1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 36 The Villagers' Envy
The three brothers strode towards the commune, and as they passed the Bagua Center at the village entrance, they naturally attracted the attention of many villagers.

Immediately, someone asked, "Dajiang, what are you picking up?"

Qiao Dajiang replied with a big smile, "My hens started laying eggs today, and my brother and I plan to take these eggs to the city to sell!"

"My goodness, how come those laying hens are laying eggs so quickly?"

"Yes, that's really fast. I remember they've only been raised for less than three months, right? Even if you include the time those chicks spent at the egg farm, it's only been about three months at most, and they've already started laying eggs. What kind of growth rate is that!"

“I asked the people at the poultry and egg factory, and they said that these laying hens usually need to be fed for about four months before they start laying eggs. This is a whole month earlier.”

"Dajiang, Erhe, how did you brothers manage to do that?"

"Yes, what exactly did you siblings feed these laying hens to make them start laying eggs so early?"

"..."

After Qiao Dajiang said those words, the villagers present were in an uproar. In their shock, they couldn't help but ask about the Qiao brothers.

Qiao Erhe replied, "Everyone knows what we feed our laying hens, right? It's probably because my siblings and I take good care of them and feed them the best food that they grow faster than ordinary laying hens!"

The villagers agreed, as they were all from the same village and had seen what the Qiao siblings fed the chickens. They had also watched the chickens grow up.

"It's getting late, and my brother and I have to head to the city, so we won't chat any longer."

"Okay, go quickly, don't delay important matters."

After the Qiao brothers had gone some distance, the villagers couldn't help but continue their discussion.

"Erhe is really something. The village just distributed land to individual households, and he dared to buy 1000 chicks to raise. He's really made a fortune this time."

"They really made a killing. Ordinary laying hens take about four months to start laying eggs, but theirs started laying eggs in less than three months, saving them a whole month's worth of feed costs. It's truly enviable!"

"They laid so many eggs in one day, I wonder how much they can sell for?"

“When a laying hen first starts laying eggs, it may not be able to lay one egg a day, but even if it only lays seven or eight hundred eggs a day, at five cents a egg, that's still thirty or forty yuan a day, which is equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary worker.”

"My goodness, this is incredibly profitable! You don't realize how much money it makes until you calculate it!"

"Sigh, we were too timid. If we had known, we should have started raising laying hens with Erhe back then, so we wouldn't have missed this opportunity to make a fortune."

"It's not our fault. In that situation, besides Erhe, who would have dared to raise 1000 laying hens right away?"

"They say the bold get rich, and the timid starve; there's definitely some truth to that."

"Don't worry, everyone. We missed this opportunity to make a fortune this year, but next year when the weather gets warmer, we'll buy the chicks and raise them as soon as possible. Then we'll be the ones who make a fortune."

"Yes, I'll go back and have my husband build a chicken coop to prepare for raising chickens next year."

"I need to go back and prepare wood to build the chicken coop."

"..." The Qiao brothers' act of carrying eggs to the city to sell directly stimulated the villagers in the center of gossip. They lost all interest in gossip and couldn't wait to go back and build chicken coops so they could raise chickens on a large scale to make money.

Qiao Erhe and his two companions were unaware of the villagers' reactions. After leaving the village, they strode towards the commune.

990 newly laid eggs weigh only about 80 jin (40 catties), which is nothing to Qiao Dajiang, who can carry 200 jin (100 catties) of heavy objects for more than ten kilometers.

Therefore, Qiao Dajiang was the same person who carried the eggs all the way from Qiaojiawan to the commune.

In less than half an hour, the three brothers arrived at the commune.

Since they didn't plan to sell eggs in the commune, the three brothers didn't linger and went straight to the bus station on the main street after arriving at the commune.

There are many reasons why Cenhe Town has become a prosperous ancient town with a history of thousands of years, and one of them is that Cenhe Town is only a dozen kilometers away from Shashi.

By the time the Qiao brothers arrived in Shashi by bus, it was already noon.

Of the three brothers, Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai were visiting the city for the first time, except for Qiao Erhe. They were amazed by the surrounding buildings and the endless stream of bicycles.

Qiao Dajiang, carrying a basket of eggs, asked, "Second brother, where are we going to sell our eggs?"

Qiao Erhe checked the direction and said, "The customer traffic is higher up ahead, let's find a suitable place to set up our stall over there."

Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai responded and followed Qiao Erhe forward.

Soon, the three brothers arrived at a street with a relatively high volume of customers. There were already many vendors setting up stalls, selling everything from daily necessities to local snacks, from handicrafts to cultural products. The numerous vendors gathered together to form a mini market, attracting passersby.

Qiao Erhe silently observed these street vendors. Those who were able to set up stalls at the beginning of the reform and opening up were all quick-witted and enterprising. Not every one of them would become a tycoon in the future, but their chances of becoming a tycoon were definitely a hundred times higher than those of ordinary people.

The arrival of the Qiao brothers immediately attracted the attention of many guests present.

Now, in the early 1980s, city dwellers still needed ration coupons to buy things. Only these street vendors sold most of their goods without requiring coupons. Therefore, city dwellers at that time both looked down on these street vendors in their hearts and had no choice but to rely on them.

Just as Qiao Dajiang put down his load, a customer came over and asked, "Comrade, what are you selling here?"

Qiao Erhe continued, "Hello comrade, we brothers sell newly laid eggs, 7 cents each."

Upon hearing this, the customer frowned and said, "Comrade, your eggs are too expensive. Normal-sized eggs only cost 5 cents each. Your newly laid eggs are smaller than normal eggs, yet you sell them for more. What's the logic behind that?"

The customer standing next to him chimed in, "That doesn't make sense at all. Do you guys even know how to do business?"

As Qiao Erhe took a tray of packaged eggs out of the bamboo basket, he explained with a smile, "Comrade, you're mistaken. According to expert research, these first-laid eggs have the highest nutritional value of all eggs. They are the best supplement for pregnant women, postpartum women, and children. It's normal that they are more expensive than ordinary eggs."

……

P.S.: Thank you all for your support. I saw your comments. I hope everyone will actively leave comments while reading. If you find it troublesome, you can just leave a punctuation mark. This will help to interact with the author and let him know that he is not playing alone, but that you are with him.

(End of this chapter)