As winter sets in and flowers wither away, a beloved flower among Shanghai citizens is quietly budding—the daffodil. Recently, the reporter learned from the Chongming Baiye Daffodil Cooperative, located in Xianghua Town, that the first batch of potted Chongming daffodils is being prepared for market.

In the production workshop of the Chongming Baiye Daffodil Cooperative, amidst the roar of machinery, bulbs of various sizes are tumbling inside the machines, gradually revealing their moist, jade-like interiors. "The bulbs dug from the ground are air-dried for a while and then 'strip' off their dirty outer layer here," said Lu Yuhua, a worker at the cooperative, as he lifted a basket of daffodil bulbs that had been peeled by the machine and poured them into a nearby pool. He continued to explain that after coming out of the machine, some bulbs still have residual dead skin, which needs to be soaked in the pool for 48 hours, then manually peeled and rooted, and finally soaked in water once more before they can be potted. "We give the daffodils a bath and dress them in new clothes, sending them clean to the citizens' hands. This way, they will be more aesthetically pleasing at home, and the water in the pot won't get dirty or smelly," Lu said with a smile.

In the greenhouse of the cooperative, pots of daffodils with just sprouting leaves are neatly arranged. Nearby, several florists are particularly busy, categorizing and batch-loading daffodil bulbs into pots of different sizes customized from Jingdezhen. Their skilled hands fill a pot of daffodils in just a few minutes. It is reported that next year's Spring Festival will be at the end of January, and in order for citizens to enjoy the blooming beauty of daffodils during the festival, the cooperative has started potting operations recently, planning to release the first batch of potted flowers in early December.

Why do citizens have to wait so long to buy the potted daffodils if they are already ready? "These daffodils still need to undergo a strict 'physical examination' before they can be sent to the citizens," Lu explained. The cooperative has strict regulations for potted flowers sold on the market. During this period, if the potted daffodil bulbs only grow leaves without producing buds, they must be removed and replaced to ensure that all daffodils delivered to customers are capable of blooming.

In addition to potted flowers, cut daffodils, which were popular among citizens last winter and this spring, are also emerging from the soil and are expected to be on sale in mid-to-late December. Citizens can purchase Chongming daffodils from online channels such as the "Shi Jia Hua Xiang" Taobao store, Freshippo, and Dingdong Maicai, as well as offline flower markets like Freshippo stores, Yangjiazhuang Hongqiao Flower Valley in Qingpu District, and Longda Flower Market in Pudong.