Restart life

Chapter 481 0471 [A Father with a Head Full of Business Acumen]

"elder brother!"

My cousin Chen Guirong was squatting in the courtyard playing on his phone when he heard a noise from the other side of the paddy field, so he ran over.

Chen Guiliang shouted, "Help me move the New Year's goods!"

“I’ve been waiting for you to come back for so long,” Chen Guirong said, carrying a large box, and greeted Bian Guanyue, “Happy New Year, sister-in-law.”

Bian Guanyue smiled and said, "Happy New Year."

Chen Guiliang praised, "You've grown quite a bit stronger in the year since I last saw you."

Chen Guirong said, "That's right, I carry pots every day. Don't let my lack of muscle fool you, I'm surprisingly strong in the hands."

"Are you confident in opening your own restaurant?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Chen Guirong used to be quite anxious about this, but now he's unhurried: "I just switched jobs to a restaurant and am learning techniques from the head chef. That head chef was brought in from Chengdu, and he's exceptionally good at making official cuisine. When he heard that I'm your brother, he made an exception and took me on as his last apprentice."

"Then study hard," Chen Guiliang said.

Sichuan cuisine is divided into three major schools: the Upper River School (Chengdu), the Lower River School (Shancheng), and the Small River School (Dongdu).

Chen Guirong previously studied Xiahebang cuisine, and dishes like boiled beef originated from this school. Its spiciness is unparalleled in Sichuan, rivaling that of Jiangxi and Hunan cuisines.

Official cuisine, on the other hand, comes from the Upper River School. Most of its dishes are not spicy and it targets a high-end market. The famous Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth is a representative dish of the Upper River School.

Chen Guirong said smugly, "My master said I have talent and am a natural-born tinsmith. He said I could become a master in three to five years. Hehe, he even introduced his granddaughter to me, wanting me to be his granddaughter's husband. But I didn't like him. He's just average-looking. It was quite awkward at the time. I didn't know how to refuse."

"You're quite picky, kid," Chen Guiliang said with a laugh.

Chen Guirong said, "However, I took a liking to his granddaughter. She was very beautiful and was a freshman at the Polytechnic Institute. The two sisters came to eat together at the time. My master's granddaughter was a college student and had high standards. She looked down on me. Later, I gave her a cell phone. At first, she didn't accept it, but after a few rounds of coaxing, she accepted it."

Chen Guiliang finally realized: "You were in such a hurry to have me send back a Tian Shu, just to pick up girls?"

“Of course, otherwise why would I ask you to send me a phone?” Chen Guirong said.

Chen Guiliang warned, "Be careful. You said she doesn't like you, so what's the point of her taking your phone?"

Chen Guirong said, "I'm not stupid. I have more experience in dating than you. At first, I texted her every day, but I knew she was too lazy to reply. Now she's the one who texts me first, and I'm often too busy to reply."

Chen Guiliang offered no further comment.

After bringing the New Year's goods home, Chen Guiliang found that his parents and grandmother were not there.

Chen Guirong said, "They all work on rabbit farms. Now they're getting bigger and bigger, with thousands or even tens of thousands of rabbits. My mother works at one of the rabbit farms."

Chen Guiliang didn't take it seriously.

They are extremely wealthy, except for animals with fur.

No matter how large the livestock farming operation is, a single epidemic can wipe it all out.

After the two brothers and Yang Shuo finished moving all the New Year's goods and luggage, they took a car to the rabbit farm.

"You've rented the whole school?" Chen Guiliang asked in surprise.

The village's primary school, which had been abandoned for many years, was suddenly surrounded by a wall that enclosed the surrounding land, and a sign that read "Qianfeng Village Rabbit Breeding Base" was hung at the entrance.

Chen Guirong said, "The school is on a small hill with good ventilation. Your dad said that rabbits raised there are less likely to get sick."

Yang Shuo stood to the side, scratching his head, reminiscing about his childhood school: "It's all changed."

Bian Guanyue found it quite novel and followed Chen Guiliang through the gate, enduring the strange smell as she wandered around and looked around.

Grandma was overjoyed to see Bian Guanyue and pulled her aside to talk, completely ignoring her two grandsons, Chen Guiliang and Chen Guirong. Anyone who didn't know better would think Bian Guanyue was her biological granddaughter.

"I went to town and got you a silver bracelet made," Grandma said mysteriously.

Bian Guanyue was both happy and touched: "Thank you, Grandma!"

Grandma gets carsick easily, and she said she went into town to get a bracelet made, so she probably walked there. It would take two or three hours to walk there and back.

It was already dark, but the lights were on in the rabbit farm.

Grandma took Bian Guanyue to see various places, and seeing that she was very interested in rabbits, she said, "How about we take two to the city to raise?"

"No need, I don't have time to take care of it anyway." Bian Guanyue picked up a few blades of grass and squatted down to feed the rabbit.

Mother Yao Lan was busy with the workers, including Chen Guirong's mother. This snobbish second aunt was now very good at getting things done, eager to do all the work and treating Grandma like an empress dowager.

When his father, Chen Xinghua, came over, Chen Guiliang immediately handed him a pack of cigarettes and gave two loose cigarettes to his father and cousin.

Chen Guirong didn't answer: "I've quit."

"Can you quit smoking?" Chen Guiliang asked with a smile.

Chen Guirong said, "My girlfriend doesn't like me smoking."

Chen Guiliang was speechless for a moment.

This cousin of mine used to dye his hair blonde and wear earrings when he was in middle school. He even had the character "忍" (ren, meaning "endure") crookedly carved on his wrist. And every time he saw Chen Guiliang, he had to smoke, acting like he couldn't live without cigarettes. Now he's actually quit smoking?
Whether this relationship lasts or not, at least Chen Guirong has quit smoking. Either way, he's not at a loss.

Chen Guiliang asked his father, "Is there a market for so many rabbits?"

Chen Xinghua said, “I’m not worried about selling them. At first, I took them to the city’s vegetable market to wholesale. Later, thanks to your connections, I also supplied several restaurants for a long time. I plan to set up a food processing plant to make cold-cooked rabbit, spicy rabbit heads, and the like. Bamboo shoots are everywhere in the city now, and they’re incredibly cheap when they’re in season. I’m thinking of getting into bamboo shoot processing.”

"Sales channels," Chen Guiliang reminded him.

Chen Xinghua said, "Take it slow. Once the highway is completed, I'll build the factory. I won't start too big; we'll expand once we've established sales channels."

"Alright then." Chen Guiliang let his father do whatever he wanted, so he wouldn't be idle at home. He would cover for him if things went wrong in the future.

Chen Xinghua said, "I also bought a computer and paid for the internet cable from the town. I heard that you can sell things online, so I can open an online store if I do food processing in the future."

Chen Guiliang sighed: "It's not as simple as you think. Besides the post office, there doesn't seem to be any other courier service in the whole city. You can't possibly use the post office to send packages every time you open an online store, can you?"

"How about we become a courier company?" Chen Xinghua suggested on a whim.

Chen Guiliang said, "Why don't you give it a try? You can join Shentong or Yuantong or something."

These days, if you're running a courier service in Longdu, you're guaranteed to lose money in the first year; it's purely about cultivating the market.

Chen Xinghua wants to start a rabbit farm, open a food processing plant, and now he's even considering joining a courier franchise. He's jumping from one thing to another; it's anyone's guess how many of these ventures he'll actually succeed at.

Anyway, my son has money, so he can do whatever he wants!

Chen Guiliang said, "When I come back this time, the leaders of the High-tech Zone will definitely come to attract investment again. It's a good opportunity to set up a food processing plant for you, which can also be considered as supporting the development of our hometown, so that they won't bother us every year."

As the father and son were chatting, two more workers, both elders from the village, came over.

Chen Guiliang quickly handed over two packs of cigarettes, and the two men immediately started showering him with compliments.

Chen Xinghua pointed to the gate and said, "Last month I visited a large rabbit farm, and they were doing scientific farming. I'm going to do the same after spring. I'll put a disinfection pool here at the gate, and everyone entering and leaving will have to walk through it. Every worker will have to wear disinfected work clothes. The cooling and heating equipment will also need to be upgraded..."

"Brother Chen is really something, he's very quick-witted."

"Don't you know which one it is? Brother Chen has been awesome since he was a kid. He was the first contractor in the village."

"That's right, and the son is well raised too."

"..."

The two workers started flattering him again.

Chen Xinghua, cigarette dangling from his lips, stood tall and proud, feeling ecstatic from all the flattery.

Making money is secondary; the main thing is to have a respectable career.

After chatting for a while, the whole family left the rabbit farm. They had hired a gatekeeper and kept two very fierce wolfhounds there.

We had dinner at Chen Guirong's house, a simple meal prepared by Grandpa and Chen Guirong.

The two families now have a very "harmonious" relationship.

As I said before, once you succeed, you'll be surrounded by good people.

Before they had even finished dinner, neighbors came over with their children. They showered Chen Guiliang with compliments, and Bian Guanyue was also praised for her beauty and virtue.

Not long after, the village party secretary arrived with village officials.

The village party secretary was much more articulate, constantly praising the Chen family for leading the villagers to prosperity. He mentioned that the rabbit farm had generated income for some villagers, and that Chen Xinghua was also paying for the maintenance of the village roads. He further claimed that Chen Xinghua had even brought internet access from the town, allowing several households to connect...

Then they talked about food processing plants, mentioning that the government's policy of converting farmland back to forest had planted bamboo along the entire riverbank. During bamboo shoot season, bamboo shoots are everywhere, but they fetch no price in the city. Bamboo shoot processing plants would allow owners to make money and also help all the villagers increase their income. Perhaps it could even help increase the income of farmers throughout the town, county, and city!
Chen Guiliang roughly understood that his father's desire to start a food processing plant was probably just a ploy by the village party secretary.

He's a real braggart; he's wasted his talents being a village party secretary.

Sigh, I'll do what I can to help. I doubt my dad will sell much stock. He'll probably bankrupt the factory in a few years.

Let's wait until the highway is open before discussing anything further; it's pointless to talk about it now.

After all the guests left, Chen Guiliang was finally able to spend time with his family.

Bian Guanyue bought a "high-tech" foot bath tub and was connecting it to the power supply to teach Grandma how to use it, while Mom watched curiously from the side.

Father Chen Xinghua began to envision the future: "Once we increase sales, all the farmers in the city who grow bamboo will be our suppliers of inexpensive raw materials. Even if we don't make a fortune, the farmers will definitely earn more. I want to make Longdu the bamboo shoot capital of southern Sichuan!"

“A very grand dream,” Chen Guiliang said, going along with him.

Chen Xinghua continued, "Bamboo shoots throughout the city are basically all located near the river. Transportation is not a problem at all. I will buy a few boats and sail to each village one by one. The villagers will wait by the river after harvesting the bamboo shoots, and the purchase price will definitely be very low, so our transportation costs will not be high either."

Chen Guiliang reminded him again: "Sales channels, sales channels."

"I'll discuss sales channels after I've investigated the market," Chen Xinghua said confidently.

Chen Guiliang immediately shut up; as long as his father was happy.

(End of this chapter)