The next day.

Facing the morning sun, Zhou Yi rode his bicycle all the way to the farmland.

In the Wasteland Era, melons tended to be a bit smaller, but their smooth surfaces were still covered with green stripes, scattered across the fields, presenting a festive atmosphere of a bountiful harvest.

By the edge of the field, agricultural consultant Zheng Tao and the Agricultural Machinery Brothers were inspecting the melons. His brows were furrowed, indicating some kind of inconvenience had occurred.

Zhou Yi stopped his bike, "Old Zheng, what's the matter?"

"Chairman."

Upon seeing him, Zheng Tao couldn't help but smile, "I saw you return yesterday, but you seemed busy, so I didn't want to disturb you..."

"It's time to harvest the late-ripening melons. This year's Sweet Red Gourds are of great quality, deliciously refreshing, but we've encountered a rather unique issue."

He found a melon nearby, pulled out a small knife from his pocket, and skillfully split it in two, revealing the bright red flesh within.

Inside were few seeds, the flesh smooth and full, quite the melon of dreams!

Only the rind was a bit thick.

Zhou Yi took the melon handed to him by Zheng Tao, took a bite, and savored its sweet crunchiness.

Eating a melon again after so many years, he couldn't help but close his eyes to enjoy it thoroughly.

As he ate the melon, Zhou Yi asked, "What's the unusual problem?"

"The quality is too high."

Zheng Tao showed a somewhat embarrassed expression, "We have no idea how we managed to cultivate such high-quality Sweet Red Gourds."

"The seeds were just good quality, not exceptional, and while the soil is suitable, it's far from outstanding. Normally, Sweet Red Gourds wouldn't be this sweet and the texture would be a bit softer. But the melons we've grown here in the first year are already comparable to the best varieties on the market."

Zhou Yi was puzzled, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Chairman, if we can't figure out the reason, we might see significant fluctuations in the quality of the melons we cultivate. Under normal circumstances, it's impossible to cultivate such high-quality melons in the first generation."

Zheng Tao said seriously, "For the company's export image, this is crucial. If the company exports melons of this quality this summer but the next summer produces astringent ones, it will definitely be suspected of deliberately selecting inferior products."

Tie Ma also voiced his opinion through the loudspeaker, "We've carefully checked this land, from the soil to the water source, to the insects within. Nemo, leading the sand rats, has also been a great help. We narrowed down the interfering factors and found it might relate to two things."

"The first is volcanic ash. The natural fertilizer from years of accumulated volcanic ash here contains fragments that lock in moisture well and also hold a wealth of mineral elements."

"The second is clawed pig manure, which we've added in part. This component is very complex, possibly related to the clawed pig's internal gut structure ecology, to parasites, or even the Northern Forest Sheep they hunt..."

"Maybe we need to bring together experts in agricultural machinery, geology, and wildlife to pinpoint the exact reason."

Zhou Yi felt strangely amused.

He couldn't help but say, "I don't understand the specifics, but this problem seems easy to handle."

"According to the quality of different melons, we could just make different brands and price points, right? If this season is high quality, we call it 'Volcano Melon,' signifying the high-quality Sweet Red Gourd cultivated from the volcano. If the quality is slightly lower next season, we call it 'Sand Melon,' and sell it cheaper. After all, we don't only make Sweet Red Gourds. Whatever kind of melons we get, that's what we'll sell."

Zheng Tao froze, then slapped his forehead, "Ah, I've gotten old. I got fixated on one approach. Right, what's important is the price. As long as the price is right, we can sell melons of any quality."

But Tie Ma still insisted on a technical approach, "But the local Sweet Red Gourds are really good quality, we should strive to replicate this variety."

Zhou Yi chatted with them some more before he finally understood.

The key was a difference in expectations.

Zheng Tao and the Agricultural Machinery Brothers, having seen the birth of high-quality melons, wanted to develop high-end fruits. This would require ensuring consistently high quality, increasing the demands on the company's agricultural sector.

He, on the other hand, was simply trying to grow ordinary edible melons to feed the company's employees and provide affordable melons to the new humans in the Sand Port Region.

Hence, there was a mismatch in perspectives.

Once their thinking was realigned, Zheng Tao felt visibly relieved, "Chairman, summer has now arrived and our 500 acres of melon fields are ready for harvest. Excluding normal loss, we can collect 75,000 Sweet Red Gourds."

Zhou Yi said, "Then let's harvest. Distribute one to each employee as a benefit, but in batches to avoid waste."

"Yes."

"As for the remaining melons, proceed with the original plan to sell them in Sand Port. But also save some for our own use."

"Yes."

Tie Ma added, "Chairman, we've tried planting some legumes in the past few months and found that pod beans grow best here."

It drove over to a nearby test field, showcasing the legume results.

Pod beans are actually edamame, or soybeans. They hang in bunches on the stalks, but the beans themselves are not yet full.

"Pod beans take a long time to grow, usually 3 to 4 months. If sown now, they can be harvested in the fall. They serve a wide range of purposes, including nitrogen fixation, making them excellent natural nitrogen fertilizers, and can produce legumes with a decent taste. Most importantly, they can be rotated with grassy plants."

"With pod beans to improve the soil, wheat will have a basis for sowing."

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