Chapter 129 The Raw Flesh and Blood Project: The three met for a small meeting to discuss the Raw Flesh and Blood Project...
Shi Wan nestled comfortably in bed and scrolled through her phone for a long time.
She hadn't enjoyed this kind of leisurely time in bed for a long time.
Lately, I've been getting up as soon as I open my eyes and start working.
It feels like I'm walking with my own energetic background music.
She's practically a perpetual motion machine.
After slowly wriggling on the bed a few times, Shi Wan buried her face in the pillow again.
It's strange. Mingxing has just returned. She should have a lot to say and a lot to ask, but lying here now, listening to the faint sounds from the kitchen outside, she feels a sense of peaceful inertia.
It's like finally being able to temporarily unload some of the burden, no longer having to shoulder everything alone.
A soft meow came from outside the door, as if Tangyuan was talking to someone.
Then came Xinglin's gentle reply, "Good morning, Tangyuan. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Meow~ Wanwan hasn't gotten up yet, did you wake her up?"
"No, I was very gentle."
"Is this breakfast for Wanwan? Can Mimi have a bite?"
"This is human food, you can't eat it. But I've prepared cat food for you, your favorite chicken flavor, as well as some freeze-dried food and dried fish."
The conversation could be faintly heard through the door. Shi Wan buried her face in the pillow, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Shi Wan was taken aback, then remembered that Su Qing had said she was coming over yesterday.
Then she heard Xinglin's footsteps approaching the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.
There was a moment of silence outside the door.
"Uh...you are...??" Su Qing's voice was filled with obvious hesitation and surprise.
Shi Wan sprang up from the bed like a chicken whose neck had been stepped on, frantically grabbing her clothes and putting them on.
Oh no, Su Qing didn't know Xing Lin was coming back. A strange man suddenly appeared in her house this early in the morning. Su Qing might misunderstand and start some strange development...
"Hello, I'm Xinglin." Xinglin's gentle voice came from outside the door. "I'm Shi Wan's friend and also an employee of the farm. I'm staying here temporarily today. You must be Manager Su Qing? She mentioned that you would be coming today."
"Xinglin...?" Su Qing's voice was still confused. "Wait, you're Xinglin, the data engineer? You're back from your vacation?"
"Yes, I'm back from my vacation," Xinglin's voice remained steady. "Please come in and sit down. Shi Wan should be up soon."
Shi Wan finally got dressed, ran her fingers through her hair, and rushed out of the bedroom.
In the living room, Su Qing was standing at the door, holding a folder in her hand. Her expression was as calm and composed as ever, but she still took the opportunity to look Xing Lin up and down.
Xing Lin had already changed into the old T-shirt and casual pants that Shi Wan had found last night. The clothes were a little small and looked a bit tight on him, but they actually made his broad shoulders and narrow waist look even more striking.
"Su Qing!" Shi Wan walked over quickly, trying to make her expression look natural. "You're here so early."
Su Qing turned her head and saw Shi Wan, her eyes gleaming with a meaningful light that she could hardly conceal. "President Shi, would you like to introduce me?"
Sure enough, no matter how elite a person is, they still want to gossip when faced with gossip.
“He is Xing Lin,” Shi Wan said as she walked to Xing Lin’s side, subconsciously taking half a step closer to him.
This subtle movement softened Xinglin's gaze, but Shi Wan didn't notice. She was still trying to explain, feeling that after today, her relationship with Xinglin would be ambiguous in Su Qing's eyes. "He just arrived yesterday and will be working at the farm from now on. He arrived too late, so he stayed here for the night."
Su Qing glanced at Shi Wan, then at Xing Lin, and finally her gaze fell on the barely concealed unease on Shi Wan's face and the calm and gentle expression on Xing Lin's face. Suddenly, as if she understood something, a meaningful smile appeared on her lips. "Oh~ I see. Did I arrive a little early?"
"No, no! Being punctual is a good virtue, you should keep it up!" Shi Wan quickly waved her hand. "Aren't we going to have a meeting? I'll go wash up now. You all sit down first. Xing Lin, can you pour Su Qing a cup of tea?"
As she spoke, she practically fled into the bathroom.
In the living room, Su Qing sat down on the sofa, her gaze still curiously observing Xing Lin.
Xinglin went to the kitchen, poured some tea, and brought it to her. His movements were natural and fluid, as if he had lived in this space for a long time.
"Thank you." Su Qing took the teacup and tentatively began, "Although we've interacted before, it's all been online. This is our first time meeting in person. I hope our work together will be smooth and enjoyable in the future. Mr. Shi mentioned you took a long leave, and I thought..."
"Did you think I wouldn't come back?" Xing Lin sat down on the single sofa opposite her, a smile on his face. He looked very gentle and cultured, more like an artist than a data geek. "I had some personal matters to attend to, and I was accidentally delayed a bit."
Su Qing nodded, not pressing for details, and turned to look at the kitchen, "Are you making breakfast?"
“Hmm, Shi Wan hasn’t eaten yet,” Xing Lin said naturally. “Would you like some too? I made some fried eggs and toast to tide you over.”
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony." Su Qing laughed. "But seriously, Shi Wan must be very happy that you suddenly appeared, right? Whenever she mentioned you before, she always seemed..."
She paused, seemingly considering her words.
"What is it?" Xing Lin asked softly.
"She seemed very worried," Su Qing finally said. "Although she always says you're just going to handle some things and will be back soon, I think she's actually quite worried."
Xinglin was silent for a few seconds, then looked towards the bathroom, where the sound of running water from the faucet could be heard.
His eyes softened.
“I know,” he said softly, “that’s why I came back.”
Su Qing looked at his expression and understood what was going on.
She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and changed the subject, "By the way, today's meeting is mainly about new product development. The farm's current product range is almost saturated, and we need to seek development. The pet hotel we recently partnered with gave me some inspiration. Their customer base is very special; they are mostly breeders from show catteries and high-end pet owners who have extremely high requirements for nutritional ratios and raw material quality."
Xing Lin listened attentively and nodded. "We still need Shi Wan's approval on this. I'll mainly be responsible for data support."
“But she’s under too much pressure.” Su Qing sighed. “The farm is growing bigger and bigger, pre-sales in the surrounding area are booming, and daily orders are also increasing. She has to manage production, R&D, and take care of so many small animals… To be honest, I admire her, but I’m also worried that she’ll collapse from exhaustion.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Wan came out of the bathroom.
She changed into a light blue loungewear set, her hair was casually tied into a ponytail, and her face was still damp with moisture, making her look refreshed and energetic.
"What bad things are you saying about me?" She walked over with a smile and sat down on the sofa next to Xinglin.
She naturally sat down next to him, instead of sitting opposite him where she was closer to Su Qing.
Su Qing saw this and smiled even more, saying, "You're working too hard and need help. With the data engineer joining us, you'll definitely be able to develop even better in the future."
Shi Wan wasn't quite used to Su Qing's teasing manner, so she cleared her throat. "Alright, let's get down to business. You even brought a proposal?"
“I brought it.” Su Qing opened the folder and pulled out a few documents. “This is a summary of all the products the farm currently offers, compiled by Xiao Zhang and me. They are roughly divided into cat food, canned food, freeze-dried food, and others. These cover almost all of them, but I thought of a new category: raw meat and bones.”
"Raw meat and bones?" Shi Wan took the document, her brows furrowing slightly. "This category is quite risky. I had considered it before, but at that time the farm's capabilities were insufficient to fully guarantee that every step of raw material control, sterilization, and cold chain transportation would be error-free."
“But now we are qualified,” Su Qing pointed to the budget section of the document, “and the hotel has also shown its sincerity, promising that as long as we can produce raw meat of the same excellent quality as before, they will continue to cooperate with us, with the first order being no less than 500 kilograms. Most importantly, this hotel is very influential in the industry, and if we can succeed, it will be a great boost to the high-end development of the farm brand.”
"I've already received the letter of intent." Su Qing took out an extra folder and placed it in front of Shi Wan.
Shi Wan looked down at the documents, her expression serious.
Xinglin turned his head to look at her, his gaze falling on her slightly pursed lips and focused eyes.
The morning light streamed in through the window, casting dappled shadows on her eyelashes.
"What are you thinking?" Shi Wan suddenly looked up at Xing Lin.
Xinglin paused for a moment, then realized that she was asking for his opinion.
He sat up straight, took the document and looked at it carefully, then said, "From a data perspective, the raw meat market is indeed growing rapidly, but as you said, the risks are very high. We need to establish a complete traceability system, preferably one that can achieve zero errors."
He paused, then continued, "But if we can do all of these things well, then the loyalty of high-end customers will be very high."
As Shi Wan listened, her eyes grew brighter and brighter. "Yes, and we can start with small-batch customization, which is our specialty. We can serve a few high-end clients first, refine the process, build a reputation, and then gradually expand the scale."
Xinglin added, "Moreover, the farm has a very good existing supply chain foundation, and the meat source is traceable. We have the conditions to produce high-standard raw bone meat products."
The two began to discuss quickly and clearly, their conversation flowing smoothly as if they had collaborated countless times before.
Su Qing sat opposite, looked at Shi Wan, then at Xing Lin, and finally couldn't help but laugh, "The two of you have such great chemistry, anyone who didn't know better would think you've been working together for years."
Shi Wan then realized how close she was to Xing Lin. She could almost smell his clean and refreshing scent and feel the slight vibration in his chest as he spoke.
She subtly shifted to the side, her ears burning slightly. "Well then, shall we have breakfast first? We can talk while we eat."
“Great, I’m hungry too.” Su Qing stood up. “If the two of you work together, the farm will probably be ready for market very soon.”
Breakfast consisted of a simple fried egg, toast, and coffee.
Xinglin's cooking skills are excellent. The fried egg was cooked to perfection, with slightly charred edges and a runny yolk.
The bread was baked to a golden brown and crispy perfection, then spread with Shi Wan's homemade blueberry jam, making it sweet and sour.
The three sat around the dining table, eating and continuing their discussion.
“The recipe for raw meat and bones needs to be very precise.” Shi Wan poked at the fried egg with her fork. “Different meat sources have different protein, fat, and mineral content, and the ratio needs to be adjusted according to the target customer’s pet breed, age, and activity level. Palatability also needs to be considered. For example, some cats don’t like lamb, and some dogs don’t like fish.”
“Then, just like you said, we’ll do personalized customization,” Xinglin said, taking a sip of coffee. “When customers place an order, they fill in the pet’s basic information, and we develop a customized product for them. If customers have special needs, such as allergies or recovery periods from illness, we can make further adjustments.”
"That's a great idea!" Su Qing's eyes lit up. "High-end customers are most willing to pay for personalization. Once we have a mature customization system, it will be much easier to launch other customized products later."
Tangyuan jumped onto the chair by the dining table at some point, her heterochromatic eyes staring longingly at the fried egg on Shi Wan's plate.
Tangyuan didn't say anything, but Tangyuan wanted to eat.
"You can't eat this." Shi Wan remained unmoved and poked his forehead. "Go eat your cat food."
Hilarious! She'd seen too many of those pitiful cats begging for food. Every single one of the cats on the farm would stare at her with wide, watery eyes every day, meowing softly and winking at her. It was a constant test of her patience and willpower.
When it comes to being cute, you can't beat my little princess Mianmian.
Shi Wanlang's heart was as hard as iron, and Tangyuan had no choice but to retreat.
He meowed pitifully, and while walking away, he secretly observed Shi Wan's expression, hoping she would soften and call him back.
Unfortunately, Shi Wan had seen this kind of tactic before when she was a child: "How much? Fifty! Twenty or not? No way, I can't even get this kind of stock! If you don't sell, I'm leaving! Hey, hey, come back, I'll sell it to you, I've never seen anyone so good at bargaining!"
So Tangyuan jumped off the chair and went to her food bowl.
Shanfeng also came over and sat down at the dining table, his upright posture like that of someone attending a formal meeting.
Su Qing was amused. "Even if I see them every day, I still think our farm's little animals are really interesting. They seem to know everything, like little geniuses."
“They are indeed very smart,” Shi Wan said with a smile, her gaze sweeping over Tangyuan and Shanfeng, then thinking of Rou Rou and the kittens in the activity room, and Jin Dian who might already be waiting outside the window, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
After breakfast, the meeting continued.
Xinglin took Shiwan's laptop, connected it to the farm's data backend, and retrieved recent sales data, raw material inventory, and production records.
Shi Wan and Su Qing leaned over to look, and the three of them were almost touching heads.
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