"Go for it! Let's do it now! Sister-in-law, make a few hundred first and I'll try selling them to see how the market goes. Besides, it's still summer, and if they're not pickled properly, they'll easily go bad. Make a small batch first and make sure the quality is good. That way, if people like them, we can make real money when cured meats come to market in the fall and winter."
"That's right! I saw a video yesterday where an older woman bought half a pig to make sausages. Everyone's saying that pork is cheap now, and it's all the rage in the city to make sausages and cured meat out of season." Shan Chunhua is bored now and has started watching short videos.
“That makes sense! If it sells well, your stock of broilers might not be enough. We can then make a profit by buying a batch of broilers from other farms at a lower price to make dried chicken.”
Air-dried chicken is much more expensive than fresh, factory-farmed chicken. Jiang Xiaoman had previously inquired about prices at the wholesale market, and air-dried chicken sold for 18 yuan per jin (500g). How much is the wholesale price of factory-farmed chicken that hasn't been slaughtered? In the current market, people aren't even willing to buy it for 4.5 yuan per jin.
The main reason Jiang Xiaoman didn't hire someone to do the business himself, but instead came to Shan Chunhua and her husband to cooperate, was because he was unfamiliar with the chicken farming industry.
Unlike Shan Chunhua, who has reportedly been raising chickens for over ten years and knows many acquaintances in the industry, they can actually predict when the market will turn bad and it's time to slaughter chickens for cured meat.
Specifically, whenever Jiang Xiaoman went to the market and saw many chicken farm owners selling chickens and eggs on their own, it goes without saying that they would have cheap chicken and eggs to buy for a while.
Considering that he would mainly focus his energy on local honey and homestays in the future, and that salted eggs and dried chicken were just to enrich the product range of the shop, he did not plan to spend too much energy on this. In addition, since Shan Chunhua and her husband seemed to be loyal and reliable people, Jiang Xiaoman wanted to get them involved.
After writing down the recipes for making salted eggs and air-dried chicken, and explaining to Shan Chunhua the specific steps and points to note, Jiang Xiaoman hurriedly took the box of eggs and two laying hens that Shan Chunhua had given him home.
I haven't been home for several days, and the house has changed a lot. There are piles of old wood, wire, nails and the like on the cement ground in front of the new house. There are also two craftsmen sawing planks to make beehives. Jiang Tao and Jiang Feng from the same village are helping out.
Speaking of Jiang Tao and Jiang Feng, you can see the differences between people.
Jiang Xiaoman was complaining to her father that morning, saying that some men were simply unfit to be fathers, but these two uncles from the same clan in front of her were definitely the contrast to those scumbags.
There aren't many opportunities to make money in Langshan. You either have to go to the city to work or go to a mine near your home to work in the mines.
One advantage of working in a mine is that the wages are higher than those of a regular job, and you can also take care of your family. Therefore, many families who are really short of money or want to take care of their families nearby choose to work in a mine.
Jiang Tao and Jiang Feng both attended junior high school when they were young. They were good-looking and their families lived in a village at the foot of the mountain, so they got married early. In order to send their children to school in a more distant county, the two cousins went to work at the mine.
Due to inexperience, Jiang Tao lost sight in one eye in an accident, and Jiang Feng fared even worse. After being rescued, his left arm below the elbow was crushed and could not be reattached.
What's worse, after the accident at that small mine, the boss used the excuse that the two of them had too short tenure to compensate Jiang Tao with 20,000 yuan, and Jiang Feng, who had broken an arm, received a little more compensation, but it was only 80,000 yuan, and he was just sent away hastily.
If they went to ask for money again, they would unleash their wolves to bite them.
They were both from the mountains, powerless and without influence. At that time, they didn't think to ask the government for help in protecting their rights. As a result, both of them became disabled and were unable to go out to work.
Even so, they didn't stay idle; they looked for work everywhere to save money for their children's schooling.
They didn't want their children to suffer the same losses they had already experienced.
Jiang Youliang has always been soft-hearted. He probably saw that the two of them were having a hard time finding work outside, and since the family needed someone to help make beehives, he hired them to help.
The job pays eighty yuan a day, including lunch. It's not a lot of money, but it's considered a pretty good job in the mountains.
To save money, Jiang Youliang didn't hire many people. He only hired two skilled carpenters to help make beehives. He himself was also a carpenter, so he helped plan the wood. Jiang Tao and Jiang Feng were the laborers, helping to move wood, pass nails and wires, and do other odd jobs.
Watching her two disabled uncles working hard to move the planks, Jiang Xiaoman felt a pang of sadness. She greeted her father and went inside to prepare to kill the chicken and cook.
One day, he will surely enable these people from his hometown who are willing to work hard for a living to live the life they want!
When he entered the house, he found that his father had already started cooking potato rice, with several large green eggplants placed around the edge of the rice, probably because he wanted to have some cold eggplant salad for dinner.
Yes, it's so hot, we should eat something appetizing.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Xiaoman killed a chicken, chopped the chicken into small pieces, picked out a few spicy green peppers from the basket, broke off a large piece of ginger, and planned to make a spicy chicken, a stir-fried egg with green peppers, a stir-fried cabbage with sliced meat, a bowl of sour and spicy pickled vegetables, and finally take out two of her own pickled stinky fish to cook. That would be enough for the group of them.
In the summer, I wasn't worried about the food getting cold and not tasting good. I would cook the food, bring it to the dining room next door, turn on the electric fan, and take out some chilled beer from the refrigerator before calling my dad to take everyone to wash their hands and eat.
"You're lucky! Look at your Xiaoman, she's good at making money and taking care of the family. I wonder which girl will be lucky enough to marry into your family in the future," the carpenter uncle who was helping to make the beehives teased kindly.
Now everyone in the village is saying that Jiang Xiaoman will stay in the village from now on. Judging from the Jiang family's situation, they are bound to prosper sooner or later. Some of the girls of marriageable age in their families or relatives are tempted.
It's just that Jiang Xiaoman is a college student. Many families' daughters drop out of school after graduating from junior high, so they don't dare to ask. This uncle probably wanted to sound him out.
Jiang Xiaoman sighed inwardly, noticing her father's expectant gaze, and could only force a smile: "Uncle, you don't know, starting a business is very risky. One wrong move and you can go bankrupt. I'm also worried about dragging the girl who marries into the family into hardship with me, so I thought I'd wait until the business is up and running before making any decisions."
"Yes, yes, my Xiaoman is only in her early twenties, she's still young." Jiang Youliang also realized what was going on.
Despite the fact that his family now has a big house and Jiang Xiaoman seems to make a lot of money, they actually have almost no savings.
Getting married in the countryside is no simple matter these days. Families who are particular about these things require "one thing that is not moving or immovable." The dowry and three gold pieces are just the tip of the iceberg; what's really important is this "one thing that is not moving or immovable."
The "moving" part requires a small car with four wheels, but it can't be a cheap one like a Wuling.
The idea of "not moving" is even more frightening. At the very least, one must buy a house in the county town outright, and the new bride cannot be allowed to marry into the family and help pay the mortgage.
These two things alone would cost at least a million or two hundred thousand to get things done!
Given his family's current circumstances, even if we talked, we wouldn't be able to get married.
When Jiang Youliang said that building a house had cost him all his money and that he had even borrowed some more, the carpenter uncle froze, looked embarrassed, took a big gulp of his wine glass, and said nothing more.
These days, which family doesn't make some demands when their daughter gets married? It seems Jiang Youliang isn't even able to afford the bride price, is he? That won't do! Let's wait and see.
Jiang Xiaoman narrowly escaped death, secretly wiping away a cold sweat.
Chapter 89
Taking advantage of the fact that there wasn't much going on at home these past few days, Jiang Xiaoman went to the market to buy some things and then made a trip to Laoshan'aozi.
He had originally planned to film a video of harvesting honey in the mountains, but he got tangled up with a bunch of other things and the matter has been on his mind ever since.
Coincidentally, the day before yesterday, Jiangyu sent him a WeChat message saying that Shanyan and his friends had found a wild beehive hanging on a cliff in the mountains. It looked huge from a distance, and they estimated that they could harvest at least several hundred kilograms of honey. They asked him if he wanted to come and take a look.
How could he not take such a great opportunity? Absolutely!
To catch up with the main group, Jiang Xiaoman arrived at Laoshan Aozi a day early and stayed overnight at Shanyan's house.
Shanyan is busy at home.
He and a few brothers tied torches, organized the honey-harvesting tools, and repeatedly checked the ropes.
These ropes are related to everyone's life and safety. In the Langshan area, almost every year there are people who fall while rock climbing and harvesting honey, resulting in serious injuries or death. Shan Yan takes these people out to earn money by risking their lives, but that doesn't mean he really wants to lead his brothers to risk their lives for money.
Therefore, every time he goes out, he has to repeatedly check things like ropes and buckles.
However, since the beehives they found this time were in a continuous cluster, they also brought along simple bamboo ladders, chisels, nails, and the like to ensure they had enough strength.
We'll carve holes in the cliff beforehand and hang ladders so that we can put our feet on the ladders, saving a lot of energy and providing another layer of safety.
Jiang Xiaoman put down her basket, took out her equipment from her backpack, and quickly started filming.
The young men, who were used to using their phones and familiar with cameras, grinned and waved at the camera when they saw him filming. Shan Yan, however, smacked each of them on the head with a flick of his wrist.
"What are you laughing at! You can't see the crack. Wait until the rope breaks while you're hanging on the cliff, then you can laugh your fill in your next life!"
The young men lowered their heads in grievance and continued to inspect the rope from the beginning.
"Brother Shanyan, I'm sorry, I disturbed your work." Jiang Xiaoman awkwardly put away her phone.
"What are you taking pictures of? You keep filming! I'm scolding them, and they can't even calm down in front of the camera. All these years of teaching have been for nothing!" Shan Yan raised his chin, gesturing for him to sit down next to him.
"You keep slapping them! Keep slapping them until they calm down!"
Rock climbing and honey harvesting requires quick eyesight, fast hands, and a calm mind.
You need a sharp eye; you need to be able to spot whether a beehive on a cliff is empty or has honey, and which spot is the safest to descend from.
Being quick means you have to be fast when harvesting honey. Otherwise, if the wild bees that were driven away by the thick smoke return and get trapped by the swarm, it can be fatal, even worse than falling off a cliff!
Staying calm means remaining composed no matter what happens. When going down a cliff, sometimes the rope buckle slips, or you suddenly encounter a crosswind and the rope swings violently. If you panic at this time, you are not far from death.
Jiang Xiaoman stuck out her tongue and, taking advantage of Shan Yan's inattention, secretly pulled out the good cigarettes she had specially bought from her pocket, signaling them to work hard and that she would give them good cigarettes after they finished.
The young people's eyes lit up, and their liking for Jiang Xiaoman instantly soared.
Good-looking and charming, isn't this little brother an angel?
"What are you looking at him for? Do you think he can catch you from that cliff? Look at the rope!!"
Shan Yan roared, making his underlings tremble like a flock of quails.
"Xiaoman, come over for some tea after you've finished taking pictures. It's my newly dried herbal tea from this year." Jiang Yu kindly rescued the embarrassed Jiang Xiaoman.
"Don't take it personally with Shan Yan. That's just how he is. A few years ago, he brought a brother into the mountains. That day, he asked his brother to check the rope, but his brother thought it was too much trouble and didn't look closely. In the end, the two of them had an accident on the cliff. His brother felt sorry for him and let go first. Sigh!"
Jiang Yu explained to him in a low voice.
“From then on, your brother Shanyan cherished those ropes more than his own life. I usually don’t even touch them. He did it for the good of those kids. They wanted to make a living on the cliff, and the ropes were their lifeline!”
“It’s alright, Brother Xiaoyu. But harvesting honey from rocks is so dangerous, why don’t you try to persuade Brother Shanyan? If you two went to the city to work, you would definitely earn more than you did at home, and you wouldn’t have to work so hard.” Jiang Xiaoman looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Go to the city? Forget it! If we rent a place in the city, what will people think if your brother and I are always together? It's much more comfortable here in the mountains. Once the gate is closed, nobody bothers anyone else!" Jiang Yu laughed heartily, looked up at the endless mountains, and suddenly sighed—
"Maybe it's just my own fear. There are so many pretty girls outside the mountains, and your brother Shanyan is so handsome. I'm afraid he'll be seduced by some vixen outside."
"However, it's different in the mountains. Xiaoman said, 'In this area of dozens of miles, have you ever seen a man who is better looking than me?'"
"Don't even mention men, even ordinary girls aren't as pretty as you," Jiang Xiaoman said, quite annoyed.
We are all mountain people, so when Nuwa sculpted the river fish, she must have intended to use it as a model.
When they sculpted them, they probably just flicked some mud at them a couple of times, sigh!
Why would a grown man be so good-looking?
Because they had to go up the mountain very early the next day, in order to save time on the journey, Shan Yan's brothers also stayed at his house that night.
Jiang Yu roasted a large pile of potatoes over charcoal, then chopped cured pork and stir-fried a big bowl of cabbage, along with a bowl of stir-fried green peppers and eggs. Finally, there was a bowl of braised cured pork with green beans. The group quickly filled their stomachs.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Jiang Xiaoman edited the video she had taken that day and uploaded it.
The signal was poor on the mountain, so he went outside and tried several different spots before finally managing to upload the video. Turning around, he saw Jiang Yu also watching videos on her phone in that corner.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoman looking over, Jiang Yu raised her phone and smiled: "I'm watching your videos too, they're really fun! How do you know how to cook so many dishes? Can you teach me?"
"Hehe, I was forced to do this because of life's circumstances." Jiang Xiaoman scratched her head and told him about her experience of working part-time in the cafeteria during college.
He told Jiang Youliang that tuition and fees were subsidized by the government, but that wasn't the case. Full scholarships were almost impossible to obtain at university. Tuition, accommodation, books, meal cards, and all sorts of other expenses added up to at least 5,000 yuan per semester.
According to regulations, a poor student like him can apply for a tuition reduction of 3,000 yuan, but he still has to bear the remaining tuition, accommodation fees, and living expenses himself.
Some students from similar impoverished backgrounds to him would choose to apply for student loans, but Jiang Xiaoman heard that these loans would incur interest if not repaid on time, so he gave up on the idea.
So, at the start of each semester, he would take on at least two part-time jobs, plus run a small business at a stall, or work part-time at a supermarket during holidays, to save enough money for his accommodation and living expenses for the next academic year.
University cafeterias are a good work-study job. One reason is that although it's tiring, there isn't much time when you're really busy. Another reason is that you can get free meals while helping out in the cafeteria. Also, once you get to know the cafeteria ladies well, you can often get some leftover food from the cafeteria, which greatly reduces the burden of food expenses.
However, Jiang Xiaoman didn't like to eat and drink for free. If someone left him something delicious, he would help them with some chores.
As he spent more time in the kitchen, he learned almost all the dishes that the head chefs in the canteen knew. Although he hadn't reached a professional level yet, it was definitely enough for the rural area.
"Isn't everyone saying that university cafeterias serve terrible food? I think your cooking is pretty good." Jiang Yu had never been to university and was quite curious about the legendary university campus.