Among all his supporters there was one person he was curious about, and it was the fan who constantly pushed the druid theory. After gathering the lettuce, Sihon set out for the village hall, only to realise at once that he could not walk there through that downpour. Just as he was at his wits' end, Jong arrived in his truck to pick him up, since he was heading the same way.
At the town hall the villagers were busy grilling meat and mushrooms in spite of the rain. A little later Stella addressed everyone and informed them that the thieves who had been pillaging the village had been caught on the mountain behind Sihon's house. She also told them that after the investigation the men had been found to have committed a long list of crimes and had been officially placed under arrest.
According to Stella, the thieves had parked their vehicles near the entrance of the town and used the mountain path behind the monastery to sneak into the village, every single time, for years. She advised everyone to stay alert so that nothing like this ever happened in their village again. Then she told everyone to applaud Sihon for capturing the thieves, after which she announced that it was time to feast, and wished the thieves a long prison sentence.
After her address the townsfolk immediately started enjoying the mushrooms and meat. Having tasted the pine mushrooms, they remarked that they were the best they had ever had. Sihon went round checking on the guests to make sure they were enjoying themselves, and even presented his own combination for them to try. He had noticed that everyone was eating the pine mushrooms and the meat separately, so he suggested trying them sandwiched with some kimchi.
He told them he had seen the combination online and that it had looked delicious, so he had decided to try it. Stella was not convinced and wondered why anyone would eat them that way. She told him that king oyster mushrooms went better like that with beef, and that those mushrooms were not exactly costly. To show him what she meant, she shoved the combination into his mouth, and after trying it he finally admitted that pine mushrooms were best eaten on their own.
Stella explained that it was because the pine mushrooms from their mountain had a strong scent, so they did not pair well with just anything. One of the guests also advised him to listen to the village chief, since she had eaten a great deal of quality food in her lifetime. Sihon happily accepted their advice and settled on eating the dish separately.
Then the youth association president stepped in to thank him for giving them such an expensive feast. He had never tasted the mushrooms before and had only ever sold them, since they cost a pretty penny. Sihon offered to help him grill some more meat, but the man turned him down. He explained that grilling meat had always been his job as youth association president.
He jokingly told Sihon to take over as president if he truly wanted to grill. Then he thanked him again for the feast and asked him to come to him if he ever needed any help. Sihon could smell the scent of dried grain feed on the youth president, who was in his late forties and ran a chicken farm nearby.
Right then he remembered a dream he had been harbouring all this time, which was to raise chickens. He asked the youth president for his opinion, but Stella overheard him and wondered why he suddenly wanted to raise chickens. Sihon explained that it would get him fresh eggs, and besides, young chicks were so cute to look at.
The youth president told him that they were only cute while they were young, and that once they grew up the constant crowing early in the morning became unbearable. Apart from that, they messed the place up, pooping uncontrollably everywhere. He also pointed out that the smell might get into Sihon's newly remodelled house. With all those reasons stacked up, Sihon decided to reconsider.
Used to nature though he was, he had to admit that there was still a great deal he did not know about country life. Thankfully his biggest trait as a druid was that he asked questions when he did not know something. Just like pine mushrooms and raising chickens, some things were best left alone and untouched. As he watched the villagers enjoy themselves, he could feel himself gradually growing into the village.
The following day Sihon received an emergency alert about the heavy rain, advising everyone to stay indoors, and by then he had already received four of them. He was not worried, because he had already secured the greenhouse and everything else. He was still concerned about the grapes falling off in the downpour, though. He considered using a spell to hasten their growth, then decided against it, because getting through something like this was the whole purpose of being a druid.
Looking towards his precious grapes, he hoped they would hang on until harvest time. Soon afterwards he received a call from Jong, who frantically begged him to come over to his farm for an emergency. Sihon wondered whether he was ill, but Jong told him he was not, and added that he could have called the emergency services instead of a farm boy if he were.
Then he revealed that one of his cows was sick. The vet was checking her out but could not handle a large animal alone, so they needed an extra pair of strong hands to move her. Soon afterwards Sihon arrived at Jong's cattle shed, where he met the veterinarian. When he asked what had happened, Jong explained that the sick cow had suddenly collapsed and that the cow next to her refused to leave her side.
With all the commotion, the other cows in the shed were getting worked up too. Jong called his cows by numbers instead of names, because he did not want to get attached to animals that would eventually be sold. From the worry written all over his face, though, Sihon could tell that he cared about them anyway. He asked whether he should move the worried cow to another pen, but Jong decided to do it himself.
The vet told them that their priority had to be getting the collapsed cow on her feet, since gas might build up in her stomach and make it hard for her to breathe. He asked Sihon to help him, and together they carefully pushed the cow up onto her feet. As the cow cried in pain, Sihon told the vet that she was already struggling to breathe.
He suggested calming her down first, but the vet pointed out that they could not use sedatives because she was pregnant. Sihon let him know that he had not meant medication, but a natural method. He added that he had a natural way of doing it that worked perfectly well on his pet water deer. The vet did not believe him, but before he could complain, Sihon began to sing, and the energy of nature moved through the shed and calmed the agitated cow.