1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 280 What kind of chicken soup are you drinking if you're not from Blue Water Farm! (Silver Alliance, 9th update)
After leaving the auditorium, the three went straight to the cafeteria.

Su Wenchen pushed open the cafeteria door.

The first thing you smell is a rich aroma of chicken soup. Su Wenchen, who has eaten it many times, knows very well that it is made with blue-water chicken.

Zhang Qianjin took a deep breath of the delicious chicken soup-scented air.

"Let's go, let's hurry up and get the food. I don't know if there's any chicken soup left."

"And I can tell from the smell that this is your company's Blue Water Chicken. I've been wanting to eat it for a long time."

The fact that the three of them arrived late had its advantages, namely that they didn't have to wait in line.

After all, those people arrived earlier, but there were only three food windows, so they still had to wait in a long line.

Su Wenchen took his plate to the window and found that there was only one dish: stewed cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles.

Since it's the dead of winter, there aren't many other vegetables to eat at this time of year. It's mostly either cabbage or potatoes, which are arguably the most common vegetables of this era.

"Master, do you have any more chicken soup? Please make me a bowl to warm me up!"

I heard Su Wenchen's voice.

Just as the kitchen helper at the window was about to politely decline, another chef at window number one spoke up for her.

"You look so young, you must be Comrade Su! Come to this window, I've already reserved a private window for you here!"

As he spoke, the cook at the number one food window in front of Zhang Qianjin placed a large tea mug on the window.

There was also an aluminum lunchbox placed nearby.

Seeing this, Su Wenchen walked over and said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Master, you recognize me!"

"Why are you reserving it for me in advance? Isn't that a bit unfair?"

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately smiled and said...

"My boss told me that you're the youngest person to come in wearing this name tag, so it's easy to recognize you!"

"Besides, you are now a great contributor to our department. I don't understand any other grand principles."

"But I know that if we raise one more pig with the same feed, we can get an extra pound of meat, which means we can save at least two pounds of grain to support areas in need."

"Meat is difficult to transport, but grain transportation will definitely not be a problem!"

“We’ve all been through hardship. Although life is better now, I still remember clearly that during the famine, an extra pound of grain could have saved a life.”

"Not to mention that pork production has increased by a third."

"So, Comrade Su, you've been delayed for so long, what's wrong with me saving a bowl of chicken soup in advance?"

"If anyone feels it's unfair or has any objections, they can stand up and I, this old man, will personally reason with them."

Upon hearing the noise, the people eating at the table by the food window immediately laughed.

"Master Liu, you should save your breath!"

"Comrade Su is a hot commodity in our department now, who can complain?"

"They've done such a great service, what's wrong with leaving them a bowl of chicken soup? If it were me, I would have saved chicken legs in advance."

Upon hearing this, the experienced craftsman inside rolled his eyes.

"I need you to take command!"

"I had already prepared it, I just didn't tell you."

"Come on, Comrade Su, here you go. There's still some soup left. Come and get more when you've had it!"

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Su Wenchen had no choice but to take the full aluminum lunchbox from the window.

Seeing this, Zhang Qianjin, who was behind, also handed over his teacup.

"Master, could you also make me a bowl of chicken soup?"

The other person glanced at Zhang Qianjin.

"You're from Blue Water Farm too?"

Zhang Qianjin shook his head.

"No, I'm from Qianjin Farm!"

Upon hearing this, the old master waved his hand.

"If you're not from Blue Water Farm, what are you going to drink chicken soup for! We only have cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles stewed together. Want some?"

Zhang Qianjin's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this.

How can this person still lie through their teeth!

They're showing discrimination right to your face!

He pointed directly to the pot where the other party had just served chicken soup to Su Wenchen.

"Wasn't there still soup base when you were cooking it just now?"

"Just send me that money, I won't mind!"

The old master craftsman immediately said in an annoyed tone.

"What are you thinking? I already said that it was reserved for Comrade Su. It's just that his teacup is too small and it wasn't filled up. I'll have to refill it for him later."

"If you wanted to drink it, why didn't you come earlier? You came last and still expect to drink chicken soup?"

"We have stewed cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles. Do you want some?"

Zhang Qianjin took a deep breath and could only reply with great conviction.

"eat!"

Su Wenchen, who had just picked up his food and was about to leave, heard what was said and turned around.

"Master, don't save any for me! Just give the rest to them!"

"This one teacup is enough for me."

"Also, thank you for saving food for me! You've really gone to so much trouble."

The old master waved his hand.

"There's no need to thank me. Besides, it was my supervisor who reminded me!"

"Let's go eat!"

"The soup won't taste good once it gets cold. To be honest, Comrade Su, your farm not only raises good pigs."

"The chickens they raise are all top-notch!"

"If we didn't only have ten chickens and could only make soup so that everyone could have a taste, I would definitely let you try my specialty dish."

Su Wenchen smiled.

"Okay, I'll bring one over to try your cooking when I have time."

Then he took his lunchbox and found an empty seat.

The experienced craftsman simply smiled and replied.

"Comrade Su, I'll make sure you taste so good it'll make your tongue fall off."

As he spoke, he scraped the remaining bottom of the pot and addressed Zhang Qianjin and Yang Fusheng, who were arriving last.

"You two are really lucky; there's plenty of scraps of meat at the bottom."

"Bring over the tea mug, half for each of us!"

Zhang Qianjin was speechless at the obvious favoritism of the master chef, but he knew he had taken advantage of Su Wenchen, otherwise he would never have gotten the soup base.

So without saying much, he simply found a seat next to Su Wenchen and sat down.

Su Wenchen was also very hungry.

He stood on the podium for almost two hours that morning, talking and answering questions the whole time. It's safe to say he was starving.

Looking at the bright red chicken soup steaming in the enamel mug.

Su Wenchen couldn't resist taking a big bite first.

After a sip of delicious chicken soup, Su Wenchen instantly felt much better, and the chill he had brought in from outside was also dispelled.

Actually, roosters aren't really suitable for making soup.

However, Su Wenchen felt that the Bluewater Chicken was an exception, especially the roosters that often roamed around, as their muscle fibers were firmer and their fat content was lower.

The chicken soup made from this blue-water chicken has a fresher and more delicate flavor compared to that made from old hens, and the soup itself is also brighter.

Seeing Su Wenchen's state, Zhang Qianjin couldn't help but take a small sip himself.

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Comfortable!"

"Brother Chen, you must say, your Bluewater Rooster makes a really unique soup!" "It's just as good as an old hen!"

Su Wenchen smiled and nodded.

"That is!"

"Moreover, Brother Qianjin, the rooster is warm in nature and good at replenishing yang energy, especially suitable for those with insufficient qi and blood and who are afraid of cold."

"Especially in the dead of winter, isn't a sip of this better than fried chicken?"

Yang Fusheng took a sip and nodded in agreement.

"It's really good, one bite and you feel all warm and cozy!"

"Comrade Su, I heard earlier that your bureau purchased this rooster from your farm?"

"You raise chickens on your farm too?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qianjin immediately spoke up.

"What do you know? Raising chickens is what I'm all about!"

He then held up his thumb to measure it.

Do you know how much this blue-water rooster costs where we're from?

"Just before I came, I heard that the price had already risen to twenty yuan per animal on the black market."

"On average, it'll probably cost seven or eight yuan per pound!"

This left Yang Fusheng speechless, because seven or eight yuan per kilogram of meat was indeed beyond his comprehension.

"A month's salary for a chicken? Can you even sell it?"

After all, most people in their area only earn ten or twenty yuan a month.

Spend a month's salary to buy a chicken? He couldn't understand what the point was. It was certainly delicious, but there was no need for that!
Hearing this, Zhang Qianjin smiled and shook his head.

"Ordinary employees certainly wouldn't spend this money, but there are people who can afford it."

"Moreover, many people in the black market are shady characters who can't be brought to the light of day, and they're the ones they prey on."

"If it comes from the official channels in Lan City, it's not that expensive, but it's still more than three yuan per kilogram."

Su Wenchen nodded.

"Pretty much. Before the end of the year, two guesthouses in Shanghai placed an order for two hundred of them with us through your company's introduction. Our farm's selling price is two yuan."

As for the goods on the black market that Zhang Qianjin mentioned, Su Wenchen was also aware that most of them flowed out from their brigade.

Even their commune has arrested several members because of this.

However, it is not completely banned.

Even the families of these commune members had approached Su Wenchen, but he didn't seem inclined to get involved.

Because the blue rooster was a gift he gave to all the members of their brigade.

As long as they are fed and raised normally, they can be sold to supply and marketing cooperatives or large factories in Lanshi.

The prices are actually quite good.

In addition, their brigade's current collective industries can be said to represent the highest standard of living in this era, excluding leading cadres.

However, not everyone can control their greed.

Therefore, many people still sell them privately to the black market for higher prices.

Regarding this matter, Su Wenchen felt that since you want high returns, you must naturally bear the high risks that come with the profits. If you are caught by the commune's militia, then you have to accept it.

Su Wenchen had already left enough gifts for Pingcun Brigade, which was his initial stepping stone.

If you manage your life well, there's really nothing wrong with being wealthy.

Even just one Blue Water Rooster would be enough for these people to live on for a lifetime.

If the collective reputation is managed well later on, it can bring even higher returns in the new century.

Zhang Qianjin, however, was somewhat puzzled.

"Brother, speaking of which, why don't you raise more chickens? Everyone tells me that they have to fight to place a purchase order with you. You have such a big chicken farm."

"Why only raise less than a thousand of them?"

"I think you could raise ten thousand and still sell them all."

Su Wenchen took a couple of bites of rice and explained directly.

"These things also need to be fed grain, and they can't lay eggs. In terms of profit, they need to be sold for four yuan to achieve the same level of profitability as laying hens."

"Plus, most people can't afford this stuff."

"They're really doing this on a huge scale."

Su Wenchen shook his head and did not continue speaking.

Clearly, this was an era that valued simplicity and dedication.

When most people across the country don't have much meat or eggs to eat, raising this thing on a large scale is going against the times.

Su Wenchen would never do something like that.

What he didn't say was that if this thing really starts to be farmed on a large scale, the price won't be able to stay at its current level.

Therefore, blindly expanding the scale of breeding does not bring much benefit to their farms.

However, Zhang Qianjin's eyes lit up when he heard Su Wenchen say that.

“Brother Achen, I understand. Now that you have white pigs and moon rabbits, there’s really no need to put so much effort into the chicken farm.”

"So, brother, what do you think? Can we... the one I mentioned before?"

"You can also make other requests if you have any."

After saying this, Zhang Qianjin showed an expectant expression, thinking that Blue Water Farm now had high-quality breeds such as white pigs and Moonflower rabbits.

Therefore, Bluewater Farm certainly doesn't value Bluewater Chicken as much as before.

Moreover, he could tell from the fact that the other party had not expanded the scale of breeding that Bluewater Chickens were not a high priority at Bluewater Farm.

But he was very envious.

Moreover, compared to the big white pig that everyone else was looking forward to, he wanted the blue water chicken even more.

Because there are too many competitors for white pigs, and they are all top-tier companies nationwide, including large state-owned farms, production and construction corps, and livestock bureaus in provincial or key cities.

Although their farm is not a small farm, it does not represent the entire Shanghai market.

There are a dozen or twenty companies in Shanghai that are about the same size as them!
We'll still have to fight for it when we get back, so it's better to rely on connections to secure a sure thing like a Blue Water Chicken.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen understood Zhang Qianjin's thoughts.

After thinking about it, he no longer had the same attitude towards it as before.

After all, there used to be only one Blue Water Chicken that was famous, and that was our prized possession. How could we just let it be passed on to outsiders?

Now that he has the White Pig and the Moon Rabbit, the Blue Water Chicken is naturally not as important to him as it was at the beginning.

Of course, with his status and strong network of connections, he no longer needed to rely on this thing as a last resort.

Because I currently hold the White Pig and the Moon Rabbit in my hands, I can completely give up now.

It's easy to reach the level of a department or bureau chief and retire without much effort.

What is the upper limit for others is just the lowest limit for Su Wenchen now.

So after a moment's hesitation, Su Wenchen spoke directly.

"Here's what we'll do! Brother Qianjin, I'll put in a good word for you two, and you can talk to our brigade!"

"To be honest, all the blue swamp chickens in our farm were introduced from the brigade."

"I have no objection to whether you introduce breeding chickens or breeding chicken technology."

Seeing this situation, Su Wenchen also wanted to take this opportunity to repay the favor that Qianjin Farm had done for them by giving them the white pig back then.

Regardless, they deserve credit for successfully breeding white pigs.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qianjin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Haha, brother, then I'll trouble you to introduce me to someone later."

Zhang Qianjin knew very well that as long as Su Wenchen had no objections, things would be easy to handle with the brigade.

In fact, if they weren't so concerned about Su Wenchen, they would have gone to his door long ago.

They might not even need to show their faces; they just need to reach an agreement with Lan City.

It wasn't just their farm; he knew that many other farms were also eyeing Pingcun Brigade, but they were all wary of Su Wenchen behind it all.

(End of this chapter)