Visitors to Qinglin Villa would see a rice paddy as they passed the floating-bridge viewing area and the large flower garden.
Many visitors found it puzzling. After all, a rice paddy seemed out of place in a scenic destination like Qinglin Villa.
What made it stranger was that the paddies were tightly fenced off. There were not only railings around them but also warning signs, as if the rice was something extraordinary.
In recent days, visitors to the villa could also see the paddies gleaming golden. The abundant, densely packed rice weighed down the stalks.
The next day.
Qin Lin and Li Kai arrived early, along with Yu Shui and the employees from the planting department, all there to help harvest the rice.
Even Chen Dabe had come over first thing in the morning.
After all, he had rolled up his trouser legs and helped raise the seedlings himself.
"I'll go down and take a look first." Li Kai was the first to enter the paddy. He crouched beside a rice plant, plucked off a few grains, and removed their husks by hand.
A moment later, several jade-green, translucent grains of rice rested in Li Kai's palm.
They looked just like the Xiangshui Tribute Rice Young Brother Qin had brought out before.
Li Kai's eyes lit up. Without thinking, he popped the grains into his mouth.
A sweet, delicious flavor spread through his mouth at once.
The uncooked rice was still a little dry and astringent, but Li Kai could tell immediately that they had successfully cultivated Xiangshui Tribute Rice.
Excited, Li Kai called to Qin Lin, "Young Brother Qin, we did it! We did it! We've successfully grown Xiangshui Tribute Rice. Now we just need to see how good the quality is."
Qin Lin had known all along that