かえって

かえって (on the contrary, if anything): After taking the medicine, I felt worse, if anything.

According to the writer, what is an effective break? → One that steps away from information and rests the brain.

A small farm in the hills has run a direct-sales stall for five years. At the wholesale market, oddly shaped vegetables are bought cheap — even though they taste the same. At the stall, bent cucumbers sell at the same price as straight ones. At first they worried they'd be left unsold, but once they added a note explaining why, they actually sold better. Now some customers come from far away. The idea of 'taste over looks' may be spreading, little by little. Q: What happened with the bent cucumbers? — Once explained, they sold better.