Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 91 - 32 Expanding the Scale of Cattle Rearing_1

Chapter 91: Chapter 32 Expanding the Scale of Cattle Rearing_1

The cattle market in Sancha River township never lacks cattle. Since Yan Fei decided to attempt fattening cattle, he had been wandering around the market early in the morning and soon spotted several pleasing bulls.

There are many options for buying cattle for fattening. Originally, he had the idea of raising them from calves, so he had always set his sights on calves. Now his choices had multiplied. Especially in spring, the cattle had lost weight over the entire winter, making it very easy to select ones for fattening.

"Xiao Fei is here. Why are you hanging around if you’re not buying cattle?" Xiaohei, who was always rushing around and could never stand still while talking, was now closer to Yan Fei than a brother after adopting a puppy from him.

"I plan to buy cattle this time!" Yan Fei grinned.

"You’re buying cattle? What kind? Are you buying calves again? Wait for me to give you some advice! I’ll come over when I’m done with this job, let’s check them out together. Wait for me!" Xiaohei said, then ran off.

Yan Fei continued looking around and Xiaohei ran back after a while.

The dog that grew up on Vegetable Garden Island was exceptionally considerate. Back when Ma Yongming and his mates were choosing the dog, they were spoilt for choice by the lively and chubby puppies. When they took one home, it was perfectly satisfying, eating and sleeping well.

"I want to buy a cow for fattening." Yan Fei started to tell Xiaohei about what kind of cattle he was planning to buy this time. This was nothing confidential, so he didn’t mind talking about it to others.

"That’s so simple! Don’t buy now, wait a bit. Such cattle are easy to buy, as spring cattle have lost their weight from winter. It’ll fatten up in a few days of raising, as long as you choose well, the plan will definitely be successful." Xiaohei, who always hung around the cattle market, had a good eye. Hearing Yan Fei’s plan, he was sure it would work.

"Alright, I’m not in a hurry. I’ll consider it when I find one at the right price." Yan Fei responded smoothly.

"That’s right, don’t rush. It’d be enough if you find one every few markets. But don’t buy from those in a hurry to sell. Take your time look, I’ll be back in a bit. Ask about the price first, don’t rush to say you’re buying." Xiaohei was really busy. He was called away again during their brief conversation.

Though Yan Fei had sold quite a bit of vegetables intermittently, the money wasn’t really sufficient for buying cattle. Especially after buying a lot of land and investing in building a house and a barn. Counting the money he had left, he planned to initially buy two or three, as he must reserve some money for other expenses.

It’s best to choose cattle between one and two years for fattening. Cattle over three years old have less economic value. They eat more but grow less, making it not cost-effective.

After observing for a while, Xiaohei rushed back and pulled him over: "Come and take a look at this one, you can buy it for around one thousand seven or eight. I think it’s quite suitable."

Yan Fei went along and felt it was satisfactory when he looked at it.

Actually, by this time, Yan Fei had pretty much looked at all the cattle at the market and had a general idea about which ones were better and which ones were not. The cow Xiaohei led him to was a bit thin, but it was clearly due to poor feeding rather than any disease.

Yan Fei patted and touched the cow, and quickly made up his mind.

His judgment was now quite good. After all, after spending days looking at cows and nights watching dinosaurs, basically dealing with these animals day in and day out, he could now tell a good from a bad one at a glance. After a careful observation, he reached a conclusion.

"How much?" Ready to make a purchase, Yan Fei began to discuss the price with the seller. At this point, Xiaohei had no choice but to keep quiet. After all, he worked at the market management office. It was okay for him to facilitate the negotiation once the price was roughly agreed upon, but it would be inappropriate for him to interfere at the beginning.

"One thousand eight. This brother here knows, I won’t sell it for one thousand seven. Had it not been for some domestic issues holding me back after the New Year, the cow wouldn’t look like this." The cattle owner, who looked as lean as his cattle, said.

"Okay, I’ll cover the processing fee as well. Let’s do the paperwork!" Everyone has their own problems. Yan Fei didn’t want to pry into other people’s private affairs. Hearing the price, he immediately nodded. He could afford the twenty yuan processing fee and didn’t mind it.

The cattle seller touched the cow, seemingly reluctant to part with it. No wonder, the cattle was almost fully grown. Unfortunately, it lost too much weight recently and needed to be well-fed for a few days to regain its shape.

What Yan Fei was looking for was exactly this type of cattle, which could regain its shape after a few days of careful nursing. Other farmers didn’t understand and were afraid that the thin ones were sick. But he understood cattle and was not afraid of this.

With Xiaohei’s help, purchasing cattle naturally became much quicker. Especially since he was looking for ones that seemed to lack fat, they were cheaper. Surprisingly, he managed to purchase three by the end of the morning, each costing less than two thousand yuan on average.

This made Yan Fei a bit emotional. Before, the best breeding bull would cost four thousand yuan, which was considered a sky-high price. But now, after just a year has passed, money seems to have lost its value!

When he led the bull out of the cattle market, people looked at him with curiosity. They couldn’t figure out why such a young man would buy so many hefty bulls.

In those days, there weren’t many cattle traders. If you had enough money to buy cattle and the ambition to trade merchandise, you could buy and sell anything more profitably than cattle, since the investment was so huge and the risk so high. Not many people were willing to take that gamble.

Back at the cattle farm, Ma Chao had finished feeding the cattle and was now stepping on a crescent moon shaped mortar!

Ma Chao had stolen some of Yan Fei’s duties. Now, Yan Fei only needed to roast and crush the bones, then the rest was up to Ma Chao.

The three newly bought bulls were put in the stall, and Lin Yumei came over with a ruler to measure and record the size. The separate feeding had officially begun - they couldn’t be fed together with the previous ten bulls anymore.

Most of Yan Fei’s money was spent. But this actually calmed down his heart.

However, he wasn’t worried. The fruits and vegetables in Vegetable Garden Island were still growing, and they would provide a steady stream of income in the future.

After lunch, he hopped on a motorcycle and zoomed off.

The motorcycle belonged to the two men who had brought fireworks to the cattle farm. He had learnt to ride it in just two days, and since nobody claimed the motorcycle, he didn’t offer to return it.

After all, they had done wrong! They had to be taught a lesson. Considering the loss, sacrificing the motorcycle was relatively small.

He sped all the way to the east end of Town Street, near the entrance of the village. This was where Yan Fei had caught the three cattle thieves. Not far from there, there was a large pond where Pang Fa was crouching, smoking a cigarette by the pond. A chubby puppy was sitting next to him, seemingly daydreaming along with him.

As soon as Yan Fei arrived, Pang Fa stood up. "Xiao Fei, what’s up?"

Seeing Yan Fei, the little dog didn’t forget him and came running towards him wagging its chubby tail.

"Nothing, I just came to see how things are going." Yan Fei parked his motorcycle and began to observe the pond along with Pang Fa.

In the end, Pang Fa didn’t manage to breed Yellow Eel. Raising eels seemed too grand for him.

However, he didn’t give up. He still set up this fish pond to breed fish. He bought the fish fry from outside. If he caught any small Yellow Eels, he would throw them into the pond. He was even keeping some baby soft-shelled turtles. It was unclear whether they could be raised in this pond.

"This is not something you can see results from in one or two days!" Pang Fa, who couldn’t breed Yellow Eel, sounded a bit dejected.

"Since you are so close to the road, how about doing something else on the roadside?" Yan Fei suggested.

"Let’s discuss that later. I’m planning to ask my cousin to help me look after the fish pond so that I can do other things. What kind of work do you think I could do around here?"

"If you have someone looking after the fish pond, what are your plans? Will you go back to catching Yellow Eels?"

"I’ll see how it goes, I’m not sure! I could consider doing something else. Perhaps buying chickens from the countryside. Quick small businesses that bring in money."

"But wouldn’t that still involve traveling? I see so many villages in the east. Why don’t you build two small houses at the roadside here and start grinding oils and producing flour?" Yan Fei eventually shared his own thought.

"Grinding oils and producing flour? Would that be workable? How did you come up with this idea?" Pang Fa was a bit surprised by Yan Fei’s innovative suggestion. When did Yan Fei become so creative? However, after some thought Pang Fa found it quite agreeable. "Let me think this over... it’s not a bad idea, although it might be a bit tiring. However, I bet it can generate steady income, probably more reliable than buying chickens from the countryside."