Chapter 148

Qing Mengzhu: "Me too. If we find any good ingredients, we'll rummage through the store."

They had just talked about ingredients that morning, and then Zhao Hexi came to see Qing Mengzhu in the afternoon to discuss ingredients as well.

Zhao Hexi said, "We've already made two identical vegetable packs, and now some members are suggesting that we add some variety to the third vegetable pack in March?"

Qing Mengzhu didn't mind changing the vegetables in the vegetable pack. "The green beans should be almost ready, let's add more green beans to the third vegetable pack."

Zhao Hexi: "It's not much, there are so many vegetable packets. I'm thinking, should we add mulberry leaves to the vegetable packets? Our mulberry leaves are growing quite well."

They've eaten mulberry leaves before, and they do taste quite good. There are plenty of mulberry leaves available this season, so putting a little in each vegetable bag shouldn't be a problem.

Qing Mengzhu agreed, "Then you should create a questionnaire, adding the option of mulberry leaves, and let members choose for themselves. We suspect some members won't like mulberry leaves, so don't force them."

Zhao Hexi nodded. "Okay, that's definitely better. However, I'm thinking, since we've already added mulberry leaves, should we also add purple clover? Some members might want some wild vegetables?"

The milkvetch in their empty fields is growing quite well now. If they don't harvest it soon, they'll have to turn it over into the soil and then cultivate the land to prepare for planting summer vegetables.

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's make them all options, including pea shoots. I think some people might like pea shoots too."

Zhao Hexi said excitedly, "That adds three dishes, which is great! I see some of the mulberries are already ripe, so next week's vegetable and fruit packages can be changed to a choice between strawberries and mulberries."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's good, it's nice to have something new every week."

The third vegetable package is about to be distributed, but fortunately, after the experience with the first two vegetable packages, they are now quite familiar with the process and it is not too difficult for them.

Qing Mengzhu has been busy transplanting vegetable seedlings these past two days.

His family used all ten acres of land for seedling cultivation, barely enough to finish cultivating the seedlings for summer vegetables.

Seedlings of water spinach, Chinese cabbage, sweet potato, eggplant, chili pepper, loofah, bitter melon, winter melon, and pumpkin have been cultivated and will be planted successively. We aim to provide our members with new vegetables by April.

Leafy greens like water spinach and Chinese cabbage will definitely be available in April, followed by melons and lotus root.

Starting in April, their vegetable supply will increase, members will have more choices, and their community agriculture should develop even better.

The prerequisite is that they need to hurry and plant the vegetables as soon as possible.

The soil used for seedling cultivation has been treated with Soil Fertility Restoration Agent, and the seedlings that are now being cultivated are basically of "Good Grade+", especially the peppers, which have reached "Fine Grade quality".

This batch of chili peppers was saved from seeds from Qing Mengzhu's own chili peppers; they are the second generation of chili peppers in the family, so it's normal for them to be of better quality.

If the fertilizer and water supply are adequate, the vegetables grown may reach "Fine Grade" or "Fine Grade- " quality and become star vegetables for our members.

Putting everything else aside, with this particular chili pepper as a benchmark, members' reviews of their dishes are bound to be positive.

Qing Mengzhu attached great importance to vegetable cultivation and personally led people to transplant the plants.

He specifically emphasized that the soil around the roots should be shaken off when transplanting seedlings.

Everyone knows he cherishes the soil in his own fields, and they often tease him about it behind his back. But his soil is indeed excellent—loose, fertile, and with few pests. Even seasoned farmers are envious.

The soil from the Qing Mengzhu family is truly exceptional; anyone with eyes can see that.

That day, Nian Xinfei brought his students to visit the chili seedlings he had cultivated at his home. As they looked at them, they were also drawn to the soil in his yard.

Nian Xinfei squatted down and kneaded the soil from his yard. "How exactly do you mix your soil? How can you mix it so well? When I came to see it last year, it definitely wasn't like this."

Qing Mengzhu: "It just takes more time, effort, and money. Look at us, we've been planting milkvetch round after round, and we've been using organic fertilizers, from fermented fish and meat fertilizer to fermented vegetable fertilizer, and then to chicken manure, sheep manure, and cow manure. After all this time, how could the soil not be loose and fertile?"

Nian Xinfei: "Don't try to fool me. We've used plenty of organic fertilizer on our land, but it still doesn't reach this level."

Qing Mengzhu: "Did you put any living organisms in to improve it? I also put in a lot of earthworms, which I collected from various places."

Nian Xinfei had already noticed that there were many earthworms in their field. "Let me see, it seems there are more varieties of earthworms than usual. Shall I dig up a couple?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Go ahead and dig. If you're interested, you can just dig some up and take it back to your experimental site."

After such a long period of conditioning, the soil in his house is no longer lacking in earthworms. Nian Xinfei's project is a national project, Qing Mengzhu also hopes to be able to help in some way.

Of course, giving them items directly from the Interstellar Mall is definitely not an option, but giving them a few earthworms isn't a big deal.

Nian Xinfei was surprised by this unexpected joy and immediately agreed, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

As he spoke, Nian Xinfei called out to the students, "Give me a bucket, I'll dig it myself."

Qing Mengzhu: "You guys can dig up the earthworms over there. The vegetable seedlings have been moved, so it'll be easier to dig them up. Dig up as many as you like; earthworms reproduce quickly anyway."

There were already so many earthworms in their field that Zhao Hexi could dig them up to fish. Nian Xinfei dug up a few more, it wouldn't affect the field at all.

Chapter 148

That day, Qing Mengzhu was busy when her phone rang.

He took out his phone and glanced at the caller ID, discovering that it was Ji Qinglin calling.

Qing Mengzhu rarely contacted Professor Ji Qinglin, who studied lotus roots, and was a little puzzled. She wondered why he wanted to contact her, since it wasn't the season for planting lotus roots and it shouldn't be about discussing lotus roots.

Qing Mengzhu answered the phone with some doubt, and Ji Qinglin quickly explained his purpose—he also wanted some earthworms.

Qing Mengzhu: "What do you need earthworms for? Earthworms can't seem to survive underwater."

Ji Qinglin: "We don't just grow lotus roots; they can be used in other areas, and we want to dig some up to improve the soil."

Qing Mengzhu then understood and readily said, "Then bring your people over to dig. Do you have enough? Digging a bucket or two is no problem."

Ji Qinglin was overjoyed. "I knew you would agree! Thank you so much! I'll bring people over to dig this afternoon!"

Qing Mengzhu: "Then I'll wait for you in the field. Just call me when you arrive."

Ji Qinglin arrived as promised, and in the afternoon he actually brought several students with him.

One of the students was Cen Zhiming, whom Qing Mengzhu knew.

Qing Mengzhu was quite surprised to see Cen Zhiming winked smugly.

After Qing Mengzhu and the others finished exchanging pleasantries, Cen Zhiming took the opportunity to go to Qing Mengzhu's side and whispered, "This semester I joined Professor Ji's group, and I might take the entrance exam for Professor Ji's graduate program in the future."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "Congratulations! You've really made something of yourself."

Cen Zhiming: "Brother Mengzhu!"

After chuckling twice, Cen Zhiming said, "Hehe, thanks to you I learned a lot about growing lotus roots, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have been able to get into Professor Ji's group. I wanted to tell you before, and I wanted to give you a surprise."

Qing Mengzhu patted him on the shoulder. "It's quite a surprise."

Qing Mengzhu and Cen Zhiming weren't particularly close, but she was still happy to see the familiar kid with a bright future.

He was in a good mood, so he talked more and even discussed lotus root cultivation with Ji Qinglin and the others.

Although Qing Mengzhu did not specialize in lotus root research, the lotus products he grew commanded extremely high prices, making him a truly skilled lotus root grower. Everyone was happy to talk to him about lotus root cultivation.