Chapter 30 – Improving Crop Varieties and Farming Techniques

Zhong Shuhe and Yu Mo looked at Lin Ting with curiosity, pulling her aside and asking, “So, what exactly is going on? Tell us everything!”

Lin Ting didn’t want her parents to be misunderstood as people who forced someone to marry their daughter by using a young man’s future as leverage. At the same time, she also wanted to expose Chen Li’s true nature.

So she selectively shared part of the story:
“Chen Li got engaged to his professor’s daughter for a chance to get a permanent position. Later, his rural fiancée, Li Haitang, came into the city to see him and caught him being unfaithful. His city fiancée saw the whole thing and made a huge scene, and that’s how the engagement was called off.”

Zhong Shuhe mused, “If Xu Zhaoying knew that Chen Li had already been dumped by the city girl, she’d probably be devastated.”

Yu Mo frowned in disgust. “And here I thought Chen Li was a devoted man. Turns out he’s just another heartless jerk! I feel bad for both of those girls—he totally fooled them!”

Lin Ting thought to herself: Yes, in my past life, I really was pitiful.
But in this life, she wasn’t going to be that foolish again—she was going to take charge of her fate.

Her gaze fell on the newly made hydrated lime in the corner. Just making fertilizer to increase crop yields wasn’t enough. She needed to improve crop varieties and farming techniques.

For example, by crossbreeding high-yield crops with local cold-resistant varieties, she could select new types that were both productive and adapted to the local climate.
She also wanted to promote crop growth through methods like heat-retaining seedbeds and integrated water and fertilizer management.

Suddenly inspired, Lin Ting quickly headed to the village leader’s house.

“What? You want a piece of land to use as a test field?”

The team leader looked just as shocked as when he learned Chen Li was only a temporary worker in the city.

But Lin Ting had expected this reaction. She calmly explained her plan:
“I want to crossbreed high-yield rice with our local cold-resistant varieties. Through artificial pollination, we can select types that are both high-yielding and cold-tolerant.”

“And by using improved techniques to shorten the rice’s growth period, we can ensure it matures before the first frost.”

To others, this might sound like fantasy, but Lin Ting believed she could pull it off.

The team leader fell silent for a long time, then went to shut the door.

“Your parents even taught you that?”

Lin Ting smiled, “You could say I picked it up from being around them all the time.”

He frowned. “What you just described doesn’t sound simple at all. Can a high school graduate like you really pull this off?”

Calmly, Lin Ting replied, “You’re trading a piece of unused wasteland for a shot at increasing your rice yields. It’s not like you’re losing anything.”

That shut the team leader up—he had to admit, they had plenty of unused land in Qingshan Brigade.

After a moment of thought, he said, “There’s a patch of wasteland at the foot of the mountain. Pick a spot a bit further from the old houses for your experimental field.”

Then he added, “I’m only giving you the land. Everything else is up to you.”

In truth, the team leader had mixed feelings. He hoped she would succeed and help their brigade become a model one.
But he also didn’t want a young woman to carry such a heavy burden.

“No problem. I’ll figure out the rest myself,” Lin Ting said cheerfully.

The first thing she did after returning was write a letter to Zhou Tao, asking him to help source some high-yield rice seeds from the south.

At the same time, she would try to obtain some local cold-resistant rice varieties.

From what she knew, the best rice yields in the entire Hongqi Commune came from the neighboring Huaijia Brigade, which also happened to be the first in the area to install a telephone.

Unlike them, Qingshan Brigade’s office didn’t even have a phone. Anytime someone needed to make a call, they had to run over to the next village. That was one reason Qingshan Brigade couldn’t hold its head high.

Lin Ting took action immediately. She went straight to the Huaijia Brigade and explained her purpose:

“I’ll trade a recipe for making fertilizer in exchange for your best rice seeds.”

The Huaijia team leader eyed her suspiciously. This young woman looked like she was trying to pull a fast one.

How could a “zhiqing” (educated youth) know how to make fertilizer?

But Lin Ting wasn’t in a rush. She took out a small jug from her basket.
“This is a wood ash solution. It helps prevent aphids.”

“I noticed your vegetable patches have leaves full of pest damage. This will solve that.”

The team leader raised an eyebrow. “Is it real?”

Lin Ting confidently replied, “If you don’t believe me, go ask around Qingshan Brigade. Plenty of families there are already using it.”

He hesitantly accepted the bottle, then said, “You’re a bit late. We already finished transplanting this year’s seedlings. There aren’t many seeds left.”

“I’ll take however much you have,” Lin Ting said quickly.

He looked puzzled. “Planting season is basically over. What are you going to do with them?”

“I’m going to plant them. In the south, some regions plant a second round of rice in the second half of the year. So no worries.”

The team leader snorted. He thought this girl was dreaming.

“Sure, that’s in the south. Here in the northeast, you need your rice to mature before the frost hits, or the whole season’s wasted.”

“Rice seeds are valuable—we can’t let you waste them.”

Lin Ting didn’t argue. She briefly explained her approach:
“If the temperature’s too low, we’ll use heat-retaining methods. If the soil’s not fertile enough, we’ll add organic fertilizer. If pests invade, we’ll use natural enemies or biological pesticides… In short, whatever the problem is, I’ll find a solution.”

The team leader’s eyes lit up. This young woman clearly knew what she was talking about.

He thought to himself: So this is what they mean by “educated youth”—young people using their knowledge to help build the country.

“I’ll give you the seeds—but on one condition.”

“What’s the condition?” Lin Ting asked.

“You give me all your fertilizer recipes.”

Lin Ting paused, then smiled. “No problem.”

She never intended to keep the fertilizer formulas a secret—they were just tools to support production.
And making them required some chemical knowledge, not something the average person could do easily.

The team leader gave her pen and paper, and Lin Ting wrote down several fertilizer recipes that could be made by hand.

“These are ones your members should be able to manage. Just follow the instructions, and there won’t be any safety issues.”

The team leader was thrilled. “If we run into any problems, you’ll help us troubleshoot, right?”

“Of course,” Lin Ting said readily.

She brought back a bag of seeds—enough to plant about three-tenths of an acre. That was more than enough for her.

News that she planned to grow rice on wasteland spread quickly across Qingshan Brigade. Most people didn’t believe in her.

“She’s only worked in the fields a few times and thinks she can grow rice just because she knows how to transplant seedlings and make basic fertilizer?”

“By the time her seeds sprout and grow into seedlings, planting season will be long over!”

“I bet the frost will hit before her rice even matures!”

“And the team leader just let her do this?”

“She even borrowed seeds from Huaijia Brigade—what if they end up laughing at us!”