Chapter Ninety-Eight: Monoecious

Able to be either male or female? Good heavens, this felt as peculiar as someone saying, “I can be man or woman, youthful or mature, handsome or gentle.” The idea left Zhong Di with a sense of oddness. But soon enough, he reasoned it out: bougainvillea, being a plant with both male and female flowers on the same stalk, would naturally have such traits.

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Zhong Di fetched a bucket of manure water and drenched the tricolored bougainvillea from top to bottom, even watering the other flowers while he was at it. It had been quite a few days since the last time he watered them, so this was a good opportunity to tend to everything at once.

“I’ll give you manure water, let’s see if you still want to be both male and female. Stink all you want.”

“Mmm, that feels so good!”

Zhong Di…

He nearly forgot—bougainvillea, as a plant, actually loves this sort of manure water, which provides it with essential nutrients.

“All right, then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning we’ll take Dad for a check-up, and afterwards, we’ll go buy the car,” Zhong Di said, turning to his sister to confirm their plans after he finished watering the flowers.

“Sure, no problem. You mentioned it this morning, and I already talked it over with your brother-in-law. It’s all set.”

“By the way, you have a driver’s license, right?”

“I do, why?”

“After we get the car, you drive the sedan and I’ll take the truck. Don’t be so quick to refuse. The car will be bought for the farm, not as your personal vehicle—you’re just driving it for now. It’s not cold yet, but wait until winter, and besides, we still have Mom and Dad.”

Zhong Di patiently explained his reasoning to his sister. This wasn’t just about running the farm—there was also the reforestation project covering several hundred acres, for which a vehicle was essential. In the winter, his sister could drive their parents back and forth.

“And what about you? What will you drive?”

From the moment Zhong Di mentioned buying a car, his sister had assumed the other vehicle would be for him. She never expected he would insist she drive it.

“I’ll take the electric tricycle—it’s comfortable enough. Besides, I don’t even have a license yet.”

Zhong Di wasn’t fussed about what he drove. As long as things got done, it didn’t matter. And if he needed to use the truck, Shao Hong could always accompany him.

“Oh, right. You should go get your license soon. I’ll drive the car for now, and once you have your license, you can take over. I can get myself one later—your brother-in-law’s been doing well lately and is thinking about buying another car for me anyway.”

“It’s all in the family. We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

After discussing things with his sister, Zhong Di joined Shao Hong in the kitchen. There was no need to keep such things strictly accounted for—he understood what his sister was thinking.

Today was the last day they’d be cooking in the big pot; the major renovations were basically done. Who knew when the next overhaul would be? Perhaps not until it was time to build the greenhouse.

There was no rush yet to construct the greenhouse—it wasn’t winter, and both funds and other resources needed to be managed carefully. Otherwise, everything would descend into chaos. The guesthouse and fish pond weren’t even operational yet, and starting another big project would only lead to confusion—they already felt things were getting out of hand lately.

It wasn’t a lack of will, but a limitation of energy—he simply couldn’t do everything at once.

“Shao Hong, I think the fermented soybean milk from last time should be ready. Next time we water, we can use it as fertilizer.”

As he was preparing the meal, Zhong Di remembered. After buying soybeans and receiving the soy milk maker, he’d made over ten barrels of soy milk. Now, after more than ten days, it should be ready to use.

“Wait, didn’t you say we needed to add brown sugar, milk, and bone meal? I haven’t done that yet.”

Shao Hong reminded him—things had been so busy lately that he’d completely forgotten.

“It’s fine, we can use some now. After a week of fermentation, we add the brown sugar, milk, and bone meal. So, we’ll use half now, add the new ingredients to the rest, and keep five barrels empty to make more soy milk. That way, it’ll be a continuous cycle.”

Zhong Di thought for a moment and explained the process. At this stage, watering was done about once a week, or a little more, and flooding the fields took even longer. This system would form a cycle and wouldn’t delay the next watering or fertilizing.

“All right, let’s cook first—the uncles will be back soon,” Shao Hong replied, making a mental note before starting the meal.

As usual, they made a big pot of food with mung bean soup. Though autumn had officially begun, the heat was still intense—and the so-called “autumn tiger” was no joke. With all the physical labor, a refreshing soup was a welcome comfort.

Now that the main framework of the house was up, everyone had a place to rest. Laying down a wooden board with some cardboard or something soft made for a decent bed. There was even a cool freshness inside the newly built house—a small but welcome advantage.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that they finished cleaning out the chicken manure. Taking advantage of a break, Zhong Di decided to put Shao Hong’s idea into action.

He spoke to Zhang Xiaohua about collecting the wild dates, and she immediately agreed. It was just like day labor, only the pay depended on how much you picked—the more you did, the more you earned. Having worked with Zhong Di before, she knew he would never shortchange them.

That was why Zhang Xiaohua agreed so readily—Zhong Di was offering one and a half times the market price, so there was sure to be a profit. Even at regular market rates, a person could make a fair amount in a day. With wild hemp, people on Kuaishou could make over three hundred a day; at one and a half times the rate, that was a tidy sum.

The only unknown was the wild date. There was no established market for it, so prices were unclear. Zhong Di wanted to see how much could be gathered in a day and then set a fair price.

In the northwest, wild dates were actually a valuable resource, but had never been properly utilized. Only the large ones, dried, were sometimes eaten; the small ones were just wasted.

Once that was settled, Zhong Di decided to return home with his parents. He planned to sleep at home that night and discuss the car purchase with his sister the next day. The fish pond, the roads, the house—all were finished. In a few days, once everything was organized, he’d just find a few people to outsource the interior work.

“Dad, tomorrow let my brother-in-law take you for a re-check of your leg.”

“My leg is just a minor ailment, but you make it sound like a serious condition. There’s no need for another check-up,” Zhong Tian replied with an awkward smile. In the past, he would have adamantly refused, never so easygoing.

“Dad, please, just follow through. It’s about your leg—I don’t want Mom to have to wait on you day after day if something goes wrong.”

“All right, I’ll go for the check-up.”

In the end, his father agreed. After dinner, Zhong Di brought up buying a car with his parents. They had no objections and gave their full approval.

As their undertakings grew, these things were inevitable. They might never have eaten pork, but they’d certainly seen pigs run.

Having sorted out the timing and schedule with his parents, Zhong Di finally went to rest.