Chapter Summaries

Qing Mengzhu offered Zhou Yan a million-yuan annual salary and a ten percent stake to help launch a restaurant, and Zhou Yan accepted the partnership. As Zhou Yan began resigning and recruiting staff, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi worked on the new company, while its location remained undecided.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi agreed to offer Zhou Yan a million-yuan salary and ten percent equity, while protecting He Xi's interests.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Zhou Yan to discuss joining their new restaurant venture and showed him the proposed contract.
• Zhou Yan accepted the offer, and he and Qing Mengzhu signed the agreement and planned the restaurant's preparations.
• Zhou Yan began resigning and recruiting staff, while Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi approved generous wages for new hires.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi registered the restaurant venture as Zhuxi Catering Group but had not chosen between a village or town location.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi inspected a large farm resort with Zhou Yan as a possible flagship restaurant site, then Qing Mengzhu met his monthly sales quota and bought a soil-restoration agent. When he tried to retrieve it, the Interstellar Mall began a 24-hour upgrade, postponing the lottery he had hoped to enter.

• Zhou Yan took Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to view a well-equipped resort in town that cost over a hundred million Star Coins.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed buying the resort, negotiating the price, and handling the company assets because Zhou Yan owned ten percent of Zhuxi Catering.
• Qing Mengzhu sold tomatoes and peppers to reach more than 100,000 Star Coins in monthly sales and composted the shredded vegetables.
• Qing Mengzhu bought another Soil Fertility Restoration Agent for 31,888 Star Coins after confirming the first dose had improved his fields.
• Qing Mengzhu tried to retrieve the agent, but the Interstellar Mall announced a 24-hour upgrade after his spending reached 100,000 Star Coins, delaying his planned lottery entry.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi waited for the Interstellar Mall to finish upgrading, then explored its new features. The upgrade revealed Qing Mengzhu’s path to becoming an intermediate grower and improved the Mall Assistant’s analysis tools.

• Qing Mengzhu drove to meet Ming Chunxi and told him the Interstellar Mall had begun its first upgrade while he had been aware of it.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi examined the frozen Mall at home and waited together for the upgrade to finish.
• At 3:56 p.m. the next day, the Interstellar Mall completed its upgrade, and Qing Mengzhu opened it on his phone.
• Qing Mengzhu found instructions listing the skills he needed to master to become an intermediate grower.
• Qing Mengzhu discovered that the upgraded Mall Assistant could show an item’s composition and how close it was to the next quality level.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi drew a valuable Water Spirit Pearl and learned it could turn ordinary water into Spirit Spring Water. Qing Mengzhu decided to arrange a well for it, and the chapter ended with village party secretary Qing Yukai asking why he suddenly wanted one.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi checked the Interstellar Mall’s upgrades and prepared for their prize draw.
• Ming Chunxi drew a Water Spirit Pearl worth 300,000 Star Coins, and they scanned it with the Mall Assistant.
• They found that the Assistant provided ingredient names but withheld precise details about their composition.
• Qing Mengzhu read that the pearl could purify water for two to three years and decided a well would be a safer place to use it.
• Qing Mengzhu asked village party secretary Qing Yukai about digging a well, and Qing Yukai asked what had prompted the idea.

Qing Mengzhu arranged to make bamboo charcoal for a new well and secured permission to drill one at home. After hiring the Cai brothers and choosing a twenty-meter well, he prepared hollow bamboo charcoal to conceal the Water Spirit Pearl at the bottom.

• Qing Mengzhu asked Qing Yukai about drilling a well and enlisted Zhao Hexi to help make bamboo charcoal from mature bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others cut bamboo and produced bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar.
• Qing Yukai told Qing Mengzhu that his well application had been approved after an inspection.
• Qing Mengzhu hired the Cai brothers, who recommended a twenty-meter well based on his household's water needs.
• The Cai brothers drilled the well, and Qing Mengzhu hollowed out bamboo charcoal pieces to hide the Water Spirit Pearl inside.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi put the Water Spirit Pearl into their new well, then shared tea brewed with the well water with Zhou Yan and Zhao Hexi while planning summer vegetables. After scanning the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent, they found brassica listed among its active ingredients and began investigating whether plants in that genus could restore soil.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi hid the Water Spirit Pearl in bamboo charcoal and placed it in the newly dug, covered well.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi invited Zhou Yan and Zhao Hexi to taste the well water and tea, which they praised.
• Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Zhou Yan agreed to raise summer vegetable seedlings in Qing Mengzhu's fields before moving them to the company's land.
• Ming Chunxi invited Qing Mengzhu to a concert, and they agreed to scan the Soil Fertility Restoration Agent together.
• The scan listed brassica substance among the agent's active ingredients, leading Qing Mengzhu to suggest testing plants from the brassica genus.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi searched online for information about brassica plants improving soil.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi used a Wish Seed to obtain an expensive Tuan Brassica seed for a soil-restoration experiment. After testing contaminated soil for the experiment, Qing Mengzhu discussed the vegetable boxes for March with Zhao Hexi.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found Tuan Brassica in the Interstellar Mall, but its seeds cost 150,000 Star Coins for fifty grams.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi used their Wish Seed to claim one Tuan Brassica seed and planted it in a pot in the courtyard.
• Qing Mengzhu arranged for Li Ba to test the soil, and Li Ba found it was moderately contaminated.
• Qing Mengzhu explained to Zhao Hexi that the potted Tuan Brassica absorbed heavy metals and was inedible.
• Zhao Hexi asked Qing Mengzhu which vegetables he wanted in the first March vegetable boxes.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi prepared the members’ vegetable boxes, rejecting crops that failed their strict quality standards. After the boxes were shipped, Zhou Yan visited Qing Mengzhu and began cooking asparagus, beef, and vegetables from a sample box, leaving Zhao Hexi and the animals waiting eagerly outside the kitchen.

• Qing Mengzhu approved a plan to pack twelve vegetables and strawberries, with extra workers hired to harvest, sort, and ship the boxes.
• Qing Mengzhu inspected the fields with Zhao Hexi and rejected inferior green beans and cracked radishes, directing the green beans to compost.
• Qing Mengzhu worked with his team from three in the morning until after one in the afternoon to send the vegetable boxes to members.
• Zhou Yan visited Qing Mengzhu, brought marinated diaolong beef from the kitchen, and offered to cook it with freshly picked asparagus.
• Zhou Yan decided to use a sample member vegetable box for more dishes, while Qing Mengzhu invited Zhao Hexi over.
• Zhou Yan cooked as the dogs, fox, otter, and Zhao Hexi gathered expectantly at the kitchen door.

Ming Chunxi returned to a lively dinner cooked by Zhou Yan, and the group enjoyed fresh asparagus and other dishes before checking customers’ reactions to their vegetable boxes. Members praised the vegetables and regretted not ordering more, while Zhao Hexi received a request from a wealthy gourmand to buy radishes separately.

• Ming Chunxi came home as Zhou Yan finished cooking dinner, and Qing Mengzhu prepared a lightly seasoned meal for the animals.
• Zhou Yan served six dishes and soup, and Qing Mengzhu promised to grow rice and share some with Zhou Yan and others.
• Qing Mengzhu and the others checked their phones after dinner and saw that members were praising the vegetable boxes and regretting not ordering more.
• Min Yunfei and Qing Xun discussed getting more vegetables and planned to share some with Min Yunfei’s parents.
• Zhao Hexi told Qing Mengzhu that a well-known wealthy gourmand wanted to buy radishes separately to make caipu-dried radish.

Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Zhou Yan agreed to use some of their radishes to make preserved radish, and Zhou Yan cooked an old duck soup that impressed everyone. They prepared a batch to age for their future restaurant, while the newly purchased farmstead was being renovated for Zhou Yan’s team to move into.

• Qing Mengzhu decided to sell some of the radish harvest, and Zhou Yan asked to reserve two thousand jin to make preserved radish.
• Zhou Yan brought twenty-seven-year-aged preserved radish and cooked old duck soup, which Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, and Zhao Hexi enjoyed.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to set aside two thousand jin of radishes so Zhou Yan could make preserved radish for their own use.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan selected Good Grade+ radishes and worked with the group to wash, cut, dry, salt, and store them in an earthenware jar.
• Zhou Yan called the preserved radish part of the restaurant’s foundation as the purchased farmstead’s renovation neared completion.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi expanded the vegetable-box options while Qing Mengzhu prepared summer seedlings and helped researchers improve their fields with earthworms. Ji Qinglin and his students visited to collect earthworms, and Cen Zhiming revealed he had joined Ji Qinglin’s group.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi planned to offer mulberry leaves, milk vetch, and pea shoots as optional vegetables, and let members choose between strawberries and mulberries for fruit.
• Qing Mengzhu led workers in transplanting summer vegetable seedlings and explained to Nian Xinfei how organic fertilizers and earthworms had improved his soil.
• Nian Xinfei and his students dug up earthworms from a cleared field to take back to their experimental field.
• Ji Qinglin called Qing Mengzhu to ask for earthworms, then brought students, including Cen Zhiming, to collect them that afternoon.
• Cen Zhiming told Qing Mengzhu he had joined Ji Qinglin’s group and might apply to become his graduate student, crediting Qing Mengzhu’s lotus-root advice.

Qing Mengzhu researched rice cultivation with Ji Qinglin and Ming Chunxi, then sampled rice from several stores to choose a variety to grow. He and his friends selected five favorites, leaving him pleased with their choice.

• Ji Qinglin advised Qing Mengzhu about japonica and indica rice and recommended northern japonica varieties.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi researched rice cultivation and decided to grow japonica rice after finding no staple crop seeds on the Interstellar Mall.
• Qing Mengzhu ordered rice from several highly rated stores so he could taste it before choosing seeds.
• Qing Mengzhu, Ming Chunxi, Qing Pingdun, Zhao Hexi, and Zhou Yan cooked and sampled thirteen kinds of rice.
• The group voted for five favorites, three from the northeast, and Qing Mengzhu was pleased that they had chosen the right rice.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi traveled to buy rice seeds, and Qing Mengzhu selected seeds from a locally adapted variety while considering expanding their rice-growing operation. The chapter ended with Qing Mengzhu imagining renting land in the region to grow rice once their plans had developed.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi examined seed samples and found three Fine Grade seeds mixed into a batch of Good Grade+ seeds.
• Qing Mengzhu arranged to visit the seed seller, and Ming Chunxi decided to travel with him while Zhao Hexi offered to care for their animals.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi traveled to the northeast, where they sampled local barbecue before visiting the seller the next morning.
• Qing Mengzhu asked to select about sixty kilograms of the seller's rice seeds and scanned them in sections for Fine Grade seeds.
• Qing Mengzhu listened to the seller explain local growing conditions and considered renting land nearby to grow rice in the future.

After returning with rice seeds, Qing Mengzhu recovered and began sorting them while Zhao Hexi arranged fields for the company. Once the new land was leased and its soil treated, Zhao Hexi proposed breeding and selling earthworms, and Qing Mengzhu was left considering the idea.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi brought home sixty kilograms of rice seeds, then rested and recovered from the tiring trip.
• Qing Mengzhu sorted the rice seeds while Zhao Hexi told him that high land prices were complicating the search for fields.
• Qing Mengzhu told Zhao Hexi not to accept unreasonable terms, and Zhao Hexi then leased the requested fields from two households.
• Qing Mengzhu treated the new fields’ soil and took Feng Ningxiang and the others to dig earthworms for transplanting.
• Zhao Hexi proposed breeding and selling earthworms, explaining that the company could use its compost beds and earn money from sales.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi added earthworms to their online store, while Gu Benshu proposed and received funding for research into using earthworms to carry Insect-Killing Bacillus against underground pests. After Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi inspected their new wasp cards and cucumbers, Little Otter appeared by the river and offered Qing Mengzhu a fish, leaving Zhao Hexi asking for one too.

• Qing Mengzhu agreed to sell earthworms through the company's online store, and customers began buying them to make fertilizer.
• Gu Benshu proposed studying earthworms as carriers for Insect-Killing Bacillus to target underground pests, and Qing Mengzhu asked him to prepare a report.
• Ming Chunxi assessed Gu Benshu's report as worth trying, and Qing Mengzhu approved staged funding for the project after hearing the team's presentation.
• Gu Benshu brought Trichogramma wasp cards carrying Insect-Killing Bacillus, and Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi replaced the old cards in their vegetable plots.
• Zhao Hexi ate a cucumber straight from the trellis while Qing Mengzhu washed his, and Little Otter emerged from the river to give Qing Mengzhu a big fish.
• Zhao Hexi asked Little Otter for a fish too, and Little Otter hesitated.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi decided to grow water bamboo after Little Otter brought them some to eat, and Zhao Hexi took Qing Mengzhu to inspect seedlings from local growers. They had found only one promising option so far and continued searching for better seedlings.

• Little Otter brought Zhao Hexi a freshwater mussel and water bamboo, and Qing Mengzhu considered growing the crop.
• Qing Mengzhu, Zhao Hexi, and Ming Chunxi ate the water bamboo and discussed growing it; Zhao Hexi offered to find seedlings, while Qing Mengzhu agreed to select them himself.
• Zhao Hexi quickly arranged visits to water bamboo growers and took Qing Mengzhu around nearby villages on his electric scooter.
• After inspecting seedlings in four villages, Qing Mengzhu had chosen only one as a backup because its quality was below his hopes.
• Qing Mengzhu spotted another field from the scooter and asked Zhao Hexi to turn in so they could inspect its seedlings.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi visited Lü Chunkai to inspect his water bamboo seedlings and learned about raising swamp eels and softshell turtles alongside the crop. Lü Chunkai invited them to lunch to discuss selling them seedlings, and Qing Mengzhu recognized the chilies Lü Chunkai used as a variety grown from his family’s seeds.

• Zhao Hexi and Qing Mengzhu met Lü Chunkai while he was catching swamp eels in his water bamboo field, and he explained how deep ditches protected the eels from birds.
• Lü Chunkai demonstrated his skill at catching eels and told Zhao Hexi about semi-farming eels and raising softshell turtles in water bamboo fields.
• Qing Mengzhu examined Lü Chunkai’s high-quality seedlings, and he and Zhao Hexi said they wanted enough to plant ten mu of land.
• Lü Chunkai invited the two men to his home for lunch, prepared swamp eels, and explained that the chilies in the dish were a special variety from a relative.
• Qing Mengzhu recognized the chilies as grown from seeds his family had given to people in their hometown, and Lü Chunkai welcomed him to try them with the eels.

Qing Mengzhu arranged to buy water bamboo seedlings and decided to raise swamp eels in the new field while focusing on growing rice. As Zhou Yan prepared a green-plum side dish for his upcoming restaurant, Qing Mengzhu tried it and found its sour, spicy flavors surprisingly harmonious.

• Qing Mengzhu and the others negotiated with Lü Chunkai to buy water bamboo seedlings for two yuan each, then inspected and selected seedlings from his household and another farm.
• Qing Mengzhu decided to raise swamp eels among the water bamboo and asked Zhao Hexi to arrange the purchase of eel fry.
• Qing Mengzhu left the company's rice seedlings to Zhao Hexi and the experienced workers while concentrating on growing rice in his own field.
• Zhou Yan visited Qing Mengzhu to ask to use green plums from his mountain for a restaurant side dish, and Qing Mengzhu took him to pick two baskets.
• Zhou Yan marinated the plums with salt, oil, soy sauce, and dried chilies, then served them at dinner, where Qing Mengzhu tasted the dish and found its flavors well balanced.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan prepared their farm restaurant for a trial opening, while Zhou Yan developed dishes and considered adding specialty cuisine. The first week of trial operation went smoothly, and a pregnant diner sent Qing Mengzhu loquats in thanks for the pickled green plums.

• Qing Mengzhu showed Zhou Yan Ming Lexin's request for pickled green plums for her pregnant friend's daughter, and Zhou Yan offered to share the recipe instead of shipping food.
• Zhou Yan proposed developing medicinal cuisine and a sour plum drink, but Ming Chunxi cautioned against narrowing the restaurant's appeal, so they agreed to test-run the restaurant before its official opening.
• Qing Mengzhu sent the pregnant woman green plums, and the renovated farm obtained its licenses as Zhou Yan resigned and brought his team to Zhuxi Catering Group.
• The restaurant launched a seven-day trial run with two half-price tables per day, and all the slots sold out quickly.
• Zhou Yan and his team prepared the menu's dishes on the first day, and Qing Mengzhu and the staff praised the duck in green sauce, pickled green plums with ham, and other dishes.
• Zhao Linling told Qing Mengzhu that a pregnant diner surnamed Xu had brought him Baisha loquats, and Qing Mengzhu recognized her as Ming Lexin's friend's daughter.

Qing Mengzhu welcomed the first diners at Zhou Yan’s restaurant, whose meal received enthusiastic praise, then returned home to share desserts with Zhao Hexi and the animals. Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi agreed that the long-running pepper crop required a new purchase contract with Di Xing.

• Qing Mengzhu greeted Xu Baizhen and the other diners, who praised the restaurant’s pickled green plums and hot dishes.
• Zhou Yan gathered positive feedback from the diners, who celebrated the successful meal before leaving.
• Zhou Yan gave Qing Mengzhu leftover loquats and soufflé pancakes, and Qing Mengzhu thanked him for his work.
• Qing Mengzhu shared tea, loquats, and soufflé pancakes with Zhao Hexi, Dharma Protector, Guard, the otter, and the red fox.
• Zhao Hexi proposed arranging pepper picking and revising the purchase contract with Di Xing because the crop had kept producing and improved in quality.