Chapter Summaries

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug up gastrodia and caught a hazel grouse to make soup for Ming Lexin, who had come to spend the New Year with them while struggling with poor sleep. After they returned, Ming Lexin rested in the courtyard, shared strawberries with the household animals, and relaxed with them.

• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi that Ming Lexin had trouble sleeping, and they decided not to look at her private account and instead prepare gastrodia soup for her.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi drove up the mountain, dug up Fine Grade+ gastrodia tubers, and caught a hazel grouse for dinner.
• Qing Mengzhu picked strawberries from their own field to bring home for Ming Lexin.
• Ming Lexin came out to greet them, admired their homegrown produce, and washed the strawberries.
• Ming Lexin shared strawberries with Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi, then fed some to the dogs, red fox, and otter after getting their permission.

Ming Lexin enjoyed Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi’s hospitality and slept deeply after drinking their gastrodia soup. She asked Qing Mengzhu to send fresh gastrodia to a friend with insomnia, and he arranged a delivery before the story left them together at the village.

• Ming Lexin praised the meal and soup, while Ming Chunxi invited her to move to the village and she declined.
• After drinking gastrodia and hazel grouse soup, Ming Lexin fell asleep early and slept soundly until the next morning.
• Ming Lexin told Qing Mengzhu that the soup had helped her feel rested and asked him to send gastrodia to a friend with long-term insomnia.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that they might grow medicinal herbs on their newly leased farms in the borderlands, using a professional team to manage them.
• Ming Lexin shared that her insomnia had begun after a mutual breakup and encouraged Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to cherish their relationship.
• Qing Mengzhu dug up extra gastrodia, packed it for delivery to Ming Lexin’s friend, and advised her to refrigerate, dry, or freeze it.

Ming Lexin’s friend praised the gastrodia after it helped her sleep, while Zhuxi Farm’s growing fame made its holiday reservations impossible to get. After celebrating New Year’s with family, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi traveled to Qiongwei City, where they enjoyed the warm weather and went snorkeling together.

• Ming Lexin’s friend tried the gastrodia and told her it had finally given her a good night’s sleep after seven years of insomnia.
• Ming Lexin’s friend tried to book New Year’s Eve dinner at Zhuxi Farm but found it and the following fifteen days fully booked.
• Ming Chunxi packed for the trip, and the family celebrated New Year’s Eve with dinner and baijiu in the courtyard.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi flew to Qiongwei City with Dharma Protector and Guard, then enjoyed the beach and other activities.
• Ming Chunxi guided a nervous Qing Mengzhu underwater snorkeling, where they admired the seabed, coral, and fish.

During their holiday, Ming Chunxi proposed to Qing Mengzhu underwater, and they exchanged rings and shared the news with friends. After enjoying the New Year together, they returned to the orchard, where Qing Mengzhu saw that the fruit trees had begun growing new leaves.

• Ming Chunxi proposed to Qing Mengzhu while they were diving, and Qing Mengzhu accepted; Guard and Dharma Protector helped them exchange rings.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi posted photos of their rings, and Zhao Hexi congratulated them and agreed to be a groomsman.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi spent the New Year holiday enjoying their engagement, while Ming Lexin left with the dogs because she couldn't stand their lovey-dovey atmosphere.
• After the tenth day of the New Year, Qing Mengzhu took Ming Chunxi to the orchard to resume work.
• Qing Mengzhu saw that the durian and mangosteen trees had grown many tender new leaves.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi inspected the orchard’s durian and coffee trees, then discovered that ryegrass had spread widely and improved the soil. Testing confirmed that the ryegrass restored soil more effectively than ordinary ryegrass and released a secretion that promoted plant growth, leaving Qing Mengzhu considering expanding its use.

• Qing Mengzhu assessed the durian trees and told Ming Chunxi that they would likely bear fewer fruits this year but recover by next year.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi inspected their coffee trees, which had grown many branches and needed pruning.
• Ming Chunxi noticed the lush ryegrass, and Ping Lin explained that workers had propagated it from cuttings to support possible pet treats.
• Qing Mengzhu found that the ryegrass remained high quality and that the soil beneath it had improved, so he asked Ping Lin to collect samples for testing.
• Zhuxi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. tested the samples and found that the ryegrass restored soil better than ordinary ryegrass, increased organic matter, and released a secretion that promoted plant growth.

Qing Mengzhu expanded the company’s spring workforce and prioritized ryegrass research, then helped Dr. Xu Qilin investigate ways to improve the grass’s growth. The ryegrass flourished and fed the company’s geese, while Xu proposed inoculating it with mycorrhizal fungi and using the company’s earthworms to support her research.

• Qing Mengzhu approved hiring staff for ryegrass research, and Ke Shuwen recommended Xu Qilin as the project lead.
• During spring recruitment, Qing Mengzhu selected capable candidates, and Zhao Hexi arranged the new staff into teams.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to buy planting machinery and inspect and repair warehouses, while spring planting plans expanded to the borderland farms.
• The ryegrass grew quickly in the fields, and the company’s geese eagerly fed on it.
• Xu Qilin told Qing Mengzhu that the ryegrass and soil appeared unusually healthy but lacked mycorrhizal fungi, and she suggested inoculating the plants.
• Qing Mengzhu assigned Xu Qilin to obtain mycorrhizal inoculant and brought her to the compost heap to collect earthworms for her research.

Qing Mengzhu saw the orchard’s fruit trees and bee colonies thriving, while inoculated ryegrass improved his cows’ grazing. After inviting Zhao Hexi to dinner with Zhou Yan, Qing Mengzhu saw Zhao return with two fish, a red fox, an otter, and fresh mugwort.

• Zhao Hexi brought Qing Mengzhu mulberries and described the orchard’s fruit trees and growing bee colonies; Qing Mengzhu said his mountain had six hives.
• Qing Mengzhu’s ryegrass grew lush after inoculation, and his cows began grazing in the fields, where they regularly clashed with the geese.
• Qing Mengzhu found Zhao Hexi fishing by the river and invited him to dinner with Zhou Yan; Zhao promised to bring fish.
• Zhou Yan arrived for dinner, and Zhao Hexi returned on his motorcycle with two fish, the red fox and otter, and freshly picked mugwort.

Qing Mengzhu and his companions enjoyed a dinner of fresh ingredients, then planned a trip to Zhaiqian Village. On Tuesday, they arrived in the misty mountains and saw how the bamboo and tea partnership had given villagers more work at home.

• Zhou Yan prepared cured pork stir-fried with mugwort, fish with pickled mustard greens, and hand-shredded drunken hazel grouse, and everyone ate until they were full.
• Qing Mengzhu, Zhou Yan, Zhao Hexi, Chu Yanhuan, and Ming Chunxi agreed to visit Zhaiqian Village on Tuesday and arranged to have lunch at Yi Yanbai's home.
• Chu Yanhuan packed snacks for the outing, and the group drove two cars through the spring rain into the mountains.
• Chu Yanhuan asked why so many people were in Zhaiqian Village, and Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi explained that the bamboo and tea work let more middle-aged villagers earn a living locally.

Qing Mengzhu took Zhou Yan, Chu Yanhuan, Ming Chunxi, and their friends around the village to inspect its bamboo and tea crops and gather ingredients. They returned to Yi Yanbai’s house, where Chen Meimei and Yi Ousheng had prepared a welcoming meal featuring the tea leaves, bamboo shoots, and wild vegetables.

• Qing Mengzhu showed his friends the misty mountain views and explained plans to expand the tea garden by working with local households.
• Qing Mengzhu and his friends met villagers gathering wild vegetables, then continued up the mountain to inspect the bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu taught the group which bamboo shoots were small enough to harvest, and they gathered shoots and wild vegetables.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhou Yan visited Zhou Minyue in the tea grove, inspected the bushes, and picked fragrant tea leaves for cooking.
• Chen Meimei and Yi Ousheng served Qing Mengzhu and his friends a meal featuring tea leaves, bamboo shoots, and wild vegetables.

Chen Meimei and Yi Ousheng impressed Qing Mengzhu’s group with their cooking, while Zhou Yan learned that the village’s tea and produce were gaining skilled workers and customers. Over several months, Zhou Yan studied the company’s successful online store and noticed its vegetables improving in flavor, leaving him astonished at how much better they might become.

• Chen Meimei served a country meal, and Yi Yanbai revealed that his parents were apprenticing under a master banquet chef.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that a self-taught tea roaster from Zhaiqian Village had joined the company, and Zhou Yan learned its first-grade tea was selling for 299 yuan per half jin.
• After returning home, Zhou Yan checked the company’s positive reviews, and Wu Yi told him customers especially liked the old duck and tea stew.
• Zhou Yan discussed menu choices with Wu Yi and began regularly studying the company’s reviews and customer-service practices to improve his own restaurant.
• From February through May, Qing Mengzhu’s company listed more produce online and supplied it to the restaurant, where customers noticed the vegetables’ improving quality.
• Zhou Yan tasted a tomato and told Qing Mengzhu that its richer flavors felt like seeing the world come into focus.

Customers praised Zhuxi’s improved vegetables online, while Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi discussed using ryegrass to restore soil and produce seeds. In mid-May, Qing Mengzhu’s staff helped transplant rice seedlings, and he shared practical growing advice with an expanding crowd.

• Customers discussed Zhuxi’s vivid, flavorful vegetables online and praised the company’s quality and fair prices.
• Zhao Hexi showed Qing Mengzhu the online praise and asked about planting another crop of ryegrass.
• Qing Mengzhu said the company would wait until winter and rely on orchard ryegrass for seeds, while continuing research into the soil-restoring plant.
• In mid-May, Qing Mengzhu arranged for company staff to transplant ten mu of rice grown from seeds harvested the previous year.
• As the staff worked in the paddies, Qing Mengzhu explained rice-growing practices, drawing more listeners to hear his advice.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi oversaw rice planting at their company’s two farms in Ye'erqingele before returning to Vine City for the Dragon Boat Festival preparations. After selling bamboo to Pei Guangjian's group, Qing Mengzhu discussed its improved quality and the bamboo growing on his mountain.

• Qing Mengzhu taught rice-growing techniques to a crowd, and Zhao Hexi asked him to help plant rice at their two frontier farms.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi traveled to Ye'erqingele, where Ge Yutian reported that the vegetable crops were planted and the rice paddies were ready.
• Qing Mengzhu inspected the paddies and approved transplanting the rice seedlings with machinery.
• After three days, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi flew back to Vine City, where Qing Mengzhu prepared bamboo for zongzi and bamboo vinegar.
• Pei Guangjian told Qing Mengzhu that the latest bamboo test showed better quality than the previous year's, and Qing Mengzhu said the mutated bamboo and space bamboo were still growing well.

Qing Mengzhu showed Duan Yu'ang the expanding bamboo grove and discussed a new supply contract, then led him to the mountaintop to see the transplanted mother bamboo. Qing Mengzhu realized the bamboo had reached Supreme Grade- quality, confirming that the Seed Gene Agent had worked.

• Duan Yu'ang asked Qing Mengzhu for more bamboo, and Qing Mengzhu agreed to discuss a new contract during a visit.
• Qing Mengzhu showed Duan Yu'ang the Space Bamboo, mutated bamboo, and thriving new shoots while explaining how the grove's waste was reused.
• Qing Mengzhu led Duan Yu'ang and his subordinates along the mountain road to see the transplanted mother bamboo.
• Qing Mengzhu noticed the mother bamboo had grown to seven or eight meters and reached Supreme Grade- quality.

Qing Mengzhu discovered that the mother bamboo on his mountain had reached Supreme Grade- quality and began brewing its leaves with tea. Zhao Hexi tried to find other bamboo leaves with the same fragrant qualities, but his experiments failed.

• Qing Mengzhu signed a contract to sell more bamboo to Duan Yu'ang and his people at a thirty percent higher price.
• Qing Mengzhu scanned leaves from the mother bamboo and confirmed they were Supreme Grade- with spiritual energy, then brewed them with Ming Chunxi.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi made a habit of sharing bamboo leaf tea, and Zhao Hexi was amazed by its fragrance.
• Zhao Hexi insisted on searching the mountain for more tea-worthy leaves, and Qing Mengzhu helped him pick some.
• Zhao Hexi tried brewing ordinary bamboo leaves in different ways, but none produced the distinctive fragrance of the mother bamboo leaves.

Qing Mengzhu oversaw bamboo vinegar spraying, harvested prawns and young lotus stems, and shared lunch with Ming Chunxi and their animals. He told Ming Chunxi they needed to visit Qiongwei City to check the durian trees, and Ming Chunxi agreed, suggesting they go to the seaside.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi discussed protecting the tea-making bamboo as technicians sprayed the fields with bamboo vinegar solution.
• Qing Mengzhu harvested vegetables, freshwater prawns, and young lotus stems for lunch.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi cooked lunch and fed prawns to Dharma Protector and the other animals.
• Qing Mengzhu told Ming Chunxi that Ping Lin and the others needed help deciding whether to thin the durian flowers in Qiongwei City.
• Ming Chunxi agreed to go with Qing Mengzhu and asked whether they should visit the seaside.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi inspected the Qiongwei City orchard, replenished its reservoirs, and prepared the durian trees for fruiting. When powerful Typhoon Noel struck, they stayed to oversee the orchard and went out to inspect the residential area after the power failed.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi checked the orchard, found the durian trees needed nutrients, and arranged for fermented cow manure to be delivered.
• Qing Mengzhu confirmed the Spirit Pearl Dregs in the reservoirs had run out and added two packets to each reservoir.
• Qing Mengzhu thinned and pollinated the durian blossoms, then discussed having workers continue the pollination and attracting nocturnal pollinators.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi stayed at the orchard when Typhoon Noel approached, and Qing Mengzhu assured Zhao Hexi they were safe indoors.
• The power went out as the typhoon intensified, so Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi put on raincoats, took flashlights, and went to inspect the residential area.

After the typhoon passed, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi found their orchard mostly unharmed, then visited Mi Yao’s damaged orchard to help save his fallen durian trees. Qing Mengzhu arranged treatments and began guiding Mi Yao and his workers through the recovery effort.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sheltered together through the typhoon, then inspected their orchard and found little damage.
• Qing Mengzhu saw in the orchard owners’ group chat that other orchards had suffered worse damage, including Mi Yao’s fallen durian trees.
• Mi Yao invited Qing Mengzhu to assess his orchard, where Qing Mengzhu found that seventeen of the seventy-three fallen trees were severely damaged.
• Qing Mengzhu prepared a treatment list that included bamboo vinegar, and Mi Yao agreed to buy the supplies.
• Zhao Hexi arranged express delivery of the treatments, and Qing Mengzhu mixed them with Spirit Pearl Dregs water.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi helped Mi Yao and his workers clear damaged parts from the durian trees.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi helped Mi Yao treat his damaged durian trees, and Mi Yao showed them his lychee orchard while they waited for roast goose. Qing Mengzhu assessed the orchard and noticed several Kanyao durian trees among the Monthong trees.

• Qing Mengzhu had Mi Yao apply medicinal solution, bandage the durian trees, and secure them after replanting; the lychee trees also appeared livelier after treatment.
• Mi Yao treated Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to lychee-wood-roasted goose and showed Qing Mengzhu how it was prepared.
• Mi Yao told Qing Mengzhu that an agricultural technician had declared the durian trees unsalvageable, but his workers had urged him to seek Qing Mengzhu's help.
• Mi Yao showed Qing Mengzhu his lychee trees and explained how they pruned them and managed the orchard.
• Qing Mengzhu noticed several Kanyao durian trees among Mi Yao's Monthong trees and asked whether Mi Yao had planted them deliberately.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi enjoyed Mi Yao’s roast goose and accepted a gift of lychee mushrooms. Mi Yao then invited them to join his friends on a sea-fishing trip, delaying their return to Vine City by a day.

• Mi Yao showed Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi the orchard’s durian trees and shared contacts for fruit growers before bringing them to eat.
• Qing Mengzhu praised Old Ma’s roast goose, and they agreed to exchange roast-goose techniques between their homes.
• Mi Yao saw Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi off and learned they planned to return to Vine City the day after next.
• The next morning, Mi Yao brought them freshly picked lychee mushrooms from his grove and explained that they grew after typhoons.
• Mi Yao invited Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi to fish for humpback grouper after the typhoon, and they agreed to meet his group at the dock with fishing rods and earthworms.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi joined Mi Yao and his friends for a sea-fishing trip, where their earthworms proved effective and they caught plenty of fish. They returned to the orchard for a feast, and Zhao Hexi called after seeing Qing Mengzhu’s photos.

• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi dug up earthworms and brought them to the dock for the fishing trip.
• Qing Mengzhu caught a red snapper, and Ming Chunxi later caught a humpback grouper.
• The anglers switched to Qing Mengzhu’s earthworms and began catching fish more quickly.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi ate freshly caught fish aboard the boat and planned to go fishing together again.
• Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi brought their catch back to the orchard and shared a feast with everyone.
• Zhao Hexi saw Qing Mengzhu’s Moments photos and called to ask about the fishing haul.