章 5: Chapter 4: Insect Farming
After leaving the warehouse area, Su Jie treated himself to a hearty meal.
With his belly full and satisfied, based on the information he found online, he took a cab to the outskirts to a farm specifically for breeding scorpions.
The farm covered a large area, with several single-story factory buildings, and a wolf dog tied at the entry barked furiously upon seeing Su Jie approaching.
Sizzle!
From inside his sleeve, the Thousand-Handed Centipede poked out half its head and emitted a threatening sound.
The terrifying appearance of the Thousand-Handed Centipede instantly scared the wolf dog to death, who tucked its tail and shrank back into its kennel, not daring to come out again.
Su Jie glanced at the sign hanging at the gate, Yaogang Scorpion Breeding Farm, and there wasn't even a security guard to watch the door.
Just as he was thinking about calling the factory number posted beside the wall, footsteps came from inside the factory.
Possibly alerted by the earlier barking, a dark-skinned, squarely built middle-aged man ran out.
"Hello, boss, are you here to buy scorpions? I'm Chen Yaoguang, and I run this factory. I hope the dog's barking didn't scare you earlier. This damn dog, I'm going to slaughter it one of these days."
Upon first meeting, the man was exceedingly enthusiastic, and the way he looked at Su Jie was nearly glowing green.
Su Jie warily gave him a look—are you some kind of a special hobbyist?
"Somewhat, I'll go in and take a look around, see how the scorpions you're raising are faring."
Su Jie touched the Thousand-Handed Centipede hidden in his sleeve, felt reassured, and walked into the scorpion breeding farm with Chen Yaoguang accompanying him.
It was evident that Chen Yaoguang was a clean person. Although he was breeding scorpions, which don't require a clean environment, he kept both the inside and outside of the factory spotless.
"Boss, this is our breeding facility. A factory building like this one, three meters in height, uses large-scale honeycomb-style breeding. We can house up to two hundred thousand scorpions."
Chen Yaoguang enthusiastically continued to explain and then personally led Su Jie inside the factory building.
The scorpion breeding pools here were constructed from wooden board grates, arranged like rows of bookshelves.
A vast number of gray-brown scorpions crawled in and out, their sheer quantity making one's scalp tingle at a glance.
Upon entering, the Thousand-Handed Centipede in Su Jie's arms immediately became restless, eager to climb out from his sleeve.
"Mr. Chen, what mainly are the varieties of scorpions here?"
Su Jie calmed the Thousand-Handed Centipede and continued to inquire.
"We primarily breed East Asia Pincers Scorpions here, sold to pharmacies for medicinal purposes. Male scorpions cost 0.8 yuan each, and females are a bit more expensive at 1.1 yuan each. We also breed some Rainforest Scorpions and Emperor Scorpions; these are sold to insect pet shops and are priced higher. I don't know which type you'd want to purchase?"
Chen Yaoguang answered immediately, carefully watching Su Jie, afraid that he might be dissatisfied with the prices and leave.
His Yaogang Scorpion Breeding Farm was recently facing a crisis of survival as the usual stable traditional medicine channels had canceled their supply relationships with him.
A business like scorpion selling cannot take to the streets to peddle.
Without downstream sales channels, his breeding farm suddenly became mired in difficulties.
The farm's daily expenses for water, electricity, and feeding mealworms were a considerable expenditure.
The immense pressure almost crushed him; he even sold his ancestral house to invest in it, struggling painfully to keep going, which was why he was so enthusiastic to see Su Jie come by.
"How many scorpions do you have in your farm?"
"The farm has a total of five buildings, with about a million scorpions being bred. Boss, I have been in the insect breeding industry for over a decade, and you can absolutely trust the quality of the scorpions I breed,"
Hearing this, Chen Yaoguang grew even more excited—this person could be a major customer!
However, Su Jie's appetite was bigger than he had anticipated. Nodding in satisfaction, he said, "Are you selling this factory? I'll offer two million."
"Buy... the factory?"
At this, Chen Yaoguang was completely dumbfounded.
He had thought Su Jie was a major customer, but it turned out he was interested not only in the scorpions but also in the factory itself.
"I'm truly sorry, boss, but that's likely not possible. I have put too much effort into this factory, working here from my twenties into my forties—it's not for sale."
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Yaoguang still turned down Su Jie's offer. He had worked at this breeding farm for many years and had deep feelings for it.
"2.5 million, are you selling?"
Su Jie, without even blinking an eyelid, casually threw out an even higher number.
Now holding over sixty million in cash, Su Jie really demonstrated his wealth without any signs of heartache when spending.
Gulp!
Swallowing hard, Chen Yaoguang breathed more heavily and struggled to say, "Boss, I know you're rich, but breeding insects is my dream, not something to be insulted by money. Please respect my dream."
Though the number was very tempting, he had dreams about insect breeding; otherwise, he wouldn't have sold his house to invest in the breeding farm and stick with it.
"3 million, I respect other people's dreams very much. How about this, Mr. Chen, I'll buy the breeding farm and still let you manage it with a salary of fifty thousand a month. I will not interfere with any production aspects, only the sale and trading of the scorpions will be up to me,"
Su Jie, wearing a smile, kept adding more to the price, eventually completely breaking down Chen Yaoguang's psychological defenses.
"That what... Hahaha, boss, you read people so well, I agree. But it's not for the money; it's to continue managing this breeding farm."
Chen Yaoguang succumbed in front of the staggering three million. Dreams are important, but so is filling one's stomach.
Moreover, Su Jie respected his dream and would still let him manage the factory; he really couldn't find a reason to refuse.
After all, a monthly salary of fifty thousand was truly tempting.
"That's settled then. We'll sign the contract shortly and I'll transfer the money to you after that."
Seeing Chen Yaoguang's face bloom into a big smile, Su Jie was highly satisfied as well.
Having Chen Yaoguang there made things much easier for Su Jie, who didn't have the capacity to manage the breeding farm himself.
And with more than a decade of experience in insect breeding, Chen Yaoguang was the kind of talent Su Jie needed to hire for his operations.
As for the small amount of money paid, in the world of Tianyuan, it was as simple as chopping down a couple more trees.
"Mr. Chen, first fetch me a box of scorpions. Catch about ten thousand; I want to take them with me."
"Understood, understood, I'll go catch them right away."
Instantly stepping into his role, Chen Yaoguang began treating Su Jie as his god, almost as if he wanted to show him his heart to demonstrate his loyalty.
After getting the scorpions, Su Jie and Chen Yaoguang signed the transfer contract for the breeding farm, and with a payment of three million, the Yaogang Scorpion Breeding Farm was henceforth under Su's name.
With this breeding farm as a cover, Su Jie could, in the future, buy large quantities of venomous insects without raising any suspicion.
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