I randomly picked a rabbit, which weighed a little over ten pounds, and immediately had someone take it to the kitchen so the chef could cook a dish and send it over as soon as possible.
While everyone waited, the round-faced waiter brought stools and tea to Ruyi and Xu Cui, and also gave them a handful of melon seeds to keep them entertained.
As Ruyi watched the smiling, innocent, and enthusiastic shopkeeper leave, she felt a pang of tenderness for some reason and said, "Manager Huang, look at this rabbit. Its fur is so smooth, its skin so soft, and it's so warm. The fur alone is worth a certain price. I'm giving it to you for free!"
Manager Huang's lips twitched slightly, then his expression returned to one of kindness and affability. "Madam Cheng, please be patient. You'll know soon enough...hehehe."
About fifteen minutes later, another very plump man came running over, panting, carrying the same plate. Judging from his clothes, he was clearly a chef.
"Manager! Manager, where did you get this rabbit?" The chef grabbed Manager Huang as soon as he saw him and asked anxiously.
The atmosphere immediately became tense.
"Chef Zhao, what's wrong with this rabbit? Is there something wrong?" Manager Huang was also anxious. Had he been scammed? Are scammers these days so audacious? Openly eating sunflower seeds while waiting for the results?
Chef Zhao picked up a piece of rabbit meat and stuffed it into Manager Huang's mouth. "No problem, it's delicious! Fresh, fragrant, tender, and smooth, with a firm texture and a subtle aroma! I've never eaten such delicious rabbit meat before. How much of this batch did you take? We'll change our signature dish right away. We're going to make a fortune this time! Let's see how long Baizhenlou can remain arrogant! Humph! I'll go back right away and research a few more new rabbit dishes!"
Chef Zhao speaks quickly and rapidly, showing a talent for being a rapper.
Moreover, he came and went like the wind, talking at length to himself before running off again. Poor Manager Huang, with meat stuffed in his mouth, had no time to stop him and had his cook spill everything.
Forget it, I'll just have another piece of rabbit meat to calm my nerves. Seriously, rabbit meat is so delicious!
So when Manager Huang finished his third piece of rabbit meat, Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but ask, "Manager Huang, is this rabbit meat alright? Does it meet your standards?"
"Ahem, Madam Cheng..."
Ruyi raised her hand to interrupt him, "How about this, let's compromise. Although the weights of my rabbits are not uniform, they are all generally over ten catties. Let's not waste time. One tael of silver per rabbit, and I'll give you the extra!"
Shopkeeper Huang: You learn pretty quickly...
Of the nine rabbits, only two weighed less than ten pounds, while the other seven all weighed more than ten pounds, with the fattest one even approaching twelve pounds. Looking at the plump white rabbits, Manager Huang finally revealed a kind smile.
So when Ruyi and Xu Cui left Zhiwei Restaurant, they had ten taels of silver in their pockets.
After much effort and persuasion, the rabbits were finally sold. Manager Huang also placed an order for the next batch of rabbits, giving him one tael of silver as a deposit.
The Cheng family was shocked when they heard this. They never expected that rabbits could be so profitable, more profitable than furniture or egg pancakes! If they raised more rabbits and they multiplied, wouldn't they earn even more?
"We need to raise a few more rabbits, but it's unlikely we'll be able to sell them for that price again. By the time the next batch of rabbits reaches adulthood, prices in the city will probably have dropped back to what they were before. So, the sky-high price of one tael per rabbit is only feasible this time."
Cheng Ruyi was also very happy. In fact, even if the price drops in the future, she can still make a lot of money. However, she didn't want her family to have too high expectations and be disappointed in the end.
Cheng Yan was the first to agree, "Ruyi is right. Rabbits are just one way to make money. We can't rely on this alone. After all, if something unexpected happens, at least we'll have a backup plan."
"By the way, Dad, when will Uncle Guan come?" When the topic of raising rabbits came up, Ruyi was thinking about where to buy them when she suddenly remembered the Guan family, who had always supplied them with wood and charcoal.
The Guan family lives in Xiaogou Village in Dayanshan. Actually, Dayanshan is not far from the county seat, but their Xiaogou Village is deep in Dayanshan, requiring a long journey over mountains to reach.
Their village is small, with only about ten households. They usually make a living by hunting. Guan Tian's family were originally hunters, but because he was good at hands-on work from a young age, he became the only person in the village who knew carpentry. Over time, he became the carpenter of Xiaogou Village.
Cheng Yan also got lost while searching for timber in the mountains and stumbled upon their village by chance.
The two are of similar age, share the same interests, and both raised their only daughters on their own. They soon became close friends who could talk about anything, and are now long-time partners.
"You want him to help you find rabbits?" Cheng Yan thought for a moment. "According to the previous agreement, it should be within the next few days, but it will probably be several more days before your Uncle Guan goes back and brings the rabbits over. Maybe by then, there will already be rabbits for sale in the city."
"I don't think so. You didn't see it today, but there were long queues at the back doors of Baizhenlou and Zhiweiguan. Even after we left, people were still delivering goods. These days, it's estimated that all kinds of chicken, duck, goose, pork, beef, and mutton in the county are monopolized by these big restaurants and wealthy families in the north of the city. It's hard to say when it will be our turn as ordinary people."
"Besides, even if someone were to sell rabbits, they probably wouldn't be any good ones. I think rabbits that live deep in the mountains would be more spiritual, and that would be more worthy of our Chasing Wind and Cloud Chasing!"
The two daughters nodded in agreement after hearing this.
Yunle seemed to have thought of something, her features scrunched up, and she pouted, saying in a spoiled tone, "Mommy, Mommy, don't want an ugly rabbit! Our Zhuifeng is so handsome! An ugly rabbit isn't good enough for him!"
"You little brat! Do you even know what 'good enough' means?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruyi pinched her youngest daughter's nose. She hadn't expected that this little girl was actually a sucker for good looks!
It's a pity that in the original owner's memories of the past thirty-odd years, the best-looking men she had ever seen were only her husband Shen Yun and his classmate Sun Wensui. To be honest, these two could only be described as having regular features. Fortunately, they had a scholarly air about them, which made them look more refined than ordinary people. They were far inferior to the various handsome men in modern times!
Looking at her innocent little daughter, she guessed that if Cheng Yunle were born in modern times, she would definitely be a fan of celebrities.
"It doesn't matter if it's ugly or not. The most important thing is that it's healthy. Otherwise, it will get sick after we buy it. Then we can't raise it or eat it, and it will be a lot of trouble to deal with!" Compared to his unreliable sister, Cheng Yun'an always worries about more practical issues.
For Cheng Ruyi, both good looks and health are important. After all, these are breeding rabbits, and she wants to find the best quality ones possible. She doesn't know if ordinary rabbits and spirit rabbits can breed successfully, but her main concern is that the spirit rabbits might look down on ordinary mortal rabbits...
If all else fails, then we'll have to breed them separately for a while, and maybe we can get away with it once the rabbits are a bit healthier.
Just like my two hens at home, after feeding them all sorts of elixirs for a few months, they're noticeably different. What hen can lay four eggs a day? If they keep being raised like this, they might even lay five or six!
Therefore, she believed that even ordinary rabbits could undergo a qualitative leap if raised with the elixir for a few months!
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