Chapter 87

After the praise, everyone chatted casually.

"Old Ling, you're quick! I hesitated because their dried bamboo shoots were so expensive, and I didn't order them right away. Now I can't buy them anymore."

"Me too. I glanced at it that day and saw that half a pound of dried bamboo shoots cost 1,500 yuan. I don't know if they were made of gold or silver, selling for such a high price, so I thought I'd consider it. But when I went back up, they were already sold out."

"I've bought vegetables from their store before, and while they were a bit pricey then, they weren't this outrageously expensive. These dried bamboo shoots are ridiculously expensive."

"It's outrageous, but it's also incredibly delicious. No wonder they dared to sell it at that price, and it's all sold out."

"That's why people say there are so many rich people in Vine City. They're not afraid of things being expensive; they're afraid of having money but not being able to buy good things."

Someone realized, "Wait a minute, doesn't his family not sell their food outside? How come you've eaten all of it?"

"Do you know anyone at Di Family Restaurant? They buy their groceries from him. I've been eating there for a long time; it's more convenient than cooking myself, and the food tastes better too."

"I know Old Man Qing. He's close to that Xiao Nian from Pingkou Village and has gotten a lot of good stuff from him."

"They actually sell things too. Wasn't that popular white fungus and lotus seed soup from them a while ago? Before that, they also sold lotus seeds, which cost over a thousand yuan per pound. I thought it was too expensive, so I didn't buy much, and they couldn't find it anymore afterward."

"Later, everyone started making white fungus and lotus seed soup, which costs several hundred yuan a bottle. They wouldn't still be selling lotus seeds loose. But that white fungus and lotus seed soup is really delicious and very nourishing."

"Haha, I even went to their place to ask if I could buy groceries directly from them. The Xiao Nian people there thought it was too much trouble for me and politely suggested I buy from Di Caiyong instead."

"Speaking of which, now that they have a company, shouldn't they be able to buy groceries directly from their company?"

"I think so. I know their company's vice president. I'll ask them in a couple of days if they sell vegetables to individuals."

Qing Mengzhu had no idea that a group of gourmets had been gossiping about his family's vegetables behind his back for quite some time.

He was somewhat surprised when Zhao Hexi suddenly suggested that they consider doing community-supported agriculture.

Qing Mengzhu: "Didn't we agree to discuss it again next year? We haven't even gotten the land yet, so there's nothing we can do even if we want to."

Zhao Hexi rubbed his cheek. "Recently, so many people have been contacting me. I'm replying to this and that every day. It's so annoying. I might as well settle things as soon as possible."

They had plans to sell vegetables, and they couldn't afford to offend these potential customers. But chatting with them every day was too time-consuming, and Zhao Hexi were getting annoyed.

Qing Mengzhu: "We need to investigate first, lest some customers are just making a lot of noise, but in reality, there aren't many customers willing to cooperate directly with us?"

Zhao Hexi: "I've done the investigation. I was worried before that I would be competing with 'Public Benefit Community Association' for business, and whether I could beat their established community support for agriculture. So I asked around, do you know how many people have signed up with me?"

Qing Mengzhu: "How much?"

Zhao Hexi: "7633 people."

Qing Mengzhu jumped up, her eyes wide. "How many? More than seven thousand?! Where did so many people come from?!"

Zhao Hexi took out her phone and showed it to him. "I've had several groups created, and there are already five large groups. Just the number of people filling out the group forms alone is this many, and I haven't even counted the potential customers. If we include them, the number will easily double or triple."

Qing Mengzhu in shock, "This business is developing way too fast!"

Zhao Hexi: "Who says otherwise? I was chatting in the group the other day, saying that our vegetables are pretty good, and a vegetable bag might sell for two or three hundred yuan. Guess what the group members said?"

Qing Mengzhu: "What do you mean?"

Zhao Hexi raised his chin, mimicking the tone of the group members. "The group members say, how is two or three hundred yuan expensive? Look at those imported organic vegetables, two tomatoes sell for 88 yuan, and they're still sold out every day, aren't they?"

Qing Mengzhu: "... There are so many rich people!"

Zhao Hexi resumed his normal tone. "Anyway, if others sell at this price, it shouldn't be a big problem for us to sell at the same price. We'll just select and package them specially, go straight for the high-end market, and differentiate ourselves from the Public Benefit Community Association."

Qing Mengzhu thought about it and felt it was a good idea.

Although the vegetables grown by their company cannot be fermented with fertilizer made from fertilizer fermentation powder, they can still be grown without any problems using pond water containing Spirit Pearl Dregs.

When the time comes, if we use their own second-generation seeds or select good-tasting varieties, and strictly follow the organic farming model to plant them for the full growing time, the vegetables should taste delicious.

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's send out a formal questionnaire later, along with a small gift, to investigate and analyze the composition of the customer base."

Zhao Hexi: "No need for analysis, I already know. Currently, the interested customers are mainly Auntie Ming's friends, Grandpa's friends, Brother Zhou's friends, Uncle Caiyong's customers, oh, and Professor Nian and his academic circle--"

Qing Mengzhu: "Wait, do they have such a wide network of connections?"

Zhao Hexi: "Mainly because these customers have all eaten or heard of our dishes, right? Knowing that our dishes are good, they naturally come to us."

Qing Mengzhu was deeply moved. She never expected that they would make a name for themselves in the village without doing much publicity.

When it comes to their kind of business, quality is definitely the most important thing.

Author's Note:

See you this afternoon!

Chapter 87

Before planting crops on a large scale, Qing Mengzhu and his team hired a soil testing company to conduct random sampling tests on the fields they rented.

The test results have arrived, and the situation is not optimistic.

Holding the test report, Zhao Hexi exclaimed, "All the soil elements are substandard!"

The land they rented was severely depleted of soil due to years of cultivation.

It's possible that farmers used a lot of chemical fertilizers in the past, so the content of macronutrients in the soil, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, is still acceptable.

Medium-level elements, such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, are severely lost.

Trace elements, such as iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, and molybdenum, are also severely depleted.

Zhao Hexi had never farmed before and thought that farming was just a matter of following the steps: planting, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting. She never imagined that there were so many steps involved.

Now that he has received the test results, he feels a pain in his teeth.

Zhao Hexi: "What should we do now? Should I contact someone to buy fertilizer?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Just buying fertilizer won't help. Every plot of land is different. If you buy fertilizer and apply it all at once, the excess elements will cause harm just the same. Besides, it's not something that can be solved simply by buying fertilizer and applying it. Look at the soil texture and structure; they're all substandard."

Zhao Hexi looked at it carefully, sighed, and said softly, "Can we cancel the lease?"

Qing Mengzhu: "The contract is already signed, where can we cancel the lease? Besides, the soil is the same everywhere else."

Zhao Hexi: "How about we treat it first? Do you know how? Or should we hire an expert?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's plant green manure first. During the planting process, supplement with calcium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and potassium magnesium sulfate, and then use phosphate rock powder to adjust the pH."

Zhao Hexi's eyes were practically spinning with frustration as she listened, and she said with a pained expression, "No, I can't remember any of it. Write down the plan, and I'll see how to do it."

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll go back and write it tonight. No rush. Let's plant the purple clover first, and then we can adjust the rest slowly. It's not something that can be done in a year or two."

Zhao Hexi then remembered. "The land we rented isn't really ours yet. They said it's fine if it's empty, we can use it as we please, but if we plant anything that makes money, someone might come and cause trouble."

The land they rented won't be handed over until January next year, so the contract hasn't taken effect yet.

Although most of the fields had been vacated and the owners said they could use them as they pleased, Zhao Hexi still felt the risk was too great.

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "That's why we said to plant purple clover first. If someone gets any ideas and wants to take the land back, we won't suffer too much loss."