章 14: Stockpiling (4)

After two hours of driving, Yao Ran arrived at the small village. Unlike in cities and suburbs, people in villages live simple lives. After the morning work, they would get together and chat to pass the time.

When they saw the small truck approaching from the distance, the uncles and aunts sitting under a big tree looked at it with curiosity and interest. It is rare for them to see strangers coming to their village. Yao Ran parked the small truck on the nearby roadside and walked towards them.

She smiled politely and greeted, "Excuse me, Uncles, Aunts."

The uncles and aunts looked at her and smiled. One of the aunts asked, "Miss, are you looking for someone?"

Yao Ran shook her head, "Aunt, I'm here to buy livestock."

When the uncles and aunts heard this, their eyes lit up. It seems that this young lady is here to do business with them.

"Miss, what animal do you want to buy?" An uncle asked curiously.

Yao Ran looked at him and replied, "I want to buy some cattle, sheep, pigs, lamb, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, and fish."

When she listed the livestock she wanted to buy, the uncles and aunts looked at each other in shock. The young lady appeared to be from an ordinary family. Can she afford the price of these animals?

One of the uncles asked curiously, "Miss, what do you want to do with so many livestock?"

Yao Ran smiled politely at him, "Uncle, I won't hide this from you. My family wants to open a leisure place for children and animals to play. My parents sent me here to find and buy these animals."

After hearing her answer, the simple-minded uncles and aunts all believed it, thinking that city people really knew how to spend money. However, despite their thoughts, no one was stupid enough to let go of this opportunity to make money.

After a moment of silence, the oldest uncle stood up from the wooden bench and dusted off his pants.

He looked at Yao Ran and said, "Miss, I am the village chief. You can call me Uncle Han. I will take you to see the animal husbandry in the village. Please come with me."

Yao Ran nodded to the other uncles and aunts and then followed the village chief. Along the way, she saw many buildings in the distance with thick smoke coming out of their chimneys.

The village chief followed her gaze and said, "Those buildings are firewood kilns and coal kilns."

Yao Ran's eyes lit up when she heard this. Although she had ordered fuel from one of her grandfather's friends, she didn't know if her grandfather's friend would add charcoal and firewood to her order. She should be more prepared because the extreme cold will come first and take at least a year to pass.

Thinking of this, Yao Ran asked, "Uncle Han, are you selling charcoal and firewood?"

The village chief nodded, "Yes. Our village has no fertile land and can only raise livestock. But this is not enough for us to live a good life, so we also sell charcoal and firewood. The prices are low, but the income is enough to allow us to live a more comfortable life."

After speaking, he asked, "Do you want to buy coal and firewood?"

Yao Ran waited for the question and smiled, "Yes. Uncle Han, how much charcoal and firewood do you have now?"

The village chief thought for a while and replied, "We have just taken out another batch of charcoal and firewood from the kiln. There should be at least 200 tons of coal and 170 tons of firewood for now. If nothing goes wrong, they will be delivered to other cities within two days."

Hearing this, Yao Ran hurriedly asked, "Uncle Han, can you sell them to me?"

The village chief smiled and said, "Miss, if you want them, we can sell them to you. This will save us some shipping costs. How much do you want?"

"I want them all." Yao Ran answered calmly.

The village chief was stunned and looked at Yao Ran in surprise. He was silent for a moment and then asked, "Miss, are you sure you want to buy so much charcoal and firewood?"

Yao Ran nodded again, and he advised, "Nowadays, almost everyone uses a gas stove or an electric stove. Except for barbecue restaurants or those rich people who buy some for barbecue parties, charcoal and firewood have no use."

Seeing Yao Ran looking at him calmly, the village chief added, "It's not that I don't want to sell it to you. But money is hard-earned and cannot be used indiscriminately. You should think about it again."

After hearing the village chief's explanation, Yao Ran knew that he meant well and said, "Uncle Han, it's useful to me. Thank you for the reminder."

The village chief was silent for a moment and nodded, "If you really want to buy all of them, I will be happy to sell them to you."

After all, who doesn't want to make money?

When the two arrived at the animal husbandry area, the village chief said, "You can look at the livestock. We have more than three hundred cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and lamb."

"We also have more than two thousand chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and rabbits. As for the fish, after you choose the livestock here, we can go to the fish pond to have a look."

Yao Ran looked at the animals grazing on the other side of the wooden fence and said, "They all look healthy. How do you sell them?"

The village chief replied, "The market price of live cattle is 7 yuan per kilogram. Pigs will be slightly more expensive. 12 yuan per kilogram. Goats, sheep, and lambs are the same, 3 yuan per kilogram. Their prices will be calculated based on their weight."

"The price of chicken is 20 yuan per kilogram. The price of the duck is 30 yuan per kilogram. The price of the goose is 25 yuan per kilogram. The price of turkey is 3 yuan per kilogram, and the price of rabbit is 40 yuan per kilogram. How much do you want?"