The three of them pushed their carts back to the pigpen and stored them in a corner. Just as they were about to leave, Jiang Ziyu said, "Brother Chenmo, if possible, could you sell me some of your fertilizer?"
Li Chenmo hesitated before replying, "Brother Jiang, it's not that I don't want to, but as you heard from my second brother, most of my fertilizer has been taken by the brigade. We barely have enough for ourselves."
"Is there really no way? Even just a few buckets would do," Jiang Ziyu pressed.
"This—" Li Chenmo frowned.
Watching his brother hesitate, Li Lingyun immediately understood the situation. He glanced at his friend and silently lit a candle for him.
He knew his third brother well—there was no way he was so generous as to give all his fertilizer to the brigade. He had definitely kept some in reserve. The real issue wasn't a lack of supply. It was that the price hadn't been named yet.
Just as he was about to speak and help negotiate, Li Chenmo suddenly said, "Brother Jiang, I can't spare any pig manure fertilizer. But my wife and I have made another type."
Jiang Ziyu's eyes lit up at his words and asked, "Brother Chenmo, what kind of fertilizer?"
"This one is made from decomposed leaves. While it may not be as good as the one made from pig manure, its quality is still better than what's sold at the state-owned store," Li Chenmo explained.
"Can I see it?" Jiang Ziyu asked eagerly.
Li Chenmo thought for a moment before responding, "I need to discuss it with my wife first. How about you visit my house in two hours?"
Though eager, Jiang Ziyu knew he couldn't push too hard. If he did, he might lose his chance to buy the fertilizer altogether. So, he nodded readily, "Alright."
With their agreement settled, the three men left the pigpen.
When he returned from the pigpen, Li Chenmo saw his wife was busy in the kitchen through the open window. After placing the empty buckets aside, he washed the dirt off his body before stepping inside.
As he entered, he asked, "Wife, what are you making?"
Hearing his voice, Lu Jueyu turned around and smiled, "Husband, you are back."
Lifting the bamboo steamer from the wok, she said, "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted dim sum for breakfast? I made some for you today."
Walking over, Li Chenmo glanced at the dishes and smiled, "Thank you, wife."
"Help me take them to the living room. The children have been waiting for you," she said with a smile.
Carrying the steamer, Li Chenmo walked to the living room and placed the plates on the table. Har gow, chive dumplings, tangbao, shumai, tofu skin rolls, spring rolls, rice noodle rolls, turnip cake, and century egg and pork porridge.
The tool, similar to a mill, saved a lot of time and effort in breaking down the bamboo. Once crushed, the bamboo would be soaked in a natural enzyme solution they put in a big water vat.
As they worked, Li Chenmo said, "Wife, my second brother and his friend will be visiting later. Can you take out some compost from your space?"
Hearing this, Lu Jueyu looked at her husband and asked, "Husband, why the sudden decision to take out the compost?"
"Well, my second brother's friend wants to buy our fertilizer. Since we didn't have enough, I told him that we made another type using decomposed leaves. He was interested and wanted to see it," Li Chenmo explained.
Understanding her husband's plan, Lu Jueyu nodded. Given the ongoing food shortage, spreading their space's products through trusted people wasn't a bad idea. Maybe their fertilizer could help people avoid crop failure next year.
"Husband, how much compost should we prepare?" she asked.
Li Chenmo thought for a moment before replying, "Since no one has used this type of fertilizer before, I doubt he will buy too much at once. Let's prepare around 500 sacks first."
"Alright."
After she finished processing the bamboo, she walked to the corner behind the greenhouse in the backyard. With a wave of her hand, she took out nearly 600 sacks of compost from her space.
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