Kimchi you fermented

Your part takes two hours. The rest is done by time.

Cut the napa cabbage lengthwise into quarters and salt it between the leaves with coarse salt — roughly half a cup per head. Leave it two or three hours, turning it now and then, until the white part bends instead of snapping. Rinse three times in cold water or it will be too salty, and let it drain. The paste: gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes), garlic, ginger, a little fish sauce, or soy if you want it without fish, plus a spoon of rice porridge or grated pear for sweetness. Wearing gloves, rub the paste over every leaf, pack it into a jar until the brine covers the cabbage, leave a third of the jar empty, and keep it two days at room temperature before it goes in the fridge. Open it each day, let the gas out, press it down and taste a teaspoon — write down what changed.

What did I give up on because the result was not immediate?