Chapter 157

After finishing his drink, Pei Guangjian first praised, "Your fresh bamboo juice is really good; it truly deserves to be your company's star product."

Qing Mengzhu: "Really? Our bamboo is definitely worth that price."

Pei Guangjian smiled wryly, "I don't doubt the price, but it is indeed a bit expensive. We can't afford such a high price."

Qing Mengzhu expressed her regret. "Then we'll have the opportunity to collaborate again."

Pei Guangjian pondered, "Do you have any plans to put fresh bamboo juice on the shelves later? I see that you're making fresh bamboo juice first, and then using the bamboo to make bamboo vinegar—"

Qing Mengzhu sensed the hidden meaning in his words and gestured for him to continue with her eyes.

Pei Guangjian: "If your family is interested in continuing to brew fresh bamboo sap, could you please send us the bamboo that has been used to brew the sap?"

Qing Mengzhu's heart skipped a beat. "Bamboo that has been boiled with fresh bamboo sap?"

Pei Guangjian: "Yes, making fresh bamboo sap only requires roasting over a fire, and that little heat shouldn't damage the bamboo's structure. But it's hard to say for sure; if you'd like, we'd like to try."

Qing Mengzhu had never really considered the secondary use of bamboo after boiling fresh bamboo sap; they usually just sent it directly to boil bamboo vinegar.

Because the demand for bamboo vinegar is not very high, they usually brew fresh bamboo juice only when there is demand, and then sell the fresh bamboo juice on their official website. Usually, a batch of fresh bamboo juice can be sold out within a week.

Hearing Pei Guangjian say this now, Qing Mengzhu felt that there was really a chance.

If there are other ways to use the bamboo after it has been boiled with fresh bamboo sap, they could boil it year-round, since the bamboo grows quite quickly anyway.

Qing Mengzhu hesitated for a moment and said, "Whether it will work or not, we'll know once we try. I'll arrange for people to go up the mountain to cut bamboo and brew fresh bamboo sap."

Pei Guangjian: "It's wonderful that you're willing to consider my proposal. We look forward to your good news."

Qing Mengzhu: "If you're not busy, you can wait here. It will be ready in three hours."

Pei Guangjian originally wanted to leave, but after hearing what he said, he decided to wait at his house.

Qing Mengzhu called Tan Wenlei over to help, and they quickly went up the mountain to cut bamboo and brought it back to brew fresh bamboo juice.

They just wanted to make a small batch to test it out, so they made it by hand instead of using a factory.

Pei Guangjian and his team had certain requirements regarding the length and maturity of the bamboo. Qing Mengzhu and Tan Wenlei specially cut down old bamboo, split it in half, and then cut each half into two sections. They set up a charcoal fire in the backyard and manually boiled fresh bamboo juice.

Simmering fresh bamboo juice over charcoal doesn't require very high temperatures; once finished, the bamboo retains its original color and won't carbonize.

Today was just an experiment. After boiling the fresh bamboo sap, Qing Mengzhu handed the bamboo over to Pei Guangjian and the others so they could take it back and check if the bamboo that had been boiled with the fresh bamboo sap was usable. If it was usable, then the price of this batch of bamboo would be greatly reduced.

They didn't make much fresh bamboo juice this time, Qing Mengzhu was too lazy to put it on the shelves, so she simply gave it to Zhou Yan to sell as a beverage at the farm.

Fresh bamboo juice has always been defined by them as a health product rather than a medicine, and it can also be sold as a beverage.

Zhou Yan had no objections to this and even gave feedback to Qing Mengzhu: "Both tables of guests today ordered fresh bamboo juice when they heard it was available, and they were pleasantly surprised. If we have more fresh bamboo juice later, could we send some to the farm as well? I see that there's quite a demand for health foods and medicinal cuisine."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's talk about it later. Mr. Pei and the others may not necessarily need the bamboo that can withstand the sap."

Zhou Yan said confidently, "They'll definitely want it. They might even want an exclusive deal. Want to make a bet?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "No betting, Brother Zhou, don't even think about smuggling anything good from us."

Chapter 157

Qing Mengzhu didn't take Pei Guangjian's situation to heart.

His family's bamboo is of high quality and has many uses. Whether Pei Guangjian and his group buy it or not, his family's bamboo will still make money.

Qing Mengzhu wasn't in a hurry, but Pei Guangjian was much more anxious.

Before the experimental results were even available, Pei Guangjian's company sent him and his team to discuss with Qing Mengzhu the purchase of bamboo that had been used to extract fresh bamboo sap.

Pei Guangjian honestly replied, "Our company has tested it, and the bamboo after boiling fresh bamboo juice is still usable. When are you available? We can discuss the price and sign a contract."

Qing Mengzhu had already discussed it with Ming Chunxi. Hearing Pei Guangjian's words, Qing Mengzhu offered the price she had already decided on. "How about five thousand per ton?"

Qing Mengzhu explained, "This price is about three to five times that of ordinary bamboo, but as you know, the quality of our bamboo is much higher than that of ordinary bamboo, so five thousand per ton is not high."

Pei Guangjian was stunned not because he thought Qing Mengzhu's price was high, but on the contrary Qing Mengzhu's price was lower than he had expected.

He quickly realized what was going on and said with delight, "Absolutely no problem! We can even offer an extra five hundred per ton, all you need to do is sign an exclusive contract with us."

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi had also considered this issue. "An exclusive contract is acceptable, but it can only be signed for three years for now."

Pei Guangjian: "Okay, I'll report your intentions to the leadership right away."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "We'll wait for your good news. We'll contact you by phone if anything comes up."

Pei Guangjian's superiors were also surprised that Qing Mengzhu agreed so quickly this time. They were very happy and, fearing that something might go wrong if they delayed, they quickly brought Pei Guangjian and others over with the contract the next day.

Qing Mengzhu arranged to meet them at the farm, and even brought her lawyer along.

Pei Guangjian's company already had a strong liking for Qing Mengzhu's bamboo products. Upon learning that this massive farm, where vegetables were also extremely expensive, was also owned by his family, Pei Guangjian's superiors subconsciously became more cautious and their attitude became even more humble.

Qing Mengzhu didn't care. After confirming with the lawyer that there were no problems with the contract, he carefully signed his name.

The bamboo he was selling belonged to him personally, but was handled by a company—the agency fee was negligible, since Qing Mengzhu had brought in the business himself, and the company only needed to help with accounting and tax matters.

After signing the contract, Qing Mengzhu treated everyone to dinner.

Pei Guangjian's superior praised the farm's vegetables highly, regretted not being able to become a member of Qing Mengzhu's company, and said he would definitely make the time to buy them next year.

Qing Mengzhu simply smiled and welcomed the other party's continued business patronage.

The contract was signed, Qing Mengzhu's bamboo production capacity was limited, so deliveries could only be made in batches.

This quarter only requires the delivery of thirty tons, so it's not too troublesome.

He led his men up the mountain to cut down bamboo, handed over the task of boiling fresh bamboo sap to a familiar contract manufacturer, and sent someone to supervise it. After that, he had nothing more to do.

At present, Qing Mengzhu's main work is still in the fields, especially his own farmland.

He would inspect the farmland every morning and then plan out the day's work schedule.

The Rice seedlings growing in the paddy field have already grown to over an inch tall, and transplanting can be arranged in about half a month.

Before the rice seedlings are officially transplanted, he has to find someone to plow the paddy field again and then apply base fertilizer.

The fertilizer was used up too quickly in the spring. The fertilizer fermented with fertilizer fermentation powder and Spirit Pearl Dregs was almost used up again. I need to take some time to buy another batch of fermentation powder and Spirit Pearl Dregs to ferment the materials to be used in the next quarter.

While lost in thought, Qing Mengzhu rubbed her forehead as she walked towards the pond.

The bamboo branches that were cut down earlier have been soaking in water for some time now. He needs to check on the rooting of the bamboo branches, and then, after Zhao Hexi officially rents the mountain, he will arrange for people to plant these bamboos on the mountain.

Qing Mengzhu was lost in his own thoughts and didn't pay much attention to his surroundings. By the time he realized what was happening, a large crowd had already gathered around him.

He chuckled, "What are you doing, crowding around me?"

The people surrounding him pushed and shoved each other, until finally one of them was pushed forward and said to Qing Mengzhu, "Boss, with so many bamboo seedlings, isn't that enough to plant three mountains?"

Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "That's right, my family used to grow bamboo; thirty or forty plants per acre were enough."