Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 620: Chapter 620: Expanding the Planting

"A villa?"

Song Sisi’s eyes lit up.

A while back, Ding Kaifang had generously gifted them a large flat and a villa. They were already exquisitely renovated and fully equipped with furniture and appliances, but it still felt like something was missing. They needed to add a few small items to make it feel more lived-in.

Besides, they hadn’t properly stayed there even once since getting the keys.

"Sounds good."

Song Sisi happily agreed. "It’s the perfect chance to buy some potted plants and a new set of sheets and duvet covers that I like."

「In the afternoon」

The two of them drove to "Wolong Mountain Villa" in the suburbs.

As they pushed open the villa’s main door, the unique warmth of a home washed over them.

They spent the whole afternoon busying themselves like a young couple decorating their new home.

They placed the devil’s ivy and money trees they’d bought in the corners of the living room, spread the new sheets on the master bedroom’s large bed, and set up two rocking chairs on the balcony.

As the sun set, its golden afterglow spilled onto the terrace.

They sat side-by-side in the rocking chairs, gazing at the distant lake and mountains, enjoying the rare moment of tranquility.

As the mood deepened, Li Xu turned his head. Looking at Song Sisi’s profile, outlined in gold by the setting sun, he felt an irrepressible urge well up inside him.

He reached out, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace.

Song Sisi leaned compliantly against his chest, and they embraced in a passionate kiss.

A long moment passed.

Nestled in his arms, her face flushed red, Song Sisi asked, "Li Xu, when... when are we getting married?"

Li Xu stroked her hair and said softly, "Next year. We’ll find an auspicious day next year, have a grand wedding, and I’ll give you the best of everything."

"Mhm."

Song Sisi nodded happily and buried her head deeper into his chest.

...

「Thousands of miles away, in Tianma Village, Guangdong Xinhui.」

Over a month ago, when Li Xu and Gao Yuan insisted that Old Liang graft branches from what looked like withered old tangerine trees onto pomelo trees, Old Liang had been completely against the idea.

’Isn’t this just asking for trouble? Everyone knows that Xinhui tangerines value a pure lineage. Grafting them onto pomelo trees is an unorthodox method. Could the fruit they produce even be called Xinhui tangerines? Could it still be made into Dried Tangerine Peel?’

But out of respect for his many years of friendship with Gao Yuan, and seeing the conviction in Li Xu’s eyes, Old Liang gritted his teeth and did it anyway.

He grafted several dozen branches onto the few sour pomelo trees in his backyard.

He had assumed that would be the end of it—the branches would die in a few days, and that would be that.

But then, a miracle happened.

Just a few days later, the scions, which had been shriveled and lifeless, miraculously began to bud!

Soon after, tender green sprouts broke through the bark, growing with abandon in the sunlight.

Their growth rate could only be described as "frenzied."

They changed day by day. The leaves grew thick, glossy, and green, a size larger than those of ordinary Xinhui tangerine trees, radiating vigorous life.

Old Liang was both shocked and delighted.

As a veteran farmer who had tilled the land his whole life, he naturally knew what this meant—the grafts had taken.

And the graft compatibility was excellent.

The pomelo trees’ powerful root systems were continuously supplying nutrients to these old branches, allowing them to spring back to life, like dead wood blooming again.

At this rate, they would definitely bear fruit next year.

But... Old Liang still had his doubts.

’What would the fruit from this "reanimation" taste like? Could it be made into Dried Tangerine Peel? What if it turns out to be some kind of freakish hybrid? Wouldn’t all this work be for nothing?’

With an uneasy heart, he took a few photos and sent them to Gao Yuan, along with a detailed description of their growth.

Gao Yuan was overjoyed when he received the message and immediately forwarded it to Li Xu.

Looking at the photos on his phone, Li Xu broke into a smile, just as he’d expected.

With his system’s intelligence at his disposal, he naturally understood the secret behind it all.

’This isn’t just ordinary grafting. This is using the powerful root system of the pomelo tree to activate the medicinal genes that have accumulated in the old Xinhui tangerine trees for fifty years. The fruit it produces will not only have a thick, oily peel and an overpowering fragrance, but it will also age extremely quickly. One year will have the effect of ten years for ordinary Dried Tangerine Peel. This is a true "time accelerator," a priceless treasure!’

There was no longer any need to hesitate.

Li Xu immediately called Old Liang.

"Old Liang, it looks like our grafting was a huge success. The fruit it produces will be absolutely top-grade."

"On behalf of Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, I’d like to formally offer you a position as the head of our raw material base in Xinhui."

"The annual salary is 300,000, with a year-end bonus, plus full social insurance and housing fund benefits."

Old Liang held the phone, his heart pounding with excitement.

As a farmer who had spent his life with his face to the dirt and his back to the sky, he had never dreamed that one day he would work for a large corporation and earn such a high salary. It was like a pie falling from the sky.

"Boss Li, are you serious? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?"

"It’s absolutely true. I’ll have the contract mailed over in a couple of days."

Li Xu continued, "Your first task after joining will be to immediately contact the owner of the ’Ancient Tangerine Garden’."

"We need to acquire all the old tangerine trees in there. No matter the cost, we have to get all of them. Then, we’ll cut off all the branches and begin large-scale grafting."

"We’ve done the math. We’ll need to graft onto pomelo trees across roughly 165 acres. Can you coordinate the land and the rootstock on your end?"

"One hundred and sixty-five acres?"

Old Liang gasped.

This was an enormous undertaking.

"Yes. As long as there’s money, there’s plenty of land to be had, and we can buy the pomelo trees too."

Old Liang agreed.

For the next few days, Old Liang was as busy as a spinning top.

After much difficulty, he finally managed to contact the owner of the Ancient Tangerine Garden, who had moved to the city to do business and hadn’t been back in years.

When the man heard that someone wanted to buy those "useless sticks," he initially thought it was a scam.

But when Old Liang clarified that he wanted to buy the trees, not the land, the man breathed a sigh of relief.

"I’m not selling the land. It’s a memento left by my father, and our ancestral home is still there. But the trees... they’re useless anyway. If you want them, just dig them up and take them."

After some haggling, Old Liang managed to buy the rights to use the several hundred old trees in the garden for an extremely reasonable, one might even say "scrap wood," price.

Afterward, Old Liang started recruiting workers in the village, hiring people for the large-scale grafting operation.

For a time, Tianma Village was bustling with activity.

Trucks came and went, delivering load after load of pomelo saplings.

The villagers, holding grafting knives, busied themselves in the fields.

But with the activity came a wave of doubt.

"Has Old Liang lost his mind? Instead of planting perfectly good pomelo trees, he’s insisting on grafting those old, unwanted branches onto them."

"Exactly! Those old trees haven’t borne fruit in years. Will the grafts even survive?"

"I think he’s been duped. Even if they live, what grows won’t be authentic Xinhui tangerines. They won’t sell for a good price, and he’ll lose a fortune."

The village elders all shook their heads, feeling that Old Liang was engaged in a futile effort, just throwing money away.

Listening to all the gossip, Old Liang didn’t feel very confident himself.

He also felt the whole affair was a bit precarious; after all, no one in generations had ever done something like this.

’But Li Xu told me to do it, and he’s paying me such a high salary. How can I not? Whatever. The boss is paying me, so I’ll do the work. Even if it doesn’t bear fruit in the end, that’s his problem, not mine.’

With that, Old Liang and his workers continued their back-breaking work.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!