Fruit Hunter

March 10.

After the late cold snap at the end of February, Lingnan had finally begun to show signs of warm spring weather and blooming flowers over the past few days.

Beside the fields of South Lake Farm, many rice paddies had already been planted with seedlings, while more than a dozen white cranes searched the flooded fields for insect carcasses turned up by the tractors.

The farm's strawberry planting area had expanded to eighteen mu. Of that, three mu of the earlier-planted strawberry seedlings had entered their flowering and fruiting stage, though they had not yet reached peak production.

Jiang Miao was in his Breeding Experiment Greenhouse today as well.

Suddenly, his secretary Li Zixuan walked in. "Boss, Manager Ye said that Mr. Yang, the Fruit Hunter, has arrived at the company."

"Then have A Yong go pick them up."

"Okay."

Jiang Miao put away his notebook, went to the faucet outside the greenhouse, washed his hands and face, then took out his phone to tidy up his appearance and clothes.

More than ten minutes later.

Ke Yong drove several unfamiliar faces to the farm entrance.

Jiang Miao walked over with a smile. "Mr. Yang, welcome to Hai Lu Feng. I'm Jiang Miao."

"So you're President Jiang! I've heard so much about you. You don't mind being on camera, do you?" Yang Yang asked with a smile, pointing to the cameraman beside him.

"That's fine. We invited Mr. Yang here this time for publicity as well. If you need anything, just let me or my secretary Zixuan know."

Li Zixuan hurriedly took out his phone. "Mr. Yang, here's my WeChat..."

"Here's mine..." Yang Yang's assistant stepped forward as well.

The two exchanged WeChat contacts and phone numbers.

After Jiang Miao shook hands with Yang Yang, he pointed toward the farm's greenhouses. "Mr. Yang, I'll take you inside the greenhouse for a look first."

"Sure! I'd also like to see your company's new varieties. After all, hearing is one thing, seeing is another."

Li Zixuan went ahead to open the iron gate.

The group entered the strawberry greenhouse. It used a semi-vertical growing system, but the planting density was not particularly high, mainly out of concern that the plants would not survive the summer heat.

"Have they started bearing fruit already?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "The strawberries in this greenhouse have entered the flowering and fruiting stage. They should reach peak production around April."

Yang Yang glanced at the strawberries that had already turned bright red. He noticed that they were somewhat large, and it was not an isolated case—they were generally quite large. "Is this a large-fruited variety? The fruit is huge! Does it have Sweet Charlie genes?"

"Yes. One of its parent plants is Sweet Charlie. Its internal code is C1102, and its commercial name is Jasmine Strawberry." As Jiang Miao explained, he used small scissors to clip several ripe Jasmine Strawberries.

"Jasmine Strawberry? Does that mean it has a jasmine fragrance? Then I have to try it." Yang Yang was immediately intrigued. He picked up one of the strawberries, rinsed it with bottled water, then took a light bite and savored it carefully.

Jiang Miao washed the remaining strawberries as well. "Come on, everyone, have a taste."

"Huh?" Yang Yang took another bite. This time, his brows rose. "It really does have a faint jasmine fragrance, along with a hint of something like cantaloupe. The sweetness is pretty good too—probably around fifteen."

As he spoke, he took out a refractometer and squeezed a little strawberry juice into the testing groove.

Beep!

15.3

"Haha, Mr. Yang really is a human refractometer!" Jiang Miao joked with a laugh.

"This variety has good flavor, sweetness, firmness, and fruit shape. Is its genetic stability reliable?"

"We're currently eating the fifth-generation seedlings. Compared with the original generation, there haven't been any major changes. Its overall traits are relatively genetically stable."

Yang Yang ate another one. "This one is also at fifteen sweetness. Can I pick some at random and try them?"

"Of course. Please help yourself, Mr. Yang."

Soon, Yang Yang had picked a small basket of Jasmine Strawberries and began describing them to the camera.

"The fruit really is enormous. They're almost as big as duck eggs."

Li Zixuan quickly handed over a basket of duck eggs.

With the comparison, the size of the Jasmine Strawberries became even more visually striking.

"Since we're here, let's randomly test the sweetness again!" Yang Yang selected five strawberries and checked them with the refractometer. The readings generally fell between fifteen and sixteen.

After touring the Jasmine Strawberry greenhouse, they entered the neighboring Vanilla Strawberry greenhouse.

The moment he entered, Yang Yang instinctively sniffed. "It smells so good! The scent is a little like passion fruit and vanilla."

He brought his nose close to a ripe Vanilla Strawberry, and the aroma became even more distinct.

"President Jiang, may I ask which varieties were used as the parent plants for this one?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "The parent plants of Vanilla Strawberry were Hokowase Strawberry and Xuelixiang. During a hybrid breeding program several years ago, I discovered a mutant plant. After several rounds of cultivation and backcrossing, its traits were stabilized."

"That wasn't easy! I feel this variety has a lot of potential. I wonder how its other traits perform?" Yang Yang continued.

"Vanilla Strawberry has relatively high yields and good disease resistance. Its fruit is medium-sized, its sweetness is around twenty-one to twenty-two, and its flesh is fairly firm, so it stores and transports well. The only issue is that once temperatures exceed thirty-five degrees Celsius, it stops flowering, so production may be interrupted during southern summers."

"That drawback isn't too serious. It can be grown in the north." Yang Yang did not consider it much of a flaw, since many strawberry varieties shared the same weakness.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice a blind spot. He turned and asked, "Does Jasmine Strawberry also stop flowering above thirty-five degrees Celsius?"

Jiang Miao shook his head. "No. Jasmine Strawberry and Cheese Strawberry are heat-tolerant varieties. As long as the temperature stays below forty degrees Celsius, they can basically flower and bear fruit normally."

Yang Yang could not help but sigh. "Then Jasmine Strawberry and Cheese Strawberry could do great things in summer!"

"Try the Vanilla Strawberries first!"

Just like before, they picked a small basket, washed them, and tasted them.

"Wow! The flavor is really rich, and the sweetness is incredibly high—around twenty-two."

He squeezed a little strawberry juice into the refractometer's testing groove.

Beep!

22.2

"This variety is truly sweet and fragrant. It's more aromatic than any strawberry variety I've ever tasted. The fragrance combines traditional strawberry, passion fruit, and vanilla flavors. After eating it, the aroma lingers on your lips and teeth. This variety is worth recommending."

Then he turned to Jiang Miao. "President Jiang, when will your strawberries be available? I imagine many viewers want to try something new."

"They'll officially begin shipping on March 20. Pre-orders are open now."

Yang Yang hurriedly asked, "What will the prices be? I'd like to secure a discount for my fans."

"Jasmine Strawberry is eighty-eight yuan per kilogram, Vanilla Strawberry is ninety-nine yuan per kilogram, and Cheese Strawberry is ninety-nine yuan per kilogram." Jiang Miao continued with a smile. "Since they're Mr. Yang's fans, I'll make the call: everyone gets a fifty-yuan voucher. This voucher can be used alongside the store's other discounts."

"President Jiang is generous. Anyone can see you're going to make big money—you've got vision!"

The two began praising each other commercially.

But Yang Yang had not said anything untrue. Hai Lu Feng Company's strawberries were indeed of excellent quality.

Next, they visited the greenhouse for the third variety.

Cheese Strawberry impressed Yang Yang just as much, and this variety was especially easy to identify because its fruit was white.

After filming the promotional video, Jiang Miao invited Yang Yang to eat at the company cafeteria. Before Yang Yang left, Jiang Miao also gave him several cases of Eel Canned Food.

On the company side, both the Online Store Department and South Lake Farm were going all out to prepare for the strawberries to go on sale.