Chapter 1151: Good Hides

The group took Changle to visit the warehouse. Regarding the still-well-stocked warehouse, Changle expressed that it was quite good and offered his praise, also confirming that they were not lacking in grain.

However, Changle also curiously asked, "Since you arrived here, have you slaughtered any cattle or sheep?"

"Prince, we have not slaughtered any cattle or sheep, because we feel the number of cattle and sheep is still too small. We should let them breed more; only when the numbers are sufficient can we slaughter them for food.

Currently, we have only eaten a few cattle and sheep that were bitten to death or crippled by wild beasts and could not survive. We couldn't let them go to waste for the beasts, so we had no choice but to process and eat them ourselves."

Changle nodded slightly: "Hmm, it is good that you have this awareness. However, when it is time to slaughter, you should slaughter. You can keep more cattle and let them breed more; later, whether used for riding or as labor, both are fine. As for sheep, there is no need to be so concerned."

"Moreover, you have learned from the Ministry of Agriculture, right? Sheep should basically be culled after two years. Ewes can be kept for one more year, but rams should be slaughtered when it is time, leaving only the lead ram."

"A litter of sheep can produce so many; the breeding speed is fast enough. Letting you raise cattle and sheep is for you to eat. If you are reluctant to eat them, then what is the point of raising them, right?"

"Also, I see the pasture here is so good. After I go back, I will see if I can apply to have two veterinarians transferred here to help you out and pass on some experience to you."

"Another thing is that our Huaxia now has that castration technology, especially for rams. Once a ram is castrated, it won't grow such long horns, it won't like to fight, and the meat will be a bit more fragrant. You will be able to raise them longer and raise them until they are fatter."

Ce did not understand: "Prince, what is castration? Does our Huaxia have this technology now?"

"It means cutting off the sheep's testicles so it cannot breed. Our Huaxia has only just started promoting it, so perhaps you don't know yet. The Grain Coupon and Meat Ticket plan we implemented at the end of last year is related to this."

"Right now, our Huaxia is already eating castrated mutton. You should have been working at that time; how come you haven't heard of this?"

Ce shook his head in embarrassment: "I truly haven't. Is this a matter for the Ministry of Agriculture? I haven't listened to things in such detail."

"It is a matter for the Ministry of Agriculture. If you haven't heard of it, then never mind. I will resolve this for you when the time comes. It just so happens that this falls within the scope of my work for this trip; these are all things I need to be responsible for. When the time comes, I will resolve everything you need."

The officials expressed their gratitude to Changle once again. They truly felt they were very lucky to have someone of Changle's status come here, as this had already solved many of their troubles. Some problems, if they brought them up themselves, Huaxia might not necessarily help them solve, and they themselves found it difficult to bring them up.

For example, the matter of the office Glass. They felt this was a difficulty that could be overcome and could be done without entirely. Isn't it just a bit darker and the lighting a bit worse? Just persevering would be fine. If they really went to ask for it, what about the costs along the way? Perhaps those dozen or so simple pieces of Glass would require half a bullock cart to transport, and there would be great loss. Did they dare to report that up?

If they reported it, what would the leaders think? What would Baifeng think? Would they think that these young people were too incompetent, unable to get things done, and already thinking about enjoying themselves?

But for Changle, it was just a matter of one sentence. He felt the conditions for the people here were too arduous, and they were doing their work quite well. Giving them some Glass was just a simple sentence; it was impossible for it not to happen. These people didn't need to take any risks.

Therefore, Ce was already thinking that for everything they needed here—whether it was something he could bring up, something he could report, or something he couldn't report—it would be best to find a way to let Changle discover it. In that way, he wouldn't need to expend the slightest bit of effort to have all his problems solved.

Changle also discovered that there were many furs in the warehouse, which looked like they hadn't been tanned yet. So, he went over and specifically took a look. He didn't expect that the quality of these skins was actually quite good, especially the leopard skins, with patterns that were large and beautiful.

"Eh, these skins are all very good. Did you hunt them yourselves here?"

Wuzhong introduced from the side: "Yes, we hunted them all ourselves. There are quite a lot of leopards and wolves here, as well as bears. The leopard skins here are quite good-looking."

"It's just that we don't have the good conditions and technology of our Huaxia here, so we just leave them to dry, planning to wait until we can bring them back to Huaxia and let the craftsmen of Huaxia City tan them. If we do it ourselves, it's a bit of a waste of such good skins."

Regarding these skins, Changle was not one to refuse; he was prepared to take them all. Because such good skins counted as high-end products, especially the leopard skins, which were beautiful and soft, and since hunting them was dangerous, the quantity was relatively small.

The inferior skins could be left for them to make clothes for themselves, but the good skins definitely had to be brought back to Huaxia, especially the rare and precious ones, which had to be brought back.

"Fine, I will take all these skins back. No, I will take these better ones back; once they are brought back, I can exchange them for more grain for you. Such good skins are just a waste here."

The members of the Western Development Group all readily agreed. Even if they didn't get grain, they would be completely willing, because they had already received enough. Giving the Prince some beautiful skins—wasn't that what they should do?

Changle squatted on the ground, flipping through the slightly fishy-smelling skins. Ayuduo was doing the same, but she had sharp eyes and immediately saw a few very small skins. The fur color was one she had never seen before, but they were definitely not from rabbits or the like.

She picked one up and found the texture was exceptionally good, so she handed it to Changle to look at. Changle took it and found it was indeed a very small piece, so he curiously asked Wuzhong: "What is going on with this? You found a leopard den and even skinned the little leopards?"

After Wuzhong looked carefully, he hurriedly waved his hands to explain: "This is not that. It's not a leopard; it's a small wild beast called a 'Mi'. It's very small, but it looks a bit like a leopard. The hunters caught a few when they went out. I haven't seen them either; it's what they told me."

"Although they aren't big, they are still very wild and very fierce. Oh right! Isn't it that someone found a litter and is raising them? They are even feeding them sheep milk."

Changle was greatly alarmed: "How can you raise live animals here? And wild beasts at that. Isn't that too dangerous?"

Wuzhong explained with a bit of a guilty conscience: "These are really very small. They can't hurt people, and they can't eat cattle or sheep. At most, they catch rabbits and wild chickens. They are just tiny and quite fun, so we let them be raised."