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

Su Wanqing had just returned home and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath, thinking about asking Liu Shuqing about this matter the next day, when there was a knock on the gate.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Liu Shuqing riding his bicycle, arriving in the dead of night.

Su Wanqing was taken aback: "Secretary Liu? What happened? Is there a problem with the alfalfa seeds?"

Liu Shuqing smiled broadly, his face beaming with pride: "Good news, good news, don't be nervous. It's my master's side. They've finished dealing with all the bearings you gave me before, and they've replaced a lot of parts with them, so they asked me to let you know. They'll have your friend pick up the goods at the usual place tomorrow night." He paused, then added, "I just had nothing to do after dinner, so I strolled over to tell you."

"Okay, okay." Su Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest—she thought something else was going to go wrong.

Once Liu Shuqing started talking, he couldn't stop:

"Dr. Su, I'm so happy today! You don't know, the alfalfa seeds were just harvested and stored today, and I don't know who spread the news about that rhizobium, but this afternoon, the secretaries of more than a dozen farms and counties around here came to my door one after another with gifts and invitations to meals..."

He got more and more excited as he spoke, "Ever since I took office, these people have acted like they're on top of the world. When have they ever given me a second glance? But now, because of these seeds, they've all changed their tune, all meek and submissive, just hoping I won't cut off their quotas—Dr. Su, isn't that satisfying?"

Su Wanqing almost burst out laughing—so, this is all about showing off late at night?

She seized the opportunity and said, "Secretary Liu, I happen to have something I'd like to ask you for help with. You know Xiuer's situation; she wants a divorce. Do you think it's possible to get custody of the child with her? Also, our planting area is expanding; could you give her a proper position?"

Liu Shuqing stopped smiling and thought seriously for a moment: "Logically speaking, in rural areas, children are usually awarded to the father in divorce cases, since they are the Zhao family's offspring. However, it's not entirely impossible—there are two conditions: First, the woman must have a stable job and source of income to prove that she can support the child; second, the man must have committed obvious wrongdoing, such as neglecting the child or failing to support the family."

He lowered his voice: "Our planting site just won first place in the national evaluation, and the higher-ups just happened to give us a few official quotas for 'advanced production backbones.' I'll try to get one for Xiuer. With that official status, plus her salary at the planting site, and if I help her pull some strings, it's still possible to get custody of the child with her."

Having made up her mind, Su Wanqing brought up another matter: "Secretary Liu, I obtained some spawn for shiitake and white fungus in Bincheng before, and it's almost fully propagated now, so we can cultivate it like oyster mushrooms. I'd like to ask if the organization can approve us to set up another shiitake and white fungus cultivation site? Or should we follow the old rule, with the farm providing the capital, and me providing the technology and spawn, and then sharing the profits?"

Upon hearing that it could generate revenue, Liu Shuqing's eyes lit up: "This is great! As long as we don't need funding from above, everything is fine—I'll submit a report later to apply for the establishment of a 'New Edible Fungus Variety Testing and Promotion Base' in the name of the farm. I'm familiar with the approval process, and it should be approved in a few days. Tomorrow, I'll have someone build two more planting rooms next door, and the material costs will come from the money from selling the seeds."

He calculated and said directly, "The profit sharing will remain the same as before: 60% for the production team and 40% for you. You don't need to worry about sales; the production will be sold directly from the production team to the commune's supply and marketing cooperative. It's a direct business transaction, so it's hassle-free."

Su Wanqing immediately agreed.

Liu Shuqing was indeed very efficient. The next morning, construction was in full swing next to the planting house, and the foundations for the two brick houses had already been dug.

When Old Shen came looking for her with a glare and a sneer, Su Wanqing slapped her forehead—oh no, she forgot to tell everyone about this!

Sure enough, she was caught red-handed by Old Shen as soon as she reached the entrance of the planting room.

"Xiao Su! I was wondering this morning why another house was being built next door. I went to ask Liu Shuqing and found out it's because you're setting up some kind of shiitake and silver ear mushroom cultivation site!" Old Shen glared. "When did you get these spawns? Why didn't you tell me?"

Chen Xiuer looked equally bewildered: "Dr. Su, when did we start doing this? How come I didn't know?"

Su Wanqing: "..."

"I've been busy propagating the rhizobium strain these past few days and completely forgot about this," she said with an embarrassed smile. "I just mentioned it to Secretary Liu last night, and who knew he'd send people over to do it this morning..."

Old Shen, blowing his beard, was both anxious and angry: "Shiitake mushrooms and white fungus are rare finds all over the country! They're difficult to cultivate, have low yields, and are still in the experimental stage. Many research institutes haven't even figured them out yet. Don't try to fool Liu Shuqing into building you a few rooms and investing a bunch of materials, only to lose money in the end—that's hundreds of yuan down the drain!"

The technology for growing oyster mushrooms is mature, and people all over the country can enjoy them. However, almost all shiitake mushrooms and white fungus on the market are still wild.

Su Wanqing didn't argue, turned around and went home, took out several glass bottles that had been cultivated long ago, and handed them to Old Shen.

Inside the bottle, dense white mycelia covered the culture medium, thick, snow-white, and vibrant, clearly indicating a high-quality strain with extremely strong vitality.

Old Shen took the bottle, stared wide-eyed at it, and held it up to the light. The anger on his face gradually turned into astonishment, and finally, he was speechless with disbelief.

"Wow, this... how come your mycelium is so robust? The shiitake mushroom strains I cultivated in the agricultural research institute's lab were nowhere near as good as this!"

Su Wanqing just smiled and didn't reply.

Old Shen coughed, cleared his throat, and his attitude made a complete 180-degree turn:

"Um—Xiao Su, I was planning to go back in the next few days, but it looks like… I'll have to stay a little longer." He held the bottle as if it were some rare treasure. "The mycelium of your shiitake mushrooms and white fungus is better than any original strain I've ever seen. If we can really cultivate it on a large scale, the whole country will have to learn from us! We're at the forefront!"

He paused, then asked cautiously, "Xiao Su, I'd like to send a telegram to a few old colleagues at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to let them know about this situation, and ask them to come and visit and learn from us. Is that convenient for you? Giving them some mycelium for propagation would also be helpful..."

Shen Monong could imagine the expressions on those old guys' faces when they received the telegram—something they had studied for so many years without understanding was easily figured out by a young female doctor from a border regiment; their jaws would drop in astonishment.

Su Wanqing smiled and nodded: "Of course. If we can win first place in the country again, I'd be thrilled to receive a tractor or something as a reward."

"Good, good, good! Just hearing that is enough!" Old Shen hugged the bottle, wishing he could rush off to send a telegram right now. "I'll go send the telegram now, and then I'll study this properly when I get back!"