NOVEL WEB Chapter 042 – Procuring Meat
The next day, Zhao Zhao went to the village committee. Secretary Liu was even more enthusiastic than last time. The news of Yaoguang's harvest had spread like wildfire. Upon learning that she wanted to lease Eight Immortals Mountain, both Secretary Liu and Accountant Xiong doubled their enthusiasm.
"How many years do you want to lease it for? Trees over five years old on the mountain can't be touched, but everything else is up to you! To be honest, there are only some oak and pine trees on Eight Immortals Mountain, which aren't worth much. Feel free to do whatever you want!" Secretary Liu saw another opportunity for the village to generate income.
"What’s the maximum lease period? How is the price calculated?"
"Seventy years! Eight Immortals Mountain is classified as barren land. Our poor island charges 15 yuan per mu. If you lease it, I'll take you to handle the paperwork this afternoon. The state now encourages the development of barren land to improve the ecological environment and prevent soil erosion. So the price is not high, cheaper than a few years ago," Secretary Liu eagerly promoted.
"Then I'll lease it for seventy years."
Accountant Xiong, who was listening nearby, quickly chimed in, "Zhao Zhao, are you only leasing one mountain? Do you want the smaller one behind Eight Immortals Mountain too?"
Secretary Liu, who was on the phone, paused and looked at her expectantly...
"Two leaders, don’t fleece the same sheep. I’m only leasing one to raise some cattle and sheep. Eight Immortals Mountain is big enough."
Secretary Liu laughed, "I was just thinking, no one else can afford to lease it anyway." Leasing a mountain requires manpower to manage it, which means not only collecting the lease fee but also getting paid for the labor.
Afraid that she might change her mind, Secretary Liu took her to handle the paperwork that afternoon. Eight Immortals Mountain was quite tall, with a mapped area of 1,658 mu. At 15 yuan per mu, leasing it for seventy years with an upfront payment for ten years, she paid 240,000 yuan and became the owner of a barren mountain.
The name Eight Immortals Mountain originated from the legend of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.
There is a large square rock at the top of Eight Immortals Mountain, relatively flat. Legend has it that the Eight Immortals stopped there to rest and dine while crossing the sea, encountering their first mountain. The island elders said there used to be stone bowls and sewing kits on the rock, but now there are no traces due to rain and mountain winds. No one knows why immortals would need sewing kits.
Probably a story made up by ancestors to entertain children, this mountain of hers, apart from its obscure legend, is otherwise unremarkable among the island's surrounding mountains, with the only advantage of being close to home.
With the mountain acquired, the next step was to enclose it for raising livestock.
Fencing the mountain was necessary to prevent cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese from running away. If they ran to the village, that would be fine, but if they ran into the continuous deep mountains behind the island, they would never return.
Jinshi Island is an island that connects mountains and the sea, with the deep mountains behind it connecting to Changshan Island and Dongshan Island. The almost undeveloped deep mountains are rarely visited by people, and all the wild animals are protected species, well-preserved over the years, making them even less frequented.
Zhao Zhao planned to use nine-section thorns to fence the mountain. Yaoguang said it was a waste, but Zhao Zhao thought it was a treasure outside.
This is a type of thorn bush, densely grown, tall, and covered in thorns. The main trunk can grow three to four meters, and its branches and thorns spread to the ground. The first time Zhao Zhao saw it, she thought it was the perfect hedge.
However, compared to other spiritual plants, its function was single—it only purifies the air. In Yaoguang Realm, there was no need for purification. Zhao Zhao had even considered using it to fence the backyard but later decided that white walls and black tiles suited the main building better.
Nine-section thorns grow rapidly and are easy to plant, much more aesthetically pleasing than barbed wire. She still had plans to develop tourism on Jinshi Island.
Without delay, she grabbed an axe left by her grandfather and went to chop branches.
She planned to propagate by cuttings. Digging them up wouldn’t be enough, as she had only found a dozen or so plants in the valley.
Each branch was a meter long. After spending half a morning, she stripped all the branches from the dozen or so nine-section thorns, collecting thousands of branches, enough to fence the mountain. To ensure they grew quickly and survived, she soaked them in diluted spiritual spring water.
The next step was planting them. She went to find her second uncle.
Upon learning she had leased Eight Immortals Mountain, Xiong Haitao couldn't help but nag a bit. But he had no objections to finding people to help plant the trees. On the island, such work for a day or two was mutual help, with the host providing a meal and two packs of cigarettes.
They decided on the approximate number of people. Qin Yunmei was in charge of preparing the meals, and Zhao Zhao took Da Linzi to buy groceries.
The two boarded the Poseidon, and Da Linzi suggested going to the sea to catch a couple of nets of fish. If they had a good catch, they could buy one less dish. To her surprise, her silly brother knew how to be thrifty.
"You haven't had lunch yet; aren't you hungry? I was planning to take you to town for lunch."
"I got up late and just ate not long ago."
"Your mom didn't wake you up early?" That didn't make sense; after just one day off the boat, she should have been back to her old routine.
"I'm now the highest earner in our family! It used to be Xiong Jin who slept in, but now it's my turn!" Da Linzi said proudly.
Silly boy, Xiong Jin used to sleep in when he was a student, not earning any money…
The Poseidon was very fast, and soon they were out of Jinshi Island's waters. Zhao Zhao stood at the bow, diligently searching for fish.
Today was lucky; after another half-hour, they caught two nets of hawk-claw shrimp. Not much, but enough to add to a dish. Although they weren't very plump this season, they could be made into pepper salt-fried hawk-claw shrimp.
On the way back, Da Linzi felt they were on a lucky streak and dragged another net, only to catch a single juvenile fish, which he angrily threw back into the sea. The nearby waters were clean, and fishing without a good spot was a waste of fuel.
Da Linzi stood at the bow, gazing into the distance, feeling melancholy. "We didn’t even see Siren today. What does it eat in this empty sea? It must be hunting far away."
Wishful thinking, young man. Siren was eating better than us today, gorging in the space and having a grand time.
After buying the groceries in Changshan Town, they dragged them to Da Linzi's house. Qin Yunmei packed everything away, commenting on Zhao Zhao's generosity. They had a large freezer, previously used for fish catches, so Zhao Zhao bought enough groceries for two days in one go, including beef, lamb, pork, a variety of vegetables not found on the island, hawk-claw shrimp, tofu, seasonings, rice, and a box of disposable meal boxes. She bought more than enough, not wanting to take advantage of her second aunt, and Qin Yunmei was happy to help, likely because of the set of cosmetics Zhao Zhao brought back from Shanghai.
This worked out well; Zhao Zhao didn't dislike her personality. She brought a set of skincare products for Qin Yunmei and a watch for Xiong Haitao from Shanghai. With only a few relatives, it's good for everyone to get along.
When Xiong Jin got off work, they all had dinner together before Zhao Zhao returned to the small inn.
She didn’t idle away the evening, researching ranches in the northwest online. The cattle and sheep there were better, though transportation costs were high.
She found a ranch specializing in breeding and called the owner. They directed her to the China Livestock Trading Platform to pay a deposit, promising to deliver to Chongshan with a survival guarantee. She would cover the transportation costs.
Zhao Zhao was opening a new world; the ranch offered many varieties, making her dizzy with choices.
She chose the most famous "Prairie Red Pearl" cattle, ordering two adult bulls, four cows, and twenty-four calves. Both she and Da Linzi loved beef.
For sheep, she selected Gobi sheep and black goats, sixty in total, planning to keep some in Yaoguang Realm.
The ranch also had artificially bred sika deer. Imagining a herd of sika deer running through the mountains, she couldn’t resist. They were also entirely useful and delicious. She added twenty sika deer to the cart.
No need for dairy cows; there were no small children.
Wuzhu white horses were beautiful. She could keep one for riding around the island. It's eco-friendly. She bought one for herself and one for Da Linzi.
As for pigs, there was only one breed, and they weren't raised much in the northwest. These black-and-white pigs resembled Siren too much. She bought one boar and two sows, plus ten piglets. That’s enough; she only cared for pork ribs.
Adding items to the cart became addictive. After paying the deposit, the ranch owner, realizing she was a big customer, called to say they needed time to prepare, and delivery would take at least half a month.
"No problem. I need some time to prepare as well. Contact me before arriving in Chongshan."
After hanging up, she started drawing plans for wind shelters.
Yaoguang saw her busy all night pulling out a tablet to draw, and came over to watch.
"I'm going to survey the site tomorrow and build some wind shelters on the mountain. Jinshi Island is fine most of the year, but nights are cold in winter. I plan to free-range the livestock on my spiritual mountain. If they can’t survive there, they're too stupid. I’ll design some shelters for them to use when needed."
"I’ve seen cowsheds on the island, but they’re not like this. Are you going for a Tang style?" Yaoguang asked curiously.
"Jinshi Island is aiming for tourism, so everything needs to be aesthetically pleasing and integrated with the surroundings. My communal living design is excellent. Two facing west, two facing south."
"Is this a feeding trough? What about the water?"
"Self-service. There's a small stream running through the western mountain base."
"What if heavy snow blocks the entrance?"
"You mentioned heavy snow. They can drink snow. Oh, I should also build one for chickens, ducks, and geese. We’ll raise them eventually."
Her architecture background made drawing quick. She sent the designs to the construction company building her house. Better to trouble one master than two; they were already collaborating.
The company paused suspiciously upon learning the designs were for a cowshed and chicken coop but agreed readily. She needed it urgently, hoping they could start tomorrow and complete it quickly. They promised to pull some workers from next door and bring more from Chongshan.
Early the next morning, she went out to sea for a round, letting Siren out for a swim and pretending to receive tree seedlings while taking out the nine-section thorns.
The rest was up to her second uncle. With many hands, it shouldn't take more than two days. She prepared a carton of red "Palace" cigarettes for each helper, valued at about 600 yuan each. Typically, two days of work required at most four packs, but since she couldn’t help with others’ work in return, she decided to be generous.
After confirming the locations for the wind shelters with the construction company, her work was temporarily done, except for making payments!
Realizing she needed a gate for the mountain, she handed that to the construction company too, including pillars and an iron gate, costing another sum. The past few days' activities had cost millions, even before counting livestock. Money was easy to spend, making her want to go back to sea to fish and replenish her funds.
By noon, Qin Yunmei and another aunt had packed the boxed lunches. Zhao Zhao and Da Linzi were responsible for distributing them at the mountain base.
Qin Yunmei was much better at cooking than her. Zhao Zhao and Gun Gun also had lunch there. The dog had grown quite a bit and could eat almost anything now. For lunch, it had a tomato and beef brisket rice bowl, and it ate with great gusto.