Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 992 - 972. Can strawberries be eaten?

Chapter 992: 972. Can strawberries be eaten?

Song Tan had no idea that Yu Yan’s remark connected the two sisters. She was just casually collecting a few thousand yuan more, stuffing radishes, cabbages, and burlap bags into the trunk. Only then did the family cheerfully see off the reporter.

Once the car was out of sight, Wu Lan pouted in regret: "Oh no! I just gave the dogs a bath yesterday, but I didn’t get them to line up for a nice photo shoot!"

Song Tan was both amused and exasperated: "Well, if we didn’t, we didn’t. We have plenty of photos and videos on our phones anyway, and besides, they filmed some filler shots with the dogs too..."

The video they filmed would take about a week for editing and post-production. Come Monday, they’d be off to accept the award—after all, there were hardly any competitors, and there was a substantial gap between them and the rest. The so-called "selection process" was more of a formality. The city didn’t even have much budget for it...

"Don’t underestimate even the simplest loaf." Professor Song was quite pleased. "Once you get this award, I’ll have Yan Ran tidy up the forms again, and you’ll officially be a recognized candidate."

These days, the focus on the "three rural issues" (agriculture, rural villages, and farmers) was significant in all regions. With municipal endorsement, other reviews and approvals could proceed much faster, saving a lot of effort unexpectedly.

Secretary Xiaozu certainly had a good sense of strategy in handling things.

Song Tan, however, was curious: "How long will the review take? Just don’t let it clash with the hog slaughter days and drag me off to Imperial City for the selection process."

"It won’t," Professor Song said confidently. "Barring surprises, it should be right after New Year’s Day—it won’t disrupt anything. You’re already in the re-evaluation stage, and given the winter transport challenges, they’ll move things quickly."

Song Tan was relieved: "Then it’s not far off, is it? No wonder they deliberately avoided filming the greenhouse today... Was it to prevent leaks?"

"Uh..." Mentioning this, Professor Song stammered awkwardly: "Well... the greenhouse smells really nice. I was worried they wouldn’t be able to resist and might interfere with our final fruit selection."

And indeed the fragrance was irresistible! Some of the strawberries had ripened—just one or two—which meant the sweet aroma was lingering in the enclosed greenhouse. It was so enticing!

But Professor Song had been adamant about leaving them to mature further for seed selection. For the past two days, he hadn’t allowed anyone to pick them! By now, they must be perfectly ripe...

Song Tan’s curiosity was piqued: "Can I pick them now?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Professor Song was equally excited. "Just watch your step—don’t trample the watermelon vines on the edges."

The watermelon vines were planted in the corner, but their tendrils had spread and were almost filling up the furrows between the strawberry plots.

Still, spotting those round, green, striped watermelons, no one could bear the thought of disturbing them.

What could be better than sitting around the heater and eating watermelons in the middle of winter?

Even Lady Tang, who was generally reserved, couldn’t help but sigh: "Why aren’t they ripe yet?"

The watermelons clearly weren’t ready today, but the strawberries? Those could definitely be picked now. Qiaoqiao immediately grabbed a basket. "I’ll pick them! I’ll pick!"

Seeing this, Song Tan couldn’t help but laugh: "I think only three strawberries have ripened in total, and you’re bringing such a big basket. Are you planning to let them roll around in there?"

"Don’t bother with that; just use your hands to carry them."

Teacher Tang got up and said, "I want to take a look too."

Professor Song nodded gravely, "I need to oversee and make sure they’re ready for picking."

Song Tan: ...

You all just want an excuse to join the fun. The greenhouse isn’t even locked.

People simply love a crowd. Before long, even Zhang Yanping and Xin Jun trooped in. The small, slightly cramped greenhouse was even more crowded now.

Zhang Yanping took a deep breath: "You can really smell a light strawberry fragrance in here!"

But looking around, most of the strawberries still weren’t ripe!

Trying to step forward into the strawberry beds, Zhang found himself blocked by the crowd. Giving up, he reached for a cucumber hanging on the rack beside him. With a quick twist and a practiced swipe along the cucumber’s skin, he brushed away the tiny spines.

Breaking it in half, he fiddled with the pieces for a while before handing the smaller half to Xin Jun: "Want some?"

Xin Jun: "...Sure."

The others in front: ...

Now the fresh, crisp aroma of cucumber mingled in with the background strawberry fragrance. In the snug and cozy greenhouse, it almost felt like summer.

It was too delightful!

Even Lady Tang, usually so dignified, had to admit, "I want to eat some too."

"Then eat!" Song Tan chuckled. "These were grown for us to enjoy, after all. Go ahead and pick one yourself—or, Yanping, grab one for me too."

The ripest strawberries seemed destined to elude her, but cucumbers were fair game.

Meanwhile, Qiaoqiao exclaimed joyfully amidst the strawberry plots:

"So ripe! So ripe, so ripe, so ripe! The strawberries are so fragrant and rich in flavor!"

Professor Song quickly crouched down to inspect: "Oh wow! They really are!" The tags he’d hastily placed yesterday were still there. Just by eye, the strawberries seemed noticeably larger than the day before. The only regret was...

"The seeds are the only thing that’s bright red!"

Qiaoqiao had hoped to see brilliantly red strawberries, but alas, this year they’d planted two kinds—one deep red and one snow-white. Only when the white ones were fully overripe did a soft pink hue appear on a few.

However, their surface was dotted densely with small seeds, each a vibrant, bright red. They looked quite adorable after staring at them for a while.

Professor Song cheerfully crouched down, painting grand visions: "This year was all for the competition. Regular strawberries aren’t highly valued in the market and wouldn’t help your family establish a premium brand. That’s why we didn’t go with them."

"Plus, these Snow Rabbit strawberries have a fluffy texture, with a flavor profile that starts off like yellow peaches. The high-end market really appreciates them. And because of their flesh structure, they handle shipping better than local strawberries."

Qiaoqiao sighed, looking like a small grown-up: "I know, I know! You’ve told me so many times already—but can we really plant bright red strawberries next year? You were also talking to my sister about planting alpine strawberries."

They’d even shown him pictures—tiny, pale, pitiable-looking strawberries. They couldn’t hold a candle to the plump and lovable pinkish-white Snow Rabbit strawberries before him!

Ah, that question stumped Professor Song. Foreign seed technology was, admittedly, more advanced. He simply wanted to test the seeds for stability.

Besides, the land wasn’t even his to decide.

So he resorted to changing the subject: "For now, let’s see if we can find an even deeper red strawberry this year. I think there might be a mature True Red Meiling in the field. Go find the tag, will you?"

Thankfully, Qiaoqiao was easily distracted and obediently wandered off to another patch. Meanwhile, Song Tan, crunching away on a cucumber, crouched down near the ripe strawberry:

"Mmm, it really does smell amazing—must we be in such a rush to save its seeds? How about I just take a taste first?"

"No, no, no!" Professor Song quickly objected, alarmed. "Strawberry seed germination rates are low and very slow. These seeds might take two months just to sprout. If you eat it now, you’d delay the whole process by an entire month!"

After thinking it over, he finally relented in a slightly clumsy attempt to compromise: "How about this—once I extract the seeds, the flesh inside will still be good. You can eat that."