Chapter 127

There's no need to be fancy when eating noodles. The two of them each moved a small stool to sit in the sunshine in the yard and ate their noodles contentedly from a large bowl.

The two dogs ate the same noodles as them, but with less salt and seasoning, and no chili oil.

Judging from the way their tails wag, they seem to enjoy it.

Zhao Hexi ate his chili oil, he thought of the fried assorted mushrooms Qing Mengzhu had made before, "When can we pick mushrooms again?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's wait until spring at least, it's still a long way off."

Zhao Hexi sighed wistfully, "Your family's chili peppers and fried mixed mushrooms are a winning combination. I'm already thinking about it."

Qing Mengzhu: "There are some sliced sausages in the refrigerator, why don't you have some of those to satisfy your craving?"

Zhao Hexi stood up and went to the refrigerator to rummage for sausages. The two dogs followed him closely, trying to beg for some sausages.

Knowing he would give them some, Qing Mengzhu lazily called out, "Give them only a little, or they'll shed their fur."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, I gave them two pieces to try."

When she came out with the bowl of noodles again, Zhao Hexi guiltily changed the subject. "What are you doing this afternoon?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Go up the mountain and plant the mulberry seedlings that have been nurtured."

Zhao Hexi: "Planting them at such a young age?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's alright, just plant them in the soil from the seedling cups. They'll grow slowly on the mountain anyway; they won't grow very big in a year or two."

Zhao Hexi was worried. "These seedlings are so tiny, what if some animal harms them? Like a mountain rat or a wild boar?"

Qing Mengzhu: "No. Owls and red foxes live in the mountains; generally, no small animals would dare to cause trouble."

Now that the ecology has improved, there are more wild boars in their area.

Qing Mengzhu had specifically observed that the wild boars each had their own territory, and there were several broods of wild boars on the mountains surrounding the village.

However, wild boars never roam the two mountains near his home, because those are the territory of owls and red foxes.

A red fox might not necessarily win a head-on fight against a wild boar.

Owls are incredibly strong and fierce, and they managed to drive the wild boars away.

As for the mountain rats, there are fewer mountain rats on their mountain now, and the owls sometimes have to hunt on other mountains, otherwise they won't have enough to eat.

Qing Mengzhu was relaxed. "If all else fails, it's okay if the seedlings are bitten a little. As long as the roots are still there, they can still grow back."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay. I'll go run some courier services this afternoon and see which one will give us a lower price."

Starting in March, they've been sending out 38,000 vegetable packages every week. Over the years, that adds up to a considerable sum, so we need to have a serious talk about it.

However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will choose one of the two most well-known high-end courier companies and negotiate with them this afternoon, mainly to see which company offers a relatively lower price.

Qing Mengzhu gently patted his shoulder. "You've worked hard."

Zhao Hexi: "It's not hard work, I'm earning my own money."

After finishing their meal, Zhao Hexi put the pots and pans into the dishwasher and quickly drove off to discuss business.

Qing Mengzhu took a nap, then went to the backyard to fetch a small bucket of fermented fertilizer powder. She then went to the pond to get a large bucket of fertilizer made from discarded vegetables and poultry manure. She mixed the two fertilizers together, intending to use them as base fertilizer when planting mulberry trees.

It's been a long time since I've tended to the plum grove, so I might as well bury some base fertilizer while I'm pruning the plum branches.

Qing Mengzhu was in a good mood as she mixed the two types of fertilizer together and divided them into two large buckets, planning to transport them up the mountain by tricycle.

While he was distributing the fertilizer, he suddenly noticed that the color of the fertilizer was a bit unusual.

He thought the sunlight was too strong, making the fertilizer look a little strange, and didn't think much of it.

After sorting the fertilizer, he carried it onto his tricycle. His shadow fell on the fertilizer, and without sunlight, the colors of the fertilizer still looked a bit different. He suddenly realized that something seemed wrong.

Author's Note:

There will be 88 small red envelopes given away in this chapter. See you tomorrow!

Chapter 127

Qing Mengzhu put down the fertilizer, took out her phone from her pocket, and began scanning the fertilizer.

The scan result given by the Mall Assistant is "Good Grade+", with no other prompts—neither pollution nor pests, indicating that there is no problem with this pile of fertilizer.

Qing Mengzhu subconsciously felt that there was nothing wrong with them, but why did she have this strange feeling?

Qing Mengzhu observed the fertilizer for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and drove his tricycle down the mountain, intending to bury the fertilizer first and then see how it went later.

After carrying fertilizer and seedlings up the mountain, Qing Mengzhu went to plant mulberry trees first.

He bought only thirty seeds from the Interstellar Mall, and now all thirty seeds have survived and sprouted into thirty seedlings.

For a mountain, this number is very small.

Qing Mengzhu used a dustpan to carry mulberry seedlings, and found a spot around the plum grove, planting one seedling every meter, and soon finished planting them all.

Only after planting the mulberry trees did he begin pruning the plum tree branches.

These plum trees are over thirty years old. His grandparents planted a total of twenty trees, but three of them died for various reasons and their roots rotted away. Now only seventeen remain.

These seventeen plum trees have been neglected for many years and have grown very haphazardly, with many thin and weak branches, some of which even resemble willow branches.

What Qing Mengzhu needs to do is prune away these weak, dry, and overly dense branches, leaving the stronger, more dominant branches so that they can continue to grow and produce better quality plums next year.

The plum trees are in bloom, their snow-white blossoms covering the branches and emitting a delicate fragrance.

When Qing Mengzhu used the small electric saw for digging bamboo shoots to prune the branches, the branches swayed, showering him with plum blossom petals and filling him with their fragrance.

Working in such an environment was quite comfortable, and Qing Mengzhu was in a good mood. She worked until the sun set and the cold wind picked up before she finished pruning all the branches, packed up her things, and prepared to go home.

Before going home, he specially picked out a few pretty plum blossoms from the pruned branches, bundled them together, and prepared to take them home to put in a vase.

When he returned, Ming Chunxi was already home.

Ming Chunxi came out to greet him, "Why are you back so late? I've already prepared dinner. Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Qing Mengzhu: "There's not much work left, let's finish it all at once and come back later. Wait for me a moment, I'll arrange the plum blossoms."

Ming Chunxi walked over and touched his hand. When she found that his hand wasn't cold, she went inside to get a vase and helped him arrange the flowers.

The two chatted as they arranged flowers, sharing their observations from the day.

Qing Mengzhu casually mentioned the unusual issue with the fertilizer, Ming Chunxi was somewhat surprised. "Even the Mall Assistant can't scan it?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Anyway, nothing was detected this afternoon, and my intuition told me it shouldn't be anything bad, so I didn't bother with it."

Ming Chunxi: "Let's discuss this further after we finish eating and see where the problem lies."

Qing Mengzhu: "Great! What did you make? It smells so good!"

Ming Chunxi: "My colleague brought back a marinated chicken and a steamed grouper."

Qing Mengzhu's eyes lit up. "No wonder it smells so good! I'm so hungry, let's go, let's eat quickly."

The two set out for a meal. Ming Chunxi's dishes were all delicious, Qing Mengzhu, who was hungry again, finished the entire plate.

After finishing his meal, he leaned back in his chair, not wanting to move.

Ming Chunxi went to mix the dog food, fed the two dogs, washed his hands and came back. Seeing him leaning against the wall, he touched his cheek with his warm, clean hand and said he wanted to see about the fertilizer.

Qing Mengzhu opened the Interstellar Mall: "Let's scan some more then, huh?"

Hearing the rise in his voice, Ming Chunxi immediately knew something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There seems to be a new introduction here in the personal center?"