Chapter 121 Farming
At 3 p.m., Song Xinran arrived at the address Lin Jingyuan had given her.
Yuanben Xunwei is located in the suburbs of a town under Yongyan. It took a little over an hour to get here from Songji, which is closer to the city than Song Xinran's hometown.
She stood at the entrance, looking at the standardized factory compound in front of her, with white walls and gray tiles. The sign at the entrance read "Seeking the Essence of Origin". The sign was not new because it had been exposed to the sun and rain, but it must have been wiped clean regularly.
The factory building gives the impression of being neat, clean, simple, and low-key, which is quite different from the feeling that Chengrun Foods gives.
Chengrun Foods is a relatively large premium food supplier in the city. Even its factory area exudes sophistication. However, this sophistication is nothing to Song Xinran, who is from ten or twenty years in the future. But at this time, it must have invested a lot of money in renovations, trying to catch people's attention at first glance.
Yuanben Xunwei was inferior in terms of scale and decoration, but Song Xinran was not someone who cared about appearances. She took out her phone and called Lin Jingyuan to tell him that she had arrived at the factory.
They agreed to meet at 3:30, but Song Xinran arrived half an hour early.
On the other end of the phone, Lin Jingyuan's voice paused for only a moment before he laughed and said, "Manager Song, please wait a moment, I'll be right there."
He didn't ask Song Xinran why she arrived early. The reason was obvious: Song Xinran had deliberately launched a surprise attack; she wanted to see the most authentic Yuanben Xunwei.
A few minutes later, Lin Jingyuan ran out. He was wearing a dark shirt of good quality today, but he had rolled up the sleeves halfway up for some reason, which looked a bit out of place with his outfit. However, the smooth lines of his forearm muscles and his cheerful smile made him look very relaxed and sunny: "I'm sorry, Manager Song, I'm late. I've kept you waiting."
Song Xinran smiled slightly: "I'm not late, I arrived early. The road conditions were better today, so I arrived a little earlier than I expected."
Lin Jingyuan said, "That's perfect, it gives me more time to come and see our factory area."
He rolled up his sleeves and led Song Xinran forward, not dwelling on her arriving early at all.
Song Xinran followed Lin Jingyuan to the tasting room. Compared to the simple exterior of Yuanben Xunwei's factory, this place was much more professional. The decoration was also simple, but everything was very practical.
The lighting above the ingredients is a professional kitchen cool light source, which can show the true color of the ingredients. Several display cabinets are quietly placed in the corner, displaying various dried products such as mushrooms and ham in layers. On the sample table in the center of the room, there is a simple card next to the ingredients, introducing the name and origin of the ingredients.
"Manager Song, try our company's ham, it's one of our signature dishes." Lin Jingyuan handed chopsticks to Song Xinran.
Song Xinran picked up a thin slice of golden ham. When held up to the light, the fat was evenly distributed like snowflakes, making it very aesthetically pleasing.
Upon first bite, the meat is tender and slightly elastic, requiring no effort to chew. The salty and savory flavors melt instantly, followed by a nutty aroma that is almost milky. There is not a trace of astringency, and the aftertaste is long-lasting.
"Very good." Song Xinran put down her chopsticks. "The base flavor is very clean."
She paused for a moment and then said, "However, Song Ji is a restaurant, so it needs some ordinary but high-quality ingredients. President Lin has also eaten at our restaurant and knows that we specialize in home-style dishes."
This slice of ham made Song Xinran realize the quality of Yuanben Xunwei's ingredients, but it wasn't what she needed most.
Lin Jingyuan smiled and led Song Xinran to open a door. Inside, there was a minimalist industrial style with large windows that let in bright light. A long table was placed closer to the windowsill, and many fresh vegetables were displayed on it in the natural light.
A row of radishes of different varieties and sizes, several bowls of glistening rice, and a few stalks of vegetables freshly pulled from the ground, still glistening with dew...
Song Xinran then became interested, as these were more in line with Song Ji's needs.
"May I try some radish?" she asked.
"Of course." Lin Jingyuan explained to her from the side that these vegetables were grown by local farmers and were still in the soil half an hour ago. Now they have been picked, washed, and placed here.
Lin Jingyuan immediately cut her a slice of green radish. Song Xinran picked it up and bit into it. There was a noticeable crunchy feeling, and the juice instantly overflowed. It was very mildly spicy, sweet, and had a unique fragrance.
The white radish is juicy, has no mushy texture, and is very tender.
Song Xinran didn't speak, but her expression was relaxed, clearly very satisfied with the radish.
Lin Jingyuan handed over a bowl of rice at the right moment: "This is rice cooked from our newly harvested rice. Please try it."
Freshly steamed rice has a natural sheen, each grain looks round and plump, and it's soft and sticky without sticking to your teeth. You can feel the elasticity of the rice grains, and it has a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Song Xinran suddenly remembered the Doraemon cartoon she watched when she was a child. There was an episode where the main character planted rice. Song Xinran felt that the rice she was eating was just like the one in the cartoon. The rice was nourished by the sun and rain and grew very plump and delicious.
Chinese people don't seem to be picky about rice; as long as it's edible, it's fine. But the difference between good rice and ordinary rice is the most subtle way to reflect a restaurant's quality. Song Xinran felt that Yuanbenxunwei's rice was of very good quality.
She had just finished a bite of rice when Lin Jingyuan gave her a boiled egg, saying it was from a local farmer's own farm.
Song Xinran took a bite and said it tasted similar to the ones Song Xinwen used to bring from home, and that it was reassuring.
After we finished eating boiled eggs, Lin Jingyuan brought us beef jerky, followed by roasted sweet potatoes and mushroom soup...
Song Xinran suddenly had a strange feeling. It seemed that she was not here to inspect the ingredients, but rather to eat. Moreover, the ingredients prepared by Lin Jingyuan had not been cooked too much, which best brought out the original flavor of the food. The mushroom soup was made by simmering dried matsutake mushroom slices in hot water on the spot.
As a chef, Song Xinran was more often the one feeding others; this was the first time she had been fed. After eating this, she was already about 80% full, so Song Xinran had to stop: "President Lin, the ingredients at Yuanben Xunwei are indeed excellent..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Jingyuan asked, "Then I'll take you to the demonstration base to see how these vegetables are grown. Do you have time?"
Song Xinran smiled and said, "Yes."
She was just about to suggest going to see it in person.
After the two left the tasting room, Lin Jingyuan led her towards the base. The weather was getting cooler, and the air was damp and chilly. The demonstration fields outside the factory were neat and orderly, and some farmers were working.
Just then, an old man who looked to be in his fifties, wearing a blue work jacket and army green rubber shoes, strode over: "Jingyuan, come and take a look at my field!"
The old man had a loud voice and sounded very anxious: "I don't know why the radishes in my field are growing like this. The leaves are all yellow and droopy. I've been watching them for days and have used a lot of good fertilizer, but they still haven't grown. Is it because the seeds you gave me last time were no good?"
Song Xinran shifted her gaze from the fields to Lin Jingyuan and the old man, somewhat curious. Judging from the old man's words, were all the seeds in these fields provided by Lin Jingyuan?
Lin Jingyuan said to the old man, "Uncle Wang, I have something to do here, so don't worry."
He then turned to Song Xinran and said, "Manager Song, I'm sorry, can I go take a look at the field first and then show you around?"
Song Xinran agreed and then followed out of curiosity.
The old man was very anxious along the way, telling Lin Jingyuan that he hadn't been able to eat or sleep well these past few days because of the radishes, and that he had to go to the soil several times a day.
Song Xinran followed closely behind without saying a word, but she felt in her heart that the old man was probably up to something by complaining. Sure enough, after a few minutes of repeating the same few sentences, the old man revealed his purpose:
"Jingyuan, these radishes were all planted using the seeds you gave us, following your instructions. You can't leave them unharvested once they're ripe."
Lin Jingyuan's expression remained unchanged. He pretended not to hear the old man's complaints. When the old man made demands, he pretended to be deaf. Seeing that he didn't react, the old man said in his loud voice, "Jingyuan, you can't not harvest these radishes! We agreed on this beforehand. My family planted all three plots of land with radishes. If you don't harvest them, how will we eat them all? You can't harm us villagers. We've all watched you grow up!"
Lin Jingyuan must be a local, with countless connections to this land and its people. As soon as the old man spoke in his loud voice, everyone in the fields around him turned to look.
Song Xinran was very curious about how Lin Jingyuan would handle the situation.
Lin Jingyuan suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Uncle Wang, what did you just say?"
He was probably quite adept at playing dumb; he seemed genuinely oblivious to what the old man was saying, but Song Xinran was certain he had, because Lin Jingyuan quickly rolled his eyes while the old man was muttering.
The old man's face fell: "Jingyuan, you don't mean you don't want to take my radishes anymore?"
Lin Jingyuan looked puzzled: "Uncle Wang, why do you say that? I will definitely harvest the radishes that are grown according to my requirements, but didn't you say that radishes only fatten up but don't grow tall? I want to go and see them now. Uncle Wang, aren't you in a hurry too? Why did you stop here?"
The old man seemed genuinely anxious, constantly mentioning how much he cared about the radish.
The old man was about to say, "Didn't you stop it yourself?"
Lin Jingyuan spoke again: "When I get anxious, I only care about this one thing. Just now, all I could think about was the radish, and I didn't notice what you said, Uncle Wang."
He asked directly, "Uncle Wang, what did you say? Now is not the time to worry about those things. As a farmer, I'm most concerned about the condition of the soil! Every second counts and the radishes might be beyond saving. Time is of the essence right now!"
He glanced at his watch: "It's getting late, we should hurry and go check!"
He took a couple of steps forward, then, as if remembering something, turned around and asked, "Uncle Wang, what did you just say?"
"nothing."
The old man immediately shut his mouth and stopped talking. Lin Jingyuan's words sounded like someone was only concerned with shirking responsibility and didn't care about the growth of the radishes.
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