Chapter 66 (continued)
Droppers are a relatively uncommon tool. He used GPS to navigate to a chemical supply store and spent almost two hours buying them.
After returning home, he carefully cleaned the droppers and took one of them with him to go up the mountain to find bamboo.
The bamboo has been planted for some time now, and it has sprouted slender branches with emerald green leaves swaying on them, making it quite beautiful.
Qing Mengzhu took out her phone to take pictures of the bamboo for future reference, to compare its condition after using the Growth Liquid.
After taking the photos, he carefully took out the jade bottle and dropper, uncorked the bottle, and prepared to drip the Growth Liquid.
The Growth Liquid in the jade bottle was silvery in color, somewhat similar to mercury, but more viscous.
Qing Mengzhu fanned the mouth of the bottle with her hand, then held it to her nose and smelled a pleasant mist, perhaps reminiscent of standing in front of a waterfall in the deep mountains.
He didn't dare smell it too much, carefully absorbing the Growth Liquid and dripping it onto the roots of the bamboo.
The instructions say to use one to ten drops. His bamboo is of medium size, so five drops should be about right.
He counted and slowly dripped five drops of Growth Liquid in each direction at the base of the bamboo.
After the Growth Liquid was dripped on, the bamboo did not change for the time being, nor did it show any signs of growing rapidly under his watchful eye.
He observed for a while and felt that the bamboo might need to grow overnight before any changes would be seen tomorrow.
With that thought in mind, he put the stopper back on the jade bottle, took the Growth Liquid and dropper, and went home first.
There might be residual Growth Liquid on the dropper nozzle, so he specially took a small basin and rinsed the dropper back and forth. Then he poured the rinsed water into a watering can to water the asparagus planted behind it, making sure nothing was wasted.
The asparagus in his yard also survived, and its tender green leaves looked very vibrant.
However, perhaps because it was planted near a fence, hazel grouse, ducks, and geese were quite interested in the asparagus cypress and kept pecking at its leaves.
The leaves of the asparagus cypress have been chipped off quite a bit, and each plant is incomplete, but fortunately, they have all survived.
Qing Mengzhu watered them, hoping they would grow faster, ideally faster than the rate at which they were pecked.
Otherwise, he really doubted whether the asparagus would grow long enough to grow asparagus.
Qing Mengzhu was overjoyed to have bought the Growth Liquid; her eyes sparkled, and she kept humming a song.
Seeing his expression, Ming Chunxi asked, "What happy event has occurred? Why are you so happy?"
Qing Mengzhu said, "With the new type of fertilizer used on the crops, they should grow quite well."
Qing Mengzhu was very much looking forward to the effects of the Growth Liquid. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night and didn't fall asleep until two or three in the morning, but that didn't stop him from getting up early.
It was past five in the morning, and it was still dark.
He then got out of bed and ran outside excitedly, wanting to see Shi Diaobai first.
Ming Chunxi got up when she heard the noise, but when she stood at the door, she could only see his back as he ran out.
Following them out to the backyard, Ming Chunxi saw Qing Mengzhu squatting in front of Shi Diaobai, studying it.
Upon seeing Ming Chunxi, Qing Mengzhu turned around and held up the leaves of the asparagus cypress. "Look, hasn't the asparagus cypress grown so much? It's almost grown into a ball!"
Ming Chunxi squatted down with him in front of Shi Diaobai: "What fertilizer did you use? How come it grows so fast?"
Qing Mengzhu: "I used a fertilizer called 'Growth Liquid' on the bamboo, but I don't know how effective it was. I'll go check on it now."
Ming Chunxi tried to pull him back, but failed.
Qing Mengzhu didn't even have breakfast. Riding her electric scooter, she left Ming Chunxi with the words, "I'm going to check on the bamboo first. You eat breakfast by yourself."
With that, Qing Mengzhu ran off.
Ming Chunxi watched his retreating figure from behind, almost laughing in exasperation. She could only call out, "I've made breakfast. Have some when you get back."
Qing Mengzhu: "Okay--"
The noise was a bit loud, and the two dogs were woken up, coming over to chase after Qing Mengzhu outside.
Ming Chunxi scooped up the two dogs by the neck with his long arm. "You two, stop messing around and eat your breakfast first."
Unable to move, the Guard Dharma Protector only wag its tail enthusiastically and turn its head to lick Ming Chunxi's face, but Ming Chunxi dodged it.
Qing Mengzhu drove the electric car down the mountain in one go. Before he even started climbing, he saw the clump of bamboo.
Yes, a clump.
In just one night, the original bamboo stalk sprouted seven new shoots, which grew quite tall and were about to grow into new bamboo stalks. Thus, one bamboo stalk became a clump.
Qing Mengzhu ran up the mountain and touched the bamboo.
The bamboo is smooth and emerald green, and feels cool to the touch, which is very comfortable.
The bamboo shoots, however, grew into giants, their tips pointing skyward, taller than Qing Mengzhu herself.
He looked up at the bamboo shoots and thought of the information that said bamboo shoots could grow two or three meters a day. He felt that after using the Growth Liquid, the growth rate of these bamboo shoots was not too exaggerated.
The bamboo's condition far exceeded Qing Mengzhu's expectations. He didn't have time to tend to the vegetables in the garden, so he called Feng Ningxiang and told her to sell the vegetables in the garden and also take care of the lotus pods.
Feng Ningxiang, having received her salary, considered these tasks as part of her job, and immediately agreed upon his instructions.
After Qing Mengzhu and Feng Ningxiang finished communicating, Qing Pingdun called Qing Pingdun and asked him to transport the picked lotus pods to the small supermarket at the village entrance and help weigh them.
Qing Pingdun agreed, but was a little curious. "Brother Mengzhu, what happy event happened on your end?"
Qing Mengzhu: "Is it obvious?"
Qing Pingdun: "Yes, their voices were all cheerful."
Qing Mengzhu laughed twice, "Nothing much, it's just that my bamboo is growing quite well. I'm going to go tend to it now."
After inspecting the bamboo above ground, Qing Mengzhu then looked at the roots underneath.
These bamboo shoots all grow from the rhizome; their above-ground parts are not connected, but their roots are connected underneath.
Qing Mengzhu used a stick to probe the roots and felt that they were growing well.
Based on this situation, transplanting them shouldn't be a problem.
After looking at the bamboo, Qing Mengzhu went home, ate a simple breakfast left by Ming Chunxi in the kitchen, and then took a saw, hoe and shovel, intending to go up the mountain to transplant the newly grown bamboo shoots.
In just a few hours, the bamboo shoots have begun to transform into bamboo.
Qing Mengzhu picked the one that looked most like bamboo and started digging it up. She dug and sawed, finally digging it up with the roots and planting it on the other side.
The bamboo shoots were too hard, and it wasn't easy for one person to work on them. Qing Mengzhu spent a whole day transplanting only three bamboo plants.
Fearing the bamboo wouldn't survive, he went to great lengths to fetch a bucket of water from the pond, transported it by electric scooter, and watered the newly planted bamboo.
The pond water, influenced by the Spirit Pearl Dregs, is of better quality than ordinary water, making it very effective for irrigating crops.
He used to water the tomatoes and peppers with pond water. As long as it wasn't too frequent, it would be beneficial to the tomatoes and peppers. But too frequent watering would kill them.
It's possible that because the main component of the Spirit Pearl Dregs is Water Spirit Stone, the water attribute is too concentrated, and watering too much can easily cause the plants to become unbalanced.
Qing Mengzhu had been busy on the mountain all day; she was covered in mud, her face was sunburned, and she even looked like she had sunburned.
Ming Chunxi pressed him down and carefully applied aloe vera cream to his face. "Why aren't you wearing a hat today?"
Qing Mengzhu: "I forgot when I got busy. Besides, my hat was easily swept off by branches and got in the way, so I took it off."
Ming Chunxi frowned. "I'll go with you tomorrow."
Qing Mengzhu: "Don't you have to go to work? I can do it myself. I'll definitely remember to wear a hat tomorrow, and if all else fails, I'll put on a thick layer of sunscreen."
Ming Chunxi: "I'll go with you in the morning, do some work, and then go to work."
Qing Mengzhu hugged his waist. "That's too tiring. Now that you're here, and someone helps with breakfast and dinner, I'm already much more relaxed. I can handle the rest by myself."