Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 7

Sunday morning.

It was the time when the people of Polchis dressed up and went to the Central Cathedral to offer their weekly prayers.

It was the same for Channing, the elf, so he left his lodging early in the morning and went to the cathedral.

Channing was living in one of the rooms on the second floor of the factory building.

He had been surprised by the toilet and bathroom with running water, but by now, he was used to it.

The Factory Manager came out of the lodging next to Channing’s room and went downstairs to open the factory door. Not the front door, but the back door. The door that connected not to Seoul, but to Polchis.

The Factory Manager took a deep breath of the fresh air, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

“Is it today…”

Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, the Factory Manager smoked his cigarette and threw away the butt.

Then he rummaged through the pile of scrap metal and pulled out a steel plate of a suitable size. It was a thin stainless steel plate about 1T (1mm, Thickness).

The Factory Manager placed the stainless steel plate, covered with grime, on the table, secured it with a vise, and began to grind the surface with a hand grinder fitted with a sandpaper disc.

First, he blasted away the grime with a coarse sandpaper disc and then polished the surface to a shine with a fine sandpaper disc.

Before long, the stainless steel plate began to gleam.

After examining the polished stainless steel plate, the Factory Manager placed a thick wooden board on the table, placed the stainless steel plate upside down on it, and secured it firmly with a clamp. This was to prepare for punching holes.

The Factory Manager brought a hammer and an awl and struck the stainless steel plate mercilessly with the awl. The sound of the awl piercing the metal and hitting the wood echoed.

After repeating the process several times to make the holes, the Factory Manager flipped the stainless steel plate over and polished the sharp edges with the hand grinder’s sandpaper disc.

Thus, the perforated steel plate was completed.

“Damn it. Channing went to the cathedral, so I have no one to help me. This is a pain in the ass.”

The Factory Manager grumbled and walked over to the bending machine with the stainless steel plate.

He clamped the stainless steel plate in the bending machine and operated the switch. The stainless steel plate was pushed in and curled into a semi-circular shape, like a roof tile.

Finally, he clamped both ends of the plate in a manual bending machine and bent them into a ㄷ-shape. Only then was the item the Factory Manager was making completed.

It was a steel plate for grilling meat.

“I’m back.”

“Oh. You’re back early?”

“I came back early to help you.”

Channing greeted the Factory Manager as he entered the factory and went upstairs. He was wearing his going-out clothes for church, so he went to change into his work clothes.

Channing wore his factory work clothes, which were a one-piece top and bottom, almost every day because they were comfortable.

Channing came back downstairs in his work clothes, unfolded the folding table used for lunch in the backyard, and set up the chairs.

The Factory Manager burst out laughing as he watched Channing humming happily as he prepared.

“Huh? Why are you laughing?”

“I’ve never seen you so happy before.”

Channing’s face flushed slightly at the Factory Manager’s words.

“It’s meat and alcohol. How can I not be happy?”

“Geez. You’re so simple.”

The Factory Manager brought out the brazier he had made earlier. It was made by cutting a medium-sized drum in half and welding angle iron in an X-shape on each side.

“It’s been a while since I’ve used this…”

“Did you make this yourself too?”

“When have you ever seen me buy anything?”

The Factory Manager poured the charcoal he had bought from the charcoal seller into the drum.

“Ah. I’ll light the fire.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that hard.”

The Factory Manager went into the factory and pulled out a cart with two large gas cylinders strapped to it.

“Uh… that’s.”

“An oxyacetylene torch. This is the quickest way to do it.”

The Factory Manager put a cigarette in his mouth and opened the valve of the oxyacetylene torch.

Then he used a lighter to ignite the torch and then brought the lighter to his mouth to light his cigarette.

“Wow. I never thought you’d use that to light the charcoal.”

“That’s because it’s me. Don’t do it when I’m not around.”

“Don’t worry.”

While the Factory Manager was lighting the charcoal, the blacksmith Popper and the butcher, Karutz, entered the backyard.

“Hey! You’re already ready.”

“You’re here. Have a seat.”

The Factory Manager said, glancing back, and Popper and Karutz sat down.

“Ah. Channing. Kelper will be here in a little while.”

“Yes.”

Channing replied to Popper and went back into the factory.

“Is the knife working well?”

“Ah. I was about to talk about that. Blackie. That knife is a killer! It cuts through the meat like butter. I’ve never seen a knife like that before.”

When the charcoal was fully lit, he placed the grilling plate he had made in the morning on top of it and asked, and Karutz, who was sitting on a chair, sang its praises.

“Well, it’s because Popper did a good job with the heat treatment and sharpening.”

“Don’t be so modest. It’s the blade itself that’s good. I could never make steel like that, even if I died and came back to life.”

“I bought it too. I’m an engineer.”

The Factory Manager responded to Popper’s words, threw away his cigarette butt, and said,

“More importantly, Karutz. If you’re here, why don’t you cut some meat?”

“Ah. Right. But… I asked for this, but… to bring pork belly for bacon… How are we supposed to eat this?”

Karutz opened the paper-wrapped meat.

A very fresh-looking slab of pork belly popped out of the paper.

“We’re just going to slice it thinly and grill it.”

“This? Not make smoked bacon or something?”

“When would we have time for that? Besides, you said it was really cheap. If I had asked you to bring expensive meat, you would have brought just a handful. So stop complaining.”

The Factory Manager chided Karutz and examined the meat.

It was pork belly with the skin still on.

He thought about asking for the skin to be removed separately, but decided that today it would be better to just eat it with the skin on, so he instructed Karutz on how to slice it.

“Slice it thinly in this direction. About 1/5th the thickness of your finger.”

“That thin?”

“Can’t you do it?”

“What are you talking about! I’ve been a butcher for years. Don’t worry!”

Karutz said, pulling out the knife he had brought with him and started slicing the pork belly.

As soon as he used the knife with his skillful hand, thin slices of pork belly came out.

“You’re good.”

“This guy is skilled.”

Popper responded to the Factory Manager’s admiration, and Karutz, feeling good about the compliments from the two, continued to slice the meat even more skillfully.

In no time, a long line of thin pork belly slices was laid out.

“We’re here.”

“Hello!”

Meanwhile, Kelper and Richel entered the backyard.

“What? Why is the restaurant girl here again? I didn’t order lunch today.”

“I heard you were having something delicious, so I followed along.”

“Hey! Popper! Why is your son’s mouth so loose?”

“Hahahaha! What’s wrong with that? A cute girl wants to eat with us. Why would I say no?”

Popper burst out laughing in response to the Factory Manager’s scolding, and the Factory Manager also burst out laughing after seeing Richel’s bright smile.

“Here! I brought the alcohol.”

Meanwhile, Channing came out of the factory carrying a large bottle of alcohol.

“Ooh! Huh?”

“This is…?”

When Channing placed the large jar of infused alcohol on the table, Popper and Karutz’s eyes widened as they stared at the jar.

“It’s glass? How did you decorate the glass like this?”

“More importantly, I’ve never seen such a large, clear glass bottle before.”

“You country bumpkins. What’s so great about glass? Channing. Go get some glasses. Glass ones.”

“Yes.”

After saying that to Popper and Karutz, who were looking at the glass bottle with fascination, and giving instructions to Channing, the Factory Manager placed the pork belly on the heated steel plate.

As the meat was placed on the plate, the sizzling sound of the meat cooking echoed deliciously. At the same time, a delicious smell spread all around.

“Wow! Is this bacon? But it’s not salted or smoked?”

Richel, who had approached the Factory Manager who was grilling the meat, looked on with curious eyes.

“Yeah. It’s not salted. It’s quite tasty even if you eat it like this.”

As the Factory Manager flipped the cooked meat, the delicious brown backside of the pork belly came into view. The smell of the pork fat sizzling stimulated the appetite.

Popper and Karutz, who had been preoccupied with the glass until a moment ago, also turned their heads and fixed their gazes on the grilling meat.

When it was cooked to the right degree, the Factory Manager grabbed the meat with tongs and cut it.

“Huh? You’re cutting it while grilling? That’s so cool.”

“This is how we do it back home.”

“Factory Manager-nim. Here you go.”

Channing handed something in a plastic container to the Factory Manager.

When the Factory Manager opened the lid, a pungent and slightly sour smell wafted up.

It was kimchi.

“It tastes better if you grill this.”

The Factory Manager picked up the kimchi with tongs and placed it on the folded sides of the grilling plate.

The pork fat dripping from above met the kimchi and sizzled as it cooked, and it was another delicious smell.

“What kind of vegetable… is that?”

Richel took a closer look as the new food was placed on the grill.

“It’s a dish from my hometown. It’s pickled cabbage. It’s delicious.”

“I have no idea what kind of food it is.”

“More importantly, Factory Manager-nim. It’s all cooked now, so I’ll grill it.”

Channing said to the Factory Manager, holding a plate, and the Factory Manager placed the cooked meat and kimchi on the plate and took it.

“Okay. Ah. Richel and Kelper, come here and grill and eat too. You won’t get to eat if you just keep grilling for these old guys. Channing. You can drink the canned beer in the fridge.”

“Wow! Really, Factory Manager-nim! Kelper! Keep grilling this!”

“Huh?! Hey!”

At those words, Channing quickly handed the scissors and tongs to Kelper and ran into the factory.

Kelper, with a flustered expression, started flipping the meat while listening to Richel’s instructions.

“Let’s eat.”

As the Factory Manager placed the plate on the table, Popper and Karutz fixed their eyes on it.

“This is interesting… I’ve never seen bacon grilled like this before.”

“This is how we originally ate it back home. Ah. Here, eat it with this seasoned salt and this ssamjang.”

At the Factory Manager’s words, Popper picked up the meat with his hand, dipped it in salt and ssamjang, and brought it to his mouth to chew.

Popper’s eyes widened, and he looked at Karutz with a surprised expression, and Karutz, who ate after him, also looked at Popper in surprise.

“Wow. This is really amazing.”

“Oh my God! This is really… Wahahaha!”

Karutz swallowed the meat first and spoke, and Popper burst out laughing.

“You guys. That’s what I was saying. Here. Have some alcohol too.”

The Factory Manager opened the jar of infused alcohol and poured the alcohol into a kettle with a ladle. He poured the alcohol into glass cups and placed them in front of each person, and Popper picked up the glass cup and marveled at it.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a clear and perfectly shaped glass cup…”

“Don’t overthink it and just taste the alcohol. Are you going to chew on the glass?”

At the Factory Manager’s scolding, Popper gulped down the alcohol.

“Kyaaah! This is amazing!”

“Me too, me too!”

At Popper’s reaction, Karutz also drank the alcohol and made the same sound.

“You had such good alcohol and you were hiding it!”

“That’s why I’m sharing it now. Drink up.”

“This tastes like raspberry, but it’s a bit different. It’s good. The alcohol.”

“Karutz knows his stuff.”

The Factory Manager poured more alcohol into their glasses and continued.

“Drink this and be nice to your wives tonight!”

“Wives? Why wives all of a sudden?”

Karutz asked back, swallowing the alcohol, and the Factory Manager burst out laughing and replied.

“This alcohol is supposed to be really good for that, you know! They say that if you drink this, even an 80-year-old man can make a son.”

“Hey! Give me more then!”

Popper quickly finished his alcohol and held out his glass, and the three of them started emptying the bottle of alcohol, laughing heartily, with the meat as their appetizer.