Recaps

Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Ming Chunxi distilled bamboo vinegar from Cloud Mirror Bamboo and tested how it could be used with pesticides. After Gu Benshu confirmed their batch was suitable, they sprayed comparison fields and prepared to test it with herbicide.

• Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Ming Chunxi researched bamboo vinegar and bought a small dry distillation machine.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi distilled used bamboo into bamboo vinegar, then asked Gu Benshu to examine it.
• Gu Benshu confirmed the bamboo vinegar was decent and advised them on mixing it with pesticide.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi sprayed pesticide with bamboo vinegar on one field and the same pesticide without it on another.
• Qing Mengzhu decided to test the vinegar with glyphosate, and Tan Wenlei and the others volunteered to buy the herbicide.

Qing Mengzhu and his colleagues confirmed that bamboo vinegar greatly improved their herbicide’s effect, prompting plans to plant more bamboo. At an agricultural exchange conference, Qing Mengzhu heard about reusing bacteria from infected insects and realized the company could broaden its search for useful Bacillus by buying insect carcasses from other growers.

• Zhao Hexi hurried Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to the fields, where the weeds treated with bamboo-vinegar herbicide had wilted while untreated weeds remained green.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi agreed to plant bamboo on another mountain, and Zhao Hexi decided to focus on selling bamboo vinegar as a pesticide and advance the company’s pesticide license application.
• Qing Mengzhu attended an agricultural exchange conference because Zhao Hexi and the production team were too busy to represent the company.
• Qing Mengzhu listened to a presentation explaining how growers could reuse Bacillus thuringiensis by collecting and spraying infected insect carcasses.
• Qing Mengzhu realized that buying insect carcasses from growers across a wider area could help the company find unfamiliar insect-killing Bacillus bacteria.

Qing Mengzhu and his colleagues collected insect carcasses from local farmers, and Gu Benshu’s team found an unfamiliar insecticidal Bacillus crystal in a corn borer. After confirming the discovery, they discussed cultivating a new strain and planning a paper, while Qing Mengzhu urged the researchers to rest instead of working excessive overtime.

• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi arranged to collect infected insect carcasses from several villages and asked Gu Benshu to screen them at a market stall.
• Gu Benshu and Zhao Hexi bought more than three thousand yuan’s worth of insect specimens, and Gu Benshu began studying them with his researchers.
• Two days later, Gu Benshu told Qing Mengzhu that his team had found an unfamiliar parasporal crystal in a corn borer, suggesting a new insecticidal Bacillus species.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others examined the crystals in the laboratory, then Qing Mengzhu promised the researchers a buffet and an extra bonus.
• Qing Mengzhu and Gu Benshu decided to assess cultivation of a new strain before deciding when to publish the paper, and Gu Benshu planned to request new equipment.
• Qing Mengzhu sent the researchers home and told Gu Benshu to work less overtime.

After the typhoon, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi checked the fields and found the pond and shrimp unharmed. The red fox brought Qing Mengzhu wild lily bulbs, prompting Zhao Hexi to suggest they search the mountain for more mushrooms and bulbs the next day.

• After the rain stopped, Qing Mengzhu inspected the pond and found the shrimp and protective nets unharmed.
• Zhao Hexi pulled a lotus root from the pond, and Qing Mengzhu said it needed more time to grow.
• The red fox gave Qing Mengzhu two wild lily bulbs, and Qing Mengzhu thanked him with two portions of dried meat while the otter received one.
• Zhao Hexi suggested searching the mountain for mushrooms and wild lily bulbs, and Qing Mengzhu agreed to go the next day with Ming Chunxi.
• Zhao Hexi asked Qing Mengzhu to see if the red fox would lead them to wild lily bulbs.

Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Ming Chunxi followed the red fox up the mountain, gathering fruit and wild lily bulbs. After they returned, Ming Lexin asked to visit for a meal, and Ming Chunxi reached for Qing Mengzhu’s phone to turn her down.

• Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Ming Chunxi followed the red fox through the mountain, eating rose myrtle and picking wild kiwifruit, akebia fruit, blueberries, and mushrooms along the way.
• Qing Mengzhu led the group to the abandoned village near where he had visited as a child, and they dug up two bags of wild lily bulbs.
• The group descended the mountain together after filling their baskets and bags with their harvest.
• Qing Mengzhu received a message from Ming Lexin asking to come over for a meal that day, and he eagerly agreed.
• Ming Chunxi saw the messages and reached for Qing Mengzhu’s phone, saying he would turn Ming Lexin down.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi welcomed Ming Lexin for dinner, where she saw how affectionate they were and accepted their relationship. The family shared a meal and took a photo together, and Ming Lexin invited them to visit her home next time.

• Qing Mengzhu invited Ming Lexin to dinner, and Ming Chunxi asked Zhao Hexi to stay so Qing Mengzhu would feel less awkward.
• Ming Lexin arrived with gifts, sampled the wild berries, and admired the courtyard and the dogs.
• Ming Lexin noticed Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi's affection and felt relieved that they were a family again.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi cooked a home-style meal, which Ming Lexin praised as comforting.
• Ming Lexin asked Zhao Hexi to take a family photo, then invited Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to eat at her home next time.
• Zhao Hexi told Qing Mengzhu that Ming Lexin seemed accepting, and Qing Mengzhu hoped their relationship would continue smoothly.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi’s relationship became openly accepted by Qing Mengzhu’s family, while Qing Mengzhu sorted out the company’s assets and advanced plans to patent a newly discovered Bacillus strain. The chapter ended with Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi heading into the mountains to dig bamboo shoots.

• Ming Chunxi reassured Qing Mengzhu that their relationship was no longer a secret from the family and that he had no reason to feel guilty around Auntie.
• Qing Mengzhu showed accountant Fu Maike the company’s assets, and she recorded them separately from his personal property.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to pay the company for workers’ labor and for the lotus seeds it used.
• Gu Benshu recommended submitting their paper on the new Insect-Killing Bacillus to a microbiology journal and proposed patenting the strain as Insect-Killing Bacillus ZX01.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi went to Qing Mengzhu’s family mountain to dig bamboo shoots and tend the bamboo grove.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug bamboo shoots and discovered bamboo weevils in the grove. After Ming Chunxi left for work, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi collected the bugs, planning to fry them that night.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug up a bamboo shoot, and Qing Mengzhu correctly guessed that it weighed three and a half jin.
• The dogs alerted Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to bamboo weevils clinging to a bamboo stalk, and Qing Mengzhu caught three.
• Ming Chunxi went to work while Qing Mengzhu stayed in the grove to collect more bamboo weevils.
• Qing Mengzhu called Zhao Hexi for help, and Zhao Hexi arrived with two buckets and eagerly joined the search.
• The dogs helped Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi spot more bamboo weevils as they gathered them in the buckets.

Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and the dogs gathered more than three jin of bamboo worms and planned to fry them for dinner. Zhou Yan visited to inspect the catch and agreed to help prepare and cook it that evening, leaving Ming Chunxi to arrive home to a busy courtyard.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi split up to gather bamboo worms, and together they collected more than three jin.
• Qing Mengzhu shared a photo of the worms with Ming Chunxi, and they traded playful messages during work hours.
• Zhao Hexi posted a video of their catch, prompting Zhou Yan to call and visit to inspect the bamboo worms.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Zhou Yan to dinner, and Zhou Yan agreed to bring corn oil and help fry the worms that evening.
• Ming Chunxi returned home to find everyone in the courtyard preparing the bamboo worms by removing their heads and wings and squeezing out their innards.

Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, Zhao Hexi, and Zhou Yan shared a meal of fried bamboo grubs, while Qing Mengzhu discussed his hazel grouse and celebrated the holiday with friends. After the holiday, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi returned from a three-day road trip, leaving Zhao Hexi at home with the animals.

• Ming Chunxi avoided helping with the bamboo grubs, so he and Qing Mengzhu prepared side dishes while Zhou Yan fried them.
• Zhao Hexi and Qing Mengzhu praised Zhou Yan's fried bamboo grubs, and Ming Chunxi overcame his hesitation and tried one.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi and Zhou Yan that 868 hazel grouse chicks remained, and he planned to move the birds into the bamboo grove once it was ready.
• Qing Mengzhu celebrated the holiday with his company, Ming Lexin, and his friends, who teased him about his relationship with Ming Chunxi.
• Ming Chunxi picked Qing Mengzhu up after the gathering, and the two went on a three-day road trip while Zhao Hexi looked after the house and animals.

Qing Mengzhu moved the hazel grouse into the bamboo grove, where they stayed healthy as they grew, and continued caring for his pond shrimp and bamboo grove. While gathering bamboo grubs with Dharma Protector and Guard, he discovered an owl nesting in the bamboo and had to stop the dogs from harassing it.

• Qing Mengzhu learned that the hazel grouse had survived several days in the bamboo grove and arranged for them to be fed chopped leaves mixed with rice bran.
• Qing Mengzhu noted that the pond shrimp had grown to five or six centimeters and might reach eight or nine centimeters as they matured.
• Qing Mengzhu brought food to the grouse and took Dharma Protector and Guard into the bamboo grove to collect bamboo grubs and check the shoots.
• Dharma Protector pushed Qing Mengzhu as he climbed, and Qing Mengzhu grabbed him by the collar and scolded him.
• Dharma Protector spotted an owl nesting atop a bamboo stalk, and he and Guard barked at it until Qing Mengzhu pulled them back.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discovered that a red-eyed owl had repeatedly pooped outside their gate, then identified it as a collared scops owl that hunted rodents in the bamboo grove without bothering their hazel grouse. After Qing Mengzhu returned home from weeding, he found Zhou Yan visiting with a piece of dry-aged beef.

• Qing Mengzhu confined Dharma Protector for disobeying, and Ming Chunxi lectured the dog until it ran off to hide.
• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi about an unfamiliar owl, and they agreed to monitor the hazel grouse for signs of trouble.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found several piles of droppings outside their gate and used surveillance footage to see the owl return five times overnight to poop there.
• Ming Chunxi identified the owl as a collared scops owl, and Qing Mengzhu observed that it hunted rodents but left the hazel grouse alone.
• Qing Mengzhu returned from weeding the bamboo grove and found Zhou Yan visiting Ming Chunxi with dry-aged beef.

Zhou Yan cooked aged beef stir-fried with fresh bamboo shoots and peppers for Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi. The meal delighted everyone, and Qing Mengzhu considered selling more peppers to afford the beef.

• Qing Mengzhu invited He Xi to join them for a meal while Zhou Yan prepared the beef and bamboo shoots.
• Zhao Hexi arrived and discussed the poor quality of the snow fungus he had inspected and the possibility of growing their own next year.
• Zhou Yan served aged beef stir-fried with bamboo shoots and peppers, and Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi praised the dish.
• Ming Chunxi asked Zhou Yan to buy them some aged beef, and Zhou Yan warned that it could cost three times as much as the original cedar beef.
• Qing Mengzhu said he might sell bamboo shoots to afford the beef, and Zhou Yan pointed out that their pepper plants were still covered in peppers.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi harvested bamboo shoots in the rain, discovered the Interstellar Mall paid the same for tender tips as for tough bases, and kept the tips to cook with beef. After a satisfying meal at home, Ming Chunxi teased Qing Mengzhu about whether he was still hungry.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sold bamboo shoots to the Interstellar Mall and used the tough pieces as fertilizer on the mountain.
• Qing Mengzhu noticed the Mall paid the same rate for bamboo shoot bases and tips, so they gathered more shoots and kept the tender tips while selling the bases.
• The two checked that the hazel grouse were warm and healthy in their covered cages.
• Qing Mengzhu cooked beef with bamboo shoot tips and served it over handmade noodles, which he ate with relish.
• Ming Chunxi cleaned up after the meal, noticed Qing Mengzhu admiring him, and ruffled his hair while asking if he was still hungry.

Qing Mengzhu turned a fresh harvest of tender bamboo shoots into dried shoots, then shared them with friends and family, who praised their flavor. As Zhou Yan also thanked him and asked about how they were made, Qing Mengzhu confirmed they had dried them at home.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi decided to dry the tender bamboo shoot tips because fresh shoots were difficult to store.
• Qing Mengzhu boiled and dried a large batch of shoots, then cooked a mountain delicacy dinner with Zhao Hexi and Ming Chunxi.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi shared the dried shoots with friends and family, who praised them in stews and other dishes.
• Ming Lexin called Qing Mengzhu to praise the shoots and invited him and Ming Chunxi to visit for a meal.
• Zhou Yan called to thank Qing Mengzhu for the dried shoots, and Qing Mengzhu said they had dried them themselves in their small dryer.

Zhou Yan showed Qing Mengzhu different ways to prepare dried bamboo shoots, including blanching them in ice water and cooking them in charcoal before drying. The next morning, they compared the two batches and stir-fried both with pork belly.

• Zhou Yan agreed to help Qing Mengzhu improve the drying process and explained that the shoots should retain some moisture.
• Zhou Yan blanched one batch of shoots, cooled them in ice water, and set the dryer to leave fifteen percent moisture.
• Zhou Yan taught Qing Mengzhu to cook another batch directly in charcoal before peeling and drying it.
• Ming Chunxi came home, and Zhou Yan, Qing Mengzhu, and Ming Chunxi ate hand-torn charcoal-cooked bamboo shoots for dinner.
• Zhou Yan returned the next morning, and he and Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi compared the dried batches before soaking and stir-frying them with diced pork belly.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan settled on simmering and drying the Cloud Mirror Bamboo shoots, and the company’s first batch sold out immediately. Zhou Yan sent his share to Ling Dongyu, whose friends sampled the shoots in a pork stew and praised their flavor.

• Qing Mengzhu preferred the savory simmered dried shoots, and Zhou Yan advised selling them in small, premium-priced packages.
• Qing Mengzhu had Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. harvest the abundant bamboo shoots, while he processed the shoot bases for fertilizer and sold some to the Interstellar Mall.
• The company packaged and listed its first 200 jin of dried bamboo shoots, and all 400 packs sold out on the first day, mostly to local customers.
• Zhou Yan sent his reserved bamboo shoots to old friends, giving the largest portion to Ling Dongyu.
• Ling Dongyu cooked pork belly with the dried bamboo shoots and invited his friends to share the meal.
• Ling Dongyu’s friends enjoyed the savory, tender shoots and praised his cooking.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi received soil test results showing that their rented fields were severely depleted and unsuitable for large-scale planting without improvement. They planned to restore the soil gradually with green manure and amendments, while limiting their risk because the lease would not take effect until January next year.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi reviewed soil test results showing depleted secondary and micronutrients as well as poor soil texture and structure.
• Zhao Hexi asked whether they should buy chemical fertilizer, but Qing Mengzhu explained that uniform fertilizer application would not solve the fields’ different problems.
• Qing Mengzhu proposed planting milk vetch and gradually adding soil amendments, then promised to write out a plan for Zhao Hexi.
• Zhao Hexi worried that the landowners might reclaim the fields before the lease took effect and make trouble if the crops became profitable.
• Qing Mengzhu said they should plant milk vetch first because they would not lose much if an owner took a field back.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi planned to improve their future fields with Chinese milk vetch and microbial inoculant, while deciding not to hire more staff yet. Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi tried Solomon’s seal as a tonic, but their dogs objected to being left out, so Qing Mengzhu hid the remaining herbs.

• Qing Mengzhu suggested planting Chinese milk vetch before adding microbial inoculant to improve the fields, and Zhao Hexi agreed.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi discussed their workload and decided not to hire additional staff until the fields were ready.
• Qing Guozhi brought Qing Mengzhu Solomon’s seal, recommending it as a tonic for the coming winter.
• Qing Mengzhu steamed pork ribs with Solomon’s seal, and he and Ming Chunxi ate them after work.
• Qing Mengzhu made Solomon’s seal and lean pork soup the next day but refused to share it with Dharma Protector and Guard, who barked in protest.
• Qing Mengzhu gave the dogs pet jerky and hid the remaining Solomon’s seal in a high cupboard.

Dharma Protector and Guard found wild sealwort on the mountain and brought it home, earning a hearty meal from Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi. After planting the two rhizomes, Qing Mengzhu considered growing more in the bamboo grove, and Tan Wenlei offered to take him to visit a friend who cultivated sealwort.

• Dharma Protector and Guard brought Qing Mengzhu several fresh sealwort rhizomes they had dug up on the mountain.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi realized the dogs had found the sealwort themselves and rewarded them with a stew made with hazel grouse and other ingredients.
• Qing Mengzhu planted the sealwort rhizomes by the backyard fence with Ming Chunxi the following morning.
• Qing Mengzhu researched sealwort's growing conditions and decided the bamboo grove might be suitable for planting more.
• Tan Wenlei told Qing Mengzhu that his friend grew multiflower sealwort in the mountains and offered to take him to see it.

Qing Mengzhu visited Jing Juntao’s mountain farm to inspect his polygonatum and learn how it was grown. The seeds seemed familiar from the Interstellar Mall, and he left wondering about their connection as Jing Juntao described the risks of waiting for better prices.

• Qing Mengzhu drove with Tan Wenlei to Jing Juntao’s mountain home to see his polygonatum crop.
• Jing Juntao showed them his medicinal-herb fields and explained that the polygonatum was grown with little pesticide or growth regulator.
• Jing Juntao dug up a polygonatum plant and offered Qing Mengzhu its seeds, which looked familiar from the Interstellar Mall.
• Qing Mengzhu asked why Jing Juntao did not grow more polygonatum, and Jing Juntao explained that prices could fluctuate for years.
• Qing Mengzhu asked whether growers could leave polygonatum in the ground until prices rose, and Jing Juntao warned that prices might fall further.

Qing Mengzhu investigated Solomon’s seal cultivation and found Fine Grade+ seeds for sale in the Interstellar Mall under the alternate name dragon’s grasp. He bought the maximum allowed amount and planned to test whether the seeds had come out of dormancy.

• Jing Juntao showed Qing Mengzhu and Tan Wenlei his processed Solomon’s seal, and Qing Mengzhu bought some while Tan Wenlei bought seeds to plant in his terraced fields.
• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi that he was considering planting Solomon’s seal across the two mountains but wanted to assess the risks and seed quality first.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi searched the Interstellar Mall’s discount section and found the seeds listed as dragon’s grasp, another name for Solomon’s seal.
• Ming Chunxi confirmed the seeds were Fine Grade+ and cost 866 Star Coins per portion, and Qing Mengzhu bought the three portions allowed by the purchase limit.
• Qing Mengzhu examined the agate-like seeds and said he would soak them in Luring Grass to check whether they had come out of dormancy.

Qing Mengzhu prepared 15,000 polygonatum seeds for planting while taking care to hide the unusual growth of his crops. Zhao Hexi then told him the company's canned tomatoes had gone viral online, driving praise and sellouts in the store.

• Qing Mengzhu ordered polygonatum seeds as a cover for his crops and planned to destroy them after they arrived.
• He soaked the seeds in Luring Grass extract, prepared seedling cups, and planted all 15,000 seeds in a spare field.
• Qing Mengzhu worked in the field while Dharma Protector and Guard watched the geese nearby.
• Zhao Hexi interrupted Qing Mengzhu to show him videos of creators using the company's canned tomatoes and tomato paste in recipes.
• Zhao Hexi showed Qing Mengzhu that the products had sold out and customers were praising them and asking for restocks and fresh tomatoes.

Qing Mengzhu and his partners discussed selling fresh tomatoes and creating a seed production department after their tomato products and seeds attracted attention. They agreed to pursue tomato seeds and recruit more staff, while the polygonatum seedlings later sprouted at an exceptionally high rate.

• Qing Mengzhu let Zhao Hexi try selling fresh tomatoes to existing customers, while they decided to keep selling peppers only to Di Xing for now.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi saw online posts about people growing tomatoes from Zhuxi seeds and discussed applying for a seed production and operation permit.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi agreed to establish a seed production department, begin with a tomato project, and recruit more staff in autumn.
• Qing Mengzhu found that nearly all the polygonatum seeds in the seedling cups had sprouted and quickly grown two leaves.

Qing Mengzhu transplanted Solomon’s seal into his carefully tended bamboo grove, then discovered pond snails had multiplied in his pond. He and Zhao Hexi gathered them with the otter and reminisced about the old-variety snails they used to eat in high school, leaving the Solomon’s seal unwatered until the next day.

• Qing Mengzhu had company workers help transplant Solomon’s seal into the bamboo grove, where the plants quickly recovered.
• Qing Mengzhu went to fetch pond water for the Solomon’s seal and was startled when Little Otter surfaced with a pond snail.
• Qing Mengzhu spotted many pond snails in the pond and began gathering them, while Little Otter joined in.
• Zhao Hexi joined Qing Mengzhu and Little Otter in collecting snails, and they gathered more than half a bucket before dark.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi washed the snails and recalled the fragrant sour-bamboo-shoot snails they had eaten near their high school.