Chapter Sixty-five: Organic Liquid Fertilizer Formula

Early the next morning, Zhong Di arrived at the orchard.

The chicks he had ordered by phone had arrived, more than two hundred in total, the extras thrown in as a bonus. Each was priced at twenty-five, unchanged from before.

In truth, the price of chickens had recently gone up, but the supplier clearly wanted to keep Zhong Di as a customer, so he hadn't raised the price, and Zhong Di didn't object.

"Yesterday, a few more people came to buy chickens. I’ll have Xiaoxin transfer the money to you later," Shao Hong mentioned as soon as they met.

"No need, just keep it for now. My sister will come and take over the finances soon; from then on, everything will be formalized, and the accounts will be kept properly. It'll be easier to manage that way. But don't forget you still owe me money!"

"Of course, I must pay it back. Not just yours—everything I owe outside will be settled," Shao Hong replied. With time, his energy and spirit had improved day by day, completely shedding his previous lethargy.

"Alright, let's get to work. How’s the weeding going? Should we ask Aunt Xiaohua and the others to come help for a day?" Zhong Di was considering the matter. Most of the tasks in the fields were done, only the weeding remained.

After the weeds were cleared, they would need to water promptly to prevent the soil from drying out. The heat of summer made moisture evaporate quickly.

"Just a little left. The two of us can finish in a day; no need to hire anyone," Shao Hong replied. Hearing Zhong Di wanted to bring in help, he was alarmed—hiring a few people for a day meant several hundred yuan. He’d much rather spend that money on hot pot.

"Alright, I’ll check things out first. I’m planning to work out an organic formula, to standardize things in the future," Zhong Di said, then began to patrol the orchard. He had been thinking about creating an organic fertilizer formula for some time, but the orchard hadn’t been tidied up enough to start.

Now that it was mostly in order, it was time to put his plan into action.

The jujube blossoms still danced in the breeze, though not as intensely as before. The young fruits had begun to form, and soon would settle—watering and fertilizing at this stage was crucial.

In an instant, the world in Zhong Di’s eyes transformed. Each jujube tree appeared unique to him.

Those lacking nitrogen showed clear signs; some had poorly developed roots; others lacked magnesium or iron.

Each tree had its own condition, but among them, a dozen or so stood out.

Compared to the others, these dozen trees possessed a higher vitality, expressing more, even revealing hints of emotion.

Since he first arrived, the orchard had improved greatly; the mood among the jujube trees was no longer so low—now, they were cheerful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have begun their cycle of reproduction.

"As for micronutrients, applying organic fertilizer alongside foliar supplements is fine. The major elements..." Zhong Di muttered, thinking about the best blend.

Most organic fertilizers on the market were variations of humic acid or amino acid based. That was the gist of it.

Other so-called biological microbial fertilizers were mostly marketing hype. They had some effect, but nothing like the extravagant claims.

For humic acid, Zhong Di had always used sheep manure water, so that was sufficient. What he lacked was amino acids.

Fertilizers are divided into organic and inorganic—many people don’t quite understand this. Simply put, organic refers to large-molecule compounds with mature structures, such as small-molecule amino acids.

Through full fermentation, proteins could be broken down and extracted as large-molecule amino acids, which in fertilizer terms, means nitrogen fertilizer.

Chemical fertilizers are inorganic; plants absorb them and must convert them into their own organic compounds.

That’s the difference. Using too much chemical fertilizer makes crops look robust, but the effect on the body isn’t good.

"As for protein, obviously using meat is out of the question. Among plants, soybeans are the best choice. Not only are they rich in fat, they also have the highest protein content among similar crops," Zhong Di thought. He decided to use soybeans as the main ingredient for his formula. He recalled clearly that extracting amino acids required a certain percentage of brown sugar.

Brown sugar not only helped extract amino acids but also provided nutrients for decomposing bacteria, fully breaking down the soybeans.

Finally, he needed to supplement calcium; expired milk would suffice.

No matter the fruit, calcium is essential, or else there will be serious fruit cracking and other issues.

For good yields, phosphorus is needed for flowering—so bone meal would be added as a source of phosphorus.

Soon his plan was settled: soybeans as the main ingredient, with brown sugar, milk, and bone meal as supplements, forming an organic liquid fertilizer formula.

He had considered using wood ash, which is rich in potassium and could replace some potassium fertilizers.

But wood ash is alkaline, while the fermented soybean liquid fertilizer is acidic. Zhong Di worried about unwanted chemical reactions, so he decided to keep them separate.

Wood ash is simpler to use—soak it for twenty-four hours before application. Soybean fertilizer, however, requires a week or two of fermentation.

Zhong Di organized his thoughts, then joined Shao Hong in their work.

They continued until midday, when they stopped for lunch.

"Is anyone here?"

Just as Zhong Di and Shao Hong were eating, a voice rang out from beyond the gate—deep and resonant, clearly belonging to a middle-aged man.

"Probably someone here to buy chickens. Our chickens have a great reputation lately; several people came yesterday. I sold them according to your standards. I’ll go open the gate," Shao Hong said, gathering up the dishes. They had just about finished eating.

Recently, those buying their free-range chickens were mostly well-off. Though delicious and beneficial, these chickens were a luxury for the wealthy.

Their chickens were sold mostly through word of mouth, with no advertising. Many people had asked about the price but hadn't bought; only those referred by people like Qian Weining purchased without hesitation.

"In future, free-range chickens will be limited to fifteen per day, no extras," Zhong Di said quickly before Shao Hong reached the door.

Otherwise, with the growing reputation, demand would outstrip supply. It was better to establish a quota early.

"Alright," Shao Hong replied, then went out. Soon, Zhong Di heard a commotion.

From the voices, he could tell there were several people, not just one.

He thought for a moment, then went out himself.

As he stepped outside, he saw four people entering the orchard, all well-dressed. The cars parked outside were clearly expensive.

Three men and one woman, all in their thirties or forties, with the oldest nearing fifty.

Of course, this was just his estimate; the exact ages were unknown to Zhong Di.

"Zhong Di, it looks like they’re here to discuss a collaboration. But judging by their attitude, they seem rather assertive. Better if you handle this," Shao Hong whispered, sticking close to him.

This was beyond his authority—selling chickens or eggs was simple, but negotiations like this were best left to Zhong Di.

"Mr. Zhong, are you interested in discussing a partnership?"

The lead middle-aged man spoke up.