Chapter 126

The next day, Qing Mengzhu and his group visited three more orchards.

The owners were very welcoming and took them to see the fruit trees.

Each orchard grows a different variety of mulberry. One orchard also grows "Purple Phoenix," but the owner of the first orchard grows them as well.

Qing Mengzhu prefers to plant the Purple Phoenix mulberry variety, as it has a high yield and tastes good. Once it's grown, they can also arrange mulberry picking activities for members, which they should enjoy.

Now, the owners of these orchards have launched fruit-picking programs, which are quite popular.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi returned home with the data they had collected and a large amount of mulberry specialties, and Zhao Hexi over for dinner.

Zhao Hexi looked after their dog for two days and then came over for a free meal without any hesitation.

At the dinner table, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi prepared several dishes and even brought out mulberry wine.

Zhao Hexi immediately remarked, "It seems you've had a very fruitful trip."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's right, I went out specifically to investigate, so I'm sure I've gained something. Why don't you try today's mulberry feast and see if you like it?"

It's cold, so I stewed a goose today.

The green and red peppers and garlic leaves were added after the goose stew was finished. It's still simmering on the small charcoal stove, and it tastes especially delicious.

Take a bite of the fragrant and spicy goose meat, then sip a sip of the sweet mulberry wine—the taste is simply divine.

Zhao Hexi ate with great satisfaction.

The two dogs nearby, pawing at the goose's head and gnawing on it, also looked quite content.

After the meal, Qing Mengzhu specially scooped out three scoops of ice cream from a small cup, topped with mulberry jam and three frozen mulberries.

Zhao Hexi's eyes lit up as she ate. "This way of eating is delicious!"

Qing Mengzhu: "The orchard owner taught us that when we went to the orchard."

Zhao Hexi: "Great! Great! Once we grow them, we can produce ice cream like this too."

Qing Mengzhu: "What do you think about planting mulberry trees?"

Zhao Hexi: "Perfect!"

Seeing that he agreed, Qing Mengzhu said, "Next, you need to negotiate with them about the orchards. Chunxi and I have gathered some information and will send it to you later. See which orchard you can negotiate with."

Zhao Hexi wiped her hands. "Why don't you send it to me now? I'll look at it right now."

Qing Mengzhu picked up her phone and sent him a document. "We've marked seven orchards in total, all of which are roadside and relatively easy to access. However, we haven't inquired about the orchards' conditions, so we don't know if they're still available for rent?"

Zhao Hexi downloaded it and looked at it. "Are all these orchards on the mountain?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Mulberry trees are best suited for planting on sunny mountain slopes at altitudes of 500 to 1000 meters, as they are sun-loving plants. We have our eye on a mulberry variety called 'Purple Phoenix,' which is well-suited to slightly acidic soil. So, after some selection, we have narrowed it down to these seven orchards for consideration."

Zhao Hexi: "I understand."

Qing Mengzhu: "If we can talk, we can talk; if we can't, that's okay too. We can broaden our search."

Zhao Hexi laughed, "It shouldn't be a problem. There are seven orchards; surely we can negotiate a deal with all of them. I'll choose one with a lower price. This time, let's lease it for twenty years, right?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes. When you're negotiating, make sure to mention that we'll adjust the soil and set the penalty for breach of contract higher. If the other party reneges, we'll take the fruit trees and soil with us and replenish the orchard with new soil."

Zhao Hexi: "No problem."

Zhao Hexi is now very good at negotiating business.

He personally took charge and within two days negotiated deals with three orchards, choosing the one with the lowest price.

That orchard is relatively large, covering more than 80 acres in total.

This is one of the reasons why its price is relatively low. Large orchards are not easy to rent out, especially orchards located in relatively remote areas like Jingnan Town.

Zhao Hexi returned with the contract and showed it to Qing Mengzhu: "I've already signed the contract. I don't know how to choose mulberry trees, so you'll probably have to come in person."

Looking at the orchard under the company's name, Qing Mengzhu was in a very good mood. "No problem. I also have ideas for the fruit trees. We can just buy them from the orchard we visited before. I took a look, and the owner's saplings were quite good."

Winter and spring are both good seasons for transplanting fruit seedlings, so they can start preparing now.

If they cook it well, they can harvest their first fruit this summer.

With this in mind, Qing Mengzhu was full of enthusiasm and personally led people to manage the orchard.

The orchard they rented had been abandoned for several years; they needed to weed first and then improve the soil.

Only after proper conditioning can sterilized fruit seedlings be planted.

Their new orchard is more than two hours' drive away, and it would have been better to hire local help.

However, Qing Mengzhu was used to working with Feng Ningxiang and the others, and was too lazy to find someone else to work with, so she simply found a bus and drove there to work.

Given the short distance, it will be easy to manage. We can install surveillance cameras during off-peak seasons and send people to be stationed there during peak seasons.

Qing Mengzhu and his team already have a set procedure for doing things.

Faced with this almost abandoned orchard, they simply cut down the fruit trees and then used a large weeding machine to cut down all the vegetation on the ground.

After cutting down the plants, use a tiller to plow the soil deeply, and then you can condition the soil.

The entire process took only five days.

Once the orchard was ready, Qing Mengzhu, holding Ming Chunxi, planned to go buy mulberry trees.

Although Ming Chunxi wasn't good at selecting mulberry trees, he worked very well with him. He needed Ming Chunxi to cover for him so he could use the Mall Assistant to scan the mulberry trees and pick out the ones of relatively good quality.

Author's Note:

See you tonight!

Chapter 126

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found the boss who had first served them.

The boss cultivated many mulberry seedlings, and when Qing Mengzhu and the others said they wanted 6,000 seedlings, the boss even specially opened his own nursery for them.

The shop owner said generously, "All my mulberry saplings are here, of various ages, about 40,000 in total. Take your pick!"

Qing Mengzhu already knew that his family had many mulberry saplings, so she didn't stand on ceremony. "Then I'll put a sticky note on the mulberry sapling I've chosen, and I'll have someone come and dig it up later."

Boss: "Whatever you say."

Ming Chunxi: "You choose, I'll ask the boss about planting mulberry trees."

The boss didn't think much of it, assuming that Ming Chunxi really wanted to ask, so he went inside with Ming Chunxi to chat.

Seeing that there was no one around and no surveillance, Qing Mengzhu quickly opened the Mall Assistant and began scanning each plant one by one.

He labeled mulberry trees that met the "Good Grade" quality standard with blue sticky notes, and those that met the "Good Grade+" quality standard with red sticky notes.

When we're digging later, it doesn't matter if we dig up a few fewer of the mulberry trees with blue sticky notes, but we absolutely cannot miss a single one of the mulberry trees with red sticky notes.

Qing Mengzhu acted quickly. After he finished pasting all the items, he sent a message to Ming Chunxi saying that he had made his selection. Ming Chunxi then brought the owner of the mulberry garden over to take a look.

These mulberry trees are all two-year-old seedlings, and they have grown quite large, so they are relatively expensive.

Even if Qing Mengzhu and his group bought in bulk, each plant would cost thirty yuan, and six thousand plants would cost 180,000 yuan. No wonder the boss was all smiles and exceptionally enthusiastic towards them.

The total price of this batch of mulberry seedlings is relatively high, and the owner is responsible for digging and transportation.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi were there to oversee the entire process of digging, making sure the people hired by the boss dug up all the roots. If the roots were damaged too much, the mulberry tree would probably take a long time to recover after transplanting, let alone bear fruit this year.

Qing Mengzhu and his group had already prepared their orchard. As soon as the mulberry trees were dug up and moved to the orchard, they were immediately planted.

With a large group of them, they planted all the mulberry trees in one day.

Qing Mengzhu and his companions traveled a long distance, even from the village, to bring fertilizer and water to the mulberry trees, fertilizing them and watering them to help them establish roots.