Chapter 129 (continued)

The next day, Zhao Hexi and his team drove a truck to dig up trees.

They had a rented tree digger on their truck, which could dig up the soil underneath the tree, just like digging up a small potted plant.

The orchard owner followed them the whole time, his eyes filled with surprise.

Zhao Hexi was quite satisfied with the fruit seedlings. Although he could buy three-year-old orange seedlings for tens or hundreds of yuan outside, they usually removed the branches before shipping, unlike the owner of this orchard who allowed them to dig them up with the soil.

The seedlings dug up in this way suffer less damage, require almost no recovery period, can continue to grow in a new location, and can flower and bear fruit in the same year.

Even if the harvest isn't plentiful, being able to taste fruit from your own orchard in the first year is still a very pleasant surprise.

Everyone is very satisfied with the purchase of the orange trees.

The owner also warmly told them that if they had any problems, they could just come to him directly, as he had been growing orange trees for many years and was quite experienced, so he should be able to help.

In addition, the owner said that he would cultivate new orange seedlings and that people could come back to him if they needed any.

On the way back, Zhao Hexi said to Qing Mengzhu, "The boss was so hospitable."

Qing Mengzhu: "When doing business, enthusiasm is key. Let's plant the orange seedlings tomorrow and also add some fertilizer."

Zhao Hexi: "How many orange seedlings should be planted per acre? Is it enough to plant twenty or thirty?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Plant thirty trees. These orange seedlings won't grow too big, so you don't need to leave too much space between them."

Zhao Hexi simply said, "You should come with us to plant tomorrow. I don't feel at ease if you don't go."

Qing Mengzhu readily agreed, "Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow."

They spent the next few days busy planting oranges.

In the meantime, the first snow of the year finally fell.

It's not actually very cold when it snows; it only gets cold after the snowfall.

Snowfall is a significant weather change. After planting the oranges, they rushed back to check on the vegetables. Some vegetables that are not frost-resistant even needed to be sprayed with antifreeze.

However, most vegetables can be covered with greenhouses, where the temperature is relatively high. If necessary, they can even be smoked by lighting a fire inside the greenhouse. So even when it snows, their vegetables don't suffer much frost damage.

That day, Qing Mengzhu returned from the vegetable field.

The Dharma Protector and his Guard followed behind him, each carrying two large bags of vegetables on their backs; they were clearly hardworking dogs.

The wind and snow were heavy, Qing Mengzhu was afraid of falling, so she didn't dare to put her hands in her pockets. Instead, she wrapped her hat tightly around herself and walked forward with her head down.

Before we even reached the front door, the two dogs started barking.

Qing Mengzhu looked up in confusion and saw a stranger standing at her door.

Strangers lingered at his doorstep, occasionally rubbing their hands and stamping their feet, clearly suffering from the cold.

Qing Mengzhu was puzzled and gestured for the two dogs to stop barking. "Hello?"

The man realized what was happening and quickly came forward. "Hello, are you Boss Qing?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Who are you?"

The man smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth. "My name is Yi Yanbai, and I grow blueberries. I heard you need seedlings here, so I've come to offer my services."

Qing Mengzhu: "So that's how it is. Come in and have some tea."

Yi Yanbai: "I drove over and parked here. Wait a moment, I'll go to the car and get my blueberry seedlings."

Qing Mengzhu: "Why don't you keep coming over?"

Yi Yanbai chuckled twice, "I was afraid parking here would block the way."

Qing Mengzhu hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful. She glanced at him again and felt a growing fondness for him.

Yi Yanbai was unaware of Qing Mengzhu's inner thoughts and ran to the car to get the blueberry seedlings.

Qing Mengzhu let the two dogs go inside first and wait for him at the door.

Yi Yanbai jogged over carrying a bundle of blueberry seedlings and handed it to Qing Mengzhu with a smile.

It was only then that Qing Mengzhu realized how surprisingly young this person was, and how clear-headed he seemed to be in his eyes.

As enthusiastic as he was, Qing Mengzhu noticed that the quality of his blueberry seedlings was rather average, probably only "Good Grade" quality.

If Qing Mengzhu hadn't just bought a batch of "Fine Grade" orange seedlings, she would have taken a closer look at this batch of "Good Grade" blueberry seedlings. But after buying a batch of "Fine Grade" orange seedlings, Qing Mengzhu was somewhat disappointed with the "Good Grade" blueberry seedlings.

Yi Yanbai, unaware of Qing Mengzhu's inner thoughts, continued to look at him expectantly.

Although Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.. is a newly established company, it is known for its deep pockets. Yi Yanbai has already heard that in just the past half month, two orchards have made deals with them worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.

He also wanted to try his luck.

Seeing that people had come from afar, Qing Mengzhu couldn't refuse them directly, so she said, "It's too cold, come in and have some tea. I'll ask my partner to take a look at the fruit seedlings later."

Yi Yanbai nodded repeatedly, "Thank you for your help."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's no trouble at all. But you, it's not easy for you to make such a trip in the snow."

Yi Yanbai: "It's nothing, I drove here, it wasn't too tiring."

Qing Mengzhu brewed tea, brought out some snacks, and invited Yi Yanbai to sit down and enjoy them, while also chatting with him.

During the conversation, it was learned that Yi Yanbai's family had been growing fruit trees for generations. They originally grew orange trees, but when oranges became less valuable, he persuaded his parents to switch to growing blueberry trees.

His family's orchard has always had blueberry bushes, but in very small numbers.

Blueberries have been relatively expensive and easy to sell in recent years, so his family has high hopes for them.

However, blueberries are in high demand and the competition is fierce. They entered the market suddenly without any competitive advantage and haven't made much money in the past two years. Now they're thinking of selling the fruit and seedlings together to increase their income.

When Qing Mengzhu heard that he had only graduated two years ago, she admired him greatly. "He's a real young man, so daring and adventurous."

Yi Yanbai said embarrassedly, "Brother Mengzhu, you're not that much older than me."

Qing Mengzhu: "It takes three years to build a generation gap, and now there's a small ditch separating us. You said you have a 30-year-old blueberry tree at home, can I go and take a look?"

Yi Yanbai: "Of course! The blueberry seedlings at my house were propagated from old blueberry bushes. If you're interested, Brother Mengzhu, I can drive you there now; it only takes a little over an hour."

Qing Mengzhu checked the time. "Tomorrow, then. I'll bring my partner along."

Yi Yanbai: "Alright, I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."

Qing Mengzhu quickly saw Yi Yanbai off and prepared hot pot for the evening.

It's too cold outside, the food will get cold in no time, hot pot is much more comfortable.

When Ming Chunxi returned in the evening, she immediately noticed the blueberry seedlings in a corner of the yard.

He didn't recognize what kind of fruit tree it was, went over to take a look, and asked, "What are you going to plant this time?"

Qing Mengzhu poked her head out from the kitchen. "A young man came to sell blueberry trees today. I'm planning to ask He Xi to go take a look tomorrow."

Ming Chunxi had just inspected some high-quality orange seedlings, but upon seeing the blueberry bushes, he felt they were a bit too thin and weak. "Aren't these blueberry seedlings too small? They don't seem to be growing very well either."

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, a little bit, but it seems to have genes from wild species. It feels like a hybrid variety. I'd like to go take a look."

As Junior Grower, Qing Mengzhu can now see many things at a glance.

Ming Chunxi: "Is it good or bad to have genes from wild species?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It depends on the purpose of planting. If you want a variety with good disease resistance and that is well-suited to the local environment, then having genes from wild varieties is a good thing. However, if you want blueberries that are particularly large and sweet, then having genes from wild varieties may not be a good thing."

Ming Chunxi: "The wild blueberries we used to pick in the mountains were quite delicious."

Qing Mengzhu: "Wild blueberries accumulate more nutrients and have a richer flavor. In fact, cultivated varieties can also taste very good if you use less fertilizer and growth hormones and grow them for a longer period of time."