Chapter 107

He was extremely polite and meticulous, insisting on signing a contract to clearly define the rights, responsibilities, and interests of both parties.

In contrast, the research institute staff were more hesitant and talked to him for several days before finally reaching an agreement.

Having lived in the countryside for so long, Qing Mengzhu rarely left the village, except for the occasional date with Ming Chunxi.

This time, however, he specifically brought a lawyer with him to sign the contract and stayed outside for several days.

After signing the contract, they shared their research findings on the Insect-Killing Bacillus with the staff of the Northern Research Institute of the Huaxia Academy of Sciences, and also obtained some of the materials from the Northern Research Institute of the Huaxia Academy of Sciences.

For the foreseeable future, Gu Benshu will also be working with their team, but they will only be completing projects at their company and will not need to travel.

If there are any problems, they will hold online meetings and share progress updates.

Virus development is a long process, and it's estimated that results won't be available anytime soon.

Qing Mengzhu, don't rush. The contract has already been signed, so we can take our time with the rest.

Qing Mengzhu returned on November 21st.

Zhao Hexi drove to the high-speed rail station to pick him up, excitedly saying, "Tomorrow is 'Minor Snow'!"

Qing Mengzhu: "No wonder it's been so cold these past few days."

Zhao Hexi: "It's almost December, I guess we'll be getting busy."

The 450 mu of land they rented will be officially handed over to them after New Year's Day. With so much land to cultivate, it's hard not to be busy.

Qing Mengzhu sensed the hidden meaning in his words and said, "What exactly are you trying to say? Just get to the point."

Zhao Hexi chuckled twice, "That day I saw the Dharma Protector and Guard herding geese, and the geese were huge. In this cold weather, and with geese that big, shouldn't we kill one?"

Qing Mengzhu glanced at the weather forecast on her phone and sighed, "It's still over ten degrees Celsius. It's just the Minor Snow solar term, it's not actually snowing yet, and you're already thinking about stewing goose?"

Zhao Hexi: "We've raised it for so long, don't you want to taste it?"

Qing Mengzhu had never really thought about it. He had been too busy lately, and eating goose was rather troublesome, so he had never even considered it.

Seeing that Zhao Hexi was looking tempted, Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "If you're willing to do it, I have no objection."

Zhao Hexi immediately replied, "No problem, leave it to me."

The geese belonging to Qing Mengzhu were caught at the end of July; they were already a month old goslings at that time.

They've been raised since the end of July, for four months now. Adding the month they spent at the hatchery, these geese are now five months old and ready to be eaten.

Back home, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi went to the pond to catch geese.

Their geese are always kept by the pond, and they are only herded home at night.

Qing Mengzhu hadn't paid much attention before, but now that she saw it, the goose was indeed big and fat, but also quite fierce, making it difficult to catch.

The geese honked, and the otters, hearing the noise, poked their heads out, but stopped paying attention when they saw it was them.

Qing Mengzhu was surprised to find an otter in the pond at this time and even called out to it.

The Little Otter seems to prefer staying by the pond more and more; I wonder if it's because of the Spirit Pearl Dregs in the pond.

Zhao Hexi thought the otter was frightened, so he comforted it, saying, "Don't be afraid, Little Otter, we'll eat goose together later."

Otter: "Eek."

Seeing that Zhao Hexi was almost holding the goose to his face, Qing Mengzhu quickly reminded him, "Be careful, what if the goose pecks at you? Don't hold it that high."

Zhao Hexi: "It's alright, I'm controlling its neck. This goose is really strong, I estimate it weighs seven or eight pounds."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's definitely more than seven or eight jin. With a body like that, ten jin shouldn't be a problem."

Unlike Qing Mengzhu, who had personally sold vegetables for a period of time, Zhao Hexi didn't weigh things much and wasn't as sensitive to weight.

Qing Mengzhu said it weighed about ten jin (5 kg), and after weighing it in his hand, he felt it was quite possible.

"What a huge goose!" Zhao Hexi said, carrying the goose with a hint of hesitation. "If we cook it ourselves, won't it easily tip over?"

Qing Mengzhu looked at him. "What do you want to say?"

Zhao Hexi: "Should we ask Brother Zhou? Such a good goose, he should be interested, right? I had his braised goose last time, it was especially delicious."

Qing Mengzhu, thinking of Zhou Yan's skills, was also tempted. "Then shall I invite him to give it a try?"

Chapter 107

Qing Mengzhu called and invited Zhou Yan to her home for a goose dinner.

Zhou Yan laughed upon hearing this, "You're not inviting me to your house for goose, you're inviting me to your house to cook, aren't you?"

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "Didn't you say you'd call me if I had good ingredients? Our geese are raised on vegetables, grains, and wild grasses, so the taste is absolutely amazing. Want to come?"

Zhou Yan: "Since you've put it that way, I'll go check it out after I get off work."

Zhao Hexi, who was eavesdropping nearby, was overjoyed when she heard Zhou Yan agree and shouted into the phone, "Brother Zhou! Love you! We've finished preparing the goose, and we're waiting for you!"

Zhou Yan: "I politely decline! I don't need your limited-time love!"

Zhao Hexi was laughing heartily on the other end of the phone.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and then said, "You should hold off on dealing with the goose for now. Wait for me to come over. There's a proper way to butcher a goose; if you accidentally damage the skin, it'll be difficult to handle."

Qing Mengzhu: "Alright, then we'll wait for you to arrive, and then we'll assist you."

Zhou Yan was very interested in his family's geese and arrived quickly, just after 5 p. m.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi have already caught the goose and brought it home.

Zhou Yan went over to look at the goose and immediately exclaimed, "It's really great! Big, fat, and beautiful! Have you weighed it? How many kilograms does this goose weigh?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Not yet, I'll go get the scales right now."

Zhou Yan: "Take it, and see how many pounds it is?"

Qing Mengzhu brought over the scale, and Zhou Yan personally placed the tied-up goose on it to weigh it. Then he glanced at it and said, "Thirteen catties and six taels, that's about fourteen catties. I was wondering why this goose was so heavy?"

Looking at the weight of the geese, Qing Mengzhu said, "If they're all this heavy, raising geese is quite profitable."

Zhou Yan: "It's already a great deal, especially since you don't have to take care of your geese much. Your two herding dogs go out to graze every day and bring them back at night. They can even find wild vegetables for themselves."

Qing Mengzhu: "No, I have to feed them at least once a day, and I only feed them carefully selected vegetable leaves. It's hard work, you know?"

Zhou Yan looked at Zhao Hexi: "Do you believe it now? I certainly don't."

Zhao Hexi grinned broadly from the side.

They began to slaughter the goose, while the two dogs, along with the red fox and the otter, waited nearby, their eyes fixed on the goose, looking rather predatory.

It was cold, Zhou Yan was impatient with plucking goose feathers, so he brought an electric feather plucking device with him.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi never expected that such a magical tool existed. With the help of the electric feather plucking device, they had much less to do and could process the goose much faster.

When Ming Chunxi returned from work, the goose had already been stir-fried.

The whole courtyard smelled of stir-fried goose.

The small animals lay in the yard, and whenever someone walked by, they would turn their heads and stare at the person until they disappeared from their sight.

Their pleading looks were incredibly pitiful.

Ming Chunxi went over and patted the dog's head.

In winter, both dogs shed their fur, which is soft and thick, and feels wonderful to the touch, especially their ears, which are soft and bouncy. When you touch them, they bounce right off your palm, which is very amusing.

When Ming Chunxi touched him, both dogs looked up at him.

The Guard even sniffed his palm affectionately, then snuggled his big head into his arms and acted coquettishly.

Ming Chunxi gently blocked it, preventing it from getting touched.

Hearing the noise, Qing Mengzhu poked her head out of the kitchen, her eyes sparkling as she greeted Ming Chunxi, "You're back?"