Chapter 132

Ming Chunxi understood his thoughts perfectly. "You want to extend this to Yi Yanbai's village, right?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded and sighed, "It's so hard for the people in the village to make money."

In fact, it's not just Yi Yanbai's village; most people in villages don't find it easy to make money.

If it weren't for the fact that it's impossible to make money in one's hometown, so many people wouldn't leave their homes to make a living elsewhere.

The next morning Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi planted the two tea trees. To make it easier to observe them, they planted them in the backyard instead of on the mountain.

Anyway, the tea trees aren't very big, so planting them in the backyard makes it convenient to pick and use the tea as needed.

The two of them got up early to dig tree pits, and they were both sweating profusely from digging.

Two dogs, a red fox, and an otter all came over to watch.

The red fox was on good terms with Qing Mengzhu, and even went over to dig at the soil with its front paws. Because the soil was dry and hard in winter, it didn't dig much even after digging for a long time.

Qing Mengzhu found it in the way, so she pushed its little head aside, which made it whimper several times in dissatisfaction.

In addition to using Inducing Agent on the two tea trees, Qing Mengzhu also specially used fertilizer fermented from fertilizer fermentation powder.

Their fertilizer fermentation powder contains Spirit Pearl Dregs, which they use on tea trees of "Good Grade+" quality – they're really going all out.

If they fail to produce any good-tasting tea leaves in the end, they'll likely suffer a significant loss.

I went to Yi Yanbai's village to buy blueberry seedlings but failed, but I still need to buy blueberry seedlings.

Qing Mengzhu and his team searched for information online, intending to find a type of blueberry seedling suitable for their local area, even if it was a bit pricey.

The information online is very confusing. Some orchards are particularly good at marketing. Qing Mengzhu was very interested after reading the introduction online, but when she went to see it in person, she found that the quality of the blueberry seedlings was not even "Good Grade+". The product did not match the description and there was no way to buy it.

After visiting several orchards, Qing Mengzhu and his team were unable to purchase suitable fruit seedlings, leaving him feeling quite helpless.

In the end, it was Nian Xinfei who, upon hearing that they wanted to buy blueberry seedlings, took the initiative to introduce them to a lowbush blueberry seedling from the agricultural research institute in the neighboring province.

The neighboring province has a similar geographical environment and climate to our province, so the fruit seedlings from both sides should be compatible.

Qing Mengzhu personally went to investigate and found that the blueberry seedlings from the provincial agricultural research institute next door were indeed very good, with a quality that could be described as "Fine Grade- ". However, the price was also high. Ordinary two-year-old blueberry seedlings cost twenty or thirty yuan, while those seedlings were directly 260 yuan per plant.

Several hundred lowbush blueberry plants need to be planted per acre. Qing Mengzhu originally wanted to buy seedlings directly, but the price was too high, so in the end she could only buy seeds from their agricultural research institute.

The seeds were much cheaper, but they still spent nearly 100,000 yuan on them.

When Zhao Hexi saw the price, she felt her heart bleed. "This is way too expensive!"

Qing Mengzhu accepted it readily. "We sold our chili seedlings for much more than others."

Zhao Hexi then recovered. "That's true. I had forgotten that you're a shrewd businessman too."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at him speechlessly. Their chilies were clearly of good quality, which was why they were so expensive. They weren't selling inferior products at exorbitant prices.

Zhao Hexi chuckled twice and changed the subject, "The New Year is almost here. When does the holiday start? Should we have a meeting to discuss it?"

Qing Mengzhu: "We'll have a unified holiday from New Year's Eve to the third day of the Lunar New Year. From the fourth day onwards, we'll work in shifts. We can't leave the fields for too long. People from the Ministry of the Science and Technology Department can come back to work a little later, but you can come back a little earlier."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, I'll come back to work after the first day of the Lunar New Year. Anyway, I don't want to be pressured to get married every day at home."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Actually, it won't be too busy during the New Year. The main thing is to inspect the fields."

Zhao Hexi: "I know. So what's the budget for the New Year? Are we giving gift bags or red envelopes this year?"

Qing Mengzhu: "We haven't even received the food for the red envelopes yet. If we're going to give out gift packages, we'll have to go outside to buy them. Let's order our New Year's Eve dinner first, eat early, give out the red envelopes early, and leave work early."

With the Chinese New Year approaching, Zhao Hexi, the vice president, is actually the busiest person. Even though he doesn't have to deal with fruit trees and crops for the time being, he still has a lot of miscellaneous tasks to do.

Besides arranging things for the staff, they also had to send blessing messages to the members of their community agriculture organization.

Qing Mengzhu can't just sit back and do nothing either. The holiday is coming up soon, so she needs to keep an eye on the vegetables in the fields and resolve any problems before the holiday.

Otherwise, if any problems arise during the holiday, they'll have to step in themselves, and they'll probably have a lot of work to do during the Spring Festival.

This year is different from previous years.

He used to be single, but this year he got together with Ming Chunxi. Although they didn't get married or have a wedding, it felt like they had started a family.

How to spend the Chinese New Year is also a question.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed, "How should we spend this year? Should we visit Auntie on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Or should we stay at Auntie's place for the entire holiday?"

Ming Chunxi looked at him with gentle eyes. "What are your plans? Would you mind staying at Ms. Ming's place for a couple of days?"

Qing Mengzhu scratched her cheek. "It would be a bit strange to move in there, but it also seems a bit odd that you didn't go home during the first year of our relationship?"

Ming Chunxi: "You still want to stay at home?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It also depends on your opinion. How would you like to arrange it?"

Ming Chunxi thought for a moment, "It shouldn't be a problem to take the Dharma Protector and Guard to Ms. Ming's place, but it's not convenient for Little Otter and Little Fox. Would you mind if Ms. Ming came to stay here for a few days?"

Qing Mengzhu exclaimed with delight, "I don't mind at all!"

After saying that, Qing Mengzhu asked a little shyly, "Won't Auntie find it inconvenient?"

Ming Chunxi: "Probably not. She really likes the village, saying the air is better and it's more liberating. I'll talk to her about it again."

Chapter 132

On the morning of the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Qing Mengzhu hired a cleaning lady to clean the house. He also cleaned the front and back of the house and trimmed the potted plants.

In the afternoon, Qing Pingdun delivered the package to his door.

He sat in the warm sunshine, unpacking packages, with his two dogs beside him.

Among the many packages he ordered were clothes for two dogs.

The weather has been cold lately, and it has snowed several times. They were worried that their dogs would get cold, so they prepared light down vests for both dogs.

The two dogs have been wearing down vests for almost half a month and are already quite used to them. Qing Mengzhu bought red down vests and plans to dress the two dogs in them for the Chinese New Year to add a festive atmosphere.

Just as Qing Mengzhu was working, the doorbell rang.

Qing Mengzhu went out to open the door, only to find Tan Wenlei standing there.

"Mengzhu!" Tan Wenlei held up a large basin, his face beaming. "My family fried some dough sticks, and my wife asked me to bring you a basin of them."

Qing Mengzhu looked at the large, deep basin in his hands. "This is too much."

Tan Wenlei: "There are several kinds of fillings inside. I guess you don't fry them at home, so I brought them over for you to try. Are you unpacking the package?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, I bought New Year's goods, and I unpacked them all today."

Tan Wenlei chuckled twice, "My family has been buying groceries for many years now, mostly from my daughter. Some of the packages are still unopened."

Qing Mengzhu was happy that his family could be reunited. "That's great, it'll be lively."

Tan Wenlei: "Yes, it's very lively right now."

Qing Mengzhu took the large basin from Tan Wenlei and carried it to the kitchen. She poured out all the fried food from the basin and then took a leg of lamb as a return gift. "This is a leg of lamb we just bought. Please try it."

Tan Wenlei: "Wow, this lamb leg looks delicious! Mengzhu."

Qing Mengzhu: "You're welcome, Happy New Year."

After Tan Wenlei returned home, Qing Mengzhu sat in the courtyard and continued unpacking packages.

Besides clothes, there were also snacks, couplets, tools, and the like. He unpacked and categorized them as he went, and also tidied up the cardboard boxes.

After the New Year, when people come from all over the streets to collect recyclables, these cardboard boxes can be sold—collecting them can earn you tens of yuan at a time.

The two dogs sat beside him the whole time, their big eyes showing great interest, and a hint of wanting to destroy the house.