curled-up beetles.

But Yujin seemed to have a different idea.

“Wow-! They look like Jeongwon!”

Yujin’s eyes widened and her lips curled into a circle, as if she was really surprised.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hehehehehe! What do you think it means? It means they look like a baby’s balls-.”

“Hehehe-, that’s right.”

When Jo Ilheon laughed, holding his stomach, Yujin scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

She’s already nine years old, so it seems she knows shame.

Ahaha-.

My sister didn’t say it with bad intentions, so I can’t scold her, and in this case, I can only laugh.

Looking at it, they do look alike.

It’s similar to the shape of the kernels felt inside the two pouches dangling under the crotch.

“Are the unpeeled ones different?”

“Of course, they look different. Because they still have their skin-. Look here-.”

Jo Ilheon finally opened the bag he was holding.

Yujin, who had pushed her brother aside, quickly stuck her head in.

“Woaah-!”

A shout that followed as if she had never been embarrassed.

Why is she like that?

“Hahahaha! It looks like Dad!”

Ah, Yujin.

It seems like it’s time for Yujin to take a bath alone with Mom.

‘It’s a good thing I shower separately after swimming.’

Just in case, Jinhyuk closed his eyes tightly when he saw the unpeeled castor bean fruit. The shape was still drawn on his retina even with his eyes closed.

It did look like Dad.

Hairy pouches.

“She’s still young, so it’s okay-. But Yujin-, if you say that somewhere else, it’s going to be a big problem? People will look down on you.”

“Yes, hehehe-.”

***

Castor bean leaves that have been growing for a long time are tough, making them difficult to eat even when steamed.

Of course, if you want to eat them, you can remove the core and eat them. Sweet potato stems also go through the trouble of peeling and trimming to make kimchi and side dishes, so trimming wraps is nothing compared to that.

Still, it’s easiest and best to eat them when they’re young.

If you can do something with less effort, that method is always right. We lived in an era where only managers used the word efficiency like a family heirloom, but the word itself isn’t bad, is it? As always, the problem is the people who abuse it.

Anyway.

They said that you can just plant castor beans on unused land. Since there’s no unused land, we decided to plant them on the ridges of the field.

Yujin, who was holding the opening of the plastic bag, followed Jinhyuk, who was holding a hoe, with a bounce in her step.

“Yujin, do you like Oppa that much?”

“Yes, hehehe-.”

To her mother’s question, who had come out to enjoy the spring sunshine with her baby, Yujin smiled like a simpleton.

“Cheon Gillyong-haebeoji [Grandpa Cheon Gillyong] told me. He said to follow Oppa like the sun and the moon.”

“Why would he say that?”

“He said that if you follow him, you’ll become like him, and then, umm-, you’ll be able to live well.”

It wasn’t a difficult thing to say, but she looked admirable as she squinted and recalled her memories to fully bring the words to life.

“Oppa? Why are you planting this bu-······?”

Hey, just say balls.

It’s not a curse or a slander, so I don’t know why I’m being like this all of a sudden. Am I Hong Gildong, who can’t call balls balls?

Anyway, it’s Jo Ilheon’s mouth that’s the problem.

– “The term ‘seed balls’ came from castor beans-. Because the seeds look like balls. So, seed balls are seeds that look like balls, not a curse.”

– “Ooh? Really?”

– “Who cares?”

Sigh, seed balls.

There’s no normal person in this neighborhood.

“Yujin, this is called castor bean seeds.”

“Yes. Castor bean seed- balls.”

It seems like she’s fixated on balls. Kids always do this. Until last year, she was fixated on butts, poking every hole in the mudflats.

Maybe because she takes after her sister, Jeongwon chases after any fly that enters the house, calling it a butterfly. Yujin’s butt obsession has been cured, but Jeongwon’s obsession with calling Haengun a butterfly is still ongoing.

Still, because she’s a pretty younger sister, Jinhyuk kindly explained as he had heard from Jo Ilheon.

“They say it’s good to eat as wraps or side dishes in the summer. It helps with digestion and makes you poop well.”

“Poop? Poop?”

Jeongwon, who had come out to watch with her mother, reacted by wiggling her hands.

It seems like she can’t distinguish between her brother and poop.

I put a seed in Jeongwon’s hand and stuck the hoe into the soil, which smelled of earth in the spring.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Oppa, do you like wraps too? Ah-, I wonder what castor bean wraps taste like?”

Yujin, who was squatting next to her brother with her face resting on her hands made into a flower cup, looked sideways. Her eyes were gleaming.

“Oppa hasn’t tried castor bean wraps either. I saw the seeds for the first time today too?”

“Soybean leaves, perilla leaves, pumpkin leaves, lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves, butterbur, strawberry leaves, and, and-.”

Yujin counted on her fingers one by one.

She’s eaten so many plants as wraps.

But why did you eat strawberry leaves?

“Jinhyuk, here-.”

“Yes-.”

It was a simple task of digging the ground with a hoe and burying the fruit when Mom pointed out where to plant by pressing down with her toe.

‘When I was young, I used to follow Mom and plant beans, and I fell a lot on the ridges of the field.’

Now, I’m taller and have longer legs than adults, so that won’t happen. One foot is on the low ground, and the other is on the ridge, stretched out like a stretch, making him look like a tall farmer.

Thwack! Thwack!

I planted the hoe without an inch of error and reflected on the current peace.

‘I hope things will go smoothly without any incidents from now on.’

Even if I don’t make a lot of money, even if I don’t become famous and Hong Sujeong is disappointed, the thing Jinhyuk wants most is peace of mind.

“Ugh- Ack! Cough!”

“Jeongwon! You can’t eat that!”

At Yujin’s sudden shout, the peaceful mind was shattered.

I was terrified that she might have swallowed a large castor bean seed, remembering when she had a piece of apple stuck in her throat, so Jinhyuk dropped the hoe and ran to his sister.

“Eppuuu! Spit! Spit!”

Fortunately, what was coming out of Jeongwon’s mouth was dirt.

I don’t know if it’s right to say it’s a relief in this situation.

“Oh my-. Is it tasty, you little rascal?”

“Daddy busy- Pfft! Pfft!”

This level of accident is okay now.

You can’t call yourself a kid in this neighborhood if you don’t eat dirt.

It’s like a rite of passage.

Still, I can’t help but feel my heart drop every time I hear a horrified sound.

I guess it’s just my imagination that I feel like I’m getting older every time that happens.

‘No. But. Really. Seed balls. When are we going to train······.’

Sigh.