Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 510 - 198 Buying a Cow - Unexpected Silence?_1

Chapter 510: Chapter 198 Buying a Cow - Unexpected Silence?_1

Despite its appearance, the agricultural three-wheeler moved at a swift pace. After a short ride, the group arrived at their destination, shivering cold due to the chilly wind. As they got off the vehicle, they couldn’t help but shake uncontrollably from the cold.

While Heizi paid the driver, Yan Fei noticed how frozen they all looked. Considering it was still early, Yan Fei decided to take them for breakfast. Everyone had a big bowl of Hot and Spicy Soup and two buns. Before they left, they each bought a salted duck egg to snack on while buying cattle.

Small Gold River Township wasn’t defined by just one small river. Instead, it was named after a stream slightly wider than a creek, which was more popular than the three rivers in Sancha River. Reportedly, ducks bred near this stream laid double-yolk eggs—these claims were slightly exaggerated, but the duck eggs from here were notably large, attractive, and more likely to be double-yolked.

This renowned local delicacy had a long history that traced back to legends from the Three Kingdoms period. Once salted, the duck eggs from here were called Jinhe Duck Eggs, renowned across the country—and even overseas. But this wasn’t something Yan Fei and his crew needed to be concerned about. All they needed to know was that they were eating the authentic Jinhe Duck Eggs.

Magically, out of seven salted duck eggs for seven people, five of them had double yolks. They were perfectly salted, with deep red, sandy grain-like yolks that tasted deliciously savoury and sweet.

After finishing their duck eggs, it was time for the cattle market. The group began their search for cattle, looking around for any aggressive cattle dealers who might confront them. However, much to their disappointment, the cattle purchasing process turned out to be smooth; they didn’t encounter any aggressive dealers, and the Cattle Market’s economist was extremely accommodating.

Yan Fei had really handled this business efficiently!

Yan Fei led the group around the market, then finally settled in an open space. He pointed to seven or eight people, and Heizi immediately hollered them over to negotiate prices. They all had similar calves, so bundling them together made price negotiation more straightforward, preventing anyone from jacking up the prices.

A couple of sellers hesitated initially, afraid that Yan Fei’s group were aggressive dealers, but once they saw others closing their deals, they rushed over eagerly.

Yan Fei took out a stack of money from his pocket, handed it to Heizi, and asked him to distribute it. While several people were waiting in line for their money, he pointed out three or four more calves.

The earlier transactions had already attracted attention. As soon as the cattle owners saw Yan Fei pointing at them, they didn’t wait for anyone to call them over. Instead, they excitedly brought over their cattle.

Along with the two latecomers, another five to six deals were settled.

Money truly commanded respect, and stacks of colorful bills were being handed out like scrap paper, leaving even the Cattle Market economist speechless.

The cattle sellers who were still negotiating began to notice the group’s financial muscle and instantly stopped bargaining and went over to their side with their calves waiting to be selected. Those who were selected were elated, while those who weren’t looked as if they’d lost a loved one.

They wanted to keep a low profile, but realistically, it was impossible to do so. Yes, they were a large group, but everyone recognized Yan Fei as the leader. Trying to act as though they were buying cattle for separate households was not going to work.

Well, they might as well just embrace it!

There were indeed aggressive cattle dealers around, but they weren’t stupid!

Yan Fei seemed formal and gentle, but his calm demeanor and the group of young men behind him who looked up to him fearing nobody. Who in their right mind would provoke such a leader?

Anyone who hung around the cattle market would have a keen eye for detail. It was evident that this group wasn’t local. Their aggressive attitudes and air of arrogance was intimidating to the older cattle dealers.

If they happened to rub these young hotheads the wrong way, they might impulsively pull out a knife and stab someone, run away, and leave trouble behind. Dealing with these reckless people was even more dangerous than offending a local gang boss. At least the locals wouldn’t try to kill them, whereas these outsiders might try to hurt someone and flee without caring about the consequences.

On top of that, there was a guy carrying around a small worn-out purse, with no one knowing how much money he could still give out! Anyone who casually carried around such amounts of money either had to be foolish or genuinely wealthy—wealthier, even, than all the cattle in the market combined!

But did they look like fools?

No, they exuded an aura of genuine strength and confidence. Their world-widened views and fearlessness towards the largest groups of brachiosaurus conveyed an extraordinary dominance over all worldly matters.

So by the time they’d bought most of the cattle, the men who had come with Heizi were puzzled: Weren’t there supposed to be aggressive dealers here? Why hadn’t they run into any trouble yet?

Elder Ou, being the oldest amongst them, looked around at the bustling crowd and understood the situation: "We’re in a large group, and some of our young lads are pretty hot-headed. Other people are afraid that we’re the aggressive kind! Who would want to pick a fight with us? Moreover, just look at Brother Fei..."

Yan Fei was indeed impressive. As they planned on buying a lot of cattle, he didn’t bother negotiating with hesitant sellers. Whenever he saw someone hesitating, he would gesture dismissively: "If you’re selling, go get your money. If you’re not, move aside. Let’s bring a few more over."

Seeing others freely receiving money, those who hesitated decided it was best to tether their calves and join the queue for payment.

People naturally knew what was fair. Yan Fei had been listening keenly all while scanning the market. By the end of it, he had a clear understanding of the prevailing prices at the market. His offered prices, although not necessarily high, could certainly be described as fair!

That’s enough!

After failing to find any suitable calves, with a wave of the hand, everyone led away four or five calves each and vanished from sight. They left behind much ado and considerable chatter!

On their way back, everyone was inexplicably excited: "How splendid it is to follow Brother Fei! Just look at how worked up Niu Jinji was when he first got here; he drooled all over the notebook when signing us in."

Zhang Erwa said embarrassedly: "Brother Fei... when someone asked where we were from earlier, I accidentally let slip that we’re from Sancha River."

Before anyone else could speak, Yan Fei waved his hand, "No worries. At this pace, we won’t have to cover the whole surrounding areas to buy all the calves we need. What’s there to be afraid of! Who would dare to meddle in our territory?"

Everyone burst into wild laughter — they just can’t help themselves!

The calves move slowly, and these calves had already been driven from various villages once, hence they were tired. So, on their way back, they stopped from time to time to give the calves some dry grass and water, making their pace even more sluggish. By the time they got to the provincial road on the west side of the cattle farm, people in the village had already started eating.

Before reaching the cattle farm, a sight that shocked everyone awaited. There were crowds of people inside and outside the main gate, bustling like a market place.

Seeing them leading so many calves back, the crowd got excited, more than they would at the sight of a high-ranking official. From afar, people rushed to help. Seeing a familiar face in the crowd, Yan Fei asked, "Why isn’t everyone going in?"

A glum-looking local militia man running towards them replied, "It’s so crowded inside that there’s no room to squeeze in!"

"Weren’t only the local militia called?" Yan Fei was surprised, "Are the others here to watch the excitement?"

The open space inside the cattle farm was almost two acres. How many people would it take to fill that?!

"Not all are here for the excitement. Some are family members from our team, and some outsiders want to understand our agreement to see if they can also get a chance to have a cow," explained the militiaman. "I came before noon, thinking I was early, but I couldn’t even squeeze through the entrance!"

Yan Fei was rendered speechless. It’s a good thing they bought some extra cows today. Otherwise, if so many people came and only a dozen or so cows were distributed, it would have been impossible to end the event.

And as for those who came to understand the situation, there’s nothing to worry about — their agreement had been reviewed by many people, and it was perfectly transparent. Nothing to hide.

It was certainly bustling, and if it weren’t for people instructing the crowd, the cows wouldn’t have been able to get in.

He returned the calves to Heizi and others to feed, and insisted that he hurry to call Zhang Hui for help to check them again. Zhang Hui, with a smile on his face, was waiting behind him.

Not only the people wishing to keep cows had come, but also the leader of the township. Mayor Chen was leading a group of people out from the small houses at the gate, followed by Lin Baoguo, Old Pan, and others!

There was even someone with a camera, looking left and right, occasionally taking pictures of the crowd and the officials.

There was no time to worry about everything else. Old Pan, always well-prepared, had brought a loudspeaker with him. He switched it on and after a little feedback, he shouted, "Everyone quiet down, Boss Yan has returned. He’ll explain the agreement to you all. If you don’t understand, remember it and you can ask later. Please stay quiet when he speaks, otherwise the people in the back won’t hear."

After saying this, he handed the loudspeaker to Yan Fei and gestured for him to speak. Behind Yan Fei, someone brought a stool for him to stand on. Yan Fei was amazed when he saw who had brought the stool — wasn’t it Boss Ma?

Taking the loudspeaker from Old Pan and standing on the stool, the hundreds of people in the whole place fell silent, save for the mooing of the cows.

The scene felt as bustling as the village meetings, but the order was even better. At usual village meetings, even if the village officials shouted themselves hoarse, they couldn’t suppress the chatter among the crowd. But now, before Yan Fei could even speak, everyone was careful to even keep their breathing quiet!

Yan Fei began to speak: "Skipping the niceties, I’ll read and explain each point directly. Everyone, listen first and ask questions later. First point..."

The agreement was pretty simple and free of jargon. The key points were what happened if the cow died from unexpected incidents, the weight criteria, and the price and so on.

After finishing his speech, Yan Fei waited for questions, but all he got was a sea of faces, with everyone staring blankly at each other, nobody saying a word.

In some places, people were nudging others to speak, but those pushed forward did not want to stick their necks out, especially since the leaders from the township were present!

Was this scene turning cold?