Chapter 11 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu said helplessly, "It's expensive."

Since he had returned to farm, money had flowed out like water. He couldn't even bear to pay the few dozen yuan it cost to have a drone spray pesticides anymore.

Otherwise, he only had to send a message on WeChat, and an operator from the agricultural machinery shop in town would ride over on a motorcycle with a drone to spray for him.

Hearing that, Tan Wenlei chuckled twice beside him, finding him rather amusing.

The tobacco cutworm infestation on Qing Mengzhu's lotus leaves was indeed quite severe.

After watching for a few days, he found that his lotus leaves were more prone to infestations than the vegetables nearby. He simply couldn't get rid of all the pests.

The caterpillars could crawl, and the moths could fly. As soon as most of the tobacco cutworms on his lotus leaves had died, new ones would migrate over from next door, and more moths would fly in to lay eggs.

Even after batch after batch died, the others weren't scared off.

Qing Mengzhu was helpless. There was no once-and-for-all solution in farming; he could only keep up prevention and treatment while keeping a closer watch.

There were too many caterpillars in the ponds, and quite a few dead ones fell into the water.

Seeing this, Qing Mengzhu thought it was a waste and planned to buy a batch of ducklings in town for biological pest control.

He had planned to raise shrimp, but shrimp would eat lotus leaves. The lotuses hadn't grown up yet, so he couldn't raise them for the time being.

Ducks, however, were fine. As long as he kept their numbers under control and paid attention, he could simply remove them in time if they ate the lotus leaves.

Shrimp were different. Once released into the ponds, they wouldn't be easy to catch at will until they had grown.

Qing Mengzhu had never raised ducks and had no experience with them.

Even after reading up on the subject, he still felt unsure, so he decided to ask Qing Changhong.

Although Qing Changhong mainly raised chickens, he was a poultry farmer and knew about raising ducks too.

When Qing Changhong heard Qing Mengzhu's question, he said readily, "It depends on what you're raising them for. Drakes are bigger and can weigh three or four jin more than hens when they're grown. Hens lay eggs, but their egg production is fairly average."

Qing Mengzhu really hadn't considered that. "Good thing I asked you. I'll buy some of each, then."

Qing Changhong said, "It's fine. Most people can't tell males from females, so even if you go straight there and buy some, you'll get both. If you want both, just pick the biggest ducklings. Bigger ducklings are sturdy and easier to keep alive."

Ducks were sold by the head, and large and small ones cost the same. People generally picked the larger ones, so it was better to go early when buying chickens or ducks.

After hearing Qing Changhong's advice, Qing Mengzhu went to town early to buy ducklings.

The duckling seller had both Muscovy and mallard ducklings and asked which kind he wanted. Muscovy ducks were larger and yielded more meat, while mallards produced both meat and eggs but were relatively smaller.

After asking about the differences, Qing Mengzhu chose mallards.

When he was a child, most local people raised mallards. Whenever he went out, he often saw duck herders driving huge flocks of ducks along the roadside.

It was a scene he missed.

As Qing Mengzhu picked out the ducklings, he made a point of quietly scanning them with the Mall Assistant.

Unfortunately, the Mall Assistant couldn't identify living creatures and gave no relevant notification.

He had to rely on his judgment to pick 150 relatively large ducklings. After buying feeders and drinking trays, he drove home.

The ducklings had yet to shed their down. Their bodies were covered in soft yellow fluff, with varying amounts of black and gray markings, and instead of quacking, they made more of a "peep, peep, peep" sound.

Seeing that the ducklings were too small to put in the ponds, Qing Mengzhu put them in the courtyard for the time being.

The ducklings weren't shy around strangers. They pecked here and burrowed there, full of energy.

There were several composting barrels with taps in the courtyard. The ducklings wandered around them and even hid behind them.

Qing Mengzhu kept the ducklings in the courtyard for two days. Seeing that they had adapted fairly well and were relatively sturdy, he put them in cages and carried them to the ponds on a shoulder pole, planning to raise them by the water.

His pond embankments had been raised and widened, making the slopes facing the ponds relatively gentle.

The duck cages fit on the gentle slopes, and he put the feeders there too. With the embankments blocking the way, he didn't have to worry about the ducklings wandering off.

Although he had returned to life in the countryside, Qing Mengzhu even spent money on dedicated composting barrels and EM bacteria to eliminate odors when composting. Keeping poultry in the courtyard certainly didn't fit his aesthetic or his way of life.

It was better to raise them outside.

When the ducklings first arrived at the ponds, they were still somewhat afraid of the water. Most of the time, they huddled on the embankments, resting with their eyes closed.

Qing Mengzhu didn't disturb them and went straight to check on the lotus leaves.

He had sprayed the lotus leaves with a pesticide, dispersing a high concentration of the tobacco cutworm virus. It had indeed proved quite effective.

Now he could see plenty of dead tobacco cutworms on the lotus leaves and in the pond water.

Qing Mengzhu tended both ponds very carefully, and the water was clear.

While rowing a small boat around the ponds to inspect them, he discovered that at some point, many small fish had appeared in the water, swimming among the lotus leaves in schools.

The small fish and shrimp had actually been dealt with when the ponds were tilled. Disinfecting the pond mud afterward had killed another batch, leaving even fewer.

Most of the small fish and shrimp there now had grown after the lotuses were planted. They might have hatched from eggs hidden deep in the silt, or they might have flowed in from outside when he filled the ponds.

The ducklings were too small, and the pond water was quite deep, so they probably couldn't catch the little fish and shrimp.

Qing Mengzhu looked at the little fish and shrimp with a craving.

The ducklings couldn't catch them, but he could.

The small crucian carp he had caught last time tasted good. It wouldn't be bad to catch some little fish and shrimp to add another dish to the table. If he couldn't finish them, he could dry the rest and save them up to sell to the Interstellar Mall.

Besides, the little fish and shrimp would eat lotus leaves and young lotus shoots, so he needed to control their numbers and keep them from multiplying too much.

Qing Mengzhu thought it over at length, then immediately went to town and bought two fish traps. He baited them and tossed them into the two ponds.

The two traps didn't disappoint him. He put them in the water one afternoon, and when he returned the next morning, he saw them packed with dark fish backs.

The fish were small, the largest being crucian carp only three fingers wide, but they were all lively and vigorous.

He pulled up the traps and emptied the fish and shrimp into a bucket. They leaped about so vigorously that they nearly jumped back into the pond.

Fortunately, he was quick enough to block them with a trap.

It wasn't Qing Mengzhu's first time catching fish in the ponds, but it was the first time he had seen them so lively.

They looked delicious.

In high spirits, he carried the bucket home, picked out a portion to eat, and planned to sell the rest to the Interstellar Mall.

Qing Mengzhu was used to eating light food in the morning, so he kept the fish and shrimp alive and planned to cook them at noon.

The fish and shrimp for the Interstellar Mall had to be processed first. The steep discount on the wild vegetables he had left for an extra day last time had taught Qing Mengzhu a memorable lesson. Now, whatever he obtained, he generally sold it to the Interstellar Mall while it was fresh.

Qing Mengzhu was accustomed to the work and moved quickly. He took the bucket, less than half full of fish, gutted them in no time, and washed them clean.

The Interstellar Mall soon returned the scan results, showing that the little mixed fish were "Good Grade+" quality and offering a price of 0.57 per jin.

There were over three jin of cleaned mixed fish in the bucket, which sold for the good price of 1.98 Star Coins.

Ever since Qing Mengzhu had activated the Mall Assistant, he no longer needed to accumulate 10 Star Coins' worth of goods to make a sale; one Star Coin was enough. He had discovered this later, and it had been a pleasant surprise.

Of all the things Qing Mengzhu had sold, this batch of little mixed fish ranked second in price.

He hadn't expected the unremarkable-looking little fish to be so popular with the Interstellar Mall.

Could it be because they had grown up in the ponds and regularly ate lotus leaves and stalks?

With the little fish fetching such a high price, Qing Mengzhu began to look forward to tasting them.

It wasn't even noon yet, but he prepared the little fish early, planning to pan-fry them and make dry-pot fish.

As he cooked, waves of fragrance drifted out, raising his anticipation little by little.