Training the Heavens

Chapter 209 Chinese New Year

"Going to the county town? Who wouldn't want to go? Why aren't you going?" Haisheng asked before he remembered, "Oh, I forgot, you're still wearing a hat?"

"Yes, over the years, many people have forgotten that I still wear a hat. This is a good thing for me. I can't let people remember it." Xu Lingjun sighed.

He has been at the ranch for more than ten years. At first, people still remembered his identity, but he was forgotten over time. Guo Xizi, Dong Kuan and others also protected him. Occasionally, when the leaders wanted to pull him out, they would find various excuses, such as going up the mountain to graze recently, to deal with the leaders.

Up to now, Xu Lingjun's life has become no different from that of other people. He doesn't want to attract other people's attention in such things. No one will say anything if he just stays at the ranch and works honestly, but it may not be the same if he goes to the county.

If Xu Lingjun went to the county, he would occupy a position. What would the people whose positions he took think? All it took was a letter of denunciation, and he would be completely finished. All the things he had missed before would fall on his head.

It is almost 74 years now, and there are only two or three years left for him to completely remove the hat. Just wait quietly. Why make yourself uncomfortable at this time?

After explaining the reason, Haisheng understood. "I come from a poor and lower-middle peasant family, and I have a good family background. Even if I go to the county, these things won't happen to me. It will be different if you go there."

"Yes, if I go, not only will I not gain any benefits, I might even get criticized. So it's better for you to go. Regardless of whether you will stay in the county in the future, it's always good to go out and see more of the world."

Whether Haisheng can stay in the county or not, it will be beneficial. If he stays in the county and goes to agricultural school, he can be asked for help in many things in the future; if he does not stay, he can gain experience outside and help himself when he comes back.

"I definitely want to go to the city, but I don't know if I can learn it?" Haisheng scratched his head, still quite yearning for this thing.

"It's not that difficult. You can definitely learn it as long as you study hard. Since you can be a veterinarian, you can learn this. Don't worry, I will teach you step by step. By the time your mushrooms are grown, I think you will have learned it too." Xu Lingjun patted his shoulder. "Okay, let's go see Teacher Li first."

"Yeah." Haisheng agreed readily. Such an opportunity is really rare for ordinary people. Perhaps he will only encounter it a few times in his lifetime. Of course, he must cherish it.

When they arrived at Xu Lingjun's house, while eating and chatting, Li Binggui was quite satisfied with Haisheng. People who can learn to be veterinarians generally have some knowledge of science and are willing to work hard to learn. Such people may be able to teach others how to grow mushrooms after some training.

"Okay, Haisheng, you just follow Lao Xu and learn first. If I'm free, I'll come and take a look. When the mushrooms are harvested, I'll come and test you. If you really learn it, then come with me to the county."

"Hey, thank you, Teacher Li. I will study hard. Just wait and see my performance." Haisheng smiled naively, picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

Li Binggui stayed here for one night and returned to the county early the next morning. As soon as he left, Xu Lingjun got busy. Haisheng, Guo Chenzi, Dong Kuan and others saw that he made money by growing porcini mushrooms, so they naturally wanted to learn from him.

So, the whole production team was busy building mushroom sheds. Several familiar families got together and helped build your house first. After it was built, they came to help my house. When all the mushroom sheds were built, everyone came to Haisheng's house together and followed Xu Lingjun to learn how to make planting substrates.

After learning, they tried to set up the plants on the spot. Xu Lingjun and Li Xiuzhi watched them one by one, quickly correcting any mistakes they saw. After everyone had laid down the substrate in the right quantity and quality, Xu Lingjun distributed the fungus seeds to them. They paid according to the quantity, planted the seeds under Xu Lingjun's guidance, and continued with their daily care and maintenance.

During this process, the differences between each household were revealed. Haisheng understood some scientific knowledge and was willing to put in the effort to learn, so the porcini mushrooms in his family grew the best. Guo Chenzi was a bit careless in character, and he didn't do a good job in daily management, so the growth was relatively worse.

Fortunately, Xu Lingjun was diligent in his inspections and they were willing to obey. When the harvest came, no family lost all their money. Everyone earned some money, some more and some less.

Xu Lingjun ignored the fact that Haisheng had the highest income in the entire production team. After weighing the dried porcini mushrooms, he made a preliminary estimate and found that he earned at least a hundred more than Guo Chenzi.

Guo Zizi wasn't jealous at all. He slapped himself in the face and said, "I let you slack off and disobey me. Now you deserve it, don't you? Over a hundred yuan just flew away like that. How much wine and meat can you buy with that?"

"Just work hard next year. Practice makes perfect. With this year's training, you will definitely harvest more next year when you plant again," Xu Lingjun comforted.

"You have to listen carefully to whatever I say tomorrow, otherwise no matter what others say, my wife will blame me to death." Guo Zizi has learned his lesson.

After everyone's porcini were dried, they happily packed them into sacks, took a tractor, and rattled all the way to the county. Li Binggui once again took them to find the leader of the local products company and exchanged the porcini for money.

Guo Chenzi, Dong Kuan, and Haisheng smeared their fingers with saliva and counted the money happily, muttering as they counted, "When have we ever seen so much money? This year will definitely be a good year."

This time, Xu Lingjun seized the opportunity and treated Niu Guiping, the head of the local produce company, to a delicious meal. After a few drinks, Niu Guiping promised, "We'll harvest so many porcini mushrooms at once. Our local produce company will sell them elsewhere, and everyone will get bonuses this year. This will be a good thing for us, too. So, feel free to plant them and bring them to me. I'll definitely buy them."

"Well, thank you." Xu Lingjun did not doubt what he said. Porcini mushrooms are rare now, and the popularization of cultivation technology is not a matter of one or two years. There will be a shortage of supply for a long time in the future. He can still earn this money for many years.

After returning to the production team, many families immediately started cooking and drinking, and everyone celebrated happily. Xu Lingjun became a busy man. Today he was entertaining guests at one house, and tomorrow he was inviting guests to drink at another house. No matter who invited him to dinner, he had to be treated as a distinguished guest. If it weren't for the fact that his physical fitness had improved and his alcohol tolerance had greatly increased, he might have been drunk to death.

Not long after, heavy snow covered the pasture, and the entire production team went into hibernation. After feeding the horses with grass every day, they had nothing to do and stayed at home.

Xu Lingjun took this opportunity to tutor Li Xiuzhi carefully.

Just like that, before we knew it, the New Year was approaching.

(End of this chapter)