Chapter 5 (continued)

Normally, Qing Mengzhu would have tossed the fallen leaves away without a second thought.

Now, growing the lotus had been such hard work, and this variety was so rare, that he looked at the leaves in his hand several times and still couldn't bear to throw them away. He planned to take them home and make lotus leaf porridge, to see whether the lotus seeds sold by the Interstellar Mall had any special flavor.

Qing Mengzhu carried the lotus leaves home with the baskets on a shoulder pole. Just as he reached his door, the village parcel depot called to say he had a package.

He put his things in the courtyard and strolled over to collect it.

When he reached the depot, its owner, Qing Pingdun, greeted him warmly from a distance. "I just went around delivering packages from house to house, but you weren't home. I was afraid it would get lost if I left it at your door, so I brought it back."

Few outsiders came to their village, but the village cats and dogs roamed freely, and packages did sometimes get carried off, especially small ones.

Qing Mengzhu smiled. "It's fine. It's only a few steps away, so I can just come and get it myself."

Qing Pingdun said, "If you're not in a hurry, I can bring it over when I make deliveries tomorrow. But I saw you'd bought EM bacteria and figured you probably needed them soon, so I let you know."

EM bacteria were actually a microbial preparation containing a mixture of many bacteria. Qing Mengzhu had bought a culture specifically for fermenting fertilizer.

The wild vegetables had spoiled after the Interstellar Mall sucked them dry. Qing Mengzhu was worried it wouldn't be safe to throw them straight out, and he also hated to waste them, so he had piled them in an empty planting vat, planning to add some cultures and compost them.

He did need this batch of EM bacteria in a hurry.

Qing Mengzhu collected his package, then stopped by the small supermarket to buy vegetables and several large bags of sugar.

Back home, he put the groceries away and took the EM bacteria to the large vat holding the vegetables. He poured in the bacteria and sugar, then mixed them thoroughly.

The composting method he was using was called bokashi composting. The sugar was mainly there to feed the cultures.

This composting method was relatively efficient and produced less odor.

However, he had no previous experience with it and wasn't sure how well it would work. He would have to observe it for a while before he could tell.

If bokashi composting worked well, he would buy a few compost buckets with taps after a while, making it easier to collect the fermented liquid for fertilizer.

After mixing the fertilizer, Qing Mengzhu tidied the courtyard and put away the tools he had used that day.

As he cleaned up, he took the wilted lotus leaves to the kitchen, planning to make porridge that evening.

The lotus leaves were small and limp, and no longer looked very appealing. Holding them in his hand, Qing Mengzhu suddenly thought of the Interstellar Mall.

Wait, I grew these lotus leaves myself, and they're agricultural products. I should be able to sell them, right?

Qing Mengzhu slapped his forehead, immediately took out his phone, and scanned the lotus leaves in his hand.

The results came back quickly. The leaves weighed 17.3 grams in total, and the mall offered 0.012 Star Coins for them.

In other words, a jin of lotus leaves could sell for 0.346 Star Coins, while the wild vegetables had previously sold for an average of only 0.017 per jin. That was a twentyfold difference!

And these lotus leaves had only just sprouted!

As they grew, the lotus leaves would accumulate more and more material until they reached their peak. If he sold them then, the price would surely be even higher!

What was more, lotus was mainly grown for its roots, seeds, flowers, and so on. The leaves weren't even its main product!

After his initial delight, Qing Mengzhu quickly calmed down. He needed to see how many Star Coins other lotus leaves would sell for and compare them before he could judge the difference between the Interstellar Mall's lotus seeds and ordinary ones.

With that thought, Qing Mengzhu opened the courtyard gate and headed out.

Plenty of people in the village grew lotus, and there were also wild lotuses floating in ponds and ditches. He wanted to gather a variety and bring them back for a look.

Qing Mengzhu soon collected a pile of lotus leaves around the village.

Some had been picked from other people's plants, but more were from wild lotuses. Lotus leaves were nothing rare, and no one generally minded if someone picked one or two for shelter from the rain or for cooking.

When Qing Mengzhu scanned the leaves from other people's plants with the Interstellar Mall, it refused to appraise them on the grounds that reselling was not allowed.

Only when he scanned the wild lotus leaves did the Interstellar Mall offer a price: 0.002 per jin, lower than any of the wild vegetables Qing Mengzhu had picked before!

Qing Mengzhu's heart beat a little faster. The Interstellar Mall was indeed enticing him to sell more high-quality goods.

The crops from the Interstellar Mall really were somewhat better in quality, too.

If that was true of crops, what about livestock?

Standing behind the courtyard gate, Qing Mengzhu searched the Interstellar Mall for shrimp.

The Interstellar Mall didn't carry "live animals," so he couldn't find shrimp fry or anything of the sort, but he did find viable shrimp eggs.

Qing Mengzhu swallowed, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

"Calm down, calm down," Qing Mengzhu muttered to himself. "I need to be mindful of biosecurity."

He had already considered the relevant issues when he won the lotus seeds in the lottery.

Generally speaking, introducing a new lotus variety wasn't much of a problem. Plants were prone to mutation anyway, and lotus was popular these days, with many new commercial varieties being crossbred every year.

Shrimp were different. If an introduction went wrong and contaminated local species, causing a biological invasion and ecological damage, the consequences would be too serious.

Even so, Qing Mengzhu couldn't resist searching the Interstellar Mall for shrimp first.

Perhaps because he had mentioned wanting to raise marsh shrimp before, the Interstellar Mall returned only marsh shrimp eggs. The variety was called "Savage Marsh Shrimp."

He read the description, which said they would degenerate into ordinary marsh shrimp within a few generations and would not cause biological contamination.

It sounded good. After reading the description, Qing Mengzhu glanced at the price.

The Interstellar Mall sold shrimp eggs in two sizes: 100 grams for 858 Star Coins and 500 grams for 4,000 Star Coins.

So expensive. I can't afford them at all!

Looks like I'll have to find a way to earn more Star Coins.

After looking at it, Qing Mengzhu's heart sank.

His Interstellar Mall account was empty, and he didn't have much money in his real-world account either.

He had done nothing but spend money these past few days, and his only income was unemployment benefits. He couldn't go on like this forever; he needed to find ways to earn more and spend less.

Qing Mengzhu went back to his room and made a plan.

Now that the lotus seeds were planted, he had some free time, so he decided to give up the apartment he had been renting.

He had now decided to devote himself to agriculture, and leaving the apartment empty was a waste. If he didn't give it up now, he would have to pay another month's rent when May came around, which would be quite a loss.

Qing Mengzhu contacted his landlord on WeChat to discuss moving out.

He had lived in that apartment since graduating, for over three years, and the arrangement had always worked out well for both of them.

When the landlord heard he wanted to move out, he readily agreed and told him to let him know once he had packed up, so he could return his deposit.

Over those three-plus years, Qing Mengzhu had acquired quite a bit of furniture and many appliances. It would be a shame to throw them all away, but he already had some appliances at his country home and didn't need two of everything.

So Qing Mengzhu sent Zhao Hexi a list of appliances on WeChat and asked if he wanted them. They were things like a rice cooker, an air cooler, and an electric heater-things that would be a shame to throw away but could easily deteriorate in storage.

Zhao Hexi quickly replied: [Yes! Thanks, boss!]

Qing Mengzhu: [Come pick them up when you have time. The landlord and I agreed that I'd clean the apartment and return the key before May.]

Zhao Hexi: [How about today? It's Friday, so I'll treat you to a meal, and after I pick up the appliances, I can help you clean.]

Qing Mengzhu sent him a picture of a cupped-fist salute: [I'll drive over now. Pick a restaurant, and I'll wait there for you to get off work.]

Once they had made their plans, Qing Mengzhu got in his car and prepared to drive into the city to see Zhao Hexi.

The two brothers rarely got a chance to meet, and Qing Mengzhu had originally wanted to bring Zhao Hexi something. Unfortunately, his grand agricultural venture had only just begun, and he had nothing at home to bring, so he had to go empty-handed.

Zhao Hexi didn't mind at all. After getting off work, he gave Qing Mengzhu a great big hug as soon as he saw him.

After letting go, Zhao Hexi stepped back and looked him over. "You're looking pretty good, and you haven't gotten much of a tan, either."