Chapter 139 (continued)

Tan Wenlei: "Yes, silkworms are very fragile. Silkworm farmers are hesitant to spray pesticides on mulberry trees, so the mulberry leaves are actually more tender than regular leaves."

Hearing them say that, Qing Mengzhu became curious as well. "Then I'll try it and see how it tastes. You can take some if you want. If I had known earlier that mulberry leaves were edible, I would have told you to pick out some of the tender ones and leave them out."

Tan Wenlei: "It's not too late now. There are still many mulberry leaves in the orchard that haven't been picked. The mulberry leaves grow too fast in spring, so I estimate we'll have to pick some more in a couple of days."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Alright, I'll give it a try first and see how to arrange things."

Qing Mengzhu planned to eat mulberry leaves, so she specially Zhao Hexi to come over for dinner that evening.

Zhao Hexi had also heard about it and specifically asked him, "Are we having a mulberry leaf feast tonight?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Which animal in our family is a herbivore? How could they only eat mulberry leaves?"

Zhao Hexi became interested. "It's good that it's not a mulberry leaf feast. I'll come over when I'm done with my work."

When Zhao Hexi arrived, Qing Mengzhu was cleaning the fish.

Zhao Hexi glanced at it and said, "Where did these fish come from? Did you send Little Otter down to the river to catch fish again?"

Qing Mengzhu: "The fish today are really unusual. This afternoon, when I was carrying vegetables out of the field, I went to wash my hands in the ditch by the roadside and immediately saw many small fish swimming around. I grabbed a basket and scooped some up, and caught quite a few small fish."

Zhao Hexi was shocked. "Is the ecosystem so good now? You can just scoop fish out of the ditches?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "Not all ditches have a lot of fish. The ditches near our fields have a lot of fish, and the ditches near the company's fields also have quite a few fish, but the other ditches in the village don't have as many fish."

Zhao Hexi: "That's probably because I don't use pesticides much, and even when I do, I often use plant-derived pesticides."

Qing Mengzhu: "That must be the reason. Fish reproduce so quickly; they can produce a batch in just a few months."

After exchanging a few words, Zhao Hexi offered to help, Qing Mengzhu asked him to take the vegetables out of the basket, wash them, and then chop them.

Zhao Hexi took out the vegetables one by one, and the more she took, the more something seemed off. "Cabbage, radish, kale... are these all vegetables grown in the company's fields?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, isn't March coming soon? Let's taste the first batch of vegetables the company grew to see how they turned out. If there's anything wrong, we still have time to make adjustments."

Zhao Hexi: "Is this really why you called me here?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Or what?"

Qing Mengzhu's family has many delicious ingredients, such as bamboo shoots from the mountain, lotus roots from the water, and peppers and tomatoes that are still growing. But today, they didn't use any of these delicious ingredients and used only ordinary ingredients grown by the company.

The meal consisted of mulberry leaf and lean pork soup, braised beef brisket with radish, stir-fried bok choy, cabbage salad, and shredded chicken—a total of four dishes and a soup.

Looking at the ordinary dishes, Zhao Hexi felt a little disappointed. "Having gotten used to the homemade ingredients you usually cook, the smell of the ingredients from the company suddenly doesn't seem so appealing."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's alright, I think it smells quite nice."

Upon returning, Ming Chunxi entered the kitchen and casually put her arm around Qing Mengzhu's waist. "I also think it smells wonderful, very refreshing."

Zhao Hexi glanced at Ming Chunxi: "Chunxi, you're just blind."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's eat."

Qing Mengzhu first tasted the mulberry leaf and lean pork soup.

Mulberry leaves do indeed have a refreshing taste; the flavor isn't the traditional savory taste, but rather has a hint of spring.

After a long winter, a bowl of this refreshing mulberry leaf soup is quite nice and makes you feel refreshed.

As for the other dishes, Qing Mengzhu thought they were quite delicious, but to say they were amazing wouldn't be an exaggeration.

These dishes taste like ordinary home-style cooking, evoking feelings of home and not disappointing, but they also offer no particular surprises.

Qing Mengzhu, perhaps accustomed to eating vegetables grown at home, felt that the company's vegetables were somewhat lacking.

After everyone had finished tasting the dishes, Zhao Hexi said first, "These dishes are pretty good. The bok choy is sweet and has no fibrous parts, the mulberry leaves are very fragrant, the braised beef brisket with radish is also very soft, tender, and sweet, and the cabbage salad is also very palatable."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Passed, but not quite excellent."

Zhao Hexi: "It's not that our vegetables are amazing; if you look carefully, even old ladies on the street sell vegetables of this quality. But relatively speaking, our vegetables are safe and healthy, which is also an advantage."

Qing Mengzhu: "That makes sense."

Ming Chunxi: "Generally speaking, radishes and cabbages are relatively inexpensive. The radishes and cabbages we tried today are indeed difficult to differentiate from other vegetables. Tomorrow, we'll try tomatoes, cilantro, strawberries, and other more nutritious vegetables; that should be fine."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "I'll pick some more tomorrow and try again. I hope to make a splash right from the start and not leave the members with a mediocre impression."

Their tomatoes were a top choice among spring vegetables, and at the time, they used seeds from their own third-generation seeds.

After two generations of improvements, the quality of the tomatoes has been further enhanced, with a very rich tomato flavor. They taste great even on their own, and you absolutely can't buy them anywhere else.

Unlike regular radishes and cabbages, which can be bought elsewhere, these are not readily available.

Their community agriculture services are particularly expensive, so none of them dared to cheat them.

Nobody's stupid. If you fool them the first time, some members will definitely see through it and cut their losses in time.

Their current focus is on getting the vegetables to their optimal condition and successfully delivering the first vegetable package in the first week of March.

The next day, Qing Mengzhu indeed picked tomatoes, cilantro, celery, and strawberries and returned, intending to conduct a second batch of vegetable tasting.

This time, Qing Mengzhu specially invited Zhou Yan over, wanting to hear Zhou Yan's evaluation.

As a professional chef, Zhou Yan certainly has a deeper understanding of ingredients than they do.

Zhou Yan happily agreed to their request, and even brought over a ham in the evening. "Are you going to start selling your vegetables now?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It won't be that fast. We're just testing it out first to see if there are any problems. That way, we can adjust things in time if any issues arise."

Zhou Yan nodded. "Of course, it's such a big business. So, you'll be cooking today?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, I'm going to try my cooking today. Brother Zhou, please pay attention to the ingredients when we eat. If my cooking isn't very good, please be lenient."

Zhou Yan: "Haha, relax. I know your cooking skills. You're not quite up to par for grand banquets, but you're absolutely fine with home-style dishes."

Qing Mengzhu then handed him the washed strawberries. "Try these strawberries first, I'll cook right away."

Zhou Yan: "Mengzhu. By the way, how are the bamboo worms on your mountain? Are there any left?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, but not as many as before. Our hazel grouse eat bamboo worms, and other birds living in the bamboo forest also eat them. Gradually, the number of bamboo worms has decreased, and we haven't gone up the mountain to look for them for a long time. If you want some, I can find you a batch in the next couple of days."

Zhou Yan: "I want some! A big customer is coming soon, and I'm worried about what dishes to prepare. If you have any bamboo worms, sell me some, half a pound or a pound would be fine."

Qing Mengzhu: "Okay, I'll go up the mountain to look for some tomorrow. You should try some strawberries."

Zhou Yan was so busy talking that he didn't have time to put the strawberry in his mouth. Now that he heard him remind him, he quickly put a strawberry in his mouth.

The strawberries now have a sweet aroma. Because this batch of strawberries from Qing Mengzhu's family is the first batch, they are not particularly large, and are a little smaller than the strawberries on the market.

Zhou Yan popped one into his mouth, one in a single bite.

The moment the strawberry enters your mouth, its unique berry flavor bursts forth, cool, soft, and sweet, with a rich strawberry aroma filling your entire oral cavity and nasal passages.