Chapter 243

Qing Mengzhu: "It's too early for coffee; we'll have to wait at least two or three years."

Zhao Hexi said with anticipation, "I really hope your coffee can hit the market soon. The combination of coffee and milk will surely amaze a lot of people."

Qing Mengzhu also hoped that since his coffee seeds were bought from the Interstellar Mall and he had carefully cultivated them using various fertilizers and Spirit Pearl Dregs water, the quality should be able to surpass "Superior Grade- ".

He had been to so many places and seen so much coffee before, and the best coffee he had ever tasted was only "Fine Grade" quality.

If their coffee could reach the "Superior Grade" level, it would be a game-changer.

Zhao Hexi chatted about coffee without any stumbling, then turned to Rice: "The Rice is now in the grain-filling stage, and this year's Rice is growing well. Whether it's your family's Rice or the company's Rice, we expect a bumper harvest this year."

Qing Mengzhu had just checked on the crops in the fields that morning, and upon hearing this, she changed the subject, saying, "They're almost fully grown; it's sure to be a bumper harvest."

Zhao Hexi: "Should I prepare some rice packaging or something? The company has grown so much Rice; we're going to sell it this year, right?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Sell! We'll categorize it into premium, first-grade, and second-grade rice, and do a good job of screening and differentiation."

Zhao Hexi: "No problem, I'll have the designer design it properly, using different packaging for different types of rice."

Qing Mengzhu, holding a bowl of double-skin milk pudding, was too lazy to put the bowl down, so she gently kicked his foot as a gesture of fist bump. "Thank you for your hard work."

Zhao Hexi said energetically, "It's not hard work. I don't find anything that can make money hard work."

Author's Note:

Thank you everyone for the New Year's greetings and those sent to the [New Year's Greeting Wall]! I received them all, they're so heartwarming! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]

Happy New Year, see you tomorrow!

Chapter 243

When Qing Mengzhu and his team were harvesting Rice, it was a bright and sunny day.

This is their second year growing Rice, and it's also his second year growing Rice.

From planting ryegrass to improve the soil at the beginning of the year, to breeding in March, to transplanting in May, and countless times of fertilization and weeding in between, these Rice finally matured and turned the color of sunshine.

Qing Mengzhu stood on the edge of the field, her heart pounding. Her gaze towards the rice paddies was complex, a mixture of pride, satisfaction, and the joy of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ming Chunxi put his arm around his shoulder and asked, "Shall we go to the fields now?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Down!"

Zhao Hexi led the harvesting team with newly sharpened sickles. "Let's start harvesting then. This year's late summer heat is really fierce. The sooner we finish harvesting, the sooner we can rest."

Qing Mengzhu: "After we finish collecting the goods, please have some watermelon with everyone."

Zhao Hexi: "Haha, come on, come on."

Everyone quickly went into the fields and began harvesting the rice.

Manual harvesting of rice can reduce the breakage rate of rice grains, making it easier for the rice to be used for seed production.

In addition, Qing Mengzhu has always cultivated the land with great care, and using a harvester would easily damage the physical and chemical properties of the soil.

After weighing the pros and cons, they decided that it would be better to collect the goods manually, even if it was a bit more tiring.

So a large group of them came over and harvested the rice by hand with sickles.

This year's Rice is still of "Fine Grade+" quality, but it is only 11 percent less in terms of material accumulation than "Superior Grade- ".

Qing Mengzhu felt that next year would be about the right time, and there should be a breakthrough next year.

This year's rice has long ears, many grains, and thick stalks.

Qing Mengzhu grabbed the rice stalks with his hands, and with a sickle, he cut them down, making a rustling sound. In a short while, he cut down a heavy bundle, and the air was filled with the fresh fragrance of rice.

In the nearly dried-up rice paddies beneath their feet, many loaches slithered about, occasionally bumping into people's feet and startling them.

After realizing what had happened, many people found it amusing and rediscovered some of the joy they had as children harvesting rice.

The people were cutting the rice with a soft, rustling sound, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.

Qing Mengzhu buried herself in cutting, feeling a sense of accomplishment with each handful she cut.

Therefore, when someone called him, he was still eager to continue.

Qing Mengzhu looked up and asked in the sunlight, "What?"

Gu Benshu called out, "Mr. Bai and the others are here President Qing, didn't you say you'd call me when they arrived?"

Qing Mengzhu turned her head and looked around. "Are you here? Where are you?"

Before Gu Benshu could answer, Qing Mengzhu had already spotted several experts by the rice paddy. "I see them, I'll go over now."

Gu Benshu: "Alright, I'll go and greet them first."

Qing Mengzhu wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm and called to Ming Chunxi beside her, "Chunxi, shall we go over?"

Ming Chunxi put down the rice stalks and reached out to pull him. "Go wash your hands first."

Qing Mengzhu looked down at her mud-covered hands. "I really forgot."

They washed their hands and feet by the river before going to the experts.

Today's guests are mainly Academician Bai Wenru, director of the Yuancheng University Rice Research Institute, Professor Cheng Yizheng, a Rice expert from Beicheng University, and their students.

They had contacted Qing Mengzhu in advance, Qing Mengzhu knew they would come, but she didn't expect them to arrive so early.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi walked up to them, intending to greet them, but overheard them talking about Rice.

Bai Wenru: "... I think their Rice has good lodging resistance. There was a typhoon recently, but I didn't see any Rice lodging."

Cheng Yizheng: "It might be a problem with the selection of varieties; we specifically chose varieties that are resistant to lodging."

Bai Wenru: "When I came last year, I felt that the Rice they were growing looked a bit like Qingyou 19. But this year, I can't see any characteristics anymore. I wonder if it's a special variety?"

A student asked from behind, "Professor Bai, you've been to so many experimental sites in so many provinces, how come you couldn't see it?"

Bai Wenru: "I can't tell, the difference is too big. It might be their new variety."

Upon hearing this, Qing Mengzhu called out from behind, "Academician Bai, Professor Cheng."

Everyone turned around when they heard the sound.

Bai Wenru a smile, "We were just talking about your Rice, specifically its Rice resistance. Have you been specifically cultivating it in this area?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "We haven't deliberately cultivated it, but the rice stalks of our family's Rice are relatively thick and strong, and have a strong ability to resist lodging."

Bai Wenru: "The Rice stalks of yours are quite thick and look very sturdy. If only our experimental rice had been this sturdy, we wouldn't have suffered a complete crop failure because of the typhoon."

Cheng Yizheng, holding an electronic magnifying glass, said, "Your Rice also has a low rate of empty husks. Judging from this, you should be able to control it to 0.67 percent, right?"

Qing Mengzhu shook her head. "We don't know yet. We'll have to wait until we collect them and take them to the lab for analysis to get accurate results."

Cheng Yizheng asked with great interest, "Do you have a professional Rice laboratory now?"

Gu Benshu quickly interjected, "We're currently assembling the team. If either of you has any outstanding talents, please feel free to recommend them to us."

Cheng Yizheng: "So that means not yet. You guys seem to be better at just planting than we are at research."

Qing Mengzhu modestly, "No, we're just going in different directions."

Cheng Yizheng: "To be honest, I just observed it carefully, and the insect resistance of your Rice is even stronger than our specially optimized Huaxia No. 3 Rice."

Bai Wenru and Cheng Yizheng had always admired their Rice, and they were exceptionally polite to them today.

Qing Mengzhu guessed that they might have ideas about cooperation.

After inspecting the fields for a while, Qing Mengzhu invited them to the farm to chat over tea.

Bai Wenru and Cheng Yizheng both kept the students behind to help harvest the Rice, while the two went to the farm to discuss business.

After sitting down in a private room at the farm, Bai Wenru sighed, "The Rice cultivation in our country is truly getting better with each generation. When I was young, I followed my mentor to work on the three-line system, traveling from Qiongzhou to Heiliao, running from south to north and back again every year. My legs were practically about to break."