170 Chapter 170 New Year (6)
“You’ve heard of the plant, chili? It’s the main ingredient for hot pot.” Gu Chengrui asked.
“I know. It’s the red and spicy one.” Second Uncle Gu nodded.
“Yes, we don’t produce chili in this area, so it’s 30% more expensive to import. So we were going to propose that they plant it, and we’d supply the seeds.
“There are also various kinds of vegetables we need. If anyone can grow them, the restaurant will buy from them.” Gu Chengrui replied.
“Farming, huh.” Second Uncle Gu lost interest when he heard this.
“Chengrui, do you know about the production quantity of chili?” Gu Chengzhi asked curiously.
He couldn’t leave for an outstation trip for a year or two because his wife was pregnant. He could try it out if the income from planting chili were good.
“I’m not sure about the details, but I heard it’s more cost-effective than growing normal grains and vegetables, and they don’t need particularly fertile land.” Gu Chengrui replied vaguely.
He only knew that chili in both the interspace and modern times was considered a high-yield crop, but he couldn’t be sure since he had never planted it in these ancient times.
“I’ve seen them before, and the output should not be low.
“When it ripens, the plant will be so filled with red chilis that you can’t even see its leaves. The main point is that it can be planted in mountains or sand, so I think it’s relatively drought-resistant.”
“That sounds good.” Second Uncle Gu said.
“Yup, if it’s successful, it’ll be much better than planting a single crop.” Father Gu nodded.
“How many seeds do you have? Is it enough for everyone?” he asked.
“Yes. We peeled half of the seeds from the chili we bought earlier to plant them ourselves.” Gu Chengrui paused and continued, “But I don’t suggest destroying the grain crop you have planted. After all, they are something to fill your stomach with, and that’s much more important.
“The problem is that we can’t say for sure what the yield will be after planting it, so we recommend using the vegetable garden or some extra land to plant it as a trial.
“If it’s successful, I’ll give more seeds next year.”
“You’re right. Don’t go making empty promises and decisions for others.” Father Gu nodded in agreement.
He felt gratified and sad at the same time.
He was glad that he had matured and was more tactful in his words and actions. He was no longer as stubborn as he used to be.
The unfortunate thing was that he was forced to mature, which caused him to lose his good relationship with them.
After the meal, they sat down and chatted for a while. When Madam Qiao was tired, the young couple took their baskets and went home.
Gu Chengzhi and his wife returned to their bedroom, and he told Mrs. Yang about planting chili. “Darling, I think this is feasible. Let’s buy two acres of barren land and try it.”
“Barren land? But that means we have to plow it up, right? You do know we don’t have any servants now, and I can’t do any work.
“Besides, you’re doing a good job in the workshop; how will you have the time for this?
“If this doesn’t work and you lose the workshop job, what will we do in the future?” Mrs. Yang said in disagreement.
After hearing this, Gu Chengzhi hesitated momentarily and said, “I don’t want to do the job at the workshop anymore. It’s tiring and only earns me a little.
“Now that the Qiao family is gone, I want to take a gamble. Otherwise, our lives will be stagnant like this forever.”
Mrs. Yang fell silent upon hearing this. To be honest, she had had enough of this kind of life where she could neither eat her fill nor starve to death. However, the husband and wife had never suffered before, let alone farming.
She hesitated for a moment. “I think uncle and father will decide on this matter soon. Let’s see what the family will do before we decide if we want to go on ourselves.”