1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 42 Expanding the scale of breeding
For the next few days, the Qiao siblings carried 990 eggs to the commune to sell every day. Sometimes all four siblings went together, and sometimes Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai went alone.

For the first three days after they started selling eggs, the eggs that the Qiao siblings brought were all sold out within half an hour.

However, after three days, the sales of eggs began to slow down.

It wasn't until a week later, when it took a whole day to sell all 990 eggs, that Qiao Erhe knew the commune's demand was temporarily saturated.

After returning from the commune, Qiao Sihai handed the money from selling eggs to his second brother and immediately said, "Second brother, the eggs are selling very slowly today. If we go to the commune to sell eggs again tomorrow, I estimate we won't be able to sell them all."

Qiao Erhe took the money and said with a smile, "Then let's not go to the commune to sell eggs for now. Let's collect 6000 eggs and then go to Shashi to sell them. With Shashi's huge market, we can easily sell all 6000 eggs."

Qiao Dajiang said, "In that case, I'll weave a few more bamboo baskets."

Qiao Erhe said, "Brother, try to make the bamboo baskets as suitable as possible, preferably big enough to hold seventy or eighty trays of eggs, so that we can carry the eggs to the commune to take the bus."

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "I understand. I will try my best to weave it well so that the bamboo basket can hold more eggs without taking up too much space, so that it will be convenient to take the bus."

Qiao Erhe put the money in his pocket and calculated in his mind that the money he made from selling eggs in the commune this week, plus the money he made from selling eggs in Shashi before, totaled more than 400 yuan. Next, his family could continue to expand the scale of egg-laying chicken farming.

Now that the weather has turned cold, the villagers saw Qiao Erhe's harvest and were eager to follow suit and raise laying hens. However, the chicks are quite fragile and can die if not cared for properly. The risks of raising laying hens in winter are ridiculously high, so everyone has to be patient.

But Qiao Erhe had the powerful weapon of the spiritual spring water. What others saw as a great risk was no risk at all for him. Of course, he should take advantage of the money he had now and continue to expand the scale of egg-laying chicken farming. That way, when winter was over, the newly raised chickens would start laying eggs.

At that time, their family's income will take off.

Thinking of this, Qiao Erhe looked at his elder brother and said, "Brother, go to the brigade's forest farm again later and buy a truckload of timber."

Qiao Dajiang asked in confusion, "Second brother, where else in our house do we need so much timber?"

Qiao Erhe said, "I plan to expand the scale of egg-laying chicken farming. The reason for buying the timber is naturally to build chicken coops and make feed troughs, water troughs, and egg-laying boxes."

Qiao Sihai said, "Second Brother, isn't expanding the scale of egg-laying chicken farming something for next year? Why buy timber to build chicken coops so early?"

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "Who told you that our family's expansion of the egg-laying chicken farm is something for next year?"

These words shocked the other siblings.

Qiao Dajiang said with a serious expression, "Second brother, you must not do anything reckless. The weather is getting colder and colder. If we don't keep them warm, more than half of the chicks may die. This is the main reason why the villagers are envious of our income but dare not buy chicks to raise now."

Qiao Sihai chimed in, "Yes, Second Brother, don't be impulsive."

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I guarantee there won't be any problems with our chicks."

Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Sihai exchanged a glance. In the past, they would never have agreed to this so easily. After all, the risks were too great. It would have been better to expand the breeding when the weather got warmer. There was no need to take such a big risk just to save a little time.

However, the second brother's status is now different. He is the patriarch they elected themselves. As long as the second brother's decisions are correct, they will naturally follow his orders.

So Qiao Dajiang replied, "Alright, I'll go to the brigade's forest farm to buy timber later." Qiao Erhe said, "Sihai, go and say hello to your second uncle, second aunt, and third uncle and third aunt, and ask them to come and help build the chicken coop tomorrow."

Qiao Sihai nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go tell them right away."

……

The next day.

The sight of Qiao Erhe's family "undergoing large-scale construction" has once again attracted the attention of the villagers.

Today, Qiao Erhe's family is the focus of attention for the entire village. Any slight movement in their home can attract the attention of the whole village.

Today, Qiao Erhe's family has built a new chicken coop. The villagers who saw this were curious and gathered around to find out what was going on.

Faced with the villagers' inquiries, the Qiao siblings naturally did not hide anything. Even if they wanted to hide it, they couldn't, so they told the villagers the truth.

Then, the villagers present were in an uproar. They really couldn't understand why the Qiao siblings were in such a hurry to expand the scale of egg-laying chicken farming. Didn't they know how risky it was for raising chicks in winter?

But that's impossible; the whole village has been talking about it countless times.

What exactly made the Qiao siblings decide to take such a risk?

Production team accountant Qiao Zhenxing looked at Qiao Erhe, the head of the Qiao family, and couldn't help but ask, "Erhe, can you tell us what you and your sister are really thinking?"

The other villagers also looked at Qiao Erhe, wanting to know what exactly made the Qiao siblings choose to risk expanding their breeding scale.

“Raising chicks in winter is indeed very risky, and it is a wise choice that people did not blindly follow the trend.”

Qiao Erhe first affirmed the villagers' choice, then changed the subject: "However, our family's situation is different. We originally raised 1000 laying hens. Now we choose to expand the scale of laying hen farming. The risk is not as great as you imagine. Under the protection of the original 1000 laying hens, the newly bought chicks should be able to grow up smoothly."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhenxing suddenly realized and said, "I understand. You want these 1000 adult laying hens to treat the newly arrived chicks like their own children, using their body heat to keep the chicks warm so that they can successfully get through their vulnerable early years."

When the other villagers heard this, they all wondered whether this method would work.

Undoubtedly, chicks protected by a mother hen have a much higher chance of survival, and the method used by the Qiao siblings is indeed quite feasible.

Thinking about this, the villagers felt both envious and helpless.

When the Qiao siblings first started their business, they considered the hidden risks and dared not get on board, thus missing out on the first wave of opportunities to make money.

Now, they are still patiently waiting for the right time to board, but the Qiao siblings have started a second bus. What frustrates them the most is that the risk of this second bus is even greater than that of the first bus. They can only watch helplessly and dare not board the bus easily.

The feeling of not being able to make money is truly agonizing.

(End of this chapter)