Chapter 188 (continued)

Zhao Hexi: "There's one more thing, I don't know if you guys have noticed?"

Qing Mengzhu couldn't guess what he meant. "What?"

Zhao Hexi: "The infrastructure of this orchard is quite complete. There is a wire fence around the orchard, and the entire orchard is covered by surveillance cameras. There are also two rows of warehouses, so the fruit can be stored directly in the warehouses after it is picked."

Qing Mengzhu looked at it carefully and found it was true. "Then let's talk. If we sublet, how many years are left?"

Zhao Hexi: "Thirty-two years. We have the right of first refusal to renew the lease at that time."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at Ming Chunxi, and seeing that he had no objections, said, "Alright, let's buy plane tickets tomorrow and meet up in Qiongwei City?"

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, I'll go over tonight."

After they finished talking and hung up the phone, Qing Mengzhu said to Ming Chunxi, "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly this time."

Ming Chunxi: "We have done a thorough job of preparation."

Qing Mengzhu: "Indeed. Then I'll call Brother Di Xing now and have the cargo ship deliver the fruit trees directly to Qiongwei City, where we'll receive them."

The entire Q Province is made up of islands, with numerous high-quality ports, including Qiongwei City.

Qing Mengzhu communicated with Di Xing readily agreed to transport the fruit trees there. However, it would take a long time to clear customs, possibly up to a week.

Qing Mengzhu said no problem.

Di Xing acted as an intermediary this time, and was happy to help Qing Mengzhu and the others handle these trivial matters, as long as they paid a commission.

After talking with Zhao Hexi, Qing Mengzhu then spoke with Di Xing.

He was exhausted after finally finishing discussing everything.

Ming Chunxi massaged his temples. "Take a shower and go to bed early."

Qing Mengzhu yawned. "Let me review the game first and see if there's anything I've missed."

Ming Chunxi: "No."

Qing Mengzhu raised her eyelids slightly, somewhat wanting to give up trying to think, but finally said, "I'd better review the situation, otherwise I won't be able to remember so many things."

Ming Chunxi didn't try to persuade him, "Hmm."

Qing Mengzhu took out her tablet and recorded the main events of the day in her work log. "Speaking of which, Aiersi's fruit trees are really quite good. I guess he was planning something big, but unfortunately, the family crisis disrupted his plans."

Ming Chunxi: "We just happened to eat the delicious pancakes he made and then accepted his plan."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's right, his plan is ours now. Durian, mangosteen, hehe, next year we'll definitely be able to enjoy these two fruits freely."

Ming Chunxi saw him grinning like a cat that had stolen cream, and stroked his back a few times. "Should."

With Di Xing accompanying them abroad, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi returned to China the next day after inspecting the fruit trees and loading them onto the ship.

They flew directly to Qiongwei City to meet Zhao Hexi at the hotel where she was staying.

As soon as Zhao Hexi saw them, he rattled off everything about the new orchard, even mentioning that Qing Mengzhu knew about the five large wolfhounds kept there and that the original owner hadn't taken them with him.

Qing Mengzhu: "So who's taking care of those dogs now?"

Zhao Hexi: "The security guard at the orchard... you didn't see it, but when I went over this morning, he was feeding the dog his own sweet potato porridge. There wasn't a drop of oil, let alone meat. I had someone buy a few pounds of meat to feed the dog, and it didn't even bark once; it surrendered instantly."

Qing Mengzhu could hardly believe it. "So tragic?"

Zhao Hexi: "Yes, but it's tough for the security guard too. He only gets a small salary, no bonuses at all. And those five dogs eat more than a teenager. It's already a miracle that the security guard is willing to keep them."

Qing Mengzhu: "When you talk to the original boss, remember to mention this and ask him to give us the dog as a free gift."

Zhao Hexi: "I already told him, and he agreed immediately. To be honest, such a big wolfhound is banned in the city, and it's easy for it to hurt people if kept in the countryside. It's safer for it to stay in our orchard."

Qing Mengzhu heard him mention several times that the dog was very big, and she couldn't help but become curious. "Just how big is this wolfhound you're talking about?"

Zhao Hexi: "About the same age as our Dharma Protector Guard."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's really big. The Dharma Protector and Guard together weigh almost a hundred pounds."

Zhao Hexi: "Of course! When I went there, they were chained up with big iron chains, like they'd broken some kind of divine law. I'll take you there tomorrow and you'll see. Wait, Chunxi, don't you have to go to work tomorrow?"

Ming Chunxi: "I've asked for leave, I'll be there the day after tomorrow."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, let's go take a look tomorrow. I've already asked someone to buy groceries. We can have black goat stew at the orchard for lunch."

Qing Mengzhu loves planting and is very interested in the large orchard.

The next day, they drove to the orchard.

The orchard is easily accessible; several owners have built roads that allow cars to drive right into the orchard, so transporting the harvested fruit out will likely be easy.

In stark contrast to the convenient facilities was the desolate orchard. Looking out of the car, Qing Mengzhu noticed that many fruit trees had been dug up, leaving behind pits with brown soil visible, which looked quite ugly.

Zhao Hexi followed Qing Mengzhu's gaze and said, "Fruit trees can also be sold for money. Before the owner sublet the orchard, he had most of the fruit trees dug up and sold."

Qing Mengzhu: "What kinds of fruit trees are they?"

Zhao Hexi: "It looks like jackfruit, and a little mango too. Oh, and there are over thirty fig trees deep in the orchard. They're not worth much, so the previous owner didn't let anyone dig them up. Now the fig trees are bearing fruit, so we can go take a look later."

Qing Mengzhu said, "Let's go over there now, inspect the orchard first, and then come down for lunch."

They got out of the car and walked around the orchard.

While strolling around, Qing Mengzhu discovered that the orchard's infrastructure was indeed very complete. Not only was the entire orchard covered with a water pipe network, but the wire fence outside the orchard was also made of high-quality materials.

In addition, the well-maintained electrical and monitoring facilities are excellent; they only need to make minor adjustments after taking over, without having to spend a lot of money.

To Qing Mengzhu's surprise, several irrigation wells had been dug in the orchard to cope with the dry season.

The wells covered with iron covers are deep and wide. With these wells, there shouldn't be any problem growing mangosteens, which require a lot of water.

Qing Mengzhu's heart stirred slightly. There were wells. She could throw a packet of Spirit Pearl Dregs into each well and use the water from the Spirit Pearl Dregs to grow fruit. The fruit would surely taste delicious.

This place is far from their home, so Water Spirit Pearl here is neither safe nor practical. Placing a few packets of Spirit Pearl Dregs worth a few hundred Star Coins is nothing to them.

With the Spirit Pearl Dregs water, they can use it together with the fertilizer they bought from the Interstellar Mall. They can also transport fermented fertilizer to improve the soil. Gradually, the orchard will be able to thrive.

Qing Mengzhu strolled around, lost in thought, while Ming Chunxi followed behind him without disturbing him.

They continued until they reached the fig grove, having waded through the muddy, tangled mess.

The figs are ripe now, and the branches are full of greenish-purple figs that are bigger than a child's fist. Because no one is taking care of them, many figs have been pecked by birds, but the ones that remain are still sweet and tempting.

Zhao Hexi picked a few figs and handed them to them. "These are the figs I told you about. Be careful of the white sap on the stem; it's quite sweet."

Qing Mengzhu glanced down at the fig in her hand and could tell that it was a "Good Grade quality" fig.

He peeled off the skin, tasted one, and said, "It's quite sweet, and the flesh is very soft."

Zhao Hexi: "Right? I didn't like figs before, but now that I've tried them, I think they're pretty good. So, are you satisfied with this orchard? Do you want to rent it?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Rent it! Remember to negotiate the price down. Everything else about this orchard is good, but the soil is too poor. They used too much fertilizer before and dug up a lot of soil. We can talk about these issues."

Zhao Hexi opened her memo app and wrote down what he said, "Okay, I'll tell my previous boss the same thing."