Chapter 330 – Planting Fruit Trees
“Ningning, this money is for you.”
After selling the Tianqi and Fu Ling, Xu Xiangdong set aside part of the money and, after discussing it with his wife, decided to give it to Xu Jinning.
Xu Jinning was surprised. “Big brother, why are you giving me money? It’s not even New Year’s yet. Are you giving me a red envelope early?”
“No, this is part of the money from selling the herbs.”
“Then why are you giving it to me? You should give it to my sister-in-law.”
In the Xu family, once married, the wives managed the finances, which was perfectly normal.
Xu Jinning, momentarily confused, didn’t understand.
“Ningning, it was your suggestion to plant Tianqi and Fu Ling. Without your advice, I wouldn’t have planted these herbs and wouldn’t have made this much money, so…”
So, it was only right to share this money with Xu Jinning.
He agreed, and so did Yulan.
Xu Jinning immediately understood what her big brother meant, but she felt a bit angry.
“Big brother, do you still consider me your sister?”
“If you do, then don’t say such things. We’re siblings; there’s no need to be so calculative.”
“Besides, I only made a suggestion. Even though it was my suggestion, you and sister-in-law are the ones who actually planted the herbs and made them grow bit by bit. The real hard work was done by you two.”
“If you say that because of my suggestion you made money from the herbs, then what if it had failed or you had lost money? Would you have asked me for money then?”
“Of course not!” Xu Xiangdong immediately denied.
“Exactly.”
“Sigh.” Xu Xiangdong suddenly realized the meaning behind Xu Jinning’s words.
However, both he and Yulan really wanted to share the money with Ningning.
“Alright, if you say so, then I won’t give it to you.”
“That’s how it should be, big brother. Don’t be so calculative with me.”
Seeing that Xu Xiangdong no longer insisted on giving her the money, Xu Jinning breathed a sigh of relief.
As a family member, she didn’t like to be so calculative.
But what Xu Jinning didn’t know was that although Xu Xiangdong agreed on the surface, he planned to give the money to their mother to save for Ningning. He intended for it to be part of Ningning’s dowry when she got married.
He knew that Xiangbei, after starting his business, had also saved some money with their mother, intending it for Ningning as well.
Yes, that’s what he would do. Since Ningning didn’t want it, he would save it with their mother.
“By the way, Ningning, do you think I should continue planting medicinal herbs?” Xu Xiangdong asked again.
Now that the Tianqi and Fu Ling had been harvested, the mountain land was empty.
Xu Jinning thought for a moment and said, “Big brother, I think you could plant fruit trees, like grapes, strawberries, dragon fruit, and things like that.”
She remembered reading in a book that the soil and sunlight in Anren County, where the Qinghe Production Brigade was located, were very suitable for growing these fruits.
Later on, the grapes, strawberries, and dragon fruits planted in Anren County became widely known across the country.
Whenever Anren County was mentioned, everyone knew that the grapes, strawberries, and dragon fruits from there were the best-tasting.
Eventually, they even began exporting these fruits abroad.
So, big brother can definitely plant these three fruits.
“Ningning, I know about grapes, but I’ve only heard of strawberries and dragon fruits. I’ve never seen them.” Having never seen them, he naturally hadn’t eaten them and didn’t know how to plant them.
He knew about apples, tangerines, and oranges…he had seen those, but the three Ningning mentioned…
The latter two, he had only heard of and vaguely remembered as types of fruits.
As for grapes, he had seen them but hadn’t eaten them either.
Hearing Xu Xiangdong’s words, Xu Jinning realized that at this time, Anren County hadn’t introduced these three fruits yet.
They wouldn’t be introduced until 1986, and now it was the end of 1982. If she suggested her big brother plant these fruits now, it would be three to four years early.
Being early wasn’t a bad thing.
It meant the opportunity came earlier, and the time to make money also came earlier.
The only issue was…
These fruits hadn’t been introduced to Anren County yet, so how could she have her big brother plant them?
“Big brother, I’ll bring you the seedlings and the planting methods when I go to Beijing for school next year. For now, you can prepare the soil and start fertilizing.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then.”
At this point, if it were anyone else, they might doubt the suggestion due to the lack of seedlings and planting knowledge, especially since no one in Anren County had planted these fruits. They might think the person making the suggestion was unreliable and choose to give up or be skeptical.
But Xu Xiangdong wasn’t like that.
In the Xu family, any suggestion made by Xu Jinning was taken seriously and followed.
Because they knew Xu Jinning wouldn’t suggest something without reason; if she brought it up, she definitely had a basis.
And following Ningning’s choices, they were surely right, maybe even able to earn big money.
So, there was no room for questioning or giving up.
Actually, Xu Xiangdong couldn’t find a way.
Xu Jinning could suggest planting these three fruits because the book mentioned their future value.
If Xu Xiangdong could really grow them, as the first in Anren County to plant these three fruits, making big money would be a piece of cake.
Originally, Xu Jinning was planning to return to Beijing after the holiday to look for seedlings and books.
But a few days later, when she called Xie Ting’an and mentioned this incidentally, Xie Ting’an on the other end of the phone said, “Have you forgotten that I’m in Beijing now?”
“Leave this to me. Just in a short while, my grandfather and I will be visiting you for the Spring Festival.”
“Seedlings and books, leave them to me. I have a car, so I’ll bring them over when the time comes.”
“Oh, that works too. Then, Brother Ting’an, I’ll leave it to you.”
Handing this matter over to Xie Ting’an, Xu Jinning had no psychological burden at all; she even felt it was only natural.
Because this was Xie Ting’an, her boyfriend, soon-to-be fiancé, and future husband.
Now, asking Xie Ting’an for help was no big deal.
And she knew Xie Ting’an genuinely wanted to help.
Xu Jinning’s idea was indeed correct.
Being able to help Xu Jinning made Xie Ting’an happy beyond measure; how could he find it troublesome?
He didn’t need Xu Jinning to thank him.
That’s how he felt that Xu Jinning really regarded him as her future husband; they were one in spirit.
Since they were united, there was no need for formality.
Moreover, finding seedlings and books was a small matter for Xie Ting’an.
He always kept Xu Jinning’s matters close to his heart.
So, after hanging up the phone, he began to search for seedlings and books.
Books were easy to find, but for the seedlings, he needed to choose carefully—selecting ones with good quality, shorter planting times, excellent fruit quality, and high survivability.
