Chapter 139: Is Miss Miaomiao Not Good Enough?

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Many rules could not be settled with a single announcement. Every rule had to be refined through constant exploration and improvement.

After thinking it over, Zhong Di sent the idea to his older sister in a private message.

The membership system was almost ready. Adding this now would not seem abrupt, and when it was officially announced, they could include a clause stating that the farmstead reserved the right to interpret and amend the regulations.

That would prevent most future trouble.

“Zaker, how have you been feeling lately? Are you tired every day?”

Zhong Di ran into Zaker and asked him. Zaker was slow at baking naan, slow at cooking, and slow at everything else as well. His one redeeming quality was that whatever he made was first-rate.

In another place, such a temperament would probably have been unsuitable. No matter how delicious the food was, if speed and quantity were what mattered, it would be useless. But at Zhong Di’s farmstead, it was a perfect fit.

That was precisely why Zhong Di thought so highly of him.

“Not tired. What’s there to be tired about? I’m doing great.”

“All right. If you do get tired, remember to tell me. I can give you time off whenever you need it.” After chatting with Zaker for a little longer, Zhong Di went to plant vegetables with his mother.

Ever since the matter concerning Sun Miaomiao, Zhong Di had not properly spoken with his mother. It was not for any other reason—he was simply a little afraid.

Afraid of what? Afraid that his mother would urge him to get married, of course! He really could not understand the older generation. He was only in his twenties—why were they already rushing him?

He had spent his whole childhood studying and had not been allowed to date. Then, the moment he graduated, they began urging him to marry. How could things be that simple? If one was lucky enough to find someone during school who could become a marriage partner, that was one thing. But if one was unlucky and had no partner, or if a relationship ended immediately after graduation, how was anyone supposed to bear it?

It was a vicious cycle. He did not want to settle, yet his family kept pressuring him and arranging blind dates. At the same time, he had to work hard and build his career, leaving no time for romance. And even if he did fall in love, having money made things manageable; without money, marriage itself could be unaffordable.

Faced with this, many young people gradually adopted a detached attitude. By lowering their desires, they could neatly avoid the problem altogether.

As for vegetable cultivation, the farmstead had basically achieved semi-mechanization after upgrading its equipment. The work was no longer as exhausting as before.

Most tasks that had once required bending over were gradually being done standing upright.

Take radish planting, for example. In the past, the soil had to be tilled, the large clods and roots raked away, furrows drawn, seeds scattered, seedlings thinned, and weeds pulled.

Now, once the land had been tilled and prepared, a single walk-behind machine could handle everything in one pass. At most, there would be a little weeding left to do, and even that was easy. It was nowhere near as troublesome as before.

At that moment, his mother was leading several aunties in planting vegetables such as bok choy, leaf lettuce, and spinach.

It was the end of August, just in time for the final planting of open-field vegetables.

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Zhong Di’s next step was protected cultivation.

He planned to cover the entire strip of land on the eastern side with arched shelters four meters wide—just large enough for one person to crawl inside. This would extend the growing season by another month to a month and a half.

Vegetables could then continue to be sold until the end of November.

Once protected cultivation was no longer viable, they would begin greenhouse planting. Although six greenhouses could not produce very many vegetables, they could at least reduce the amount supplied to outsiders.

For example, during winter they could stop retail sales and cease supplying Dongyang, limiting the vegetables to meals served at their own farmstead. The profits would be lower, but the operation could still be maintained.

As for renting someone else’s greenhouses, Zhong Di had no intention of doing that. Otherwise, he would once again fall into the vicious cycle of expanding the business and exhausting himself.

But that was not even the main issue. The most important matter was the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout.

Zhong Di had spoken with the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout before. Once winter arrived, it entered dormancy and could no longer produce the leaves he needed.

Zhong Di had considered heating it, but that idea had been rejected. The Wild Sand Immortal Sprout needed cold. It required a certain period of accumulated chill; otherwise, it could not produce its special leaves.

That was one of the reasons Zhong Di had not pursued other solutions.

Even if he rented greenhouses and found a good system for managing them, they would only produce ordinary vegetables. What would be the point?

Fortunately, the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout had also told him that its leaves could be frozen for storage and used during winter. That gave him some room to work with.

As for making money, although he could observe behavioral information and produce vegetables of somewhat better quality, that alone was not very useful. Without the Wild Sand Immortal Sprout, the vegetables would always lack that distinctive flavor.

That would only damage the farmstead’s reputation and leave people thinking that its vegetables were nothing special after all.

Harvest the leaves in summer and use them in winter?

Then why not simply make the money during summer?

In other words, if he truly wanted to earn that kind of money, why not serve large companies and corporations instead and draw a handsome monthly salary? That would only bring him back to where he had started.

So Zhong Di chose to maintain the farmstead at its current scale and develop steadily. Experiencing life more fully was what he ought to be doing.

There was no point expanding the business until it became so large that he could no longer control even his own time.

“Well, look at you. What brings you here with free time today?” The moment Zhong Di arrived, Di Chunhua greeted him with unmistakable sarcasm.

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“Your mother only wants to hold a grandchild. Is that really so difficult? If you said there was no suitable girl, then fine—but there is a perfectly suitable one right in front of you.”

“Isn’t Miss Miaomiao a good girl?”

The more Di Chunhua thought about it, the more something seemed wrong, so she hurriedly added, “I’m only joking.”

Could a young woman joke about something like that? His mother was not a fool. Could she really fail to see whether the girl was sincere? The girl came from a good family, and her upbringing was certainly excellent. A daughter-in-law like that was impossible to find even with a lantern.

It was a blessing he had earned over eight lifetimes, to be given such a wonderful daughter-in-law. And what had he done? He had ruined it. It was infuriating.

“Mom, don’t worry about my affairs. When the time is right, the right person will naturally appear.” Zhong Di knew exactly what his mother was thinking and brought the matter into the open.

“Zhong Di, I know you still can’t let Wen Ya go, but there’s no point in clinging to her. You and she belong to different worlds. Let her go sooner, and your mother can hold a grandchild sooner.”

“Look, our family isn’t short of money anymore. Even if you found someone like Wen Ya again, what would be wrong with that?”

Having finally reached the subject, Di Chunhua urged him with all her might, carefully controlling her tone for fear of pushing the conversation too far.

“Mom, don’t bring this up again. And stop mentioning Wen Ya.” Zhong Di’s attitude was firm.

“This... all right, then. Your mother won’t say anything more. Just think it over carefully.” Seeing how resolute he was, Di Chunhua gave up and stopped trying to persuade him.

Seeing this, Zhong Di lent a hand and helped his mother plant.

Bok choy grew quickly, with the shortest varieties ready for sale in just a month. When the farmstead moved on to protected cultivation, they could plant one final batch of bok choy, dry it all, and turn it into seasoning. It would be perfect.

“Zhong Di, we’re here. Thank you!”

Zhong Di was planting vegetables when his eyes suddenly lit up. Su Rou had arrived to eat.

There were two men and two women. One man was presumably her father. The older woman beside him was likely her mother. The other, a younger one who looked around fifteen or sixteen, was probably her younger brother.

After all, it was a family gathering. That was the obvious conclusion.

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