Chapter 173: Production Comes First

After asking the question he wanted to ask, Zhong Di no longer paid attention to the orchardist's words, his mind occupied with how best to phrase what he was about to say.

He needed to ensure his response demonstrated a certain standard of expertise without sounding overly startling.

The orchardist continued to ramble on about trivial matters, mostly pouring out grievances. What was meant to be a proper diagnosis consultation turned into a venting session.

Zhong Di could understand the orchardist's mood and did not interrupt. These people were not being negative; they simply had a deep-seated bitterness in their hearts that they needed to vent. Once they finished talking, they would go right back to work just as before.

"Zhong Di, how did the questioning go?" Zhou Zheng had returned as well. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood, or at least that was how it appeared.

"Pretty good, almost done." It was already almost done anyway; asking questions was just a formality.

"Shall we get down to business then?"

The moment Zhou Zheng finished speaking, his entire demeanor shifted, his expression turning solemn.

One could be casual during ordinary times, but at moments like this, utmost seriousness was required. This was not a playful game; this was frontline production where a single decision could heavily impact the outcome.

To put it mildly, if you were not serious, the impact might only affect a small patch, resulting in a reduction of a few dozen or a couple of hundred tons of fruit.

To put it gravely, once implemented on a large scale, even a slight mistake could result in losses amounting to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of tons.

"Alright." This inexplicable atmosphere compelled Zhong Di to adopt a serious attitude as well.

"Where do you think the crux of this orchard's problem lies?"

Zhou Zheng went straight to the point without any superfluous talk. In agricultural production, idle chatter was useless; that was only something one did during classroom lectures.

There was no need to analyze what was useful or useless, and superfluous details did not need to be mentioned.

"Pesticide damage!"

Without any hesitation, Zhong Di blurted out the answer he had already determined. After beating around the bush for so long, hesitating now would be quite absurd.

"Hmm, elaborate on that."

Zhou Zheng was not surprised by this answer and looked at Zhong Di with a smile.

"During the developmental process of peach fruit, there are two distinct stages of fruit expansion. The first expansion occurs after fruit setting, and the second expansion takes place after the hard-pit stage."

"This is a characteristic of stone fruits—they both go through two expansion phases. However, the problem lies in the second expansion phase. Because the pests and diseases in the orchard were too severe, excessive pesticides were applied, and the types used were too complex, which directly caused chemical damage."

"The pesticide damage occurred as early as the hard-pit stage, so naturally, the fruit failed to expand during the second expansion phase."

Zhong Di did not make his explanation overly complicated; he merely explained the primary issue. These were the core problems of the orchard. As for how to resolve them, that was a matter for later.

Diagnosing a disease is one process, while treating it is another.

This was not like catching a common cold, where a doctor takes one look, says "Ah, a cold," and writes a prescription for cold medicine.

When encountering this kind of situation, nothing could be done for this year's harvest; remedial measures could only be applied starting next year.

Furthermore, there were multiple approaches and various solutions available, depending on which one was chosen.

"Well, how do you think it should be resolved?" Zhou Zheng posed another question.

"Precise application, staggered spraying!" Zhong Di uttered these eight simple words without the slightest hesitation.

"Won't you reconsider?" Zhou Zheng asked in return.

"No need, that's my final answer." Zhong Di replied with certainty.

He felt the vibe was somewhat off. He had clearly intended to find a platform to promote his technical solutions, but what was going on here? Why did it feel like a teacher quizzing a student? Why was there a Q&A session?

Why should he answer just because the other person asked? Why?

"Since it's clearly pesticide damage, shouldn't we directly ban pesticides and adopt other methods? Like biological control, physical control, and things like that?" Zhou Zheng's expression still carried a faint smile, making it impossible to tell what he was really thinking.

The orchardist stood to the side with a bewildered look; this technical exchange had completely transcended his understanding.

Not just the orchardist, but the young man who had accompanied Zhou Zheng wore a puzzled expression as well. Did he just listen to a whole lot of nothing? Weren't they both studying agronomy?

"So-called pesticide damage does not mean that applying pesticides will inevitably cause harm; it only happens when they are used in excess. As long as the dosage is reasonably controlled, application is avoided during sensitive growth stages, and spraying is staggered, this problem can be avoided."

"I know that. That's not what I want to know," Zhou Zheng reminded him.

Zhong Di was stunned for a moment. Not that? Then, a sudden realization struck him. He walked over to a peach tree and plucked a peach.

"In agricultural production, production comes first, and everything else is secondary. If you fail to produce the fruit, no matter how healthily you grow it or how advanced your philosophy is, the ultimate result is zero."

"The prerequisite for growing well is to actually grow the crop. This orchard suffers from severe diseases; once you stop using chemical protection, it will likely lead to total crop failure. After a total crop failure, the orchardist will have zero income."

"During the application process, as long as it is properly managed, you can not only control pests and diseases but also achieve a relatively healthy yield. These two things do not conflict."

"If you want to adopt more advanced cultivation philosophies, you can only gradually adjust and transition year by year."

As he spoke, Zhong Di delivered his thoughts rapidly, voicing the flash of inspiration that had just occurred to him.

"Alright, let's talk about our cooperation then!"

The moment Zhong Di finished his first sentence, Zhou Zheng's eyes had already lit up, and they grew progressively brighter. This was precisely the answer he had been looking for!

Especially that statement: production comes first.

That was right. Even if you want to grow safe, healthy, or even organic food, the absolute prerequisite for all of this is that you actually manage to produce the crop in the first place.

Once your crop fails completely, do you still care whether it is safe or healthy?

Following that, Zhong Di and Zhou Zheng engaged in a two-hour discussion, ultimately finalizing various arrangements.

Even as he was leaving, Zhou Zheng remained puzzled: What was this person doing this for? Yes, exactly, what was his motivation? He wanted neither fame nor fortune; he simply handed over these technical solutions without asking for any compensation.

Zhong Di did not publish any technical papers under his own name directly; instead, Zhou Zheng oversaw, revised, and promoted them.

Within the Agricultural Research Institute, Zhou Zheng held considerable authority. As a core technical personnel member, he could make most decisions on his own.

At Zhou Zheng's strong insistence, every single technical article retained Zhong Di's authorship, though the specific placement of the name was of little consequence.

As for Zhong Di, this had always been his stance. If he truly wanted to chase fame and fortune, there were plenty of ways to do so without relying on this method.

He was not lacking in money now. Although there was still a gap compared to the ultra-wealthy, his basic living standards were quite affluent.

By the time Zhong Di returned to his farm, night had just fallen. Over the next period, he needed to write another technical guide regarding pesticide application during the peach production process.

This guide would be broad in scope, covering pesticide use across various aspects, and naturally, it would require a significant amount of time to refine. When exactly it would be completed, Zhong Di was not yet certain.