Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

A day in the mountains is like a thousand years in the world.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Chen Wenfeng set off on his bicycle with Shen Wanjun on the back. He was in high spirits and rode very fast.

The two arrived at Shen Xiaoxia and her husband's breakfast stall before eight o'clock.

Their breakfast stall is called "Xuexia Breakfast". Although it has not been open for long, it is popular with customers every day because of its good quality, low prices and good location.

Shen Xiaoxia's husband is Qian Xuebing, a very simple and honest man who doesn't talk much. He does everything from chopping vegetables and mincing meat to mixing fillings, kneading dough, and rolling out wrappers.

With everything ready, Shen Xiaoxia helped wrap the buns.

Shen Xiaoxia and her husband have completely different personalities. He is eloquent and exudes shrewdness and competence, while she is mainly responsible for greeting guests and settling accounts.

The couple were busy at the moment, and they only nodded to Chen Wenfeng as a greeting.

Shen Wanjun rolled up her sleeves and skillfully helped out. She was busy until after nine o'clock, when fewer and fewer people were having breakfast.

Shen Xiaoxia finally had time to sit down and talk to Chen Wenfeng. When she heard that Chen Wenfeng was the one who helped her sister that night, she immediately showed enthusiasm.

Shen Wanjun explained Chen Wenfeng's purpose: to supply eggs to the breakfast stall. Shen Xiaoxia immediately perked up and said:

"The state-owned chicken farms look down on us individual farmers. They only want large orders, and their attitude is terrible. My husband and I are too busy to collect eggs from individual farmers. It would be great if Brother Wenfeng could help supply us. But how much would you charge?"

Chen Wenfeng had already decided on the price on his way here, and said:

"We won't sell by weight anymore, since we sell them individually here after boiling. How about this, I'll choose medium-sized, uniformly shaped eggs and give them to you for 12 cents each. How does that sound?"

Shen Xiaoxia was also good at accounting. She calculated that the eggs from the state-owned chicken farm were generally priced at around 1.3 yuan per jin (500 grams), which was the price for large customers. For small individual businesses like them, the price was 1.5 yuan per jin, which was equivalent to 13 or 14 cents per egg.

The price is reasonable, and they even offer delivery, but I wonder about the quality? Shen Xiaoxia said:

"I think the price is acceptable, but can the quality be guaranteed?"

"Don't worry about that, the quality and quantity are guaranteed. I can send over a batch of eggs first. If you like them, you can accept them; if not, you can leave. But payment must be made on delivery."

"Honey, do you have any objections? If not, then we'll proceed this way!"

Shen Xiaoxia asked her husband, which was really just a notification, but it was still important to give her husband face in front of outsiders.

Upon hearing this, Qian Xuebing responded with a "Okay".

Shen Xiaoxia agreed immediately. She was a straightforward person and didn't haggle over the price.

Chen Wenfeng then asked:

"How many eggs do you want? When do you need them?"

"Let's deliver once a week, starting with 500. If the quality is good, we'll deliver once a week. Can we deliver tomorrow?"

Chen Wenfeng thought for a moment and said:

"Let's do it the day after tomorrow. We'll send out 500 of them then."

Chen Wenfeng did not agree to deliver the eggs the next day because he needed some time to prepare them. After all, he could not lay eggs, and even if he could, it would be too late. He needed to spend a day collecting eggs in the village.

Shen Wanjun was happy to see that Chen Wenfeng and her cousin had reached an agreement on the cooperation, but she noticed that Shen Xiaoxia kept giving her a mischievous smile.

"I have some business to discuss. I'll be there on time the day after tomorrow."

Chen Wenfeng had to say goodbye; he still had to make a trip to the national chicken farm.

Shen Wanjun was slightly reluctant, but she couldn't say anything in front of her cousin.

After Chen Wenfeng left, Shen Xiaoxia put her hand under Shen Wanjun's armpit and tickled her, teasingly saying:

"Xiao Wan, do you like him? Did you go to see him yesterday?"

"No!"

Shen Wanjun answered without the slightest bit of confidence.

"You still say no? Your eyes never left him!"

After saying that, Chen Xiaoxia cracked her knuckles even harder.

After saying goodbye, Chen Wenfeng went straight to the state-owned chicken farm, but he was turned away at the door.

The staff member was cold and indifferent, only saying one sentence to him after he repeatedly explained the situation:

"There are no more slots available for retail investors this year. Come back next spring with proof!"

Chen Wenfeng knew that there would be a small number of chicks in the summer, but the other party had no intention of wasting time talking to him, turned his head and left.

Having no other option, Chen Wenfeng had to seek help from Wu Jiajun, and this time he was once again received by Manager Li.

Manager Li still wore the same professional smile as last time, only this time she seemed more approachable.

"Teacher Chen, are you looking for General Manager Wu? He's out on business today!"

"If Mr. Wu isn't here, it's fine if you are."

Chen Wenfeng asked for a glass of water and, still angry, told Manager Li about his setback in buying chicks.

Zunxi Jiuzhou Restaurant is a major client of the state-owned chicken farm. Manager Li is very familiar with the person in charge there, so he said:

"Teacher Chen, don't worry. That's how they do things over there. They'll give you the cold shoulder, even if you're a big client like me."

"Besides, their procedures are always very strict; no approval slips or certificates are required, and there are still long queues every spring!"

"However, their profits have been getting worse year by year, well, I won't go into details."

Hearing Manager Li's words, Chen Wenfeng's anger subsided considerably. He could also tell from Manager Li's tone that it should be possible to get things done by pulling some strings, so he said:

"Manager Li, after all this talk, just tell me, is contacting you any better?"

"It works, of course it has to work; big clients still have a lot of face to consider. Mr. Chen, how many do you plan to order?"

"The more troops Han Xin leads, the better."

Chen Wenfeng suddenly asked Manager Li a question:

"Manager Li, I don't get the feeling you're not angry."

Manager Li smiled and said:

"I'm a professional, I don't get angry easily."

When Chen Wenfeng returned to the state-owned chicken farm for the second time, the treatment he received was noticeably different.

Manager Li contacted a person in charge he regularly communicated with, and after repeated communication, he obtained 100 chicks. After the agreement was reached, the person in charge sent a technician wearing a hat to handle the matter.

In the end, Chen Wenfeng bought 100 Jingbai chicks at 22 cents each, which cost him exactly 22 yuan.

Chen Wenfeng was very pleased with these furry little creatures. Together with the eight Vajra Warriors in the mountains, they numbered exactly 108, making a total of 108 heroes.

We'll collect them from the village for the next few months, and by October these first batch of chickens will be laying eggs. Next spring we can get more chicks.

......

The first thing Chen Wenfeng did upon returning to the village was not to settle the chicks, but to rush to the village committee to find the village chief, Chen Youwei.

When Chen Wenfeng came out of the village committee, the village chief's familiar voice rang out again through the loudspeaker:

"Attention, members! Attention, members! There will be someone collecting eggs at the brigade headquarters tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. Anyone who wants to sell eggs can come over here..."