Chapter 61 (continued)

"If it's 1000 yuan per jin, then your family can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan this year just from lotus seeds, right?"

"Costs also cost money; we can't just look at revenue."

"What about preserving offspring?"

"I'm keeping them; I don't dare sell them because I'm afraid the quality of lotus seeds grown from them will be inconsistent. I'll give a few to anyone who wants them. If you want to grow them on a large scale, it's better to buy commercial lotus seeds from outside."

The elderly people chatted as they peeled lotus seeds, and finished by around 10 a. m.

Qing Mengzhu weighed the lotus seeds one by one, calculated the money for the elderly, and then put them into a small household grain dryer to dry.

The weather hasn't been very good lately. It rains whenever a typhoon comes, and it rains for one or two days a week.

Qing Mengzhu felt that drying crops every day was too troublesome, so he bought a dryer. It just so happened that in addition to lotus seeds, his chili peppers and other vegetables could also be used, so nothing would go to waste.

Today, a total of 43 jin of lotus seeds were shelled. After pouring the lotus seeds into the dryer, Qing Mengzhu set a drying target of 11% moisture content.

The dryer has a built-in moisture meter, and it may take four or five hours to dry the lotus seeds to this extent. It will be just the right time to dry them until he wakes up from his afternoon nap, at which point we can put the lotus seeds away.

Ming Chunxi went to work, Qing Mengzhu cleaned the yard and took the lotus seed pods to the grass shredder to chop them up.

The hazelnuts, ducks, and geese in their household don't eat lotus seedpods; the chopped lotus seedpods can only be used for fermentation.

At times like this, Qing Mengzhu has the urge to raise a cow or a sheep, but she feels she wouldn't be able to manage it all, so she has to give up on the idea for the time being.

In the afternoon, Qing Mengzhu woke up from a nap and found that Cen Zhiming had sent him a message saying that he wanted to come and visit him.

Qing Mengzhu replied casually, saying that he was at home right now.

The college students didn't stand on ceremony with him at all. Seeing that he had agreed, they immediately said excitedly that they would ride their electric bikes over right now.

Forty minutes later, Cen Zhiming, Jin Chongshan, and Niu Jinhao arrived on their electric bikes. "Brother Mengzhu, we missed you so much, we brought you some watermelon."

The Dharma Protector and Guard barked warily at the enthusiastic college students, but Qing Mengzhu stopped them, and they stood quietly in the courtyard.

The three college students were not shy at all; they chatted with strangers and even with dogs. Upon seeing the two dogs, they excitedly approached and exclaimed, "Wow, Brother Mengzhu, your dogs are so majestic!"

Qing Mengzhu introduced them, "The one on the left is called the Dharma Protector, and the one on the right is called the Guard. You can pet them, but don't be too enthusiastic, they'll be scared."

Jin Chongshan blurted out, "Holy crap!": "Brother Mengzhu, are you your left and right Dharma Protector?"

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "They're not exactly Dharma Protector, they're family members, practically part of the workforce."

Jin Chongshan: "Really? What can they do?"

Qing Mengzhu: "That's a lot. Come, come in and have some tea."

The three followed Qing Mengzhu the living room, instantly filling it to capacity.

Cen Zhiming spoke first, "Brother Mengzhu, we've come to see your lotus."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at the sun outside. "Alright, if you're not in a hurry, why don't you go to the pond when the sun is almost setting? Let's take a look at my dried lotus seeds first?"

The three of them had ridden their electric bikes all the way here and were already drenched in sweat from the sun. Hearing this, they had no objections. "Anything is fine, Brother Mengzhu, you arrange it."

Qing Mengzhu went to the storeroom and grabbed a plate of freshly packed lotus seeds to show them. "These are the dried lotus seeds from my house. They should be a bit bigger than the lotus seeds in the market."

Looking at the lotus seeds, Cen Zhiming blurted out, "Where are you saying they're a little bigger? They're definitely much bigger!"

Niu Jinhao: "Brother Mengzhu, aren't your lotus seeds grown from lotus seeds? Are the lotus seeds this big in the first year?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "It's probably because the weather has been good this year, and I've applied more fertilizer."

Cen Zhiming picked up a lotus seed and looked at it, then thought of his lotus flowers, which had been almost completely eaten by beet armyworms, and tears welled up in his eyes. "This year's weather—well, it's my bad luck."

Qing Mengzhu called out to them, "Have a taste."

Jin Chongshan: "Brother Mengzhu, don't you remove the red skin from your lotus seeds?"

Qing Mengzhu: "They might sell it to people for soup later. The outer red coating is useful, so I won't go for now."

If it weren't for the fact that the lotus heart is quite bitter after the lotus seeds mature, and that he wanted to make some extra lotus heart tea, he wouldn't have bothered with the lotus hearts.

Jin Chongshan: "Won't it sell less well then?"

Before Qing Mengzhu could speak, Cen Zhiming said, "You underestimate our purchasing power. How could good products possibly have trouble selling? Brother Mengzhu, your lotus seeds are delicious, but a bit hard."

Qing Mengzhu: "I specially dried it a little to make it easier to store."

As they chatted, the sun slowly set, Qing Mengzhu led them to the pond to see the lotus flowers.

Now, only a few lotus flowers remain in Qing Mengzhu's garden. Above the lotus leaves are only the lotus pods covering the pond, in shades of tender green, light green, and dark green, with the edges beginning to dry out... All sorts of lotus pods sway in the wind, creating a magnificent sight.

Cen Zhiming found it unbelievable. "Brother Mengzhu, isn't your family growing lotus that produces both seeds and roots? How come there are so many lotus pods? These lotus pods look like there are more of them than lotus plants that only produce seeds."

Qing Mengzhu: "It is indeed a dual-product lotus; lotus roots have already started to grow underneath."

Cen Zhiming simply refused to believe it. "Impossible, right? Can I see the lotus root?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll go down and touch it for you."

As she spoke, Qing Mengzhu rolled up her trousers, preparing to go into the water. "The lotus stems are quite prickly, so please don't come in."

Three college students looked at him. "Can you manage on your own?"

Qing Mengzhu, "What's wrong with that? I'll just pick some lotus roots for you at the edge of the pond."

As lotus was a key crop in the family, Qing Mengzhu had always paid close attention to it, and he knew exactly how the lotus roots were growing.

He walked into the water and quickly found a section of lotus root in the mud.

The lotus root hasn't fully expanded yet; it looks about as thick as Qing Mengzhu's arm, long and slender, and looks very tender.

Qing Mengzhu broke off a section of lotus root for Cen Zhiming and the others, and then went to get a second section.

Cen Zhiming took the lotus root, broke it into several sections, and gave them to Jin Chongshan and Niu Jinhao. Then he wiped the lotus root on his clothes, bit off the outer skin with his teeth, and began to taste the lotus root flesh with a "crunch".

Hearing the voice, Qing Mengzhu looked up and was startled. "Oh dear, you can't eat it raw, be careful of parasites."

Cen Zhiming chuckled twice and said, "Brother Mengzhu, this lotus root is so tender and sweet!"

Qing Mengzhu: "Is that so? This is what tender lotus roots are like in summer. They're a bit sweeter than lotus root shoots, but not as firm as mature lotus roots."

Cen Zhiming: "Yes, yes, it's delicious."

Jin Chongshan and Niu Jinhao were tempted. Jin Chongshan pointed to the river beside them and asked, "Brother Mengzhu, can we go to the river to wash our food and eat it?"

Qing Mengzhu herself sometimes goes to the river to wash tomatoes and cucumbers and eat them directly. Upon hearing this, she said, "I sometimes wash them too, it depends on whether you're particular or not."

Jin Chongshan chuckled, "If we were particular, we wouldn't be learning agriculture."

Qing Mengzhu picked two more sections of lotus root, and after getting ashore, she went with them to wash the lotus root.

Everyone stood by the river and ate raw lotus roots.

Qing Mengzhu asked, "What do you think of my family's lotus?"

The three of them simultaneously gave a thumbs up, their teamwork was impeccable.

Qing Mengzhu: "I was thinking of contacting your school's germplasm bank, but I don't know if this lotus meets the requirements?"

Jin Chongshan and Niu Jinhao looked at Cen Zhiming, who specialized in growing lotus.

Cen Zhiming immediately said, "I think it's possible! I'll ask around for you when we get back."

Qing Mengzhu originally wanted to write an email to ask, but she was worried that if she went directly to their door, they would ignore her, so she decided to wait until the lotus seeds she wanted to save for seed matured before asking.

Qing Mengzhu: "Won't that be too much trouble? If it is, I'll just email your official website myself after a while."

Cen Zhiming: "It's not troublesome at all! My senior brothers and sisters are begging and pleading all over the world to collect germplasm resources, so farmers like you who take the initiative to contact them are more than welcome. However—"