Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

Su Wanqing raised an eyebrow slightly. A retired hospital director? This was a character who hadn't appeared in the original storyline.

She nodded. "Alright, I, Su Wanqing, have nothing to hide. Let's have this old dean be our witness."

Liu Shuqing sighed inwardly.

Why is this Comrade Su so naive? The referee Jiang Weiwei invited is one of their own, isn't he? He'll definitely side with Jiang Weiwei! What's the point of inviting him? He'll just be putting a strain on her.

Su Wanqing smiled slightly. "One of us? Enemy? We'll see about this old dean later."

That evening, Jiang Weiwei secretly increased the yield of her laboratory to ensure that the first batch yielded 250 jin, enough to crush Su Wanqing's yield. Only then did she clap her hands and leave satisfied.

Next, she wanted to see how Su Wanqing could cheat under the old dean's nose.

As for her, the old director knew with his eyes closed that she had secretly added mycelium, but so what? She was backed by the Jiang family, and the old director was a member of the Jiang family. If she participated in the national competition, it meant the Jiang family was participating in the national competition. The old director would definitely have to turn a blind eye!

the next day.

The former dean, named Shen Monong, had retired from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, but his heart remained with agriculture, and his prestige endured. Upon receiving Li Aiguo's report that the 65th Regiment had discovered alfalfa yielding 4000 jin per mu, and that due to a bottleneck in imported seeds, it had already been planted without authorization, he was furious and jumped up and down in anger!

"Nonsense! Absolutely nonsense!"

"How can we put this new variety, which hasn't been tested, into large-scale production? What if it dies on a large scale? Wouldn't that delay the harvest and cause huge losses?! They're being irresponsible with collective property!"

Sure enough, just two days after the regiment sowed the new alfalfa seeds, Dean Shen stormed into the 65th Regiment, fuming with anger.

Inside the command post, as soon as Secretary Li saw Old Shen, he immediately greeted him with a beaming smile: "Oh, Old Shen! What brings you here?"

Shen Monong snorted irritably, "I've come to see your domestic alfalfa, which yields 4000 jin per mu! And you dared to switch varieties without permission! If this stuff isn't good enough, do you know how many cattle and sheep will starve to death in the winter? Enough nonsense, take me to the field right now! If it's only 2000 jin per mu, even if you're someone the Jiang family values, I'll make sure you regret it!"

Knowing the old man's temperament, Li Aiguo quickly led the way himself.

On the way, Shen Monong's anger subsided slightly, and he remembered another matter, "I heard that your group is still vying for a spot at some oyster mushroom experimental site? One of them is Jiang Weiwei, the daughter of Leader Jiang. I'm not surprised that she was able to produce 150 jin of mushrooms in the first batch. It must be those guys from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences secretly helping her behind the scenes."

But this other girl, Su Wanqing, supposedly can produce 200 jin (100 catties) in her first batch? That's utter nonsense! Do I not know the current state of oyster mushroom cultivation nationwide? If it were that easy to achieve such yields, what would be the point of national competitions? We might as well just give out awards!

Party Secretary Li was taken aback. "I really don't know the specific production figures, but Elder Shen, Dr. Su is a reliable person, she shouldn't..."

"Can't do what?" Old Shen interrupted him. "Young Li, it's not that I'm being harsh, but these days young people will do anything for a spot or to get ahead!"

"She's willing to cheat by secretly adding mycelium just for a spot, representing the region in the national competition—that's about collective honor and actual promotion! Her character is questionable; she'll stop at nothing to achieve her goals! Hmph, I'm here now to see how she sneakily got the extra mycelium in!"

Secretary Li smiled wryly to himself, but on the surface he still had to be careful: "Old Shen, what are you saying? How could Dr. Su, a sent-down youth, possibly get access to mycelium from your Agricultural Research Institute? If you don't believe me, I'll trouble you to go and check every day these next few days. Maybe she really did figure out some good method and cultivated it herself?"

Li Aiguo was also feeling uneasy. Could it be that Dr. Su got it from a friend? But she hadn't been on any tours in the past few days.

"Hmph!" Shen Monong snorted. "I don't believe it! If Su Wanqing can really cultivate over 250 jin of fruit using only 100 standard mycelia without any underhanded methods, I, Shen Monong, will personally guarantee her qualification for this experimental site and recommend her for the national competition, without Jiang Weiwei even needing to say anything! I'll personally guide such a down-to-earth and truly capable person!"

He even secretly swore that if he was wrong, he would... he would write the name backwards!

As the two were talking, they arrived at the field where alfalfa was planted.

Dean Shen squatted down and carefully examined the tender shoots that had just broken through the soil. His anger was gradually replaced by surprise, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Mr. Shen, what do you think of these alfalfa seeds?"

"Good! Good! Good!" Shen Monong said three times in a row, "The germination rate of these seeds is indeed much higher than that of imported seeds! However..."

The true yield per acre won't be known until harvest time, three months later. And tell me again, where did these seeds come from? Did some skilled person really cultivate them themselves?

Seeing that Old Shen's attitude had softened, Secretary Li was secretly pleased. "Don't worry, I'll take you somewhere else."

As he spoke, he led Shen Monong to the mountain gully with the enhanced alfalfa.

When Old Shen saw the lush alfalfa growing together, his eyes widened! He practically ran into the alfalfa field, touching and looking at everything, his hands trembling with excitement.

"Wow! This wild alfalfa is growing so well! Judging from the density and the condition of the plants, the yield must be over 5000 jin per mu!"

Li Aiguo gave a thumbs up: "Old Shen, you really saw it coming right away! To be honest, the seeds we planted earlier were provided by Comrade Su Wanqing and an old comrade from the cowshed. But this patch of wild seeds was discovered by Comrade Su Wanqing on her own!"

We plan to select and domesticate the alfalfa seeds after they mature. If we can successfully promote their cultivation, our country will no longer need to spend precious foreign exchange to import seeds in this area!

Shen Monong stroked the thick alfalfa leaves and nodded repeatedly, "Good! Good! If it can really be promoted, it will be a great thing for the whole country's animal husbandry! Now, I'm getting more and more curious about this Comrade Su Wanqing you mentioned."

Taking advantage of the situation, Party Secretary Li said, "Old Shen, after spending some time with Comrade Su Wanqing, you'll naturally understand what kind of person she is. Why don't you come and take a look at the mushroom cultivation site now?"