Chapter 3 (continued)

Qing Mengzhu accepted the tea Qing Yukai had poured and took a sip. "Why didn't the previous tenant renew the lease? Do you know, Yukai? When I asked, his family just said he was going back to his hometown."

"He did go back to his hometown," Qing Yukai said. "I heard your previous tenant's hometown has developed too. He's gotten the hang of farming, so maybe he wanted to go home and start his own business."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. He had been worried that something was wrong with the land, which was why the tenant hadn't renewed the lease.

After they had chatted for a while, Qing Yukai asked what Qing Mengzhu thought. Did he want to rent the land to Uncle Dapang's family?

"I haven't made up my mind yet," Qing Mengzhu said. "I just quit my job, and I haven't decided what to do next. I'm thinking about taking the land back and farming it myself."

Qing Yukai: "Farming it yourself would be good too. Staying home is better than going out to work for someone else. Farming is very scientific now, and there are several agricultural machinery services in town. You can rent machinery for plowing, sowing and harvesting. Once you've harvested the rice and vegetables, you can sell them directly through our community agriculture program or supermarkets. You don't have to worry about finding buyers anymore."

Qing Mengzhu smiled. "So we're dealing directly with sellers now?"

Qing Yukai: "Yeah. The government took the lead to protect farmers and city residents alike and support local agriculture. If you're interested, I can tell you more."

Qing Mengzhu quickly nodded. "Go ahead, Yukai!"

Qing Yukai took out some documents and told Qing Mengzhu about the supermarkets and community-supported agriculture organization that worked with their village.

The supermarket was called Hongda, a large local chain. The community-supported agriculture organization was called the Public Benefit Community Association, another long-established local institution.

There was more freedom in working with the supermarket. Farmers could wait until their produce was harvested before contacting it to see whether it wanted to buy, and the prices were good too.

Working with the community-supported agriculture organization offered relatively less freedom. Farmers had to grow different varieties of vegetables and crops according to its needs, and there were also requirements for the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The advantage was that it would buy the entire crop, guaranteeing farmers a basic income.

When Qing Yukai had finished explaining, he said, "I'll find you some information. Take it home and think it over. Agriculture is doing well in the village now. With the dozen or so mu your family has, as long as you follow the guidelines, the annual net profit per mu can generally reach over six thousand."

Qing Mengzhu did the math in his head. That would bring the annual profit to almost a hundred thousand, about as much as he had actually earned after taxes at his job.

The difference was that working away from home put more pressure on him mentally, while farming was more physically demanding.

Now that he was bound to the Interstellar Mall, farming might offer him different opportunities.

Qing Mengzhu said he would go home and think it over. Qing Yukai urged him to hurry. Spring plowing had already begun, and if he didn't rent out the land now, it would be hard to find a tenant this year.

Qing Mengzhu agreed, though he knew he was actually leaning toward farming.

The rent was only 380 yuan per mu per year. Even if he held it up for two years, he would only lose a few thousand yuan.

Now that he had the Interstellar Mall, he might as well give it a shot. Maybe he could build a career for himself.

The ceiling in his previous line of work had been so low, and he wasn't especially gifted artistically. Even if he kept pushing himself, he probably wouldn't have much of a future in it.

Qing Mengzhu had pretty much made up his mind on the way home. When he was almost there, he took a detour and walked around the fields.

After years of exchanges and coordination, his family's thirteen point three mu of land were now all in one piece, at the eastern end of the village, right beside the river. Two hills and two large ponds were nearby as well.

With such good land, the harvest should be good if he used it for farming.

Back home, Qing Mengzhu found the lotus seeds he had drawn the day before and set twenty aside as spares. He disinfected a small knife, carefully cut an opening in the end of each seed with the hole, then put them in a freshly washed large laundry basin to soak and set them in direct sunlight to encourage germination.

He had watched his grandparents grow lotuses when he was little. He knew his way around them.

For two days in a row, Qing Mengzhu looked up information to prepare for growing lotuses.

On Saturday night, Zhao Hexi contacted him on WeChat: [Are you free tomorrow? I have the day off and want to come see you.]

Qing Mengzhu: [Come on over! I'll send you my location. Drive here and I'll treat you to a meal.]

Zhao Hexi sent a grinning emoji: [Wait for me. I should get there sometime after ten tomorrow morning.]

After their chat, Qing Mengzhu felt

much more at ease. He even found a family that raised free-range chickens in the village's WeChat group and messaged them privately to buy one to serve Zhao Hexi.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi had been friends for years, but Zhao Hexi had never been to Pingkou Village.

Now that he had driven over, Zhao Hexi said to Qing Mengzhu as soon as he got out of the car, "The surroundings here are really nice. They're almost as good as a scenic spot."

Qing Mengzhu said, "A scenic village?"

Zhao Hexi laughed. "Mountain scenery, river scenery, village scenery. It's all scenery."

Smiling, Qing Mengzhu led Zhao Hexi into the courtyard. "If you like it, I'll take you for a walk this afternoon when the sun isn't so fierce."

Zhao Hexi spotted the lotus seeds Qing Mengzhu had put in the courtyard to germinate. He walked over and squatted down. "Lotus seeds? You're really planning to take up farming?"

"Yeah," Qing Mengzhu said. "When one door closes, another opens. Let's see if I can make something of myself in agriculture."

Zhao Hexi turned to look at him. "I can't imagine you tanned black as charcoal."

Qing Mengzhu: "It's fine. I'll protect myself from the sun: hat, mask and sun gloves, the works. Besides, I'm planning to grow lotuses, aren't I? There won't be that much work."

He had already thought it through over the past two days. He would grow lotuses and vegetables and take on some illustration and design commissions online. Even if farming didn't work out, he wouldn't lose the skills he made a living with.

Seeing how serious he was, Zhao Hexi didn't try to dissuade him further. "True. Switching fields and taking it easy for a while sounds good."

The two went inside to chat. Qing Mengzhu cut up a watermelon for Zhao Hexi and told him a little about his current plans.

He couldn't talk about the Interstellar Mall, but there was no problem discussing community-supported agriculture and the supermarket chain he could deal with directly.

After hearing him out, Zhao Hexi felt that the basic conditions in Qing Mengzhu's village really were good, and that farming did seem feasible.

Zhao Hexi spent the day in Pingkou Village. That evening, after they had eaten an early dinner, Qing Mengzhu stuffed the local specialties he had bought in the village into Zhao Hexi's trunk.

After Zhao Hexi got into the driver's seat, Qing Mengzhu looked at him and suddenly asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Zhao Hexi's hand paused on his seat belt. "What?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled. "You're not yourself. Something's weighing on you, isn't it?"

The smile faded from Zhao Hexi's face. After a long pause, he said, "Ming Chunxi is back in the country."

Qing Mengzhu fell silent at once.

Zhao Hexi sighed. "I kept wondering whether I should tell you, but you have so many mutual friends and acquaintances. Even if I didn't say anything, you'd find out before long."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "Yeah."

Zhao Hexi met Qing Mengzhu's gaze. "Are you okay?"

Qing Mengzhu nodded again. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm fine."

Zhao Hexi didn't know what else to say. He reached out and patted Qing Mengzhu's arm, then slowly drove away.

Qing Mengzhu watched Zhao Hexi's car leave and stood there in a daze for a long time.

Ming Chunxi was the son of the woman his father had remarried, his stepbrother. He had once been the object of his unrequited love, and he still was.

Qing Mengzhu couldn't say when his feelings for Ming Chunxi had changed.

He had first realized it just after taking the college entrance exam.

That day, he had woken from a dream drenched in sweat, his pants and bedding a mess.

It had been a wet dream, and a nightmare.

He had tried to escape those hopeless feelings. From eighteen to twenty, he had struggled with them almost every day.

That lasted until Ming Chunxi finished his credits ahead of schedule and went off to a top international university. The two never saw each other again.

He had thought those feelings would gradually fade with time.

He hadn't expected Ming Chunxi to come back to the country.

But what did it matter if he was back? Ming Chunxi was a top-tier elite, while he himself had now taken up farming. Their paths were destined not to cross.

Qing Mengzhu gave a self-mocking smile, his feelings all jumbled together. Even by the time he fell asleep, he still hadn't figured out exactly how he felt.