Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Commercial City Hanyang (4)
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In 21st-century Korea, where food hygiene is emphasized, even restaurant owners often fail to follow basic hygiene rules.
You can frequently see mold growing in corners because the kitchen isn't properly cleaned, or cockroaches laying eggs. They store ingredients in containers without expiration dates marked, or use expired ingredients because they're frozen anyway.
Yet in the Joseon era, where the very concept of food hygiene laws doesn't exist, managing food hygiene strictly wouldn't be easy...
"It may not be easy, but it's necessary, so I'll do it."
At a company, if I don't do it, someone else will, so there's no need to push myself too hard.
If I ruin my health and end up unable to do essential tasks, that would be a bigger problem.
But in Joseon, practically no one understands the importance of food hygiene.
'If I don't do it, no one will.'
It was the same with mass-producing gunpowder, devising the silver smelting method to extract large amounts of silver from Daema Island, or introducing the Bangwon Law to increase state revenue while reducing the tax burden on the people.
"Is the madam here?"
"Y-yes, sir..."
The madam glanced back and forth at me in my official robes and the clerks and constables I'd brought, freezing on the spot.
She seemed to think she'd been caught in something wrong...
To be honest, she had already committed a crime worthy of a beating with rods.
She had nearly killed someone through negligence.
"Yesterday, I ordered mackerel and rice here for lunch. The mackerel, rice, side dishes, and even the makgeolli all tasted a bit off and had a rancid smell. How could you serve spoiled food to customers and sell it?"
"Oh no, forgive me! I didn't realize you were such a high noble, sir. I swear it won't happen again. Please forgive me just this once. I promise I won't do it again. Please have mercy!"
In dramas and movies, the rich are often portrayed as hedonistic scum, while the poor are depicted as kind and hardworking.
But I think that's just a cliché used to make stories more engaging.
Rich or poor, people are all the same in the end.
So there must be evil poor people and kind, generous rich ones too, right?
"From now on, answer my questions without a single lie. Honesty is your only path to survival."
In Joseon, not only are there no food hygiene laws, but the concept of hygiene itself is barely understood.
So minor issues like messy cooking utensils or grease buildup on pots and stoves can be overlooked.
Those are crimes born of ignorance, and punishing people for them would feel unfair from their perspective.
We should educate them properly first, then punish later.
But when it comes to food hygiene— even if they don't know its importance—
Does it make sense for someone in the food business to knowingly sell obviously spoiled liquor and food for money?
The madam here surely knows that eating spoiled food and drink can cause food poisoning.
Yet she kept doing business with the attitude of 'it'll probably be fine.'
That, I cannot forgive.
"Yes, sir."
"Why did you serve food that was clearly spoiled?"
"My family eats the same food, and we've never had any issues, so I thought it would be fine for customers too. Please forgive me. It won't happen again."
"For people with weak stomachs or intestines, even mildly spoiled food can cause stomachaches or diarrhea. Didn't you consider that?"
"I'm sorry, sir. Please, please show mercy."
A crime is a crime, whether committed by the poor or the rich.
"Show me where you store the food and the kitchen."
"Yes, sir... This way."
Spectators gathered like clouds inside and outside the restaurant upon seeing high officials from Hanseongbu along with clerks and soldiers.
Some recognized me and started chattering.
"Isn't that the famous Magistrate?"
"Why would the Magistrate bring soldiers to a food stall...?"
"They were selling spoiled food. This place has been sketchy for a while. Rancid rice, side dishes, and makgeolli. Last time I complained about the smell, they had the nerve to say their family eats it too and told me not to come back if I didn't like it, even sprinkling salt at me."
The commoners would find it odd that I'm making such a fuss over slightly spoiled food.
A 4th-rank official personally conducting food inspections at restaurants? How bizarre.
In modern terms, it's like a central ministry director (level 2 bureaucrat), or the mayor of Jeju, or a vice-mayor in huge cities like Suwon or Changwon.
Local officials doing on-site hygiene checks themselves.
Come to think of it, it's like a colonel brigade commander personally inspecting barracks cleanliness.
Still, putting on this show will plant an idea among the people:
Fail to manage hygiene properly in your restaurant, and a very high official will come crashing down on you.
"This is the kitchen."
The kitchen was cleaner than expected.
There was some grease buildup and traces of cooking left behind, but it seemed they did clean to some extent.
However, the food waste bin hadn't been emptied on time, emitting a smell, and its placement near the cooking area wasn't hygienic.
"Where do you store the ingredients and liquor?"
"This way, sir."
The storage area she led me to held large quantities of ingredients and liquor.
Checking them confirmed my suspicions: spoiled items scattered here and there.
"This radish has dark spots everywhere—clearly spoiled. The mackerel smells off too. And these vegetables are mostly wilted and mushy instead of fresh... Cooking and selling this stuff. Impressive."
"Forgive me, sir..."
"Did it never occur to you that food made from these could make customers sick? Or did you think it was okay because people ate the mildly spoiled stuff without complaining, so you could sell it for money?"
Watching this made my blood boil.
If restaurant owners use such spoiled ingredients, a mass food poisoning outbreak is inevitable someday.
Just thinking about it is chilling.
"Oh, and one more thing. The makgeolli..."
I scooped a bit from the jar and tasted it.
It was sour and bitter, with a sour smell—this was definitely spoiled makgeolli.
"The makgeolli is fully spoiled, and some ingredients are too. If left like this, it would have taken out several people. How did you manage food this way? Were you waiting for deaths before fixing it?"
"Forgive me, sir... Please show mercy..."
I'm furious, but no need to keep raging here.
These people failed even basic ingredient management, so they deserve severe punishment—drag them to Hanseongbu for flogging or whatever.
"Captain Kim."
"Yes, sir."
"Smash all the liquor jars here. They're full of spoiled makgeolli. And burn all the remaining ingredients except non-perishables like rice."
"Pardon?"
"Everything they sell is rotten booze. Eating it causes stomachaches and diarrhea. Multiple deaths could follow. If these aren't poison jars, what are?"
To make an example, I kicked over a nearby jar hard.
It shattered with a crash, spilling makgeolli on the floor.
The sour stench of rotten liquor assaulted my nose.
Not quite food waste level, but foul enough to sour the mood just from the smell.
I'll need a bath when I get home, and my splashed uniform needs washing.
"Madam."
"Yes, sir."
"What you've done is equivalent to selling poison for money. Strictly applied, we could even charge you with attempted murder."
Of course, I have no intention of going that far.
Selling spoiled food isn't attempted murder.
But after I announce food hygiene laws, anyone caught selling knowingly spoiled stuff could face attempted murder charges.
In a world where food poisoning from rot often kills, those who sell it knowingly must be harshly punished.
"Bind this woman and escort her to Hanseongbu immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"And starting today, we'll inspect every food seller in Hanyang. We'll check for spoiled food and cooking conditions. Anyone caught will be sent to Hanseongbu and severely punished."
At "severely punished," the bound madam trembled violently.
I felt no pity.
Why sell spoiled food to people, then?
"On to the next restaurant."
That day alone, I inspected 40 food stalls. Over a week, I covered every eatery in Hanyang and the nearby castle towns.
Thirty-two were caught selling subpar food.
This mess was unreal.