[Cause and Effect]
After the heavy-set Harry disappeared, Jack O'Connell slumped back into his chair. His heart felt like it was hammering against his throat.
"What on earth..."
It wasn't just anything; a permanent water usage right would lead to an astronomical increase in operating costs for the farm in the future. Yet, if he refused, he would likely be hit with an unimaginable compensation claim.
As he agonized over his desperate situation, his gaze landed on a small glass bottle on the table.
The water that had backflowed from the well—the evidence he had created himself.
"Damn it..."
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, steeling himself. If this went to court, it was over. His hands trembled so violently that he mistyped the number three times while trying to open his phone.
Finally, he dialed the name of his familiar attorney, Greg Richard.
"Yeah? Jack?"
Only after steadying his breathing could he speak.
"Come to the farm. Right now."
"Can't you tell me over the phone? I'm in the middle of something important..."
"Right now! I said come right now!"
As he shouted, Greg’s voice turned stern.
"What's going on?"
"A lawyer came by. He's the lawyer for the pear farm owner. I was wondering why he hadn't participated in the lawsuit until now, and then..."
As he rambled incoherently, Greg asked.
"What's the name of the opposing lawyer?"
"He said his name was Howard Montis. Harry? Yeah, he said Harry, too..."
For a moment, Greg’s voice went rigid.
"...Where did you say you were?"
"My office."
"I'll be there in an hour. Don't go anywhere, just sit there and wait for me."
The line went dead, and Jack felt a little more at ease. Greg was a quite capable lawyer, so he held out hope that he might bring a different solution. After all, Greg had been handling almost every water dispute in the Napa and Lodi areas for nearly ten years, working alongside him.
Sure enough, in less than an hour, a black sedan slid onto the dirt road in front of the farm. A man in a suit stepped out and, without caring about the mud splattering his shoes, strode toward the container.
"Open it."
At the voice that came with the knock, Jack opened the door.
"You're here."
The man entered the container office, brushed past Jack, flopped onto the sofa, and said with a somewhat fierce expression.
"Harry? Are you sure it's the Rainmaker?"
"You know him?"
Greg Richard wore a troubled expression. Then, he spotted the glass bottle on the table and spoke with a bitter look.
"Did Harry leave this?"
"Yeah."
Greg picked up the bottle without even wearing gloves. His gaze, as he carefully shook it, was like a judge examining evidence.
"This must be the water you backflowed, right?"
"I didn't do it on purpose, it happened while I was operating the pump..."
"Jack."
Greg lifted his head.
"I know how you feel. I was just asking. I'm on your side."
"Whew... Right. Harry left it. Is that guy named Harry famous?"
"Is he famous?"
Greg let out a dry laugh and looked at Jack with serious eyes.
"There are three people in Napa Valley you should never meet as an opposing lawyer, and one of them is the Rainmaker."
"......"
"Even if a vineyard owned by a winery in Napa Valley is only 100 acres, its annual revenue reaches tens of millions of dollars. It's on a completely different level from regular farmers who grow crops and sell them to wholesalers. How big do you think the lawsuit scale is when a dispute over water rights breaks out in a place like that?"
"...It must be enormous."
"Exactly. Sometimes the litigation amount alone is equivalent to the entire revenue of the Lodi region. You saw the news, right? Some wineries cost over $200 million to acquire. And the Rainmaker is the guy who fights with those kinds of wineries as his clients. He's a big shot."
Jack blinked and asked.
"Why would a big shot like that bother defending a 70-acre pear farm here?"
"I don't understand that either. Why someone who mainly plays in Napa Valley would come all the way to Lodi to do this. But if the opponent is truly the Rainmaker... you have to consider yourself very unlucky."
Jack clutched his head and slumped onto the sofa opposite Greg.
"Haa, then what do I do?"
"What exactly did Harry demand? He wouldn't have tried to drag it all the way to trial, would he?"
"He demanded permanent water usage rights. 51% of the groundwater we pump from our well."
"Damn it... typical Rainmaker."
"He's a complete lunatic. The land is mine, but he wants to take half the water?"
Unlike the agitated Jack, Greg tapped his fingers on the desk slowly.
"You have an answer you're expecting, right? Wanting me to provide a solution."
"...Right. Is it possible?"
"No."
At the short answer, Jack's face twisted.
"What?"
"If it were a demand you could ignore, that man wouldn't have come all the way here, Jack. Harry Montis is not someone who moves easily. The fact that he came to this office and presented you with a settlement offer means he has finished all his calculations. He didn't come with just one card to play; he has likely considered all the counterattacks that would follow."
"Then what are you suggesting?"
"Think about only one thing. Can your farm survive, or will it be shattered in court?"
Jack couldn't continue.
Greg picked up the glass bottle and shook it as he spoke.
"The evidence is too clear. A case this clear probably won't even give Harry Montis any tension compared to the work he's done so far. Don't think about winning; try to settle with as little damage as possible."
"Damn it..."
Desperate, Jack bowed his head, clutching his hair again, and Greg could only look on with pity. Eventually, the two began to discuss how they could minimize the percentage of annual water usage they would have to give up.
They knew that keeping the farm alive and taking a bit of a loss was unconditionally better than being completely ruined by punitive damages.
At the same time that a farm in Lodi was despairing because of a certain lawyer, at Redwood Winery.
"Are you starting to get it?"
"I'm continuing to find ways. You should look forward to it, as something quite fantastic might come out of this."
Honestly, when it came to brandy, I wasn't even an amateur, let alone an expert. I hadn't enjoyed whiskey before my regression.
It was only after I accidentally started researching wine that I gained deep knowledge about it, and that led me to take an interest in Korean-style liquor, which is how I studied it a bit. Even if I knew the principles of making brandy, I didn't know how subtle differences in taste were created through differences in the process.
Come to think of it, Warren seemed to know quite a lot about brandy.
"Have you been studying brandy all along?"
"I've always been studying."
"I guess you were originally planning to enter the brandy market?"
"No, just because I was curious. I love wine, but that doesn't mean I don't touch other liquors at all. Sometimes, you need something other than wine."
"Ah..."
He smiled and stroked the tank we were preparing to launch.
"Funny enough, your winery produces two types of wine. One is grapes, and one is cherries. Do you know why that's funny? These are the two most important ingredients for the new brandy I'm making."
"Are you saying you're using grapes as the base?"
"Right. You create the structure of the new brandy and add the aroma with other fruits. And among almost all fruits, grapes have the most stable fermentation characteristics. You obviously know the reason, right?"
"Yes... the sugar content (Brix) is high at a base of 20–25 degrees, the acidity (pH) balance is ideal, and the microbial stability (type and activity of natural yeast) is high. Plus, there's little production of off-flavors."
Warren gave a satisfied smile.
"Correct. Grapes are the perfect raw material as a base for spirits, and among them, top-quality Cabernet Sauvignon is produced right here. Acidic fruits are good for adding aroma to this, and cherries happen to be the best ingredient."
"Hmm..."
"I'm thinking of three techniques, and one of the things I'm considering to maintain the aroma is low-temperature vacuum distillation. If this works, we can make the brandy retain the cherry scent."
"That would be the case. Cherry scent is a delicate aroma that easily disappears at high temperatures."
"Right. In the premium market, cherry scent is always classified as a high-end aroma. When your girlfriend's pear farming bears fruit, the combination of grapes and pears will also be one of the combinations I'm quite looking forward to."
I shook my head.
"Wow... have you thought that far ahead already?"
"Isn't that obvious? Due to liquor laws, moving and storing raw materials will be a bit cumbersome, but once that's handled, a truly amazing product will come out. Just wait a little. By the way, when did they say the low-temperature distiller would arrive?"
"In two days."
"This is why America will fail. Nothing ever proceeds quickly, damn it..."
He had been stuck doing theoretical research because he couldn't conduct proper experiments until the low-temperature distiller arrived.
I shook my head.
"Ah, you don't intend to get a DSP (Distilled Spirits Plant License) at Redwood, do you?"
"No, there's no need to go that far... I think it's right for us to focus on wine."
"Right, it's much more efficient to sell raw materials and receive dividends than to do everything yourself."
If we transfer the raw wines from Redwood to Golden Grain Soju House, the fixed revenue from that will also become quite substantial. Since those wines don't need to be top-tier, we can just bring in grapes in a decent state, make wine, and sell it.
At this moment, we left the aging room after hearing that a guest had arrived outside. But the guest who came today wasn't my guest.
"Oh? You came all the way here yourself?"
The person who visited the winery was a man of such massive build that it seemed a wonder he could walk. I could guess who it was just by his appearance.
"Say hello, this is one of the few friends I trust. He's a lawyer. It's Harry, who's going to look after your girlfriend's farm."
"That... 'Rainmaker'?"
"Right."
I shook hands with him.
"I'm Howard 'Harry' Montis. Please feel free to call me Harry."
"Yes, I'm Brian."
"It's an honor to meet you, Brian. I had been planning to visit ever since I heard the news that Mr. Warren had joined this winery."
At those words, Warren patted Harry's thick arm.
"Of course you should. But... it seems even thicker than before?"
"What are you talking about... I've lost 30kg since we last met."
"Really? Is that true?"
"Of course. In a year, I'll be even slimmer than I am now."
Warren looked at me and grinned.
"This guy wasn't like this originally, but after getting a health checkup once, he turned out like this. Anyway, his legs must be hurting, so I should get him a chair."
"It's fine. I'll sit here."
Harry perched his backside on an empty wooden box stacked in a corner of the winery. The box creaked and screamed for a moment, but it managed to hold up well.
"I just came from urging the opposing farm to settle. The settlement content was to demand 51% of the permanent water rights from the opposing farm, and naturally, I informed Ms. Chloe on my way here."
I asked anxiously.
"Do you think it will go well?"
He raised one corner of his mouth.
"Just watch."
If someone else had said that, I would have read it as a sign to wait and see how the situation unfolds since there are many variables, but for some reason, an indescribable confidence could be read on his face. Should I say it was as if the situation was almost over?
"But seeing you come all the way here yourself, it doesn't seem like you just came to report the results?"
When Warren asked, Harry looked at me and said.
"Actually, I wanted to talk about the fees."
I nodded, as it was a conversation that naturally had to happen, but Warren interrupted.
"Didn't I say I would cover that?"
"I've been thinking, and I'd like to receive something else instead of money."
Curious, I asked.
"What would you like to receive...?"
"My younger sibling recently opened a restaurant in LA. I want to do something to help them succeed, but I can't help with anything other than legal matters. If you promise me one thing, I will proceed with any future lawsuits related to Redwood Winery at a low cost."
I felt like I knew what this was about just by hearing this.
"Ah, then...?"
"Yes, could you consistently supply wine to my sibling's restaurant? Of course, I will pay the proper price."
"Haha..."
I let out a hollow laugh at his surprising maneuver.