Chapter 195 (continued)

Zhao Hexi gave a thumbs up. "You're the most reliable one. I'll reply to the boss like that then."

Qing Mengzhu waved him off, telling him to hurry up, while she continued watering the tomatoes and peppers.

The tomatoes and peppers are growing even better this year than last year. I can pick a couple to take home later. It's been a long time since I've had this dish of stir-fried tomatoes and peppers with rice.

This dish needs to be stir-fried with lard. First, sauté the chopped chili peppers until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and stir-fry until fragrant. When it's done, add a little salt, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Serve it on a snow-white plate. It's steaming hot and bright red. Scoop a spoonful onto white rice. It's sour, fragrant, spicy, and flavorful—a truly appetizing and satisfying dish.

Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi about the leaders' plan to organize a group of people to visit their area.

Ming Chunxi said, "That's normal. Our vegetables are of such high quality and have such impressive sales figures. Even if the relevant leaders haven't noticed, our competitors certainly have. Everyone wants to come and see for themselves and find out why."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then I need to carefully prepare my speech."

Ming Chunxi: "We need to arrange for a few more people to accompany us; there will likely be more people coming than we expect."

Qing Mengzhu noted this down. "Okay, I'll arrange for a few more people to come, just in case some visitors are too curious and ruin our dishes."

Ming Chunxi: "That's exactly what I mean."

Zhao Hexi quickly submitted the proposal.

The higher-ups were even more proactive than they had imagined. As soon as they submitted their proposal, they immediately sent someone to contact them and discuss the process of bringing people to visit.

It's already August, and the weather is unbearably hot.

To ensure everyone had a comfortable experience, Qing Mengzhu specifically chose a cloudy day for the visit.

The visit mainly focused on their vegetables, with an emphasis on the cultivation of tomatoes and peppers, as well as the intercropping methods used in water chestnut fields.

As for the content of the lecture, it mainly explains the fermentation and use of fertilizers. Improper fermentation of fertilizers can easily lead to outbreaks of pests, especially underground pests such as grubs and mole crickets, and can also cause root burn, soil compaction and other problems.

Qing Mengzhu decided to talk about what makes good fermented fertilizer, how to prepare fermented fertilizer using materials such as poultry and livestock manure and straw, and also about the benefits of introducing earthworms into the fermentation process, as well as the effects of different types of earthworms on fertilizer fermentation, etc.

This content is based on his experience accumulated over the past year or so. It's mostly practical information, presented in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Even an elderly farmer with limited education should be able to understand most of it.

Zhao Hexi told Qing Mengzhu that the leaders had read the speech he submitted and thought it was excellent and highly appreciated it.

Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.. already had a good reputation, and this time it also received support from leaders.

In the end, more than 230 people came to visit.

When Zhao Hexi handed the list to Qing Mengzhu, she whispered to him, "When I went there, I was going to tell the leaders that we would provide meals, but when I saw the list, I was so scared that I swallowed back what I was about to say. There are so many people, we can't manage them all."

Looking at the list, Qing Mengzhu, "If there are too many people, we can order boxed lunches."

Zhao Hexi: "That won't work. There are so many people, and ordering boxed meals isn't cheap. Besides, if there are any food safety issues with us ordering the meals, we'll be in deep trouble. It's better not to take on this job."

Qing Mengzhu had no objections. "Alright, let's wait for them to come and visit. Oh, and remember to bring your own people with you. With so many people, you'll need to help me manage things."

Zhao Hexi: "Understood. It's rare for us to hold such a large event, so I'll definitely be there."

On the day of the official visit, Qing Mengzhu got up early and stood in the dressing room choosing clothes.

--This walk-in closet was originally a guest room, but the guest room was not being used very often, and they needed a walk-in closet to store a lot of clothes, so Ming Chunxi cleaned up the guest room and converted it into a walk-in closet.

Ming Chunxi came in with breakfast and called him to eat. Seeing him standing in the dressing room, looking conflicted, she hugged him from behind. "Didn't you make your choice last night?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It feels a bit too formal. The weather is so hot, and we're going to the fields. It seems a bit strange to be dressed like this."

Ming Chunxi put one arm around his waist and pulled a set of light long-sleeved shirt and trousers out of the closet with the other. "Do you need to wear sunglasses with this?"

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "I won't wear one. It feels impolite to avoid eye contact. I'll just wear a hat."

Ming Chunxi then picked out one for him from a pile of hats. "This one."

Qing Mengzhu a sigh of relief, "Then this one will do."

Qing Mengzhu rarely hosted such large-scale events, so she was a little nervous.

However, once the event actually started, he saw that everyone below, regardless of age or gender, had eyes full of eager curiosity, and he immediately felt relieved.

He led his people along the field ridges, showing them their plans and explaining the benefits of combined planting and crop rotation.

When we arrived at the tomato field, he let everyone pick big, red tomatoes to quench their thirst, and told them that these were their third-generation tomatoes. He added that if conditions were right next year, their company would release tomato seeds.

Li Ba and his team are now researching tomato and chili seeds. The chili seed research is a bit difficult because it involves Nian Xinfei's patent, and they haven't made any breakthroughs yet, so it can't be considered a new seed.

There's no problem with the tomatoes. The seeds they grow are all local old varieties that don't involve patents. After they optimize them, they send them for testing, and once it's confirmed to be safe, they can put the company name on them and promote them to the market.

However, this process will take some time, and it won't be available for sale until next year at the earliest.

As everyone ate the sweet and juicy tomatoes while Qing Mengzhu explained the advantages of this batch of tomatoes, it all sounded exceptionally believable.

Before Qing Mengzhu had even finished speaking, several people below expressed their desire to buy his tomato seeds.

"These tomatoes are delicious; they have a wonderful tomato aroma."

"President Qing, can I pre-order your company's tomato seeds? If so, I'd like to order a batch in advance so I can plant your company's tomatoes directly next year."

"Boss Qing, I heard you're planning to cooperate with farmers on planting, and you're providing seeds and sending technicians. Is this project happening this year?"

Hearing the barrage of questions, Qing Mengzhu had no choice but to pause her explanation and answer the various inquiries first.

Tomato seeds definitely can't be pre-ordered; the seeds haven't even been produced yet. If we can't deliver the seeds by the deadline, delaying other people's planting, that would be a huge problem.

Cooperation is not possible for the time being, as they have not yet established a complete planting and management system and need to explore it for a few more years.

The visitors said they would continue to follow them and looked forward to the day they could work with them.

Qing Mengzhu continued to lead the group to visit the water chestnut fields.

Their water chestnuts have now grown to over two meters tall, and they can harvest them every day. They even have extra vegetables to sell in the vegetable packages delivered to members, which brings them good profits.

Everyone was very curious about projects that could make money, and they kept asking Qing Mengzhu questions for a while.

Qing Mengzhu answered all the questions she could.

At noon, the organizers distributed boxed lunches to everyone.

After finishing their boxed lunches, everyone only rested briefly before strongly requesting to continue the tour.

Qing Mengzhu led everyone to see the fertilizer fermentation tank and explained the fermentation and application of fertilizer.

Many people are new to this field and are very curious about it, asking a lot of questions.

The visit Qing Mengzhu, which was originally scheduled to end at 4 p. m., was extended to 6 p. m.

When the leaders came to conclude the visit, everyone was still reluctant to leave and strongly requested that another visit be organized.

Qing Mengzhu had nothing to do with this anymore. Qing Mengzhu went to Ming Chunxi's side and drank the chilled bamboo juice that Ming Chunxi had brought him—his voice was a little hoarse from talking all day.

Zhao Hexi also slipped over, her eyes brimming with excitement. "Our event was a huge success! We not only made a good impression on the leaders, but also increased our visibility. Now everyone speaks very highly of us."

Qing Mengzhu said in a hoarse voice, "I'm so tired. Don't even think about holding a second one anytime soon."