Chapter 46 (continued)

Its mother bamboo is of "Supreme Grade- -", and if the grower takes good care of it, it may eventually reach the same quality as "Supreme Grade- -".

So, the Superior Grade is actually the Supreme Grade- item.

Qing Mengzhu stared at the product details, finding it hard to imagine what this bamboo would eventually look like if it could be grown.

The product details also praise its fine texture, tall bamboo, sweet and crisp bamboo shoots, and jade-like color, making it a rare and excellent bamboo product.

Looking at this section of bamboo, Qing Mengzhu became more and more captivated.

This bamboo is really nice. The Interstellar Mall doesn't usually sell bamboo, so it would be a shame not to buy it since I finally found it.

Qing Mengzhu turned her head and glanced at the growth of the Luring Grass in the flowerpot on the windowsill.

The Luring Grass are now quite large, and the leaves can be cut off and used at any time.

Based on this, he was quite confident that the bamboo would survive.

Unfortunately, after buying Spirit Pearl Dregs and dried meat lately, his account balance has dropped to 21.42. He can't afford to buy even a single bamboo leaf, let alone this piece of bamboo.

Where can I get a batch of Star Coins?

Qing Mengzhu was determined to work hard to earn Star Coins to buy this piece of bamboo.

He contacted Feng Ningxiang and asked them to come pick chili peppers again the next morning.

Feng Ningxiang asked on the phone, "Do we have to pick them tomorrow morning? Not the day after tomorrow?"

The chili peppers from Qing Mengzhu's family are usually harvested every three days. One portion of the harvested peppers is sold to Zhou Yan, and the other portion is transported back to the rooftop to dry.

They were just picked yesterday; Feng Ningxiang wondered if he had remembered wrong.

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, I need to pick them tomorrow morning; I have other uses for them."

Feng Ningxiang: "Okay, I'll talk to Miao Lan and the others."

To earn Star Coins, Qing Mengzhu plans to sell all the vegetables she can.

He has so many vegetables; he can sell some first to save up, and if that doesn't work, then he'll figure something out.

Qing Mengzhu had a good plan, but to her surprise, Feng Ningxiang called early the next morning, "Mengzhu, the weather forecast says there will be moderate rain today. Do we still need to pick the chilies if it rains? There's nowhere to dry them, and water-soaked chilies spoil easily."

Qing Mengzhu went back to check the weather forecast, and sure enough, it showed that it would rain today.

Qing Mengzhu hadn't planned to dry the chilies anyway, and the rain wouldn't bother her, so she said, "Let's pick them; we'll dry them for as long as we can."

He can then sell the chili peppers to the Interstellar Mall and explain that they were only good for composting because they got rained on.

After hearing this, Feng Ningxiang no longer objected. "Then let's come over now."

Qing Mengzhu got up, the two dogs in the house also got up and followed him around.

He went to make breakfast, and while he was at it, he also made a less salty and less seasoned version for the two dogs— the Dharma Protector and the Guard didn't like dog food, they just preferred stir-fried meat and vegetables mixed with rice.

After finishing their meal, Qing Mengzhu rode her electric scooter to the fields.

Feng Ningxiang and the others had arrived and were picking chili peppers in the field.

Upon seeing Qing Mengzhu, Feng Ningxiang asked again, "A lot of the chilies are quite red today. Should we pick them all?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Go ahead and pick them, it's alright."

Feng Ningxiang: "Alright, let's begin."

There's a lot of farm work to do lately, Qing Mengzhu hired Feng Ningxiang and the others to come and help, but it's impossible to keep an eye on things all the time.

Qing Mengzhu simply made Feng Ningxiang the team leader, in charge of the work of the three of them. After they finished, they would summarize the results with him and give her an extra 500 yuan each month.

Feng Ningxiang is good with computers and can make spreadsheets. She also has a very clear mind. After she became the team leader, she saved Qing Mengzhu a lot of trouble.

The aunties were very quick and efficient, and soon they placed bags of chili peppers on the ridge of the field.

Qing Mengzhu didn't need to send chili peppers today, so she didn't call Qing Pingdun over.

He tied all the picked peppers to the back of his electric scooter and slowly transported them back.

As dawn broke, the Dharma Protector and Guard herded the goslings out.

The goslings walk too slowly, and it would be a waste of time to urge them along. Now that the two dogs can urge them along, Qing Mengzhu is too lazy to do it herself.

Qing Mengzhu and the dogs bumped into each other.

The two dogs shooed the goslings aside and greeted him loudly, "Woof woof!"

Qing Mengzhu pulled over to the side of the road, and as she passed the dogs, she gave them a thumbs-up. "Well done!"

The two dogs got even more excited. "Woof woof!"

Tan Wenlei saw it from afar and shouted, "Are you letting the dogs herd your geese?"

Qing Mengzhu shouted, "Yes!"

Tan Wenlei: "Good heavens! You're using a puppy!"

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "They're not exactly puppy dogs, they're at least teenage dogs."

Tan Wenlei: "You're awesome!"

Qing Mengzhu carried four large bags of chili peppers back, then returned to carry more chili peppers and vegetables.

After a busy morning, Qing Mengzhu harvested a total of seven bags of chili peppers and five bags of various vegetables.

The Interstellar Mall sells chili peppers for 2.68 Star Coins per pound. Here are 311 pounds, totaling 833.48 Star Coins.

With the addition of other vegetables, Qing Mengzhu's account balance became 1073.52 Star Coins, still 8925.48 Star Coins short of 9999.

Even if he receives a thousand Star Coins every three days, it will still take him more than a month to save up enough Star Coins.

He picked almost all the vegetables he could today, and he certainly won't have this income next time.

This means it might take him two months to save up enough Star Coins.

If you come back to buy this bamboo two months later, it might already be dead. Even if it isn't, it's very likely that someone else will have bought it, or it will be taken off the shelves.

Qing Mengzhu tried to accumulate Star Coins, selling almost all the salable goods, but it was still just a drop in the bucket.

Before I could save up enough Star Coins, the downpour came first.

A violent storm raged with lightning, and the rain formed a white curtain.

Qing Mengzhu stood under the eaves, the wind carrying water droplets lifting the hem of his clothes and giving him goosebumps.

Once the lightning subsided slightly, he went to the backyard to check on the poultry, holding his umbrella.

The ducks and goslings were fine, but the hazel grouse huddled in the shed, chirping and with their eyes closed.

Seeing their feathers flying everywhere and their heads hanging low, Qing Mengzhu was afraid they would be blown away by the wind. She quickly herded them into the cage and put them in, then took a hoe to clear the debris from the drainage ditch and speed up the drainage.

After working hard in the wind and rain for half a day, Qing Mengzhu had almost finished tidying up the backyard and even found a few duck eggs that had been cooled by the wind.

He took the duck eggs back to the kitchen, made a simple lunch, and ate it with the dogs.

Seeing that the raindrops had lessened and the thunder had subsided, he didn't even bother to take a nap. He quickly put on his rain boots and straw hat to go check on the pond.

With such heavy rain, the water level is bound to rise. I wonder if the protective netting has been washed away, or if the shrimp have escaped.

Qing Mengzhu hurried towards the pond, and the rest of the villagers followed suit.

The river water turned muddy and yellow, roaring as it rushed downstream, its surface covered with debris such as grass and branches.

If debris in the river hits the protective netting, it can easily break through it.

Seeing this, he became even more worried and quickened his pace.

Fortunately, when we arrived at the pond, although the water level had risen, it wasn't too high, and the three layers of protective netting were firmly attached to the inlet and outlet, preventing the shrimp from escaping.

One of the three layers of protective netting in both ponds is torn, but that's alright, he can just replace it when the weather is better.

As for the lotus leaves and seedpods, the rain had almost no effect on them.

They are still standing in the pond, just like before.

After inspecting the pond, Qing Mengzhu went to check on the vegetables in the field.

The vegetables were a bit worse, but that was still within his expectations.

They're not far from the sea, and there are many typhoons in the summer and autumn, so he's experienced a lot of them and is now quite experienced.

The vegetable garden is usually well-maintained. Although the wind and rain have knocked down some branches and leaves, they will grow back quickly given time.

The only regret is that the older batch of tomatoes was severely damaged, and many of them collapsed.

He had been hoping the old tomato seedlings could hold on for a while longer, but seeing this, he figured it was better to clear them out sooner rather than later.

Qing Mengzhu dug up the field ridges to drain the farmland.