Chapter 1648: Graduate Student Xia?

Xia Qing calmly answered Jiang Cheng's inquiry and raised a question she was interested in, asking for his advice: "When I entered the territory, this place was already terraced fields. After the territory management department sent people to take samples and test, I learned there was Gao Yi element soil here. Professor Jiang, the Gao Yi element soil in my territory and in Territory One is on the hillside, while the Gao Yi element soil in the other territories is near the river channels. What do you think is the cause of this difference?"

As the lord, it was perfectly reasonable for Xia Qing to be concerned with the formation of high-quality soil.

The experts who were interested in this question stayed where they were; those who weren't either followed Zhang Song and Hu Zi Feng into the terraced fields to continue the tour, or stood on the hillside looking around.

Jiang Cheng answered rigorously, "There are many possible causes for the formation of Gao Yi element soil, and detailed surveying is needed to confirm them. Besides your territory and Territory One, the Gao Yi element soil in Territory Seven was also discovered on a hillside, and was later transferred by Director Fu to a standardized planting greenhouse."

Guo Qingbin, who had been standing nearby listening to Xia Qing and Jiang Cheng's exchange, inferred from Xia Qing's pause that she did not know the Gao Yi element soil in Territory Seven had been moved.

Guo Qingbin noted this key point and continued listening to Xia Qing asking Jiang Cheng questions about Gao Yi element soil.

From these questions and Xia Qing's focused attitude, Guo Qingbin confirmed that Xia Qing was well-versed in soil improvement and crop cultivation, and had a strong interest in them.

The information in the file was accurate—Xia Qing coming out to farm definitely included a factor of personal interest.

Yao Yuanxing had not been able to enter the territory; today, Hu Guangdong, who was in charge of playing the bad cop, cut in, "Director Xia, why don't you transfer this Gao Yi element soil down to the cultivated fields at the foot of the hill, where irrigation and management would be easier?"

Xia Qing replied, "I transferred part of it."

Guo Qingbin, who had not spoken since entering Territory Three, spoke for the first time: "Director Xia, did you transfer the high-quality soil into that white laboratory, or into a greenhouse?"

Xia Qing replied calmly, "Into the laboratory."

Guo Qingbin made a request to visit: "Director Xia, may we visit the laboratory in your territory?"

Xia Qing refused expressionlessly: "The X-2 spinach in my laboratory has entered its mature period, so it's not convenient to visit."

Mature-period spinach, once touched, may spray out spinach seeds, so it really was inconvenient to visit. An expert from Bai Qi Base who was very interested in X-2 spinach cultivation asked, "Director Xia, would you mind telling us the quality of the spinach in your laboratory?"

"The best plant has a Gao Yi element content of 6.75%." Xia Qing paused, then added expressionlessly, "There was originally another plant at 6.8%, but it was damaged last time someone forced their way in to visit."

Thinking about how much supplies Han Yanqian's family had had to compensate for that spinach plant, Hu Guangdong suddenly felt that the points they had been fined at the Ninth Center weren't all that unreasonable...

Hearing Xia Qing say this, Guo Qingbin nodded gently, "It really isn't suitable for a visit right now. I hope this batch of spinach, Director Xia, will burst out seeds that can be cultivated and optimized."

An expert from Bai?

Xia Qing replied, "Because of the windbreak here, the melted snow won't wash away the fermented fertilizer. I'm a high-level strength evolver, so moving heavy objects doesn't take much time."

Hu Guangdong braced himself and asked again, "Since Director Xia is quite efficient at moving heavy objects, why not move the Gao Yi element soil from the terraced fields down to the cultivated fields at the foot of the hill?"

Xia Qing answered directly, "Because I feel that letting this soil stay where it is maintains a higher quality."

Professor Guo didn't speak, so Hu Guangdong could only continue asking, "If it's from a quality standpoint, why doesn't Director Xia build a standardized greenhouse to isolate the Qiang element?"

Xia Qing fixed Hu Guangdong with a sharp gaze, and only after he couldn't take it any longer did she speak: "Every profession has its specialty. If Professor Hu is interested in crop cultivation and soil improvement, please first learn the relevant foundational knowledge before coming to discuss things with me. That way we can improve the efficiency of our exchange and save each other's time."

Hu Guangdong, who hated being called unprofessional the most, instantly widened his eyes.

"Oh, right!"

Zhang Song in the greenhouse spoke up at the right moment, adding an introduction: "I forgot to introduce everyone earlier—Xia Qing is a core member of our institute's crop cultivation team. Her main research direction is crop-soil collaborative improvement research, and her advisor is our director."

Because Zhang Song had his walkie-talkie on, his words weren't only heard by Hu Guangdong—the entire expert team heard them clearly, and everyone was shocked.

Xia Qing... is actually a graduate student supervised by Professor Fu Tianfeng?!

Bai Jiangxia also chimed in to back her up, "My little martial niece is young, and she's also a top sniper—she likes to speak bluntly. Please bear with her, Teacher Hu."

Hu Guangdong!!!

Zhou Fen, a symbiotic defense and resource zoologist from the Red One Research Institute, picked up the thread: "Director Xia, are these terraced fields also the test plots where you cultivate high-stability crops?"

Xia Qing nodded, "Yes."

High-stability crops were the focus of crop research at every base during the years of natural disasters, and the relevant experts were all drawn over to discuss the topic with Xia Qing.

Seeing Xia Qing standing with the agronomists around the stinking dung heap, discussing organic fertilizer fermentation and crop fertilizer-water management, Guo Qingbin, with his hands clasped behind his back, looked at Xia Qing with an increasingly gentle gaze: "Xia Qing has chosen an excellent research direction. Evolution is irreversible. If humanity wants sufficient food, it cannot rely too heavily on standardized greenhouses—it must cultivate and screen for high-stability crops."

Someone took the opportunity to ask, "Professor Guo, at the meeting on the 13th of last month, someone proposed raising the standard for safe food by one point. Do you think that's advisable?"

Bai Jiangxia, who didn't want Xia Qing exposed to too many radical viewpoints, led her aside for a casual chat: "Xia Qing, you said earlier that all of this is wild boar dung?"

"Yes, it's from the wild boars raised in Valley Three of Mountain Forty-Nine." Xia Qing asked, "Would you like to try some green-light wild boar meat, Martial Aunt? I still have a leg of pork in my fridge."

Bai Jiangxia shook her head, "The chickens in your greenhouse were exchanged with Territory Seven? They look even more spirited than Territory Seven's."

Xia Qing immediately launched into an enthusiastic recommendation of her own chickens: "The chickens in my territory are fed green-light vegetables and filtered hot spring water. I also regularly feed them insects, and during Qiang-snow periods I isolate them from the effects of excess Qiang element, so the quality is very good. Would you like to take a few when you leave, Martial Aunt?"

To keep the quality of the chickens in her territory consistent with those in other territories, Xia Qing had switched the water she used to feed her chickens to filtered hot spring water over two months ago. Now the chickens and eggs in Territory Three could be sold externally.

Bai Jiangxia smiled, "I'll take four roosters when I leave. Besides the chicken and pig dung, what kind of dung are those piles up above?"

"Sheep dung, cow dung, and bamboo rat dung..."

The experts stayed in Territory Three for half an hour, then left through the south gate and headed for the next territory.

As Xia Qing stood at the territory gate seeing them off, Guo Qingbin, who was walking at the very back, suddenly asked in a low voice, "Xia Qing, do you know that your advisor has personally trial-used a drug that's still in the research and development stage?"