Chapter 68

Qing Mengzhu: "Our family can't eat that much either; every time we open a pumpkin, the whole family has to pitch in."

The pumpkins in his house are quite large; once cut open, they need to be eaten over several meals, otherwise they spoil easily even if stored in the refrigerator.

Every time the pumpkins were opened, the dogs of the Dharma Protector and the Guard would have a lot more pumpkins in their food. Hazel grouse, ducks, and geese were no exception, and even the red foxes and otters in the backyard would be chased and fed by Ming Chunxi.

If he eats too much, the Dharma Protector will turn his back to Ming Chunxi and whine and whimper, as if he's being affectionate or protesting.

Qing Mengzhu had already discovered that Ming Chunxi had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Once he started something, he would finish it no matter what, otherwise he would feel very uncomfortable.

For example, once a pumpkin is cut open, he will try to use it up.

Every time we eat pumpkin, our family has to eat it for several meals in a row, until the dog starts barking in protest.

Ming Chunxi would feel exceptionally satisfied if a pumpkin was used up perfectly, without any spoilage or waste, even if she didn't say it, her eyes would be filled with a smile.

After Qing Mengzhu discovered this, she would deliberately keep the appropriately sized pumpkins at home to eat, waiting to see the smile in Ming Chunxi's eyes when the pumpkins were perfectly consumed.

Tan Wenlei looked at the pile of pumpkins that Qing Mengzhu's family had almost reached a small mountain. "We can't eat that many, why don't you sell them?"

Speaking of this, Qing Mengzhu said helplessly, "We can't sell them for a good price. I saw that Hongda Supermarket only pays 50 cents a pound for pumpkins. There's not a significant difference between our pumpkins and those outside, Uncle Caiyong doesn't like to buy ours."

Tan Wenlei sighed, "It's true, after a bumper harvest, vegetable prices have dropped."

Qing Mengzhu: "It seems not. Pumpkins are priced like this every year. Pumpkins are too easy to grow, so they don't fetch a good price."

Pumpkins have never been very expensive, so farmers in Pingkou Village are unwilling to grow them. For example, Tan Wenlei's family doesn't grow them. However, Qing Mengzhu knows that there are farmers in several nearby villages who specialize in growing pumpkins.

Professional growers produce pumpkins that weigh tens of kilograms each, and I've heard that the largest pumpkins can weigh hundreds of kilograms. Even if the price per pumpkin is slightly lower, the weight makes up for it.

Qing Mengzhu heard that the large pumpkins are supplied to factories to be processed into pumpkin products, and the economic benefits seem to be quite good.

After Qing Mengzhu finished talking about the pumpkin, she took the initiative to ask, "Uncle Wenlei, did you need something from me?"

Tan Wenlei: "I'd like to ask you to take a look at my field. Lately, I don't know why, there are so many insects, and I've tried several different low-toxicity pesticides without any effect."

Tan Wenlei said with a worried look, "The new batch of vegetables is about to hit the market, and I can't continue spraying pesticides because they won't pass food safety tests. But if I don't spray, the vegetables will be eaten by insects, and I probably won't be able to sell many."

Upon hearing this, Qing Mengzhu put down what she was holding and asked, "What kind of insects are they? Are they the aphids we treated last time?"

Tan Wenlei: "There's everything: cabbage caterpillars, beet armyworms, aphids, grubs, mole crickets... both on the ground and underground. I don't know why the pest outbreak is so severe this year."

Qing Mengzhu was startled. "So many?! Where did these insects come from?"

Tan Wenlei sighed, "I don't know either."

Qing Mengzhu had been taking precautions against pests, and his vegetables were doing well; the pest infestation wasn't too serious. Even though Tan Wenlei said that, he didn't really notice it.

However, since the two plots of land are adjacent, if the pest infestation on Tan Wenlei's land is really serious, it won't be long before those insects crawl into his plot.

So whether it was to help Tan Wenlei or to help himself, he had to go and see.

That's how it is in the village; everyone's life is interconnected, and no one can truly remain unaffected.

Qing Mengzhu immediately put down what she was holding and said she wanted to go and check on Tan Wenlei's land.

When they arrived at Tan Wenlei's field, Qing Mengzhu found that he had exaggerated a bit. The pest infestation was not as serious as he described, but it was not insignificant either.

Qing Mengzhu asked, "Have you called a technician to come and take a look?"

Tan Wenlei: "I saw it, I saw it during the few days you planted the bamboo. The technician said that the pest infestation might be more severe because my land didn't have crop rotation and I didn't do a good job of killing insect eggs before planting. He suggested I use some special pesticides, but the effect seemed so-so, so I wanted to ask you about it."

Looking at the various insects in the field, Qing Mengzhu asked, "Does it just keep coming back after you kill one batch?"

Tan Wenlei said with a bitter face, "Yeah, we just can't get rid of them completely."

Qing Mengzhu examined the vegetables and felt that things were indeed a bit tricky.

Tan Wenlei: "If all else fails, I'll have to harvest this batch of vegetables as soon as possible, thoroughly disinfect them, and then plant more. However, I only planted this batch in July, and it represents several thousand yuan of my initial investment. If I give up now, I'll probably lose tens of thousands of yuan, including my initial investment and the money I've lost recently."

Qing Mengzhu said sympathetically, "That's quite a loss; we'll have to think of a solution."

Tan Wenlei: "I had no choice. Sigh, I shouldn't have been lazy. If I had let the fields dry out in time last winter to kill the insect eggs, or if I had sprayed pesticides a couple more times when I planted in June or July, it would have been fine."

Qing Mengzhu, "How could I have known beforehand? There are so many problems you might encounter when growing vegetables. You only learn from your mistakes. Besides, even if you learn from your mistakes, they might not be useful. You might make the same mistake again in a different place next time."

Tan Wenlei: "Hey, I just love talking to you. When I tell other people, they get angry at me, telling me I shouldn't have done this or that. It's not like I wanted these bugs, what could I do?"

Qing Mengzhu understood. "Uncle Wenlei, don't worry, I'll go back and see if I can think of a solution."

Tan Wenlei nodded gratefully. "Then I'll trouble you to help me think of something. I'm just a rough, uneducated guy. If I try to find information myself, I'll spend ages looking it up and still not understand it."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's alright, I'll check. Consider it a rehearsal; I also need to take precautions on my own."

Tan Wenlei: "Okay, it's fine if we can't find it. If it really comes down to it, I'll just abandon this batch of vegetables and plant something else."

Qing Mengzhu comforted Tan Wenlei for a few words, then went back to her own field to cut pumpkin vines.

He worked while thinking, having several pest control plans in mind, but none of them were perfect. He would have to go back and check before he could determine the specific plan.

There's no news right now, so he can't tell Tan Wenlei, lest Tan Wenlei get excited for nothing.

Most farmers in the village, like Tan Wenlei, started growing vegetables relatively early but have low levels of education. They rely heavily on traditional skills, and if they encounter problems, they will seek help from agricultural technicians and fellow farmers. If all else fails, they can only accept the loss.

This is one of the reasons why, despite the village's high hopes for Qing Mengzhu's return to vegetable farming, they didn't notice the large amount of Interstellar Mall products he used while growing vegetables.

Although everyone knows how to grow vegetables, they are not very familiar with modern seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and management methods. When they see that his vegetables are growing well, they just assume that he bought some special varieties or fertilizers and do not think about anything else.

As for professionals like Nian Xinfei and Ji Qinglin, they assumed that because he was an experienced grower who had inherited various planting techniques from the village, he could grow crops better than ordinary students and researchers.

Therefore, no problems have been found on either side so far.

Later, when Qing Mengzhu's planting resources catch up and more people become aware of her, people will probably be even less likely to notice the problem.

Chapter 68

In the evening, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sat at the newly added long solid wood table in the living room, working overtime.

The reading lamp overhead cast a bright, soft glow, and a large flowerpot on the table was filled with local wildflowers, their vibrant colors adding a touch of life to the room.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sat side by side, each busy with their own tasks.

On Qing Mengzhu's computer were pages of open documents and papers.

Ming Chunxi was looking at a document; the keyboard was clicking away, and lines of dizzying formulas and data appeared in the document.

Qing Mengzhu was already dizzy from reading her own documents and papers, but when she turned to look at Ming Chunxi's computer screen, she felt even more dizzy. So she leaned back, feeling like her eyes were filled with mosquito coils.