Chapter 130: Chapter 130
The frozen dumplings made before the new year had long been eaten, so the family hadn’t had dumplings for over ten days. This meal of dumplings was especially delicious.
At the dining table, Wang Cuihua started asking about the chicken farm.
"Xiao Xue! The brigade leader just mentioned it briefly, did our brigade apply for a chicken farm?"
"Yes, big sis! The brigade leader also announced in front of the whole village that you’re the manager! He said it was appointed personally by the town chief!" Bai Ruxia said while gobbling down dumplings, adding her voice to the conversation.
The others perked up their ears to listen.
"Yes! We should be starting preparations soon! The chicken farm manager was appointed by the town chief, and I figured being a manager doesn’t require heavy labor, and there’s quite a bit of salary each month, so I took the job," Bai Ruxue said frankly.
Although she suggested the chicken farm idea, initially she didn’t plan to be the manager. She was planning to be a tractor driver, but one thing led to another, and she became the chicken farm manager.
"Big sis, does the manager get a salary? How much per month?" Bai Ruchuan stuffed half a pound of dumplings down, clearing his confused mind, and started daydreaming.
"I think it’s sixty yuan!" Bai Ruxue vaguely remembered that’s what the town chief said.
"Wow... That’s a lot!" Bai Ruchuan put down his chopsticks, seeming ready to drool.
"Big sis, what does the manager have to do?" Bai Rushan glanced at his brother and asked calmly.
"What else, prepare the farm, starting from finding a location to buy eggs and hatch chicks, then raising chickens!" Bai Ruxue briefly explained to her brother without going into deep details, knowing he wouldn’t understand even if she did.
"Did you hear that?" Bai Rushan tapped his brother with his chopsticks who was staring at their older sister’s mouth in a daze.
"Heard... heard it!" Bai Ruchuan replied blankly.
Bai Ruxue finally understood Bai Rushan’s intent; he was trying to wake his dreaming brother.
"Little Chuan! When you study and gain knowledge, not just a manager, but town chief, county chief, even city mayor is not impossible for you!" Bai Ruxue said, looking around at her siblings.
This statement would come true in the near future when the brother least interested in studying would surprisingly become... but that’s a story for later.
Upon hearing his older sister’s words, Bai Ruchuan tossed a dumpling into his mouth and bit down hard, secretly making up his mind!
He must work hard, as hard as his brilliant sister!
Wang Cuihua looked at her older sister but wasn’t as optimistic as the kids.
"Xiao Xue, can you manage such a large farm? Mom has never heard of it, are you sure you can handle it?" Her eyes full of worry and fear.
"Mom, don’t worry! The brigade leader will assist me! Besides, the town chief supports me! What is there to fear? At best, I’m just an executor! It’ll be fine!"
Bai Ruxue was merely comforting her mother! Let alone her mom, she wasn’t entirely confident either! Her biggest worry was that the eggs wouldn’t hatch. Latest content published on novel[f]ire.net
If that happens, no matter how well she builds the chicken farm, come winter with no chickens to fulfill the task, she’d still be a failure.
What’s the point of a chicken farm if there are no chickens?
"Okay then, mom will be somewhat at ease!" Wang Cuihua said, feeling a bit relieved as she ate the dumplings.
After the meal, Bai Ruxue took a breath and went to find the brigade leader.
When she arrived at the brigade leader’s house, they had just finished eating and were cleaning the table.
On the table was a dish of pickles, in the bowls shiny and bright, presumably it was porridge, too thin to cling to the bowls.
There was also an empty basin with some cornmeal residue, likely they ate cornbread.
Thinking about the dinner they just had—pork and cabbage stuffed dumplings with sour and spicy, refreshing flavored salads.
Compared to the brigade leader’s family’s food, she suddenly felt satisfied.
"Xiao Xue! Come here!" The brigade leader puffed on his smoking pipe, gesturing Bai Ruxue over to sit beside him.
"Brigade Leader!" Bai Ruxue got up and walked to the east side of the kang, sitting closer to Wang Jianjun.
"Xiao Xue, let’s talk about the chicken farm first! Tell me what you need my help with! I’ll see what arrangements I can make for you!" Wang Jianjun spoke directly.
Although he was not optimistic about the chicken farm, having no expectations for it, if, by any chance, this girl succeeded in setting it up, he couldn’t just ignore her now.
"Brigade Leader, the first issue is the site location! Where the chicken farm will be built is a problem." Bai Ruxue said, analyzing for Wang Jianjun, "When there are many chickens, the smell will surely become overwhelming! So I think it’s better to find a place a bit farther from the village. Please help arrange a location, Brigade Leader!"
"That’s indeed a big problem! How about, if it really doesn’t work, we build it at the foot of the back mountain? Although it’s away from the village, it’s not too far, should anything happen we can take care of it!" Yao Jianjun chose a place according to Bai Ruxue’s requirements.
"Brigade Leader, why not go deeper, choose a spot within the woods at the mountain foot, fence it, that way the chickens will have space to roam, costs to build the farm will be lower, just need to construct coops. Then build an incubating room beside it, and it’s all set!" Bai Ruxue suggested.
In later years, she had seen many free-range chicken farms , though theirs were in orchards.
"Alright! Let’s do it your way! Anyway, there aren’t any big predators on our back mountain! It’s very safe!" Wang Jianjun agreed without hesitation.
Regarding the chicken farm, Bai Ruxue’s word was final! He just needed to help her arrange things and cooperate with her! This was also requested by the town chief!
"Then the only thing left is the farm workers! Brigade Leader, my requirement is they know how to hatch chicks! We don’t need too many, just five will do! Then arrange four strong men to take turns guarding the farm at night!" Bai Ruxue said.
"Finding five women who know how to hatch chicks is easy, but night guards—after a day of hard work, who would want to stay up all night guarding?" The brigade leader said, troubled.
"How about this, find four fixed night guards, exempt them from daylight labor! Just guard at night and give them ten work points! Surely someone will be willing to do that!" Bai Ruxue proposed, "Besides, once the chicken farm is established, it belongs to our brigade! Apart from task chickens, the rest is freely distributed among our brigade! And the eggs exchanged for food are for us to eat! This must be done well, we can’t let the chickens we raise with effort end up in others’ stomachs!"
Wang Jianjun perked up; although he hadn’t anticipated success with the chicken farm, with his strong team consciousness, there’s no way he’d let other brigades covet their brigade’s resources.
"Don’t worry! I’ll arrange four people to specifically guard the chicken farm! If there’s any disturbance, our brigade members would never retreat!" Wang Jianjun announced loudly.
"That’s great! The last thing is, organize a construction team to start building the chicken farm once the town chief releases the startup funds!" Bai Ruxue finished stating her requirements.
Just waiting for the brigade leader to help her realize them.
However, choosing the chicken farm staff still had to be done personally by her, she didn’t want people with ulterior motives.
"Alright! Leave all these matters to me! You just handle communication with the town chief! I’ll find someone suitable to learn the tractor with you tomorrow!" Wang Jianjun had only this piece of significant work left, and he already had a suitable person in mind.