Fruit Hunter

March 10th.

After the late spring cold snap at the end of February, the Lingnan region finally showed signs of spring warmth and blooming flowers in the past few days.

Beside the fields of South Lake Farm, many rice paddies had already been planted with seedlings. Over a dozen white cranes were searching the paddies for the corpses of small insects stirred up by the tractors.

The farm's strawberry cultivation area had expanded to 18 mu, of which 3 mu were earlier planted strawberry seedlings that were now entering the flowering and fruiting stage, though not yet the peak fruiting period.

Jiang Miao was also in his breeding experimental greenhouse today.

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

"Then have Ah Yong go pick him up."

"Okay."

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

After more than ten minutes.

Ke Yong drove a few unfamiliar faces to the farm entrance.

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

"So it's President Jiang! I've heard a lot about you. Do you mind being on camera?" Yang Yang also smiled and pointed to the photographer beside him, asking.

"It's fine. We invited Mr. Yang over this time for publicity. If you need anything, you can tell me or my secretary, Zixuan."

Li Zixuan quickly took out his phone: "Mr. Yang, this is my WeChat..."

"This is my WeChat..." Yang Yang's assistant also stepped forward.

The two exchanged WeChat and phone numbers.

After shaking hands with Yang Yang, Jiang Miao gestured towards the farm's greenhouses: "Mr. Yang, I'll take you inside the greenhouse to take a look first."

"Great! I also want to see your company's new varieties. After all, hearing is one thing, seeing is believing."

Li Zixuan went ahead to open the iron gate.

The group entered the strawberry greenhouse. It used a semi-three-dimensional planting method, but the planting density was not too high, mainly to avoid the high temperatures in summer.

"Have they started fruiting already?"

Jiang Miao nodded: "The strawberries in this greenhouse have entered the flowering and fruiting stage. They are expected to enter the peak fruiting period in April."

Yang Yang looked at some of the already red strawberries and noticed that they were a bit large, and it wasn't just an isolated case, but generally quite large: "Is this variety a large-fruited type? The fruit is very big! Does it have Sweet Charlie genes?"

"Yes, one of its parent plants is Sweet Charlie. Our internal code is C1102, and the commercial name is Jasmine Strawberry." Jiang Miao explained while using small scissors to cut a few ripe Jasmine Strawberries.

"Jasmine Strawberry? Does it have a jasmine fragrance? Then I must try it." Yang Yang immediately became interested, picked up one of the strawberries, washed it with mineral water, and took a small bite, savoring it carefully.

Jiang Miao washed the remaining strawberries together: "Come, everyone, have a taste."

"Huh?" Yang Yang took another bite. This time, he raised an eyebrow: "It does have a slight jasmine fragrance, and a hint of a cantaloupe-like scent. The sweetness is also good, probably around 15."

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

Beep!

"Haha, Mr. Yang truly lives up to his reputation as a human sweetness meter!" Jiang Miao also laughed and joked.

"This variety has good flavor, sweetness, firmness, and fruit shape. Is the variety's genetic stability good?"

"The plants we are currently eating are from the fifth generation of seedlings. Compared to the first generation, there hasn't been much change. The overall characteristics are relatively stable genetically."

Yang Yang ate another one. "This one's sweetness is also 15. Can I randomly pick some to try?"

"Certainly, Mr. Yang, please feel free."

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

"The fruit shape is really large, almost the size of a duck egg."

Li Zixuan quickly handed over a basket of duck eggs.

With the comparison, the size of the Jasmine Strawberries had an even greater visual impact.

"Since we're here, let's randomly test the sweetness again!" Yang Yang then selected 5 strawberries and tested them with a sweetness meter. The results showed the sweetness was generally between 15 and 16.

After visiting the Jasmine Strawberry greenhouse, they entered the adjacent Vanilla Strawberry greenhouse.

As soon as he entered this greenhouse, Yang Yang couldn't help but sniff. "It smells so good! This scent is a bit similar to passion fruit and vanilla."

He brought his nose closer to a ripe Vanilla Strawberry, and the scent became even more pronounced.

"Mr. Jiang, may I ask which variety is the parent of this variety?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "The parent plants of the Vanilla Strawberry are Hokowase Strawberry and Xuelixiang. This was a mutation I discovered during the hybridization and breeding process a few years ago. After several rounds of breeding and re-hybridization, the traits were finally stabilized."

"That's not easy! I feel this variety has great potential. I wonder how its other characteristics are?" Yang Yang continued.

"Vanilla Strawberries are relatively high-yielding and have good disease resistance. The fruit shape is medium, and the sweetness is around 21-22. The flesh is relatively firm, making it resistant to storage and transportation. However, if the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius, it won't flower, so production might stop in the summer in the south."

"This drawback isn't too serious; it can be grown in the north." Yang Yang didn't consider this a drawback, as it's a common issue for many strawberry varieties.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice a blind spot and turned his head to ask, "Do Jasmine Strawberries also stop flowering if the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius?"

Jiang Miao shook his head. "No, Jasmine Strawberries and Cheese Strawberries are heat-resistant varieties. As long as the temperature doesn't exceed 40 degrees Celsius, they can basically flower and bear fruit normally."

Yang Yang couldn't help but exclaim, "Then Jasmine Strawberries and Cheese Strawberries have great potential in the summer!"

"Let's try the Vanilla Strawberries first!"

Just like before, he picked a small basket, then washed and tried them.

"Wow! The flavor is really rich, and the sweetness is very high, around 22."

He squeezed a little strawberry juice into the testing groove of the sweetness meter.

Drip!

22.2

"This variety is really sweet and fragrant, more fragrant than any other strawberry variety I've ever eaten. The fragrance is a complex blend of traditional strawberry, passion fruit, and vanilla. After eating, the scent lingers in your mouth. This variety is worth recommending."

Then he turned his head to look at Jiang Miao. "Mr. Jiang, do you know when your strawberries will be available? I estimate many viewers want to try them."

"Official shipping starts on March 20th, we are now accepting pre-orders."

Yang Yang quickly asked, "What about the price? I'd like to get a discount for my fans."

"Jasmine Strawberries are 88 yuan per kilogram, Vanilla Strawberries are 99 yuan per kilogram, and Cheese Strawberries are 99 yuan per kilogram," Jiang Miao said with a smile, continuing, "Since they are Mr. Yang's fans, I'll make the decision to give each person a 50 yuan discount coupon. This coupon can be used in conjunction with other store discounts."

"Mr. Jiang is generous, clearly someone who makes big money, with great vision!"

The two began to exchange pleasantries.

However, Yang Yang wasn't wrong. The quality of Hai Lu Feng Company's strawberries was indeed excellent.

Immediately after, they went to the greenhouse for the third variety.

The Cheese Strawberries also amazed Yang Yang, and this variety was very 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 he left, he also gave him a few boxes of eel cans.

On the company's side, both the Online Store Department and South Lake Farm began to put all their effort into preparing for the strawberries to go on sale.