Chapter 13

"That's not all," Qing Mengzhu continued slowly. "The bugs aren't just cutworm larvae, either. I saw quite a few aphids, and there seem to be lotus root maggots in the water."

With Qing Mengzhu's exceptional eyesight, it was highly unlikely he had seen wrong.

This lotus field had so many of the problems typical of lotus roots that even a specialist book might not cover them all.

In a way, Cen Zhiming had some real talent.

Qing Mengzhu turned and saw that Cen Zhiming's face had turned green. He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for his classmate.

He didn't know whether Cen Zhiming would fail, but he could probably forget about getting a high grade.

Cen Zhiming's heart went cold. "Brother Mengzhu, can my lotus roots still be saved?"

Qing Mengzhu stared at the mess of lotus leaves. "I'm not sure. I only started growing lotus this year, so I don't have much experience."

Cen Zhiming asked, "What would you do if it were you?"

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment. "Dig up the lotus roots, thoroughly disinfect the field, and plant again? No, I'd probably switch to another field or pond. Otherwise, I'd be worried the disinfection wouldn't be thorough enough and the new lotus roots would run into problems too."

Hearing that, Cen Zhiming instantly looked as miserable as a dog caught in a raging storm. "No way. There's really no saving them?"

"I don't know either," Qing Mengzhu said. "Why don't you ask your teacher?"

Cen Zhiming said, "I guess that's all I can do."

Qing Mengzhu felt a little guilty that he hadn't been able to help.

He really had only just started growing lotus. He had plenty of theoretical knowledge but limited practical experience, and a case like Cen Zhiming's, where the leaves and roots had almost entirely rotted away, was genuinely difficult to deal with.

After all, once a plant got sick enough, it would die too.

The state of Cen Zhiming's lotus field was so serious that Qing Mengzhu was genuinely curious how he had managed it, so he followed up on what happened.

Just as Qing Mengzhu had guessed, after Cen Zhiming's teacher took a look, he also recommended removing the diseased lotus plants, thoroughly disinfecting the field, and planting again.

It was only mid-May, so there was still time to buy seed lotus roots and replant.

Afraid of failing, Cen Zhiming hurriedly replanted as his teacher had advised.

He also took Qing Mengzhu's advice, though, and instead of planting in the original field, he swapped fields with someone and planted there.

Lotus roots needed a lot of fertilizer, so before planting, Cen Zhiming piled a large amount into the field.

Qing Mengzhu had originally assumed it was fermented organic fertilizer, but he later discovered it wasn't. The fertilizer had been specially formulated, with organic and chemical fertilizers mixed together.

Cen Zhiming explained to Qing Mengzhu, "Every crop needs different fertilizer. Before planting, we make a point of testing the soil's composition and getting it adjusted before we plant."

Qing Mengzhu looked thoughtful.

Jin Chongshan said, "We don't go through this whole process every time we plant. This is Old Cen's second time growing lotus roots this year, and he's afraid something will go wrong again, so he's being extra thorough."

"Pretty much," Cen Zhiming said. "Mainly, it's a hassle and expensive. Brother Mengzhu, if you want to do it, just let me know. I can introduce you to someone."

Qing Mengzhu asked, "I'll go back and read up on it first. Are there any books on the subject you'd recommend?"

His chili peppers and lotus plants had entered a period of rapid growth, so it really was time to think about fertilizer.

Cen Zhiming asked, "Would textbooks work? If you want them, Brother Mengzhu, I'll ask the senior students to lend me a set."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Sorry for the trouble."

The author had something to say:

See you tomorrow!

Chapter 13

Fertilizer was indispensable to farming, and Qing Mengzhu had always paid close attention to it. After receiving the books Cen Zhiming and the others brought over, he read through them carefully and began considering what fertilizer to use on his chili peppers.

Qing Mengzhu himself preferred organic fertilizer and planned to grow organic chili peppers, which would be of higher quality.

The peppers were currently in a period of rapid growth and would flower in the next stage, so they needed a top dressing of fertilizer before then.

If not for what had happened with Cen Zhiming, he wouldn't have read the relevant books. This time, he would simply have gone to Qing Changhong's house to buy another batch of thoroughly composted chicken manure, buried it before the peppers flowered, and covered it with straw.

Now that he had read through the specialist books, he had a deeper understanding of both cultivation and fertilizer, and he felt that burying more chicken manure wouldn't be quite so suitable.

He had used chicken manure as the base fertilizer when he planted the peppers. If he buried more of it, the field would still be short of the same elements.

Relying on just one kind of fertilizer wasn't ideal. He needed to consider other options.

Qing Mengzhu opened the Interstellar Mall and looked through it carefully, hoping to find some inspiration.

In the Star-Rated Mall, there were more than a thousand kinds of fertilizer available to him. They appeared to include ones from

cultivation

planes as well as interstellar planes. Their prices varied, and the cheapest cost only a few dozen star coins, so he could afford them now.

According to the descriptions, though, the fertilizers that cost a few dozen star coins were just very ordinary organic compound fertilizers, and there wasn't much of them. One purchase would be used up on a single mu of land.

To fertilize all the lotus plants and chili peppers at his home, he would probably have to spend more than 170 star coins.

Spending that many star coins on a single application of fertilizer didn't seem worth it to him.

While Qing Mengzhu was mulling it over, Zhao Hexi contacted him and said he wanted to come visit that weekend.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi had been friends for years, so naturally he wouldn't refuse.

Early Saturday morning, when Zhao Hexi drove over, Qing Mengzhu had just returned from watering the chili peppers.

Zhao Hexi had parked his car in front of Qing Mengzhu's courtyard and was sitting inside playing on his phone.

Qing Mengzhu walked over and raised a hand to knock on the window.

Zhao Hexi turned and, seeing Qing Mengzhu covered up from head to toe, laughed. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Qing Mengzhu took off his mask. "There are lots of bugs, and the sun's fierce. It's better to cover up. Why didn't you go inside? It's not like you don't know where the key is."

Zhao Hexi said, "Wouldn't I just be waiting around inside too? I'm more comfortable playing on my phone in the car. What are you carrying?"

Qing Mengzhu lifted the bucket in his hand for him to see. "A few little fish I caught in a fish trap. We'll cook them for lunch today."

Zhao Hexi got out of the car, picked up some fruit, and trotted eagerly after Qing Mengzhu. "Just the little fish?"

"I also ordered a chicken," Qing Mengzhu said. "I'll make you chicken soup."

The two put their things away and went inside to chat.

Zhao Hexi looked around Qing Mengzhu's courtyard and clicked his tongue in amazement. "How many days has it been since you got back? The courtyard looks completely different already."

Qing Mengzhu looked at the flowers and plants in the courtyard. "Plants have always grown quickly. Leave them for a few days, and everything looks different. The sun's strong now, so I'll take you to see the lotus and chili peppers I'm growing this evening. You'll stay here tonight, right?"

His guest rooms had everything they needed and would be ready for someone to stay after a little tidying.

Zhao Hexi readily agreed. "Sure! I even brought a fishing rod. Can you fish in the river around here?"

"You can," Qing Mengzhu said. "Electrofishing and net fishing aren't allowed, but you can fish with a rod as much as you like."

"Then I'll go in a bit," Zhao Hexi said excitedly. "I already checked out a fishing spot when I came last time."

Qing Mengzhu looked up at the blazing sun. "Won't it be too hot for you?"

Zhao Hexi chuckled. "It's fine. As long as we anglers can catch fish, no other difficulty is a problem."

Zhao Hexi put his things down and, sure enough, took his rod and bait and went fishing.

Before leaving, he specifically asked Qing Mengzhu for a small hoe, saying he wanted to dig up some earthworms outside. Earthworms were the ultimate fishing bait.

Before heading out, Zhao Hexi suddenly remembered something. "Mengzhu, did you know Ming Chunxi won a major award?"

Qing Mengzhu's hand paused. "What award?"

"Some major foreign award, one in the intelligence industry, I think?" Zhao Hexi said. "I saw it all over the news, and word's spread among our friends and alumni too. I thought you knew."

As he spoke, Zhao Hexi stole a glance at Qing Mengzhu's expression.

"I've been pretty busy these past couple of days and haven't been online much," Qing Mengzhu said. "I'll take a look."

"Go ahead," Zhao Hexi said. "I'm off to fish."

With that, Zhao Hexi dashed off, clearly unwilling to face the matter between Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi.

After Zhao Hexi left, Qing Mengzhu used his phone to search for news of Ming Chunxi's award.