Chapter 163

Qing Mengzhu was a little surprised, as he hadn't mentioned the superior quality bamboo to anyone. "You mean...?"

Duan Yu'ang: "We hope to obtain bamboo fiber with higher strength and better performance. If you have bamboo of better quality here, we would like to purchase a batch."

Qing Mengzhu: "Old bamboo would be better, but I don't know if it meets your requirements."

Duan Yu'ang: "Then will you show us around?"

Qing Mengzhu glanced at Duan Yu'ang's feet and noticed that he wasn't wearing leather shoes. The shoes he was wearing seemed quite suitable for walking on mountain paths, so she nodded. "If you're interested, of course you can."

Qing Mengzhu went to the tool shed and got a small chainsaw, intending to take the two of them up the mountain to take a look.

Since he was bringing his superiors along, it wouldn't be appropriate to drive a three-wheeled vehicle, so he specially drove a car and invited the two of them to sit down.

Duan Yu'ang: "Is the mountain where the bamboo is planted quite far from here?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's not very far, but it's quite tiring to walk there; driving is much more convenient."

Qing Mengzhu is no longer the naive young man who just returned to farming last year. Even if the leader acts very approachable, he can't possibly drag the leader along, huffing and puffing under the sun.

Driving is more in line with social etiquette.

Qing Mengzhu drove the car to the foot of the mountain, but the road up the mountain was impassable by vehicles and could only be traversed on foot.

Fortunately, Qing Mengzhu introduced the crops on the mountain as she led the two up the mountain, making the journey not boring.

Last year, Qing Mengzhu prepared for the growing attention their crops would receive, and all of their products were sent for inspection. So far, no problems have been found.

Their bamboo, too, tested positive and was still bamboo; there were no other unknown components, it was just that the quality was higher.

Now that we're going to take people to see it, Qing Mengzhu isn't afraid at all.

After climbing the mountain for more than twenty minutes, Qing Mengzhu led the two to the bamboo forest where the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent had been applied. "This batch is old bamboo, and its quality is higher than the previous bamboo. I'll cut one down to show you."

Qing Mengzhu spoke, she started the chainsaw.

The chainsaw hummed, cutting off a large amount of sawdust, demonstrating the sturdiness of the bamboo.

A glint of light flashed in Duan Yu'ang's eyes, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

Qing Mengzhu quickly cut down a bamboo stalk, trimmed off the excess branches and leaves, and showed it to Duan Yu'ang and Pei Guangjian: "This batch of bamboo had a longer planting cycle and used more fertilizer, so it's a little different."

Duan Yu'ang gripped the heavy bamboo and examined it carefully.

Just by looking at the cut, he noticed that the cut of this bamboo was different from that of other bamboo.

It's not the pale yellowish-white color of ordinary bamboo, but a deep yellow with a hint of red, clearly indicating it's an old bamboo.

Upon seeing this, Duan Yu'ang couldn't help but exclaim, "This bamboo is truly wonderful!"

Qing Mengzhu revealed a hint of pride and calmly accepted the praise, "We've put a lot of effort into this."

Chapter 163

Bamboo was the plant that Qing Mengzhu devoted the most effort to, and it also brought them the greatest rewards.

He hopes that one day, most of this batch of bamboo can be restored to "Superior Grade quality" and the mother bamboo can reach "Superior Grade quality".

Therefore, they continue to work hard to fertilize, loosen the soil, prune, and strengthen the care of the bamboo.

After examining the bamboo carefully, Duan Yu'ang asked, "Is this bamboo a type of moso bamboo?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Yes, it's moso bamboo. I bought it online, several batches in a row. Later, I mixed them up and didn't know which batch was from which seller, but they should all be moso bamboo."

Duan Yu'ang weighed the bamboo in his hand, then pinched the cross-section, and remarked, "It's really heavy, it has a bit of the feel of nanmu wood."

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, this is the best bamboo we have here. You can take some back and try it out first. If this batch of bamboo meets your requirements, we can discuss it further."

Duan Yu'ang understood his implied meaning and patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you for your support of our work."

Qing Mengzhu: "Of course, I hope I can help as well."

Duan Yu'ang they see the bamboo forest, Qing Mengzhu agreed, leading them on a stroll through it.

The bamboo grove belonging to Qing Mengzhu not only contains bamboo, but also medicinal herbs such as gastrodia elata, polygonatum sibiricum, and rehmannia glutinosa. In addition, they also saw wild bamboo fungus sprouting from the ground while they were wandering around.

Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that there are many good things in this bamboo forest.

While they were wandering around, many hazel groves ran around in the bamboo forest, and a herd of yellow cattle grazed without a care in the world.

The owl that lived in the bamboo forest, perhaps sensing the presence of strangers, flew out to glance at them before quickly flying away again.

The red fox also sensed the threat and hid behind the bamboo to investigate. Seeing Qing Mengzhu there, it quickly scurried back inside.

Qing Mengzhu saw the tip of the tail disappear behind the bamboo and couldn't help but smile.

Duan Yu'ang observed everything and couldn't help but say to Qing Mengzhu, "The ecology of your bamboo forest is truly excellent."

Qing Mengzhu: "At the time, the main idea was to develop three-dimensional agriculture, making full use of all available resources to form a cycle and save on planting costs."

Duan Yu'ang: "It not only saves costs, but it's also good for environmental protection. I noticed that there are actually two main batches of bamboo in your bamboo forest?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Pretty much. They were all planted in the same batch, but because of the different fertilizers and management methods used, they gradually became different."

Duan Yu'ang: "That small batch of higher quality bamboo doesn't seem to be much, just five or six hundred stalks?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, those five hundred-odd bamboo stalks are of the highest quality; the rest are the same type of bamboo we sold to you before."

The bamboo that reached the "Superior Grade" was mainly treated with Soil Fertility Restoration Agent.

Qing Mengzhu wanted to buy some more, but unfortunately there were many places where Star Coins were needed, and the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent was expensive. Buying one or two more wouldn't have much impact on the overall situation, but it would drag down their cash flow.

After careful consideration, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi ultimately abandoned the idea of buying Soil Fertility Restoration Agent to improve the bamboo forest. They decided to save their Star Coins and buy the skill books after the cooldown period was over.

Qing Mengzhu optimistically thought that maybe when their cultivated Tuan Brassica (a type of wild vegetable) yielded results and they developed an Earth-based version of the soil Soil Fertility Restoration Agent, they could save on the Star Coins needed to purchase it.

After walking around the bamboo forest, Duan Yu'ang said he wanted to go back.

Qing Mengzhu originally wanted to cut two more bamboo stalks to carry down with her, Duan Yu'ang said that this one was enough, and if it was useful, he could bother her again later.

There aren't many good bamboos in the main bamboo forest, and cutting down one means one less, Duan Yu'ang didn't want to waste them.

Qing Mengzhu didn't insist, but since it wouldn't look good for the leader to carry the bamboo alone, he cut the bamboo into three sections and each of them carried one section.

Even though a bamboo stalk was cut into three sections, it was still quite heavy. Carrying it down the mountain was a bit tiring. Pei Guangjian was sweating profusely, Qing Mengzhu and Duan Yu'ang were doing alright.

Qing Mengzhu originally wanted to invite them to lunch, Duan Yu'ang said he had something to do in the afternoon and had to go back first; the car was already waiting for him downstairs.

Qing Mengzhu escorted them to the roadside, where they indeed saw a driver waiting for them in a car.

Their driver had a special aura; he looked exceptionally dark-skinned and wiry, with a remarkably youthful appearance, unlike the typical middle-aged driver.

Qing Mengzhu could probably guess Duan Yu'ang's workplace.

Pei Guangjian accompanied us this time, following behind without saying much, but he was all smiles, seemingly quite satisfied with the trip.

As he left, Pei Guangjian smiled and waved to Qing Mengzhu, indicating that there was no need to see him off.

Qing Mengzhu then watched their car leave.

After seeing everyone off, Qing Mengzhu sent a message to Ming Chunxi: [Mr. Pei and the others have left after looking at the bamboo.]

Qing Mengzhu: [They seem quite satisfied; it looks like we'll have a stable business deal.]

Ming Chunxi: [With such good bamboo, your business is bound to be stable.]