Chapter 174 1 Setting Fire and Selling Firewood

Chapter 174 1 Setting Fire and Selling Firewood

Chapter 174: Setting Fire and Selling Firewood

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Feng Yu and Chen Huiru did not go out this year, so Jiang Ning, his brother and two cousins ​​went to the homes of the three aunts to pay New Year's greetings. The second aunt's home was deserted and there was no festive atmosphere at all.

There was no smile on my second uncle's face.

Second aunt is still sick and can't get up.

My second cousin’s wife started wiping away tears after saying a few words.

Everyone felt uncomfortable and left quickly after sitting for a while.

On the fifth day of the New Year, Jiang Ning and Feng Xue went to Qi Ze.

Feng Xue was still in confinement, so he and Feng Xue were the only ones who could go visit relatives.

At Uncle Feng Yu’s house.

Xu Wenjing found an opportunity to ask him: "Brother-in-law, are you going to Australia after the Chinese New Year?"

Jiang Ning asked, "Why, do you want to go too?"

Xu Wenjing nodded hurriedly: "Yes, I really want to go out and see the world. Who doesn't want to go out and see the world? Brother-in-law, please take me with you. I will pay for the expenses myself. I won't let you spend money on me. I have saved more than 100,000 yuan!"

Jiang Ning asked: "Do you have a passport?"

Xu Wenjing said proudly: "Yes, it has been done a long time ago."

Jiang Ning nodded: "Okay, give me the passport later."

Xu Wenjing hurried to look for her passport.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, my daughter was one month old.

Jiang Ning did not hold a grand celebration. He just set up a few tables at the New Town Hotel and invited his main relatives for a meal.

Feng Yu also went out, packed up neatly, and took the children to the hotel.

After a month of hesitation, the little guy finally got a name. Jiang Ning used up countless brain cells and thought of seven or eight alternatives. After consultation with his mother, aunt, grandparents and others, he finally chose one: Jiang Tiantian.

After the full moon, Feng Yu’s confinement period was also over.

But I basically don't go out unless it's necessary.

Jiang Ning had no idea how much damage conceiving a life would cause to the body, but he knew it was definitely more harmful than undergoing a normal surgery. It would take a hundred days to heal broken bones, not to mention giving birth. One month would definitely not be enough. He would have to take good care of himself for at least three months.

Zhang Yulan also repeatedly told Feng Yu not to work.

Don't catch a cold.

Don't overwork yourself, and take good care of your body first.

It’s not like there’s no one working at home.

Giving birth to a child is too exhausting, and if you don’t take good care of your body, you will be sick in the future.

As someone who has experienced this, Zhang Yulan has a lot to say. She now feels tired in her legs and sore in the heels of her feet after standing for a long time, she cannot stand colds, and she has back pain, etc. These are all sequelae of not recovering well after giving birth. Conditions in the 1990s did not allow this.

But things are different now than they were in the past.

There is no shortage of people to work at home, so we even hired a caregiver.

Of course, you have to keep your body healthy.

Feng Yu was able to listen to advice and knew that her mother-in-law was doing it for her own good.

So I followed the advice and stayed at home to recuperate.

After the seventh day of the New Year, the county town becomes lively.

Yangko teams from various villages and towns come to the city to perform with loud gongs and drums. Yangko dancing is a traditional culture and is performed every year. Some towns and villages in Bei'an have too few people to organize yangko teams, but some towns with more populations hold these cultural activities every day.

In recent years, the city has also been doing this, and the streets and communities are also organizing yangko teams.

The Beidao Community where Jixiang Garden is located organized a yangko team. Many idle women in the community signed up to participate. Jiang Ma also participated and sponsored 10,000 yuan. Before the New Year, she took her eldest granddaughter to participate in rehearsals when she had nothing to do.

Starting from the eighth day of the first lunar month, yangko troupes come to the farm to perform and wish a happy new year almost every day.

Why so proactive?

Because the yangko team’s New Year greetings to the unit are not for free, they have to give red envelopes.

Jiang Ning likes this kind of activity, so he accepts all offers.

When the yangko team from Beidao Community came to the farm to pay New Year's greetings, Jiang Ning went over to watch his mother dance the yangko. Feng Yu and Feng Xue also went over to watch the fun. It was indeed quite lively, with people dancing dragons and lions, and walking on the high bridge.

Mother Jiang was wearing a theatrical costume with her face painted in all sorts of colors.

Dancing energetically with a group of middle-aged and elderly women.

Feng Yuxiao's cheeks almost cramped.

Very joyful indeed.

We danced for half an hour, then burned incense and paid New Year's greetings.

Kong Fangfei brought a big red envelope and the yangko team went home.

Dad Jiang didn't leave either, and took his eldest granddaughter to the cafeteria to eat.

Jiang's mother has a performance these days, so he is taking care of his granddaughter during the day.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.

There are lanterns everywhere in the city, and the county town seems to have turned into a city of lights.

Jiang Ning brought Feng Yu and Feng Xue out to see the lanterns. Bei'an Square was bustling with people. My parents, brother and sister-in-law came, as did my eldest aunt and my second aunt's families. Various small vendors also seized this rare opportunity and worked hard to make money.

After the fifteenth, the county town became quiet.

The New Year atmosphere seems to have disappeared.

After the happiness, people start to work hard for their livelihood for the year.

If possible, I guess few people would be willing to go to work.

Who would want to go to work if they can enjoy happiness every day?

But life goes on...

On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, it was still freezing cold in Bei'an.

Jiang Ning flew to Guangzhou with Lao Yang and two cousins ​​and sister-in-law who had returned from Beijing.

Fly from Guangzhou to Melbourne.

My cousin is Deng Xiaoyun and my sister-in-law is Xu Wenjing.

Arrive in Melbourne at night and stay in hotel.

After a night's sleep, Jiang Ning found a tour guide to take Lao Yang and two relatives to visit tourist attractions the next day. He went to handle the transaction procedures. He was busy for a few days and will go to the ranch to take over the property tomorrow. Xu Wenjing and Deng Xiaoyun both ran back when they heard the news.

Old Yang naturally came back as well, his face beaming with joy.

Jiang Ning asked him: "How do you feel?"

Old Yang said with a smile: "It's OK. I feel that the foreigners are also very enthusiastic. When we were playing at the beach, a foreigner saw us looking around and thought we were lost. He took the initiative to run over and ask if we needed help. It seems that those foreigners live without any burden, unlike many people in my hometown who have sad faces. In short, it makes people feel very relaxed."

Xu Wenjing also quickly agreed: "Yes, yes, the pace of life here is so slow, unlike the big cities in my hometown where people walk in a hurry. Those foreigners are very leisurely, it feels like they don't go to work, they are just playing all day, there are also acrobatics on the street, and no one laughs at them. If this happened in my hometown, I would probably think they are crazy."

Deng Xiaoyun also shared her experience: "The air here has a sense of freedom, and no one looks at me strangely anymore. I like it here. Oh, I don't even want to go back."

Jiang Ning objectively analyzed: "The cultures on both sides are different, and the humanities and social environments are also different. You only see the good side here, but not the bad. Don't think that the outside world is a paradise. Some behaviors may be habitual in your hometown, but they may be illegal here. The public security in some areas is not so good. Last year, when I brought Feng Yu and Feng Xue here for the first time, I encountered black people doing zero-yuan shopping. Hundreds of black people smashed and robbed on the street, so you still have to pay attention to safety."

Xu Wenjing nodded: "The tour guide said that we won't go to those places."

After a night's rest, we drove to the ranch the next day.

Xu Wenjing and Deng Xiaoyun were so excited along the way that they kept taking photos with their mobile phones.

It's still freezing cold in my hometown, but it's summer here.

Outside the city, there is endless green everywhere.

There are farms and ranches everywhere, but the land is vast and the population is sparse.

Tired of the involution in her hometown, Deng Xiaoyun likes the spaciousness here.

When they arrived at the ranch, the ranch manager was responsible for handing over the goods to him.

In addition to fixed assets such as houses and pens, all the machinery and equipment and 20,000 sheep were left to him. The machinery and equipment could be placed in the warehouse, but the sheep could not be. They had to be driven out, so the ranch employees would not evacuate for the time being.

The seller’s staff will not leave until he finds someone to take over the goods.

The agreed period is one month, and he will pay the salaries of these people.

The ranch employees are all fellow villagers, and Jiang Ning has no plan to use these people.

After taking inventory of assets, we started recruiting workers.

Deng Xiaoyun followed him to get familiar with various affairs, and asked him puzzledly: "This ranch is only 20 million dollars, less than 100 million. The 20,000 sheep alone are worth tens of millions. Are you getting a great bargain?"

Jiang Ning said, "What's the point of taking advantage? Do you think they are stupid? Sheep in Australia are not valuable. The price of sheep has been very low this year. A sheep costs 20 or 30 US dollars, which is equivalent to more than 100 yuan in my hometown. How much is a sheep in my hometown? Those 20,000 sheep are less than 1 million Australian dollars. If sheep are valuable, why would they sell the ranch?"

Deng Xiaoyun was so surprised: "Why is it so cheap?"

Jiang Ning said, "There are only a few people here, but there are more sheep than people. Australia is the country with the most sheep per capita in the world. The market determines the price. This thing is just like the rabbits in the fairy farm. If there are too many, they will be worthless."

Deng Xiaoyun asked: "Then how do you make money by buying this ranch?"

Jiang Ning said: "Selling grass."

Deng Xiaoyun asked suspiciously, "There are pastures everywhere here. Who are you selling the grass to?"

Jiang Ning said: "Pastures are also seasonal. Some pastures will be short of fodder during the dry season."

Deng Xiaoyun said "oh", she had no idea about this industry.

Unlike Deng Xiaoyun, Xu Wenjing doesn't care about these things.

Take your phone everywhere to take photos and videos, and seize opportunities to capture footage.

I plan to publish an issue every three days after I return, which will last for a year.

Jiang Ning posted a job recruitment information, but the recruitment process was not going smoothly.

There are too many people and too few job opportunities in my hometown. As long as you post a job recruitment notice, countless people will flock to the farm. Just like what people say on the Internet, if you don't do it, there are plenty of people willing to do it. It's different in Australia. There are too few people here.

I had been advertising for three days but not a single person called.

It wasn't until the fifth day that I received a call.

On the tenth day, someone came to apply for the position of farm manager.

He is in his forties, named Avicii, and has a weather-beaten face.

He looks more like a farmer than a manager.

Jiang Ning asked him: "Do you have experience in farm management?"

Avicii said: "Of course, I used to run a farm, but I didn't have enough money to buy a farm, so I rented other people's land. Last year, the price of grass was not good, and I unfortunately went bankrupt, so I came out to look for a job."

Jiang Ning asked, "You rent a farm and grow grass to sell?"

Avicii nodded: "Yes, but I also have enough experience in raising sheep."

Jiang Ning asked him: "How much salary do you want me to give you?"

Avicii took the opportunity to put forward a condition: "I need to bring my wife to work with me. My wife has rich work experience and can drive and operate various agricultural machinery and large vehicles. She is a good helper for me." Jiang Ning said: "Tell me your salary requirements first!"

Avicii probed: "I hope I can get 4000 a week and my wife 2000."

Jiang Ningjue's salary was negotiable, but he didn't give in. He answered cheerfully, "No problem. I agree to your salary requirement. Your wife can also come to the ranch to work. When can you start work?"

Avicii cheered up and said, "Tomorrow, I can work tomorrow."

Jiang Ning was very satisfied and chatted with the person for half an hour before sending him away.

This guy has many mistresses and knows everything.

He is worthy of running his own farm.

He has extensive experience in farm operation and management.

Deng Xiaoyun listened to the whole thing. After Avicii left, she hurriedly asked Jiang Ning: "What did you say? I didn't understand a single word. I just heard him introduce his name and the number of tomorrows. You spoke too fast."

Jiang Ning gave her a suggestion: "I listen more than I talk."

Deng Xiaoyun asked: "Do you want to use this person?"

Jiang Ning nodded: "He has run a farm before, so he has experience. If we can't find a suitable one, we can just use him!"

Deng Xiaoyun was curious: "How much salary do you give him?"

Jiang Ning said: "The weekly salary is 4000, and his wife also has to work on the farm, with a weekly salary of 2000."

Deng Xiaoyun was shocked: "It's so high."

Jiang Ning hummed: "I can't recruit anyone, so I can only offer a high salary."

Deng Xiaoyun calculated: "4000 dollars a week, 52 weeks a year, 20 dollars in salary. If converted into money from my hometown, that's a million dollars a year. Is it so easy to make money in Australia? Why don't I stay and herd sheep for you?"

Jiang Ning said unhappily, "They can run a business, drive all kinds of vehicles and machinery, raise livestock and farm, know how to solve problems, and how to deal with the government and businessmen. What can you do?"

"Uh……"

Deng Xiaoyun said dryly: "I can learn it!"

Jiang Ning said: "Then you should study hard and talk about it after you have learned it!"

Deng Xiaoyun was a little stingy, but she quickly cheered up.

What people fear most is seeing no hope.

It’s not a big problem if you don’t know anything, as long as you are determined, you can always learn it.

With hope, there will naturally be motivation.

Deng Xiaoyun secretly encouraged herself and decided to learn the skills well.

The next day.

Avicii brought his wife to work, and not only his wife but also his children.

To settle down on a farm.

His wife Ava drove a second-hand Toyota with their two children.

Avicii drove a small truck carrying a lot of belongings.

There are many houses on the ranch, so there is no need to worry about where to live.

After settling in, Avicii started working.

While understanding the situation of the ranch, he also assisted Boss Jiang in recruiting workers.

It took half a month to recruit more than a dozen employees with high salaries.

Avicii also got into the role, leading the newly hired employees to hand over the work to the sellers.

Jiang Ning has been very busy recently. In addition to recruiting workers, he has also been running around everywhere.

I go out every night and take a walk around the nearby farms and ranches.

After he settled the affairs of the ranch and flew to the United States with Lao Yang and his cousin and sister-in-law, he found that many surrounding ranches that raised large numbers of cattle and sheep and farms that specialized in growing forage grass had experienced large areas of grass withering.

The four flew to Los Angeles and then transferred to Dallas.

The climate in Dezhou is similar to that in my hometown Bei'an, with four distinct seasons.

But it is much warmer than Bei'an, and spring flowers are blooming in early March.

Except in extreme weather conditions, it rarely snows in this place.

We rented a car and drove to Seymour, where Joan came to pick us up in the farm's pickup truck.

The old cowboy was very happy. When he saw Jiang Ning, he couldn't wait to share the good news with him: "Boss, you are lucky. Some strange things happened at Wagner Ranch and several other ranches next to our ranch. There is no grass this year. Agricultural experts are studying the specific reasons. I think the grass on our ranch can be sold at a good price this year."

Jiang Ning was also very happy: "Really? Then my luck is really good."

The old cowboy said, "Ten million is impossible, but I think earning one million is no problem."

Jiang Ning said, "Hey, man, do you mean that I should pay for your bonuses out of my own pocket?"

The old cowboy shook his head and said, "Boss, I'm just saying common sense. There are less than a thousand acres of land in Ranch No. 3 and No. 4. Even if the hay sells well, it's impossible to make a profit of $10,000 per acre. It's impossible."

Jiang Ning said, "If that's the case, then the previous agreement is void. I will give you bonuses at 5% of the amount of money you make for me, and I won't pay you bonuses out of my own pocket."

"No no no!"

The old cowboy shook his head again and again, "Boss, you can't break your promise. You have already promised to give us bonuses based on the profit of 1000 million. How can you not keep your promise?"

Jiang Ning said, "You've already said that the farm doesn't make 1000 million, but you still want me to give you bonuses based on million in profits. Do you think I'm a fool?"

"shit!"

The old cowboy hesitated for a long time, and said with great difficulty, "The boss is always right. I am willing to lie for the bonus. We will work hard, and the boss will definitely make 10 million, but our bonus cannot be less."

Jiang Ning laughed out loud: "That's right!"

Lao Yang was like listening to a foreign language and couldn't understand a single word.

Xu Wenjing could occasionally understand a few words.

But I don’t know what they said.

Deng Xiaoyun did the same and studied English for several months.

I thought I was good enough, but when the results came out I found that I was not good enough at all.

I feel a little bit upset.

After arriving at the ranch and settling down, I rested for a day to adjust to the jet lag.

The next day we got up and went to visit the ranch.

Lao Yang, Xu Wenjing and Deng Xiaoyun followed Gabriel and Chelsea and their wife for a walk.

Jiang Ning asked Qiao An to drive a pickup truck to inspect various places.

I took a look at the pastures first. The high-yield forage grass planted in Pasture Areas No. 3 and No. 4 has already grown.

Grow lush and green.

Then I went to see the cattle herd. This year, the herd had new members, dozens of calves. They were calves born from cows that became pregnant after the spring. They were full of life and ran around with the herd.

Qiao An also gave Jiang Ning some advice: "Boss, the ranch has no income. I suggest selling some of the young bulls so that they can be used for expenses. The young cows can be kept and raised for two or three years before they can give birth again."

"Do not sell!"

Jiang Ning rejected the idea: "The ranch has no shortage of working capital, so there is no need to sell the calves. We can just wait for the grass to grow and sell it. Keep all the cows for me and don't sell any of them. I will even buy more cows when the ranch earns some income."

Qiao An spread his hands: "You are the boss, you have the final say."

After looking at the cattle, the two drove to the edge of the pasture.

Jiang Ning stood on the high ground, looking far away at the Wagner Ranch not far away.

All I saw was large areas of withered yellow, and in many places not a single blade of grass grew.

Joan stood beside him, her tone still full of doubt: "There have been more and more strange things in the past two years. First, last year Texas suffered extreme weather, and dozens of people froze to death. Today, many farms and pastures have no grass. This is really strange. I wonder if those ranchers have done something unforgivable, so God is punishing them."

Jiang Ning smiled silently and nodded: "Your guess makes sense."

Joan grinned and said, "But no matter what, this is a good thing for our ranch. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find buyers for our grass. I think it will sell well this year and will definitely fetch a good price."

Jiang Ning agreed: "I think so too. So you must take good care of the pastures and irrigate them on time. Don't let the pastures die of drought. The remaining pastures should also be gradually transformed this year and planted with high-yield pastures."

Qiao An nodded and said, "Okay boss, we are all good at our work."

Jiang Ning added: "I have a farm in China and a ranch in Australia. I don't have extra time to run the ranch. You should take some time to learn more about ranch management. Don't call for everything. Overseas calls are also very expensive."

Qiao An continued to nod: "Okay boss, I will study when I have time."

After walking around for a morning, I went home to cook.

It has been twenty days since they were released. Jiang Ning has the best adaptability and is fine as long as he can fill his stomach. Xu Wenjing and Deng Xiaoyun can also eat bread and steak every day, but Lao Yang can't stand it anymore and just wants to have some ramen from his hometown.

So Deng Xiaoyun and Xu Wenjing, two skilled craftsmen, worked together to prepare a meal of noodles from their hometown for Lao Yang.

Meilin and Chelsea followed suit.

In fact, Americans also know how to make noodles, but their way of making noodles is different from the way they make noodles in their hometown.

Joan and Gabriel walked around the house with Jiang Ning and Lao Yang.

After an hour, the noodles were ready and the vegetables were fried.

The Bei'an ramen made by the two cobblers was thicker than chopsticks after being cooked. It was not known whether they put too much salt or the noodles were not mixed well. Old Yang usually did not eat such thick noodles because he could not digest them as he was old.

But this year everything I eat is delicious.

The food Jiang Ning ate was okay, although not as good as the ramen made by Jiang Ma and Feng Xue.

But at least it's better than bread.

You should use chopsticks to eat ramen, you can't eat it with a spoon.

The farm provided chopsticks, but Joan and Gabrielle didn't know how to use them.

It's so difficult to eat noodles with a fork while holding the bowl.

Deng Xiaoyun and Xu Wenjing both found it funny and kindly taught the two couples how to use chopsticks. Joan and Gabrielle didn't feel embarrassed and tried to learn it seriously, as it was too difficult to eat ramen with a fork.

In particular, the ramen made by Deng Xiaoyun and Xu Wenjing is thicker than chopsticks.

It is impossible to wrap it around with a fork.

During the awkward communication, Jiang Ning had to act as a translator from time to time.

The two cobblers gradually memorized some simple sentences.

In the afternoon, we rode horses to herd cattle and sheep and experience ranch life.

The old comrade was a little tired and didn't want to go out, so he rested in the house.

Deng Xiaoyun and Xu Wenjing couldn't sit still. The two cobblers didn't dare to ride horses, so they followed Meilin and Chelsea in the car. They watched Jiang Ning, Qiao An and Gabriel riding horses to drive the cattle and sheep, and they felt that such a life was full of poetry and painting.

At night, after everyone fell asleep.

Jiang Ning escaped underground again...

(End of this chapter)