"Brother, what are your thoughts on expanding the duck farm?" Jiang Qiaoqiao turned to ask Yang Jianguo.

Yang Jianguo was a little embarrassed. The money to build the duck farm was all paid by Jiang Qiaoqiao and Huo Beixiao, and they hadn't seen any return on their investment yet.

If they expand the scale at this point, it means that Qiaoqiao will have to put more money into it.

He told the women working at the duck farm that he wanted to expand the scale, but it was just a casual remark when he saw the ducks growing well while working, and he was so happy that he didn't keep his mouth shut.

Unexpectedly, these working women were so eager to ask Qiaoqiao.

Yang Jianguo scratched the back of his head somewhat sheepishly, "Qiaoqiao..."

Jiang Qiaoqiao grew up with him, and she knew what was going on just by looking at his expression.

I also knew what he was going to say next.

Before he could continue, she said, "Brother, here's my idea. I plan to open a few branches of our 'Yang Benya' in the provincial capital first, and then we'll wait until our braised duck products have become well-known."

Let's find a food factory to cooperate with, and then we can promote our braised duck products. We can sell them not only in our own store, but also like biscuits and candy, in supply and marketing cooperatives, grocery stores, and so on.

"By then, the larger our duck farm will be, the better."

However, when it came to expanding the scale of the duck farm, Jiang Qiaoqiao still felt that Yangjia Village's geographical location was not advantageous enough.

Yangjia Village has mountains, but no water.

Ducks cannot be raised without water.

In her past life, she relied on the duck farm built by Qin Haiyang's second brother and sister-in-law. The duck farm was built in Qin Family Village, which is backed by mountains and has a large river running through it.

She later united Qinjiacun and several villages connected to it, and with the support of the government, established an agricultural cooperative.

Economic fruit trees are planted on the mountain, and duck farms are built at the foot of the mountain. Water is drawn from the river to dig ponds, and duck droppings can be used as fertilizer for the fruit trees. Water from the ponds is also drawn up the mountain to irrigate the fruit trees.

Not only did the ducks grow well, but the fruit trees also grew well. Back then, thanks to the cooperative, the farmers in Qinjiacun and several surrounding villages had become wealthy households with tens of thousands of yuan in every household by the 1990s, making it a well-known prosperous village.

As Yang Jianguo listened to Jiang Qiaoqiao's description, he felt as if he could already see their future business empire, and his eyes shone with light.

But before he could get excited, Lin Xiaohui raised a problem, "Qiaoqiao, this won't work. Our braised duck products can last a couple more days in winter, but in summer, if they're not sold on the same day, they'll start to smell bad the next day."

Besides, it's not fresh, and it doesn't taste that good. How can you sell it like that?

"Besides, we can't do that many! Let alone cooperating with food factories, even if we were to open branch stores, we don't have that many people!"

Lin Xiaohui raised only practical issues.

Food is unlike anything else; it requires skill.

While it's possible to teach apprentices, it's hard to say how much they'll actually learn.

If your skills are lacking, the taste of the food you make will be completely different, not to mention that you might teach your apprentice but starve yourself.

If an apprentice graduates and then opens their own shop, they will not only be unable to help, but will also become a competitor.

Yang Jianguo's earlier excitement was completely extinguished by Lin Xiaohui's cold water.

But he didn't have any ideas of his own. He just looked at Jiang Qiaoqiao and asked, "Qiaoqiao, how should we solve these problems that Mom mentioned?"

Jiang Qiaoqiao had already thought about this problem.

"I plan to find a larger location in the provincial capital to open a large flagship store, and then start recruiting apprentices. We don't charge tuition fees for our apprentices; we also provide free room and board and pay them a monthly salary."

The only condition is that they need to sign a contract with us, and after completing their apprenticeship, they must work in our shop for five years.

Yang Jianguo asked anxiously, "What about five years from now? What if they all run away after working for us for three years? What will happen to our shop then?"

Jiang Qiaoqiao smiled and was about to tell Yang Jianguo about her plans when she heard the rustling of branches coming from the nearby woods.

Yang Jianguo and Huo Beixiao stood in front of Lin Xiaohui and Jiang Qiaoqiao almost simultaneously, protecting them behind them.

"No...could it be a wild boar coming down from the mountain?"

There are wild boars in the mountains around Yangjia Village.

Years ago, when some people in the village still knew how to hunt, they had even managed to catch some.

In recent years, after the old hunter in the village passed away, no one knows how to hunt anymore. Although no one has ever caught a wild boar, the village's crops are destroyed by wild boars every year.

Especially at this time of year, as the weather gets colder, food becomes scarce on the mountain...

No sooner had Yang Jianguo finished speaking, his voice trembling with fear, than a weak cry of pain came from the woods, "Ah—"

"Help...help me!"

At the same time, panicked cries for help came from inside.

Yang Jianguo's tense expression instantly relaxed. "Oh, it's a person!"

Jiang Qiaoqiao quickly pushed aside Yang Jianguo and Huo Beixiao who were blocking their way, "Brother, Brother Xiao, let's go save people quickly."

For some reason, she felt that the voice was somewhat familiar.

Could they be from Yangjia Village?

But that's unlikely.

The forest from which the sound came is connected to a primeval forest. Not to mention the people of Yangjia Village, people from the nearby villages all know how dangerous it is inside, and they would never go in this direction.

Lin Xiaohui was still a little apprehensive. "Why does this sound seem to be coming from the area next to the old forest?"

Could this person have come out of the deep forest? Could that even be human?

Lin Xiaohui's words made not only Yang Jianguo but even Jiang Qiaoqiao hesitate, wondering if they should call more people before going into the woods.

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