Riding the wind of rebirth

"That's right." Li Yutang said, "In 1986, Tunisia established diplomatic relations with my country and presented six Tunisian pomegranate seedlings to my country as a state gift. They were planted at the Heyin Pomegranate Base in Xingyang and cultivated by engineers from the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

"But since we didn't know that Tunisian pomegranates are afraid of cold weather, four of them died that winter. To be on the safe side, the remaining two seedlings were transplanted to the nursery greenhouse as the mother plant for grafting, and propagated using Heyin pomegranates as rootstocks."

"After several years of improvement and selection, we have also cultivated a pomegranate that is suitable for growing in China's red and white soils, but the shape is not outstanding. Except for the size and density of the fruit, which retain the foreign characteristics, the other characteristics are more similar to the characteristics of the Heyin pomegranate."

"Tunisian pomegranates are round and full in shape, with a thin skin. The weight of a single fruit is said to be up to 400 grams. The key is that the seeds are full and compact, with rich juice, soft and sweet. The best feature is that the pomegranate seeds are small and soft, easy to chew, and can be swallowed directly after chewing."

"Eh? These characteristics are very similar to the way we cultivate pomegranates!" Zhou Zhi said.

"Yes, inspired by you, when we were asking about the pomegranate planting environment, scale and local high-quality varieties in the autonomous prefecture, we also wanted to inquire about the development of other pomegranate producing areas. As a result, we alerted the comrades from the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The situation in our autonomous prefecture surprised and delighted them."

"Liangshan Prefecture has a warm climate and long sunshine hours, so there are excellent pomegranate varieties locally. They are soft-seeded like Tunisian pomegranates. Except for their size and appearance, which are not as beautiful as Tunisian pomegranates, their sugar, water and edible rate are comparable, which makes the comrades of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences very interested."

"The government is now preparing to carry out a trial expansion of Tunisian pomegranates in our autonomous prefecture. Our autonomous prefecture is of course responding positively and is currently considering the location."

"Then does our Meigu Lianhe Township have an advantage over traditional pomegranate areas like Huili?" Zhou Zhi asked.

This young man was really smart, and he pointed out the key point in one sentence. Li Yutang smiled and said, "If we just need to find rootstock, Lianhe Township certainly doesn't have any advantages at all."

This is the law of nature. The rootstock is an old tree. Some branches are cut off and grafted with branches of new varieties. Lianhe Township does not even have pomegranates, so it is naturally unable to provide old trees as rootstocks. This is the unique advantage of Huili County.

"But Henan Province has been developing for so many years, and not all the branches left on the two mother trees are used for grafting."

Zhou Zhi slapped his thigh and said, "High branch layering can produce seedlings with the same characteristics as the mother plant! There is no way the experts from the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences would not try this approach!"

"Eh?" Li Yutang was really a little surprised: "Elbow, you are really familiar with farm work. You know all this!"

"Because our hometown Zhenlong Township once discovered a mutant pomelo that was tender, sweet, and not sour, our local agricultural science institute is using branch grafting and high-branch layering to expand the plant. Now it is gradually gaining scale and forming a regional variety advantage."

"Now that you know, it's easy." Li Yutang continued, "Experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences will come over to investigate. In addition to the pomegranate base in Huili County to be grafted and propagated, they will also choose a place without pomegranate trees around to breed seedlings obtained through high-branch layering. It seems that they want to be isolated from local pomegranates and prevent cross-gene contamination." "That's right." Zhou Zhi nodded, "These seedlings obtained through high-branch layering are theoretically genetically identical to the Tunisian mother plant. When they are placed here for breeding, there is another important task, which is that they will become mother plants again when they grow up and be used as variety resources for grafting and further high-branch layering."

"Then our Lianhe Township can be used as this base!" Wu Renzhong just didn't know much about agriculture and rural conditions, but that didn't mean he was stupid: "We don't need to sell fruit in the future! We can sell saplings!"

"Wow!" Li Yutang's eyes actually showed a hint of surprise: "The fact that you can think of this shows that Renzhong has made great progress during this period of time!"

"If that's the case, can we ask the experts from the Autonomous Prefecture Academy of Agricultural Sciences to visit our Lianhe Township first?" Wu Renzhong was greatly encouraged by his brother-in-law's praise: "Can they conduct an early investigation of the climate and soil and help us identify a suitable area? That way... we can win at the starting line?"

This time, Li Yutang just held the wine glass, smiled and said nothing.

"Brother Li needs to consider the overall situation of the autonomous prefecture. He needs to be fair. He is very considerate to tell us this information. How can he take care of the rest?" Zhou Zhi smiled and picked up the cup, clinking it with Li Yutang and Wu Renzhong. "We have to do this ourselves. Doesn't Shama have a classmate? Let her help us contact the experts. As for the funding, I will take care of it. The rich people who sponsored our school's research now like to do charity to gain fame. Besides, this matter doesn't cost much."

After that, he clinked his cup with Shama, Liu Mei'e, and A Zi. "Shama, tell your classmates that we have attracted the charity fund of Hong Kong businessmen, but they are not the kind of people who will not give out funds until they see a project that has landed. After discussion, our village wants to develop pomegranate planting as an industry. We asked the comrades from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to help us investigate and plan. As for the Tunisian pomegranate, we will not mention it at all."

"A big reward will always bring a brave man. Shama, tell your classmates that Hong Kong businessmen are very wealthy. If they help our township investigate the pomegranate base, we will pay them half a year's salary as labor fees."

"Giving so much?! They will be so happy!" Shama herself is also a small wealthy woman, but her main income comes from English training classes during the holidays. This is a common phenomenon nowadays. She also knows the feeling of "a horse cannot grow fat without night grass". Then she thought of another question: "If someone asks me which Hong Kong businessman I am from, what should I say?"

"If someone insists on asking, just say AXA Fund." Zhou Zhi said, "Let them pay some money. I am still confident."

"That would be great." Li Yutang raised his glass: "Come on, let's have another drink together. I wish you great success in Lianhe Township!"

"Ren Zhong, although Elbow is younger than you, you can see how steady he is in his work and how thoughtful he is." Liu Mei'e said, "You should learn more from him."

Wu Renzhong said cheerfully: "I seem to have understood a little bit recently. I won't say more. The friendship between the two brothers is all in the wine. Cheers!" (End of this chapter)