Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 377 - 88: The Embryo of Cooperative Cattle Breeding_1

Chapter 377: Chapter 88: The Embryo of Cooperative Cattle Breeding_1

Heizi looked at Tian Dafu’s envious expression and comforted him, "Don’t be envious. Brother Fei started by raising cattle. If you raise cattle well, you will have good days ahead too. Now you are already being given calves to raise, you are actually faring better than Brother Fei. To set up his cattle farm, Brother Fei had to rely on his two legs to catch rabbits."

Tian Dafu immediately brimmed with confidence, nodding vigorously. He began to dream about the day he would also only pick and eat vegetables.

Once they left the city, they walked slower on the small roads.

The cattle, starved for half a day, could hardly resist the roadside hay. They would take an extra bite whenever they could.

The three of them weren’t in a hurry, letting the cattle slowly walk along the edge of the ditch.

There are plenty of proverbs in rural areas about raising cattle, such as "A trip the cow makes is a day wasted", "Cattle have a thousand harnesses of strength, the only fear is urgency", "Don’t fear using them for a thousand days, only fear overworking them in a day", and so on.

They all mean to avoid tiring the cattle out. Although cattle are strong, they are still livestock. Like people, even the strongest among us need to take it easy when working. If they get too tired one day, it could take several days to recover their strength.

Of course, freaks like Yan Fei are an exception. He hasn’t yet experienced a time when a good night’s sleep couldn’t recover his strength.

After letting the cattle drink some water on the edge of another ditch, they began to head back.

These days, the use of pesticides is minimal, so it’s safe to let livestock drink from small roadside ditches. In summer, many people drink untreated water, let alone cattle! However, they didn’t let the cattle drink too much as they were about to return, and they could feed them well once they got back.

When they reached the cattle farm and tied up the cattle in the barn, Tian Dafu took out a wad of money from his pocket and handed it to Yan Fei, "Brother Fei, this is the money you gave me to buy the cattle. Which one should I raise?"

Yan Fei didn’t take the money.

He had been contemplating this issue. Originally, he wanted to give the money to Tian Dafu’s family, but they refused to accept it. Therefore, off the top of his head, he decided to hire them to raise cattle and sell them to him later.

Now, from Tian Dafu’s words, he wanted to become a hired worker and considered the cattle as part of the cattle farm. How could he sell them to himself then?

If they refused to accept the gift, then he had no choice but to really hire them to raise cattle.

But how to hire them is a problem, and there are many issues involved.

Although he found Tian Dafu to be a genuinely nice guy after spending half a day together, raising cattle is not a day or two’s work. If he decides to hire him to raise cattle, who can guarantee that he won’t slack off in the middle? What if the cattle become skinny due to neglect?

Also, having someone else raise cattle for him saves him the trouble of managing fodder, which is actually quite nice. The only thing left to do is to come up with a mutually beneficial solution.

He’s not too worried about the cattle getting sick. The cattle only get sick a lot due to large-scale farming, which came with the development of transportation. Bred together, cattle from different places mix and are prone to cross-infection.

At present, cattle diseases are actually rare. A minor illness doesn’t usually result in death, which would bankrupt the cattle farmer.

After hesitating for a bit, Yan Fei said, "How about this! Why don’t you take both young calves back and raise them? Once they grow up, the better-looking one will be mine and the other one will be your wages. I noticed your family’s yard is quite large. Use this money to remodel your yard and make a cattle shed. After all, whether you raise one or two, it’s more convenient to raise them together."

Tian Dafu was stunned. "How can that work? I’m already afraid that I won’t be able to raise one well! With two, I’m even more worried."

Yan Fei comforted him, "Didn’t you learn how to raise cattle for such a long time? What are you afraid of? You wouldn’t be so stupid as to kill both calves, would you! If one dies, we split the remaining value of the surviving calf. If both die, I won’t make you compensate me, but you will have raised them for nothing."

Tian Dafu was still a bit nervous, fearing something might go wrong while raising the cattle. He hesitated and didn’t dare to speak.

In fact, Yan Fei had already transferred most of the risk to himself. Farmers have plenty of things at home to feed the cattle, and it doesn’t cost much at all. The main investment is labor.

What Yan Fei invested was the money for two calves. In the end, he bought two cattle for the price of one lower-priced cattle. Moreover, these cattle can be fattened up for sale later, and the profits are still considerable.

Of course, there are definitely risks. Maybe both calves could be lost if they were unlucky, although the odds are small.

The key is that this way Yan Fei didn’t have to worry about Tian Dafu not putting effort into raising the cattle, because how much he earned depended on how well he raised them. The most Yan Fei could lose was the money for two calves, and in return Tian Dafu had to raise two calves for a period of time for free.

This simple cooperation was, of course, rough. No one has done it this way before, and it’s very loosely organized. It relies entirely on the conscientious efforts of both parties. Fortunately, there is a basic level of trust between people in these times. While there are certainly people who deliberately do harm, Yan Fei felt that he could trust Tian Dafu and his family for now.

Next to them, Heizi urged Tian Dafu, "Aren’t you a bit more courageous? You’ve got this great opportunity, and you don’t dare to take it? Take the two cattle back and raise them, and you’ll earn a whole extra cow. What are you hesitating for?"

Upon hearing Heizi’s words, Tian Dafu gritted his teeth and nodded, "Alright, Brother Fei, rest assured! I will definitely raise them well."

Actually, the main problem for farmers today is that they don’t have money. That’s why it’s said that poverty shortens ambition! The poorer people are, the more timid they become.

Everyone knows that raising cattle can be profitable, but it also comes with risks. It’s not easy for rural families to afford a calf, and what if something goes wrong while raising it? And what if it gets stolen or lost?

Seeing him nod, Yan Fei gave some more instructions, "The two calves have been running around all day. Why don’t you stay another day? Leave tomorrow."

Tian Dafu, who was now looking at the two calves with eager eyes, nodded and said, "Alright! Anyways, I sent word yesterday that I was at the cattle farm, so they won’t worry about me. When I get back, I’m going to spend all day with the cattle and make sure I take good care of these two animals."

Only after he finished speaking did he remember the issue of the money. He hurriedly held out the money again to Yan Fei, "Brother Fei, I still can’t accept this money. We don’t need to spend anything to set up a cattle shed at home, so you should take the money back."

"Isn’t our village organizing a militia now? There will surely be fewer cattle thefts in the future, so you don’t need to worry too much. Just focus on raising the cattle well," Yan Fei, still not taking the money Tian Dafu was holding out, comforted him again. "Consider this money as a gift from me because I like you. Use it to take good care of your parents!"

What a strong reason for giving money.

With the rest of the matters settled, Yan Fei prepared to leave and get busy at the vegetable greenhouse.

Heizi, green with envy, asked, "Brother Fei, do you like me? If so, could you also give me some?"

This guy had been with Yan Fei at Tian Dafu’s house earlier and knew why Yan Fei gave Tian Dafu’s family money. His words were purely aimed at lightening the mood. After speaking he said to Tian Dafu, "Brother Fei is like this, don’t keep pushing him away, he will get annoyed."

Holding the money, Tian Dafu grumbled, "I’m already raising cattle for him, how can I keep his money?"