Chapter 162

The red fox, too lazy to pay attention to this childish human, lay down on the ground, stuck its muzzle into its abdomen, and pretended to sleep while waiting for dinner.

The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. With dinner time approaching, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi chatted as Qing Mengzhu stood up to clear the table and prepare to serve the dishes.

Just then, Qing Mengzhu's phone rang.

Qing Mengzhu doesn't like answering the phone, so she has set up a function to filter unknown calls. Now, the only people who can call are acquaintances.

He was a little puzzled; who would be looking for him at this hour, when everyone had already left work?

He picked up his phone and saw that it was Pei Guangjian calling—the engineer who had bought their bamboo before.

Ming Chunxi was standing next to Qing Mengzhu. Seeing the surprised look on Qing Mengzhu's face, he leaned closer and asked, "Who?"

Qing Mengzhu flashed her phone. "Mr. Pei."

Ming Chunxi: "What does he want with us? Could it be that something went wrong with that batch of bamboo?"

Chapter 162

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi were puzzled as to why Pei Guangjian had called.

The two exchanged a glance, Qing Mengzhu answered the phone.

Pei Guangjian first apologized for bothering him so late, and then politely asked if he could bring someone over to visit him, saying that the leaders of the head office wanted to come and visit.

Qing Mengzhu said no problem, but it would be better if fewer people came, so the two arranged to meet the next day.

While Qing Mengzhu was on the phone, everyone and every animal in the yard held their breath and strained to listen to him.

After he hung up the phone, he saw several pairs of bright eyes and couldn't help but rub his arm. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Zhao Hexi, with Dharma Protector in her left arm and Guard in her right, said, "Sounds like we have more business coming our way?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's also possible that it's not a business deal."

Zhao Hexi: "If it weren't for business, why would you call so late?"

Before Qing Mengzhu could answer, Zhao Hexi emphasized, "And I heard it all. Isn't that Mr. Pei the engineer who bought your bamboo before? I also heard Old Gu say a couple of days ago that he saw a new paper on bamboo fiber in a top journal. Just by looking at the publishing institution, I knew it was a research result made from your bamboo."

Qing Mengzhu hadn't paid attention to this at all. "They published a paper, and it was even published in a top journal, so fast?"

Zhao Hexi scoffed, "That's right. Big companies have plenty of money, extensive connections, and significant influence. Publishing papers is much easier for them than for us."

Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.. is finding it very difficult to publish papers.

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll take a look later."

Zhao Hexi: "I'll have Old Gu send the link right away."

Qing Mengzhu stopped her, saying, "It's already so late, let's not look for Dr. Gu anymore. We can find the papers ourselves."

Zhao Hexi glanced at Ming Chunxi: "Alright, you guys should be able to find the papers pretty quickly too."

Just as they were chatting, Zhou Yan called out from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready! Come and bring the dishes!"

Zhao Hexi jumped up from her chair. "Coming!"

Seeing him about to run to the kitchen, Qing Mengzhu quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar. "Wash your hands first!!!"

Ming Chunxi laughed beside her, while Qing Mengzhu winked at Ming Chunxi, indicating that she would keep an eye on this unhygienic guy.

Soon, after feeding the children, they set out dinner.

Zhou Yan asked, "Any new business opportunities?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I don't know yet, maybe. We'll have to talk about it tomorrow to find out the specifics."

Zhou Yan: "Should we prepare lunch in advance? Why don't you bring them to the farm for lunch, so you don't have to cook for yourselves?"

Qing Mengzhu: "No need. I'll call your kitchen if needed. The person might not stay here for too long anyway."

Zhou Yan's cooking skills were impeccable; all the dishes on the table were delicious, especially the stir-fried asparagus, which was fresh, crisp, and tender, and tasted fantastic. Qing Mengzhu really enjoyed this dish he made.

Ming Chunxi said that he would like to learn from Zhou Yan when he has free time.

After the meal, Qing Mengzhu brewed some honey plum tea.

Their dried plums are made by sun-drying plums from the mountains. They pick the ripe plums, spread them on the rooftop to dry in the sun, and then store them in sealed jars.

In some places, dried plums are smoked, which makes them darker, shinier, and more oily, and they are also a main ingredient in traditional sour plum soup.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi didn't like the smell of smoke and felt that the method was unhealthy, so they opted for sun-drying instead.

Tea brewed from sun-dried plums has a refreshing plum-sour flavor, and it tastes delicious with honey.

Qing Mengzhu brewed plum and honey tea today, not only to aid digestion, but also because it's too late now, and brewing tea leaves directly might affect her sleep tonight.

However, the combination of plum honey tea and honey cheesecake creates a perfect balance.

The rich, sweet aroma and the refreshing plum tea make for a perfect match.

Qing Mengzhu ate the honey cheesecake, she couldn't help but marvel at Zhou Yan's skill. "Brother Zhou, your cooking is amazing! This cake is so warm, rich, fragrant, and sweet!"

Zhou Yan was also a little proud. "It's really delicious. As soon as I tasted the honey this afternoon, I felt I absolutely had to have a slice of honey cheesecake. This honey goes so well with the high-quality cheese that our kitchen buys."

Qing Mengzhu tasted it carefully. "Yes, yes, the aroma is very strong, the layers are very distinct, it's rich and sweet, I can feel the fragrance of this cake in every cell of my mouth."

Zhou Yan: "Really? Only the best ingredients can bring out the flavor of these relatively simple pastries. Speaking of which, I'm really looking forward to your milk. I wonder what the dairy products you make will taste like when you have milk?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I don't know either, it should be a long time from now. We have to wait until the calves grow up before we breed them, and then they'll have offspring. I guess we'll have milk by this time next year."

Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan chatted, while the other two remained silent.

Ming Chunxi was never one to talk much, so Qing Mengzhu didn't find it strange that he remained silent.

However, Zhao Hexi, who was standing next to him, remained silent, which was rather puzzling.

Qing Mengzhu looked at Zhao Hexi, and Zhou Yan also looked over.

Zhao Hexi noticed their gazes and held up an empty plate. "Could I have another piece of cake?"

Zhou Yan said regretfully, "No, I made it according to the number of people. Once it's divided up, there's no more left, including the little one."

Zhao Hexi sighed, "So I have nothing to say. It was so delicious that I'm already looking forward to eating it again right after we finished."

Qing Mengzhu and the others had always admired Zhou Yan's cooking skills. Feeling a little embarrassed that Zhou Yan bothered them with cooking and baking a cake today, they simply gave him the remaining honey and some ferns they had picked from the mountain.

It's a waste to leave such good ingredients with them; giving them to Zhou Yan would allow him to make better use of them.

Anyway, the honey will be harvested again in a while, so Qing Mengzhu won't be stingy in this kind of place.

In return, Zhou Yan sent his apprentice over with a batch of strawberry cookies early the next morning.

The strawberries are from their company. The baked strawberry jam retains a bit of chewiness, and the concentrated strawberry flavor is very fragrant. Paired with butter cookies, it tastes surprisingly delicious.

After having cookies and oatmeal for breakfast, Ming Chunxi went to work, while Qing Mengzhu stayed home to prepare to entertain Pei Guangjian and his company's leaders.

At 8:50 a. m., Pei Guangjian and his boss arrived on time.

Qing Mengzhu brewed tea at home and served cookies to her guest.

Pei Guangjian's superior was named Duan Yu'ang. He was very polite, but his eyes had a sharp glint in them, and he looked very capable, exuding an air of authority without being angry.

Qing Mengzhu could tell at a glance that the other person had been in a high position for a long time and must be a leader with real power.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Duan Yu'ang praised Qing Mengzhu's tea, then quickly got to the point. "President Qing, I heard you have even better quality bamboo here?"