Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1379 - 671: Bullfighting

Chapter 1379: Chapter 671: Bullfighting

"Hey hey, pay attention, everyone." After lunch, without much of a break, the loudspeaker started calling out. "Contestants of the bullfighting competition this afternoon, please prepare promptly, prepare promptly. The competition will start on time at two o’clock, and those who are absent will be considered to have forfeited! Let me remind you once again, prepare to start the competition at two o’clock, and absentees will be deemed to have forfeited!"

Upon hearing the announcement from the loudspeakers, Yan Fei walked briskly toward the judges’ seats. For him, acting as a judge was like being a bride boarding her sedan chair for the first time—it was quite a novel experience.

Behind him, Heizi and the others were shouting encouragements to Brother Fei. Yan Fei turned around and laughed as he chided: "Piss off, it’s a bullfighting match—why are you cheering me on? People might think I’m about to fight!"

Everyone nearby burst into laughter.

Zhou Dalian’s voice was particularly loud: "Brother Fei, we’re cheering for you to be fair and impartial, so don’t play any tricks!"

Yan Fei waved his hand dismissively: "Cut the crap and go make your money. Heizi, you guys better take more photos later; we’ll want some mementos."

On the first day of the Yellow Cattle Festival, when most people had yet to gain anything, Zhou Dalian made a killing. Even Yan Fei had to admit that the fellow really had good luck.

The intersection where Zhou Dalian opened his new restaurant was only five or six li away from the venue of the Yellow Cattle Festival. He didn’t arrive particularly early in the morning, but as soon as he saw the crowd around, he immediately called over the staff from his restaurant. He even summoned the staff from the old restaurant and set up two large pots by the side of the road, establishing a makeshift outdoor kitchen without even a canopy.

By noon, the guy couldn’t stop grinning—given the distance from the county town and the fact that people would have to leave someone to maintain order even if they had cars, it seemed that everyone had planned to take turns to eat. But now with a food stall right next to them, albeit a bit rudimentary, it was, after all, genuine food brought over from a real restaurant. So those too lazy to go elsewhere simply ate there.

Stir-frying dishes was definitely not feasible, so they simply sold noodles. Normally, a large bowl of hand-pulled noodles cost three yuan and noodle soups were two yuan and fifty cents, but the avaricious Zhou Dalian managed to sell them at a standard price of five yuan a bowl. Despite this, demand still exceeded supply, and many people couldn’t even get a bowl. From noon till now, there were still people waiting in line!

Later, villagers from nearby started following his example, but could their makeshift stands compare to his restaurant? While they were sure to make some money, when compared to Zhou Dalian, it was like they barely managed to scrape together enough for soup, hardly enough to be seen as competition; at most, they were just cleaning the pots.

However, Yan Fei’s side was not losing out either. The beef jerky and cooked beef that Pang Fa had brought over had sold out early on, and what was now on display was freshly delivered stock.

It goes to show that business opportunities can come at any time—it all depends on your ability to seize them!

During some local temple fairs that happen after the New Year in February, people from nearby areas would come to sell snacks. But with the Yellow Cattle Festival causing such a stir, it was strange that the nearest villages, which had no experience in holding temple fairs, didn’t know to prepare in advance to make use of this chance to earn money.

He was certain that, having learned from today’s lesson, the number of stalls in the following days would only increase.

Yan Fei didn’t dwell on these thoughts. He quickened his pace and arrived at the judges’ seats, where Chairman Dong greeted him warmly—after all, Boss Yan was the biggest supporter of the Yellow Cattle Festival. And having caused a bit of a commotion in the morning, it was now even more necessary to have the support of Yan, a major cattle breeder. How could Chairman Dong not be enthusiastic?

After exchanging pleasantries, Yan Fei took his place among the judges.

There were a total of ten judges, making quite an impressive lineup. In addition to Chairman Dong and another vice-chairman from his association, three were staff from city hall, and the remaining four, like Yan Fei, were all bosses related to agriculture and animal husbandry in Wan City.

Boss Yan might not be one for socializing, but his networking skills were not lacking, and most of the people there were familiar faces. After everyone was seated and had chatted for a bit, someone came to report that everything was ready, and a person by the microphone announced: "The first Yellow Cattle Festival of Wan City begins now. Please welcome contestants from XiPing County and Fangtong County—let’s give them a round of applause!"

Applause broke out immediately, and the atmosphere was lively, with everyone showing great enthusiasm.

In the past, when there were more cattle and they were taken out to graze, seeing bulls locking horns during busy farming seasons was common. But now, cattle no longer need to work, and with more pesticides being used in the fields, most cattle are no longer taken out, spending their days simply being taken from the shed to bask in the sun. Encounters leading to locking horns have become quite rare.

Bullfighting, or engaging in a show of strength as the locals from Tanghe County would call it, was very much a part of this tradition.

Two robust yellow bulls were brought out, and the carefully selected animals were indeed different. Normally, Wan City’s yellow cattle have rather short horns, usually about half a foot long, but the horns of these two bulls were about a foot long.

Thus, as the two bulls made their entrance, their sinewy muscles trembling with every move, the cheers from the crowd grew even louder.

But... there are always surprises in any event. After the two bulls received the crowd’s cheers, and the announcer in the center shouted the start, the scene turned awkward.

The bulls, heads lowered, were instead searching the ground for wheat seedlings to eat—since the required venue had to be large, flat, and easily accessible, the county could not find any place more suitable than the wheat fields. Initially, the ground was just compacted a bit, with the wheat seedlings left unharvested, some of which had even already begun to stand upright again.