Chapter 122: Expert Chen Xuesen

Seeing the two groups quarrelling furiously, Director Wang shouted at them to stop.

"Alright, since you can't decide, we'll wait until everyone returns tonight and decide at a meeting."

"Chen Hong, after they decide tonight, start the rectification tomorrow."

She said, kicking the broken tile jar beside her.

"Clear away all these eyesore items for me."

"I'll say it once more: the family farm matters concern food, and the district takes it very seriously."

"Anyone who dares to use a stumbling block against me, don't blame our Jiedao for not holding grudges."

Everyone promised in unison, they wouldn't.

Er Dama, seeing everyone finish speaking, asked.

"Director, how many vacant rooms are there in the courtyard now?"

"For example, there's one in the Daozuo room, and an ear room vacant on Sha Zhu's west side."

"Zheng Changgui's family has two."

"If someone moves in later, how will it be counted?"

Director Wang thought it over and said.

"In the Daozuo room, Yan Jiecheng has already applied to rent it as his marital home."

"As for the two rooms of the Mechanical Factory, I'll go ask later; if no one rents or they aren't allocated in the short term, they won't belong to them. In the future, the planting area of this courtyard will be allocated once a year, which can solve unfairness caused by personnel changes."

"With that, any other problems?"

Everyone shook their heads; it's almost settled, they've even thought ahead, so no more issues—any later problems can be dealt with then.

Er Dama was indeed a bit bewildered.

"That's not right, Director—how can Yan Jiecheng apply and get it, but we Guang Qi can't?"

"That's unfair."

Director Wang said irritably.

"I just explained to you, those are Mechanical Factory rooms, not under Jiedao's jurisdiction."

"You come to Jiedao to apply for Mechanical Factory rooms—do you think that's reasonable?"

Er Dama said excitedly.

"Then our family will apply for the ear room on Sha Zhu's west side."

Director Wang waved his hand.

"Don't come to me; that's the steel‑rolling plant's, let your family's Lao Liu apply."

Saying that, Director Wang prepared to leave, but of course he had to say a few words to the old lady before departing.

She smiled, leaned toward the old lady, and whispered.

"Old lady, I've distributed the vegetables you grew; you won't blame me, will you?"

The old lady waved her hand.

"No, no, Yang Qing told me, even the three of us at home can't finish that many vegetables."

"If you don't set up a family farm, I'd give the vegetables away; I can't stand seeing good land left barren, covered with a bunch of broom vegetables."

Director Wang smiled along.

"As long as you don't blame me, that's fine."

"Are you still getting used to living here these days?"

"If you have any difficulties, bring them to me; I won't shirk any responsibility that can be solved."

The old lady gestured with her hand.

"It's fine, it's fine, I'm doing great; Yang Qing and Chen Hong take good care of me, no need for you to worry."

After consoling for a while, Director Wang finally left.

Chen Hong then led the Agricultural Academy people to the backyard and took out the map drawn by Yang Qing.

The blueprint is actually quite simple; besides the cross walkway in Zhengyuan, the four divided sections are the vegetable plots, shaped like the character meaning 'vessel'.

Originally these spots were for planting crabapple, pomegranate, jujube, lilac, magnolia and other trees, but it's unknown who cut them down.

Now planting vegetables in the same places doesn't affect the courtyard's overall aesthetics.

It also won't affect everyone's normal life.

Even Yang Qing designed a grape trellis on his own backyard walkway, truly maximizing space use; it doesn't mar the view and adds extra charm.

Chen Xuesen looked at Yang Qing's blueprint and marked several unreasonable spots with his pen.

"Overall it's okay, but vegetable planting and lighting need consideration; in low‑light areas, plant vegetables that don't require strong sunlight."

"In bright areas, you need to plant sun‑loving vegetables."

"Here, how to match and allocate is the issue; poor allocation easily sparks neighborhood disputes."

"Also, the insect problem: many vegetables and fruits naturally emit scents or pheromones that attract insects; mishandling them can greatly annoy the residents."

"Therefore, I think you should pair plant some insect‑repelling flowers or selectively raise beneficial insects; protecting them is also something you must resolve."

"The final question is, how will you prevent rodent infestations?"

"Rats could be one of the main enemies of this planting activity."

"If no precautions are taken, those wooden racks could be ruined by them quickly, and the vegetables, fruits, etc., would also be devastated."

"If you keep cats to deter rats, how will you prevent the cats from damaging the vegetables and fruits?"

"And the birds."

"Grapes and similar fruits attract birds; often a single bite can ruin a fruit."

The more Professor Chen spoke, the more Chen Hong's brows furrowed.

Since they said it was a real matter, she isn't someone who has never cultivated the land.

Then she thought of something else and smiled.

"The rat problem we can solve; cats can actually be trained as well."

"The insect problem isn't serious either; this is a densely populated place, even if there are insects or birds, they're few, and the courtyard always has people, so any that are discovered can be taken care of."

"We can experiment while we search for methods."

"My husband often says there are always more methods than difficulties."

Chen Xuesen laughed at the words.

"The rest is simple then; this is our special session."

"The fertility issue can be solved with nutrient soil, which is soil formed from decayed branches and leaves in the forest; its fertility is sufficient."

"The disease problem can be addressed with a handbook of common disease treatments."

"This can solve most of the problems."

"The rest is that we have compiled a complete planting manual."

"This will require meticulous effort; we'll come by often to collect data."

"We will, based on seasonal climate, gradually compile a practical, feasible, optimal planting plan."

"If this household planting can continue, we will update it annually to keep pace with people's living development needs."

It seems Director Wang did not disclose Yang Qing's ideas on urban development—from vegetable garden to orchard, to flower garden, to landscape.

This is an endless research topic.

Chen Hong praised.

"This project, with Teacher Chen's involvement, becomes as easy as a wave of the arm, achieving success instantly."

"We're all laymen; we need professionals like you to point us in the right direction."

Chen Xuesen, hearing that, said humbly with a smile.

"You're flattering me, you're flattering me."

"Secretary Chen, I talked so long I almost forgot to introduce you."

"These are Feng Xiao, Wu Qingfeng, and Wu Sujie; they're all my students. They follow me to learn and also do some auxiliary work."

Chen Hong also felt she had been rude.

"My fault, my fault; I was only thinking about the courtyard matters."

"Sorry, sorry."

The few exchanged pleasantries, thus formally forming a group.