Dear My Friend - Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – It’s Delicious

***

Three days later, I opened the jar of orange cheong with Florinda just as promised. As soon as I prised off the close-fitting lid, the sharp, sour smell of citrus filled my nose. Florinda, who was smelling it next to me, proclaimed that it smelled wonderful.

I put a few spoonfuls of preserves into two cups and added hot water to make orange tea. She accepted the cup from me, and I took a sip from mine first.

“Mmm,” I moaned. It was delicious.

Florinda drew her cup towards her lips with her excited look. A strange expression spread over her face after she drank the tea.

I pretended to be calm, but I was tense as I awaited her verdict. A moment later, an exclamation burst from her mouth.

“It’s delicious!” she enthused.

“…Really?” I said.

I was surprised at the unexpected positive comment. Florinda nodded once, then sipped the orange tea again.

“It’s really good, My Lady. It’s sour and sweet. I’ve never tasted this before.”

This is the taste of Korea, Florinda.

I shrugged, but the expression on my face was one of pride. It bubbled warmly inside me.

“It must be delicious.”

“I’ll have another cup, My Lady,” she said, then lifted the kettle and poured more hot water into her cup. I smiled, then put in another spoon of orange cheong in her cup as well.

She quickly drained the cup. Having seen that, I came up with two possible conclusions: either her taste was very Korean, or the cheong was very good.

“I think you can sell this, My Lady. It’s so delicious.”

“But one favorable comment is not enough,” I said with a shake of my head. “I think I need to do more product testing.”

***

I decided to present the orange tea to my whole family.

After dinner that evening, I told the chef in advance to make the tea so my parents and Martina could taste it.

“Is this the first time you’ve made this tea, Chef?”

Countess Bellafleur looked down at the unfamiliar drink with a skeptical look on her face. The chef explained that the tea was made out of orange preserves. She took a hesitant sip, then, a moment later, an amazed expression crossed her face.

“Did you make this, Chef?”

“I made it,” I interjected, and Countess Bellafleur looked at me with even greater surprise.

“You?” she said, and her, Count Bellafleur and Martina looked at me with matching expressions of astonishment.

“You made this?” Martina asked, then drank a sip. Another exclamation burst out of her mouth. “It’s delicious!”

“Are you saying that just because I made it?” I said.

“Sister, I am a person of picky tastes,” Martina replied calmly, then brought the cup to her lips again. She sang more words of praise. “But it’s really delicious. It’s sweeter than black tea.”

Count Bellafleur, who had been watching quietly, piped up this time. “Really?” he said, then sampled his own drink. He didn’t give as big a reaction as Countess Bellafleur or Martina, but a gentle smile spread across his mouth.

“You all seem to like it,” I noted.

“I can’t believe you made this.”

“Since when did you get so good at cooking, my daughter?”

“Sister, I think you can make more and sell this!”

Effusive praises continued to pour from around the table, and I smiled widely.

“Actually, I’m thinking about starting small,” I said, and another round of exclamations came from all sides.

“Oh, really?”

“Do it, sister! I will help you!”

“You mean as a business?”

I nodded. “Yes. Nothing that grand… Just a business.”

“I can’t believe that you’re doing a business. I didn’t know that you had a talent for this.”

Count Bellafleur was still amazed, as well as the other members of the family. I dropped my gaze downwards a little in embarrassment. This was the first time that I was in the spotlight.

“Once the people of the mansion have a taste and it’s well-received, then I’ll open a small store,” I explained.

Count Bellafleur nodded approvingly. “That’s good. It’s better than getting hurt from the start. Is there anything you need?”

“It’s not an operation that needs a lot of money, Father, except for the store rent. The ingredients don’t cost a lot.”

“Still, tell me if you need anything. Understand?”

“I will, Father. Thank you for saying that,” I said with a smile and a nod. I hoped that this evaluation would save me any embarrassment when the cheong was sold to the world.

But there was still another person I had to get an opinion from.

***

“Mmmm!”

Odeletta looked at me with delight, and I gave her a small smile.

“Does it taste good?” I asked.

“Completely.” She took another sip of orange tea with a look of wonder, then smiled brightly again. “It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Did you really make this?” she questioned, as if gently accusing me of showing off, and I shrugged my shoulders.

“Who do you think made it, then?” I said.

“You’re incredible.”

“So it’s good?”

“Have you been listening to me so far? It’s the best!”

“I’m glad.” Her response was beyond my expectations, and I fiddled with the jar lid for a moment before asking another question. “Do you think I can make a living out of it?”

“What? This?”

“Yes.”

“I think you can,” Odeletta said, but immediately after that, her forehead crinkled in concern. “Are you trying to open a business?”

“Yes.”

“Who will you sell it to?” she continued in a worried voice. “It’s certainly a delicious tea, but I don’t think it will be popular with the nobles.”

“I thought the same thing,” I said, nodding as if I understood as well.

Fruit cheong had the advantage of being easy to make, tasting delicious and being cheap. Due to the last condition, however, it would be difficult to sell to the nobles. For them, tea was not something to enjoy for its gastronomic pleasure. It was a way of displaying their status and differentiating them from common people. Therefore, cheap tea was often looked down in high society, and even the poorest nobles struggled to make sure they only had high-quality tea. Thus, a cheap fruit tea wouldn’t be readily accepted among them.

“I’m going to sell it to the common people. Unlike nobles, value and efficiency is important to them.”

“That’s good. But then wouldn’t it be difficult to sell it?”

“I won’t sell it personally. I’ll just run the R&D—I mean, I’m only going to develop the product.”

“Ah. That sounds like fun,” she said.

“Right?” I said with an excited grin. “I don’t think life will be boring if I run a small shop.”

“But is that alright if you’re a noblewoman?”

“Why? You don’t think…I’ll fall in rank?” I said, suddenly alarmed.

Odeletta shook her head. “No, no. I’m not saying that. I mean, wouldn’t running a business be hard?”

“What…” I said, then trailed off awkwardly.

Unlike Odeletta, I lived in Korea before I came here. That meant overtime was more mandatory than it was optional. No matter how hard I worked on this cheong store, could it even compare to working in Korea? Well, I didn’t think so.

“I’ll be fine. I’m not doing it alone. The housemaids decided to help.”

“But I’m a little worried.”

“It’s really okay. I like to have a busy life,” I reassured her with a smile, and it was only then that she relaxed and gave me a bashful smile in return.

“You’ll do well. Because you’re smart,” she said firmly.

“Not at all,” I said, smiling at the excessive compliment, and Odeletta fixed me with a long stare. Her gaze lingered on me to the point that I began to feel self-conscious.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Just,” Odeletta began. “Amazing.”

“What?”

“What you’re doing. Isn’t it incredible?”

I burst into laughter at Odeletta’s words. I was reminded of the days when we still used formal speech with each other. Now, of course, we faithfully treated each other as friends. It was surprising, especially if you thought about the original story. The poor maid and the villainess became friends. Was there anything crazier in this world?

I shook my head and replied to Odeletta. “It’s definitely incredible.”