Recaps

Duan Yu'ang and Pei Guangjian visited Qing Mengzhu’s bamboo grove to assess its older, higher-quality moso bamboo for possible purchase. They left with a sample to test, and Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi that the visit seemed promising for steady business.

• Duan Yu'ang asked Qing Mengzhu to show him the better-quality bamboo, and Qing Mengzhu drove him and Pei Guangjian to the grove.
• Qing Mengzhu cut down a stalk of older moso bamboo, and Duan Yu'ang praised its quality and took it for testing.
• Duan Yu'ang toured the grove, observed its wildlife and crops, and learned that only about five hundred stalks were of the better quality.
• Qing Mengzhu, Duan Yu'ang, and Pei Guangjian carried the bamboo down the mountain before Duan Yu'ang and Pei Guangjian departed.
• Qing Mengzhu messaged Ming Chunxi that the visitors seemed satisfied and that the bamboo might bring them steady business.

Qing Mengzhu inspected the freshwater prawn ponds and brought in Chen Yi to help prepare for the breeding season. They decided to breed the prawns in the same ponds and planned to buy net cages, while Chen Yi was astonished by the size and number of the prawns.

• Qing Mengzhu declined Ming Chunxi’s invitation to lunch because he planned to check the prawns with Chen Yi, and Ming Chunxi said he would come home early that evening.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Chen Yi to help with breeding the freshwater prawns, and Chen Yi agreed to meet him at the ponds.
• Qing Mengzhu checked the robust prawns and the protective screens while the otter followed him around the ponds.
• Chen Yi arrived and explained the trade-offs between breeding prawns in their existing ponds and moving them to ponds with adjusted salinity.
• Qing Mengzhu chose to breed the prawns in the same ponds, and he and Chen Yi decided to buy net cages in town.
• Qing Mengzhu estimated that each pond could hold fifty or sixty cages, and Chen Yi was surprised by the large number and size of the prawns.

Qing Mengzhu and Chen Yi set up net cages in the pond and gathered workers to catch egg-bearing river shrimp for breeding. After the females laid eggs, Qing Mengzhu began removing them from the cages and feeding shrimp to the otter, while the red fox waited impatiently for its share.

• Qing Mengzhu bought ninety-seven net cages, and Chen Yi helped install them among the pond's lotus leaves.
• Chen Yi trained Qing Mengzhu's workers to catch egg-bearing females carefully and place them in the cages.
• Villagers watched the catch, and Qing Mengzhu said the bred shrimp would be raised in the rice paddies.
• Over the next few days, the females laid eggs, and Qing Mengzhu began removing them from the cages.
• Qing Mengzhu tossed shrimp to the otter, then told the impatient red fox to wait until he finished picking shrimp from the cage.

Qing Mengzhu harvested Superior Grade- freshwater shrimp and shared a lavish steamed shrimp dinner with Ming Chunxi and Zhao Hexi. The next morning, all of them—and the dogs—had slept unusually well, leaving Zhao Hexi wondering whether something in their meal had caused it.

• Qing Mengzhu fed shrimp to the red fox, Dharma Protector, Guard, the otter, and an owl before bringing the remaining female shrimp home.
• Qing Mengzhu scanned the shrimp and found they had improved from Fine Grade+ to Superior Grade-; the Interstellar Mall offered 62 Star Coins per 500 grams.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Ming Chunxi and Zhao Hexi to eat the shrimp, and Zhao Hexi hurried back from out of town for dinner.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi enjoyed the steamed shrimp until none remained, then went to bed feeling full.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi woke refreshed, and Zhao Hexi messaged that he had slept unusually well and asked if their drinks had been special.

Qing Mengzhu and his friends taste-tested five prawn dishes at Zhou Yan’s newly opened farm restaurant and chose which ones to make signature dishes. They set a high price for the exceptional freshwater prawns, and the dishes quickly won over curious diners.

• Qing Mengzhu decided to keep some of his freshwater prawns and send the rest to Zhou Yan’s farm restaurant as a signature ingredient.
• Zhou Yan invited Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi to taste-test five prawn dishes, and the unexpectedly busy restaurant delayed their dinner.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi praised the dishes and recommended the butter-pan-fried prawns and Longjing tea shrimp, with Thai hot-and-sour prawns as the third signature dish.
• Qing Mengzhu suggested pricing the prawn dishes at 688 or 888 a serving, and Zhou Yan agreed that the high prices suited the restaurant’s upscale positioning.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to show a designated staff member how to catch prawns safely, and the restaurant’s expensive signature prawns became an instant hit with diners.

Zhuxi Farm’s shrimp dishes drew customers from across Vine City and beyond, prompting Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan to limit sales and plan new offerings. After Qing Mengzhu arranged to expand goose raising, Duan Yu'ang arrived with news that the bamboo experiments had succeeded and asked to buy two hundred stalks.

• Zhuxi Farm’s shrimp dishes became popular, and Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi and Zhou Yan to limit sales so the shrimp would last and support sales of other dishes.
• Qing Mengzhu praised Zhou Yan’s team and promised them an extra month’s pay as a bonus.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed offering hazel grouse and expanding goose raising, including using a hatchery for the eggs.
• Duan Yu'ang called Qing Mengzhu to report that experiments on the bamboo had succeeded and that it could be used to make high-tech materials.
• Duan Yu'ang visited Qing Mengzhu to buy more bamboo and asked whether he could purchase two hundred stalks.

Qing Mengzhu agreed to work with Duan Yu'ang on cultivating improved bamboo, while Duan offered his company the chance to lease a large farm in the borderlands with generous support. After telling Ming Chunxi about the offer, Qing Mengzhu considered which growing skill book to buy as he prepared to expand his farming.

• Qing Mengzhu agreed to provide bamboo and help cultivate new varieties, and Duan Yu'ang offered him a choice of large borderland farms with agricultural support and tax breaks.
• Qing Mengzhu and Duan Yu'ang agreed to keep the new bamboo confidential and not sell it to third parties, then inspected mature and young bamboo on the mountain.
• Duan Yu'ang thanked Qing Mengzhu for his contribution to the country, and Qing Mengzhu promised to do his best.
• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi about the bamboo partnership and farm offer, and Ming Chunxi agreed to discuss it with him.
• Qing Mengzhu showed Ming Chunxi three intermediate growing skill books and weighed the expensive grass-family book against the more bamboo-specific moso bamboo book.

Qing Mengzhu chose and absorbed an intermediate moso bamboo planting skill book, then went up the mountain with Ming Chunxi and their animals to inspect the grove. They found newly sprouted termite mushrooms, and Qing Mengzhu confirmed his guess that they were in season.

• Ming Chunxi suggested drawing lots to choose between planting skill books, and the lot selected the moso bamboo book.
• Qing Mengzhu bought and extracted the skill book, then slept until dark as its knowledge flooded his mind.
• After waking, Qing Mengzhu listed ways to improve the bamboo grove, and Ming Chunxi offered to make a detailed digital map of the grove and fields.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi took their two dogs, the red fox, and the otter up the mountain at night to inspect the bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu led the group toward a termite nest, and the dogs ran ahead after catching a scent.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found newly sprouted termite mushrooms, confirming Qing Mengzhu's guess.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi gathered wild mushrooms and bamboo grubs in their bamboo grove, then invited Zhou Yan and Zhao Hexi over to cook a late-night meal. Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi he would focus on cultivating bamboo for a while, and Zhou Yan began frying the termite mushrooms and stewing hazel grouse soup.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug up termite mushrooms and bamboo fungus while leaving the smallest termite mushrooms to grow.
• Zhao Hexi called Qing Mengzhu after villagers reported movement in the bamboo grove, and Zhou Yan insisted on coming over to cook the mushrooms.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi gathered more mushrooms and bamboo grubs, then returned home to find Zhou Yan and Zhao Hexi waiting.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi that he planned to focus on cultivating bamboo and asked him to keep an eye on the company.
• Ming Chunxi gave Zhou Yan the hazel grouse and mushrooms, and Zhou Yan began cooking while Zhao Hexi joined Qing Mengzhu in the kitchen.

Zhou Yan prepared pickled bamboo shoot and hazel grouse soup, which Qing Mengzhu and their companions enjoyed and planned to develop as the farm’s new signature dish. After regular diners approved it, Zhou Yan hosted celebrity chef Fan Donghua at the farm to try the dishes and film a restaurant visit.

• Zhao Hexi tasted the unfinished pickled bamboo shoot and hazel grouse soup and found it delicious.
• Zhou Yan cooked a late-night meal for Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi, and they agreed the soup could become the farm’s new signature dish.
• Qing Mengzhu arranged to bring more bamboo shoots and well water to the farm so Zhou Yan could pickle another batch in small jars.
• Zhou Yan invited regular customers to taste the new dishes, and their positive feedback convinced him the soup was a success.
• Fan Donghua asked to film his visit to the farm, Qing Mengzhu approved, and Zhou Yan arranged for him to come after preparations.
• Fan Donghua arrived with his team and praised the farm’s size, decor, and surroundings.

Fan Donghua toured Qing Mengzhu’s farm, praised its ingredients and kitchen, and declared its sour bamboo shoot and hazel grouse soup worthy of becoming the business’s signature dish. Qing Mengzhu then arranged to incubate more hazel grouse eggs, while he and Zhao Hexi discussed renovations at the bamboo forest and its soybean crop.

• Zhou Yan showed Fan Donghua the farm’s clean kitchen, well-sourced ingredients, and carefully raised hazel grouse.
• Zhou Yan cooked sour bamboo shoot and hazel grouse soup for Fan Donghua, who praised it and asked for another bowl.
• Zhou Yan offered Fan Donghua a hazel grouse to take home, and Fan Donghua accepted.
• Qing Mengzhu arranged for the collected hazel grouse eggs to be incubated so the farm could keep serving its new signature dish.
• Zhao Hexi brought Qing Mengzhu a watermelon that had grown wild in the fields, and Qing Mengzhu planned to chill it for the evening.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that Chunxi had ordered an automated farming system and that he was planting soybeans in the bamboo forest.

Qing Mengzhu discovered a mutated bamboo stalk in the forest and planned to grow seedlings from it before telling Duan Yu'ang. Before he could do so, Duan Yu'ang arrived with space-mutated seedlings grown from Qing Mengzhu's bamboo, and Qing Mengzhu showed the group his own discovery.

• Qing Mengzhu spotted an unusually tall, hard bamboo stalk, scanned it, and confirmed it was a new kind of bamboo rather than Cloud Mirror Bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu marked the stalk on Ming Chunxi's map and sent Ming Chunxi a photo; Ming Chunxi advised him to cultivate seedlings before informing Boss Duan.
• Qing Mengzhu followed Dharma Protector and Guard to a clump of wild lilies, then searched both mountains for more mutated bamboo but found none.
• Qing Mengzhu planned to fertilize and water the rare stalk so he could grow seedlings, but Duan Yu'ang called to say his team had already cultivated seedlings from Qing Mengzhu's bamboo using space-induced mutation technology.
• Duan Yu'ang brought staff members to Qing Mengzhu's home, and Qing Mengzhu led them to the mutated stalk and pointed out its unusual color, height, and reddish nodes.

Qing Mengzhu planted three mutated bamboo seedlings and watermelon seeds while preparing to raise his oriental river prawns in the rice and water bamboo fields. He planned to handle the shrimp fields with Ming Chunxi over the weekend, despite Zhao Hexi’s concern about the workload.

• Qing Mengzhu planted three scrawny, mutated bamboo seedlings from Duan Yu'ang’s group on the mountain.
• Duan Yu'ang’s researchers tested branches from Qing Mengzhu’s bamboo and confirmed its mutation, though comparison with the space-bred seedlings would have to wait until they matured.
• Ming Chunxi took on more housework while Qing Mengzhu tended the mountain, and he agreed to help bury Spirit Pearl Dregs in the fields that weekend.
• Qing Mengzhu bought watermelon seeds from the Interstellar Mall, germinated them, and planted them in the backyard.
• Zhao Hexi offered to help with the shrimp, but Qing Mengzhu said Ming Chunxi would help him prepare the six mu of fields and release the prawns.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi searched for suitable fire crystal persimmon trees and found a venerable old tree in a mountain village courtyard. The owners refused to sell the tree or its fruit, so Qing Mengzhu asked whether they would part with pruned branches for cuttings.

• Qing Mengzhu planted watermelon seeds and agreed to help Zhao Hexi choose fire crystal persimmon saplings.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi inspected several orchards near Vine City but found only trees below the quality they wanted.
• Qing Mengzhu spotted a promising persimmon tree from the road, and Zhao Hexi stopped so they could ask its owners about it.
• The old man welcomed Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi into the courtyard and told them his wife had cared for the roughly fifty-year-old tree.
• The old woman said the tree was an old variety of fire crystal persimmon and refused to sell it because her granddaughter loved its fruit.
• Qing Mengzhu asked whether the owners would sell them branches they pruned from the tree so he could grow cuttings.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi bought persimmon branches from an elderly couple and were invited to lunch, where Qing Mengzhu discovered the old woman grew and pan-fried tea. After tasting her tea, he went with the couple to see the tea bushes in her vegetable garden.

• Qing Mengzhu paid the old woman for persimmon branches and carefully cut several for propagation.
• The old woman shared the story of her persimmon tree and invited Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi to lunch.
• Qing Mengzhu learned the old woman grew tea bushes and sampled her spring tea, which he praised for its fragrance and sweet aftertaste.
• The old woman took Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and her husband to her vegetable garden, where tea bushes bordered the plot.

Qing Mengzhu discovered that Grandma Shi had expertly grown tea plants and offered to hire her granddaughter, Zhou Minyue, as a technician for Zhaiqian Village. After the family grew wary of the offer, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi reassured them while buying persimmon branches to propagate.

• Qing Mengzhu admired Grandma Shi's thriving tea plants and learned that every cutting she planted had survived.
• Qing Mengzhu offered to hire a skilled tea technician for his planned tea-growing project in Zhaiqian Village, and Grandma Shi recommended her granddaughter, Zhou Minyue.
• Grandma Shi and Zhou Xiaowei suspected Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi might be scammers, so Zhao Hexi showed his ID and explained their visit.
• Zhou Xiaowei contacted Zhou Minyue, who said she would return, and the group waited at the old couple's home.
• Qing Mengzhu bought twenty-five persimmon branches for fifty yuan each, then helped Grandma Shi bury compost beneath the tree.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi recruited Zhou Minyue as a technician, then Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi propagated persimmon and tea branches and prepared to move freshwater shrimp into their fields. The chapter leaves them wondering whether the shrimp raised with Spirit Pearl Dregs and lotus have grown larger than last year's.

• Qing Mengzhu learned about local farming conditions, and Zhao Hexi persuaded Zhou Minyue to join the company as a technician after she finished arranging her affairs.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi treated twenty-five persimmon branches and fifty tea branches with rooting solution, then planted them in seedling pots.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi checked their compost and arranged for it to be disinfected before using it to fertilize the fields.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi inspected their freshwater shrimp and noticed that this year's shrimp looked plumper than last year's.
• Qing Mengzhu wondered whether Spirit Pearl Dregs and lotus had improved the shrimp and prepared to scan them.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi moved a healthy batch of freshwater shrimp into their rice paddies and water bamboo fields. They discovered a family of otters there, and Little Otter and the red fox drove the newcomers away, leaving Little Otter sulking at Qing Mengzhu.

• Chen Yi told Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi that their shrimp fry were healthy and ready to be moved into the fields after the hottest part of the day.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi spread fertilizer and Spirit Pearl Dregs, then released the shrimp into six mu of fields that afternoon.
• Qing Mengzhu spotted a family of unfamiliar gray otters hiding among the rice plants, and Ming Chunxi recognized them as the otters that had troubled their shrimp the previous year.
• When one of the strange otters reached for a shrimp, Little Otter and the red fox attacked the family and drove all seven otters away.
• Qing Mengzhu fed Little Otter and the red fox dried meat, but Little Otter remained upset that he had spoken with the strange otters.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi finished releasing the shrimp by evening, then returned to the farm for dinner because they were tired.

After the red fox and Little Otter brought Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi water snakes, Qing Mengzhu hired Chen Yi to manage the freshwater prawns and fields. Chen Yi began catching unwanted snakes and fish, and the fish became a new dish at the farm, where Zhou Yan prepared fried mixed fish for Qing Mengzhu’s dinner.

• Little Otter and the red fox brought water snakes to Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi, frightening Qing Mengzhu.
• Qing Mengzhu asked Chen Yi to join Zhuxi and oversee the freshwater prawns, and Chen Yi agreed.
• Chen Yi set traps to catch water snakes, rats, and unwanted fish, then delivered the catch to the farm.
• Zhou Yan added the wild mixed fish to the farm’s menu and offered to prepare some for Qing Mengzhu.
• Qing Mengzhu asked Zhou Yan to fry the fish and brought home wild raspberries for Ming Chunxi.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found that the soil-improving Tuan Brassica flowers smelled of metal and exhaust, leaving Qing Mengzhu uneasy about whether the plant could produce seeds. Meanwhile, the farm’s abundant vegetables drove strong online sales and required extra processing.

• Zhou Yan visited Qing Mengzhu, brought fried little fish, and asked about the crops, including the Tuan Brassica growing to improve the soil.
• Qing Mengzhu scanned the Tuan Brassica and found it was low quality, which suggested it had absorbed many harmful substances; he hand-pollinated its flowers to help it produce seeds.
• Ming Chunxi noticed a metallic, exhaust-like smell on Qing Mengzhu’s hand, and they traced it to the Tuan Brassica flowers.
• Qing Mengzhu worried the strange-smelling flowers might not produce seeds, but Ming Chunxi suggested the plant should still be able to do so.
• Rain and warm weather brought heavy yields, so Qing Mengzhu’s group fed surplus vegetables to their animals, listed some in the online shop, and sent others for processing.
• Demand for the farm’s vegetables remained high, while customers asked for sour bamboo shoots and hazel grouse dishes that the online shop did not sell.

Qing Mengzhu worried that the pollution-absorbing Tuan Brassica would die before producing seeds, but Zhao Hexi inspired him to graft its flowering stalks onto mustard plants. After arranging to discuss a new chili pepper deal with Di Xing, Qing Mengzhu met him again and seemed more dazzling than he had the previous year.

• Qing Mengzhu worried that the wilting Tuan Brassica would not produce seeds, and Ming Chunxi could offer no solution.
• Zhao Hexi suggested that pollutants might be preventing the plant from setting seed, prompting Qing Mengzhu to try grafting its flowering stalks onto mustard plants.
• Qing Mengzhu grafted three flowering stalks onto mustard plants and told Ming Chunxi he expected the grafts to take in seven to ten days.
• Qing Mengzhu thanked Zhao Hexi with a red envelope, then arranged to meet Di Xing the following week to discuss a new chili pepper deal.
• Qing Mengzhu met Di Xing again, and Di Xing thought Qing Mengzhu looked more dazzling than he had the previous year.

Qing Mengzhu welcomed Di Xing and let him taste the exceptional wild tea brewed with Spirit Spring Water, then discussed selling him chili peppers. Qing Mengzhu showed Di Xing the company’s organic fields, where Di Xing sampled the vegetables and praised the company’s peppers.

• Qing Mengzhu served Di Xing wild tea, which impressed him so much that he asked to buy some, but Qing Mengzhu offered only a small amount to take home.
• Qing Mengzhu quoted prices for fresh and dried homegrown chili peppers, and Di Xing arranged to buy them weekly with a ten percent discount.
• Qing Mengzhu offered to show Di Xing the company’s less expensive chili peppers, and Di Xing agreed to visit the fields.
• Qing Mengzhu showed Di Xing the company’s produce and explained its biological pest control as Di Xing sampled a cucumber.
• Di Xing tasted a raw company-grown chili pepper and said it tasted much better than market peppers and was nearly as good as Qing Mengzhu’s homegrown peppers.

Di Xing brought four foreign customers to see Qing Mengzhu’s chili peppers, and they were impressed by the farm’s fresh bamboo sap, tea, and well-kept fields. After tasting the peppers and picking vegetables, they accepted Qing Mengzhu’s invitation to have lunch at the farm.

• Qing Mengzhu made fresh bamboo sap for Zhao Hexi, who was recovering from a cold and internal heat, while Di Xing arrived with foreign customers.
• The visitors tried the bamboo sap and tea, and were surprised by how soothing and flavorful they were.
• Qing Mengzhu led the group through the farm to the chili field, where the foreigners tasted the peppers and learned about their flavor.
• Qing Mengzhu invited the visitors to lunch, and Zhou Yan agreed to prepare a meal featuring the farm’s produce.
• The foreigners picked vegetables for a salad, and Qing Mengzhu and the others drove them to the farm with their armfuls of produce.

Qing Mengzhu hosted foreign buyers at the farm, where they sampled his vegetables and chili dishes before placing trial orders. Afterward, he considered expanding the farm’s crops and browsed the Interstellar Mall for seeds, where a late-night notification announced its millennium celebration discounts.

• Zhou Yan and Zhao Linling brought the foreign visitors to a private dining room, where they enjoyed salads and dishes highlighting Qing Mengzhu’s chilies.
• The visitors ordered trial quantities of fresh and dried chilies, and two also bought tomatoes; Qing Mengzhu offered free shipping on qualifying orders and told them about the company’s online store.
• A foreign visitor suggested that Qing Mengzhu grow chives, and Zhou Yan and Zhao Hexi encouraged him to consider chives, alliums, and vegetables requested by the farm’s members.
• Qing Mengzhu reviewed the members’ vegetable list and searched the Interstellar Mall for seeds, saving apricot and pomegranate tree seeds to consider later.
• The Interstellar Mall woke Qing Mengzhu with a notification announcing its millennium celebration, discounts, and coupons.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi took advantage of the Interstellar Mall’s millennium celebration discounts to stock up on farming supplies, then Qing Mengzhu organized workers to harvest crops and fertilize the fields. In early June, he worked with the others to strip old leaves from the water bamboo and discussed whether to raise more cows.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi planned their purchases after discovering the sale and its prize draw, spending most of their Star Coins on restoration agents, Spirit Pearl Dregs, fertilizers, and seeds.
• Qing Mengzhu asked Zhao Hexi to assign experienced workers to harvest bamboo shoots, tomatoes, and chili peppers and to help fertilize the crops.
• Over three days, Qing Mengzhu and the workers completed the harvest and applied discounted fertilizer to the tomatoes, chili peppers, and bamboo.
• In early June, Qing Mengzhu and the workers stripped old leaves from the water bamboo, collecting them to feed or store for the cows.
• Tan Wenlei and Miao Lan asked whether Qing Mengzhu would raise more cows, and he said he would consider it.