Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 126: Farm Opens, The First Income from Development!

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Farm Opens, The First Income from Development!

Mr. Liu from Agricultural University checked the grass Xu Yang had grown.

Xu Yang and several college students stood beside the grass field, watching intently.

The grass was very lush and vibrantly green.

Xu Yang had planted about 8 acres of grass; one acre is 667 square meters, which adds up to more than 5300 square meters.

This place had plenty of land, especially considering there were several hundred acres unrented nearby.

If Xu Yang could rent it, planting another 80 acres wouldn’t be a problem at all.

"The growth of this grass is very good. According to our grading standards, this is definitely above excellent," he said.

"Mr. Xu, you’ve really done a great job with these grasses."

"They are perfect research subjects."

Mr. Liu emerged from the grass, smiling and offering praise.

Their research lab and Xu Yang had a collaborative relationship: they provided Xu Yang with grass seeds, which he would grow, and then they would take a small part for research.

If the varieties were good, they might even purchase a portion to continue cultivating the next generation of grass seeds.

"The weather has been good recently, with plenty of rainfall. I’ve also installed an irrigation system, and the soil here is quite fertile," Xu Yang responded.

"It’s normal for the grass to grow taller."

The college students watched from the side.

Their current courses were primarily focused on growing farm crops, such as the vegetables and staple foods commonly consumed, so they had never dealt with grass.

They just knew there was a graduate school offering this field of study.

Seeing Xu Yang growing grass stirred their interest.

"Growing grass isn’t bad; it feels more relaxed. Can I choose it as an elective next year?" Wu Kai said somewhat excitedly.

"I looked into it, and no, our teachers won’t allow it. They say we just blindly plant, making it hard to assign grades," Liu Wu responded.

"Ah, growing some grass would be good, simple and quick results. I get headaches from growing corn and chives," Wu Kai sighed deeply.

Xu Yang discussed the conditions of the grass with Mr. Liu.

Mr. Liu was very familiar with the grass market as he specialized in studying grass.

"I need to analyze the nutritional content of these grasses and then determine their quality and price," he said.

"It should take about a day to complete the analysis."

"Also, I have many channels for selling grass; do you need help in contacting them?"

"It’s definitely much better than selling wholesale," Mr. Liu said to Xu Yang.

As a university instructor, he naturally had many social resources.

Many people have said that they didn’t realize how formidable their teachers were during university until they entered the workforce and found most of them to be elites, some even searchable on Baidu Encyclopedia.

Mr. Liu, given his specialization in grass, naturally knew many organizations and individuals who needed it.

This type of resource was very important for Xu Yang.

"That would be great, I definitely need it," he immediately replied.

"I was still wondering how to sell it. I was preparing to go to the grass market myself or sell it directly to institutions that buy grass."

Toward Inner Mongolia, there were many organizations specifically buying grass, which acted like middlemen, purchasing from herdsmen at low prices and selling at higher prices.

They made their money from the channel fees.

Herdsmen, for convenience’s sake, would sell to them.

With no channels of their own, they had no choice but to rely on others.

Thus, resources were crucial.

Working in collaboration with Agricultural University for grass cultivation, Xu Yang could resolve many issues easily without fuss.

"Okay, I’ll first analyze the nutritional content and then also figure out what price this grass should fetch,"

"Don’t sell it to institutions, your grass is premium quality, selling to them would be a waste,"

"Their quality of grass is relatively poor and they offer low prices,"

"I estimate that, minus the costs, your revenue per acre could reach about three thousand."

"The growth is too good, and it’s very dense. Honestly, it’s even better than what we’ve managed to grow in the greenhouses," Mr. Liu spoke professionally and knew a great deal about grass.

With a special skill, many tasks still require a professional.

Running a farm, taking good care of the various crops inside is important, but finding external sales channels is even more crucial.

With the resources of Agricultural University, Xu Yang found handling many matters much more convenient.

"Okay, Mr. Liu, I’ll wait for your news,"

"Thank you," Xu Yang sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Next, Mr. Liu called over Wu Kai and the others to cut a sack of grass, making sure to select some from each variety.

Passing by a potato field, Mr. Liu also took a look.

"Your potatoes are also nicely planted; the potato sprouts look healthy," he noted.

Hearing this, Xu Yang nodded, "I’ve been loosening the soil and fertilizing these past few days, also removing some weeds. Potato seedlings are fragile and need careful attention."

"Soil should be loose and weeds removed early for potatoes to grow big," Mr. Liu remarked admiringly.

At a glance, it was clear that Xu Yang was highly experienced in farming.

"Okay, then I’ll be leaving now. I’ll give you the result tonight,"

"Tomorrow, I’ll help you contact the buyers, and you guys can communicate directly," Mr. Liu added.

"Thank you," Xu Yang expressed his thanks.

Mr. Liu left with a sack of grass.

Seeing his farm business about to start, Xu Yang felt very pleased.

The revenue from grass wasn’t very high; after costs, if one could make a thousand yuan per acre with ordinary grass, that would be impressive.

However, many people planted grass over hundreds of acres, so the total income was still quite substantial.

Xu Yang, having planted a smaller area, opted for a premium route to enhance the quality of the grass.

"With such improvements, the yield per acre went up, and so did the price per unit, making each acre earn more money."

"Taking the boutique route required premium channels. Some top breeding farms would buy good grass, but they weren’t easy to get in touch with."

"So, collaborating with Agricultural University, many things became easier."

"How could individual farmers compare with official institutions?"

Xu Yang looked at the potato field.

He had been busy dealing with potatoes these past few days.

Farming really wasn’t that easy; you couldn’t just neglect everything."

"For example, potatoes are vulnerable during the seedling stage. If the weeds aren’t removed in time, the nutrients can’t keep up."

"Weed control also couldn’t involve too much herbicide, which would be bad for the potatoes."

"And the soil needed to be loosened a bit, piling some fertilizer around the roots to help the potatoes grow better."

"Only then would the potatoes grow big and solid."

"When it’s busy, we still don’t have enough hands; if there’s expansion tomorrow, I will hire one more person,"

thought Xu Yang.

Just then, the three foxes he hadn’t seen for a long time suddenly ran over.

The three little ones had grown a bit but still looked cute.

Seeing them, Xu Yang grinned slightly.

It had been a long time since he had seen the three of them; he thought they might have died.

The average lifespan of forest animals is short, and it’s easy for them to die young.

Surviving and growing up isn’t easy."

Xu Yang worried that Little Fox might suffer the same fate, so seeing them now relieved him.

"It’s been a long time, where have you all been lately?"

"Be careful on the mountain, don’t run into Big Flower."

Xu Yang knelt down and reached out to pet the three little ones.

They immediately started yelping softly.

Now that they were familiar with him, they didn’t pretend anymore; they yelped as soon as he touched them, and even took the initiative to act cute.

Previously, he had been a bit nervous.

Xu Yang knew they had come to beg for food, probably wanting some snacks."

He went to the kitchen and cut up some apples.

Xu Yang liked eating fruit and always bought some; he didn’t eat much of it every day, but he made sure to have some."

Like an apple, a banana, or half a watermelon, for instance...

He fed the apples to Little Fox and watched them, feeling pleased.

At that moment, Xu Yang noticed the Tabby Cat nearby.

"Sang Biao, come here and let me pet you!"

Xu Yang called out to the Tabby Cat.

The Tabby Cat stopped, glanced at Xu Yang, and continued walking, ignoring him.

"Sang Biao, come, over here!"

Xu Yang shouted again.

This time, the Tabby Cat didn’t even turn his head.

He was already online shopping for a bag of cat treats.

For dealing with such a cat, treats were needed.

Feed him once, and he didn’t believe that the next time he waved a cat treat, the Tabby Cat wouldn’t come over."

Xu Yang was still "full of tricks."

That evening, Liu Boliang called Xu Yang to report the analysis results.

The Grass Research Institute would crush all sample grasses and then analyze them to assess their nutritional value and grade them accordingly.

Liu Boliang had brought him good news."

"This batch of grass has much higher dry matter, protein, and starch content than ordinary grasses, far surpassing the average level."

"It’s definitely premium-grade grass and even has the value for cultivating seeds."

"There’s no problem with these grasses, I will help you make contact tomorrow."

"Also, our research lab would like to keep some samples."

"You understand, cultivating seeds always means selecting the best of the best, and this batch of grass can definitely serve as a sample for cultivating the next generation."

Liu Boliang said excitedly.

"Alright, no problem."

Xu Yang agreed with a smile.

The grass he had grown was good, and so was the selling price."

The next day, Xu Yang made contact with a private high-end breeding farm’s owner.

The other party raised dairy cows and then opened a dairy factory specializing in private label infant formula."

This formula was not sold to the general public but was for the wealthy and powerful in Beijing.

It was a high-end membership customization, not available for regular people."

Where there’s demand, there’s profit, as wealthy people truly have money."

Xu Yang was just doing a small business, selling grass to the other party. Since it was premium grass, the other party also offered a high price."

He had roughly calculated that, after deducting costs, the income from one acre could reach more than 4000 yuan."

Eight acres would be 32,000 yuan."

Grass grew for one and a half months. Subtracting the planting cost, it could earn back 32,000 yuan, which was pretty good."

The most important thing was that the grass could continue growing. Generally, it was cut four times before the field was turned over and new seeds planted."

Of course, in winter, it grew slower, and the growth cycle was more than one and a half months."

"The farm is finally up and running."

Xu Yang felt completely satisfied.

"A farm needs income to develop steadily; relying just on money earned from live streaming as a subsidy would always be a pitfall."

Being ’up and running’ meant there was room for development."

Moreover, the people from the farm had inspected the grass and were very satisfied with Xu Yang’s grass, even considering expanding their demand."

Especially since winter was coming, they wanted to buy a lot of premium grass."

It had to be this specially cultivated, high nutritional value kind, not just the naturally grown grass from the grasslands which the farm didn’t even consider."

Xu Yang could only say that he had planted that much."

If there was a demand, they would talk about it next year."