Chapter 135

The old man seemed to have no particular purpose in coming to his ranch; he just wanted to see the ranch, get to know him, and incidentally give him a bag of radish seeds.

After finishing their tea and visiting the ranch, the old man politely said goodbye and went home.

That evening, Shi Wen specifically told Yan Kexing about it, "I thought the old man had something to discuss with me, but he didn't mention it at all."

Yan Kexing: "Didn't we give you a bag of radish seeds? Maybe they wanted you to help them plant some radishes."

Shi Wen, "He didn't say that."

Yan Kexing: "So, do you want to plant it?"

Shi Wen thought of the bag of clean and appealing radish seeds and nodded honestly, "Let's plant them. After the potatoes are dug up, the field will be idle anyway. If we plant another crop of radishes, we'll have our own radish pickles to eat this year. If we can't finish them all, we can use them to feed the livestock."

Yan Kexing laughed, "So people use an open strategy. They give you a bag of seeds, and you'll naturally know how to plant them. Once they've grown, you can't very well hide them from others."

Shi Wen, "That's true."

The weather is still relatively warm, so there are no special precautions to take when planting radishes on the pasture.

Shi Wen they used a rotary tiller to clear the land where potatoes had been planted, then applied a layer of manure as base fertilizer, then scattered radish seeds on top, and watered it thoroughly. That was it.

All things considered, growing radishes is simpler than growing potatoes.

To grow potatoes, you have to bury individual potato tubers with buds in the soil, while to grow radishes, you just need to scatter the seeds on the ground and they will sprout.

Shi Wen the first year of planting radishes, they didn't have much experience and scattered the seeds too densely.

A few days later, the radish sprouts emerged, growing together in close proximity, their vibrant green color a delightful sight.

He followed Chang Qingqing and the others' example, pulling up a batch of radish seedlings, washing them clean, and cooking them into noodles.

The radish sprouts are fresh and tender, with the unique fresh aroma of leafy green vegetables. They are especially delicious when paired with chicken noodle soup.

Shi Wen remarked to Yan Kexing, "The old man truly deserves to be called the 'Radish King,' having dedicated his life to studying radishes. His radishes are incredibly delicious, and even the seedlings are superior to those of others."

Yan Kexing ate some radish sprouts, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Who says otherwise?"

Chapter 135

The weather in September gradually turned cold.

Although the weather is fine and sunny now, there is already quite a bit of dew on the pasture in the early morning and evening.

Shi Wen that he wore a coat while working every day.

He observed the condition of his livestock and discovered that the fat-tailed sheep had already begun to grow their thick winter wool.

At the same time, they shed a lot of fur in the summer.

Shi Wen every morning when I go into the sheep pen, I can see a thick layer of wool inside, which is a real shame.

While the wool can be recycled, some of it has already been mixed with feces, making the area extremely filthy.

Shi Wen looked down on this kind of wool, so before the weather got completely cold and the fat-tailed sheep had time to grow their winter wool, he invited He Chengzhang over and decided to shear off this batch of wool and let the sheep grow the next batch of wool.

He Chengzhang had a very good impression of his family's wool, and upon receiving his invitation, he did not hesitate at all and immediately sent people over to help shear the sheep.

This time, He Chengzhang offered three price tiers for the wool: 3,000 yuan, 2,200 yuan, and 1,600 yuan per jin.

The only difference is that the quality of the wool this time is better, and there's more wool in the 3,000 yuan range.

Shi Wen and He Chengzhang were collaborating for the second time. Both were very familiar with each other's ideas, and the collaboration went very smoothly and pleasantly.

He Chengzhang also took a liking to Shi Wen's sheep and pigs. "The wool from your sheep and pigs is of good quality."

Shi Wen grinned broadly. "Right? I still have a bag of them stored here. If you want them, I'll sell them to you at a discount."

Shi Wen kept the pig hair and stored it in the attic of the livestock shed.

Hearing that He Chengzhang was interested, Shi Wen dragged down the pig bristles from the attic. "These pig bristles are fine, soft, and tough; they are all top-quality ultrafine bristles."

After examining it, He Chengzhang said, "It's indeed good, but unfortunately it's been sitting for a while, so the quality isn't as good as when it was freshly shaved."

He Chengzhang preferred the hair on live pigs.

Shi Wen had no objection; after all, pigs shed their hair anyway, so just shave it and let it grow back.

He Chengzhang wanted it, Shi Wen the price was as high as 3,500 yuan per catty, he ordered He Chengzhang's men to also shave the wool off the sheep and pigs.

The sheep and pigs that have been shaved are a bit ugly, but you can tell they are much fatter.

Shi Wen that they plan to slaughter a new batch of pigs and make some cured meat for the New Year when the weather gets colder.

This time, we won't use the smoking method; we can just air dry it.

He Chengzhang's men quickly left with the wool.

They are quite picky about the wool; there was still a lot of wool left on the fat-tailed sheep.

Shi Wen planned to hire someone to shave it again, just like last time, and then sell it to a second hair dealer.

With so many sheep, it would take too long for him to shear them all by himself, so this time he hired a temporary worker to help with the shearing.

He paid high wages, and all his friends came to help him.

Chang Qingqing didn't come last time, but she came this time. She stroked the wool of his sheep and said with great affection, "Your wool is so good, much better than our sheep's wool. It's so fine and soft, it feels so comfortable to touch."

Shi Wen, "Our sheep are fed a high-quality feed, so their wool is also very good."

Xin Xianghong chimed in, "It's not just a matter of the feed being more refined. We've tried to feed our sheep the same way you do, carefully buying all sorts of feeds, but the results aren't as good as yours."

Chang Qingqing agreed, "I think it's because you're good at raising sheep. I noticed it when you treated my cattle last time; you always observe livestock with exceptional detail and have your own understanding of them."

Shi Wen his two sisters-in-law praising him from both sides, he showed a rare look of embarrassment on his face.