Chapter 150: Administering Medicine

This is precisely why most people are unable to lower their production costs.

If the fruit you produce commands a high price and the returns far exceed your investment, then by all means, proceed. But if you are barely breaking even, or failing to even recover your costs, then there is no point in continuing.

Some people recklessly use pesticides or growth hormones. Take the application of swelling agents on grey dates, for example. Setting aside the issue of eco-friendly farming for a moment, what is the point? A swelling agent, simply put, promotes cell enlargement. It is intended for fresh fruit. Since a grey date is a dried fruit, why would you use it? Do you really think it will increase your yield? Not only will it fail to increase yield, but it will also make the fruit look hideously distorted.

The foliar fertilizers Zhong Di uses are all highly targeted. For increasing size and improving coloration, fertilizers with higher potassium content are sufficient—in simple terms, they add weight, promote sugar conversion, and enhance color. However, you must remember that potassium fertilizer should never be overused in the later stages. Once there is an excess of potassium, the resulting fruit will develop an issue: a bitter aftertaste.

Many people wonder how something that promotes sugar conversion can taste bitter. While potassium does indeed aid in sugar conversion, it is not a direct sugar-generator. Excessive use, particularly in the later stages, will inevitably lead to bitterness. This is why, when eating certain fruits, they might taste sweet at first, but as you finish, you think, "Wait, why is this a bit bitter? Is something wrong with my palate?" Do not doubt your taste buds; the issue lies with the fruit itself. It is a result of farmers using massive amounts of potassium during the late fruit-swelling stage in a desperate attempt to boost yields. In reality, this is a completely misguided approach. Potassium ions serve a transport function; enough is sufficient. Never assume that more is better.

Zhong Di does not need to worry about this. He only applies a little through foliar spray, not through drip irrigation. Aside from anything else, the absorption rate of leaves is quite poor; at most, it serves as a nutrient supplement. It is like having a glass of milk to supplement calcium in your daily diet—it helps, but it is not catastrophic if you skip it.

Then there are calcium-magnesium compound fertilizers, which are mainly for stress resistance. Heavy rain often causes fruit to crack. Why does this happen? Because the cell wall growth cannot keep pace with the cell membrane; the cell wall is simply stretched until it ruptures. How do you solve this? By strengthening the cell wall! Another aspect of stress resistance is protection against strong winds, which can easily blow fruit off the branches. The long-fermented sheep manure water and amino acids Zhong Di uses are specifically for this purpose.

Many people go to agricultural supply stores and ask what to do about strong winds and heavy rain. The staff will recommend something: "Oh, use this; it makes the fruit hang tight. It’s specially formulated for extreme weather, containing humic acid and all sorts of other things," giving you a long list of jargon. You end up buying a pile of supplies, ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. It’s not that these products are useless—on the contrary, they are quite effective—but the reason it’s a scam is that their production costs are actually extremely low. They might use a tiny amount of humic acid and add trace amounts of hormones—so small they are undetectable—or simply mix in other filler materials. To put it simply, we don't know if it helps, but at least it doesn't cause harm. The only useful ingredients are the humic acid and some amino acids. Of course, the expensive ones certainly have remarkable effects; one must admit they are impressive. The problem is whether your investment is proportional to your output.

Why is bottom-tier agriculture unprofitable? It is actually profitable, but the problem is that by the time you buy fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, the money is gone. You aren't the one making the profit; someone else is. You are essentially working for them, ending up with only a meager wage for your hard labor. Yet, you have no choice; if you don't use these inputs, you have no yield, and you won't even earn that meager wage.

The long-fermented sheep manure water Zhong Di uses is rich in humic acid, and not just that—it also contains trace elements like humic acid iron and humic acid zinc. While the effect may not match those commercial products, the cost is so low it is negligible, and the volume is abundant.

The two men sprayed the medicine while pulling pipes to avoid trampling the crops.

"Zhong Di, I see some bugs on our dates. Should we use some insecticide?" Shao Hong asked softly after hesitating for a while. Every time he saw a wormhole in a date, his heart ached—that was money lost.

"We’re eating these ourselves. What’s the harm in letting the bugs have a little? How much can they really eat? Besides, haven't you noticed that our orchard has reached a dynamic balance between pests and beneficial insects?" Zhong Di replied. "Setting aside the fact that we are committed to eco-friendly production and forbid insecticides, even if we used them, how much impact would they really have? It’s fine, don't worry about it. If they have the ability to eat them all, then we won't harvest a single date."

This was a matter of principle. Since they claimed to be practicing eco-friendly farming, highly toxic pesticides were strictly off-limits.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it." With that, they continued their work.

By noon, they had barely finished spraying the eastern plot. They didn't continue because it was time to eat. They couldn't work in the afternoon either, as there were relatively more tourists. The morning was better; there weren't many visitors, mostly old customers who came to buy vegetables and left immediately without wandering around, so it didn't cause much delay. The manual process was just too slow, and having to spray every other day was exhausting.

Or perhaps, it was time to get a drone.

Thinking of this, Zhong Di shared the idea with Shao Hong, who agreed. A drone costs tens of thousands, which was not expensive for the farm in its current state. He left the specific purchase to Shao Hong to handle.

After lunch and a nap, Zhong Di was woken up by a loud rumble. The delivery truck for the river sand had arrived. The roaring sound was grating, making it impossible to sleep any longer. He thought others would be just as bothered, but when he stepped out, he realized everyone else was already hard at work. Was he really that lazy?

"Awake? I was just about to call you. How should we handle this river sand?" Zhong Di met his sister as he walked out, holding a blue folder and some cash. It looked like she was about to settle the bill.

Looking at the massive truckload of sand, Zhong Di was at a loss. He had only thought about placing sand around the fish pond, but hadn't considered the logistics. The homestead was already filled with raw materials for greenhouses, the guesthouse, and miscellaneous items. There was no extra space, and with the sheep shed nearby, there was simply nowhere to put it. The road in the middle was passable, but how could a heavy sand truck drive over it without destroying the carefully installed facilities and the newly leveled paths?

What should he do?