Chapter 230 (continued)

Having returned to Vine City, Qing Mengzhu reviewed the report and decided to have someone conduct research on ryegrass.

After receiving the news, Gu Benshu said to Qing Mengzhu, "Our biggest problem right now is a shortage of manpower. If we want to make the research on ryegrass a key research project, we need to recruit another batch of people."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then let's recruit. We can recruit all at once during the spring recruitment season."

Gu Benshu's eyes lit up. "Ordinary employees are easy to recruit, but to recruit project leaders, I'll probably have to go through a headhunting firm."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "That's fine. Don't be stingy when it comes to talented people."

Gu Benshu: "With your words, I'm not afraid anymore. Then I'll prepare a recruitment plan and submit it for your review."

Qing Mengzhu: "Go ahead, you'll have a hard time."

With their substantial financial resources, they quickly recruited suitable personnel.

The project leader was not recruited from the market or recommended by a headhunter, but recommended by Ke Shuwen.

Ke Shuwen recommended her senior, Xu Qilin.

Xu Qilin's resume wasn't the most impressive, and her interview performance wasn't the best either, but she was the only one who was considered an "expert."

The other job seekers that Qing Mengzhu and her team encountered were all only "expert" level individuals.

If she could recruit "expert" level personnel, Qing Mengzhu felt that was about right.

Although there are "master" figures in the market, they are extremely rare. Generally, masters either start their own companies or directly compete for awards in major research institutions and would never go out to seek employment.

Of course, it's not absolute. If Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.. were to expand two or three times in size or influence, it would likely attract "master" level figures.

Qing Mengzhu was present throughout the entire spring recruitment process, and he was the one who made the final decision on almost everyone hired.

Some interviewees did not perform very well, and under normal circumstances, HR would not hire these people at all.

This time, the top boss personally made the decision, and although the HR department was a little puzzled, they still complied.

After the people were recruited and spent time with them, everyone realized that everyone Qing Mengzhu had chosen to hire was highly capable. Among so many people, Qing Mengzhu had never misjudged anyone.

This made everyone even more puzzled.

Zhao Hexi couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did you judge them? I've never seen you study any skills for judging people, so how do you judge people so accurately? You can even judge the people on Brother Zhou's side."

Qing Mengzhu: "You develop a feeling after seeing it many times. I've told you before, it's just a feeling."

Zhao Hexi: "Alright, I'm truly impressed by your move. With so many new recruits, do you have any plans? Or are you going to follow my usual practice and just break them up into several teams?"

Qing Mengzhu only confirmed that the people he recruited were truly capable; as for the specifics of how the work would proceed, he didn't care. "Just follow your plan."

Zhao Hexi quickly confirmed the personnel arrangements with him, and then said, "I thought that after doing so much work before the Lunar New Year, we could finally relax a bit after the Spring Festival, but I didn't expect it to be even busier after the Spring Festival."

Qing Mengzhu patted him on the shoulder. "You've worked hard. Things should be a bit easier after you finish planting this batch of ryegrass."

Zhao Hexi scoffed, "Don't try to fool me. By the time we finish planting this batch of rye grass, those two farms on the border should be warm enough for us to go there to plant. I'll definitely have to go on a business trip."

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll go with you then."

Zhao Hexi: "That area is so flat, it needs mechanized planting. Shouldn't we buy some machinery around now?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There's so much to do this spring, is the finance department under pressure?"

Zhao Hexi shook his head. "We won't be nervous no matter which company is in trouble. We earned so much last year, we have enough funds saved up."

Qing Mengzhu laughed and said, "Then let's buy it. We also need to inspect and repair the warehouse and other facilities. We can't skimp on money."

Putting everything else aside, having money really makes things easier.

Spring has arrived. Although they have a lot of work to do, they have recruited enough people and distributed the tasks among themselves, so each person's workload is not much more than last year.

On the contrary, the company's business is thriving, and everyone is working harder and feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

Spring has arrived, but occasional cold snaps prevent crops from being transplanted, and most seedlings are being kept in greenhouses for further cultivation.

The ryegrass they planted adapted well to the current weather; it grew rapidly after being planted, and in just a few days, both the sown and cutting ryegrass were growing very well.

The ryegrass in the field is growing so well that the geese raised by their company go there every day, eating and drinking to their hearts' content; they really love this batch of ryegrass.

Qing Mengzhu never expected that this batch of ryegrass would benefit goose farming before even repairing the soil.

That day, Qing Mengzhu went out for an inspection and happened to see their newly recruited expert, Xu Qilin, leading her team to observe the condition of the ryegrass.

Seeing Qing Mengzhu approach, she straightened up and greeted Qing Mengzhu, "President Qing."

Qing Mengzhu walked over with a smile, "Dr. Xu, how are you? Are you settling in?"

Xu Qilin: "I'm very used to it, everything at the company is fine. President Qing, I have a suggestion regarding the cultivation of ryegrass."

Qing Mengzhu's expression turned serious. "You speak."

Xu Qilin: "I noticed that the ryegrass here is different from ordinary ryegrass; it's of better quality and more resilient. Also, the soil here is very well-maintained, with very few toxic or harmful bacteria and viruses."

Qing Mengzhu nodded; they were indeed paying great attention to disinfection. "Is there a problem with this?"

Xu Qilin nodded. "The soil condition is very good, but there are relatively few miscellaneous bacteria in it. I specifically tested it, and the root fungi in the ryegrass roots are also relatively few. This situation is quite rare. I personally think it is necessary to inoculate the ryegrass with 'root fungi' to help them form 'mycorrhizae'."

As Intermediate Grower, Qing Mengzhu has her own set of planting systems and a wealth of knowledge in planting.

As soon as Xu Qilin mentioned it, Qing Mengzhu immediately remembered.

"Mycorrhizae" refers to a complex formed by rhizomycetes and the roots of higher plants; it is very common and very important.

It can help plants improve their nutrient absorption efficiency and enhance their resistance to adverse conditions.

Rhizomycetes are like probiotics in the human gut; they live in symbiosis with plants and offer many benefits.

Inoculating plants with rhizomatous fungi is just like supplementing humans with probiotics; there's nothing surprising about it.

Qing Mengzhu hadn't thought of it before, but now that Xu Qilin brought it up, he nodded. "Thank you for your help. Do you know how to get vaccinated?"

Xu Qilin: "I will. If needed, I can contact suitable companies to purchase commercially available root fungi."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's up to you. By the way, our company has some unique earthworms; you can bring them over for us to study together. I remember that earthworm castings can accumulate various nutrients and improve the absorption efficiency of ryegrass."

Xu Qilin quickly agreed, "Okay, I'll go get the earthworms in a bit. Should I ask Manager Zhao about the earthworms?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'll take you there. The earthworms are breeding in our compost heap, and there are quite a lot of them now."

Earthworms have always been a popular product for their company, consistently ranking among the top ten in monthly sales.

Although the price of an earthworm is not high, earthworms are very easy to reproduce, and the earthworm business is very stable. Zhao Hexi attaches great importance to their earthworm business, and now there is a dedicated person in charge of earthworm breeding.

Qing Mengzhu took Xu Qilin to get earthworms and also instructed the person in charge of earthworm breeding that if Xu Qilin and the others needed earthworms in the future, they could be sent over at any time.

The person in charge readily agreed.

Although Qing Mengzhu, as the chairman, doesn't do a lot, his presence is the backbone of the company.

Despite the busy schedule of spring, their company operated smoothly without any mishaps.