Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 259 - 258: Xiao Hua, You Can Hunt?! Xiao Hua: You Found Out!

Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Xiao Hua, You Can Hunt?! Xiao Hua: You Found Out!

The back mountain of the farm had become more and more familiar to Xu Yang.

There were only a few kinds of peculiar large animals.

Leopards, black bears, sika deer, roe deer.

As for small animals, there were too many of them and they liked to scurry around, so they weren’t so easily spotted.

Xu Yang would sometimes go to the mountain for a look.

This afternoon, Xu Yang discovered something that shocked him immensely.

He saw Xiao Hua hunting.

The movements were skilled, swift, and with a pounce, it caught a wild rabbit.

Xu Yang was stunned on the spot.

At that moment, Xiao Hua turned its head and also noticed Xu Yang.

It clearly froze too.

The rabbit in its mouth was released and fell to the ground.

"Xiao Hua, you..."

Xu Yang said, his face full of astonishment.

Xiao Hua blinked its moist, large eyes, looking a bit awkward. It didn’t look at the rabbit, but slowly walked towards Xu Yang.

It still looked adorably foolish.

When Xiao Hua reached Xu Yang’s side, Xu Yang pinched its chubby face, chiding with a chuckle,

"You little thing, you can hunt!"

"I thought you couldn’t, and I had been worried about what you would eat out here."

"You’ve even fooled me!"

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, Xiao Hua showed a silly expression again.

It was then that Xu Yang realized, this guy wasn’t incapable of hunting; it just didn’t want to.

It was quite the actor.

Looking sheepish, Xiao Hua nuzzled Xu Yang as if to say,

"You caught me."

Xu Yang had no choice but to let it be.

But this was good too, knowing that Xiao Hua could hunt, Xu Yang was much more at ease.

At the very least, he didn’t worry about Xiao Hua going hungry.

In fact, it was normal, for Xu Yang had found Xiao Hua’s body to be exceptionally agile, its actions graceful.

Hunting was nothing more than chasing after prey.

It was not difficult for Xiao Hua, it was just a matter of whether it wanted to or not.

"Alright, no worries, I’ll still feed you when you come to me."

Xu Yang petted it, then said.

Upon hearing this from Xu Yang, Xiao Hua regained its happy demeanor.

It picked up the wild rabbit and, along with Xu Yang, went to go see Luna.

Xiao Hua was still plump and rounded all over.

Luna’s belly had grown a lot, and she was in great spirits.

Xu Yang played with them for a while, petted the leopard, then headed back to the farm.

The farm was still bustling with activity.

But with April almost over, the income of the farm wasn’t very good.

After all, it was springtime, not the harvest season, so there definitely wasn’t much income.

Considering utilities, employee expenditures, there was quite a bit of expense.

Xu Yang did some calculations and concluded that April was a loss.

Some money was made from the yogurt and handmade ice cream, and some from renting out the tractor for work, but that was about it.

While it was acceptable, he invariably thought about turning a profit every month.

The resources of the farm needed to be well-utilized.

Xu Yang started to think about a stable income.

He had just called the employees to make handmade yogurt, and then he thought about solidifying the handmade craft line.

"I want to start a handicraft workshop to make some crafts."

"We can make quite a few things on our farm."

"Later on, we can buy more hens to lay some eggs."

"We have both eggs and milk, and there’s no lack of grain here, so we can even make cakes."

"Then we can sell them at the market."

Xu Yang shared his thoughts with the employees.

When they heard this, naturally, they all agreed.

After all, they didn’t have to invest any money, and if the workshop made tasty goods, they were sure to enjoy them too.

Of course, the work that needed to be done still had to be done.

"Farmer, that sounds good, everyone can help out when we’re not busy."

"I think it’s great, we can earn a bit extra that way."

"What’s suitable for a handicraft workshop, though? Don’t we still need to hire someone?"

"If we just make common cakes, popcorn, and such, we won’t make much profit."

Everyone responded in turn.

This matter required more deliberation.

However, it would definitely be better to have one’s own workshop once the farm developed.

Just like the great dairy companies in the grasslands, some of which own their pastures, offering a complete service from breeding to farming.

Producing and selling on their own, profits can multiply many times over.

"Right now, it’s just an idea, nothing’s been decided."

"I’ll look into it later," said Xu Yang.

He had a rough idea in mind, but as to what to do and how to do it, that needed planning.

And most importantly, a skilled baker was needed for the crafts.

So the farm would need to hire someone eventually.

Xu Yang looked at his farm, seeing it develop; when the farm made money this year, it would be time for a renovation.

Busy and lively, May arrived.

Days went by quickly.

Wandering around the farm a couple of times a day, doing some work, playing with the small animals, and the day would be over.

Mostly because there were many animals he played with, from the black kites flying in the sky to the sika deer running on the ground, there was everything.

Lately, the black bear in the mountains had been very active, always making its way toward the farm.

This fellow was pretty interesting.

Always standing outside the fence, innocently waving at the employees inside the farm

At first, the employees were a bit scared.

They worried the black bear might lure them out to eat them.

Later, Xu Yang told them that the Black Bear was simply coming to beg for food, and everyone gradually stopped being afraid.

Sometimes when they saw it, they even fed it something to eat.

Clearly, the Black Bear had discovered the organized joys of life and continued to strive for a position at the farm.

From behind the barriers, Xu Yang looked at it from a distance and laughed, "Feeding you is fine, but you can’t come in."

"We can’t let Black Bears into the farm."

Hearing his words, the Black Bear was not discouraged and still cheerfully waved its paws, responding with enthusiasm.

Xu Yang had not expected that after a few interactions with the Black Bear, the creature would become more and more daring.

And it had also mastered the methods of interacting with humans.

Generally speaking, wild Black Bears are quite ferocious, but this one was completely different.

One can only say that the thoughts of animals can slowly change as well.

Just like the wolves in Xizang, the seagulls in the ocean, and the foxes in winter.

It was evident that the Black Bear had realized that as long as it wasn’t violent towards humans and simply waved its paws, it would get something tasty to eat.

It was now, marginally considered an off-site member of the farm.

The employees were no longer afraid of it, and occasionally when they saw it, they would still call out "Black."

The Black Bear would then come over joyfully to receive food.

Once it had its fill, the Black Bear would run back into the forest to play.

Actually, if raised from a young age, bears can be nice pets, the key being that they understand human nature.

In Russia, there are many such examples.

Families get along well with bears.

Of course, a bear is still a bear, and their size is imposing; there are indeed special cases where they have eaten their owners.

During this period, Xu Yang went deep into the mountains once to complete a Treasure Hunting Task.

The rewards were also rather ordinary.

The farm was continuously developing, and with every day’s rural life, many more animals were bred on the farm.

For example, the mother hens.

There was a high demand for eggs, so thirty laying hens were purchased, useful both for producing eggs and for consumption.

But they soon discovered that they had more eggs than they could eat.

The hens were laying too well.

Every other day, Xu Yang had to carry a basket of eggs to the family shop to have his parents help sell them.

With an abundance of eggs and milk, Xu Yang thought of making cakes.

After all, these are the basic ingredients for cakes.

The next step was to find a baker.

Xu Yang could do it himself, of course, but he had many other things to take care of and couldn’t make handmade cakes every day.

So, it was necessary to hire someone.

Nowadays, there are many bakers.

Many people don’t want to work for others and think of opening a cake shop, but once they start, they realize it’s not so simple.

He began to look for candidates for this role.

And he planned to make use of the outermost house in the living area, specifically for crafting handmade delicacies.

Things like ice cream and yogurt would also be made there.

There were plenty of bakers, but the key was to find one with good skills and attention to detail.

Xu Yang and the employees discussed these matters, pooling ideas to ensure a more solid plan.

"Farmer, if we make the common type of cake with eggs and milk, the profit margin is not great. With the cost of space, labor, and having to take it out to sell, we can’t sell much," Ma Wen, who had more experience, put forward his suggestion.

"How about we open a boutique birthday cream cake shop? I’ve seen specialty cake stores in the town," Wang Wu proposed.

"The problem is, who will buy? Our farm is remote and not situated in a market. We can only sell by taking them out; we definitely can’t run a cake shop," Zheng Xiangqian added.

By discussing together, things became clearer.

"I suggest we make something that is easier to preserve, like brewing wine or making jam," Ma Wen suggested again.

Occasionally holding a meeting was quite essential.

Listening to everyone’s advice, Xu Yang pondered.

He said, "We produce quite a lot of eggs and milk here that we can’t consume every day. Taking them out to sell isn’t worth it, so I thought about making them into cakes."

"Freshly made cakes are quite popular."

"My idea is not to open a shop, as our farm is closed off."

"I’m thinking of finding someone to be in charge of buying spot goods."

"Later, I’ll handle getting the food license and build up the farm’s sideline business."

"We’ll produce the raw materials on the farm, then make the cakes on the spot outside. The profit will definitely be higher than just selling eggs and milk,"

Xu Yang was full of ideas.

The plan was feasible.

Fresh made mini cakes were not easy to find on the market nowadays.

Xu Yang remembered back when he was a child; whenever he went to the market, seeing vendors making cakes on-site was guaranteed to draw a crowd.

The eggs and batter were prepared on the spot.

Baked in ovens, the cakes came out hot, fluffy, and soft, with a particularly good texture.

Doing business with such cakes was very successful.

"The farm has a lot of work now; I’ll hire another chef to manage the logistics."

"Aunt Zhang is also overwhelmed now," Xu Yang continued.

Indeed, as he said, the farm was in need of a cook.

After all, five or six big men had significant appetites.

Soon Xu Yang began to screen applicants, looking to hire.

His luck and foresight were always good. A very reliable couple came to apply, one to take care of kitchen affairs, the other to learn cake-making.

They too had failed in their venture in the county city and decided to work for others.

The husband and wife team managing logistics, Xu Yang took the time to get to know them better, even visiting places they had previously worked.

Both were reputable, reliable, and honest.

It was because of their honesty and a bit of naivety in running a business that they suffered losses.

Honest people are not suited for running a shop where profit is eeked out bit by bit.

Doing everything earnestly doesn’t make money,

Aunt Zhang continued to be hired by Xu Yang as well, coming in daily to work in the kitchen.

In this way, the logistical support for the farm was settled.

Every market day, they also had time to go and sell some goods.

The sales channels for the farm began to take shape as well.