Chapter 96: Soybean Seeds
Su He advised Old Madam Su, “Grandma, eating a lighter diet doesn’t mean you can’t have any meat at all—just eat less fatty meat, and reduce oil, salt, and sugar.”
Old Madam Su sobbed, “What’s the point of lean meat? Thick fatty pork slices are so fragrant! Why did I end up with this kind of illness… My life is so bitter…”
As she cried, she happened to catch Old Madam Zhao sneering at her. Instantly, it was as if someone had grabbed her by the throat—she stopped crying immediately.
If she kept crying, wouldn’t she become one of those annoying, constantly sobbing old crones?
Seeing she stopped, Su He added, “Grandma, I’ll bring back more fish and chicken in the future. Tasty and healthy.”
Old Madam Su waved her off. “Su He, I’m just an old woman—whatever I eat is the same. Don’t waste your money. Earning money isn’t easy.”
She didn’t doubt Su He’s ability to bring home food. In her eyes, her granddaughter was a capable one, so it wasn’t surprising.
Su He responded vaguely, but she had already decided to occasionally buy some chicken, duck, and fish from the Exchange Market System to supplement the health of both old women.
At that moment, Old Madam Zhao said, “By the way, Su He, someone named Qin Yan came looking for you today. She said you should go to the agricultural supply office tomorrow.”
Old Madam Su slapped her thigh. “Oh right, I almost forgot! You crying all the time is finally good for something.”
Old Madam Zhao gritted her teeth and said nothing.
Su He guessed Qin Yan had come to inform her that it was time to go to Xu Family Village to plant the fast-growing soybeans.
She’d previously told Qin Yan to let her know if they were going to Xu Family Village—she could hitch a ride there and visit her maternal grandparents.
The visit was an excuse; her real intention was to swap the soybean seeds.
Of course, she didn’t plan to secretly swap them. Breeding and agricultural research was a serious matter. If she made changes on the sly, then when it came time to collect data, the experimental results wouldn’t match, and there’d be no way to trace the problem. That would cause trouble for Professor Qu and the researchers at the Beijing Institute.
She had already thought of a foolproof plan.
Besides the seed swap, there was another matter to deal with.
When she picked up Old Madam Zhao, she had specifically asked Uncle Zhao to speed up the divorce with Li Jinping. She wasn’t sure if he’d done it yet—now was a good time to find out.
The next morning, Su He arrived at the agricultural supply office.
As she guessed, Qin Yan had come to inform her that they were heading to Xu Family Village to plant the fast soybeans.
So Su He got on the small truck from the agricultural office.
The truck cab only had two seats besides the driver’s—one of which was obviously for Professor Qu. The other, he had specifically designated for Su He.
The others at the office were full of envy, but said nothing.
After all, Su He didn’t officially work there, so there were no conflicts of interest. In fact, some even tried to curry favor with her, hoping she’d put in a good word with Professor Qu.
On the truck, Professor Qu was chatting with Su He.
“Lao Xiao from the Beijing Institute doesn’t have much faith in us trialing ‘Jingdou 18’ in An County. He says our soil and climate aren’t suitable, and we’ll lose at least a third of the yield.
Honestly, I’m worried too, but we were pressed for time and couldn’t cultivate a new variety. So we’re going with ‘Jingdou 18’ for now.”
Su He smiled. “Professor Qu, I heard that plants can adapt to their environment over time. Maybe ‘Jingdou 18’ will adjust to An County too.
Oh, and I have an immature idea—don’t laugh at me.”
Professor Qu chuckled, “Why would I laugh? Go ahead.”
“You mentioned that our local soybean variety has a longer growth cycle, so it’s not suitable for summer planting. But that’s only in theory, right? There haven’t been actual summer trials?”
Professor Qu nodded. “That’s true. Our focus has always been on increasing yield—we haven’t looked into that direction. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we should open another test field and use the village’s saved seeds as a control group. Who knows, it might surprise us.”
Professor Qu initially felt it wasn’t necessary. After all, spring and summer soybeans had different growth cycles, and they might not even pod before the first frost.
But since he liked Su He and trusted her instincts, he figured, why not try? Even if it failed, they’d still collect valuable data.
So he nodded. “Alright. We’ll open a small test plot and use the seeds from Xu Family Village.”
Su He beamed. “Great! I’ll talk to the village leader once we get there.”
…
Once they reached the test site, Su He told Professor Qu she was going to visit her grandfather.
When Old Man Zhao saw her, he immediately asked, “Su He, what brings you here? Something happened to your grandma?”
Su He quickly reassured him. “She’s fine. The ag office is here to plant crops, so I hitched a ride to come see you.”
He finally relaxed. “Your grandma must have made you worry. Her temper is hard to change—try to bear with her.”
Su He laughed. “With my other grandma around, she hasn’t cried much lately. She’s in good spirits.”
Old Man Zhao was skeptical, knowing his wife’s temper. Still, seeing how fond Su He was of her grandmother, he was comforted.
Noticing her uncle wasn’t around, Su He asked, “Where’s Uncle?”
“Out working in the fields.”
“And the divorce—is it finalized?”
“Yes, got it done the day after you all left.”
Seeing her grandfather hesitate, Su He asked, “Grandpa, did something happen?”
“Well, not really. Just… that busybody Zhang Woman introduced a new match to your uncle’s ex-wife, so they rushed to finalize the paperwork.”
Su He: “…”
Talk about moving on quickly.
Still, maybe it was for the best—less drama in the future.
“Grandpa, the ag office wants to buy some seeds from the village. Could you take me to the village chief’s house?”
Though puzzled, Old Man Zhao brought her to Village Chief Xu Dachun’s home.
When they explained the reason for their visit, Xu Dachun quickly agreed. He wouldn’t have sold a large quantity, but the office only needed 20 jin (about 10 kg), so that was doable.
Plus, Su He offered a price well above the market rate.
At the warehouse, Su He said she wanted to carefully select the seeds. Xu agreed.
She then signaled her grandfather, who didn’t know what she was planning but still found an excuse to call Xu Dachun outside.
Once he was out, Su He swapped all the seeds in the warehouse.
The village’s saved seeds had no origin tracking, so there would be no issues later. Much of it had already been delivered as public grain and was mixed into large silos—impossible to trace.
The agricultural office could only use what was left in the warehouse.
These seeds—and their harvest—would be used as research samples going forward.
There might still be flaws, but this was the safest solution she could think of.
As for the “Jingdou 18” from the Beijing Institute? It was just there for show.
Once she finished weighing the seeds, Su He returned to her grandfather’s house.
“Grandpa, the ag folks only brought dry rations. Could you make them some dishes?”
He nodded. “Yes, yes! They didn’t blame us last time—this is the least we can do.”
He fried the few eggs left at home, stir-fried some dried radish with lard, and made a pot of mung bean soup with two big spoons of sugar.
When they arrived at the field, the ag folks were just about to eat. Seeing the hot food and sweet soup, they were thrilled and praised Old Man Zhao.
Later on, when the ag office expanded their test fields and lacked manpower, the first person they thought of was Uncle Zhao—but that’s a story for another time.
The ag team finished planting by 3 p.m., and Su He returned to the county with them.
As soon as she got home, Qian Huifang called over the wall, “Little Su, Director Luo from the commune called this afternoon. He asked you to return the call tomorrow.”
Su He thanked her and wondered: could the hair accessories be ready?
That fast?
But it made sense. They were easier to make than the seat cushions, and the factory didn’t order too many—so a few days would be enough.
Sure enough, when she called Director Luo the next day, he told her the hair accessories were done and asked her to notify the textile factory to pick them up.
Su He happily headed to the textile factory to find Director Gao.
Upon seeing her, he laughed, “Little Su! Haven’t seen you in a while. What’ve you been busy with?”
“My grandma hasn’t been well. I’ve been helping her see doctors. Director Gao, the hair accessories are ready—can they be picked up today?”
There happened to be a free truck, so Su He returned to the Huaihua Commune with it.
She spot-checked the goods, found no issues, and gave the go-ahead to load the truck.
Meanwhile, Director Luo pulled her aside. “Little Su, do you think the textile factory will place another order?”
Lately, thanks to Su He’s deals, the commune members had enjoyed real benefits, and he himself had earned praise from the county leadership.
Of course, some people were jealous—like Director Shen from Xiangyang Commune, who mocked her business as short-lived and a one-time deal.
Su He smiled. “I can’t guarantee it, but there’s a good chance.”
“Oh, by the way, Director Luo—I’m our commune’s liaison, right? If I take on a role at another factory, that’s not a conflict, is it?”
“You’re not officially on the books, so it’s fine.”
Director Luo didn’t overthink it. He assumed she just wanted a side role at the textile factory, which might actually bring in more business.
