Chapter 71 Roll up your sleeves and get to work!

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Ye Zhen took out strawberry seeds and strawberry seedlings. There were not many, and in total he could plant about seventy or eighty acres.

The improved and optimized strawberry seeds do not require any complicated planting methods, and have no special requirements for seasons, climate, and soil. The only requirement is that Ye Zhen needs to apply some spiritual energy every once in a while, otherwise the strawberries grown from seeds planted elsewhere will be ordinary products.

Early in the morning, the village chief came to Ye Zhen's house to get seeds. This time, everyone pledged the land together at Ye Zhen's house.

Zhang Shuiying was close by and saw that in addition to the bags of seeds, there were also some strawberry seedlings. She couldn't help but ask:

“Is this strawberry seedling easier to grow?”

Ye's father was told by Ye Zhen early in the morning that the advantage of these strawberry seedlings over seeds is that they have a higher yield per plant and a longer fruiting period, but of course they are more expensive.

Seeds cost one thousand yuan per acre, and one acre requires at least one to two kilograms of seeds.

Of course, Ye Zhen’s seeds are more active than those on the market and there are no bad seeds, so one pound is required at most for one acre of land, and Ye Zhen plans to sell these seedlings by the plant.

Considering that the first batch of villagers are willing to believe and follow her, the price of 1.5 yuan per plant is cheap enough, right?

The miser suffered a heavy loss.

"Yes, these seedlings have higher yields, bear fruit faster, and have a longer fruiting period. Do you want to buy some and try?" Father Ye brought over a few strawberry seedlings and showed them to Zhang Shuiying.

Zhang Shuiying took the seedling and observed it, then asked hesitantly:

"What is the price of this seedling?"

Father Ye smiled and said, "Not expensive, one seedling is 1.5 yuan."

"Hiss!" Ye Xiaoying and other villagers who rushed over took a breath. Isn't this expensive?

After listening to Ye's father's explanation, everyone thought to themselves that planting earlier would mean an earlier harvest, but...

Someone asked: "Can we buy a little bit and try it?"

Father Ye: "Of course! You can buy as much as you want. We just subscribe to the land. You can choose how much you want to plant, whether it's seeds or seedlings."

Zhang Shuiying and Ye Xiaoying looked at each other and spoke at the same time:

"Ye Minghai, my family grows two mu and a half of land, two mu of seeds, and five mu of seedlings."

"Haizi, my family has one and a half acres of seeds and five cents of seedlings."

Father Ye responded loudly, "Okay, seeds cost one thousand per acre, and seedlings cost about one thousand to one thousand and fifteen per acre. Our seedlings are good, and Ye Zi said that one thousand plants per acre will be enough. Five cents is seven hundred and fifty."

"But there aren't many seedlings left. There are only four acres of land left. If you want some, grab them now."

"I want two acres of seedlings and eight acres of seeds." Upon hearing that there were not many seedlings, Ye Dajun immediately pledged his services.

When the people around heard this, they all started talking at once:

"I want two mu of seedlings and one mu of seeds."

"I also have five cents of seedlings and one acre of seeds."

"Take your time, register one by one, don't rush!" Dad Ye maintained order, Ye Zhen distributed seeds, and Mom and Grandma Ye were in charge of the seedlings.

After seeing off wave after wave of villagers for the entire morning, Dad Ye was so tired that he drank a pot of tea and turned back to ask Ye Zhen:

"Ye Zi, have your uncle's seedlings been prepared?"

"Also, your uncle's family doesn't have much money, so give him the seedling first, and then deduct it when you make money, okay?"

Okay, why not?

Fairy Ye’s relatives still have special rights. Besides, when they were young, Uncle Ye was really nice to Ye.

She was also willing to provide this convenience. Not to mention this, once her cultivation level was further improved, she would be able to find out the foreman who had cheated Uncle Ye.

…………

After lunch, the forest was quiet, the sun was shining, and Shanbei Village was filled with joy.

There are nearly thirty households planting strawberries now. Except for the seeds needed by Ye Zhen himself, the rest have all been subscribed by the villagers.

Some villagers were waiting and watching, and when they heard that the seeds were gone, they panicked and regretted not planting any. However, others did not think so, especially Zhang Shuiying's daughter-in-law, who made sarcastic remarks everywhere:

"What a bunch of fools. Who has ever grown strawberries near our village? And they are so greedy for money."

"Just wait! When the time comes, it will be too late to cry!"

Huang Xi'e stood in front of her house, chatting with the wives and aunts nearby. She cracked melon seeds, spit out the melon shells, squinted her eyes, and looked very proud.

The old lady at the side disagreed and asked, "Why? Didn't your mother-in-law plant two acres of land? Why didn't you stop her?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xi'e spat out a mouthful of melon seed shells. "That old thing, they won't even give anything to their own sons when they are so poor. Don't even think about expecting them to support you in your old age. Just go to hell and hold on to the money!"

"Bah, you have money but you're wasting it!"

She just wants to see what she can come up with. She is destined to be poor, and yet she wants to fly?

…

Everyone was working very hard. They had plowed the fields a few days ago and cleaned up all the grass roots and lumps of soil.

Ye Zhen squatted on the ground, and a group of people surrounded Ye Zhen, watching how to plant the seedlings.

Village Chief: "Shouldn't this kind of strawberry be planted like cucumber and cilantro?"

Watching Ye Zhen poke a hole with one hand and put two or three seeds in it, why does it feel unreliable?

Haven’t I heard that strawberries need to be grown as seedlings first and then transplanted after they sprout and grow leaves?

How can this be so perfunctory? Is it really that easy to grow strawberries?

The village chief fell into deep doubt, wondering if he was too hasty.

Ye Zhen stood up, picked up the bucket prepared beside him, scooped water and poured it on the ground. He listened to the village chief's words without looking up and answered directly:

"This is an optimized and improved strawberry seed. It doesn't require so much trouble."

"Really not necessary?" The village chief confirmed again.

"It's just the normal steps. First, make ridges and dig holes. The soil layer doesn't need to be too deep, just a shallow layer will do. The seedlings are planted just like cabbage and radishes. Just bury the roots and water them."

The village chief had a serious face. If it were that simple, then the strawberry route would be the right one. After all, everyone was gambling with their hard-earned money and could not afford to lose easily.

"How long does it take for that kind of thing to mature?"

The village chief continued to ask, and the villagers beside him pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

After all, no one had grown strawberries before, and there were too many things they didn’t understand. This time, everyone listened carefully to the relevant information, for fear of missing something that would result in the strawberries not being grown.

Ye Zhen thought back to the strawberries in her backyard. To be honest, she wasn't particularly sure. After all, her strawberries were different from those on the market and had a different growth cycle.

But can she tell?

"It won't take long. It can be harvested in about two months after planting. After that, it can bloom many times and grow in batches."

Looking around and seeing the villagers' hesitation and worry, Ye Zhen waved his hand, pointed at the large tracts of land in front of him, and continued:

"We have to seize the time now. The sooner we plant, the sooner we can harvest. Folks, a better life is beckoning us."

"If you want to build a new house, buy a car, give your son a wedding gift, or give your daughter a dowry, as long as you work hard and plant diligently, you will have a lot of money waiting for you before long!"

"What are you still hesitating about? The opportunity has come, and now is the time for us to get rid of poverty!"

"Don't worry, just roll up your sleeves and get to work!"