Chapter 36

It is currently the planting season for Fritillaria thunbergii.

The above-ground parts have withered; you can dig up the bulbs and bury them again.

Shi Wen not to bother two people with the same matter, I directly asked Yan Kexing to help me contact someone and purchase seedlings of Fritillaria cirrhosa.

He hopes to directly purchase artificially cultivated seedlings to prevent people from damaging grasslands in order to dig up Fritillaria cirrhosa.

Yan Kexing agreed.

Within two days, the 30,000 Fritillaria thunbergii plants that Yan Kexing contacted arrived. The main Shi Wen Yan Kehang had never grown Fritillaria thunbergii before, and he was short of money, so he didn't dare to invest too much at once.

He plans to plant 30,000 seedlings first, and if things go well in two years, he will replant more.

Since he doesn't make money from Fritillaria cirrhosa, there's no need for him to tie up all his funds in it all at once.

After the fritillaria arrived at the ranch, Shi Wen, through Fu Meng, invited several people to help cultivate the fritillaria.

He planned to plant them sparsely, so that the fritillaria might multiply and he wouldn't need to buy a second batch of seedlings.

To save money, he started planting it himself.

People started arriving early in the morning to plant fritillaria bulbs.

Everyone received the fritillaria bulbs and carried buckets to the grassland to plant them.

Shi Wen that Hu Zai are kept locked up, while sheep and pigs are let out.

The piglets grunted and munched on the hay near Shi Wen.

These fluffy little pigs have an unusually elegant way of eating, which is completely inconsistent with their pig status, and they look quite cute.

Everyone was amazed, as it was the first time they had ever seen such a novel thing.

"So there really are sheep and pigs?"

"It looks a little different from ordinary pigs."

"Can this pig be eaten? What about its hair? Can it be sold?"

Shi Wen replied, "They're sheep-pigs, specially bred by foreigners. They're edible, taste good, and their wool can be sold, fetching a higher price than sheep wool."

With nothing else to do, everyone started chatting casually as they planted the fritillaria bulbs. "Shi Wen, you're planting fritillaria bulbs to raise bees, right? Will we be able to buy honey from you in the future?"

Shi Wen Wenxiao said, "We have so many pets at home, we can barely keep up with the food ourselves, there probably won't be any left."

Do you feed honey to your livestock?

"Eat up," Shi Wen looked up and smiled. "Don't just talk about my family, everyone, when livestock are pregnant, do we give them extra nutrition? When cattle and sheep give birth, do we give them extra energy? And when they're sick, they need to be nourished, right? When they're tired—"

"Wow, you take such good care of your livestock! That's why I always say your cattle and sheep are so good."

Shi Wen's eyes crinkled into a smile, "Definitely. I've spent so much money and effort on it; it would be such a loss if I didn't raise it well."

Chapter 36

Shi Wen the news spread that the family was raising sheep and pigs, it quickly reached half of the town.

Some herders with a keen business sense came to his house to inquire about sheep and pigs.

Shi Wen someone asked, he explained in detail, "The market is relatively small, so the price is hard to say. It seems difficult to keep; beginners are likely to get sick."

After hearing his words, the vast majority of herders gave up the idea.

This further solidified the idea of breeding these animals for a small number of people. Since they are difficult to raise, wouldn't scarcity drive up their value?

Shi Wen here, everyone relied on their own abilities to inquire outside where sheep and pigs could be sold, and quite a few families actually started raising them.

Because of the sheep and pigs, Shi Wen made many friends among herders, received many gifts, and also gave away many gifts.

The herders don't have as much pressure in their lives, and when they have free time, they visit each other for tea and invite each other to dance parties.

Shi Wen that because of this, he was invited to attend several ethnic weddings.

After the wedding came a dance party, where everyone ate, drank, and had a great time.

That day, Shi Wen was cutting grass at home when Zhou Hongzhong came to his door. "Shi Wen, are you particularly knowledgeable about pigs? Can you help us find the pigs' trails?"

Shi Wen, puzzled, "Looking for the pig's trail? Are you going up the mountain to search for and rescue pigs?"

Zhou Hongzhong shook his head. "No, this time it's not. We're going up the mountain to hunt wild boars and rewild domestic pigs."

I can understand Shi Wen, but what about domesticated pigs that have become wild?

He asked, completely bewildered, "Wild domestic pigs? Does that mean domestic pigs that have escaped into the wild?"

When he wanted to raise sheep and pigs, he did read some information. The information said that some domestic pigs escaped into the wild, and if they survived, they might become feral domestic pigs, and gradually even form a subspecies of wild boar.

Upon hearing that he indeed knew, Zhou Hongzhong smiled approvingly, "That's the one."

Shi Wen, "Should we go on a search and rescue mission or go hunting?"

"Hunting," Zhou Hongzhong explained. "Some of the domesticated pigs that have become feral have been around for two or three generations, and their numbers are increasing, posing a growing threat to humans. So, the higher-ups have ordered us to clear out a batch of these feral domestic pigs this autumn."

"Wait a minute," Shi Wen asked, "Can wild domestic pigs still reproduce outside?"

Zhou Hongzhong: "Yes, they can. They give birth to eight or ten at a time, and they reproduce very quickly. That's why we need to cull a batch as soon as possible, otherwise they will multiply even more by next spring."

Zhou Hongzhong told Shi Wen that as the weather gets colder, food in the wild becomes less plentiful, and wild boars will come down from the mountains to attack humans.

As omnivores, pigs may attack sheep if they cannot find food.

Especially wild boars in herds, they are no less formidable than wolves, and may even be more terrifying.

After all, they are much larger and stronger than wolves.

Since it was a good thing for the villagers, Shi Wen readily agreed, "When are we going to hunt wild boar? I'll make the arrangements for the ranch."

Zhou Hongzhong: "The day after tomorrow or the day after that, whichever day you're free. We've almost finished the paperwork here."

Shi Wen and said, "Then let's do it the day after tomorrow. It's better to do things sooner rather than later."

That evening, when Yan Kexing returned home, Shi Wen excitedly told him about the wild boar hunt they were going to do the day after tomorrow.