Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 199 Rong Qiang Goes Back to Take the College Entrance Examination

After eating the meal cooked by Sister Wang and Rong Gang, Lu Xiaoxiao's mother felt that her New Year's Eve dinners in previous years were really... Poor thing, Rong Gang is a skillful child. In the past six months, whenever he had free time, he liked to go to the kitchen to help Sister Wang. Sister Wang was pleased with him and would teach him how to cook.

Ronggang and Rongqiang were already cooking when they were eight or nine years old. Their cooking skills weren't great, but they were better than their mother's. In the past, when they cooked at home, it was either their father or the two brothers who cooked. Jingxian rarely went into the kitchen, but he did all the house cleaning.

Since Ronggang started learning from Sister Wang, his cooking skills have improved at an incredible pace. Zhizhi already loved Sister Wang's version of Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork), but Ronggang's version is even crispier. Now, when Zhizhi wants to eat it, she specifically asks for Ronggang's version, which speaks volumes about his culinary skills.

Lu Xiaoxiao's family comes here every morning and goes back at night, eating all three meals a day. They even brought all the chicken, duck, fish and meat they had prepared for the New Year, mainly to freeload off the family.

Teacher Shen's free meals are inevitable. Except for last year when Jingyan's family went to Yangzhou for the Spring Festival because of her grandmother's passing, she has been eating here every year since she started teaching the children extracurricular classes. Originally, she had planned to spend a quiet Spring Festival at home this year, but unexpectedly, her third sister's family came. Now, she has her meals taken care of again.

It wasn't until the third year of junior high that He Zhijun's family of four returned from Yangzhou. When they entered their home, they found the lively scene quite amusing. The two children joined Lu Xiaoxiao, and the adults also started playing mahjong, cards, and chess. They were all quite busy.

Jingyan gave Ronggang and Rongqiang red envelopes containing ten yuan each for the Lunar New Year. Jingxian's red envelope had already been given before the New Year. Including Lu Xiaoxiao, each of the three children received five yuan.

Lu Xiaoxiao's parents also gave red envelopes to all the children in the family. In addition to Teacher Shen's, He Jiaoxu's, and He Zhicheng's families, Rong Gang and Rong Qiang each received six red envelopes this year. The two children didn't know whether to accept them or not. Finally, after Jing Xian nodded in approval, they put them in their pockets. Hmm, another considerable amount of private money.

Now there are new breeds of chicks and broilers that can be fed directly with feed. They mature quickly and are suitable for cage rearing. However, I suggest that since you are raising chickens for your own restaurant, even the best broilers will not have the same meat quality and taste as free-range chickens.

So after the New Year, Jingyan took Jingxian and Ronggang to Yanjiacun to buy chicks from that old lady. At first, Jingxian was hesitant to raise too many at once and planned to get 300. However, the old lady didn't have that many and could only give him 150 chicks. They would be delivered to Changxing Island Wharf by cargo ship the next morning, and they agreed to send another 150 chicks a month later.

The price of chicks has also increased a lot. A single Lufeng chicken chick is now two yuan. Fortunately, the price of chicken meat has also increased to two yuan and fifty cents per pound. A chicken weighs only a little over two pounds. Selling chicken meat doesn't earn much, but Lufeng chickens lay eggs quite well, so selling eggs would be more profitable, although it takes longer.

After ordering the chicks, the old lady grabbed Jingyan and asked, "Um, does that mean that once there are chickens and eggs on the island, our supply will decrease?"

Jing Yan smiled and nodded: "Yes, but I'll still buy the chicks from you from now on. I estimate that in about six months, I won't need to buy eggs from you anymore. However, I might still need to buy some chicks, since it takes time for them to grow up, and chicks don't actually earn much money. Egg production is much more profitable."

However, for now, we will continue to cooperate as before. If I need more or change the quantity, I will notify you one month in advance, as previously agreed.

The old lady nodded with a smile: "That's fine. I'm getting old now, and raising too many chickens is beyond my capabilities. Hatching chicks is still what I like best. Just tell me in advance how many chicks you need, and I'll hatch them for you according to the required number."

After the two sisters left, Jingxian asked with some concern, "Jingyan, we used to get eggs and chicken from her house. Will we offend someone if we stop getting them from here?"

"It was agreed from the beginning that as long as the island couldn't be self-sufficient, I would get all the eggs and chicks from them. But if the island had meat and eggs available, I would give them a month's notice to terminate the cooperation. After all, it involves shipping by boat, and the freight costs aren't small. I would cover those costs. It's a business matter, and they understand."

Besides, this old lady is the only one in her family who's good at raising chickens. She's almost seventy now, and she seems to be struggling. Providing chicks and young chickens would be easier for her.

"Didn't we calculate it before? Based on the current price of broiler chickens, our income would be low if we sold chicks. If we mainly sell eggs, our income would be higher. After raising them for two years, when they stop laying eggs, we can make old hens, and old hen soup is also very good," Jingyan explained.

Jingxian followed Jingyan's lead and calculated: "If we calculate it this way, we will indeed earn more by selling eggs. The chicken coop we built can raise up to about a thousand chickens. We raise three hundred chickens each year, and replace the first batch with the third batch. This way, we will never run out of eggs."

After doing the math, Jingxian suddenly felt hopeful about the future. This time, building this chicken farm, from the land contract to the final construction of the chicken coop, cost a total of 30,000 yuan, all of which was paid by Jingyan, without letting her use her 3,000 yuan savings.

She was really worried during the Spring Festival. If her income didn't improve, she wouldn't know when she could pay Jingyan back the money. But after Jingyan's calculations today, she realized that it would take at most three years to pay off the money, and after that, she would be able to support herself.

After raising the chicks, Jingxian and Ronggang worked very hard. Every day, they would go to the chicken farm early to clean, feed and water the chicks, and disinfect the chicken coop. Ronggang used the leftover bricks from the old chicken coop to build several dog kennels around the chicken farm. The dog kennels were quite large, exquisite and sturdy.

The five-month-old puppy didn't do much besides being cute and charming, but since the weather was getting warmer, we brought over four puppies and put them here. After the puppies were full and had plenty of water, they were quite well-behaved. The chicks were too small, and we were afraid they would run out of the enclosure, so we added another layer of netting on the inside.

There are always some rebellious chicks who try to sneak out and explore. The dog will chase after them and use its head to push the chicks back into the net. If it can't get them back, it will use its paws to hold the chicks down and bark a few times. Jingxian or Ronggang will hear it and come over to check. Hmm, every time the dog barks, they never miss a chance and always catch a chick that slipped through the net.

In the afternoon, when it's time for the chicks to roam freely, they are herded back into the coop, the door is closed, and that way the chicks won't get lost.

The chicks grow much faster than the dogs. They practically grow faster in a day or two. The chicks are quite big by now, and they can't escape these nets. The dogs are also much quieter. However, the four of them are companions, playing by themselves and enjoying themselves.

At the end of May, Rong Qiang was preparing to return to Beidahuang to prepare for his exams. For the past two semesters, he had been receiving test questions from his high school teacher at the State Farms Administration from time to time. After completing the test, he would check his answers against the teacher's provided answers. As for whether he was good or not, Jing Yan saw that Rong Qiang's smile was getting better and better, so it seemed that he was doing well.

His ranking in the school's mock exams went from just breaking into the top 100 to consistently being in the top 20. At the parent-teacher meeting, the principal looked at He Zhijun with a particularly kind expression and kept saying that all the children in his family were smart and had good grades. Whether it was just polite talk or genuine words, He Zhijun was quite happy to hear it.

The chicken farm can't function without someone's help right now. Rongqiang felt he could go back home for a month or two without any problem, but Jingyan was worried. After discussing it with her family, she decided to accompany Rongqiang back to take the college entrance exam, while Jingxian and Ronggang would stay to manage the chicken farm.

Anyway, the restaurant is already on track. With Chef Lin in the kitchen and Dou Zhixiao in the front, even if she's there, she'll just be checking the accounts and having a chat. It's been a long time since she's needed to speak up.

Before leaving, Jingyan instructed Dou Zhixiao: "My third sister's chicken farm will have eggs around July. Check her output then. If it's enough to supply our restaurant, tell the young man from the Yan family to stop buying eggs from them. We agreed to give them a month's notice to react."

I don't plan to get the chicks from my third sister for now. Her maximum production is only six or seven thousand at the moment. After deducting what we need, I'll have Ronggang try to sell the rest to other restaurants, supply and marketing cooperatives, and vegetable markets. It's best if they don't sell them themselves, but rather deliver them daily. You can take him along; you're more familiar with the area.”

Dou Zhixiao agreed readily. How could he not? He and his wife earned wages here, and his in-laws had set aside a few acres of land to grow vegetables. Whatever the shop needed, if it was available on his in-laws' land, they would buy it from them.

Because Dou Zhixiao was the one who set this path, he is now very popular in his wife's family. The young couple has a harmonious relationship and is always smiling.

After settling things at home, Jingyan comforted He Zhijun for several nights before finally taking a change of clothes and accompanying Rongqiang back to Beidahuang. The journey took several days, and they finally arrived at the agricultural reclamation area.

The two didn't go back to their old house. About a month after they left, their neighbor rented it out, and the rent had already been transferred to Jingxian.

Now that they're back, Jingyan took him straight to a small hotel. This place is so small that having a hotel is already a blessing. As for a hotel, well, if a hotel were to be opened in such a tiny place, it would most likely go out of business. Even this small hotel is very quiet with hardly any guests.

Ten yuan a day was indeed cheap for Jingyan. The room was clean and the sheets and blankets were changed without the two of them having to worry about anything. Jingyan booked two months' worth of rooms, which would last until the end of July. By then, she should have received her grades and admission notices, so she had plenty of time.

Having booked two rooms, the hotel owner was extremely grateful for such a stable clientele, so the service was top-notch. The hot water was always perfectly heated, and all she had to do was use the thermos provided in the room to fetch water. The hotel's location was also excellent, just across the street from the high school. Jingyan could see the high school gate from her hotel room. What a superior location!

There are plenty of restaurants near the hotel, since it's close to a school and mainly caters to students and their parents. There's no other way; in such a small area as the state-owned farm, besides government work, there are only schools.

After all, this place has good teaching quality and a high college entrance rate. Many students from farms go to this key high school in order to get into good universities. Otherwise, Jingxian's house wouldn't be so easy to rent out.

The aunt and nephew ate at different restaurants every day. Jingyan usually couldn't get up in the morning, so she would give Rongqiang money to go eat breakfast herself. After she woke up, she would laze around for a while, and then it would be almost lunchtime.

Tell the hotel owner the name of the restaurant, order the food, and by the time the food is ready, high school will be over. All she has to do is wait for Rongqiang to come looking for her, and the hotel owner will tell her where to have lunch.

When Jingyan had nothing to do, she would go to the nearby bookstore to rent a few novels to take home and read to pass the time. She read more novels during this period than in the first half of her life, and she really indulged her literary cravings.

Time flew by, and Jingyan became quite familiar with the restaurants and eateries around her. So, during Rongqiang's three days of college entrance exams, she felt at ease eating at any of them, as there were no food safety concerns.

After the exam, Rongqiang relaxed. Jingyan gave him 100 yuan: "You're on vacation now. While we're waiting for your results and admission notices, go out and have some fun with your old friends. Don't skimp on the money you need to spend. Who knows when you'll come back again? Don't leave any regrets in your youth."

Rongqiang and Jingyan had a good relationship during the year they spent together. He didn't refuse the money his aunt gave him and went to visit his old friends. Jingyan, on the other hand, planned to go to the county town for a stroll.

In her past life, she and Changsheng lived in the county town. Although they had no connection in this life, she still couldn't help but want to go and take a look. She was still a little worried and wanted to go and see if she could see Xiaoyue.

With this hopeful feeling, she greeted the hotel owner and asked him to tell Rong Qiang that she would take a bus to the county town two days later. When she got off the bus, although it felt like a different world, the scenery was still quite familiar. After all, she had lived here for more than ten or twenty years, so how could she not know it?

After wandering around the center of the county town, she went into a restaurant and ordered a plate of fried noodles. While waiting for her food, she unexpectedly saw Changsheng, her husband from her previous life. However, seeing him for the first time in this life surprised her greatly.

The man I remembered as someone who rarely smiled and always liked to boast was now all smiles, holding the hand of a girl who looked about ten years old, chatting and laughing with a seemingly delicate woman as they entered the store. They sat down at a table not far from her, so close that she could hear them clearly if she paid a little attention.