Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 572 - Chapter 572 572. New unreliable suggestion_1

Chapter 572: 572. New unreliable suggestion_1 Chapter 572: 572. New unreliable suggestion_1 Zhang Yanping suddenly became bold, but it wasn’t because he was naive or lacked cunning–in fact, he was quite shrewd!

For one, this was Professor Song! Could anything he recommended be poor quality? If the other party sent inferior goods, it would be a blatant slap in the face!

Secondly, even if the quality was indeed poor, he had figured out Professor Song’s character–he would definitely feel guilty, and guilt leads to wanting to make amends…

Thirdly, Tantan had said during the meal that Professor Song brought three students who might work for free!

How could he not say a few pleasing words to such an honest person, right?

However, Professor Song was a little more cautious and started to hesitate:

“Spices aren’t cheap, and ordering so much at once, what if they aren’t suitable? How about we first try a sample to test the flavor?”

Zhang Yanping thought to himself, sending a sample would take two or three days, testing the flavor two or three days, and then sending it back another two or three days… all in all, his shop would have to be empty for a week!

In such hot weather, if the online store had no business, wouldn’t he be dragged off to harvest corn? He had heard that his family was planning to harvest corn these past few days…

With this in mind, Zhang Yanping became even more determined: “It’s fine, Professor Song, if you say it’s good, then I trust you completely! There’s no need to try!”

Poor Professor Song, at his age, had seen all sorts of people! But he had never encountered someone like Zhang Yanping, who, despite looking strong and rough, spoke with such sincerity and generosity!

At this moment, Professor Song was even more moved, and couldn’t help saying, “Actually, I have an idea. Our place here isn’t small. If you need a lot of spices in the future, have you considered growing them yourself?”

Huh?

Song Tan came over: “Grow spices?”

“Yes!” Professor Song said, “I saw that you have planted star anise and Sichuan pepper trees on the mountain behind. Since they’re not mature, I don’t know about the quality… but their growth and fruiting rate are particularly excellent!”

“This proves that your land and water are indeed suitable.”

When it came to his expertise, Professor Song’s eyes lit up, but soon he realized:

“No–it just occurred to me, it snows here in winter, and the temperature has dropped to minus six or seven degrees, right? Star anise and Sichuan pepper can survive, but Tsao-ko can’t.”

“I was actually thinking, over there at Chestnut Woods, the cultivation of black and white fungi could be expanded next year.”

“You can pick a spot around the pond in the valley to make an orchard, and under the orchard, you could plant Tsao-ko–Tsao-ko, you know? It’s a spice that’s not too difficult to grow and doesn’t require a lot of sunlight.”

“But it can’t survive the winter either, and it grows well only in high altitude and moist areas…”

After considering these spices, Professor Song could only give up reluctantly: “It was my oversight in the beginning… It’s still inappropriate.”

Song Tan on the other hand, didn’t mind: “It’s okay, we don’t use a lot of spices. We can just try planting some of the commonly used ones in the corners.”

Meanwhile, Seventh Uncle, who had been listening on the side without leaving, also felt a little regretful: “Can’t grow it? I was thinking of growing some and then making a spice packet for cooking, it would be really fragrant. The spice packets are used in small quantities, so they could also be sold in the online store…”

Zhang Yanping suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if he was watching money fly away!

He was not willing to give up: “Are you sure it can’t survive the winter? It’s not always minus six or seven degrees here; it’s just occasionally, most of the time it’s around minus three or four degrees.”

Professor Song was also helpless: “Let’s not even talk about the Sichuan pepper; Tsao-ko stops growing below 10 degrees. When it drops below 1 degree, that’s even more dangerous…”

Qi Lin had been listening quietly the whole time, but suddenly spoke up: “Teacher, I think we can give it a try.”

Professor Song thought for a moment: “You mean using mulching film? That would raise the planting costs. And what about the summer? It doesn’t tolerate heat either.”

“There might be a suitable place,” Qi Lin shook his head.

Although the altitude here wasn’t high enough, he had been to places with the right altitude, and what agricultural product could compete with Song Tan’s family’s?

That being the case…

“We can select a section of the slope by the pond to be the orchard, choose taller fruit trees to ensure a 50% shade rate, and then we could try planting some Tsao-ko underneath–Tsao-ko should be topped once it reaches about 1.2 meters, and most fruit trees can reach this height,” Qi Lin suggested while gesturing.

“Song Tan, there’s a bend on the slope of the valley behind your house in the mountains. We discovered it when we passed by–it’s quite cool there, the temperature is actually 33 degrees.”

You should know, it’s 38 degrees everywhere else at this time!

“Litsea cubeba is suitable for temperatures of 10-25 degrees. With proper shading, we might be able to get close…”

As he spoke, he seemed a bit unsure himself, “Forget it, it’s still difficult… This isn’t a crop native to our region anyway, let’s switch to another type.”

No, wait!

Song Tan stopped him, “Keep talking, what else is so challenging?”

It sounds quite interesting… Most importantly, intercropping doesn’t take up extra space. Plus, Seventh Uncle is listening with intense concentration!

A capable owner, of course, respects the chef’s ideas!

Qi Lin: …

Qi Lin had no choice but to keep brainstorming:

“As for overwintering… it depends on the climate. It could be anywhere from December to February. After harvesting, the old leaves can be pruned, and then we can wait for the new shoots in spring… In this case, we could try covering them with straw or plastic film to keep warm during winter.”

Professor Song knitted his brows.

After many years as a teacher and student, Qi Lin knew what Professor Song meant, but looking at the gleam in Song Tan’s eyes, he could only feign a smile, “I was thinking, there aren’t many crops that prefer shade, so using intercropping in the orchard could be an experiment.”

“If it really doesn’t survive the winter but the first year’s harvest of litsea cubeba is successful, given your family’s pricing, even if you don’t make a profit, you wouldn’t lose much, right?”

From this, it’s clear that Qi Lin really isn’t suited for solo ventures–

You should know, most people who need to hire agricultural experts are looking to make money! If the economic benefits aren’t great, they’re sure to get cold feet!

If you mention even the possibility of a loss… What’s this about not losing much? A loss is unacceptable!

Moreover, with thousands upon thousands of plant species in the world, and so many to choose from, who would complicate things for themselves?!

But Song Tan is different!

She’s first and foremost curious about the flavor; and second… she’s confident she won’t make a loss. Even if she does, she can afford it!

Then there’s Seventh Uncle, his eyes practically shining!

He couldn’t wait and began pondering, “The taste of litsea cubeba is quite dominant, and doesn’t require much. Song Tan, if you grow it, I could match it with a spice mix later on. We’ll buy what’s needed and use what we have at home… The flavor would certainly be distinctive, right?”

Song Tan had a sudden realization!

Brilliant!

When it comes to making money, trust Seventh Uncle to know how!

That being said, we can’t plant all spices, but why not give Sichuan pepper and star anise a try? They sound like they have much lower requirements than litsea cubeba!

“Right!”

Song Tan made up her mind on the spot: “Let’s plant that! What kind of fruit trees should we pick, any other thoughts?”

Professor Song: …

Surprisingly, despite the talk of unsuitability and risk of loss, Song Tan was still willing to give it a try!

But, after all, he was there to help, not to offer bad advice and hold people back, and he looked again at Qi Lin–this choice was definitely worth pursuing for the student to gain experience.

So he offered a slight consolation:

“Litsea cubeba has high humidity requirements, so why not consider intercropping with some high-priced mushrooms?”

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