Chapter 231

That day, Qing Mengzhu returned from inspecting the tea in Zhaiqian Village, just as Zhao Hexi came to find him with a box of mulberries.

Qing Mengzhu a little surprised. "The mulberries are here so early this year?"

Zhao Hexi: "It's getting late, it's already March. Once the weather warms up, the mulberry trees will be laden with mulberries. In two weeks, we probably won't be able to eat them all."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's good. Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I visited the orchard. How are the other fruit trees? Have the persimmon trees grown by now?"

Zhao Hexi: "They've grown, but they're still small. They probably won't bear persimmons this year; we'll have to wait until next year. The blueberry bushes are doing well; there are still blueberries left. I didn't pick any today, but I'll pick some for you next time."

Qing Mengzhu: "What about the small blueberry bushes grown from seeds?"

Zhao Hexi: "They're still young. We just fertilized them once, so they should grow better this year. Right now, the orange trees in the orchard are growing the best, each one with lush branches and leaves."

After saying that, Zhao Hexi remembered something else. "Oh, right, the bees in the orchard are doing quite well too. As soon as the weather warms up, they come out to collect nectar. This batch of honey is probably mixed with blueberry honey; I'll bring it over for you to try later."

Qing Mengzhu also remembered. "You told me before that the bees swarmed, how many beehives are there now?"

Zhao Hexi: "Eight hives! We can't keep that many in the orchard. I'm planning to bring them over to the vegetable garden in a few days. How many hives do you have on the mountain?"

Qing Mengzhu: "A little less than in the orchard, we have six boxes now."

Zhao Hexi was surprised. "There are so many?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, there are more than I expected. One mountain can't support so many bees, so I moved them to another mountain."

Zhao Hexi: "Will they sting the animals on the mountain? Is the cow about to give birth? Will the bees sting them?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "As long as the animals don't bother the bees, they won't give birth. Cows don't give birth that quickly either; it will take some more time."

Zhao Hexi: "I glanced at your cows that day, and their bellies were quite big. I thought they were about to give birth and were eagerly anticipating their milk."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "Let's wait a few more months. A cow's pregnancy lasts nine months."

Chapter 231

The ryegrass in Qing Mengzhu's field was quickly inoculated with root nodule fungi.

The ryegrass covers more than 180 acres, and the cost of purchasing rhizobium fungicide preparations alone was quite high.

However, the effects of inoculation were also very obvious; the ryegrass grew more tender, lush, thick, and appealing.

The cows belonging to Qing Mengzhu's family originally didn't like eating the grass at the foot of the mountain, but now they seem reluctant to walk past it.

They gradually learned to come down the mountain to graze, and fresh grass now makes up a larger and larger proportion of their diet, almost 40%. They also eat 50% bamboo leaves and 10% hay, making their diet very healthy.

Qing Mengzhu ignored them and let them eat as they pleased.

So, led by the lead cow, the herd of cattle would slowly come down to graze every day.

Qing Mengzhu never expected that after the mountain road was built, it would be used most by this herd of cattle.

Their cows are quite self-disciplined; after coming down from the mountain, they only eat grass and don't eat anything else.

Qing Mengzhu originally wanted to hire someone to herd the cattle, but after observing the situation, he felt it was unnecessary and decided to let the cattle roam freely.

That day, Qing Mengzhu came to inspect the farmland. When the employees who were fertilizing the fields saw him, they all greeted him, "Boss, you're here to inspect? Oh, the Guard and Dharma Protector are as well-behaved as ever today."

The Guard and Dharma Protector walked on either side of Qing Mengzhu. Hearing someone praise them, they proudly puffed out their chests and raised their necks, appearing even taller and more handsome, with perfectly defined muscles.

Seeing them like this, Qing Mengzhu couldn't help but bend down and rub their chests, saying with a smile, "Yes. Did you see the cow? Did the cow fight with the goose today?"

Their cows are fine when they come down to graze, except that the geese are hostile towards them.

There are now more than 30,000 geese raised in the fields. The geese are numerous and powerful, and they have a strong sense of territory. Every time the cattle come down the mountain, the geese will spread their big wings to chase and drive them away, and even try to peck at the cattle.

The cattle are not to be trifled with either. When attacked, they will lower their heads and try to butt the geese, regardless of whether they are pregnant or not.

When the cattle have just come down the mountain, the Guard and Dharma Protector will try to separate the cattle and geese if they see them in conflict.

The geese and cattle had both been dealt with by the two dogs and were now subdued by them. Each time they were driven away, the disputes would quickly subside. However, when the two dogs were out of sight, the geese would gather together and start fighting again.

When everyone heard Qing Mengzhu ask, they laughed and said, "Go ahead and fight! When won't we fight? We'll stop after we're done fighting."

Qing Mengzhu rubbed her forehead. "That's true."

"Don't panic, boss. Manager Zhao over there. Nothing will happen."

Qing Mengzhu in surprise, "What is He Xi doing over there? Is she also here on patrol?"

"Fishing, Manager Zhao said the fish are really fat at the beginning of spring, and the earthworms raised on rye grass are also good. We should fish more."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then I'll go take a look."

Following the direction everyone pointed, Qing Mengzhu went to find Zhao Hexi.

Zhao Hexi came over, grabbed a small stool, and sat down by the river to fish.

Qing Mengzhu quietly walked over from behind and saw Zhao Hexi guarding two fishing rods. Beside him was a small bucket half-filled with earthworms, and a fish basket containing fish was placed in the water, which appeared to be empty.

The red fox and the otter were guarding Zhao Hexi, their eyes fixed on the water, looking very obedient.

Zhao Hexi would occasionally reach out and stroke the thick, smooth fur of the red fox and otter, looking very content.

Before Qing Mengzhu even got close, the red fox's two large ears twitched, the tips of its ears twitched, and then it turned its head and whimpered.

Zhao Hexi suddenly felt his hand go empty; the red fox had already run to Qing Mengzhu and was hugging his leg with its two front paws. "Waaah!"

The otter, a beat slower, also ran over. "Eek."

Zhao Hexi turned her head and asked, "Mengzhu? What brings you here?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I heard you caught a lot of fish here?"

Zhao Hexi: "I just arrived, it'll be here soon."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at the small stool under his buttocks. The metal legs of the stool were already deeply sunk into the soft, wet soil. Obviously, if he had just arrived, the stool wouldn't have sunk so deep.

I reckon Zhao will be out of commission again today.

Noticing Qing Mengzhu's gaze, Zhao Hexi shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What do you want from me?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Brother Zhou will be coming over tonight, you should come over for dinner too, let's get together?"

Zhao Hexi readily agreed, "Okay, I'll catch a few fish later, and we'll have fish for dinner tonight."

Qing Mengzhu glanced at the otter and smiled, "Alright, then I'll wait for your fish."

In the evening, Zhou Yan came over after getting off work.

Qing Mengzhu specially caught two hazel grouse and also prepared tender spring bamboo shoots.

Zhou Yan was a little surprised when he entered. "Am I the only one here? Haven't they come yet?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Chunxi is working overtime and said he'll be back late. Yanhuan is coming back with him. He Xi is fishing; I'll urge him to come back."

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow. "How was his fishing trip?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "It's hard to say, but he'll definitely bring back fish when he comes back."

Even if he can't catch any fish, he can still go down and catch a couple of otters.

Qing Mengzhu finished speaking with Zhou Yan, she made a phone call to Zhao Hexi.

Zhao Hexi said she would be back soon.

Twenty minutes later, Zhao Hexi returned on his motorcycle with two fish.

The red fox and the otter sat on the back of his motorcycle, looking quite imposing.

In addition, he also picked a large bunch of leafy green vegetables.

Qing Mengzhu looked down at the bunch of vegetables carefully, then asked somewhat uncertainly, "Artemisia?"

Zhao Hexi: "Yes, it's watercress. I picked it from your pond. It looked so fresh and crisp, so I brought it back."