Chapter 37

The chili peppers may need to get through this period of high temperature and humidity before they are in better condition.

Qing Mengzhu specifically mentioned this matter when she was chatting with Nian Xinfei.

Nian Xinfei also said that they received many requests for help, but it's the same every year; when the weather gets hot, they need to focus on prevention and control, mainly on prevention.

Regarding the chili peppers from Qing Mengzhu's family, Nian Xinfei suggested keeping an eye on them and waiting until there were signs of problems before applying any medication.

The chili peppers from Qing Mengzhu's family are now in peak production. If they continue to use pesticides, pesticide residues will become a major problem.

After listening, he decided to take the advice.

Since both experts and experienced farmers said so, he decided not to bother with it anymore.

After discussing pest control for chili peppers, Nian Xinfei asked, "[Are you still selling chili pepper seedlings? I'd like to buy five seedlings with flowers and fruit.]"

Qing Mengzhu: [No need to buy it, I'll give it to you.]

Nian Xinfei typed with a smile: [So extravagant?]

Qing Mengzhu: [That's right, you didn't make me pay for the seeds you sent me back then.]

Nian Xinfei: [Let's keep things separate. Chunxi mentioned to me that I had some extra seeds, so I sent you some. It's not the same as the carefully cultivated chili seedlings you have.]

Qing Mengzhu typed, wanting him to be polite.

Nian Xinfei sent her message first: [Besides, our lab has funding, and if we spend too little, I won't know how to reimburse it later. Let's do business between departments and private matters; just give me the market price.]

Qing Mengzhu: [Okay, thank you for supporting my business. How about two thousand yuan per chili seedling?]

His family's dried chili peppers are currently priced at 1,000 yuan per jin (500g), and it takes about eight to ten jin of fresh chili peppers to produce one jin of dried chili peppers.

With the yield of their chili seedlings, it's not difficult for one seedling to produce 20 to 30 kilograms of fresh chilies.

However, if he were to sell chili peppers, he would still need to manage, harvest, and dry them, which would require a lot of effort. Selling chili pepper seedlings would be a one-time solution, so he would definitely have to offer a slightly lower price.

Nian Xinfei didn't haggle: [No problem, when are you free? I'll bring some people over to dig up the chili seedlings; we might have to transport them back with the soil.]

Qing Mengzhu: [I'm free every day. Which day are you free?]

Nian Xinfei: [How about tomorrow afternoon? We'll come around 3 to 4 pm.]

Qing Mengzhu readily agreed, "No problem."

The two made an appointment, and the next day at around 3 p. m., Nian Xinfei indeed brought two students in a truck, along with a small tree digger.

One of the students was Jing Chi, who gave Qing Mengzhu a bright smile when he saw her.

Qing Mengzhu greeted them, "Are you hot? Would you like to take a break?"

Nian Xinfei: "It's so hot! Let's get to work first, and then we can rest sooner."

Nian Xinfei and Qing Mengzhu were dressed similarly, both wearing hats, sunglasses, and masks, as were the two students.

It's so sunny at this time of day; if you're not properly equipped, you'll get sunburned instead of just tanned.

Nian Xinfei directed Jing Chi to drive the small tree digger off the truck.

Qing Mengzhu glanced at it curiously.

Nian Xinfei explained, "Using a tree digger can dig up the chilies along with the soil, which helps preserve their vitality. Last time I came to check, I noticed that the row spacing of your chilies was quite wide, so this model of tree digger should be fine."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "I just didn't expect you to bring machines."

Nian Xinfei: "Digging by hand is too laborious and can easily damage the root system."

Jing Chi and his team were ready. They asked, "Professor, Brother Mengzhu, which side of the chili seedlings should we dig?"

Qing Mengzhu led the way. "Let's dig the ones on the side."

Soon, Jing Chi drove his excavator to the chili seedlings.

As he operated the machine, the robotic arm in front of the tree digger aimed at the chili seedlings and then cut straight down.

With a lift, the robotic arm lifted the chili seedlings, which were still covered with a bucket of soil. It even wrapped the soil with a black plastic film, making them look extremely neat, somewhat like the flowers sold in the market.

Qing Mengzhu was surprised that the process had gone so quickly and exclaimed in amazement.

Nian Xinfei looked at the dug-up chili seedlings and laughed, "These small machines are the fastest. If you're interested, you can pay more attention to this kind of content; it will save you a lot of trouble."

Qing Mengzhu nodded repeatedly. "We must start using the farm machinery."

Now this

Era

They no longer rely on purely physical labor for farming.

Author's Note:

See you tomorrow!

Chapter 37

In the afternoon, as the sun was setting, Qing Mengzhu carried a pesticide bottle on her back and a large bag in her hand, preparing to go to the field to spray pesticides on the tomatoes.

When he reached the field, Tan Wenlei saw him from afar and waved. "You're here?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes! Uncle Wenlei, I brought you an insect trap, come and get it."

Before coming over to spray pesticides, Qing Mengzhu had already told Tan Wenlei on WeChat, and Tan Wenlei was waiting for him in the field.

Tan Wenlei hurried over and said happily, "Thank you for your help."

Qing Mengzhu: "You're welcome, it's nothing."

As she spoke, Qing Mengzhu took out a stack of yellow insect traps from the large bag in her hand and handed them to Tan Wenlei: "There are sixty in total. Uncle Wenlei, take a look and see if they're useful. If they are, I'll buy you a batch."

Tan Wenlei: "It definitely works. I saw that the insect traps you hung in the field were very effective. Before, when others said that insect traps could be used, I thought it was a lie, but I didn't expect that they could actually catch so many insects."

Qing Mengzhu comforted him, "It's alright, you haven't used this before, it won't stop your vegetables from growing well."

Tan Wenlei chuckled, "That's true. In the whole village, apart from you, my cooking is just as good as anyone else's."

As he spoke, Tan Wenlei glanced at the other items in Qing Mengzhu's bag. "What pesticide are you going to spray today? Aren't your chili peppers fine?"

Qing Mengzhu took out the pesticide from inside. "Spray matrine, mainly as a preventative measure."

Qing Mengzhu's chili peppers and tomatoes were fine, but he noticed that several nearby fields had experienced an outbreak of chili pepper viral disease.

Pepper viral diseases are mainly transmitted by insects such as aphids and whiteflies. With several pepper fields so close together, insects might fly over.

He decided to be cautious and spray pesticides and take preventative measures to avoid a serious pest infestation that could lead to huge losses later.

Therefore, he carefully selected matrine, a broad-spectrum plant insecticide, specifically for controlling aphids, whiteflies, and other pests, and the spraying would not affect the chili harvest the next day.

Spraying pesticides is mainly to add an extra layer of protection.

He previously hung yellow insect traps in the fields, which also utilized the color attraction of aphids, whiteflies, and other pests to attract them and reduce the possibility of peppers and tomatoes being infected with viruses.

Tan Wenlei usually uses chemical pesticides and rarely uses this kind of alkaloid. After glancing at it, he sighed, "Everyone says your vegetables are well-grown, but nobody knows how much effort you put in behind the scenes."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "I don't give anyone the money I earn from selling vegetables, so what does it matter if they know or not?"

Tan Wenlei: "That's right!"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'm not chatting anymore, Uncle Wenlei. I'm going to spray the pesticide first, otherwise it'll get dark soon."

Tan Wenlei waved his hand. "Go on, go on."

Farmers typically choose to spray pesticides in the morning or evening to avoid the sunlight affecting the pesticides.

The best time to spray Qing Mengzhu is in the evening, mainly because many insects come out to forage at that time, and matrine is mainly a contact poison and a stomach poison, so it is more effective if it can be sprayed directly onto the insects.

After chatting with Tan Wenlei for a few minutes, Qing Mengzhu put on her hat and mask, mixed matrine with water from a nearby river, and began spraying the pesticide.

Tomatoes and peppers are both plants in the nightshade family. He needs to spray them together, covering more than seven acres in total. He can't finish spraying them today; it will take at least three days.

He had checked the weather forecast; the chances of rain in the next three days were not high, so spraying the pesticides separately would be fine.