Chapter 115 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu exclaimed, "Delicious! Brother Zhou's cooking is still as good as ever!"

Ming Chunxi: "Our bamboo is also of good quality; it has a very strong bamboo fragrance, unlike the bamboo from other places which usually doesn't have such a strong fragrance."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's true. The bamboo tubes I used to eat, like rice, were mostly for decoration and didn't really add any flavor. But I did have bamboo tube cake once when I went to the southwest, and that was quite delicious."

Ming Chunxi: "In which year did you go?"

Qing Mengzhu recalled, "The year before last, after the Spring Festival, I drove there with friends. It wasn't even the Lantern Festival yet, and there were so many people out and about. Everywhere we went was packed with people, but we still had a lot of fun."

Ming Chunxi: "In a couple of years, when our work isn't so busy, we can go out and have fun on weekdays, and it shouldn't be so crowded then."

Qing Mengzhu: "Great! There are so many places I want to go, but I can't find anyone to go with me."

After finishing their meal and cleaning up the kitchen, the two of them poured warm water into a large basin to soak the seeds.

This time, they mainly cultivated seedlings for the winter and spring seasons, including coriander, shepherd's purse, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, potatoes, peas, green beans, bok choy, and purple cabbage.

Besides vegetables, Qing Mengzhu also bought a batch of strawberry seeds. They had never grown strawberries before, so growing some to eat as fruit would be a good idea.

Qing Mengzhu added bamboo vinegar to the warm water and soaked the seeds in it for two hours. Then she transferred them to a cloth and put them inside.

After a night of germination, most of the seeds should sprout tomorrow.

The next morning, Qing Mengzhu went to check on the seeds that had been placed on the cloth.

Sure enough, the seed sprouted, and you could see a tiny white bud emerging from under the seed coat.

Ming Chunxi squatted down beside him, watching and smelling the moist scent of the seeds, and asked, "Are we sowing them in the greenhouse today?"

Qing Mengzhu: "That's right! This time we'll sow directly onto the seedbed, without using seedling cups, so we can sow earlier."

Ming Chunxi came in with a vegetable basket, and together they carefully transferred the fabric into the basket before carrying it to the trunk of the car.

Before dawn, they drove to the fields to prepare for sowing.

The weather was cold, and every household had covered up their greenhouses. Looking from the roadside, rows of white greenhouses stood out neatly.

The plum blossoms by the roadside have already bloomed, emitting a delicate fragrance.

The wind was howling, making it hard to get out of the car.

Qing Mengzhu shrank back as soon as she got out of the car.

Ming Chunxi walked over and pulled his shirt up around his neck. "You still need to wear a scarf."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's alright, it'll warm up inside the greenhouse."

Today they are going to sow seeds in the acre of land that has been treated with Soil Fertility Restoration Agent.

Five large greenhouses were built on that acre of land. Each greenhouse was so big that you could just lift the plastic curtain and walk in without having to bend over.

The two carried vegetable baskets into the greenhouse and then moved the plastic curtains aside to allow for ventilation.

If fermented fertilizer is used in the greenhouse and the ventilation is poor, the ammonia gas produced during the composting process cannot escape, which will damage the vegetables and cause gas harm.

In particular, since they plan to raise seedlings here, the seedlings are quite fragile and require extra attention to ventilation.

The land in the greenhouse has been plowed twice and ridged. The soil is now dark and moist, making it very suitable for sowing.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sowed the seeds one by one, and then covered them with a thin layer of soil.

There's no need to water it; the soil is already moist enough. Watering it further would probably cause waterlogging.

They were working inside the greenhouse when it gradually got light.

Zhao Hexi and the others also came to work in the fields.

As soon as Zhao Hexi entered the plastic greenhouse, he asked, "Chunxi, aren't you going to work yet? It's almost 7:30."

Ming Chunxi: "It's okay to go a little later in winter, I can finish this work later."

Zhao Hexi: "You go to work, I'll work with Mengzhu."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "You should hurry home, change your clothes, and get ready for work. We really don't need you here."

Ming Chunxi had no choice but to say, "Then I'll go to work now."

Qing Mengzhu took off her gloves and gently patted his shoulder. "Go."

After Ming Chunxi left, Zhao Hexi took the seeds and began sowing them on the seedbed.

Zhao Hexi wasn't very talented at farm work; his movements were clumsy, and he sowed too densely in some places while missing some.

Qing Mengzhu couldn't stand it anymore, so she shooed him aside and did the work herself.

Zhao Hexi, having nothing to do, could only dig up some soil, preparing to help spread it. "Why didn't you use seedling cups this time?"

Qing Mengzhu: "The seedling cups need to be filled with soil, and then the soil will be moved to the new site along with them. Just sow the seeds directly, and once the seedlings grow, dig them up and transplant them to the new site; the soil won't be taken away with them."

Zhao Hexi's eyes widened. "So you're worried about your family's soil?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, soil is a non-renewable resource. It's such a waste to move it away every time."

Zhao Hexi clicked his tongue twice. "I'm truly impressed. You've calculated things far too precisely. These seedlings will still be moved to your field, won't they?"

Qing Mengzhu's main purpose in planting these seedlings is to transplant them into the fields where radishes were previously grown. The fields have already been plowed and fertilized. After a few days of drying, the seedlings will be transplanted directly, and a new harvest can be expected in February or March.

Qing Mengzhu showed Zhao Hexi the soil in the nursery. "I've put a lot of effort into preparing this soil; it will be used exclusively for seedling cultivation from now on, and won't be used for anything else for now."

Zhao Hexi: "So this place is going to be turned into a seedling nursery?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, that's the idea for now. We'll discuss it again later if things change."

The seeds have been sown; they will need a few more days to germinate.

Qing Mengzhu discussed the fermentation of a new batch of fertilizer with Ming Chunxi.

They used up all the fertilizer fermentation powder they had previously received, both through personal use and resale.

Qing Mengzhu urgently needs to buy new fertilizer fermentation powder and then ferment a new batch of fertilizer.

If we don't start fermenting now while we have the time, we won't be able to continue using fertilizer later.

Qing Mengzhu showed Ming Chunxi the fertilizer fermentation powder from the Interstellar Mall: "There are many kinds of fertilizer fermentation powder now, ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of Star Coins. I'm hesitating about which one to use?"

After examining it carefully, Ming Chunxi asked, "What kind of fertilizer baking powder did we use before?"

Qing Mengzhu pointed to a fertilizer fermentation powder priced at 888 Star Coins and said, "This kind..."

Ming Chunxi: "This fertilizer fermentation powder works quite well. Should we switch back to this one?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'm not so sure anymore. I'd prefer to switch to a different fertilizer."

Ming Chunxi asked in surprise, "Why? Because it's not as effective?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "No, that's not it. This fertilizer uses too much meat, which can easily cause excessive chlorine, what we in agriculture call 'chlorine damage'."

Seeing that Ming Chunxi didn't quite understand, Qing Mengzhu explained, "Many plants in the Solanaceae family are chlorine-sensitive, such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. They have a relatively poor tolerance for chlorine, and if too much chlorine-containing fertilizer is used, their growth will not be good."

Ming Chunxi remembered. "Wouldn't that cause soil salinization?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "That's not the case. The soil salinization here is mainly caused by groundwater irrigation. The water rises into the soil, then evaporates, leaving sodium ions, calcium ions, and other components in the soil, ultimately causing salinization. It has little to do with fertilizers."

Qing Mengzhu: "What I meant by 'chlorine damage' is that this fertilizer is made from fermented meat, so it has a relatively high salt content."

Ming Chunxi watched Qing Mengzhu speak eloquently with appreciation and nodded, "I understand."

Qing Mengzhu urged him, "Don't just look at me, tell me your thoughts."

Ming Chunxi pointed and said, "I think this one is nice."