Chapter 203

Qing Mengzhu: "Alright, alright, let's take them out to play."

August is rainy, and Zhaiqian Village is located in the mountains.

The temperature here is lower than outside, only around 21 or 22 degrees Celsius. It's too hot to wear short sleeves outside, but you need a light jacket here.

Qing Mengzhu parked the car on the rice drying racks in Zhaiqian Village, then, with his dog in tow and some things in hand, went to visit Yi Yanbai's family.

Many villagers in Zhaiqian Village have moved away, and the number of people remaining in the village is less than half of what it was at its peak. The rice paddies are empty and no one is using them, and a lot of goosegrass has grown in the cracks of the cement.

So it's fine for them to park their cars here; it won't bother anyone.

The two people brought their two dogs to Yi Yanbai's house.

Yi Yanbai and his father Yi Ousheng were not home; only his mother Chen Meimei was home preparing lunch.

Upon seeing the two, Chen Meimei was a little reserved and explained to them, "We need to fertilize the bamboo on the mountain. Yanbai led people up there early this morning. It rained, so the soil is loose and easy to dig."

Qing Mengzhu: "Whom should I take up?"

Chen Meimei: "Everyone in the village who had free time went up."

Qing Mengzhu realized that it was inconvenient for them to send a large number of employees from afar to plant bamboo and tea in Zhaiqian Village, so they hired people from the village and nearby areas.

The people working at Yi Yanbai now are newly hired casual laborers.

Qing Mengzhu smiled and handed the fruit and pastries she had brought to Chen Meimei: "Then let's go up and take a look."

Chen Meimei quickly declined, saying, "No need for this, you should take it back and eat it."

Qing Mengzhu: "Since we've already bought it, please don't be shy. Let's hurry up and get up the mountain, or it'll be noon soon."

Chen Meimei then accepted the gift and said, "Don't be shy when you come down for dinner later."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

Ming Chunxi nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

After leaving Yi Yanbai's house, Qing Mengzhu made a special phone call to Yi Yanbai, asking him to tell his mother not to cook so much food to avoid waste.

Yi Yanbai initially refused after receiving the call, but after Qing Mengzhu repeatedly emphasized it, he finally agreed to prepare five dishes and a soup later.

There were only five of them eating, which was just enough for them.

Before hanging up, Yi Yanbai excitedly said, "Brother Mengzhu, if you walk a little further ahead, you'll see us working halfway up the mountain. The bamboo is growing exceptionally well now, come and take a look!"

Qing Mengzhu, holding Ming Chunxi's hand, smiled and said, "Come over right away, wait for us."

Both of them were wearing long pants and hiking shoes, and did not bring trekking poles. Given their current level of agility, they did not need trekking poles.

The problem was that dogs are hard to control when they run up the mountain, so Qing Mengzhu specifically talked to the two dogs at the foot of the mountain to make sure they didn't run around.

The Guard licked his lips, which was considered an agreement. Qing Mengzhu then looked at the Dharma Protector, Dharma Protector had no choice but to bark.

The mountain where bamboo is planted in Zhaiqian Village has been paved with paths, all of them dirt trails. They're fine most of the time, but a bit slippery after it rains.

Ming Chunxi walked ahead, and when they encountered difficult sections, she would turn around and pull Qing Mengzhu along.

The two climbed up the mountain, and before they even reached the halfway point, they could see the bamboo that their company had planted at the foot of the mountain.

The bamboo leaves have now fully grown, and the bamboo tubes have turned from yellow to green. It is estimated that in less than two years, they will grow into large bamboos that are several meters tall.

Qing Mengzhu, supporting herself on her knees, whispered to Ming Chunxi, "The 'Fine Grade+' quality seems to be achieved; it's growing quite well."

Ming Chunxi: "Yi Yanbai and his team manage it very meticulously."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's all thanks to them. Let's go check on the replanted seedlings later and see how the replanted bamboo is growing."

Ming Chunxi gestured with his eyes to the side. "I just saw one over there, it's growing well."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then let's go take a look!"

When they saw the bamboo, they stopped on the mountain path and instead walked sideways along the direction in which the bamboo was growing.

Yi Yanbai, as the group leader, has indeed done a very good job managing these bamboos. The bamboo leaves are lush and green, the bamboo is full of vitality, and the quality is excellent.

Qing Mengzhu looked around again and saw that there were very few weeds on the mountain, and the fertilizer was buried quite well.

This shows that Yi Yanbai has devoted a lot of time and effort to this, and is a qualified manager.

Qing Mengzhu watched and summarized in her mind.

Although they regularly review planting reports and monitoring data, what they see with their own eyes still evokes a different feeling.

In any case, the bamboo in Zhaiqian Village can be put on hold for now. We'll check on the tea later. If the tea is also fine, they won't need to spend too much time and energy here in the future.

Chapter 203

When Qing Mengzhu and the others went up the mountain, Yi Yanbai was already running up the mountain. Because he was running too fast, he tripped and fell on his butt. When he saw Qing Mengzhu and the others, his butt was covered with a thick layer of mud.

Seeing him like this, Qing Mengzhu quickly went over to help him up. "Are you alright?"

Yi Yanbai smiled sheepishly, "It's nothing, I was just so happy to see you all that I ran a little too fast. It's alright, my pants will be dry in a bit."

After saying that, Yi Yanbai asked with bright eyes, "Brother Mengzhu, Brother Chunxi, did you see the bamboo when you came up? What did you think of it?"

Qing Mengzhu praised generously, "They've grown exceptionally well, even better than I imagined. I was worried that you lacked experience and might not be able to grow bamboo properly."

Yi Yanbai: "We planted it according to the planting guidelines you provided, and we followed the guidelines for watering, fertilizing, and patrolling the forest."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "That's why it's grown so well. It's been raining these past few days, so we still have to go up the mountain to cut grass and fertilize. Please be careful, and if the ground is slippery, wait until it dries before coming back."

Yi Yanbai: "Be careful, I didn't dare hire anyone who was particularly old, and they've provided us with all the necessary work safety supplies."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's fine."

Yi Yanbai took them to visit the bamboo grove and gave a briefing on the bamboo cultivation process.

Qing Mengzhu is an expert in planting bamboo and has an intermediate skill book on planting moso bamboo. He can guess most of the characteristics of bamboo just by looking at it, without having to listen to anyone else.

He listened attentively to Yi Yanbai's report and offered relevant suggestions.

Bamboo doesn't attract many insects, except for bamboo worms. They also don't get sick often and are very resilient.

Even though Yi Yanbai had little experience, it was managed very well by following the planting guidelines.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi took a tour and felt relieved. Yi Yanbai was a reliable person, and if they continued planting at this pace, the bamboo should grow well.

As they descended the mountain from the other side, Qing Mengzhu asked, "We're going to check on the tea trees later. Would you like to come with us, or stay on the mountain?"

Yi Yanbai immediately said, "I'll go with you. Minyue is over there; we'll see her soon."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at him again when she heard him call her that so affectionately.

Yi Yanbai scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. "She lives in the village, and we see each other quite often, so we gradually became familiar with each other."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "It's fine."

They walked down the mountain path to see the tea trees.

The tea trees were planted later, and not long after they were planted, not many leaves had grown.

However, the newly grown leaves are tender and green, and their appearance is excellent.

Just by looking at their appearance, these teas have the potential to become high-end teas.

Of course, the taste of the tea is the most important factor in growing good tea.

Qing Mengzhu walked up to the tea tree, reached out and plucked a leaf, then smelled it.

The tea leaves have a very pleasant aroma, slightly different from the tea trees they grow in their backyard, but it still smells quite nice.

After smelling it, Qing Mengzhu held the tea leaves up to Ming Chunxi's nose and urged him to smell them, "Quickly smell our new tea leaves!"

Ming Chunxi smelled it carefully. "It smells very good."

Qing Mengzhu smelled it again. "The fragrance seems stronger and more intense than the tea trees in our backyard; it's not as delicate."