Chapter 1780: Assistant Yu, Walking on Eggshells

Boss Zhai Dafeng had sent the message, but he wasn't anxious when he didn't get an immediate reply. Right now, he grabbed a handful of fodder from a basket and placed it into the cattle trough.

In an instant, the usually quiet cattle pen erupted into a clamor.

To prevent some cattle from missing out on food or wandering off, stall-fed cattle are sometimes tethered with very short ropes to keep them within a small area. The cattle had been like this since they were young, so they were accustomed to eating only from the portion of the trough directly in front of them.

However, the moment this handful of corn stalk fodder was put down—

"Moo!"

The cattle in the other rows also pulled at their ropes, struggling to reach this side. Because the ropes were short and the anchor posts were tight, the sounds of their pulling and mooing rose one after another.

Looking at the few cattle right in front, their massive heads were pushing and shoving; they showed none of their usual docile, honest demeanor, but were instead competing with extreme intensity!

Boss Zhai Dafeng gasped. Before he could figure out the reason, he hurriedly began distributing the fodder from the basket evenly into the rows of troughs.

But there was only one basket in total, and there were over 50 head of cattle in this pen alone!

Each cow barely got a mouthful, which went straight into their stomachs as soon as it entered their mouths.

"Moo..."

As the cattle here mooed, the cattle in the other pen, unaware of what was happening, began to moo along with them.

The laborer was dumbfounded: "Fourth Uncle, did you drug this corn stalk?"

Boss Zhai Dafeng was also bewildered: Drug it? Drug it with what? Who would be so unhinged as to drug corn stalks?

After a moment of dazed silence, he threw the basket down again, took out his phone, and hurriedly sent another message to Song Tan:

"Boss, are you selling these corn stalks?"

Song Tan had just finished giving instructions at home about mailing corn to Officer Xiao Yang. Seeing the message, she sighed:

"Sorry, Boss. You can see that I even have to bring the corn stalks over to be shredded, so you know the amount of fodder at home isn't large."

Oh my!

This was a question asked in vain. Everyone here raised cattle; as soon as Boss Zhai Dafeng heard the number—over 200 head—he knew the daily fodder consumption must be staggering. They would have to wrap up a massive piece of land just to keep up with the supply.

Farming like this, raking grass, preparing fodder, and taking care of the cattle—the money a family earns is all hard-earned, every drop of sweat worth its weight.

—It's just that their sweat beads are exceptionally large; one drop of sweat can earn 200.

If Boss Song says there's no fodder, then it must really be insufficient. Otherwise, why wouldn't she sell it if she could make money?

But understanding is one thing; this stuff really tasted good!

Since her cattle could sell for such a high price, it was hard for him to give up immediately. He was just struggling with the thought:

"Then if you have thirty or fifty tons, could you spare some for me? I'll raise a couple of cows to feed it to, and see if I can pull the price up."

When those in animal husbandry talk to peers, they really say whatever is on their minds. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it ruins the entire industry.

Song Tan couldn't refuse.

But—

"Boss, look, we're all in the same business, so I won't hide it from you. I could spare thirty or fifty tons, but your trial-and-error cost would be high. I don't sell this fodder for less than 3,000 per ton."

Not to mention anything else, in the spring, the cattle eat Chinese milk vetch. Even if you don't dare let them eat too much, how much does it cost per ton?

Selling it to Wu Lei was truly a price given only because they were relatives.

Boss Zhai Dafeng: "..."

3,000 a ton? A cow finishes it in two months. Does that mean it costs 50 a day just for silage?

How much money do they make after raising a cow for a year and selling it?

He originally wanted to say the price was outrageous, but then he thought about how she sold them for 200...

That 200 yuan was truly like the Five Fingers Mountain, firmly suppressing his skepticism.

"Then... then..."

Boss Zhai Dafeng struggled, ultimately not daring to invest that much capital, and could only sigh:

"Then forget it."

It's a small business; he didn't dare to take risks, and he couldn't withstand the wind and rain!

The cattle were still mooing, their expectant, large eyes fixed on him, attempting to get a little more of the delicious food.

But Boss Zhai Dafeng didn't dare to feed them anymore. Carrying the empty basket, he headed back, feeling dull and muddled.

His eldest nephew was confused, but followed him back and took over the laborer's job of feeding the machine.

The laborer didn't say anything either, just went to the other end to neatly gather the shredded fodder so it could be packed later.

Seeing this, Boss Zhai Dafeng hurriedly rushed to the wall, picked up the few scraps that had leaked out, put them inside, and took the opportunity to lecture his employee:

"Be careful, you can't waste this!"

It's 3,000 a ton! This handful is worth several cents!

Laborer:...

Their machine was an integrated unit. Someone at the front fed it a few stalks at a time, and the machine at the back shredded it, with a basket automatically moving forward to add more and mix it.

However, the shredder was too fast, and it was inevitable that some scraps would splash out.

But there wasn't much; at most, they would sweep it up once at the end.

They wouldn't put what they swept up into the packages, fearing that it might be contaminated and ruin the silage.

They would either throw it away or take it home to feed their own cattle.

He watched Boss Zhai Dafeng bending over and sticking his rear in the air, picking up the scraps from the ground to put into the package, then looked at the boss's relative who was feeding the machine earnestly, and then at the beautiful young female boss.

Taking advantage of when no one was looking, he whispered to the boss's nephew:

"Does this female boss have a big deal to give us?"

"Huh?" The nephew was stunned.

The laborer said: "If it weren't for a big deal, would our boss be this meticulous? Even the corn stalk scraps are treated like they're rare."

To tell the truth, who cares about these scraps? Maybe after finishing a hundred tons of fodder, you could sweep up a few baskets.

Even the stingiest boss wouldn't think they were taking advantage of him over one or two baskets of scrap fodder.

The nephew also sighed: "I don't know..."

His Fourth Uncle was really too honest. Someone said the fodder was 3,000 a ton, and one dared to say it, and Fourth Uncle dared to believe it!

And saying he couldn't spare any...

What a joke!

There are so many of these "retreat to advance" tactics on the internet now!

If these shredded corn stalks could be 3,000 yuan a ton, his mother could collect all the corn in the entire village overnight!

Hmph! He had to keep a close eye on Fourth Uncle; he couldn't let him get cheated!

Song Tan didn't know that the boss's nephew had become vigilant; she was just relieved that Boss Zhai Dafeng had made his decision so decisively.

Especially since the boss enthusiastically greeted her after picking up the fodder:

"Boss Song, you're so capable. I'll have to learn from you later! Remember to join the group I pushed to you; if we have any tips, let's share them."

"Definitely, definitely!"

Song Tan decided to pull Chen Xi into the group later, and while she was at it—

"Boss, we slaughtered a cow at home a few days ago. When I send more pasture over later, I'll bring you a piece of frozen beef. You should taste it."

"Our cattle really do have costs starting from the fodder; what I said before really wasn't an excuse."

This time, she wasn't deliberately trying to make him crave it.

She truly felt that those in animal husbandry had it tough, and if she wanted to build a good relationship, she had to be sincere.

Boss Zhai Dafeng had made his move, and she had to provide evidence of why her cattle were so expensive.

Otherwise, if her reputation in the local animal husbandry industry was ruined, people wouldn't be willing to tell her if there was any news later.

Although they weren't in the same lane and she didn't expect others to help her, if there was any sign of an infectious disease, it would be good to know in advance to prevent it.

"Wealthy as one may be, don't count the ones with fur"—that's exactly the risk they're talking about.

"Alright!" The boss hesitated for a moment, but ultimately wanted to taste why it sold for 200—

It wasn't said that if the cattle ate good fodder, the cattle would also become delicious, right?

While the fodder processing was in full swing, Little Zhang had successfully packed a full truck of express deliveries. He didn't continue sticking on labels, but tidied up a bit and got into the truck:

"Dad, Mom, you keep working here. I'll go send this batch off first."

Before leaving, he thought about it and urged his old mother: "Don't talk about how much money others are making anymore."

How could his mother dare to talk about it now?

"I even heard the price of 20 per stalk..." And she had to beg to sell it to him. Don't talk about making a 50% profit on 9.9 anymore.

If you calculate by price, where is the 50% profit? It's clearly a 50% loss.

No, adding in the costs, it's clearly a 70% loss.

Little Zhang's mother remembered the extremely delicious food she had eaten before, and closed her mouth again.

It was probably worth it, but she just wanted to sigh.

Sigh!

Why do rich people get to live such good lives?

The only happy one was Boss Chang.

In the hot weather, he rode the new electric scooter the Song family had bought, going up the mountain to look at the corn, then to the pond to look at the fish, so happy he was about to bubble at the nose.

The only regret was that Song Tan had gone to deliver fodder, so an hour and a half later, the big fish in the pond were almost all caught, and she still hadn't returned.

Oh my!

Boss Chang felt a bit regretful.

Because of the time, the fish caught from this pond weren't weighed in a hurry; they had to be taken back to Changle Residence to be weighed.

With his reputation, he naturally wouldn't shortchange anyone.

But he estimated there were only three or four thousand catties.

"We can finish catching them in an hour or so, and there's still space in the truck. Why don't we go to the river and catch some more?"

Song Song Sancheng wouldn't have it:

"Tantan won't allow it!"

In general farming, fish in ponds often have a bit of an earthy smell due to excessive feed and water quality issues.

Their family didn't feed them commercial feed, and for some unspeakable reasons, the fish in their pond tasted even better than those in the river.

But, gourmets could tell the difference between river fish and pond fish after one bite.

"Tantan said that river fish swim more, so the meat is springy, while pond fish swim less, so the meat is softer. Selling them mixed together and cooking them in one pot later isn't appropriate."

"Let's not sell them for now—isn't the Full Fish Banquet supposed to last for 3 days? We'll just stick to the 3 days."

Boss Chang became resentful:

His Changle Residence was a grand establishment, and the chefs in the kitchen had years of experience. Could they not tell the difference between fish?

Could they really end up cooking everything in one pot?

It was clearly just that she didn't want to sell the river fish.

"The price I'm offering is also good..."

A person like Song Song Sancheng usually had a bit of small shrewdness when selling agricultural products, but that small shrewdness couldn't even withstand three or five sentences of bargaining from an auntie, and he was even more helpless against Boss Chang.

But whenever he made a decision on his own, it was easy to ruin things, and Wu Lan would have to nag him.

Right now, he just listened to his daughter.

"Tantan said the fish over there aren't raised well enough yet, and the taste isn't enough. It's not appropriate."

Selling them cheap was a loss, and selling them expensive really lacked spiritual energy—anyway, the rain wouldn't affect vegetable procurement, and they came every day, so they could just sell some fresh ones slowly over time.

It was just that continuous rain had a slight impact on the river's water quality, so the sales cycle for these fish would have to be extended; only by selling them near the end of the year would they reach the best standard.

Boss Chang talked back and forth, but reasonable reservations weren't something he had to force; he just didn't want to leave.

If he left, it would affect the arrangements for the Full Fish Banquet.

But if he left, the remaining tens of thousands of corn stalks Song Tan promised him hadn't arrived yet!

If this stuff wasn't safely in his pocket, he wouldn't feel at ease.

But the problem was, they were prioritizing shipments now, and they couldn't get his ready for a while.

He had no choice but to urge them reluctantly: "Uncle, I won't say anything else, but this corn must be sent quickly! If there's enough time, I can add another dish to the Full Fish Banquet to make everyone even more satisfied."

If the reputation could be raised another level later, that would be comfortable!

Song Song Sancheng was full of confidence: "Don't worry, the corn stalks have all been harvested; if we don't hurry and peel the corn off, isn't that just waiting for it to lose freshness? I'll work overtime tonight to get it all packed up for you."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard Song Tan call:

"Dad, I forgot to arrange some corn for Officer Xiao Yang. Tell Little Zhang to send him 100 stalks too. The quantity is large, so they can't be covered together; send them by cold-chain transport."

"By the way, write Officer Xiao Yang's name and phone number as the recipient."

Officer Xiao Yang was Qiaoqiao's good friend, and her own child was still playing at their house!

Song Song Sancheng didn't even stutter: "Alright! I'll go pack them up right now!"

"By the way, should we send some to Little Zhu's grandfather and the others? And over in Ningcheng..."

"That girl who came last time, your friend... by the way, what about Little Lu? Little Lu didn't say whether she wanted any either, should I make a call and ask?"

"Your Auntie Lu probably has some sisters or friends, I'll ask them all together."

Boss Chang:...

This was why he didn't want to leave. Didn't he say he wouldn't feel at ease if it wasn't safely in his pocket!!!

Meanwhile, in Qincheng, Old Yang came out of a meeting and took out his phone to look—

Very good, no call from Officer Xiao Yang.

He hasn't reacted yet, has he?

He looked at the backend push notifications—

Huh?

Electronic door lock password entered incorrectly twice.

"Little Yu, has someone tampered with my bedroom door lock?"

Assistant Yu came over to take a look: "Yes. You can see the video from that time through this app."

What was there to see? This was the family bedroom; it must be Officer Xiao Yang.

Silly son, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. Can't you still not get the express delivery even with an Olympiad gold medal?

He thought of the things in the refrigerator and was eager to go home.

Wait!

Old Yang opened his phone and looked again.

No calls, no messages, not even a harassment on WeChat—his son wasn't such an honest person!

After getting the express delivery, he should have at least made a few calls to throw a tantrum, right?

Could it be that he was with Qiaoqiao, and being close to the water, he had asked for something else?

Old Yang pondered for a moment, then asked Assistant Yu:

"Little Yu, do you have any way to intercept Officer Xiao Yang's express deliveries from the last few days and have them sent to me?"

Assistant Yu's eyes widened:

He was young and had only been promoted a few months ago. Had the father-son relationship in wealthy families really become this tense?

First, changing the password on the electronic door lock monitor, and now intercepting express deliveries to invade privacy?

He was immediately terrified, and facing the boss's urgent questioning, he was really afraid that he would have to do dirty work next.

?? Back, back! Wiping sweat! Happy New Year, everyone! May you be prosperous and wealthy! ===== CHAPTER 1781 =====