Chapter 182

What the heck is this?!

Qing Mengzhu suspected she was asleep and dreaming, otherwise why would she see such a strange notification?

He gently bit the inside of his mouth with his teeth, and the familiar pain reminded him that this was not a dream, but something that had actually happened.

He rubbed his face and quickly opened his phone to access the Interstellar Mall.

The color scheme of the Interstellar Mall has changed. It used to be red and white, but now it's all red, looking exceptionally festive.

As expected, the homepage now features a discount section, with names that are quite straightforward: "30% off section," "50% off section," and "70% off section"—names that make it immediately clear what's going on.

Qing Mengzhu clicked into the discount section again, and the first item was the Spirit Pearl Dregs he was familiar with—he had bought quite a lot of Spirit Pearl Dregs, and the Interstellar Mall should also have big data analysis.

He stared intently at it.

The Spirit Pearl Dregs, which used to cost 999 per bag, is now only 699 per bag—it's practically a steal!

Qing Mengzhu looked again and quickly discovered that another familiar Soil Fertility Restoration Agent had also been reduced in price, dropping directly from 30,000 to 26,000 per dose. There were no tricks involved; he could just click on it and buy it without any purchase limit.

That's far too simplistic and crude.

While Qing Mengzhu was examining the merchandise, Ming Chunxi also became fully awake, turned on the bedside lamp, and sat up to look at it with him. "It looks very tempting."

Qing Mengzhu waved her phone. "It really is tempting, the price is practically a steal."

Ming Chunxi: "Let's see what's worth buying."

Qing Mengzhu scrolled through the product page for him. "That's it, fertilizer, seeds, baking powder, Growth Liquid, recovery agent... and all sorts of food, all quite cheap, good for stocking up."

After purchasing related products, they will be stored in his personal center as long as he doesn't withdraw them, so it's okay to buy a little more.

Ming Chunxi quickly reminded him, "Take a look at the relevant skill books."

Qing Mengzhu suddenly realized, "Right, let me go take a look. Hmm, the skill book is still grayed out, showing as unavailable for purchase. There's a line of small print at the bottom saying that skill books aren't included in the discount. Maybe skill books aren't hard to sell?"

Ming Chunxi thought for a moment, "How many Star Coins do we have in total now?"

Qing Mengzhu logged out again and checked her balance in her personal center. "A little over 230,000 in total."

Ming Chunxi: "Quite a few. Let me calculate the product combinations."

"Wait a minute," Qing Mengzhu called out to Ming Chunxi, "There's an explanation here that says you get one chance to win a prize for every 10,000 Star Coins spent."

Ming Chunxi paused for a moment. "The prize pool looks good; it seems we should be able to get some good stuff this time."

The two of them stopped sleeping and immediately took out paper and pens to study the various products in the Interstellar Mall.

Looking at the various discounts, Qing Mengzhu said to Ming Chunxi, "It seems we need to try our best to collect Star Coins in the next few days and take advantage of the discounts to buy the fertilizer, seeds, and other necessities we need this year."

Ming Chunxi: "What kinds of agricultural products can be sold now?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There are plenty of bamboo shoots on the mountain, we can sell a batch. We can also sell a batch of lotus roots from the pond, and then there are tomatoes and peppers. We can sell a little bit of other vegetables too, but they're not very profitable, so we probably won't get many Star Coins."

Ming Chunxi: "I'll take a leave of absence, let's sell them together."

Qing Mengzhu: "It shouldn't be necessary for now. I'm used to selling vegetables. I can arrange for someone to transport the vegetables to the pond tomorrow. The fertilizer there is almost used up and we urgently need to replenish it."

Ming Chunxi: "You really don't need me?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "It's good that you can leave work early."

The two sat side by side and scanned the discounted items.

Qing Mengzhu didn't mind the high price of the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent, so he bought five portions, spending 130,000 Star Coins. These Soil Fertility Restoration Agent, when used in the bamboo forest, can restore 130 acres of land, making it easier for them to cultivate bamboo later.

The Spirit Pearl Dregs was also very useful; he bought 30 bags directly, spending 20,000 Star Coins.

With over 70,000 Star Coins, the two discussed and bought various fertilizers, fermentation powders, fertilizers, and seeds.

Faced with discounted goods, Qing Mengzhu was full of energy, and the next day she asked Zhao Hexi to spare some people to help dig bamboo shoots and pick peppers.

Zhao Hexi was a little puzzled. "Why did you suddenly think of composting at this time?"

Qing Mengzhu: "We've almost used up the previous fertilizer. Let's take advantage of the free time these next few days to pile it up, otherwise we won't have any fertilizer left when we need to apply it to the vegetables and fruits."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, will sending 30 people to your place be enough? If not, we'll have to hire some temporary workers from outside."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's enough. Don't send any more odd jobs for now. I have a tight schedule here and need experienced workers. By the way, my work will take several days. Besides picking peppers and tomatoes and digging bamboo shoots, I also need to apply fertilizer."

Zhao Hexi had no objections. "Understood, you guys go ahead with your work. I don't have any tasks that require a lot of manpower."

The Millennium Celebration event at the Interstellar Mall only lasts for five days, so Qing Mengzhu didn't want to waste any time and immediately led his people up the mountain and down to the fields.

His colleagues were all experienced workers, and they were very skilled at their jobs. They finished harvesting the tomatoes, peppers, and bamboo shoots in three days, and then helped him apply fertilizer again.

The fertilizer was purchased by Qing Mengzhu from the Interstellar Mall. Originally priced at 999 per unit, it was discounted to 599. He bought 50 units, which were then mixed with the fermented fertilizer from the pond before being used as top dressing for the tomatoes, peppers, and bamboo.

Qing Mengzhu has invested a lot of money these past few days, and she estimates that the tomatoes, peppers, and bamboo will all show new changes after this fertilization.

Especially the bamboo; it's estimated that the quality of that mother bamboo will evolve from "Superior Grade" to "Superior Grade+".

Chapter 182

In early June, the weather was fine.

Qing Mengzhu and the others were peeling leaves from the water chestnuts in the field.

These water bamboo shoots were planted in early April, and now, almost two months later, they have grown from seedlings into large clumps over a meter tall.

This is not their final form yet; they will continue to grow, eventually reaching two or three meters in height.

The water bamboo shoots have been growing very fast lately, and the paddy fields have almost turned into a thicket of grass. Standing on the ridge and looking inside, it's a complete mess.

They came today to remove the old and yellow leaves from the water bamboo shoots, making room for them to grow.

Qing Mengzhu wore a pair of work gloves and a waterproof jumpsuit.

The water level in the water chestnut field was quite high, more than 20 centimeters, and there were also eels in it. He was a little afraid of these slippery things and didn't dare to go barefoot into the field like the others.

Everyone worked together in the fields. Some people were well-protected, while others went into the fields wearing shorts and short sleeves.

The weather is already hot, and the fields are stuffy and poorly ventilated. Many people feel that it's too hot to wear thick clothes and can't stand it.

Qing Mengzhu and the others didn't force anyone to do it, since the relevant labor protections were already in place, and everyone could choose according to their preferences.

The work was rather boring, so everyone gradually started chatting.

Tan Wenlei asked, "Mengzhu, can the cows on the mountain eat all those water chestnut leaves?"

Qing Mengzhu looked up and said, "If we can't finish it, we can dry it and store it. There are plenty of places that need hay, so it won't go to waste."

Miao Lan, on the other side, asked, "Don't you really want to raise more cows? Five cows on such a big mountain is a bit of a waste."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's see later. We don't have much time to manage them, and raising too many might cause trouble."

Tan Wenlei: "Your Guard and Dharma Protector are so capable, whether they herd five cows or ten, it's all the same."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Let's think about it again."

They don't really need that many cows right now; they just plan to raise some dairy cows. The current cows are already producing enough milk for them.

However, raising more cows doesn't seem to increase the workload much, so it's something worth considering.

While they were talking, Qing Mengzhu had already peeled off a large bundle of water chestnut leaves, which he placed on the edge of the field.

At this moment, the ridges of the field were already densely covered with bundles of water chestnut leaves, all of which had just been peeled. Everyone had placed them on the ridges, to be carried back by Qing Mengzhu and others to feed the cattle.