Chapter 222

These are both crops he wants to plant in the new year.

They rented too little land in Vine City; if they wanted to grow soybeans, they would have to plant them on the mountain. This place is so big; it's enough for him to make the most of it. He should make good use of it.

In the new year, he will surely be able to grow more and better crops and strive to upgrade his planting level as soon as possible.

Chapter 222

Qing Mengzhu and his group decided to rent the 134-hectare and 178-hectare farms.

Farms on the border are slightly different from those in the interior, and the procedures for renting a farm are also different.

Fortunately, Duan Yu'ang was there, Qing Mengzhu and their procedures went very smoothly.

Because both farms were state-owned, they leased them for the maximum term, fifty years each.

It's not good to do anything right now because of the snow and ice. Once spring arrives, they can send a construction team to lay out the irrigation facilities, build warehouses and living quarters, and then they can start preparing for planting.

Qing Mengzhu was very excited. She had barely slept these past two days, as she had been busy planning the construction and cultivation of the farm.

Upon returning to Vine City, Qing Mengzhu immediately convened a meeting with Li Ba and the others, instructing them to prepare a large quantity of seeds.

These seeds need to be prepared in advance and used in the spring.

It's January now. Although it's the coldest time of the year, it's also close to the point where things are about to bottom out and rebound.

Spring will begin at the end of the month. After that, the weather will warm up quickly, and all kinds of crops can be planted.

In order not to delay spring plowing, they need to deeply plow the land and bury base fertilizer at this time, waiting for planting.

In addition, the various facilities that have been in use for a year also need to be repaired.

The field ridges need to be reinforced with soil, the ditches need to be dredged, the roads need to be repaired, and the monitoring systems and meteorological monitoring systems in the farmland also need to be inspected and maintained.

They have many things to do, and hiring someone can't solve the problem.

While they were busy, Qing Mengzhu discovered one day that the radishes in his field had reached their peak ripeness, now being the juiciest and sweetest, and he had to harvest them quickly.

If we don't pull them out now, they'll grow for a few more days and then flower, and the flesh will become dry, fluffy, and soft, making them completely inedible.

So, Qing Mengzhu asked someone to pull up the radishes.

They chose a sunny day to pull up the radishes. The workers grabbed the radish leaves and gently pulled, and the heavy radishes emerged from the soft soil.

The harvested radishes were neatly arranged on the ridges of the field, their green leaves and white radishes lined up like plump radish babies lying in the soil, basking in the sun.

Upon receiving the news, Zhou Yan rushed over, picked up the radishes and examined them carefully. Then he said to Qing Mengzhu, "This batch of radishes is better than the last batch."

Qing Mengzhu slightly raised her chin. "That's right. Our planting techniques have improved, the quality of our fertilizers has improved, and even the radish seeds are from seeds we saved ourselves. How could they not be good?"

This year's batch of radishes is already at the "Good Grade+" quality level, which is only 76% away from "Fine Grade- " – which is already very good for radishes.

Zhou Yan picked up a radish, weighed it in his hand, and asked, "Are we going to use these radishes to make preserved radish this year?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's up to you. If you want to make preserved radish, then make it. If you don't want to, you can use it in soups or dishes. If all else fails, I'll have He Xi others put some up for sale on their online store."

This year's radish yield is quite high, estimated at 4,000 jin per mu. With more than five mu of land, harvesting 20,000 jin will be very easy.

There are so many radishes, Zhou Yan probably won't be able to use them all, and Qing Mengzhu didn't really plan to put them up for sale online.

The "Good Grade+" radishes are priced at 13 Star Coins per pound in the Interstellar Mall. Selling them to the Interstellar Mall is the most profitable option; listing them online is just a cover-up.

Zhou Yan put aside his busy work and made a special trip over there, mainly for the radishes. Hearing what he said, he immediately replied, "Let's make them. I'll bring some people over tomorrow or the day after, and we'll make this year's preserved radishes."

Qing Mengzhu: "How many do you want? There are more radishes this year; I can give you about 20,000 jin."

Zhou Yan: "Then let's make 20,000 jin. We happen to have a cellar to store preserved radish, so making a little more won't hurt."

Zhou Yan acted immediately, quickly finding people to make preserved radish.

Their preserved radish must have the skin on. When making it, they first take it to the river to wash off the surface mud, and then take it to Qing Mengzhu's house to wash it a second time with well water.

Qing Mengzhu wouldn't waste the well water after washing the radishes; he would take it to the fields to water the vegetables in the afternoon.

Once all the radishes are washed clean, the root hairs removed, and they are dried, they can be cut.

Zhou Yan and his colleagues sharpened the kitchen knives until they gleamed; the moment a knife touched a plump radish, the radish would split with a crack.

The split radish is very juicy, crisp, sweet, and sweet, and the air is filled with its fresh aroma.

They cut the radishes into thick strips, then laid them out to dry in the golden winter sun. After absorbing the sunlight and north wind, they lost about half of their moisture, then coated them with coarse salt to ferment, and waited to dry them again.

Over time, these radishes will gradually turn into dark, fragrant preserved radishes, which can then be made into various delicious dishes.

They are currently taking the first step.

Everyone moved small stools to the drying ground, slowly slicing radishes one by one, chatting idly amidst the fragrant aroma of the radishes.

When the conversation turned to farms, Zhou Yan revealed some news. "I have a friend who is the head chef at a high-end restaurant in Vine City's central business district, but that restaurant might be closing down now."

Qing Mengzhu: "Is it going bankrupt? What do they mainly do?"

Zhou Yan: "The Japanese restaurant, which costs 5,000 yuan per person, used to be doing well, but business has been sluggish in the last two years, and it has been losing money. So the owner wants to close down the restaurant."

Qing Mengzhu is no longer the clueless newbie she once was. Hearing this, she remarked with emotion, "A shop in the central business district with an average cost of 5,000 yuan per person can really suffer heavy losses."

Zhou Yan: "Yes, their boss is currently looking for a new employer within the industry. I'd like to take a look. If it's suitable, we might be able to open a branch."

Their farm has indeed met the requirements for opening a branch.

Their farm has been doing quite well since it opened.

At that time, given the size of their store and the state of the local catering industry in Vine City, a daily sales volume of 30,000 would be considered acceptable, and 60,000 would be considered excellent. However, once they opened, their daily turnover never fell below 100,000, and on holidays, the daily turnover could even soar to 200,000.

After more than half a year of development, their daily turnover has reached 300,000, and sometimes even exceeds 400,000, with a net profit of 100,000 to 200,000.

In the past month, their farm's average daily net profit has been over 173,000 yuan. Even with the bonus from the New Year's Day holiday, their profits are still considered high.

With their revenue, they are fully capable of opening branches in central business districts.

Seeing Qing Mengzhu deep in thought, Zhou Yan said from the side, "I've been to their store. Their decor is quite nice. If we take over, we only need to change the soft furnishings, which won't cost much and can save us a lot of money on renovations."

Qing Mengzhu nodded; they had saved a lot of money on renovations when they took over the farm.

Zhou Yan: "Their restaurant is in a good location, surrounded by large companies and many wealthy people, especially those who are willing to spend money on food."

Qing Mengzhu curiously, "Then how did they start losing money?"

Zhou Yan: "To save costs, they use inferior ingredients? Some ingredients, even if they're slightly inferior, will be noticeable to those with a discerning palate. If too many people can tell, the restaurant's reputation will be ruined, and it will be very difficult to recover."

That's true. Many people don't understand cooking at all, but they can taste the different layers of umami and texture in the ingredients. Changing the ingredients is definitely a big no-no.

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and asked, "If we open a branch, do you have enough staff there?"

Zhou Yan: "That's enough. We can split our current team into two groups and then hire a few more people. There are quite a few people who want to join our farm right now, so there shouldn't be any difficulties in recruiting."