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As soon as Yuan Xi got out of the car, a fire rushed towards him and then his vision went dark.
His head was covered by black hair, so he reached up and pulled a hairball off his face. He then met a pair of mung bean eyes. Yuan Xi remained quiet. It looked like a bird"s face….
The small mung bean eyes also looked a bit silly. The hairball stared at him, then it muttered and began to call, and also flailed its limbs as it struggled in his grip.
It fluttered so hard that it dislodged a pile of fiery red feathers, causing Yuan Xi to sneeze and let it go. As soon as it was released, it became more energetic. The smooth, round body of the creature flapped its wings, huffing and puffing, as it flew up. Unfortunately, it was so fat that its wings couldn"t support it. After flying for a moment, it looked for a place to land, fell, and squatted down.
Yuan Xi"s head sank…. A cloud of black lines hung over his forehead.
The d.a.m.n fat bird squatted on his head!
F*cking egg! Fat bird, you think you"re a little bird, but your round body is just like a watermelon! You want to crush laozi* to death, ah!
*laozi = "old master", angry/arrogant way to refer to oneself
The fat bird was unaware of the killing intent aimed at it from just under its b.u.t.tocks. It just felt like it stood tall and was able to look far; it has never been so high in the entirety of its birdy life! It felt so heroic that it could not help cooing again.
This scene made all the onlookers laugh.
At this time, the long-time workers from the breeding area rushed over and saw the scene. They were amused but didn"t dare to show it on their face. They didn"t know what to do.
The fat bird crouched on a guest"s head. He started to grab it, but felt it was not right to grab it, so stopped. G.o.d, what kind of hospitality was this? Will they be fired…? Suddenly, there was some confusion.
Yuan Xi wanted to make his own way in life and drag the fat bird down himself, but who knew the fat bird was awfully spirited? Its fat claws gripped Yuan Xi"s hair to death, sitting firmly on his head as steady as Mount Tai without budging an inch…
Yuan Xi tugged at it for half the day*, causing his head and scalp to ache. There truly was no way for him to pull it down, so he had to ask what was the matter.
*半天 literally means "half the day" but it essentially means "a long time" or "quite a while"
The long-term hired hand stammered out the whole story from beginning to end.
It turned out that this was a Sutou bird. There were a group of approximately 30 Sutou birds on w.a.n.g Qingnian"s farm. w.a.n.g Qingnian recently raised a batch of chicks as the Sutou birds" eggs have been selling well. However, this Sutou bird was both male and female, and couldn"t be differentiated at all.
Therefore, once they all grow up, the ones who can lay eggs are determined to be female while the ones who cannot lay eggs are males. The males are not very useful and can also cause trouble, so it was customary to catch and slaughter them to sell their meat.
This fat bird has never laid eggs. It was practical to let it stay for longer if it looks like it will be a mother, but it has been more than 10 days and it still hasn"t laid an egg. It certainly must be a male.
As a result, the long-term hired hand wanted to catch and kill it today. Who would have thought that the bird was very smart, jumping like a chicken or a dog*, so that no one could catch it? Also, letting him squat on the guest"s head.
*essentially, causing chaos/mess
Feeling this fat bird is for life*……
After listening to the whole story, w.a.n.g Qingnian bustled with noise and excitement. He was familiar with Yuan Xi, so he laughed and joked: "Son, this fat bird knows you, the new master, is a savior and it caught you."
When he said this, everyone laughed but the long-term hired hand was frightened. He had long heard that the farm was going to change hands, but never imagined that the new owner would come to examine it today. Then something like this happened to him. He…his job…Instantly, the long-time worker"s face paled.
Yuan Xi was careful and noticed the look on the long-term hired hand"s face, but he didn"t say much. He just pulled at the fat bird and said to it: "Ok, ok, if we don"t kill you, shall we keep you?"
He didn"t know if it was a coincidence or if the fat bird listened and understand to what Yuan Xi said, but it relaxed its claws and suddenly took a big step forward. The bird"s plump body fell steadily into Yuan Xi"s arms and clucked a triumphant call to the long-term worker.
w.a.n.g Qingnian laughed hard and said: "This fatso is even like a human, haha!"
Yuan Xi didn"t know whether to laugh or to cry, but the fat bird looked at him and depended upon him. Yuan Xi had to hold it and continued to tour the farm holding the bird.
The fat bird dominated the s.p.a.ce around it, holding its head high and maintaining an imperious air throughout the tour. It gained face in front of the rest of the livestock, including the other Sutou birds, white-striped cattle, zebra piglets, and fire antelopes.
The extra farming area w.a.n.g Qingnian opened up was not small, at least 3 mu of land. The population of Sutou birds was relatively large and occupied a larger area. There were 12 white-striped cattled, which produced milk. Meat from zebra piglets was also popular on Blue Star, so w.a.n.g Qingnian just recently bought 20 piglets, each of them white and perfectly round. They looked perfect for fattening up.
Fire antelopes were not what Yuan Xi expected. They were red and furry, like clouds. w.a.n.g Qingnian took good care of them, each looking very clean though not very big. They were like pets.
Yuan Xi carefully inquired about them. w.a.n.g Qingnian answered: "Don"t underestimate these little guys. This is a hybrid breed that I imported from outside the planet. Though they"re smaller than the white-striped dairy cows, their milk production is comparable to that of the white-striped cow. They also have a longer weaning period, and their meat is very delicious after they grow up…"
As Yuan Xi listened, he realized these little guys were all treasures. He couldn"t help asking another question: "Why don"t you breed them in large quant.i.ties?"
w.a.n.g Qingnian sighed: "I want to, too. However, these antelopes are hybrids so they"re not fertile. You have to buy new pups after raising a batch. Although the production is high, the costs are much higher. After calculating for a time, I realized that there isn"t a large difference in profit from raising white-striped cows and zebra pigs."
It turned out like that. Yuan Xi also felt regretful.
w.a.n.g Qingnian added: "The reason why I raised this batch again this year is to create a new image of selling fresh meat, which would improve the farm"s fame. But, it"s a bit difficult to rely on them to make money."
Yuan Xi nodded in understanding, but he was still a little more concerned about the antelopes. If he could breed them, that would greatly reduce the costs, and they could produce both milk and meat. Yuan Xi also carefully touched the fire antelope"s thick wool, thinking that it was likely there could also be a market for this wool. The whole body was a treasure, which could increase the profits.
The tour took a full hour from the beginning to the end. w.a.n.g Qingnian was a quick talker, especially since he liked Yuan Xi very much. He wanted to tell Yuan Xi all that he knew and of all his experiences. He told Yuan Xi all of it.
Yuan Xi was grateful for his attentions. It was his good luck to meet w.a.n.g Qingnian. When he was treated so sincerely by others, he remembered it clearly in his heart and would naturally strive to repay others ten times what he received.
The area for the livestock was different from the area for agriculture. Although the planting area was the largest, there were not many people on it. There were only three long-term workers to manage it. On the other hand, the area for livestock was smaller but employed a total of 15 workers, five times as many workers as the area for planting.
This was due to the relative developments in science and technology in these times. Because of his daughter"s studies, w.a.n.g Qingnian also accepted more equipment for use in the field. From sowing to irrigating, fertilizing and pesticidal treatment to the final harvest, there were corresponding machines in the agricultural area. These machines were expensive, but they could be rented specifically because they were used on a regular basis, which saved a lot of money and reduced human labor.
Additionally, three long-term workers patrol the grounds every day, paying attention to the growth of the crops. They knew the growth schedules well.
However, the livestock areas were different, including pastures, feed allocation, cleaning the livestock areas, cattle and sheep grazing, egg collection, milking, etc…. These occur every day. Although there were corresponding machines for these jobs, the price was too expensive and was not economical at all.
Furthermore, the scale of the livestock area was relatively small. Even full-time manual care did not require too many people. It was already very relaxed with just 15 people, so there was no need to use machines.
After they finished the tour, the fat bird crouching in Yuan Xi"s arms fell asleep… Yuan Xi"s mouth puckered, and he deeply wondered if it was a bird or a pig.
Yuan Xi and Yuan Yucheng were very satisfied with the tour. At the current federal pricing, w.a.n.g Qingnian"s farm could be bought even if the selling price reached 5 million credit points. w.a.n.g Qingnian only asked for 2 million credit points from Yuan Xi, which was practically nothing.
As soon as the two parties sat down, they discussed the price again. w.a.n.g Qingnian very strongly insisted: "Brother, Xiao Xi, you don"t have to give in either. Although I, w.a.n.g Qingnian, am not very rich or n.o.ble, I don"t value money overly much. As long as I work hard, money can always be earned again. However, these emotional matters can only be found by luck, not by searching for it. Especially my brother, you saved my father, so I"m repaying a debt of grat.i.tude!"
w.a.n.g Qingnian said this eloquently, but Yuan Yucheng was not a talker. He was a little dumb in speaking about matters in his heart, and couldn"t reply.
Yuan Xi looked at Yuan Yucheng and knew his thoughts. Their family had already decided the matter. It was unreasonable to owe so much due to human sympathies and sentiment. Although he saved Old w.a.n.g, honestly speaking, no one would with a conscience would idly stand by. Furthermore, nothing happened in the end and both sides were doing well. Yuan Xi couldn"t take advantage of them like this.
Yuan Yucheng didn"t know how to say this, so Yuan Xi simply said it on his behalf: "Uncle w.a.n.g, my parents and I have discussed this for a long time these past few days. Our two families are friendly, and we know your kind regards for us. As you said, you don"t value money, but you value the mutual affection we hold for each other. You think our hearts are warm, but our minds are the same as yours. Our feelings remain, even if we are far away. But our feelings often come and go. Can we get closer and closer?"
Yuan Xi"s words were soft, but his att.i.tude was correct. His words also showed that the relationship between the two families was to support each other with courtesy. It was also to subtly show w.a.n.g Qingnian that what he wanted from the other party was mutual respect and gradual progress. Only in this way could they move forward in the long run.
w.a.n.g Qingnian was old-fashioned and could not hear the underlying meaning, so he hesitated for a moment.
When Yuan Xi noticed his hesitation, he laughed and jokingly said: "Uncle, don"t say anything more about grat.i.tude, or else I"ll always think that you want to get rid of our relationship."
w.a.n.g Qingnian was stunned by his remarks, but then he laughed and clapped Yuan Xi on the shoulder. He said: "You little boy, you came to shock me*."
*google and baidu said this was "stimulate me" or "excite me". I went with some less ambiguous words, lol
Seeing Yuan Xi smiling like a little fox, his heart was also very happy and he said: "Alright, your Uncle w.a.n.g can"t talk to you. I"m impressed, you"re the boss, I"ll listen to you."
In the end, w.a.n.g Qingnian set the price at 3.5 million credit points, including the 300 mu of fields, orchards, vegetable gardens, and livestock area. He even resolutely made them accept the small, two-story Western-style building, too.
Yuan Xi no longer refused. With a smile on their faces, they left. Both parties went together to register at the administrative office of Blue Island.
Because they bought a house in Blue Star before, the Yuan family were already registered residents in Blue Star. Therefore, the process of buying land was not as complicated.
But in the end, there was a dispute over the ownership of the property.
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The author has something to say:
It"s been hot recently. My sisters should take care to sunstroke prevention!
PS. Thank you. Yunchen Maple threw a mine. Tiger Dandan threw a mine. Ziji threw a mine.
Kisses!
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T/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late, late upload! I actually had this chapter done for, like, 3 weeks but kinda lost myself in a binge-reading haze for the past few weeks T.T
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! And thanks for all your likes, follows, comments, and supports! I appreciate you all so much! Mwah~~~
And, as always, if you guys like what I do and want to support me, you can buy me a