Returning to the mountain village, starting with mushroom picking to get rich

"Boss, good news..."

Yang Lin was not surprised at all when he received the good news from Zhao Tie over the phone.

All the mushrooms in Area 3 were sprouted from the underground mycelium by him.

If statistics were needed, he could accurately count the number of shiitake mushrooms on these fifty acres of land down to the single digit.

"Really? That's great! You guys wait there, I'll be right there to check."

After exchanging a few words of pleasant surprise with Zhao Tie and the others over the phone, Yang Lin quickly set off for Area 3 of the forest farm.

As soon as Yang Lin arrived here, he smelled a faint mushroom fragrance in the air.

"Boss, come quick! The ground is covered in mushrooms..."

Zhao Tie and the others squatted on the ground, sweeping away the fallen leaves and straw scraps. Pointing to the newly sprouted shiitake mushroom buds, they happily introduced their discoveries around them.

"Great, that's wonderful!" Yang Lin exclaimed excitedly, and then gave instructions to Zhao Tie and the others.

"I planted many strains of bacteria in this area, all of which were inoculated at roughly the same time."

"Since fungi have already started to grow, it's definitely not just this small area that's growing."

"Go and check everything carefully to see where else mushrooms have grown, so I can have a general idea."

"Don't worry, boss, leave it to us." Zhao Tie and the others responded and quickly set off to carefully inspect the forest.

The process and content are not complicated. Just carefully observe the ground to see where mushrooms are growing and determine the approximate range and density of the mushrooms.

Then, make a general estimate to arrive at a rough forecast of production.

"There are some here, and some here too..."

"This is terrible...this is terrible, mushrooms are sprouting in all these places!"

The scale of mushroom production in Zone 3 far exceeded Zhao Tie and others' expectations.

The more carefully the group searched the forest, the more shocked they became.

Fifty acres!

The entire fifty acres of land were almost entirely covered in mushrooms.

Moreover, judging from the density of the mushroom buds on the ground, once all these fungi have grown up, their yield will definitely be a considerable number.

"Boss! All of them, all of them!"

"Mushrooms are practically everywhere in Zone 3!"

Some time later, Zhao Tie and his companions came to Yang Lin's side, quite shocked, and told him about their astonishing discovery.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you all for your hard work." Yang Lin smiled faintly and nodded to the group.

Although he had all the specific data on the mushroom production in the forest farm, the approximate production estimates made by Zhao Tie and others were meaningless to him.

But what can you do when he's the boss?

It's perfectly normal for bosses to assign reasonable work tasks to their employees.

It would be abnormal for him to know how many mushrooms the forest farm produced without even arranging basic statistical work.

By analyzing the statistical scope of the group and the errors within it, he could also judge whether these people's abilities and work attitudes were up to standard.

Next, we need to consider the sales of shiitake mushrooms.

Under normal circumstances, it takes about ten days from the appearance of mushroom buds on the mycelium of shiitake mushrooms to the mushrooms growing and maturing.

The fast-growing ones mature in six or seven days, while the slow-growing ones take fifteen days to mature.

Generally speaking, plants grow faster in warmer environments.

It grows slower in places with low temperatures.

In June, Nanzhao was already in the sweltering heat of summer.

The temperature won't be too low.

It is foreseeable that even without activating the acceleration function, his batch of mushrooms will mature in just a few days.

However, fully mature shiitake mushrooms are not valuable and are considered substandard in the market.

Once the caps have matured and opened, the shiitake mushrooms are old, and their taste and texture will be slightly inferior.

They can't sell for a good price.

The truly valuable shiitake mushrooms are those with thick caps that curl inwards, before they have fully opened and blossomed.

Shiitake mushrooms at this stage are considered the finest quality.

The market price is significantly higher.

The farmgate price for open-cap shiitake mushrooms is only two or three yuan per kilogram.

The purchase price of high-quality shiitake mushrooms can be at least four or five yuan per kilogram.

Therefore, Yang Lin didn't have ten days at all, and might not even have seven days.

……

"Mr. Huang, may your business prosper..."

After leaving the forest farm, Yang Lin, who was thinking about the sales channels for shiitake mushrooms, suddenly heard his cell phone ring.

It was a call from Mr. Huang, the owner of the town's restaurant, probably asking if they still had any termite mushrooms.

"Mr. Huang, may your business prosper..."

Yang Lin answered the phone, exchanged brief pleasantries, and prepared to probe the market situation from the other party.

"Young Master Yang, it's been a long time! Have you encountered any mushrooms over there?"

"We do have mushrooms, but they're not termite mushrooms, they're shiitake mushrooms. I wonder if Boss Huang would like some?" Yang Lin asked.

"Shiitake mushrooms? We never buy these from outside." Boss Huang instinctively refused.

It's not that their restaurants don't have mushroom dishes; it's just that they have a stable supply chain for this common mushroom.

This ensures that the quality of the shiitake mushrooms remains unchanged, and the dishes made from them remain the same.

The mushrooms harvested by mountain herders are not only of inconsistent quality, but their supply is also unstable, sometimes available and sometimes unavailable.

They are prone to failing at crucial moments, damaging the restaurant's reputation.

Therefore, apart from a few precious mushrooms that cannot be artificially cultivated, such as termite mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and matsutake mushrooms, they have to rely on mountain herders for supply.

For other common mushrooms, restaurants seek stable supply channels.

"Boss Huang, don't worry. I've opened a mushroom farm in the village, specializing in shiitake mushrooms. The supply is definitely stable," Yang Lin said.

"Well..." The person on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment before speaking to Yang Lin.

"We don't usually accept such small items, but since Brother Yang has asked, I'll take them."

"If you have any, the bulk ones are five yuan a pound, and the premium ones are eight yuan a pound. We can collect ten pounds of shiitake mushrooms a week," said Boss Huang.

"How much? Only ten catties a week?" Yang Lin asked, somewhat surprised. "I remember you collected more than that amount of termite mushrooms, didn't you?"

Termitomyces are expensive, and not many people can afford them.

Everyone can afford shiitake mushrooms, so why are sales so low?

Upon hearing this, Boss Huang sounded slightly speechless: "Young man, you don't eat out often, do you?"

"Indeed, we mostly cook at home," Yang Lin said.

"That's the point," Boss Huang laughed.

"There are indeed many people who can afford to eat shiitake mushrooms, but not that many people go to restaurants to eat them."

"People who come to restaurants to eat mushrooms are all looking for various wild and rare mushrooms. Those who like shiitake mushrooms can make them at home and don't want to spend money to eat out."

"I collect ten kilograms a week, mainly to stock up on goods."

Yang Lin frowned.

As expected, the best way to sell shiitake mushrooms is still through wholesale.

With his current manpower and scale, if a restaurant were to deliver a few dozen kilograms of shiitake mushrooms, he would have to travel to countless places and deliver them for ages before he could sell all the produce from those fifty acres.