Chapter 19

Of course, breeding them in September, October, or November all worked; it mainly depended on each ranch's circumstances.

After hearing Shi Wen's plan, Fu Meng knew he had things figured out and praised him.

The two chatted for a while before Shi Wen got to the point. "Brother Fu, do you have any fermented cattle or sheep manure? Sell me five thousand kilograms."

Fu Meng waved a hand dismissively. "Why sell it? If you need it, just haul it away. You can pay me back in kind later."

Shi Wen smiled. "It's a bit of a hassle hauling it back and forth. I'll buy it from you, Brother Fu, and once my cattle and sheep manure has fermented, I'll sell it to the factory. That'll balance the books."

Hearing that, Fu Meng stopped objecting. "When do you need it? I'll get it cleared out first, then find someone to haul it over for you."

"If it's convenient, it'd be best if you could clear it out in the next few days," Shi Wen explained. "I want to plant some silage corn for the cattle and sheep to eat in winter."

When raising cattle and sheep in the pastoral region, winter fodder was a major expense.

A few hundred cattle and sheep could eat hundreds of thousands of yuan's worth of fodder in a single winter.

If he didn't plan ahead, just raising the money to buy fodder in winter would give Shi Wen enough of a headache.

Fu Meng asked Shi Wen how much silage corn he wanted to plant.

Shi Wen said, "It's my first year planting it, so I want to try fifty mu first. If I can manage it, I'll plant more next year."

Fu Meng said, "Silage corn is pretty easy to manage. Once you've worked enough base fertilizer into the soil, there's no need to spray pesticides or apply more fertilizer. When the time comes, all you have to do is wait for the harvest. But you don't have many cattle or sheep over there, so there's really no need to plant too much at once."

Shi Wen smiled. "Yeah, I'm doing what I can manage."

Ever since coming to the ranch, Shi Wen had been cautious.

He didn't have much money and couldn't afford to waste it.

Since he was already visiting Fu Meng, Shi Wen also asked him to recommend some reliable workers.

He needed to hire people to plow the land and then sow it with machinery.

Otherwise, doing it all by himself would be exhausting.

Fu Meng knew the local situation inside out and, sure enough, recommended several people.

But it was the peak planting season for silage corn, and Shi Wen had asked rather late. He would have to wait a few days before the workers were free to come over.

That day, Shi Wen was busy until after nine in the evening. Only after eating and taking a shower did he return to his desk.

He planned to write out his work schedule for the next few days.

Before he started, he opened his phone to check his unread messages and discovered that Yan Kexing had actually called him on WeChat.

Now that was unusual.

Yan Kexing had actually taken the initiative to contact him!

Shi Wen looked at his phone and intended to call him back on voice, but his finger slipped, and he placed a video call instead.

By the time he realized it and scrambled to hang up, Yan Kexing had already answered. "Shi Wen?"

Yan Kexing was sitting in a large study, with two big screens in front of him, both covered in densely packed characters.

Shi Wen looked at Yan Kexing against the backdrop and found it rather strange.

He had never seen this side of Yan Kexing before.

When Shi Wen didn't speak, Yan Kexing asked, "Did the connection freeze?"

"No!" Shi Wen jolted back to his senses, only to stare at the metal-rimmed glasses on Yan Kexing's nose. "Are you nearsighted?"

Yan Kexing looks so handsome in a shirt and glasses!!!

Yan Kexing took the metal-rimmed glasses off his nose with his long fingers and showed them to him. "You mean these? They're nonprescription blue-light glasses."

"I see." Shi Wen swallowed and tried to get his brain working. "What did you need me for?"

Yan Kexing said, "I went out to do some field research today, and the people who work the land told me you hired them to clear fifty mu?"

Shi Wen nodded. "Yeah, I want to plant some silage corn to save on fodder costs in winter."

Yan Kexing asked, "Have you decided on a variety?"

"Not yet. I'm choosing between Liaoyang White, Yu Silage, and Gonghe Silage. For now, I'm leaning toward Liaoyang White. It's well suited to our local environment, and a lot of people here grow it."

Once Shi Wen got down to business, his head cleared a little. "Liaoyang White has pretty good disease resistance and yields, and its growing season isn't too long. It can be harvested right at the end of October, then put into the silo to ferment and taken out in winter."

Yan Kexing nodded after hearing him out.

Shi Wen had gone on at length without hearing Yan Kexing say anything, so he brought the conversation back. "Did you have a suggestion?"

Yan Kexing said, "I thought you hadn't settled on anything yet, so I wanted to recommend Yucheng Silage No. 9. It's a new variety, and its yield, disease resistance, palatability, and nutritional value are all decent."

Shi Wen said, "I haven't heard of that variety. Is it hard to grow?"

Yan Kexing said, "No. If you're interested, I can take you to visit their growing base and have them explain the key points of cultivation."

Shi Wen stared at him without blinking. "Wouldn't that interfere with your work?"

Yan Kexing chuckled on the other end. "I get days off work too."

Chapter 19

A lush green cornfield stretched as far as the eye could see, rustling as the wind blew through it.

Shi Wen stood on the ridge between the fields and discreetly measured the height with his hand.

The silage corn was taller than him, at least two meters high.

A staff member at the growing base told them about Yucheng Silage No. 9. "...Our silage corn grows relatively quickly, has good palatability, and suffers from fewer pests and diseases. We even have an advantage in yield per mu, which can average ten metric tons..."

Shi Wen's interest was piqued. If its advantages were that clear, it was a good option.

Unlike ordinary corn, silage corn was harvested by chopping up the entire plant, leaves, stalks, and ears included. The yield per mu referred to every part above ground.

A yield of eight to ten metric tons was already impressive. The other varieties of silage corn he had looked at generally yielded no more than eight metric tons per mu.

Shi Wen gently squeezed the ear of corn in front of him.

Seeing his interest in the ear, the staff member casually snapped one off for him and smiled, continuing the explanation. "You can take a look at our test report. The protein content of the whole plant can reach seventeen percent, which is an excellent result for feed."