Chapter Summaries

Qing Mengzhu collected pollutants released by the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent and saw the treated soil improve. The agent restored the mother bamboo’s quality, and Qing Mengzhu planned to test the field soil by raising more tomato and pepper seedlings.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed the pollutant clusters in the fields and decided to have the Interstellar Mall recycle them while investigating how the restoration agent worked.
• Qing Mengzhu collected pollutant clusters from the fields and pond for a week as the soil visibly improved.
• While digging winter bamboo shoots, Qing Mengzhu found one that was unusually dense and scanned the grove, discovering that the mother bamboo had returned to Superior Grade and her shoot had risen to Superior Grade-.
• Qing Mengzhu sold the other shoots and told Ming Chunxi that the soil treatment was improving the bamboo; they checked the fields and found the soil had changed too.
• Qing Mengzhu proposed using the treated field soil to raise a third batch of tomatoes and a second batch of peppers, and Ming Chunxi agreed.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi enjoyed a meal of hazel grouse and premium winter bamboo shoots, while the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent helped their crops thrive and boosted Qing Mengzhu’s income. After discovering the Interstellar Mall would buy fresh bamboo shoot husks, Qing Mengzhu brought home older husks that had lost most of their value and faced Ming Chunxi’s question about how to use them.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi cooked hazel grouse with winter shoots, and Qing Mengzhu shared some with Dharma Protector and Guard.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi praised the shoots’ flavor and discussed whether to eat future shoots or grow them into bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu sold winter shoots to the Interstellar Mall and watched his account balance approach 30,000 Star Coins.
• Qing Mengzhu realized fresh bamboo shoot husks could be sold for 9 Star Coins per jin, then sold the husks he had peeled that day.
• Qing Mengzhu found that older, dried husks fetched far less, brought some home, and explained the prices to Ming Chunxi.
• Ming Chunxi asked Qing Mengzhu what he planned to do with the husks.

Qing Mengzhu discovered that shoot sheaths from the treated bamboo grove released a pleasant fragrance when burned and turned them into incense sticks. After Ming Lexin reported interest from potential buyers and offered help with promotion, Qing Mengzhu began investigating whether the incense could become a product.

• Qing Mengzhu burned shoot sheaths for compost ash, but Zhao Hexi noticed their fragrance and suggested making incense from them.
• Qing Mengzhu tested the scent with Ming Chunxi, who liked it, and decided to make incense sticks once his supplies arrived.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi ground the sheaths and molded them into incense sticks, which Zhao Hexi praised.
• Qing Mengzhu sent incense to Ming Lexin, who said her friends liked it and offered help promoting it through an influencer friend.
• Qing Mengzhu tested sheaths from different bamboo groves and found that only those from the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent-treated grove had the distinctive fragrance, possibly from Cloud Mirror Bamboo.

Qing Mengzhu’s company sold out its bamboo-scented incense, while Zhou Yan asked for bamboo shoot sheath ash and other bamboo supplies to make traditional foods. Zhou Yan later sent Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi a basket of bamboo dishes, which they enjoyed that night.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi launched incense made from fragrant bamboo shoot sheaths, and the first stock sold out within a day and a half.
• Customers praised the incense online, and Zhao Hexi told Qing Mengzhu that more than fifty thousand boxes had sold for at least forty yuan profit per box.
• Qing Mengzhu arranged limits on purchases and gave Qing Guozhi several boxes, while Zhou Yan asked to buy twenty boxes and collect bamboo sheath ash for cooking.
• Zhou Yan came to Qing Mengzhu’s home, collected ash, and asked for bamboo leaves and two bamboo tubes to make food.
• Zhou Yan sent his young apprentice with a basket of bamboo-based dishes, and Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi ate them that evening.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi prepared and sowed winter and spring seedlings in their restored soil, which Qing Mengzhu planned to reserve for seedling production. With their fertilizer fermentation powder depleted, they considered a replacement that would avoid the high salt content of their previous fertilizer.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi soaked vegetable and strawberry seeds in warm water with bamboo vinegar and left them to germinate overnight.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sowed the sprouted seeds directly into greenhouse seedbeds on land treated with the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent.
• Zhao Hexi replaced Ming Chunxi when he left for work, but Qing Mengzhu took over sowing after Zhao Hexi scattered the seeds unevenly.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that he wanted to preserve the conditioned soil as a dedicated seedling plot and transplant seedlings without carrying its soil away.
• Qing Mengzhu sought new fertilizer fermentation powder on the Interstellar Mall because their supply had run out and their previous meat-based fertilizer risked chlorine injury.
• Ming Chunxi pointed out a fertilizer fermentation powder he thought looked suitable.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi bought supplies to ferment high-quality plant fertilizer, then shared a meal with Zhao Hexi and planned to harvest lotus roots. On a sunny Sunday, the three prepared to dig up the roots as curious onlookers gathered.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi chose an expensive plant-based fermentation powder and bought it to make fertilizer with Spirit Pearl Dregs.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others shredded vegetables and bamboo, mixed them with sugar, Spirit Pearl Dregs, and fermentation powder, then covered the vat to keep animals away.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Zhao Hexi to dinner, and the three ate cured pork ribs and radish hot pot in the courtyard.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi they would dig up some lotus roots, and Zhao Hexi offered to help.
• Qing Mengzhu chose a Sunday for the harvest, and he, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi prepared to dig while curious people gathered to watch.

Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi harvested lotus roots with high-pressure water guns while Dharma Protector and Guard joined them in the pond. The lotus roots and freshwater shrimp had grown well, and the dogs kept bringing stunned shrimp to Qing Mengzhu.

• Qing Mengzhu and the others began digging in the pond, and Qing Mengzhu uncovered a long lotus root that impressed the onlookers.
• Dharma Protector and Guard jumped into the pond, ignored attempts to send them back, and stayed to swim around the diggers.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others dug up many soft ivory-white lotus roots and disturbed the freshwater shrimp.
• Dharma Protector and Guard retrieved shrimp stunned by the water jets and brought them to Qing Mengzhu to put in his bamboo basket.
• Zhao Hexi asked the dogs to bring shrimp to his basket too, but Dharma Protector swam back to Qing Mengzhu.

Qing Mengzhu and the others harvested lotus roots, and the villagers were astonished by their unusual sweetness and texture. Back at Qing Mengzhu's house, they began separating the lotus buds from the harvest to replant for next year.

• Qing Mengzhu taught the otter and the dogs to collect only stunned or dead shrimp, then let the villagers take turns using the high-pressure water gun to dig lotus roots.
• Qing Mengzhu shared raw lotus roots with Qing Pingdun and the others, who were amazed by their flavor and asked to take some home.
• Qing Pingdun and the others helped transport the harvest, which filled two large vehicles, to Qing Mengzhu's courtyard.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others cut lotus-root segments bearing buds and placed them in baskets to prepare them for replanting.

Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi finished sorting lotus roots and prepared the sprouts for replanting. After a red-eyed owl stole some of their shrimp, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi went out at night to catch more.

• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi sorted the lotus roots and sprouts, then soaked the sprouts in bamboo vinegar before planning to store them in the greenhouse.
• Zhao Hexi discovered a red-eyed owl stealing shrimp from their kitchen, but it escaped before Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi could catch it.
• Qing Mengzhu gave the remaining shrimp to the little animals, then decided to make goose soup and catch fresh shrimp for dinner.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi rode to the pond at night and began netting shrimp, with Qing Mengzhu returning the smallest and largest ones to the water.

Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi cooked and shared freshly caught river shrimp with lotus root and goose soup, delighting in the meal. Later, Zhou Yan praised the lotus roots Qing Mengzhu had given him after making osmanthus syrup lotus root.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi caught a basket of river shrimp and returned home, where Zhao Hexi told them an owl had tried to get inside for more shrimp.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi cleaned and steamed the shrimp while Zhao Hexi secretly gave the otter one, prompting the other animals to bark until Qing Mengzhu gave them shrimp too.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi ate steamed river shrimp with lotus root and goose soup, and Zhao Hexi praised the meal before staying the night.
• Qing Mengzhu gave lotus roots to friends and family instead of selling them, and Zhou Yan called to praise their quality after making osmanthus syrup lotus root.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sold most of their lotus root harvest to the Interstellar Mall and prepared for the next planting season. While digging for winter bamboo shoots, they encountered an owl that tried to repay them for eating their shrimp by bringing them mountain rats, which they refused.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sold 4,000 jin of lotus roots to the Interstellar Mall for 50,000 Star Coins and used the leftover roots for meals and compost.
• Qing Mengzhu prepared the pond for planting, while lotus shoots in the greenhouse began taking root and growing well.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi went up the mountain with Dharma Protector and Guard to dig for winter bamboo shoots.
• An owl dropped a dead mountain rat at their feet, and Ming Chunxi guessed it was trying to repay them for eating their shrimp.
• The owl brought a live mountain rat next, but Dharma Protector and Guard carried it away; Qing Mengzhu told the owl they did not eat mountain rats.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi began looking for winter bamboo shoots, with Qing Mengzhu pointing out a bump where one might be buried.

Qing Mengzhu found that the bamboo grove had many healthy earthworms, which suggested the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent had improved the soil. He moved some earthworms to the fields to enrich them, with Zhao Hexi helping, while Ming Chunxi returned with the winter bamboo shoots.

• Qing Mengzhu dug up winter bamboo shoots and found many earthworms, then explained to Ming Chunxi how they indicated healthy soil and improved it.
• Ming Chunxi took the winter bamboo shoots back while Qing Mengzhu spent the morning gathering earthworms from the bamboo grove.
• Zhao Hexi saw Qing Mengzhu's basket of earthworms and asked to use some as fishing bait, but Qing Mengzhu explained he had gathered them for the fields.
• Zhao Hexi learned how earthworms reproduce, then helped Qing Mengzhu put two earthworms in each hole in the daikon radish field.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi checked the greenhouse seedlings and planned to improve the company fields with milk vetch and deep plowing. After discussing how to qualify for intermediate membership in the Interstellar Mall, Qing Mengzhu upgraded and bought the rest of Elementary Soil Science, leaving him dizzy from the influx of knowledge.

• Zhao Hexi asked Qing Mengzhu for earthworms to use as fishing bait, and Qing Mengzhu told him to wait until they had reproduced.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi to arrange for the company fields to be plowed and the grown milk vetch turned into the soil.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed how to reach one hundred thousand Star Coins in monthly sales for three consecutive months so they could upgrade their Interstellar Mall membership.
• Qing Mengzhu signed a contract to become an intermediate member and bought the remaining Elementary Soil Science skill book.
• Ming Chunxi caught Qing Mengzhu when the newly acquired knowledge made him dizzy, and Qing Mengzhu eventually recovered, eager to put what he had learned into practice.

Qing Mengzhu used his new soil science knowledge to begin preparing the company’s rented fields and organize seed soaking and seedling transplanting. He remained confident that his family’s Sichuan pepper seedlings and the company’s crops were progressing well.

• Qing Mengzhu discovered that the Interstellar Mall restricted him from buying more skill books for three months and that high-level membership required over a million Star Coins in monthly sales.
• Qing Mengzhu led Zhao Hexi and the others in testing the rented fields’ acidity and planning lime treatment, while Gu Benshu, Li Ba, and the others prepared soil microorganisms.
• Qing Mengzhu checked his family’s Sichuan pepper seedlings, then returned to oversee Zhao Hexi and the others soaking seeds for the company’s fields.
• Qing Mengzhu had the group transplant vegetable seedlings into the prepared field, shaking soil from their roots before watering them in.

Qing Mengzhu and his team began working their newly leased farmland and launched their community-supported agriculture program, attracting more than ten thousand members after publishing soil test reports. They then planned employee vegetable benefits and membership box contents, and Zhao Hexi reported that membership had reached 36,733 by January 10.

• When the lease began, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug the first hoe of soil, and the team started shaping the field ridges by hand.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi to share their accredited soil test reports and explain the higher membership fee and vegetable quality to prospective members.
• After Zhao Hexi posted the reports, many people signed up, and the program surpassed ten thousand members in just over a day.
• Gu Benshu and Li Ba signed up to buy vegetable boxes for their parents, and Qing Mengzhu discussed employee benefits with Ming Chunxi and Zhao Hexi.
• Zhao Hexi proposed weekly ten-jin boxes containing eight to twelve kinds of vegetables, with the first deliveries planned for the first week of March.
• On January 10, Zhao Hexi reported that the program had recruited 36,733 members.

Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. capped its community-supported agriculture membership at 38,000 and began planting vegetables across its farmland. Member visits proved popular and useful, while Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi faced a growing bird problem as wildlife flocked to the fields.

• Zhao Hexi told Qing Mengzhu that 36,733 people had signed up, and the company capped membership at 38,000 while preparing to plant its 450 mu of land.
• Zhao Hexi arranged a farm visit for members, and Qing Mengzhu agreed as long as visitors received clear instructions.
• Zhao Hexi guided thirty members around the fields, where they planted vegetables under Feng Ningxiang and other experienced growers' guidance, then ate a meal made with local produce.
• Members shared photos and praised the visit in their group chats, prompting Zhao Hexi to consider more events; Qing Mengzhu suggested tasks for the next visit, and Zhao Hexi agreed to find an assistant.
• Zhuxi planted lotus roots in eight ponds, testing Qing Mengzhu's “Sacrificial Lord” variety in one pond and local roots in the others, with plans to raise freshwater shrimp alongside them.
• Birds gathered in Zhuxi's lush winter fields, and Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi struggled to find a way to keep them away.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi solved the wild-bird problem with netting and repellent, then considered expanding into tree fruit beyond their village. After learning that Jingnan might suit mulberry cultivation, Qing Mengzhu invited Ming Chunxi to inspect the area with him that weekend.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi used bird netting and repellent, which reduced crop damage and led wild birds to avoid the fields.
• Qing Mengzhu rejected planting fruit trees in the village because its conditions did not seem suitable and asked Zhao Hexi to search for better locations.
• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi he was considering summer and autumn fruits to add to their deliveries.
• Ming Chunxi recalled the mulberries in Jingnan, prompting Qing Mengzhu to research the area's mulberry-growing and silkworm history.
• Qing Mengzhu concluded Jingnan might suit mulberries and planned a weekend visit with Ming Chunxi to inspect several villages.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi traveled to Jingnan Town to inspect mulberry orchards and consider growing mulberries. After tasting a promising local variety, they decided to visit three more orchards before choosing one.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi left Dharma Protector and Guard at home with Zhao Hexi and drove to Jingnan Town for their inspection and date.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi explored the town, tasted bland out-of-season mulberries, and asked a restaurant owner about local mulberry growing.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi visited a small orchard, where the owner introduced them to sweet, fragrant Purple Phoenix mulberries and mulberry products.
• Qing Mengzhu scanned the orchard's trees and found that most were Good Grade, with two rated Good Grade+.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi agreed that growing mulberries was promising and planned to inspect three more orchards before asking He Xi to negotiate.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi surveyed mulberry orchards and Zhao Hexi secured a lease for a large orchard. Qing Mengzhu selected six thousand mulberry saplings, and the group planted them in a day, preparing for their first harvest.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi visited three more orchards, chose Purple Phoenix mulberries, and discussed planting them with Zhao Hexi over dinner.
• Qing Mengzhu sent Zhao Hexi information on seven candidate orchards, and Zhao Hexi negotiated a twenty-year lease for the lowest-priced orchard, which covered more than eighty mu.
• Qing Mengzhu led the group in clearing weeds and trees and conditioning the neglected orchard's soil over five days.
• Qing Mengzhu used the Mall Assistant to select six thousand mulberry saplings while Ming Chunxi kept the owner occupied; the owner charged them 180,000 yuan and covered digging and transport.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and the group planted all six thousand saplings in one day and watered them with fertilizer.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi inspected the company’s leased fields and planned the work needed to manage the crops. They found the vegetables and lotus plants growing well, noted tasks for the coming days, and left the remaining orchard land for later planting.

• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi agreed to leave the orchard’s remaining land unplanted until they chose suitable crops.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi inspected the vegetable plots, where they discussed pickling leafy greens if they matured too early.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi saw that Qing Mengzhu’s seed-lotus-root pond had many more leaves than the ponds planted with the local variety, and they planned to raise its water level.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi to arrange bamboo supports for the peas and tomatoes and machinery to clear the vigorous weeds.
• Qing Mengzhu made tomato and duck egg noodles for Zhao Hexi after they finished their morning inspection.