Back to the Ranch as an Animal Caretaker
Chapter 99

Page 99

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There are many indicators of good mutton, such as its gamey smell, tenderness, color, and fat distribution, but these must be tested after the meat has been processed into mutton.

It's quite difficult to discern the texture of their flesh while they are still alive.

In particular, Zhang Deyuan also needs to set different prices based on the quality of the meat from different sheep, which is a task that really tests one's eye for quality.

In large-scale farms, this is relatively easy to distinguish.

After all, there is a certain scientific basis for how sheep behave from a young age, what feed they are given, and what feeding methods they are used.

Sheep dealers like Zhang Deyuan go out to the countryside to buy sheep on a large scale. Not to mention that he might not know the condition of the sheep, even the farmers might not know the condition of their own sheep.

Shi Wen that dividing sheep relies mainly on experience.

He has Qilin Bloodline and has seen a lot, so he gradually developed an intuition.

He could tell which type of mutton was of good quality and which type was of slightly mediocre quality.

Shi Wen ride on a sheep, first pinching its skin and flesh to check its fatness and muscle mass, then looking at its hair to observe its nutritional intake during its growth, and finally examining its head, tail, and legs.

A little over a minute later, Shi Wen said to Zhang Deyuan, "The meat quality of this sheep seems pretty average. Mark it as a second-class sheep."

Zhang Deyuan: "It looks like it to me too."

As he spoke, Zhang Deyuan regretfully marked it with blue paint.

Shi Wen being checked one by one.

Of Zhang Deyuan's flock of sheep, the majority were second-grade sheep, accounting for 90% of the total. The remaining 10% were first-grade sheep. As for the top-grade sheep, Shi Wen morning and found only three.

At noon, Zhang Deyuan selected one sheep from each of the three categories: premium, first-class, and second-class, and slaughtered and boiled them.

Shi Wen of people helping out.

Zhang Deyuan, an experienced sheep trader, is very fast at slaughtering sheep; he can kill one in just over twenty minutes.

After slaughtering the sheep, skinning it, and chopping the pure meat, put it into three pots of water to boil. After boiling, you can then taste the mutton.

If you were to eat lamb cooked by a chef at a restaurant, you might not feel anything special. At most, you might think that the lamb was fresher or not so fresh today, but you wouldn't be able to be sure that there was a fundamental difference in the lamb.

Now, they simply put the meat in a pot of water and cook it for the same amount of time. When they taste it again, the difference is very obvious.

The premium grade lamb is delicious, tender, and has a slightly milky aroma with a very strong meaty flavor; you can hardly taste any gamey taste.

First-class lamb is slightly inferior; the meat is tougher and has a bit of a gamey smell, so it's not as delicious. However, it's still acceptable. If a good chef prepares it, it can definitely be served as a main dish.

Second-class lamb is the kind of ordinary lamb. It's a bit tough and chewy, with a strong muttony smell. It needs to be cooked with slightly stronger spices to transform the muttony smell into a fresh lamb flavor. However, it's not that it's not tasty, but rather that it requires a more special cooking method; otherwise, it might turn out rather ordinary.

Sipping the mutton soup made from top-grade mutton, Zhang Deyuan exclaimed, "That's why I said we should divide the mutton among ourselves. Look at this top-grade mutton; just bringing out its flavor with salt is enough to make it delicious. You don't even need to add chive blossoms."

Shi Wen also took a sip of mutton soup. "Didn't you two split up before? Why are you suddenly thinking about splitting up this year?"

Zhang Deyuan sighed, "Isn't it all because of the competition?"

Shi Wen, "Don't you have many competitors here? Everyone's just selling their own stuff."

Zhang Deyuan: "That was in the past. Now, with more and more developed transportation and more and more large enterprises, they come directly to buy sheep, then classify them into different grades, targeting different customer groups. They offer the price you want, and the quality you want. It's becoming increasingly difficult for small sheep traders like us to do business."

That's true; modern corporations always crush small businesses. Shi Wen nodded in understanding.

Zhang Deyuan: "So, even though I'm just a sheep trader, I still have to keep progressing and keep up with the times. When it's time to change the development model, I have to change it accordingly."

"That's really not easy, I have to learn from you." Shi Wen smiled and raised his soup bowl to toast him. "Speaking of which, is the market for premium-grade lamb big?"

Zhang Deyuan: "Great! Premium lamb sells the best! Big restaurants, private kitchens, and even some large companies will specially order premium lamb to cook seasonal dishes to attract customers or as gifts."

Shi Wen, "No matter how many, they want them all?"

Zhang Deyuan: "No matter the number, I can always find buyers. Besides the big clients, there are also some long-term clients who are not short of money who often ask me to keep an eye out. Don't underestimate me just because I'm stuck here. If I have good sheep, I just need to post them on my WeChat Moments, and all sorts of long-term clients will definitely contact me and airfreight the sheep over."

Shi Wen to be deep in thought, "That's truly eye-opening."

Zhang Deyuan: "Are you worried about selling your flock of sheep? Leave it to me, I'll just give it a shout on my WeChat Moments, and I guarantee they'll sell in no time."

Shi Wen, "That's true. I'll see how to do it and see if I can get my ranch's signboard up."

Shi Wen's family has been carefully raising sheep for so long. When they bought the sheep, they picked out the best ones one by one. Now, they use a variety of scientifically formulated feeds and drive them out to frolic in the pasture every day. Old Man Ma earn more than a hundred yuan a day just for their labor.

He's raised them with so much care, there's no way he could sell them for 21 kilograms.

Even if the price were increased tenfold, the sheep's price might not be commensurate with its Qilin Bloodline.

How to sell these sheep is also a problem.

Today, when I came to Zhang Deyuan's place to divide the sheep, Shi Wen that I had some ideas on my mind.

However, it's not certain yet; we'll have to wait and see.

After finishing a delicious stewed mutton meal, Shi Wen continued to share the mutton with Zhang Deyuan.

He came here to distribute sheep not only to earn some wages, but also to gain more experience.

They were both exhausted after working until past 5 p. m.

Zhang Deyuan couldn't take it anymore and said to Shi Wen, "That's all for today. Come back tomorrow."

Shi Wen, "Okay, then I'll head back now."

End of Chapter
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