Chapter 45

Goose and duck pens are not formal buildings; all you need to do is enclose a piece of land with wood or bamboo, and then build a shed in the corner to provide shelter from the rain and sun for the poultry.

Because it's not a formal building, it doesn't need to be reported, so it can be built very quickly.

Ming Chunxi said, "Let's go cut bamboo tomorrow. While I'm still here these next couple of days, let's get it done."

Qing Mengzhu nodded repeatedly. "Great! I'll borrow a small tricycle to drive down the mountain, then I won't have to carry bamboo around so much."

Qing Mengzhu asked Qing Pingdun to borrow a tricycle, Qing Pingdun agreed without hesitation, even pointing out the specific location for them to cut bamboo.

Qing Pingdun: "You should go to Dakai Mountain to cut bamboo. That bamboo grove originally belonged to Uncle Fang Fan, but his family moved away and it became wild. The bamboo there is a bit tougher. Just cut it down and throw it down the mountain; it will slide down the slope. Then you can collect it at the foot of the mountain. It's just the right distance for a tricycle to drive down."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "Thank goodness you told me this, otherwise we would have done a lot of useless work."

Qing Pingdun: "I didn't know this before. I went to other mountains to cut bamboo, which took a lot more effort and exhausted me. Later, I discovered this trick."

With Qing Pingdun's guidance, their bamboo-cutting process went smoothly.

In just one day, a duck pen and a goose pen were added behind Qing Mengzhu's house, and even the previous backyard was reinforced and the shed for shading the hazel grouse was widened.

The three circles are now lined up in a row, neat and tidy, and look very beautiful.

Qing Mengzhu was very satisfied. "It's finally done. It was such a mess before, even I felt terrible looking at it."

Ming Chunxi: "The goose pen has been built right up to the edge of the otter's burrow."

Qing Mengzhu also saw it. "It's alright, it's good for it to get used to the place, we'll be dealing with it by the pond again later."

I wonder if it's because his pond has a nice environment, but the goslings really like it.

As soon as Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi chased them away, they jumped into the water and hid under the lotus leaves to forage and play.

As herbivorous waterfowl, they seemed quite content with the depth of Qing Mengzhu's pond. When chased out, they always walked very fast, and it was not so easy to get them back.

The goslings don't eat shrimp much either; they only go underwater to eat Hydrilla verticillata and lotus leaves every day.

Qing Mengzhu gradually added vegetables to their feed—sweet potato leaves, water spinach, red amaranth, pumpkin blossoms, chopped winter melon, etc.—and they ate whatever was available and adapted very well.

The geese, which are usually very difficult to raise, have all survived without any problems. Qing Mengzhu bought 172 geese, and after completely changing their diet, there were still only 172 of them.

Qing Mengzhu divided the flock of geese into two groups and drove them to two different ponds, where they settled down.

Now, without the need for Qing Mengzhu to chase them, they can split into two groups each day after arriving at the pond, one group going to a pond and quickly diving in to play in the water and forage for food.

As for the water birds, water snakes, and water rats that occasionally come down to snatch shrimp, they are quickly chased away and pose little threat to the shrimp.

Looking at the geese in the pond, Qing Mengzhu felt that their family's aquaculture business had finally gotten on the right track.

Author's Note:

Note: Different breeds of geese have different diets; Qing Mengzhu and his family raise herbivorous geese.

Chapter 45

Ming Chunxi was going back home on Sunday evening.

His vacation is over, and he'll be starting work tomorrow.

Qing Mengzhu didn't say anything, and his expression didn't change much, but Ming Chunxi could sense his frustration.

As they parted, Ming Chunxi said, "Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll take my annual leave and come visit you then."

Qing Mengzhu put the bag containing dried vegetables, mushroom oil, and fresh vegetables into the trunk. "It's a deal then, see you in a while."

Ming Chunxi earnestly agreed, "See you in August."

Having agreed on a time to meet again, parting wasn't so disheartening.

With one less person, the house inevitably became much quieter. Qing Mengzhu was too lazy to stay at home and spent all day working in the fields.

He focused his attention on the field and soon noticed something was wrong with the tomatoes in his vegetable garden.

His family currently has two batches of tomatoes: one batch of old tomatoes planted in April, and the other batch of new tomatoes that were seedled in June.

The problem originated from the old tomatoes that were planted in April.

For some reason, the leaves of this batch of tomatoes started to turn yellow and dry out, and the fruits became smaller and cracked.

He checked the book, applied fertilizer and sprayed pesticide, but still couldn't stop the change.

The tomato vines gradually withered, and fewer and fewer tomatoes were produced.

Qing Mengzhu asked Tan Wenlei to take a look and see if he could find the problem.

Tan Wenlei looked at the tomatoes from left to right and said, "These tomatoes are probably too old."

Qing Mengzhu: "What?"

Tan Wenlei gestured. "Everything has a lifespan, you know? Vegetables too, they get old and stop bearing fruit, then they slowly die."

Qing Mengzhu looked at the tomatoes. "But I haven't even planted these tomatoes for more than a few months. Even if others started breeding them in February, it's only been a little over five months at most."

Tan Wenlei: "Your tomatoes haven't been planted for more than a few months, but they've produced a lot of fruit. If you count the number of fruits, those whole trees must have used up all their nutrients, right?"

In that case, Qing Mengzhu couldn't refute it. His family's tomatoes were indeed growing exceptionally well; Di Caiyong couldn't possibly use them all, and he even dried a lot of tomatoes.

Qing Mengzhu: "So, my tomatoes are prematurely aging?"

Tan Wenlei corrected, "I think it's just normal aging; the nutrients have been depleted."

Qing Mengzhu sighed, "Alright then. Thank you, Uncle Wenlei."

Tan Wenlei glanced at the two acres of tomatoes that Qing Mengzhu had recently planted. "I see that your newly planted tomatoes will soon be flowering and fruiting; you should be able to catch up with the harvest."

Qing Mengzhu: "Not so fast. To see fruit, we'll have to wait at least another month. I'll think of a way to keep this batch of tomatoes going for a while longer, and see if we can achieve a seamless handover between the two batches."

Tan Wenlei reminded him, "Aren't you familiar with people at the Agricultural University? Could you ask them if you could get some pesticide to spray or something?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Let me ask."

Qing Mengzhu had already become familiar with Nian Xinfei and the others, so now that Tomato had a problem, he was asking Nian Xinfei about it.

Both are Solanaceae crops, and since Nian Xinfei studied chili peppers, she should also be quite familiar with tomatoes.

After Qing Mengzhu sent over the photos and videos, Nian Xinfei confirmed their guess. "[It's just aging. I don't have any medication here, and personally, I don't think there's any need to try to reverse it.]"

Nian Xinfei: [You can use some fertilizer on the newly planted tomatoes to encourage them to flower and bear fruit sooner.]

Qing Mengzhu: [I understand, Xinfei.]

Nian Xinfei: [You're welcome. By the way, if your tomato seedlings get too old, it's best not to plant any nightshade plants next time, otherwise pests and diseases might increase.]

Qing Mengzhu also knew the risks of continuous cropping: [Okay, for my next batch of vegetables, I plan to plant some radishes, cruciferous ones, that should be fine.]

After exchanging a few words, Qing Mengzhu continued with her work.

Even if an old tomato plant isn't doing so well, it still needs to be taken care of; it can't just be given up on.

In summer, it gets dark late and slowly.

Qing Mengzhu was busy until it got dark. When he looked up again, the heavy twilight piled up over the fields like a thick fog.

The stars and moon hadn't appeared yet, and visibility was less than five meters.

He pressed his Jingming acupoint, went to the river to wash his hands, and then tried to herd the goslings back into the pond.

To make feeding them easier, he would herd the geese out every morning and herd them back in the evening.

This has been the procedure for a while now, and the little goose has gotten used to it.

However, when he went there today, the pond was empty, and there was no sign of any geese.

He did find otters and red foxes hunting.

Qing Mengzhu asked the otter and the red fox, "Did you see any trace of the flock of geese?"