Chapter 224 (continued)

This year they are still using milkvetch as green manure, planting it on the empty land.

Qing Mengzhu also tried planting a Tuan Brassica, and the results were quite good. However, once the Tuan Brassica produced seeds, the Tuan Brassica the soil from which it was planted were sent for research. Only by seeing the specific data could the true effectiveness of the Tuan Brassica be determined.

What's unusual this year is that most of the seeds they planted came from seeds saved from previous years.

Chili peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, winter melons, pumpkins, loofahs... These seeds were sent to Li Ba and his team for cleaning, testing, disinfection, and coating before being brought back and placed in seedling trays for breeding.

Because they carefully select and process the seeds, their quality is better than those bought elsewhere.

After all, seeds sold outside only cost a few dollars or a dozen dollars a pack, and the cost is there, so they certainly can't compare to the seeds that they've processed with a lot of money and effort.

The seeds from Qing Mengzhu's family are excellent; I can't speak for other things, but those who cultivate seedlings know it.

That day, Feng Ningxiang approached Qing Mengzhu, somewhat embarrassed, and asked, "Mengzhu, didn't you say before that you were going to do something to promote seeds? Everyone asked me to inquire when the seeds will be promoted, and whether we can sign up to participate in the experiment?"

Qing Mengzhu looked at Feng Ningxiang: "Auntie Feng, are you interested?"

Feng Ningxiang rubbed her hands together. "That's right, the company's seeds are much better than those from outside. Everyone here has grown the company's tomatoes and peppers before, so we know how good they are."

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll ask Li Ba first. We didn't have any plans to promote the seeds before, and we don't know if they have enough seeds."

Feng Ningxiang's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I'll wait for your news."

Qing Mengzhu told Li Ba, and Li Ba replied, "President Qing, have they all found your location yet?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Already?"

Li Ba nodded. "These past few days, quite a few people have come to ask me about seeds, especially tomatoes and peppers. They want to know if the company will start selling tomato and pepper seeds soon. If not, they'll have to use the seeds they've saved to grow seedlings."

Their company has had plans to sell tomato and pepper seeds since last year, but they are still in the testing and approval process and are far from being available on the market.

Qing Mengzhu: "Does the company have a lot of tomato and pepper seeds stored?"

Without even looking at the data, Li Ba replied without hesitation, "Yes, these are the two types of seeds our company produces the most of."

Qing Mengzhu: "I remember that before the seeds are officially released to the market, they need to undergo small-scale trial planting to obtain further experimental data?"

Li Ba: "Yes, I submitted a work plan to you and Manager Zhao. Originally, we planned to conduct a large-scale trial planting this fall or next spring."

Qing Mengzhu: "Can it be done earlier?"

Li Ba considered for a moment. "The problem shouldn't be too serious."

Qing Mengzhu made the decision. "Then let's move it forward by a year. I'll have He Xi send someone over to handle the registration and trial planting. You guys can also put forward a new work plan. Any problems we encounter will be resolved during the trial planting process."

Qing Mengzhu wanted to bring forward the trial planting plan, and Zhao Hexi had no objections and quickly provided a solution.

Zhao Hexi: "I thought before that we could arrange the seed project this year. With our company's current scale and capabilities, even reserving a separate experimental field wouldn't be a big problem."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then discuss it with Li Ba, and let me know after you come up with a plan."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, I'll work overtime tonight to finish it."

Qing Mengzhu rubbed her temples. "You should select the farmers who are participating in the trial planting, and remember to provide the subsidies. We should try to make it as standardized as possible, otherwise the subsequent production and market launch of the seeds will be difficult."

Zhao Hexi: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll try to improve the plan."

Qing Mengzhu patted Zhao Hexi on the shoulder. "It's a good thing you're here, otherwise all these trivial matters would drive me crazy."

Zhao Hexi keenly sensed his mood and looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "What's bothering you? I'll take care of things at the company, and things are going quite smoothly with Chunxi and the others. I even saw a big internet celebrity visit them the other day, saying they're incredibly talented. As for Brother Zhou, the farm just won an award, and business is so booming that reservations are required—"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's about planting; I feel like my planting skills are stuck at a bottleneck."

Zhao Hexi understood. "Your professional skills can't be improved for the time being, right?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "That's right. My planting skills don't seem to have improved much compared to last year."

In the past six months, he has read all sorts of books on planting and has also actively engaged in planting.

He planted tea, coffee, and bamboo; he planted soybeans, Rice, and chili peppers; and he also planted all kinds of radishes, cabbages, and head cabbages.

He could clearly sense that his planting techniques had improved very little compared to before.

He was adept at fertilizing, loosening the soil, and watering, but he didn't seem to grow any particularly outstanding crops.

His current planting relies mainly on the effects of the Spirit Spring Water, fermented fertilizer, and Soil Fertility Restoration Agent. He even doubts whether his crops could stand out from other farmers without these things.

Zhao Hexi mainly does management work now, which is not very technical, and he has not yet experienced any technical bottlenecks.

He understood Qing Mengzhu's troubles, but he couldn't truly empathize with her.

Zhao Hexi comforted her, saying, "Some things need to happen naturally. Maybe one day you'll suddenly have new insights and understandings."

Qing Mengzhu: "I hope so."

Qing Mengzhu was struggling with his planting techniques when Ming Chunxi came over from the backyard and told him, "The tea trees have sprouted, and the buds are growing quite well."

Qing Mengzhu perked up. "Have they sprouted? I'll go check on them now!"

Ming Chunxi: "It's sprouted, and tender leaves have grown."

They originally had only three tea trees in their backyard, but now they have seven.

Thankfully, there were no other houses behind them, only flat wasteland, and further away were mountains and forests. Otherwise, if they were always tinkering around in the backyard, it would have been completely crowded long ago.

Qing Mengzhu went to see the tea trees.

The tea trees were planted somewhat irregularly. After more than a year of growth, they grew from small branches to more than a meter tall, with many fine branches.

It didn't lose many leaves in winter, and now it has sprouted new buds, which are hidden among the old leaves and not very noticeable.

Qing Mengzhu had been wandering around the backyard quite a bit these past few days, but she hadn't noticed that the tea trees had already started to sprout.

Qing Mengzhu reached out and parted the leaves to carefully examine the tender buds on the tea tree. "The buds have sprouted very early this year."

Ming Chunxi: "It's probably because it's been warmer these past few days, and the sun has been out."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's possible. There are just too many thin, weak branches. I'll get a pair of scissors later and cut off the excess branches."

Ming Chunxi broke off a thin, weak branch. "I see that the tea leaves are growing better this year than last year. Has the quality of the tea improved?"

Qing Mengzhu examined it carefully. "It's improved a bit; now it's only about 20 percent less in material accumulation than 'Fine Grade+'."

Ming Chunxi: "Then the tea produced this year should taste even better."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Definitely. I'll prune the branches later and bring two buckets of Spirit Spring Water to water them."

The tea leaves have sprouted; spring is almost here.

Qing Mengzhu held the branch, a smile on her face. Another spring had arrived; time had flown by. Their lives were going well.

Although their progress this year has not been very significant, they have achieved a lot, and they are likely to achieve even more next year.

Thinking of this, Qing Mengzhu felt much more relaxed. She happily jumped onto Ming Chunxi's back and hugged his neck. "How are we spending the New Year this year? Are we still spending it at home? Should we invite Auntie to come and stay for a few days?"