Chapter 69

Tan Wenlei: "I think so too. I'll repair the paddy field ridges later and flood the field with water for a few days to see if that can drown the insects underneath."

Seeing his forced smile despite his heartache, Qing Mengzhu said, "It should drown some of them. I'll go back and think of some ways to prevent and control them, and try to reduce the number of pests in the field next year."

Tan Wenlei: "Then I'll trouble you. I'll cover the cost. Just go ahead and do it; I'll provide support."

After returning home, Qing Mengzhu opened the Interstellar Mall, hoping to find relevant skill books.

The cultivation of certain plants already includes the part on pest and disease control, so there is no separate skill book for it.

If he can improve his planting skills to an intermediate level, his pest and disease control techniques should be even better.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough Star Coins to buy intermediate skill books.

He casually browsed through the Interstellar Mall, searching for various pesticides to control pests.

The Interstellar Mall does have quite a few related products, but the prices are rather high, ranging from a few hundred Star Coins to tens of thousands of Star Coins, which Qing Mengzhu felt was not worthwhile.

Even if Tan Wenlei's crop sells smoothly, the total income will only be a little over 10,000 yuan, with a profit of only a few thousand yuan.

The pesticides in the Interstellar Mall are so expensive that even if all the profits were put into them, it wouldn't be enough.

Qing Mengzhu flipped through the goods and quickly discovered that there were many biological control pesticides among them, many of which came from the cultivation world and the interstellar world.

Finally, his attention fell on a biological pesticide called "Livingston Bacillus Preparation," which described the bacteria as a broad-spectrum biological pesticide effective against most pests.

This Livingston Bacillus Preparation looks so much like a Bacillus thuringiensis preparation.

He searched online but couldn't find any information about Livingston Bacillus Preparation. Could it be that this is a bacterium that has been discovered in an interstellar dimension but not yet in theirs?

So, could they screen out this bacterium themselves?

As Qing Mengzhu looked at the product page, her heart began to race.

He seems to have found a way to take advantage of the Interstellar Mall.

Chapter 69

Qing Mengzhu was very interested in the "Livingston Bacillus" from the Interstellar Mall.

After careful consideration, he discussed the matter with Ming Chunxi, asking if Ming Chunxi had any suggestions if he discovered a bacterium beneficial to agriculture and wanted to isolate it.

Ming Chunxi asked, "Is there any progress yet?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Absolutely certain."

He planned to first find someone to see if they could isolate Livingston Bacillus from the large family of Bacillus. If they could, then the subsequent data and information would be largely undetectable, and they could save some Star Coins.

The Interstellar Mall is selling it at an exorbitant price, perhaps because this bacterium hasn't been found in their dimension. A small bottle of the preparation costs 8,800 Star Coins, which is even more expensive than the Growth Liquid.

He suspected that the Interstellar Mall was using various methods to get him to pay patent fees.

Seeing that he was confident, Ming Chunxi thought for a moment and said, "There are several methods at present. I personally think the best solution is to start an agricultural technology company, hire people to form a project team, and directly find the relevant beneficial bacteria."

Qing Mengzhu: "I've also considered it. I did some research before, and starting an agricultural technology company requires a lot of capital. Just the registration, hiring, renting space, buying equipment, and initial operating capital alone will amount to nearly a million."

Qing Mengzhu counted on her fingers to Ming Chunxi: "Not to mention the registered capital later on. For example, if I want to obtain a 'seed production and operation license,' the registered capital requirement is no less than ten million, and it must be fully paid up within five years. The pressure is too great."

Qing Mengzhu had just checked his savings a few days ago. He currently has 330,000 yuan on hand, and he still needs to set aside some for winter planting.

With so little money, it's really too difficult to start a company.

Ming Chunxi said directly, "I have some here."

Qing Mengzhu looked up.

Ming Chunxi showed him her phone. "I have about 47 million yuan at my disposal. If you need it, it can be transferred to your account gradually over the next two weeks."

Qing Mengzhu counted his account balance on her fingers, her eyes widening in shock. "How can you be so rich?! Didn't you just graduate recently?!"

Ming Chunxi: "The main income comes from patents and dividends, and the investments have also yielded considerable profits. If we need more, I can sell some shares and fixed assets, which should bring in another 50 to 60 million."

Qing Mengzhu did the math and discovered that his net worth was over a hundred million. Her feelings were quite complicated. "You trust me that much?"

Ming Chunxi said earnestly, "You are my first love, and you are also my family. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

Qing Mengzhu reached out and hugged him for a while before sniffling and saying, "Let me think about it. How much funding can I access on your end?"

Ming Chunxi: "All of them."

Qing Mengzhu: "Okay, I will definitely consider it carefully."

The two hugged for a while, Qing Mengzhu asked, "What's the second way?"

Ming Chunxi: "The second method is less costly; we can try to contact universities for cooperation."

After thinking for a moment, Ming Chunxi reminded him again, "However, we are working professionals, and we might be at a disadvantage in our first collaboration. We'll need to consult a professional lawyer to finalize the contract and see if we can secure the patent and authorship rights as much as possible."

Qing Mengzhu is not a biology or agriculture major, and he is virtually unknown. If he suddenly goes to a university to seek cooperation, people might not even pay attention to him.

If we asked Nian Xinfei and his group to help us make the connection, the process might go more smoothly, but when it comes to matters of fame and fortune, it's probably not so easy to discuss.

Qing Mengzhu fell into deep thought.

Ming Chunxi patted him on the back. "If you find setting up a company or contacting universities too troublesome, you can just buy an agricultural technology company; the procedures are relatively simpler."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let me check."

As he spoke, he took out his phone. "I've seen before that agricultural technology companies aren't exactly cheap. Even if you buy one, you have to reapply for all sorts of licenses; you can't just use the original company's licenses."

Ming Chunxi: "Yes, the process is a bit simpler, but starting a company is indeed quite troublesome. In the early stages, you have to handle many things yourself, and it's only after things are on track that you can hire someone to manage them."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let me think about it some more."

Qing Mengzhu smiled at Ming Chunxi, "I've never considered starting a company before. I'll tell you after I've thought it through, so I don't rush in and lose money."

Ming Chunxi: "I'm very familiar with some of the procedures. If you're starting a company, you can let me handle some of the paperwork, and I can also help with contacting people. If you don't want to start a company, I can also help you find someone at the university."

Qing Mengzhu said earnestly, "If we're going to start a company, it will be a company for the two of us, and we'll need to work together to run it well."

Ming Chunxi: "Okay, I have no problem at all."

Tan Wenlei's vegetable garden was flooded with water, which can drown most pests and insect eggs, so there is no need to worry about his pest problem for the time being.

Qing Mengzhu seriously considered starting an agricultural technology company. With the resources of the Interstellar Mall behind him, it was unlikely that he would lose money, but it might not be as profitable as expanding his planting scale.

His personal interests don't lie in company management; if he were to start a company, it would probably take up some of his energy.

Since starting a company is such a big deal, Qing Mengzhu specially invited Zhao Hexi to come to the village for a visit.

He wanted to hear Zhao Hexi's opinion.

After listening to his words, Zhao Hexi's first words were filled with emotion. "From the first time I saw the crops you planted, I knew you would come this far."

Qing Mengzhu recalled the haphazardly planted vegetables at the beginning, "Come on, back then I had no idea how things would turn out."

Zhao Hexi: "Really, you were so serious back then, like you were going all in. I just felt that you wouldn't be content with being a small-time farmer; you were definitely going to unleash your talents in the agricultural field."