Chapter 66: Cooperative Farming

Jiang Liyun was unaware of Sun Jinshan’s thoughts. She inquired in detail about Sun Jinshan’s experiences in Shanghai, and she was quite satisfied with the results of his efforts.

Sun Jinshan visited numerous restaurants, both large and small. Some agreed to purchase his chicken, but others rejected him.

Although Sun Jinshan didn’t elaborate on the rejections, Jiang Liyun knew it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Having experience in business herself, she understood that while some might be willing to give it a try, many would dismiss him outright.

If it were Jiang Lihai, he would likely feel embarrassed and might even hesitate to approach other restaurants. Sun Jinshan, on the other hand, confidently continued his efforts, showcasing his resilience.

Jiang Liyun took out her accounting book and said, “During this period, I’ve collected over three thousand chickens, and we currently have around seven thousand chicken legs. The average weight of the chicken legs is 190 grammes, totalling approximately 1300 kilogrammes.”

She briefly explained her situation. Selling chicken legs and wings separately commands higher prices than selling the whole chicken. There’s a saying that by selling chicken legs, wings, and breasts, the cost of raising the chicken is covered. The remaining parts, like claws, frames, and internal organs, when sold, contribute to pure profit.

Jiang Liyun calculated, “When the brick and tile factory’s fleet goes to Shanghai next time, we can rent a boat and send all this chicken meat. We should be able to make a good profit.”

She estimated that even with the current chicken prices slightly higher than before, the profit from selling the processed chicken parts would still be substantial.

In today’s market, some frozen goods from abroad, especially smuggled ones, have entered the domestic market. However, these are mostly chicken claws, wingtips, frames, pig hooves, etc. Chicken legs, on the other hand, are scarce on the domestic market.

Jiang Liyun remembered from her previous life, during her early days after divorce, when her child constantly demanded meat. At that time, she didn’t have much money, so she bought chicken frames to cook. In the 1990s, chicken frames were popular in the north-east due to many state-owned enterprise employees being laid off, and people couldn’t afford to buy whole chickens, opting for chicken frames instead.

Today is January 22, 1988, and there’s less than a month until the Chinese New Year. With a sales channel established, she decided to increase chicken purchases to capitalise on the upcoming festivities.

Furthermore, she could now proceed with contacting villagers to start chicken farming. The opening of her breakfast shop was imminent, and she anticipated a busy period leading up to the Chinese New Year.

Jiang Liyun made a decision: “The day after tomorrow is suitable for the opening. Liyun Breakfast Shop will start business then. I’ll be busy these two days. Sun Jinshan, you and my brother can go around our village and check for people interested in signing contracts for chicken farming. Once I’m done, I’ll draft the contracts, and everyone can sign them.”

Actually, she has already prepared templates for contracts and such, but there are quite a few contracts to sign, so she needs help with printing.

“Great!” Sun Jinshan exclaimed, feeling the urge to make a big move.

After some thought, Jiang Liyun suggested, “You can inform the township first; it would make things more convenient, and maybe the township is willing to take the lead.”

For the local officials, achieving prosperity for the people in their township would be a solid accomplishment.

They were very willing to lead initiatives for wealth creation!

What they were about to do had a high probability of getting support from the township.

“Okay,” Sun Jinshan agreed.

Liyun’s breakfast shop is set to open the day after tomorrow, requiring extensive preparations.

In the afternoon, Jiang Liyun returned to the town.

Meanwhile, Sun Jinshan and Jiang Lihai, accompanied by Jiang Liping, went to the township.

Jiang Lihai didn’t want to bring Jiang Liping, but since she insisted, he couldn’t refuse.

However, during the journey, Sun Jinshan and Jiang Liping engaged in lively conversation, leaving him silently trailing behind. He felt somewhat redundant.

He wanted to find an opportunity to speak privately with Jiang Liping but couldn’t find one.

Moreover, he noticed that Jiang Liping was quite impressive. When they discussed cooperation with the township officials, while Sun Jinshan emphasised Shanghai, Jiang Liping focused on praising the local and county officials.

Jiang Liping smiled gently, but her words were surprising: “I met Mayor Lu in town before, and he mentioned that the next focus is on the economy.”

“The Deputy Secretary in town also said similar things.”

“When the former deputy county mayor visited the town…”

…

Jiang Liping indeed knew a lot about these matters.

Her first love’s parents used to work in the town government in high positions and were later transferred to the county.

During her time with her first love, she learned a lot and thought she had entered a certain circle. She believed she would marry him and work in a government office.

Unfortunately, once her first love’s family left, she was immediately ostracised from that circle.

But now, she could boast about it.

The township government officials were astonished!

They initially thought Jiang Lihai was well-educated, and now they have discovered Jiang Liyun’s capabilities.

Now… The reputation of the Jiang family’s eldest daughter isn’t that great, but she knows quite a bit.

The Jiang family is not simple at all!

Listening to Jiang Liping, Sun Jinshan is even more impressed by her.

He thought Jiang Liyun was impressive, but Jiang Liping seems even more so!

In the end, after some discussion, it was agreed that the township government would facilitate the collaboration between Jiang Liyun, Sun Jinshan, and the chicken farmers in Hongxing Township. The farmers would buy cheap chicks and feed them, and once the chickens grew, they could sell them directly to Jiang Liyun and Sun Jinshan.

This chicken farming venture might not make the farmers rich, but it would ensure a stable income, ultimately improving the living standards of the local people.

Both parties were pleased, and Jiang Lihai proposed that the township veterinarian provide them with technical support, which the township readily agreed to. Given the potential for chicken diseases, having professional guidance would be beneficial.

After leaving the township, Sun Jinshan went home, and Jiang Lihai finally had the chance to talk to Jiang Liping.

Before he could say anything, Jiang Liping smiled and said, “Brother, tell me about Sun Jinshan! How is his family? Have they built a house?”

Jiang Lihai shared the details of Sun Jinshan’s family. Sun originally had a brother who passed away in his teens due to illness, leaving him as the only son. He has an older sister who is married and a younger sister who is unmarried. The Sun family is relatively well-off in the village, with capable parents and a fully constructed house. Sun Jinshan used to work on a brick factory transport team, earning a decent monthly income with additional earnings.

Jiang Liping then commented, “Sun Jinshan tends to exaggerate things.”

She knew this from her sister, who rarely told lies. Sun Jinshan had a tendency to make five dollars sound like ten.

“I know,” replied Jiang Lihai. Jiang Liyun had mentioned this to him.

Despite Sun Jinshan’s penchant for exaggeration, his clothes and watch were genuine, and his family’s condition was undoubtedly better than theirs.

Their family didn’t even have a radio, her brother had no bicycle, and they still owed money for building their house. Although her sister recently earned some money, it likely went into opening the shop, leaving little savings.

Regarding the business venture, she trusted her sister but acknowledged that Sun Jinshan was the one handling most of the business.

After learning more about Sun’s family from her brother, Jiang Liping was even more satisfied with Sun Jinshan.

The Sun family had no external debts, Sun Jinshan had no bad habits, and he hadn’t been in a relationship…

In every aspect, Sun Jinshan seemed like the best choice she could find.

Unless she had no self-respect and chose to be someone’s mistress,.

But that would likely lead to being discarded one day without gaining anything. She had no interest in such foolish ventures.

It was better to find someone like Sun Jinshan. In the future, when Sun Jinshan became a big boss, she could have him buy her a household registration and live as a city dweller.

Her household registration is still in the countryside.

“There are quite a few people who like Sun Jinshan,” Jiang Lihai added.

Sun Jinshan has become quite well-known in the village recently, and due to his boasting, many people want to marry their daughters to him. Even at the brick factory, several people want to act as matchmakers for Sun Jinshan.

However, when it comes to Sun Jinshan, he has a specific requirement—he wants to find someone beautiful.

Speaking of which, his eldest sister is even more beautiful than his second sister, and she dresses stylishly.

Thinking about it, Jiang Lihai realised that Jiang Liping had also exaggerated today; she and Sun Jinshan were quite similar.

“Someone like Sun Jinshan will definitely have many admirers; I need to make my move quickly,” Jiang Liping said.

Jiang Lihai sighed when going to bed that night.

He feared that Jiang Liping might do something earth-shattering again.

But whatever Jiang Liping wanted to do, they couldn’t stop her. They had advised her not to be with her first love, but she insisted. They also advised her not to marry Li Xuyang, but she still did.

“Li Hai Ge, I don’t understand this problem; can you explain it to me?” Feng Yi asked Jiang Lihai.

Feng Yi was asking Jiang Lihai about a math problem.

Jiang Liyun had taught him Chinese, and he had bought a dictionary with the pocket money Jiang Liyun gave him. Learning Chinese was not difficult for him. Recently, he started focusing more on math.

He knew everything before the third grade, and Jiang Liyun explained fractions and other topics he hadn’t understood. However, he found it challenging to grasp the content in the fifth-grade textbook.

“I’ll explain it to you,” Jiang Lihai said, taking the textbook and starting to explain the problem to Feng Yi. After finishing, he asked, “Is it clear? Come, let me explain it again.”

He had occasionally helped Jiang Liru with her homework, so he was getting used to explaining multiple times.

“You don’t need to; I’ve understood,” Feng Yi said.

“You understood just like that?” Jiang Lihai asked.

Feng Yi nodded.

Jiang Lihai found it hard to believe. He picked another problem from the book and asked Feng Yi to solve it, and Feng Yi quickly did.

Jiang Lihai thought, “Is Feng Yi learning too fast? It hasn’t been long, and he’s already studying fifth-grade material!”

When Jiang Lihai was in school, they only had five years of primary education. The textbooks were simpler than what Jiang Liyun and the others were using now. After completing fifth grade, they could go to junior high.

Jiang Lihai only finished the first year of junior high and never went on to the second or third years.

So, if Feng Yi asked him questions about the second or third year of junior high, he wouldn’t know the answers.

Suddenly, a sense of urgency arose in Jiang Lihai’s mind.

He reminded Feng Yi, “Chinese is crucial too; don’t just focus on math. Put effort into Chinese as well.”

Feng Yi nodded earnestly and then said, “I’ve been memorising the Chinese textbook. I’ve already started memorising the fifth-grade one, although I skipped the first three books.”

Memorizing…  the textbook?

Jiang Lihai opened his own fifth-grade Chinese textbook and asked Feng Yi to memorise the first lesson.

Feng Yi… memorised it.

Jiang Lihai: “How did you memorise it?” The texts in their textbooks back then, while not as complex or lengthy as those in Jiang Liru’s textbooks, were still substantial!

Feng Yi said, “Read it multiple times, and you’ll memorise it.”

Jiang Lihai: “…”