Chapter 200

The tea was very popular with the cattle today. After pouring the tea into the trough, Qing Mengzhu ignored them and went to clean up the cow dung behind the cowshed.

There's a lot of cow dung piled up here. We need to get someone to come and carry it down to the pond to ferment.

I happen to be selling a batch of tomatoes and peppers to the Interstellar Mall soon, so I can chop them up and put them in the pond to ferment with the grass.

Even the grass is readily available; they can just use water chestnut leaves—after their cows learned to eat bamboo leaves, they became incredibly picky and no longer eat water chestnut leaves.

Throwing away water bamboo leaves is a waste, but fermenting them in a pond can make them useful.

Soon, the company sent Tan Wenlei and his team over.

It's been a long time since we've been to the bamboo forest, and now that we're here, it feels different than before.

As they walked through the shady bamboo grove, they asked Qing Mengzhu, "Boss, is there less grass in the bamboo grove than before?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, there's less grass on this mountain, while there's more on the other. Perhaps the cattle and hazel grouse roaming around in the mountains every day eat some of the grass."

Tan Wenlei: "When the bamboo grows tall, there's not much sunlight underneath, so the grass can't grow either."

Qing Mengzhu: "Possibly."

The people carried the cow dung from halfway up the mountain to the foot of the mountain and piled it onto the truck.

There's a cement road at the foot of the mountain; once we get there, things will be much easier.

Qing Mengzhu had previously considered building a road directly up the mountain, but the plan was only just started when things got busy and she neglected it.

It seems we still need to hurry up and build a road. Otherwise, as the resources on the mountain increase, the amount of things that need to be carried up the mountain will also increase, and they will be exhausted from carrying things on their shoulders and in their hands every day.

Qing Mengzhu was planning in her heart that she could build two winding mountain roads this winter, one for each mountain, which would make it much more convenient to use bamboo shoots and the like in the future.

There's no need to hire anyone anymore; he can handle most of the work by himself in a pickup truck.

If road repairs are to be carried out in winter, then now is roughly the time to submit the application.

I can find some time tomorrow to ask Qing Yukai how to write the application.

Their company has already established itself locally, and building roads in the bamboo forest is a legitimate production need, so applying for road construction shouldn't be too difficult.

Qing Mengzhu was deep in thought while working, and by the time he came to his senses, they had almost finished transporting the cow dung and hazel grouse manure from the mountain.

Qing Mengzhu himself has the relevant driver's license and can drive a truck directly.

He transported cow dung and hazel grouse manure to the other side of the pond, and also brought two cartloads of dried bamboo leaves, dumping them all into the dried-up pond.

Dried bamboo leaves can replace hay and are very effective for fermentation.

This year we planted more fields and had two more orchards to manage. We couldn't store the manure piled up at the pond or the company, so we often used it as soon as it was fermented.

We're about to plant coffee, and this batch of manure, once fermented, will probably be used for coffee cultivation, so it won't be able to be stored.

Qing Mengzhu thought to herself that she still needed to buy another batch of better fertilizer fermentation powder from the Interstellar Mall to ferment more fertilizer.

Otherwise, when it's time to fertilize the fruits and vegetables in the fall, there probably still won't be enough fertilizer.

While Qing Mengzhu was lost in thought, Tan Wenlei and the others were turning over the manure to accelerate its fermentation.

Upon turning it over, they discovered that there were quite a few earthworms inside.

These earthworms are quite energetic; they look very good.

Tan Wenlei asked curiously, "Mengzhu, are these the new type of earthworm you mentioned?"

Qing Mengzhu out of her daze. "Yes, these are the new earthworms that Dr. Gu and his team selected. With the help of these earthworms, composting will be faster."

Tan Wenlei: "I noticed they looked a bit different. People in nearby villages also raise the same earthworms as us, but their earthworms don't seem to grow as fast as ours, and they don't fetch much of a price."

Qing Mengzhu: "Because we use different things to raise earthworms."

Tan Wenlei nodded in agreement. "Our earthworms are good."

Qing Mengzhu smiled, inwardly agreeing.

These earthworms were dug up from the mountain. The earthworms raised on soil treated with Soil Fertility Restoration Agent and "Superior Grade" or even "Superior Grade+" bamboo shoots are naturally extraordinary.

When they dig for bamboo shoots, they cut off some of the older ones, and the earthworms eat a lot of those.

Speaking of earthworms, it seems I'll have to bring another batch of specialty earthworms with me to that orchard in Qiongwei City in a few days, otherwise we won't have enough.

Since I've already reported it before, I won't need to go through any other procedures when I bring it over, so it won't be too troublesome.

Chapter 200

That day, Qing Mengzhu led a group of people up the mountain to cut bamboo.

This batch of bamboo is to be sent to Duan Yu'ang and his group. Qing Mengzhu has already marked it in advance, so they can just come up and cut it down.

Cutting bamboo is a heavy job, so the company specially sent a group of young men over, Qing Mengzhu even calculated overtime pay for them.

Everyone was very enthusiastic because of the overtime pay, but some were puzzled as to why the bamboo was so heavy.

A young man carrying bamboo said, "It's almost as heavy as a log of the same size."

Another young man tried to carry the bamboo. "I don't think so, right? Wood is solid, bamboo is hollow. Hmm? It's not that different after all?"

Seeing them try one after another, Qing Mengzhu quickly called out, "Be careful, don't strain your backs."

"No, boss, don't worry, we're very strong."

"This bamboo isn't that thick; I've carried much thicker logs before, so it'll be fine."

Qing Mengzhu said seriously, "The slope is quite steep, unlike the bottom. It's better to be careful than to make a big mistake."

The people around them stopped laughing and joking and quickly agreed.

They only need to carry the bamboo a short distance to the designated location, then put it down and let it slide down the hillside, where someone will catch it at the foot of the slope.

Qing Mengzhu supplies bamboo to Duan Yu'ang and the others every month. Everyone is familiar with the process, so it doesn't require much effort.

Duan Yu'ang still came in person this month, which shows how much he values bamboo.

When Qing Mengzhu came down the mountain and was about to load the bamboo onto the cart, Duan Yu'ang inspected the bamboo and said to Qing Mengzhu, "The quality of the bamboo seems to have improved again?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Old bamboo is of higher quality than young bamboo."

Duan Yu'ang: "How's that mutated bamboo on your mountain doing?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's still growing; it probably won't be big until next year. I'll cut some more bamboo strips for propagation when the weather gets a bit cooler."

After saying that, Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "The three space-bred bamboo plants you sent are growing quite well. We should be able to cut some off and send them for experiments next year."

Duan Yu'ang nodded repeatedly. "Okay, we'll wait."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then all the bamboo for this month is here. You can transport it back, and let me know if there are any problems. I'll be going to Qiongwei City in a couple of days, so I might not have much free time."

Duan Yu'ang: "Are we going to stay there for a long time?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "It's not that bad. It'll be about a week. I need to check on the growth of the fruit trees and make adjustments as needed. I'm just worried that you might not be able to find me if you need to."

After seeing Duan Yu'ang and the others off, Qing Mengzhu went to the field to check on the coffee seedlings.

The coffee seedlings were planted not long ago; you can see the buds, but they haven't sprouted any leaves yet.

We definitely won't be able to transplant them this time in Qiongwei City; we'll have to go again next time.

On Friday night, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi from Vine City to Qiongwei City, and then went to their orchard.

Their orchard has been cleared and is now being maintained by staff. The rooms they used to live in are still there; they didn't need to stay in hotels anymore, they could just stay in the orchard.

Qing Mengzhu and his group entered the orchard, before the staff could say anything, five large wolfhounds, hearing the commotion, rushed out and ran to the front of the car, barking incessantly at them.

Qing Mengzhu looked at the large wolfhounds, who were so excited they were almost standing up, and casually stroked the neck of the one in front. "So happy to see us?"