Chapter 1046: Is Jia Jia Tianlong's Second Child a Boy or a Girl?

At the livestock market on the edge of Ma County, Li Long, Uncle Lao Luo, Yang Laoliu, Tao Daqiang, and others began selecting cattle and sheep.

The cattle and sheep brokers here recognized these people; seeing they had no intention of hiring a broker, they did not come up to disturb them.

Both Xie Xie Yun Dong and Li Long understood a bit of minority languages, so communicating with those ethnic herders went smoothly, and they quickly settled deals for two herds of cattle and sheep.

With Li Long's authorization, Xie Xie Yun Dong acted boldly; this herd of over two hundred sheep was purchased as a group, with a small portion being winter lambs, the majority being two-to-three-year-olds, and some being over three years old.

Although Li Long had requested cattle and sheep with younger ages, this was difficult to achieve.

Therefore, they would buy a batch today and continue later.

The purchased cattle and sheep still needed deworming and bathing; anyway, the team's sheep-washing pool was currently used mostly by Old Ma Hao's side, as Ma Jinbao's flock numbers had been decreasing, so it was rarely used.

A herder wearing a white cap approached voluntarily, wanting to sell his cattle and sheep to Li Long, and he spoke directly:

"My sheep are cheap! The quantity isn't large either; boss, you're generous, just take them all!"

Li Long took only one glance and immediately shook his head, refusing to buy.

"Just take a look; let me tell you, see, there are fifty-one sheep, with over thirty being large ones; these sheep are much cheaper than those in other herds... look, winter lambs make up the majority; for all these sheep, I'm asking only thirteen hundred yuan..."

It was indeed quite cheap, but Li Long still shook his head.

That person tried to pester them further, but Tao Daqiang shoved him aside.

Tao Daqiang's deterrent power was second only to Li Long's; he actually raised his fist, meaning that if this person did not leave, he would resort to violence.

Having no other choice, that person could only leave.

Uncle Lao Luo, whose eyesight was poor, asked Li Long why he hadn't bought that person's cattle and sheep, noting that at current prices, it was quite a bargain.

"Several sheep in that herd have skin diseases," Li Long stated directly. "If we were buying them for immediate slaughter, it wouldn't matter. But since we are buying them as herds to mix with ours, soon all our cattle and sheep would end up with bare backs!"

"Hey, then we definitely can't take them!" Uncle Lao Luo hurriedly waved his hands.

The two already-purchased herds totaled nearly five hundred sheep and fewer than twenty head of cattle; Li Long instructed Uncle Lao Luo and Yang Laoliu to drive them back first.

With not so many vehicles on the road now, driving the cattle and sheep back along the route went quite smoothly—from the Lanzhouwan intersection, following the old ring road, they could reach the north side of the county town without entering the city itself, minimizing impact.

Holding their sheep-driving whips, Uncle Lao Luo and Yang Laoliu positioned one by the Ma River and one at the rear, driving the now-merged herd northward.

It was still early, and Li Long felt more herds of cattle and sheep would likely arrive successively, so he decided to wait a while.

Sure enough, not long after, another large herd of cattle and sheep arrived.

Some people had already spotted them; before the herd even reached the spot, they rushed over to inquire about prices, and several brokers also went to ask around.

Li Long and his group were in no hurry; after all, they had plenty of time today.

However, soon a very promising herd of cattle and sheep was driven over, prompting Li Long to change his strategy and walk over quickly.

This herd numbered three to four hundred; although they all looked rather thin and weak, Li Long could see that the animals were not old, having simply failed to gain weight during winter, and with spring grass not yet grown, they hadn't recovered.

With just a few days of fattening, the appearance of these cattle and sheep would change rapidly.

Li Long could see this, and others could too; quite a few people rushed forward.

Li Long spoke first:

"Are you selling by the herd? What's the total price for both large and small? If it's suitable, I'll buy them all!"

His words immediately stunned the others.

This group of theirs had already bought two herds of sheep; in others' eyes, the cattle and sheep they had acquired already equaled the flock size of a medium-scale herder, and now they wanted more?

What were they planning to do? Start a livestock cooperative?

The Kazak uncle driving the cattle and sheep was delighted upon hearing this and immediately started chatting with Li Long.

Those coming here to sell cattle and sheep naturally wished to sell the entire herd at once, avoiding having people pick and choose, leaving behind cull animals that were hard to dispose of.

Buyers like Li Long were exactly what they preferred most.

For the three hundred and eighty-two sheep, Li Long finally purchased them at an average price of twenty-five yuan per head.

It was a large sum of money, but well worth it.

The sheep were very thin; averaging ten or so kilograms of meat per sheep after slaughter would be considered good.

Therefore, that Kazak uncle was also quite happy; being able to sell off his cattle and sheep all at once nearly made him a 'ten-thousand-yuan household,' and this money could accomplish many things.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Li Long said, looking at the sky; it was already mid-morning, and they couldn't stay longer. Driving the cattle and sheep back now, they could reach home before dark. After all, cattle and sheep move slower than people; three kilometers per hour is already good, and they might need a rest at noon.

The task of driving the sheep was handed to Xie Xie Yun Dong and Tao Daqiang; Li Long drove the jeep, taking Liang Liang Dacheng and Jia Weidong back first to eat a meal, then they would swap with Uncle Lao Luo and Yang Laoliu, and later swap again with Tao Daqiang and the others.

Rotating the driving duties this way ensured the people wouldn't become too exhausted.

After all, there were still many tasks ahead—although the sheepfolds were ready, shearing the sheep, bathing them, and subsequently separating them into pens for feeding and fattening would be quite troublesome.

Of course, with so many cattle and sheep bought this time, the supply of raw materials for dried meat would no longer be so tight.

Rotating in four shifts, the herd reached Old Ma Hao just as the sun was setting over Luoshan; both people and animals were quite tired. Fortunately, the journey had been smooth overall—although three herds had merged into one, cattle and sheep are relatively dull; with the lead sheep guiding, the others would follow.

Plus, with few vehicles on the road and space to move on both sides, no stampedes occurred, and they arrived safely.

Once inside the folds, things went well; when grass was scattered, the cattle and sheep, who were starving—having barely eaten any roadside grass during the drive to save time—ate eagerly.

Fearing these sheep might bloat from eating too much, they were given no grain on the first day, only grass, just to tide them over.

According to Yang Laoliu's suggestion, when separating the herds tomorrow, those lacking fat should be picked out and kept in a separate pen to be properly fattened over these coming days, allowing them to recover their condition.

Nothing much happened that night, but the next day, when the sheep herd left the fold to be driven into the wasteland, news spread instantly throughout the team.

Old Ma Hao suddenly had nearly a thousand extra sheep; what exactly was Li Long planning to do?

Many people knew Li Long was making dried meat, but no one knew the scale—they had assumed it was just like making snacks at home.

Who could have expected such a large scale?

Li Long, of course, did not explain in detail; anyway, grazing cattle and sheep on wasteland was not illegal, so no one interfered. Yang Laoliu was very proud; adding the original livestock in the fold, he now confidently led over a thousand 'subordinates.' However, Uncle Lao Luo did not comply with his wishes, directly splitting the cattle and sheep into two herds—according to him, he had originally wanted to split them into three, but Yang Laoliu firmly disagreed, so it could only be two.

Releasing such a massive herd of cattle and sheep into the wasteland with a whoosh was truly an impressive sight!

After all, the team's wasteland was not like mountain pastures; it was divided into large and small plots by cultivated fields. Releasing a herd of five to six hundred sheep into the wasteland immediately occupied a small section, creating a significant visual impact.

Li Long didn't worry about that; after giving instructions for the upcoming tasks, he attended to other matters on his end.

Following Li Long's directions, after separating the herds and giving the sheep medicated baths, Uncle Lao Luo used the loudspeaker to hire workers, mainly women, to shear the sheep and collect their cashmere.

At this time, the sheep's wool had basically not been sheared yet, though some of the goat cashmere had already been combed; it didn't matter, as long as they collected the cashmere that was there.

Little by little adds up; although sheep's wool is cheap, it makes up for it in quantity.

Although goat cashmere is scarce in quantity, with so many goats... even one kilogram of mixed-quality cashmere now fetches over a hundred yuan, while pure cashmere reaches two hundred!

Very expensive!

Li Long's purchasing station did accept goat cashmere, but they rarely received much; at most, sellers would bring a few hundred grams.

But combining Li Long's several herds, they managed to comb several kilograms of goat cashmere!

It could be considered a small profit.

Each woman shearing the wool received two yuan per sheep sheared—the money was earned quite efficiently.

After all, someone else tied the sheep up; one only needed to hold the shears and cut. Even if inexperienced, as long as one didn't cut the flesh and tried to shear as close as possible, it was fine.