Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 726 - Chapter 726 718. Demolition and the Apple Tree Three More_1

Chapter 726: 718. Demolition and the Apple Tree [Three More]_1 Chapter 726: 718. Demolition and the Apple Tree [Three More]_1 This winter melon was really too big and heavy, its green skin covered with a fuzzy layer of pale white frost, fresh in color, but it was quite a burden to lift.

Ultimately, it was Song Tan and Qiaoqiao who put them into the pond to wash them one by one.

Then Seventh Uncle and Wang Xiaoshun, along with Qiaoqiao, who had finished her work, took up their positions at three cutting boards and set about their work. They first sliced the winter melon into rings, then peeled them and cut them into one-centimeter-thick cubes, before finally cutting them into strips of winter melon…

You wouldn’t believe it, but the inside of the winter melon was green with a hint of white and carried a slightly hazy transparency. The small strips piled there were actually quite picturesque.

The large and small basins in the kitchen, recently emptied of beans, were quickly filled to the brim again.

At this end, Seventh Uncle had to rummage through cabinets to gather enough food-grade quicklime, which he then mixed with cold water basin by basin into a large stainless steel barrel, filling it to the top.

He then stirred it diligently with his large spoon until the water above the settled lime became clear. As they kept slicing the melon and filling up basin after basin, the lime water was also ready.

He and Wang Xiaoshun stood aside and instructed Qiaoqiao to scoop the clear water from the top and pour it into the basins, soaking the winter melon strips in it.

In the end, they wrapped each one in plastic wrap and set them aside–the entire barrel of quicklime water was used up, leaving only the white slaked lime at the bottom, which was mostly useless and thus scooped out and discarded.

By the time they finished everything, it was just past six o’clock.

Seventh Uncle pondered for a while and realized that with Song Tan and Qiaoqiao present, the heavy lifting was taken care of, and he hardly felt tired at all!

Not bad, not bad at all!

Although his skill in choosing apprentices might not be great, his choice for a retirement spot was unquestionably excellent!

Feeling smug, he walked around with his hands behind his back, “These few winter melons won’t sell for much, aren’t there plenty in the field? We’ll pick some more tomorrow.”

“Oh, and Tantan, when you go to town, pick up another two packs of quicklime for me. Remember, make sure to buy the edible kind!”

The uneven edges that were cut off weren’t wasted either. He just nodded to Wang Xiaoshun:

“Clean up the leftovers and make a stir-fried winter melon tonight, with a couple drops of sesame oil.”

While speaking, he smiled proudly at Wang Xiaoshun, “You see, your master may be good at picking people, but not at picking vegetables!”

“Look, you two have never seen such fine ingredients in your life! Let me tell you, this sesame oil is freshly pressed, our own sesame seeds yielded just that small bottle, I couldn’t bear to use the rest… Anyway, just add a couple of drops when cooking dinner tonight, and you’ll know what delicious is.”

Wang Xiaoshun had a grin on his face but thought to himself: What’s the big deal! Once Song Tan’s garden starts to produce, they will be able to use the same ingredients back at the restaurant!

Thinking of the bustling days with customers flocking in, he could barely contain the smile on his face.

…

Meanwhile, in far-off Jiangbei Province, across the way, the disciples of Professor Song were looking at each other over their bowls, all wearing the same look of dismay.

Noticing their host’s concern, they quickly reassured, “What’s wrong? Was the meal not to your liking?”

“No, no!”

Professor Song hastily said, “It’s not the food, it’s just a pity about these apple trees.”

In truth, it was indeed the food… After only two days away, they missed it terribly. But they couldn’t say that their host’s food didn’t measure up, could they?

The host also breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good.”

“I was afraid you would hold a grudge against me now…”

The host spoke somewhat guiltily.

“What’s there to hold a grudge about?”

Professor Song laughed, “I should be congratulating you, you can finally look forward to better days! When you get the money, just make sure not to listen to others tempt you into gambling or investing or anything like that.”

“Just honestly prepare a school-district house for the kid; save the rest if you can. If not, buy some commercial property, gold, or jewelry or whatever.”

“I got it!”

The man began to laugh, “Ever since the news about the demolitions came out, with our household registrations locked and frozen, I’ve noticed quite a few strangers coming into our village!”

“And those gambling tables, the stakes keep getting higher and higher… But not for our family, we just got back on our feet. We can’t afford to play like that.”

The speaker was a farmer from Jiangbei Province who had been mentored by Professor Song.

Back then, the man had returned to his hometown to start a business. It was a do-or-die situation for him, but with connections made through Professor Song and others, he carefully purchased a batch of three-year-old apple saplings.

Grafting, pruning, fertilizing… He had tended to them diligently for three years, and just when the first fruit-bearing year was in sight, snap!

A piece of good news fell from the sky–

His area was going to be demolished!!!

Including his 16 acres of apple orchard!

Just ask yourself, between farming and being a household facing demolition, which makes money faster and more?

Without a doubt, it’s being a household facing demolition. There’s compensation for their old house, and all sorts of other benefits as well.

Take the apple orchard for example, not only is there compensation for the land acquisition, but there’s also compensation for the trees–like these apple trees in their first fruit-bearing year, each can fetch a compensation of 90 yuan!

Just from these trees alone, that would be another seventy to eighty thousand yuan in compensation.

But, farming is truly hard work, and after the demolition, there would be no suitable orchards nearby to transfer his trees to…

And at this particular time, he couldn’t find any buyers for the trees, either.

That’s why he had been posting on his friend circle early on, saying he planned to give away the apple trees.

He had just posted his announcement when Professor Song happened to see it; after learning the precise demolition timeline, he personally asked him not to give the trees away and to keep them for him instead.

Now, as Professor Song came from afar to look at the apple trees, the owner felt a complex surge of emotions:

“Professor Song, I won’t say much more. When I first went back to start a business farming wood ear mushrooms, I nearly lost everything. It was you who taught me how to earn money, step by step.”

“Afterwards, you evaluated the weather and the soil for these apple trees, and even networked to find the best branches for grafting… Without your help over the years, I really wouldn’t have been able to make it.”

Now, right when he was on the verge of a plentiful harvest, his own home had happened upon such good fortune. He figured that for Professor Song, there must be a feeling of efforts gone to waste.

He promised now, “Don’t worry, since you said you wanted the trees, they’re all yours! I won’t give any to anyone else.”

Truth be told, he was also tired of dealing with others.

These local folks, claiming kinship and familiarity, each one wanted to take advantage–they were never satisfied. Some people, after getting his free trees, even thought about selling them somewhere!

And if not that, they were people who had heard the news and came asking why he didn’t just dig up the trees since they were too large for them to handle…

That had really angered the man: I’m offering these fine fruit-bearing trees for free, and you’re still asking why I’m not helping to dig them up?

What’s next? Should I also arrange for transportation to plant them in your backyard?

The other party wasn’t happy either, mumbling all the way about how, with the demolition looming, they couldn’t be fussing over such small amounts of money…

In any case, ever since he put the word out on his friend circle, he hadn’t heard two kind words in response, just a whole bunch of grumbling.

Truth be told, he felt a huge relief when Professor Song simply asked for them!

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