Chapter 232

Chu Yanhuan: "Our company has done a lot of work in promoting rural development."

Qing Mengzhu's ears felt a little hot, and she raised her hand to scratch them. "It's not that bad yet. We can only say that we've provided some jobs in the village. To promote rural development, we still need to work harder."

Ming Chunxi put her arm around Qing Mengzhu, "Our company is just starting out, and we will actively shoulder our social responsibilities in the future."

Chu Yanhuan touched his chest. "If you put it that way, I suddenly feel that coming back to hang out with you guys isn't so bad."

Chapter 232

After Qing Mengzhu and the others arrived, they went directly to Yi Yanbai's house with their gifts.

Yi Yanbai's parents were both home. When they saw them coming, they warmly invited them to drink tea and eat cookies.

Qing Mengzhu said she was going to take her friends out for a stroll, and then they could have tea when they returned. She also asked the two of them to prepare lunch.

They both readily agreed.

Qing Mengzhu led Zhou Yan and the others to look outside.

It rained today, and the roads outside were not easy to walk on. Qing Mengzhu gave each of them a stick to use as a walking stick so they could use it for support.

Reaching the halfway point of the mountain, looking at the mist-shrouded green hills, Chu Yanhuan said, "When I was in school, I went hiking in Suo Village with my classmates. At the time, I wondered why other people's villages were so beautiful, while ours was just so-so. Now it seems, it's not that our village isn't beautiful; if we tidy it up, it's quite pretty."

Qing Mengzhu said, "We have quite a few beautiful villages here. When people and nature find a balance, it becomes very beautiful."

Chu Yanhuan: "Yes, you are the group that helped find the balance."

Qing Mengzhu patted his shoulder. "You too."

Everyone stood halfway up the mountain, enjoying the breeze. It was springtime, and the wind blowing in their faces was gentle, carrying a moist scent.

Qing Mengzhu explained to them, "The mountains over there are planted with bamboo, and the tea gardens are over there. The tea gardens aren't very large yet; our goal this year is to triple their size."

Zhou Yan: "Wouldn't that require a lot of tea seedlings?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, after we finish picking the spring tea, we'll cut off the branches to cultivate, and then we'll bring the villagers in to plant them together."

Zhou Yan: "That's not easy."

Qing Mengzhu: "With a little more trial and error, there shouldn't be any problems. We'll provide the tea seedlings and technology, while the partners will provide the land and management, and be responsible for harvesting. We'll purchase the tea based on its quality, and then set a minimum guarantee to ensure the partners receive a minimum income."

Zhou Yan: "That's great! Everyone would love to work in their beautiful hometown and not have to go out to work."

As they were talking, some villagers wearing rain boots came down from the mountain. Seeing Qing Mengzhu, they came over to greet them, "Boss Qing."

Qing Mengzhu came the most; everyone knew him.

"Hello." Qing Mengzhu nodded and greeted them, then asked with a smile, "Did you go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables?"

"Yes, we went to pick toon leaves and bracken. Hey, do you want some? Try our toon leaves?"

Seeing that the other person was about to shove the toon leaves into his mouth, Qing Mengzhu quickly waved his hand, saying, "We don't need them, you keep them for your own family."

"I can't eat that much."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then how about freezing them or drying them into dried vegetables?"

"Haha, that works too. What brings you here this time?"

Qing Mengzhu: "How's this year's tea harvest? And while you're at it, see if there are any bamboo shoots?"

"There are bamboo shoots. We all saw them that day. There are quite a lot of bamboo shoots on the mountain. They're sprouting up along the bamboo rhizomes like bubbles in the rain. It's just that the bamboo probably hasn't been planted long enough, so the bamboo shoots aren't very big yet."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then let's go up the mountain and take a look. It doesn't matter how big it is, as long as it tastes good."

Qing Mengzhu and his group bid farewell to the villagers and continued up the mountain.

Zhou Yan said, "I didn't expect everyone to be so enthusiastic."

Qing Mengzhu: "That's how it is in the village. Everyone sees each other every day, so they chat a bit when they meet. They're quite hospitable."

They went to the mountain where bamboo was planted first.

The bamboo planted last year has now grown many branches and leaves, but it is still not tall enough, and the branches and leaves are relatively thin and weak.

Bamboo shoots have indeed sprouted on the mountain, but not as many as the villagers said; only a few have grown sporadically.

Qing Mengzhu glanced at them and said, "The small bamboo shoots are too small. If we leave them here, the bamboo that grows won't be of good quality. We can break them off and take them back to eat."

Chu Yanhuan became excited. "What are the standards for breaking bamboo shoots?"

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "Stretch out your fingers. If a bamboo shoot is thinner than three fingers put together and longer than your palm, then you can break it. Such bamboo shoots won't grow very long."

Chu Yanhuan gestured and said, "I understand. Let's break it down into smaller parts then?"

Qing Mengzhu looked at the others and, seeing that no one had any objections, nodded. "Then let's disperse."

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi went together, while the others each chose a direction and went to pick bamboo shoots along the mountain forest.

After breaking off pieces for more than half an hour, everyone gathered together. Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi broke off the most, each breaking off a small bundle, while the others only broke off a dozen or so pieces.

However, Zhou Yan found some bracken.

Zhou Yan: "There are quite a lot of wild vegetables here. Besides bracken, there are dandelion, houttuynia cordata, and wild garlic, which should make a good local specialty."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then we'll tell the villagers and see if anyone's willing to pick some wild vegetables to sell. We can also pick our bamboo shoots to eat, although the quality isn't great, we can still taste the freshness of spring."

The quality of this batch of bamboo is not as good as the bamboo they grow themselves, but it is better than the bamboo on the market. The bamboo shoots are probably of "Fine Grade" quality.

As a vegetable, this quality is already quite good.

If they grow for another two years, their quality should reach "Fine Grade" or even "Fine Grade+" level without any problem, and then we can supply the farm with a stable supply.

Zhou Yan: "Do you still have tea leaves? Let's go check on the tea leaves later. I'd like to see if we can use them to cook something?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's go now. We can walk down this path and reach the tea plantation."

They followed the path to the tea plantation and happened to see Zhou Minyue, wearing a raincoat and rain boots, tending to the tea trees.

When Zhou Minyue saw Qing Mengzhu, she greeted them with a smile, "Boss, you've arrived?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded and said, "We've come to take a look at the tea trees."

Zhou Minyue: "The tea trees are growing quite well this year, with few pests or diseases. After this rain, I'll fertilize them a bit, and they'll grow even better."

Qing Mengzhu went over and examined the tea leaves carefully. "They look quite good. Let's pick some to take home and use in cooking."

Zhou Minyue: "Okay, you guys go ahead with your work. I'll stay here. If you need anything, just call me."

Qing Mengzhu took Zhou Yan to pick tea leaves.

Zhou Yan used tea leaves extensively when cooking, but rarely picked tea leaves himself.

Zhou Yan pulled the tea leaves off the branch and smelled them. "They smell quite fragrant; they have a unique aroma even without being roasted."

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, this batch of tea has the most unique aroma. To preserve its fragrance, we used cuttings to propagate it, specifically to cultivate this special tea variety."

Zhou Yan nodded. "I was wondering why you hadn't finished developing the tea garden after all this time. So that's why."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Using cuttings takes a relatively long time to plant. If we buy tea seedlings directly, it will be much faster. However, if we want to maintain the characteristics of the tea trees, we can only take cuttings slowly; there's no other way."

Soon, they gathered bamboo shoots and various wild vegetables and returned home.

Chen Meimei Yi Ousheng had already prepared a meal to entertain them.

The table was set with eight dishes and a soup: stir-fried river shrimp with tea leaves, stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork, stewed duck with tea leaves, stir-fried minced pork with bamboo shoots, spicy bracken with garlic, stir-fried eggs with toon leaves, steamed cured pork liver, stir-fried greens, and a pork rib and radish soup.