Chapter Summaries

Qing Mengzhu planted a Dragon Glow Fruit seed and attended a village class on pepper cultivation before agreeing to buy okra seedlings with Tan Wenlei and Qing Changhong. At Huang Kebao’s house, they discussed the seedlings and the villagers’ difficulties selling their surplus vegetables.

• Qing Mengzhu soaked a Dragon Glow Fruit seed in ground induction grass, planted it in a flowerpot, and waited to see whether it would sprout.
• Qing Mengzhu took careful notes at a village class on managing pepper diseases and heat, while Tan Wenlei tried to talk with him.
• Tan Wenlei invited Qing Mengzhu to grow okra, and Qing Changhong joined them in buying seedlings from Huang Kebao’s family.
• Qing Mengzhu ordered 120 okra seedlings, Tan Wenlei ordered 60, and Qing Changhong ordered 20; Huang Kebao offered to take them to the fields at dusk.
• As they waited at Huang Kebao’s house, Qing Mengzhu and the others discussed low vegetable prices, unsold produce, and the challenges small farmers faced competing with large companies.

Qing Mengzhu discovered that dozens of lotus flowers had been stolen from his ponds and began patrolling them at night. After a thief fled on a motorcycle, Qing Mengzhu found two furry animals beside the damaged lotuses.

• Qing Mengzhu agreed to give Huang Kebao and Qing Changhong tomato seeds so they could grow his tomatoes.
• Tan Wenlei pointed out missing lotus flowers, and Qing Mengzhu found at least thirty gone from one pond and another thirty or forty missing from the other.
• Qing Changhong suggested that Qing Mengzhu get dogs to guard his ponds, but Qing Mengzhu could not find suitable puppies and instead patrolled with a powerful flashlight.
• After several quiet nights, Qing Mengzhu heard a scream, rode to the ponds, and saw a thief escape on a motorcycle.
• Qing Mengzhu inspected the damaged lotus plants and spotted two furry animals in his flashlight beam.

After a red fox and an otter helped drive off thieves stealing Qing Mengzhu’s lotus flowers, the police caught the culprits, and Qing Mengzhu rewarded the animals with fish and shrimp. Qing Guozhi visited, brought lotus tea made from Qing Mengzhu’s flowers, and offered to find him two dogs to guard the house.

• Qing Mengzhu reported the attempted theft, sold the damaged lotus leaves and flowers, and learned that the red fox and otter had helped the police identify the thieves through their vaccination records.
• Qing Mengzhu left fish and shrimp near the animals’ dens, and the red fox and otter ate them after he stepped away.
• Qing Guozhi visited Qing Mengzhu, identified the thief as Little Mouse from Lianpei Village, and regretted not recognizing the theft sooner.
• Qing Guozhi brought lotus tea made from Qing Mengzhu’s flowers, brewed it with mountain-spring water, and offered to provide Baihao Yinzhen for Qing Mengzhu to make more.
• Qing Guozhi asked what kind of puppy Qing Mengzhu wanted, and Qing Mengzhu requested two smart local yellow dogs or wolfdogs to guard the house.

Qing Mengzhu made lotus tea and shared it with friends and Professor Nian Xinfei, then adopted two local wolfdog puppies from Qing Guozhi and named them Dharma Protector and Guard. Nearly ten days after planting tomato seeds, he found the seedlings sprouting and brought the puppies to the field to get used to their territory.

• Qing Mengzhu picked lotus buds, stuffed them with tea leaves, roasted them, and packed the finished lotus tea into decorative boxes.
• Qing Mengzhu sent tea to Qing Guozhi, Ming Chunxi and Ming Lexin, Zhao Hexi, and Professor Nian Xinfei, who thanked him for it.
• Qing Guozhi brought Qing Mengzhu two female local wolfdog puppies, and Qing Mengzhu bought them for a thousand each and named them Dharma Protector and Guard.
• After selling vegetables, Qing Mengzhu checked the tomato seedlings and gently watered them with a spray bottle.
• Qing Mengzhu let Dharma Protector and Guard explore the vegetable field, and the puppies stayed close to his legs as he worked.

Qing Mengzhu prepared his crops and animals for a forecast rainstorm, then brought an otter and a red fox into his courtyard for shelter. After more than an hour of torrential rain flooded the courtyard, the storm eased to drizzle.

• Qing Mengzhu shared tomatoes with Qing Pingdun and the other young people swimming in the river, and warned them to be careful in the forecast rainstorm.
• Qing Mengzhu moved his potted plants indoors and secured his tomato seedlings and other crops as dark clouds spread.
• Qing Mengzhu herded the ducks out of the pond and moved the hazel grouse under the eaves before the downpour began.
• Qing Mengzhu beckoned the otter and red fox to follow him to his home, where they sheltered beside the entrance while the puppies barked at them.
• Qing Mengzhu cleared the courtyard drain as floodwater rose to his ankles, and the rain eased to drizzle sometime after three in the afternoon.

After a downpour damaged Qing Mengzhu’s vegetables, he worked to drain and salvage his fields, then sold what he could to the Interstellar Mall. The next day, Tan Wenlei asked him to examine Gong Quantiao’s badly split tomatoes, and Qing Mengzhu considered whether waterlogging in low-lying plots had caused the damage.

• Qing Mengzhu drained his flooded fields and gathered damaged produce while villagers worked to limit their losses.
• Qing Mengzhu sold most of his salvaged vegetables to the Interstellar Mall and discovered his green chilies commanded a high price.
• Di Caiyong bought Qing Mengzhu’s vegetables after Tan Wenlei explained that the storm had reduced his own harvest.
• Tan Wenlei asked Qing Mengzhu to help his friend Gong Quantiao diagnose tomatoes whose fruit had split.
• Qing Mengzhu suggested that waterlogging in lower plots might explain why only two mu of Gong Quantiao’s tomatoes had split.

Qing Mengzhu diagnosed the cause of Gong Quantiao’s split tomatoes and agreed to install a field camera after Ming Chunxi visited to check on him. Ming Chunxi stayed through the weekend, and after he left, Qing Mengzhu felt the house was empty before returning to his usual routine on Monday.

• Qing Mengzhu suspected Gong Quantiao’s tomatoes had split because an overly concentrated growth hormone made them grow too quickly, and advised him to add water and fertilizer.
• After working in his fields, Qing Mengzhu found Ming Chunxi waiting at his gate; Ming Chunxi explained that he had come to discuss the recent lotus theft and a surveillance camera.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to install a camera in his field, and Qing Changhong ordered several cameras for his mountain chicken farm.
• Ming Chunxi’s friend installed the cameras, and Ming Chunxi stayed with Qing Mengzhu for two days, helping with farm work.
• After Ming Chunxi left on Sunday night, Qing Mengzhu felt his home was empty and resumed his usual routine on Monday.

Qing Mengzhu celebrated the Dragon Rosy Cloud Fruit sprouting and received Superior Grade- Oriental river shrimp eggs as his Interstellar Mall reward. He arranged for the eggs to be tested and hatched, then returned to managing his productive vegetable farm.

• Qing Mengzhu submitted the sprouted Dragon Rosy Cloud Fruit seedling to the Interstellar Mall, which approved the task and awarded him 100 grams of Oriental river shrimp eggs.
• Qing Mengzhu bought local shrimp eggs, replaced them with the Interstellar Mall eggs, and asked Chen Yi to help hatch them and recommend a testing institution.
• Chen Yi helped set up an oxygenated hatching tank, and Qing Mengzhu sent shrimp eggs to an authoritative institution for testing.
• Qing Mengzhu considered expanding his compost pit because his summer vegetables produced more than Di Caiyong could buy and the Interstellar Mall only accepted certain fertilizer.
• Di Caiyong weighed and bought the vegetables he wanted, while Qing Mengzhu continued working in the pepper patch.

Di Caiyong sampled Qing Mengzhu’s peppers and praised their flavor, then joined Qing Mengzhu and Tan Wenlei for lunch at Qing Mengzhu’s home. The meal began with Di Caiyong’s farmhouse delight, and Qing Mengzhu discovered how well the peppers tasted cooked with it.

• Di Caiyong picked and tasted one of Qing Mengzhu’s red peppers, praising its heat and sweetness.
• Qing Mengzhu agreed to host lunch, and Tan Wenlei joined them after overhearing their plans.
• Qing Mengzhu welcomed Di Caiyong and Tan Wenlei into his tidy, plant-filled home, where they drank lotus tea and greeted the puppies Dharma Protector and Guard.
• The three prepared lunch together, and Di Caiyong cooked chicken giblets with pickled water spinach stems, stir-fried dried fish, farmhouse delight, and soup.
• Qing Mengzhu tasted a pepper from Di Caiyong’s farmhouse delight and enjoyed its fragrant spice, soft texture, and sweet aftertaste.

Qing Mengzhu’s peppers earned praise from Di Caiyong and Tan Wenlei, and Di Caiyong offered to buy them. After Ming Chunxi suggested contacting Professor Nian about finding buyers, Qing Mengzhu reconsidered selling the peppers to Di Caiyong and decided to wait for Tengcheng Agricultural University to set a price.

• Di Caiyong and Tan Wenlei praised Qing Mengzhu’s vegetables over a meal and reminisced about the food they ate when they were young.
• Di Caiyong offered to buy Qing Mengzhu’s peppers for ten yuan per jin, and Qing Mengzhu initially agreed to sell him a hundred jin a day.
• Qing Mengzhu sent vegetables to relatives and friends, and Ming Lexin invited Ming Chunxi home to try the peppers.
• Ming Chunxi praised the peppers and suggested Qing Mengzhu send some to Professor Nian, whose team had developed the variety, to seek buyer connections.
• The next day, Qing Mengzhu found that many peppers had turned red and told Di Caiyong he would give him peppers rather than sell them, since Tengcheng Agricultural University had not set a price for the variety.

Qing Mengzhu gave Di Caiyong peppers instead of selling them, while the Interstellar Mall rated his latest batch Fine Grade. Nian Xinfei and his students sampled the peppers, praised their quality, and planned a way to help Qing Mengzhu promote them.

• Qing Mengzhu explained that he would postpone pricing his peppers, then gave Di Caiyong a large basket to make up for mishandling their earlier discussion.
• Qing Mengzhu sent ripe peppers to Nian Xinfei, and Jing Chi delivered them along with preliminary test results showing promising quality.
• Nian Xinfei invited his students to Swallow Garden, where they tasted dishes made with the peppers and praised their flavor and texture.
• Nian Xinfei told Jing Chi that restaurants would accept the peppers but might undervalue them, and asked him to request another ten jin for a plan the following week.
• Qing Mengzhu promptly sent Jing Chi another ten jin of peppers at the right stage of ripeness.

Nian Xinfei brought chef Zhou Yan to Qing Mengzhu’s farm after Zhou praised the flavor of Qing’s chili peppers and expressed interest in buying them. During their visit, Zhou sampled Qing’s vegetables while Nian examined the chili plants and asked about their cultivation, leaving Qing ready to tell him how much he had harvested.

• Nian Xinfei gave Qing Mengzhu’s chili peppers to his chef friend Zhou Yan, who praised their layered flavor and said his restaurant wanted to buy them.
• Nian Xinfei and Zhou Yan visited Qing Mengzhu’s farm, where Zhou admired the surroundings and tasted the ripe tomatoes.
• Qing Mengzhu let Zhou pick vegetables, while Nian asked whether anyone stole them and learned that a surveillance camera watched the fields.
• Nian Xinfei examined Qing’s unusually lush chili plants, took photos, and asked permission to pick samples.
• Qing Mengzhu told Nian Xinfei that he had kept a detailed planting log, and Nian asked for a copy and about the chili harvest.

Qing Mengzhu showed Nian Xinfei his pepper harvest and detailed growing records, while Zhou Yan cooked a meal that impressed them both. Zhou Yan offered to ask his group’s purchasing department about buying the peppers, but cautioned that the group might not be able to use the full harvest.

• Nian Xinfei praised Qing Mengzhu’s pepper yields and estimated that production would rise as the plants matured.
• Qing Mengzhu sent Nian Xinfei his pepper-growing records, and Nian Xinfei praised their detail and scientific methods.
• Zhou Yan cooked six dishes with Qing Mengzhu’s ingredients, and Qing Mengzhu and Nian Xinfei admired the food.
• Qing Mengzhu decided not to raise a pepper sale himself, but Zhou Yan offered to have his group consider buying them.
• Zhou Yan warned that his group’s restaurants might not need as many peppers as Qing Mengzhu could produce.

Qing Mengzhu secured buyers for his fresh and dried peppers, earning enough to feel financially secure for the next two years. As word spread through the village, he kept his contracts private and explained to curious neighbors that the buyers imposed strict quality requirements.

• Zhou Yan brought a procurement chief to taste Qing Mengzhu’s peppers, and they signed a contract for regular shipments at 120 yuan per jin.
• Qing Mengzhu shared the news with Ming Chunxi, Zhao Hexi, and Nian Xinfei, then arranged a celebratory meal with Zhao Hexi.
• Qing Mengzhu dried his ripe peppers in the courtyard, where Zhou Yan introduced him to Di Xing, a foreign-trade worker.
• After tasting the dried peppers, Di Xing signed an exclusive contract to buy all of Qing Mengzhu’s dried peppers for 1,000 yuan per jin, with first refusal rights for the following year.
• Villagers began talking about Qing Mengzhu’s pepper sales, and he told Di Caiyong and Tan Wenlei that the peppers sold well but buyers enforced strict requirements.

Qing Mengzhu discussed his successful pepper crop with Tan Wenlei and Di Caiyong, then decided to return to the mountains to forage for mushrooms. He took Zhao Hexi into the remote mountains, where they began hiking along an overgrown trail.

• Tan Wenlei praised Qing Mengzhu’s pepper-growing skill and agreed to sign up for next year’s pepper varieties.
• Di Caiyong explained that a trading company wanted Qing Mengzhu’s dried peppers to accompany its premium fried mushrooms.
• Qing Mengzhu recalled the mountain mushroom season and decided to visit the patches he had found earlier.
• Qing Mengzhu invited Zhao Hexi to join him, and Zhao Hexi drove over to stay the night.
• Qing Mengzhu drove Zhao Hexi and the dogs deep into the mountains, then led him along a narrow trail while clearing the way with a brush knife.

Qing Mengzhu took Zhao Hexi mushroom hunting in the forest, teaching him to recognize edible varieties and avoid poisonous ones. After gathering a basketful, they stopped to rest after a tiring morning.

• Qing Mengzhu led Zhao Hexi to a patch of truffles, and they gathered them before covering the spot with leaves.
• Qing Mengzhu gave Zhao Hexi a branch to search for mushrooms, and they found edible songbaojun and coral mushrooms with help from Guard.
• Qing Mengzhu marked the coral mushroom patch on his phone and led Zhao Hexi to a thriving patch of termite mushrooms.
• Qing Mengzhu and the dogs showed Zhao Hexi more mushrooms, including purple cortinarius, morels, wood ear, milkcaps, and false matsutake.
• Qing Mengzhu warned Zhao Hexi not to pick uncertain mushrooms after he mistook amanitas for termite mushrooms.
• After searching for most of the morning, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi found a clearing to rest and eat as Zhao Hexi's knees trembled.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi returned from mushroom picking and began preparing their haul before it spoiled. Qing Mengzhu fried the mushrooms with garlic, chilies, and sauces, and Zhao Hexi was delighted by the first batch as Qing Mengzhu started cooking the next.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi descended the mountain with baskets of mushrooms, then drove home while the exhausted dogs and Zhao Hexi slept in the car.
• After a nap, Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi sorted, scraped, and washed the wild mushrooms.
• Zhao Hexi fetched dried chilies from the roof and learned that Qing Mengzhu had installed a rain-sensing retractable awning to protect them.
• Qing Mengzhu fried the mushrooms in batches with garlic, dried chilies, and several sauces while Zhao Hexi helped prepare the ingredients.
• Zhao Hexi tasted the first batch and praised its rich, savory flavor as Qing Mengzhu began frying the second batch.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi enjoyed fried mushrooms, then went to the pond to collect traps and bring the ducks home from the heat. They discovered the otter shared fish with a red fox and the dogs, while Zhao Hexi befriended the otter.

• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi ate several bowls of rice with fried mushrooms and planned to pack the leftovers for later.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi walked to the pond to retrieve the traps and bring the ducks back to the yard because of the heat.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that fish entered the pond from the river and sorted the catch, releasing some small fish, shrimp, and crabs to grow.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi watched the otter catch fish for the red fox, which ate some and buried another for later.
• The otter gave fish to Dharma Protector and Guard, and Qing Mengzhu realized the dogs visited the pond for snacks.
• Zhao Hexi took a fish from the otter, and he played with it alongside Dharma Protector and Guard.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi fed watermelon to the otters and red fox, then shared breakfast before heading out to harvest vegetables. The chapter left Zhao Hexi questioning the freshness agent a villager used on vegetables, while Qing Mengzhu explained that it was a nontoxic chitin coating.

• Qing Mengzhu herded the ducks home with Zhao Hexi, who learned they would be ready to eat in about a month.
• Qing Mengzhu shared fresh watermelon with Zhao Hexi and left pieces for the otters and red fox, which came out to eat them.
• The next morning, Zhao Hexi insisted on joining Qing Mengzhu to harvest vegetables, and they ate noodles with several homemade side dishes first.
• At the fields, Zhao Hexi saw a villager soak harvested vegetables in a freshness agent and asked Qing Mengzhu about it.
• Qing Mengzhu explained that the agent was a nontoxic chitin coating that helped keep vegetables fresh.

Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi finished a morning of farm work, then Qing Mengzhu searched the Interstellar Mall for a way to protect his freshwater shrimp. He bought spirit beast jerky to try on the animals and, after tasting it himself, fed pieces to Dharma Protector and Guard.

• Qing Mengzhu showed Zhao Hexi around the vegetable field, where Feng Ningxiang, Qing Yuqin, Miao Lan, and Qing Pingdun were harvesting and packing produce.
• Qing Mengzhu and Zhao Hexi picked vegetables, helped Di Caiyong weigh and pay for them, and carried chilies and tomatoes home to dry.
• Zhao Hexi asked about the freshwater shrimp, and Qing Mengzhu explained they would hatch in about ten days and need to be raised in the incubation tank before release.
• Qing Mengzhu browsed the Interstellar Mall for a way to protect the shrimp and ordered spirit beast jerky that could strengthen animals and increase their intelligence.
• Qing Mengzhu tasted the jerky, then gave pieces to Dharma Protector and Guard, who eagerly ate them and asked for more.