Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 224 - 223: The Way to Make Money on the Farm, Popular Gourmet Food!

Chapter 224: Chapter 223: The Way to Make Money on the Farm, Popular Gourmet Food!

The veterinarian had been invited, so naturally, Xu Yang’s Farm needed to add some more livestock.

Just having pigs and geese was a bit lacking.

So, Xu Yang went to a dairy cattle farm and brought back two milk cows.

Now, milk cows have become cheap.

Two years ago, a freshly matured milk cow cost about eighteen to twenty thousand yuan. Going back even further, a milk cow could even sell for forty thousand.

However, now you could get one for less than ten thousand.

That was odd, given that the price of milk and dairy products were rising, but the price of milk cows had dropped significantly.

Breeders were making no money at all, and some had cleared out their stock.

It was unclear who ended up with the earnings.

When Xu Yang bought the milk cows, he also chatted with the owner about everything related to breeding dairy cattle.

The owner was frowning with worry.

The price of milk cows was falling, and they were depreciating in value.

The dairy collecting stations were now paying lower prices too, and you couldn’t just not sell, since preserving fresh milk was a significant expense. Only the larger dairy stations had the capacity to process the milk from breeding farms.

From the dairy cattle owner, Xu Yang saw the hardships for breeders.

It seemed that the lowest-level breeders were indeed being squeezed the hardest.

Agriculture was similar, with the lowest-level farmers also struggling.

Xu Yang was quite fortunate, as he was able to find cooperative buyers, which allowed for direct transactions, so his income was relatively high.

After the milk cows were brought back, Xu Yang said to Ma Wen:

"The two milk cows should basically cover the farm’s expenses, whether we drink it ourselves or use it to feed the animals, it’s all good."

"Raising the milk cows will still rely on you and Shen Jian Country."

Hearing Xu Yang’s plans, Ma Wen agreed without hesitation:

"Don’t worry, Farmer, leave matters like these to me."

Both milk cows were in good health. When buying the cows, Xu Yang had specifically brought Shen Jian Country along to help with the decision-making.

So, as soon as the cows were brought back to the farm, they were ready to produce milk.

The increase in milk supply pleased everyone at the farm, and it was also considered a benefit of the farm.

Xu Yang also specifically purchased a yogurt maker and starter culture online, planning to make yogurt by himself.

Nowadays, yogurt is quite expensive, costing about four or five yuan per cup.

And it often contains many additives.

Making your own yogurt eliminates these concerns.

The method is simple, just put the milk in the yogurt maker, add the appropriate amount of starter culture, and a little sugar or honey, and wait overnight.

Of course, there are some tricks involved, such as temperature and proportion.

Some people end up with very sour yogurt, or water under the yogurt, which are signs of failure in the process.

Xu Yang’s skills were fairly mature, and he didn’t have much trouble making it.

After researching on his own a few times, he mastered the art of making yogurt.

By the next morning, Xu Yang took a small bowl filled with a bowl of tofu-like soft and sticky yogurt. With a gentle scoop of the spoon, he could lift a large chunk.

The yogurt had a sour taste as it entered the mouth, and upon savoring it, the sour-sweet sensation began to spread on the tongue.

The flavor was very good.

Because he made it himself, there was no need to worry about any additives.

Moreover, if one wanted to eat fruit-flavored yogurt, fresh fruit could also be added to the yogurt maker.

Strawberries, pineapples, apples, and so on.

They tasted even better when combined.

"This can be considered achieving yogurt independence."

"Make more on regular days, store it up, and having a little every day is good too,"

Xu Yang thought to himself contentedly.

Running his own farm meant plenty of food and drink, all directly grown, but figuring out how to process them was something he had to figure out himself.

The next day, Xu Yang made a larger batch of yogurt, realizing he couldn’t finish it all by himself, he called his employees to share it.

They were all pleasantly surprised after tasting the yogurt Xu Yang had made.

The flavor of the yogurt was indeed good.

It was even more refreshing than the store-bought yogurt.

"Farmer, this taste is really good, it’d be a pity not to open a yogurt shop with your skills!"

Wang Wu praised sincerely.

It wasn’t just flattery, the yogurt Xu Yang made was truly delicious.

Zheng Xiangqian added from the side:

"It’s really good, Farmer. How do you make this yogurt? Teach me; I want to make some too."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang said with a smile:

"Making yogurt is simple, just add fermentation powder to fresh milk and put it in a yogurt maker. The proportions are all online, even the vendors who sell the fermentation powder will tell you."

"You just need to pay a little attention to the timing."

Hearing Xu Yang say this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Ma Wen suggested, "Farmer, we currently have a high milk yield. Why not make some yogurt and sell it at the market?"

"Milk doesn’t sell for much in town, but yogurt can fetch a good price."

"Handmade yogurt is very popular."

Ma Wen’s suggestion truly piqued Xu Yang’s interest.

It’s the same old saying, a group of men together will always come up with a king of ideas.

Mainly because the farm was not busy after spring planting and there wasn’t much work to do.

With not much farm work, everyone couldn’t just sit idle; they definitely needed to find ways to make money.

Xu Yang’s farm was now also taking on tractor rental services; if any village needed dozens of acres of land cultivated, they could contact him.

The surrounding villages and towns now knew that Xu Yang’s Farm had large tractors.

That was one way the farm made money.

"It’s actually feasible, and there are quite a few stalls now."

"The farm’s monthly costs are not low, we must think of ways to make money and not always rely on my subsidies."

Xu Yang thought to himself.

He nodded and responded to Ma Wen:

"It’s indeed workable."

"We need to think more about ways to generate income on this farm. There’s everything for sale at the market, we can go together and sell yogurt there."

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, the employees also expressed no objection.

Although the employees didn’t understand the details of making yogurt, they had no problem helping out.

Xu Yang was in charge of the overall situation, while the employees did the work.

Turning the milk into boxes of yogurt wasn’t much of an issue.

In this kind of remote village market, food selling regulations are not so strict.

Most of what’s sold are common snacks like popcorn, corn pancakes, flatbreads, fruits, etc., so the market does not regulate this side.

Xu Yang could definitely set up a stand to sell yogurt.

When the time comes, he could buy a food truck with its own freezing function and fill the truck with yogurt.

When a customer comes to buy, just take out a disposable container, scoop a spoonful of yogurt, and hand it over to the customer.

It’d be convenient.

Even different flavors could be added.

That sounded good.

No sooner said than done.

Since there was a market gathering the next day, Xu Yang arranged for everyone to start working.

The farm had already stored some fresh milk.

It was just enough to make yogurt.

He had bought plenty of fermentation powder, had enough milk, and what he called a yogurt machine was just a small pot, which could be replicated by an electric rice cooker with the right technique.

He even found a suitable place for it, where the temperature was just right.

Everyone began to get busy.

The milk had to be boiled to kill off any bacteria before starting to make yogurt.

Once the smell of milk wafted through the air, the little ones all came running.

Pasture Dog, Maquan, Tabby Cat, Sika Deer, they all watched curiously from the sidelines.

They were all thinking about when they might get to try a sip themselves.

Xu Yang didn’t pay them much attention as he was busy arranging for his staff to make the yogurt.

Additionally, they needed to buy food carts and disposable meal boxes from the town.

These were easy to handle.

After all, in such places, people could only engage in businesses like setting up stalls.

So, related supplies were easily available.

Veterinarian Shen Jian Country was at the farm today as well, watching everyone bustling around, cheerfully joining in.

Shen Jian Country was in his sixties and had retired.

Moreover, he had retired from a government position, and his pension wasn’t low.

He was purely looking for something to do.

Some people can’t stand to be idle; if he stayed at home for a few days, he would get uncomfortably restless.

Others are more homebodies and wouldn’t mind not leaving the house for a month.

Most older people fall into the former category—they can’t sit still.

Soon, several large pots of yogurt were ready to ferment in the right locations.

Success or failure would be determined the next day.

The farm’s own yogurt was clean and sanitary.

As it was their product, it was also safe to consume.

"Nowadays, market gatherings happen on Saturdays and Sundays. Tomorrow is just in time, let’s set up a stall at the marketplace."

"There are quite a lot of people, the yogurt should sell well."

Xu Yang discussed with everyone.

The town was not far from the city.

Even though the city wasn’t very developed, it was still a tourist city with many visitors from all over.

Locals would also go to the market to shop.

There was definitely enough foot traffic.

At such marketplaces, the goods sold by vendors were very cheap.

The cost of living was very low.

Thus, there wasn’t a lot of pressure living there.

So the day passed.

The next morning at eight o’clock, Xu Yang and his staff checked on the yogurt.

He tasted the yogurt from each pot to make sure the flavor was right.

Then he put the yogurt into the refrigerator of the food cart, getting ready to head to the marketplace.

This task was certainly not a one-person job; he took Wang Wu and Zheng Xiangqian with him.

In fact, it was their job to sell, while Xu Yang himself wanted to look around the market.

As the boss, it was only natural to delegate work to employees while he took the time to stroll and have fun.

"Okay, Farmer, then we’ll take the food cart over first."

Wang Wu and Zheng Xiangqian said goodbye to Xu Yang and drove the food cart away.

Xu Yang drove his own car, heading towards the market.

To see what there was to buy.

The other staff were busy at the farm; Ma Wen was in charge of feeding the livestock, and Li Shan handled the watering of each greenhouse and checked on them as well.

Additionally, the potato fields and grass fields outside needed to be watered.

Everyone was hard at work.

Bustling about with production.

Each doing their part.

If all the yogurt from this truck sold, it would bring in a decent profit, at least a couple thousand yuan.

Even after deducting costs, there would be a good amount of earnings.

"There are only a few large market gatherings a month. It’s only during these times that yogurt sells really well."

"On ordinary days when there aren’t many people, there’s no need to set up a stall."

"This also fits well with the pace of the farm," Xu Yang calculated.

Making products on the farm to sell was also a good way to make money.

Before the autumn harvest, it was worth considering how to make money this way.

Zheng Xiangqian and Wang Wu arrived at the marketplace and found a spot to set up their stall.

The place was bustling; the farmers had arrived early, each finding a spot and setting up in a row.

There was something of every sort on sale.

Shouts and calls from loudspeakers were everywhere.

Wang Wu also took a loudspeaker and recorded a few promotional phrases:

"Homemade yogurt, all-natural, no additives, delicious flavor!"

"Farmhand-crafted yogurt, only three yuan a box!"

The promotional messages floated out, mixing into the clamor of the other vendors’ sales pitches.

The word "yogurt" was very tempting, and many customers were drawn to it amongst the noise.

Then these customers headed towards Wang Wu’s stall and, seeing that a box of handmade yogurt was only three yuan, decided to buy.

In fact, the cost of such yogurt was less than fifty cents.

The flavor of the yogurt was really good, and for the customers, the price was quite reasonable.

Thus, the stall became popular for a while.

Xu Yang drove his car over, parked, and then looked for where Ma Wen’s stall was at the market.

After walking around a bit, he still hadn’t found it.

Mid-search, Xu Yang saw one stall with lots of people around it, but he didn’t think much of it at the time.

It wasn’t until his second round of searching that he realized that stall was actually the farm’s.

"So many people?"

"It’s really lively!"

Xu Yang was somewhat surprised.

He hadn’t expected that the handmade yogurt would be so popular at the market.