Zou Kai was still happily munching on his steamed bun when he heard Liu Mingji's words. He immediately stuffed the bun into his mouth and listened intently to Xu Milu's reply.
It's important to understand that breeding new varieties of vegetables is not something that can be accomplished overnight; the time and money invested by the research team behind it are undoubtedly enormous.
To avoid the outflow of seeds and seedlings, many research teams are very reluctant to cooperate with agricultural universities, and sometimes they even refuse all normal visits.
Japan has even enacted legislation to protect its seeds from being exported, with fines reaching exorbitant levels.
That's why Liu Mingji proposed purchasing the seeds of the giant delicious radish in his private capacity, rather than in the name of the Agricultural University.
Bai Lele also stopped what she was doing, holding her breath and waiting for Xu Milu's answer.
None of the three expected Xu Milu to agree so readily:
"Of course, it's 9.9 per gram, which is estimated to be enough to grow four seedlings. Professor Liu, how many do you want to buy?"
Liu Mingji was very surprised, but quickly realized what was happening and said somewhat urgently:
"Then I'll buy one kilogram of seeds in my personal capacity, Ms. Xu. Would you mind if I asked a colleague to test and collect samples from this radish field?"
"As long as it doesn't affect my normal harvest, then there's no problem."
Xu Milu shrugged: "Professors, as you can see, if I planted all these acres of land with radishes, how long would it take? I was thinking about whether I could encourage the villagers of Xingning Village to plant them together, but it doesn't seem to be working."
"It's normal for villagers to have some concerns and not dare to plant such a special new variety."
Liu Mingji nodded and couldn't help but sigh, "Even I wouldn't have believed that such a unique variety existed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes today. It seems that we agricultural workers still have a lot of work to do."
He gestured to show the size of the radish, his excitement impossible to hide.
Bai Lele couldn't help but mutter to herself:
"This giant radish sounds like a fantasy. No matter how hard we try, we need to have a goal first—those seed companies hide their seeds like they're something else, afraid we'll do something to them. We're not robbers, okay?"
Zou Kai gave her a look, and the two of them shut up and ate their steamed buns without saying a word.
Xu Milu observed the subtle exchange between the two women, understood the situation, and began to fabricate a story without changing her expression:
"Actually, these seeds, like the Ping Pong grapes, were bought from someone else. I'm really worried about what to do with them."
Bai Lele couldn't help but interject, "Which seed breeding institution is it? Or is it a research lab at an agricultural university?"
Xu Milu shook her head: "No, it's a seed laboratory called 'Honghe' in Sichuan and Chongqing. The ingredients in my shop are also purchased from there."
"'Red Rice'?"
Liu Mingji tried to recall the name, but to no avail. He turned to ask the two graduate students, who both shook their heads vigorously, saying they had never heard of it before.
Xu Milu smiled but remained silent.
You'd be in for a miracle if you'd even heard of it.
...
...
Urumqi, Sichuan-Chongqing region.
Zhang Cang sat dejectedly by the roadside, smoking and exhaling a deep puff of white smoke. The stimulation of nicotine allowed him to temporarily forget the troubles in his life.
Three years ago, he started his own business right after graduation. With a lot of enthusiasm and a few good brothers who were willing to share the hardships with him, he founded the company "Linong Seed Industry" and wanted to take a chance by riding the wave of opportunity.
But before it could even take off, the initial ambitions of starting a business were quickly crushed by reality on the beach called "life".
The domestic seed industry faces a harsher environment than its foreign counterparts. Piracy is rampant, and the industry's independent breeding capabilities are relatively low, leaving even smaller and less room for survival for small and micro-enterprises like theirs.
Lacking breeding capabilities means lacking investment. Without investment, to be realistic, one can't even afford the experimental equipment for breeding, let alone conduct independent scientific research.
After three years, his girlfriend of five years broke up with him, and he was burdened with a mountain of debt. Only these few brothers remained with him.
His phone vibrated, and he glanced at it. It was Ding Shan, one of his partners, calling.
[Boss, where are you?]
Zhang Cang didn't detect the excitement in Ding Shan's tone and said somewhat dejectedly:
"I'm going out for a smoke. Shanzi, I've thought it through. I can't keep dragging the brothers along like this. In a couple of days, I'll sell everything I can in the lab and pay off the bank debt bit by bit. If all else fails, I'll go to Mu Yang's pet hospital to get my dog bathed. Damn it, I have hands and feet, I refuse to believe I can't make money!"
[Da Zhang, are you fucking crazy?! Someone's investing in us! Did you hear that? Someone's investing in us!]
Ding Shan's roar instantly startled Zhang Cang, who jumped up as if his pants were on fire and yelled into the phone:
"Say it again?"
[You idiot! I said someone's willing to invest in us! They're right here in the company, you better get your ass back here!!]
"You fucking keep an eye on him, I'm coming back right now!"
Ignoring the strange looks from passersby, Zhang Cang threw away his cigarette and ran back, almost losing his shoes in the process.
Someone has invested!
Finally, someone has invested!
...
...
Five minutes later, Zhang Cang rushed back to the office, panting. As soon as he entered, he eagerly looked around:
"Where are they? Where are they?! Where are the investors?!"
Jiang Wen, who was a sampler, tester, and also served as the office tea server, pointed to:
"I went to see the lab with Brother Shan, boss. Did someone really invest in us? Who would invest in our little shabby lab? Is someone trying to sabotage us?"
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