Chapter 23

Zhang Deyuan walked into the kitchen and immediately said, "Hey, this smells really good."

Chang Qingqing looked up and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Zhang, we're making chive blossom sauce. Have you made any at home?"

Zhang Deyuan: "The sheep ate all the chive blossoms in my yard long ago. My wife was just saying that when she goes to find Shi Wen, she should also pick some chive blossoms from him, otherwise we won't have any chive blossom sauce to eat this year."

Shi Wen laughed and said, "Go ahead and take whatever you want, you can even drive here to take whatever you want."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Deyuan got down to business. "The sheep you want to buy, a friend of mine just bought a large batch. He said he can resell them to you, you can pick and choose as you like, but you'll have to pay extra. He bought them for sixteen yuan each, but if you go to him to pick them, you'll have to pay eighteen yuan. If you're interested, let's go take a look?"

Shi Wen nodded. "That's no problem, I can accept it."

Chang Qingqing looked at Shi Wen: "Are you going to buy sheep again?"

Shi Wen nodded. "I've had some free time lately, and I've gained some experience, so I'm thinking of buying a batch of half-grown castrated sheep, fattening them up, and selling them around the Lunar New Year."

"Jieyang" refers to castrated male rams, and most mutton on the market is castrated ram meat.

Chang Qingqing agreed, saying, "Your ranch is big enough, and the grass grows well, so it's more profitable to raise more sheep."

Shi Wen, "Yeah, just the other day someone asked me on WeChat if I wanted to rent out my ranch. I was thinking, why don't I just buy a bunch of sheep and raise more myself? Anyway, it's not much trouble to let them roam freely on the ranch."

As they chatted, the chive blossom sauce was ready.

Freshly made chive blossom sauce should be sealed tightly and stored in the refrigerator or a cool, dark place to ferment for a period of time before eating.

That way, it will have a unique soy sauce flavor, without being too pungent.

Shi Wen had arranged a time with Zhang Deyuan to go with him to another large sheep trader's place.

The big sheep trader's name was Mulati, and he lived in a town under another city. It took them about three hours to drive there from here.

Unlike Zhang Deyuan, Mulati specializes in buying castrated sheep. Now that his business has grown, he has even established a livestock company. Every year, he handles hundreds of thousands of castrated sheep.

Many of his sheep, after being slaughtered, are even sold overseas.

Shi Wen this business was only a small one, Mulati only agreed to take it on because of Zhang Deyuan's introduction.

Otherwise, he wouldn't really want to go through all that trouble.

Shi Wen and Zhang Deyuan arrived at the location, after everyone introduced themselves, Mulati didn't waste any time and directly led them to the livestock shed to choose sheep. "There are 17,100 sheep in the shed right now. You can choose as many as you like. Once you've chosen, I'll transport them back for you free of charge."

Shi Wen nodded. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Shi Wen took the spray paint, went into the livestock shed, and carefully examined the sheep inside.

He can examine a sheep by pinching its back, looking at its body shape, teeth, and hooves, and finish examining it in just a few seconds.

After selecting dozens of sheep, he used spray paint to mark the first one he had chosen.

Mulati and Zhang Deyuan stood side by side outside the livestock shed. Seeing Shi Wen's skillful and precise movements, Mulati said, "He has a really sharp eye; no wonder he made such a big business in the first year."

"That's why they say a capable person can do anything," Zhang Deyuan patted Mulati on the shoulder. "Just you wait and see, this is only your first time dealing with each other, but it won't be the only time."

Mulati nodded repeatedly. "I believe that."

Shi Wen that the sheep he selects are all top-quality sheep, one in a hundred. If nothing unexpected happens, with his skills, he will definitely be able to make his business bigger and stronger.

Mulati sighed inwardly, "The younger generation is pushing the older generation aside; new young people are rising up in the pastoral areas."

Shi Wen's hearing was very sharp; he could hear what they were saying outside, but he didn't pay any attention.

He carefully went from one livestock pen to another, and by evening, he had selected a total of 304 castrated rams.

Mulati sold the sheep for 18 yuan per jin (a unit of weight), and after weighing the live sheep, the total cost Shi Wen 250,000 yuan.

If Yan Kexing hadn't introduced him to a loan, he really wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Starting a business really costs money.

However, with so many sheep, if they are fattened up on the pasture for a few months, their weight will double by the time of the Lunar New Year, and earning two or three times that amount shouldn't be a problem.

It all depends on how far these sheep can be raised.

Shi Wen people in Mulati loading live sheep onto trucks, and I feel a surge of pride.

He's determined to make a big splash when he gets back!

Chapter 23

Even after the new flock of sheep is brought back, they still need to be quarantined.

Shi Wen that the new flock of sheep will be raised directly in the newly completed livestock shed. The plan is to keep them in pen for a few days first, and after confirming that there are no problems, they will be raised together with the existing flock.

Fortunately, there are enough livestock sheds now; otherwise, bringing back so many sheep would definitely affect the existing cattle and sheep on the ranch.

With so many sheep to take care of, Shi Wen immediately became busy.

Besides having to clean many more livestock sheds and take care of many sheep, he also had to drive out every day with a lawnmower to cut hay bales to feed the sheep.

Feeding them with just the hay from home is too costly.

His family wasn't wealthy enough to afford it, so he had to work harder himself.

The wild chive flowers on the grassland withered quickly; they only bloomed for nine days, Shi Wen time Shi Wen went out to cut grass, not a single wild chive flower could be seen.

It seems we'll have to wait until next year to enjoy this seasonal wild vegetable again.

However, his wild chive blossoms were not wasted. He pickled several large jars of them himself, and friends from all walks of life picked some. The rest ended up in the mouths of cattle, sheep, and geese.

The new flock of sheep arrived at his home at a good time. As soon as they arrived, they ate a lot of fresh grass mixed with wild chive blossoms, and were also given supplementary mineral feeds such as rapeseed cake and salt bricks. They stayed at his home very well.

At Shi Wen was worried that with so many sheep suddenly arriving at their home, they might be difficult to manage if they started causing trouble.

Surprisingly, they were very well-behaved, rarely making a fuss or even fighting.

Shi Wen felt that besides his talent for breeding, the fact that all the sheep in the flock were castrated rams also played a significant role.