Chapter 214

Li Ba and his group are still processing various kinds of seeds, but haven't achieved any results yet, though it's been quite helpful for planting.

Ke Shuwen and her Tuan Brassica at the chemical plant and are now planting a second crop from seeds. They estimate that they'll achieve good results after the third crop is planted.

Therefore, the most heartbroken group right now is Li Ba's group. Not only can they not catch up with Gu Benshu's group, but they are also easily overtaken by Ke Shuwen's group.

Fortunately, Qing Mengzhu was quite familiar with seeds and knew that it was not easy to produce results from seed research. Therefore, she did not force them to produce results. She still gave them the bonuses they were entitled to, just not as much as the group next door.

Li Ba sighed inwardly, thinking that if he had known things would turn out this way, he would have been more careful in choosing his major back then.

But there's nothing he can do now. He's already in this industry, and he has a strong liking for it. Now he can only keep his head down and keep pushing forward.

Li Ba said to Qing Mengzhu, "President Qing, let us research and prepare this batch of tomato and pepper seeds. Seeds prepared scientifically should have better planting results."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and encouraged him, "Okay, it's up to you now. Seeds are indeed one of the most important parts of our planting process. This time, we hope to complete the entire process of seed selection, disinfection, and coating."

Seed selection involves choosing plump and vigorous seeds, disinfection kills pathogens inside and on the surface of the seeds, and coating involves wrapping the seeds with a layer containing pesticides, fertilizers, film-forming agents, growth regulators, and other substances.

These steps can improve seed germination rates and produce better crops.

When Qing Mengzhu used her own seeds before, she didn't go through these steps. Now that she has a company, she naturally has to process them more meticulously.

Chapter 214

In the evening, Qing Mengzhu brought back a net full of large shrimp from the rice paddy, intending to make braised shrimp in oil.

Use their company's tomato sauce; their tomato sauce is particularly sour, fragrant, and rich, making it especially delicious with braised shrimp.

Qing Mengzhu has already planned it all out: tonight she'll make braised prawns, ham and bamboo shoots, some greens, and a soup. Dinner will be all set.

Qing Mengzhu strolled home carrying shrimp, and from a distance she saw Zhao Hexi playing with the Dharma Protector and Guard at her doorstep.

He threw something, Dharma Protector and Guard ran over to pick it up.

I don't know how long they played, but both dogs started panting heavily, though they looked quite happy.

Qing Mengzhu walked over and asked, "When did you arrive?"

Zhao Hexi looked up. "Half an hour ago. Oh, the shrimp in the rice paddies are ready to eat?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It would have been ready last month. This year, Brother Chen helped raise the shrimp, and they're growing better than last year. But Brother Chen said they can still grow a little longer, so there's no rush to harvest them, and we haven't done any large-scale harvesting."

Zhao Hexi: "When will we start fishing?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Next February or March? Let's wait until the shrimp have bred before harvesting them. Next year, we can breed more shrimp and then convert the paddy fields into farmland, which will be perfect for growing tomatoes and peppers."

After casually offering an explanation, Qing Mengzhu said to Zhao Hexi, "Stay for dinner tonight? This batch of shrimp should taste better than the last one."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay!"

Zhao Hexi followed behind Qing Mengzhu: "I haven't seen you at the company for the past two days, so I came to discuss the work for December with you."

It's only mid-November. Qing Mengzhu glanced at the time on her phone. "The work plan for next month, are we going to finalize it now?"

Zhao Hexi: "It's the last month of the year, so it's quite busy. If we finalize things early, we won't be scrambling later."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "That makes sense."

Zhao Hexi: "What have you been up to these past few days? I haven't seen you for days."

Qing Mengzhu: "We're busy working in the mountains and fields. The weather is getting colder, and there's a lot to do."

Zhao Hexi looked at him and asked the question that had always puzzled her, "You're such a big boss now, why do you still work in the fields every day? You earn much more making decisions in the office than doing the work yourself."

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "I just want to farm."

He needs to focus on planting, improve planting levels, upgrade membership levels, and buy more good products from the Interstellar Mall to enhance the company's core competitiveness.

Zhao Hexi looked at him in amazement. "I didn't expect you to be an idealist."

Qing Mengzhu smiled, offering no explanation. "Please sit down first. I'll put the shrimp in the bucket to keep them alive before I come back."

Their well water is from Spirit Spring Water. Every time they catch fish and shrimp, they keep them in the well water, which makes the fish and shrimp live for a very long time. Therefore, they can always eat the freshest fish and shrimp.

Zhou Yan discovered this pattern and even had people transport their well water to the farm to raise fish and shrimp. This way, the fish and shrimp bought could be kept in the tanks for a long time, reducing losses and making it easier for diners to eat the freshest fish and shrimp.

After setting the shrimp out, Qing Mengzhu moved a chair to the yard and began dealing with company matters.

He carefully reviewed the company's work plan for December, asked Zhao Hexi about any questions he had, and improved several work items.

By the time they finished their work, it was already past 6:40.

Ming Chunxi came home from work and sat down next to them.

Zhao Hexi stretched and said, "Chunxi, your company is located in town, it's so convenient to come and go."

Qing Mengzhu leaned on Ming Chunxi's shoulder, laughing as she said, "Being your own boss is the most convenient."

Zhao Hexi snapped his fingers, "That's right! Being your own boss is the best. You can be late whenever you want, leave early whenever you want, and you don't have to put up with anyone else's attitude anymore."

Ming Chunxi asked in confusion, "Does a boss set specific working hours for themselves?"

Zhao Hexi: "... Oh, right."

As they chatted, Zhao Hexi brought up the office building that Ming Chunxi and his team were renting. "The rented office building isn't comfortable enough. When is Zhuxi going to build a new office building?"

Zhuxi is a newly established company by Ming Chunxi, with Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi each holding 50% of the shares. The full name is "Zhuxi Holdings Co., Ltd.," and the naming style continues the style of their other companies.

Qing Mengzhu: "It's still early. We need to find suitable land and apply for approval. It definitely won't be built in the next year or two."

Zhao Hexi raised his hand and said, "Should our company also build a high-rise building? Let's buy the land together?"

Ming Chunxi: "We can use the same building."

Zhao Hexi immediately crossed her arms in refusal. "Our company already has over three hundred employees. It's too stifling to share a building with you. We want our own building."

Qing Mengzhu mediated from the side. "Buy, buy, buy! Let's buy a plot of land, build two skyscrapers, and eventually create a twin-tower complex. We'll build it as soon as we have the money."

Zhao Hexi: "Gemini is probably out of the question. Don't forget about Brother Zhou's side. His farm business is booming. Maybe he'll set up a central kitchen, a catering factory, or pre-prepared meals. Surely they'll get a share of the building project, right?"

Qing Mengzhu, "We'll discuss that when we buy the land."

Qing Mengzhu has been busy farming lately and hasn't had much energy to deal with company matters, but she still needs to keep an eye on important things.

For example, the good news brought by Ke Shuwen and her team.

Ke Shuwen told Qing Mengzhu, "President Qing, the results of our latest round of experiments on Tuan Brassica are in, and they are better than we expected. Our research found that Tuan Brassica accumulates certain metals much faster than other harmful substances."

Qing Mengzhu: "What metal?"

Ke Shuwen: "Copper, mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, etc., accumulate very quickly. I'll send you the specific data."

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "I'll come and take a look."

Soon, Qing Mengzhu arrived at Ke Shuwen's office and saw their experimental results, as well as the metals that Ke Shuwen and her team extracted after burning Tuan Brassica.

Ke Shuwen: "We're not involved in metal smelting, so our extraction process is rather crude, and we might lose some metal. If we had professionals handle the extraction, we could probably extract even more. Even so, our Tuan Brassica is still considered a hyperaccumulator of metals."