Chapter 41: Tricycle

Feng Yi felt particularly good as he received the soft cotton jacket and blanket.

Back in the Feng family, no one cared if he was cold.

He remembered the winter when he first met Jiang Liyun; Zhou Qiaoxia didn’t make him a cotton jacket. When it got cold, he shivered, and his hands were frostbitten.

Jiang Liyun was young then, unaware that Zhou Qiaoxia was his real mother. Hearing rumours in the village about a stepmother in the Feng family, she took him to Zhou Qiaoxia, accusing her of being a bad stepmother and asking her to make clothes for him.

Zhou Qiaoxia got angry and scolded Jiang Liyun, but Feng Lao Tou intervened.

Fearing trouble for the Feng family in the village, Feng Lao Tou had Feng Laoda and Feng Laoer’s old clothes brought out for him.

For years, he wore the old clothes left by Feng Laoda and Feng Laoer.

Those boys were mischievous, and clothes were scarce. The clothes they had worn back and forth were already worn out by the time they reached him.

Fortunately, Feng Lao Tai was reasonable. Though she favoured Feng Laoda and Feng Laoer, she had a bit of sympathy and would help him with repairs.

As Jiang Liyun grew older, she also helped him mend clothes.

However, Jiang Liyun lacked patience, so she taught him to mend. Once he learned, she had him mend her clothes when they tore.

Of course, they used the Jiang family’s needle, thread, and cloth scraps.

These things cost money, and Zhou Qiaoxia strictly prohibited him from touching her sewing basket, while Wu Xiaochun didn’t mind them using hers.

In short, for many years, his winter jacket was always someone else’s old, not keeping him warm. He never wore a new one or had a soft new blanket.

Feng Yi held his cotton jacket and blanket, feeling genuinely happy.

Now, he truly had a home.

If Jiang Liping were here, she would surely nag about how Wu Xiaochun made a blanket for Feng Yi but not for her.

Jiang Lihai, however, didn’t notice this. He was focused on the task the He family entrusted him with, cautiously asking Jiang Liyun, “Liyun, their family also raises chickens.”

“Do they want to sell them to me?” Jiang Liyun asked.

Jiang Lihai nodded repeatedly.

Jiang Liyun said, “That’s fine, but I want well-fatted chickens, and they have to deliver them.”

In the past few days, she bought chickens from Jiang Yuxian, but they were almost sold out. She was planning to find another family to buy from.

As long as the He family didn’t try to deceive her with underweight chickens, she didn’t mind buying from them. However, buying from the He family would only be a short-term solution.

Most families, after raising a batch of chicks, would sell them when they reached the market. Keeping them longer meant losing on feed costs.

So, after buying chickens from the He family, she needs to find another suitable family to buy chickens from.

Luckily, many people in their commune are raising chickens, and chickens are still affordable, making it easy for her to purchase them.

In one or two months, the commune’s chickens should be in excess.

People are still buying chicks to raise!

Thinking about this, Jiang Liyun looked at Jiang Lihai and said, “Brother, next time you go to the city, ask the chicken sellers there if they need a large quantity of chickens as the New Year approaches.”

Jiang Lihai didn’t understand, “Why ask? Our family doesn’t raise chickens.”

Jiang Liyun explained, “With so many people in our commune raising chickens, local sales might not be sufficient. If we can connect with people in the city and find a market for them, we might get a good price.”

Jiang Liyun knew that chicken prices in their area would drop, and she wanted to make money from this.

Initially, she thought of buying chickens with her own money, processing and pickling them, then selling them in the city.

However, upon reconsideration, she realised it would be too troublesome. The only processing she could manage was basic, and the processed chickens might not fetch high prices.

She would spend a lot of time, and even with help, it would delay her jiaozi and fried chicken businesses. Selling chickens in the city would incur travel expenses and possibly accommodation costs.

In the end, Jiang Liyun gave up on this plan.

During the New Year, the town would be lively, and villagers would go shopping. Instead of selling salted chickens in the city, she thought it would be better to set up a stall in the town and sell fried chicken.

Recently, chicken prices were low, and selling fried chicken brought in good money.

Although she made this decision, Jiang Liyun still wanted to earn some money from it.

If Jiang Lihai could connect with people in the city who needed a large quantity of chicken meat, buy chickens from the village, and sell them at a profit, that would work.

She considered it too costly to transport the chickens to the city herself, and she didn’t know where to rent cages for the chickens. But if they drove the chickens, it would be feasible, right?

Currently, poultry farming is not done on a large scale. Many families raised only a few dozen chickens, which wouldn’t catch the attention of big buyers. However, by buying locally and supplying thousands of chickens, they would attract interest.

Jiang Liyun shared her thoughts with Jiang Lihai.

Jiang Lihai raised concerns: “Will the village chickens really be unsellable? What if we make an agreement and can’t buy enough chickens? Also, I don’t know who in the city wants to buy chickens or where to find them?”

Jiang Liyun sighed inwardly, staring at Jiang Lihai for a moment before saying, “Brother, talk to Sun Jinshan privately about what I said today. Ask if he’s willing to help. When we make money, we can split it together.”

She realised it was a bit impulsive to ask Jiang Lihai for help.

Jiang Lihai’s personality was better suited for an ordinary job.

This matter probably needed Sun Jinshan to handle it.

In her previous life, Sun Jinshan borrowed money to buy a large boat and sailed it on the Yangtze River. He had a daring spirit, and with his connections in the city, he should be able to get the job done.

However, what she earned was just a small profit, and now she would have to share some with Sun Jinshan. It was a bit regrettable.

But it couldn’t be helped. Her business had just started, and she didn’t have time to go to the provincial capital to find suitable chicken buyers. She also didn’t enjoy doing such things.

Jiang Liyun knew herself well.

She wants to make money, but she’s not the kind of entrepreneur who dares to take huge risks and engage in cutthroat competition.

Having read about the lives of some successful individuals through the internet in her past life and encountering successful people in her current life, she knows that certain successful individuals are willing to take risks. They might soar to great heights or fall into deep abysses, but they are unafraid.

Many of the top-tier businessmen standing on the pinnacle of the pyramid are such individuals.

Unfortunately, she is not like them.

She is just an ordinary businessperson, skilled in steadily and reliably managing her own business.

Helping to sell white-feathered chickens is a one-time business deal; she can earn some money from it, but there’s no need to expend too much effort.

Jiang Lihai agreed, but he still had some reservations. When they went to sleep at Jiang Youwen’s house with Feng Yi that night, he asked, “Feng Yi, why is Liyun so confident that the chickens won’t sell? Who doesn’t want to eat meat nowadays? At the end of the year, when everyone has money, chicken prices might even rise.”

Feng Yi, already lying in the warm bed after taking off his clothes, replied, “Brother Lihai, calculate how many chickens the commune is raising, and then figure out how many chickens the town and county can sell each day. You’ll see that our commune is definitely raising too many chickens!”

When Jiang Liyun didn’t mention this matter, he hadn’t paid much attention to the breeding and sales of white-feathered chickens.

The Jiang family didn’t raise them, so it wasn’t his concern if others did.

However, as soon as Jiang Liyun mentioned it, he immediately understood.

Jiang Lihai asked, “No matter what my sister says, you always think she’s right, huh?”

Without much thought, Feng Yi nodded, “Yes!”

Afterwards, Feng Yi patted the new blanket covering him and said to Jiang Lihai, “Brother Lihai, Sister Liyun is afraid I’ll get cold, so she specially made a new blanket for me!”

Jiang Lihai sighed inwardly, thinking, What’s there to be proud of, just a new blanket?

Don’t think he doesn’t know—Feng Yi has been following Jiang Liyun for so long and hasn’t earned a single penny!

His parents helped with making and selling dumplings, and they even received a hundred yuan.

Looking at Feng Yi sympathetically, Jiang Lihai also laid down. His blanket wasn’t very warm; during winter nights, he had to put his cotton coat on top to feel warmer.

Unfortunately, no one made a thick new blanket for him.

Although he felt that his sister’s idea of finding a big boss from the provincial capital to purchase white-feathered chickens was a bit impractical, the next day, Jiang Lihai still followed Jiang Liyun’s instructions and talked to Sun Jinshan.

If the members of their transportation team stayed at the factory instead of going out on ships, they would also have to work in the factory.

While Sun Jinshan spoke, he was using tongs to pick up bricks and place them in a small iron cart with a single wheel.

These bricks were meant to be transported to the ship, and since it’s challenging to carry many bricks by hand, they use specialised tongs for this task.

As he continued talking, Sun Jinshan suddenly stopped moving, leaving Jiang Lihai feeling a bit awkward. “My sister’s ideas are a bit too much.”

Before he could finish, Jiang Lihai saw the tongs holding the bricks loosen, causing one to fall and hit Sun Jinshan’s foot.

“Ouch!” Sun Jinshan exclaimed in pain.

That evening, after selling fried chicken and returning home when it was already dark, Jiang Liyun saw someone standing at the doorstep. “Brother, didn’t I tell you not to wait?”

“I’m Sun Jinshan!” the person raised his hand.

Jiang Liyun was momentarily puzzled, and Sun Jinshan hopped over on one foot, saying, “I want to talk about the white-feathered chicken business.”

“What happened to your foot?” Jiang Liyun looked at Sun Jinshan in confusion.

“I got injured by a falling brick, but it’s not a big deal,” Sun Jinshan replied.

Despite the seemingly serious injury, Sun Jinshan still came to see her. Truly a person with strong willpower.

People like him can accomplish great things!

After having dinner at the Jiangs’, Sun Jinshan discussed the matter with Jiang Liyun and Jiang Lihai.

Sun Jinshan would find buyers in the city, and Jiang Liyun needed to tally the number of chickens raised by the commune and their estimated time of maturity.

“You came up with this business idea, so when it succeeds, I’ll take a 30% share of the profit,” Sun Jinshan proposed.

Thinking Jiang Liyun was clever and foreseeing possible future collaborations, he agreed to give her a slightly higher share.

“Finding buyers is troublesome, and you’ll have to negotiate. You take 40%, I take 40%, and my brother takes 20%,” Jiang Liyun suggested.

“Deal!” Sun Jinshan promptly agreed, getting one percent more than what he initially thought of taking!

However, Jiang Liyun deliberately allocated two percent to Jiang Lihai. Was it to compensate him?