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

"Oh?" Chen Wenfeng didn't expect Old Sun to say that, but the fact that he said it meant that Old Sun also knew what Chen Wenfeng and his group wanted to do.

This old man Sun usually doesn't show off, but he's quite shrewd. Since that's the case, let him get involved too.

Chen Wenfeng said:

"Master Sun, you'll handle the 'climbing downhill' stunt at Jiming Mountain. I won't take the lion's share of the extra money we earn this time; we'll split it equally among the five of us, how about that?"

"No problem, even though I'm old, catching a bug is no problem for me."

"good!"

After finishing their braised noodles, the group split up. Chen Wenfeng went to the village committee to call Jiuzhou Restaurant. Manager Li answered the phone, and Chen Wenfeng explained the situation to him. Manager Li's message was to give their full support.

Finally, Manager Li gave Chen Wenfeng a very high purchase price: 26 cents per kilogram. In other words, Chen Wenfeng could make a profit if the price was lower than 26 cents, which gave him a lot of room to maneuver.

When Chen Wenfeng returned to Jiming Mountain, Old Sun was already climbing the mountain. After Zhou Zhiming, Niu Da and Niu Er returned one after another, Chen Wenfeng asked them to give their respective accounts.

First, Zhou Zhiming introduced the situation of Nanshan. Now Nanshan has been occupied by the men and women of Chenjiazhuang. It is an exaggeration to say that there are more people than Dengdaoshan, but there are people everywhere on the mountain. Dengdaoshan in the grass and in the cracks of rocks has been dug up and caught by people.

Those who arrived early had already filled half-bags with their loaves of food, while those who arrived late ventured deeper into the mountains and forests to search.

In addition, Zhou Zhiming brought back another piece of news: Han Laosi had already taken action. He offered a price of 18 cents, which was three cents higher than the buyer in town. Now, the buyer in town has also started to raise his price.

Chen Wenfeng smiled but didn't say anything when he heard what Han Laosi was doing.

Then Niu Da and Niu Er introduced the situation of East Mountain and West Mountain. These two mountains were relatively barren, with many rocks and little vegetation, and not many tumbleweeds. But they did not come away empty-handed. On their way back to Jiming Mountain, they explored the northern mountains and found quite a few tumbleweeds. After all, the river was to the north, and locusts lived by following the water and grass.

Just as Chen Wenfeng was about to express his opinion, he saw Old Sun carrying a snakeskin bag down from Jiming Mountain, his legs nimble and his figure agile.

After Old Sun walked over to the group, he placed the snakeskin bag in front of Chen Wenfeng and the others, and said:

"Look at this mountain climber, it's really big this year!"

Chen Wenfeng opened the bag and saw it was filled with countless green locusts. These locusts were piled up inside, with the ones on top bouncing around. Chen Wenfeng grabbed the bag and lifted it hard; it was quite heavy.

Master Sun smiled and said:

"It weighs about ten kilograms."

Zhou Zhiming, Niu Da, and Niu Er also came over to take a look. In such a short time, they had indeed caught quite a few.

Chen Wenfeng asked Old Sun, "Master Sun, how many can we catch on Jiming Mountain?"

"Grabbing five or six bags is no problem."

"So many!" Everyone was incredulous.

"This is assuming we're saving seeds for Dengdaoshan. If we weren't saving seeds, catching seven or eight bags wouldn't be a problem."

Old Sun said smugly.

"Alright, in that case, let's divide the work," Chen Wenfeng said.

When Chen Wenfeng spoke, everyone quieted down and stopped talking.

Chen Wenfeng then began to arrange the next steps:

"Although Nanshan has the most trampled mountains, it also has the most people, so let's not go there and join the crowd. We can catch some people on the north mountain before people come to Beishan. Master Sun, you can take charge of this. Don't catch all the people on Jiming Mountain, but catch more in other places. Niu Da, you go with Master Sun."

"After you finish hunting down Jiming Mountain, hunt down the surrounding mountains as well. We'll have one meeting a day."

"good!"

"This is the first group. I'm in charge of the second group. Zhiming and Niu Er, you two come with me. Our group's main focus is on purchasing. We won't broadcast anymore; we'll go directly to intercept them. We'll set the purchase price at 18 cents a pound, exactly the same as theirs. We'll collect every morning and deliver it to the county town in the afternoon. This stuff sells for its freshness; it won't do if it dies and rots in our hands."

Upon hearing Chen Wenfeng's offer, Zhou Zhiming said:

"Brother Feng, do we need to raise the price a bit? That would make it easier to sell!"

"No need, all three are the same. Everyone can sell to whichever they want. If they suddenly raise prices, we'll follow suit and see who can outlast whom. Even if prices are raised, it's best to do so on the spot."

Chen Wenfeng knew that no restaurant would be able to acquire it for more than Zunxi Jiuzhou Restaurant, not even a state-owned restaurant.

The acquisition of Dengdaoshan was already quite a spectacle because of Han Laosi's involvement. With Chen Wenfeng joining the fray, the competition among the three companies has made the area in front of the village committee more than just lively; it's become a scene of drama.

The man in town who bought the Dengdaoshan came first and had already bought some, while Han Laosi had just started buying and no one had sold to him yet. Later, the villagers who wanted to sell the Dengdaoshan started to get conflicted.

Once Chen Wenfeng, Zhou Zhiming, and Niu Er set up their stall, people became even more conflicted.

The man in town was already green with rage: "What kind of underworld is this? Didn't you check the almanac before you left home? How come you've run into two families trying to steal your business?" Even the once high-spirited Han Lao Si's face turned ugly after seeing Chen Wenfeng.

Two days ago, Han Laosi even went to a fortune teller. Han Laosi vaguely recounted his two losses to Chen Wenfeng. The fortune teller, being shrewd, first praised Han Laosi's soy sauce factory business extensively, then abruptly changed the subject, saying that those two failures were due to bad luck, that someone was bringing him misfortune. Seeing Han Laosi's displeasure, the fortune teller added that it was a minor misfortune; once things took off (at the soy sauce factory), all the problems would be easily solved.

Han Laosi was overjoyed to hear this, thinking that the soy sauce factory had been built, and according to the fortune teller, nothing could stop him now.

But seeing Chen Wenfeng's acquisition stance today, Han Laosi's right eyelid started twitching uncontrollably. Wasn't it supposed to be resolved? Why is it still haunting him?

Chen Wenfeng ignored the complicated expressions on the faces of the two families. He cleared his throat and called out:

"Fellow villagers, when it comes to this person, actions speak louder than words. When I was buying eggs before, I didn't let you all suffer losses, and this time, buying mountain clams will be the same—I won't let you all lose out. I'll take all the mountain clams, big and small, just don't mix in those mantises or flat-pole hooks. If you're having trouble deciding which of the three to sell to, I have a good idea!"

"What method?"

"I'll add one cent to whatever price those two companies charge!"

As soon as he said that, people flocked to Chen Wenfeng's side.