Chapter 145 (continued)

They searched for a while, Qing Mengzhu suddenly came back. "This!"

Ming Chunxi leaned closer to look. "A rush pith and rapeseed?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes! The internet says it can accumulate heavy metals, absorbing them from the soil into the vegetables, and can also secrete protons and organic acids to regulate the soil."

Ming Chunxi said thoughtfully, "Perhaps the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent used similar crops."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's possible. I'll search on the Interstellar Mall to see if there are any related crops."

Qing Mengzhu took out her phone and searched the Interstellar Mall as well.

To their surprise, the Interstellar Mall actually had many plants that could improve soil, ranging in price from tens of Star Coins to millions of Star Coins.

They pulled from top to bottom, almost not reaching the end.

Qing Mengzhu carefully looked through the names of the plants and said to Ming Chunxi, "I don't recognize most of them."

Ming Chunxi pointed with her finger. "Many places even prohibit our world from purchasing them."

Qing Mengzhu a closer look. "It really is."

They set up screening criteria and sifted through all the soil-improving plants available for purchase in this world. They found that most of them were leguminous forage grasses and food crops, which improved the soil by fixing nitrogen and improving the soil's physical structure.

Ming Chunxi: "Let's set some keywords and see if there are any plants related to rapeseed?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll give it a try."

The two set a new set of keywords and actually found a plant related to Brassica oleracea called "Tuan Brassica". Looking at the picture above, it looks quite similar to "Rhus chinensis" on Earth. Maybe it's an improved version of the same thing.

Qing Mengzhu's eyes lit up immediately; once she was sure she could buy it, she went straight to check the price.

In an instant, the price caught his eye.

150,000 Star Coins and 50 grams of seeds.

Qing Mengzhu felt as if he couldn't exhale, his breath was stuck in his chest.

"Fifteen thousand!" Qing Mengzhu gritted her teeth and read it aloud, "What's the difference between this and outright robbery?!"

Ming Chunxi: "We came here specifically to empty our account balance."

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes! They're charging us patent fees. It's too expensive!"

Qing Mengzhu looked at it carefully again. "It's only a 'Fine Grade+' seed, what makes it so special?!"

Not to mention, the product details specifically state that Tuan Brassica is inedible due to its high concentration of heavy metals and requires special processing.

This price is too high; even if they wanted to buy it, they couldn't afford it.

Don't be fooled by the large balance in my account. I have plenty of things to do with Star Coins lately, so there's no way I'd spend such a large Star Coins on this Tuan Brassica.

The two sat in the chairs, looking at each other, both knowing that this was definitely not their spending level.

However, there aren't many crops that can improve soil quality, so it would be quite a pity for them not to buy them.

With the Interstellar Mall, they can do many things, and even if they don't say it, they have a sense of social responsibility.

Furthermore, even disregarding social responsibility, a plant that can improve soil would be incredibly popular if it were marketed, and might even receive orders from the government. At that point, their company wouldn't be just another unknown local enterprise.

"It's too expensive." Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "It's like we want to buy it, but we can't afford it."

After thinking for a moment, Qing Mengzhu muttered again, "This Tuan Brassica should be useful. The Interstellar Mall is a bit of a rip-off, but it's not really a scam."

Ming Chunxi stared at the screen, his eyes flickering.

Qing Mengzhu knew from his expression that he had other ideas. She thought to herself, "Wait a minute, I think I've thought of a way to get something for nothing."

Ming Chunxi looked up. "I thought of that too."

Qing Mengzhu slapped his hand, grasped it, and asked with bright eyes, "What did you think of? Is it what I'm thinking?"

Ming Chunxi uttered only two words: "Make a wish."

Qing Mengzhu laughed heartily, "Then we've come up with the same idea!"

Qing Mengzhu quickly opened her personal center and found her inventory.

During the Chinese New Year, the Interstellar Mall gave them three gifts, one of which was a "Wish Seed".

The way to use the Wish Seed is that they can choose any seed in the Interstellar Mall that is worth no more than 10,000 Star Coins and that they are eligible to purchase in this plane.

The seeds of Tuan Brassica perfectly meet this requirement.

Fifty grams of seeds cost 150,000 Star Coins; the price of a single seed certainly does not exceed 10,000 Star Coins.

Qing Mengzhu couldn't contain her excitement. "Then I'll choose!"

Ming Chunxi stood beside him. "Choose."

Qing Mengzhu quickly selected a Tuan Brassica seed according to the rules of the Interstellar Mall.

The seeds of the Tuan Brassica are quite small, like tiny sesame seeds in your hand, but they are quite plump. In Qing Mengzhu's professional opinion, this seed has excellent vitality and will definitely germinate quickly after being planted.

Ming Chunxi asked, "How do we plant it?"

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "Let's just plant them in flowerpots. We'll prepare a pot of soil first, record the data, and then record the data again after we've planted the Tuan Brassica. We'll see how well the Tuan Brassica performs then."

Ming Chunxi: "Just plant it in the yard?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes! Keep them under our watchful eyes, lest they be harmed by something."

Qing Mengzhu had high expectations for the planting results of the Tuan Brassica, and arranged for Li Ba to test the soil the next day.

As their company has grown, they now have more and more instruments and personnel, and they are capable of testing soil.

After Li Ba started working at the company, he mostly did his work in a routine manner. However, when he received his first task from his boss, he became much more serious.

He personally took the soil to the laboratory for testing, intending to send the test results to his boss as soon as possible.

At noon, Gu Benshu came to find Li Ba for lunch. Seeing him busy in the lab, he was a little surprised. "What are you busy with? You're so engrossed in your work."

Li Ba: "The boss asked me to test a batch of soil."

Although Gu Benshu is nominally Li Ba's superior, he has been busy with the Biological Missile project lately and has no energy to supervise Li Ba's side. The two groups have not been communicating with each other for some time.

Seeing how busy Li Ba, Gu Benshu casually asked, "Are you preparing for the summer crops?"

Li Ba shook his head, indicating he didn't know. "I'm not quite sure about its purpose, but the boss wants us to test it thoroughly, including all physical, chemical, and biological indicators."

Gu Benshu was surprised. "That's quite comprehensive this time. How were the test results?"

Li Ba: "Not good. Judging from the numbers, it's probably moderately polluted soil."

Gu Benshu knew immediately that this wasn't the kind of environment their company was in, so he didn't ask any more questions and just urged Li Ba to come out and eat quickly.

Qing Mengzhu wasn't too surprised when he received the test report; he had dug the soil from the roadside.

Besides pesticide pollution, there is also vehicle exhaust pollution, so it's not surprising that the soil is moderately polluted.

Now we'll see how well the Tuan Brassica can purify this soil.

When Zhao Hexi came to Qing Mengzhu to discuss important matters, she noticed a new plant in his house and couldn't help but take a second look.

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "What are you looking at?"

Zhao Hexi asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that the yard was too crowded after the well was dug, and you moved all the extra potted plants out? What's this?"

Qing Mengzhu: "An experimental type of mustard."

Zhao Hexi's eyes lit up instantly. "Is it particularly delicious mustard greens? I quite like pickled mustard greens."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at him. "No, it's a type of mustard that can absorb heavy metals from the soil and is inedible."

Zhao Hexi lost interest and said disappointedly, "I thought it would be delicious. Anyway, let's get back to business. Um, the vegetable packs for the first week of March need to be prepared. Which kinds of vegetables do you want?"