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

"Master Sun, how's the egg production lately?" Chen Wenfeng asked Old Sun, holding a sheet of paper in his hand.

On that page of manuscript paper, the following numbers were written:

Corn 60%, soybean meal 18%, wheat bran 18%, bone meal 3%, shell powder 0.7%, salt 0.3%...

This is a chicken feed recipe that Chen Wenfeng learned from a technician. Nowadays, chickens are no longer in the free-range stage. To ensure egg production, they need to be caged and fed a balanced diet.

The taciturn old man, Sun, had gradually adapted to the environment on Jiming Mountain. He was currently munching on a cucumber, the one from the cucumber vine that Wang Guizhi had transplanted earlier. Seeing Chen Wenfeng ask him a question, Old Sun quickly finished the cucumber in a few bites and said:

"We now have nearly 300 laying hens, producing more than 280 eggs a day. That's pretty good, even higher than the previous egg production at Damin Chicken Farm."

Chen Wenfeng was very satisfied with the number, which was about the same as his estimate, because they were now going to the village to collect eggs less and less frequently.

"However, there is one problem," Master Sun said.

"The amount of feed the technician gave us was a bit too high."

"You mean feed them more vegetables?"

Chen Wenfeng asked for advice.

The main cost now is chicken feed. For the chickens at Jimingshan, in addition to feed, they can also be fed some green vegetables and grass seeds, which can reduce feed costs to some extent.

Based on the current egg production, the eggs can be sold for more than 1,000 yuan per month. After deducting more than 300 yuan for feed, as well as labor, daily expenses, etc., Jimingshan will have a profit of 500 to 600 yuan per month in the future.

In other words, if Chen Wenfeng doesn't buy any large items, he can repay the credit union loan in three months.

Old Sun shook his head and said:

"It's not just the amount of vegetables, but the overall feed has been reduced. I see that the chickens are getting a bit fat now, and if they're just focused on gaining weight, they won't lay eggs as much. Also, they need to be fed sand and pebbles as well."

The technician agreed that the chickens should be fed sand, but Chen Wenfeng was a little conflicted about the amount of chicken feed to give them.

According to the chicken farming technician, laying hens need to be well-nourished, especially during the egg-laying stage, and must be fed enough. But now Old Sun clearly has a different opinion.

Chen Wenfeng recalled the instructions given by Sun Damin, the owner of Damin Chicken Farm. Old Sun had been helping to take care of the chicken farm. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and after a little consideration, he leaned towards Old Sun's opinion.

Don't let Old Sun's quiet nature fool you; when it comes to raising chickens, he's a real expert.

"Raising chickens requires diligence; lazy people can't do it."

Feed them thin food in the morning, dry food in the evening, and add some green vegetables at noon.

It's better to let a chicken go hungry than to let it get too full.

If you eat your fill of dry food, you won't get sick.

Laying hens should be about 70% full; if they become too fat, they will stop laying eggs.

In short, chickens should be kept hungry, not overfed.

When Chen Wenfeng saw Old Sun talking about raising chickens, he looked a lot like Master Geng when he was renovating the cave, with a glow around him.

We should listen to Old Sun and trust those we employ.

Following Old Sun's approach is equivalent to downgrading the chicken feed, which saves tens of yuan in feed costs each month. Saving money is earning money, which is great!

"Brother Feng!"

Zhou Zhiming came in from outside. Now, in order to stay with his grandmother, Zhou Zhiming spends most of his time away from the mountain. According to Chen Wenfeng, this is a combination of filial piety and righteousness.

Zhou Zhiming lived in the village, which not only kept his grandmother company, but also allowed him to find out news about the village at any time.

He came over early this morning; his voice preceded his arrival.

"Zhiming, good morning! Niu Er has boiled eggs and noodles. Go have a bowl."

"Brother Feng, if you haven't eaten, hurry up and have a bowl. The village chief is calling you over the loudspeaker again, saying he has a phone call for you."

"Oh?" Chen Wenfeng thought to himself, "Who is this? They've called the village committee."

Chenjiazhuang recently managed to get a telephone thanks to Chen Youwei's efforts, but ordinary people don't have telephone service because no one has one. How can they make a call?

Chen Wenfeng suddenly remembered that he had given his phone number to Manager Li of Jiuzhou Hotel not long ago. It must be Wu Jiajun looking for him. He quickly ate a bowl of noodles with Zhou Zhiming and then hurried to the village committee.

Upon arriving at the village committee, Chen Youwei was seen looking around in the courtyard. Chen Wenfeng smiled and said:

"Uncle Youwei, are you here to welcome me?"

"Hey, I'm waiting to exchange this for some rice. I didn't get any last time, and your aunt gave me a good scolding."

Chenjiazhuang doesn't produce rice, so some people come to the village to sell rice, but people generally don't buy it; instead, they exchange it for wheat, flour, or corn.

Chen Wenfeng knew that Chen Youwei's wife was a notorious shrew. Chen Youwei, the village chief, was respected by everyone outside, but at home he was an obedient little cat.

"Was that a phone call from the county seat?"

"Yes, I wrote down the name of the restaurant on a piece of paper. I need you to go there tomorrow. Oh, and they said 'See you there!'"

"Zunxi Jiuzhou Hotel"

"right!"

......

Chenjiazhuang, Yanzi Hair Salon.

Chen Shuyan was blow-drying someone's hair when Chen Wenfeng walked in and naturally sat down.

Chen Shuyan turned around and saw that it was Chen Wenfeng. She chuckled and said:

"Brother Feng, what brings you here?"

"I'm here for a haircut!"

Chen Shuyan glanced at Chen Wenfeng's messy hair and thought it really needed fixing. She said:

"Brother Feng, wait a minute, I'll fix it for you after I finish blowing this."

Chen Shuyan is the daughter of Chen Wenfeng's distant uncle. She learned hairdressing skills in the city and, seeing that opening a hair salon was a trend, she returned to the village and opened one as well.

But there was already a barber in the village, Master Han. Master Han had been shaving and cutting hair for decades, and the older folks all knew him.

Chen Shuyan's Swallow Hair Salon mainly targets young people.

When Han Sanye saw that the young girl from the same village also wanted to work in this line of work, he not only had no idea of ​​competing with her, but also had the idea of ​​having someone to carry on the tradition. He even tried to teach Chen Shuyan the art of shaving several times, but everyone said that "skills should not be easily passed on," and since she was an unmarried girl, he didn't feel comfortable asking.

However, some people in the village were feudalistic and felt that it was wrong for a young girl to be out in public washing and cutting hair for others and doing servant work, so some rumors started to circulate.

Chen Shuyan's parents also advised her to quit, but the girl was stubborn. She was doing just fine earning money with her skills, so why should she listen to others? That's why she persisted.

After Chen Wenfeng found out, he came to Chen Shuyan's place for haircuts several times, which was a form of support.

After seeing off the customer who had their hair dried, Chen Shuyan said to Chen Wenfeng:

"Brother Feng, let's wash your hair first. Do you want it longer or shorter this time?"

Chen Wenfeng didn't answer immediately. Staring at Chen Shuyan's smooth face, he finally confirmed his earlier suspicions. He breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"A little trimming will do; I look even more handsome with longer hair!"

Chen Shuyan remained silent, but gave Chen Wenfeng's head a fierce look once more.