Chapter 221 Quail Fever
"I've never even seen a quail, let alone raised one. It must be expensive, right? What if I kill it?" Like most poor people, the first thing Dong Yougen thought of was the risk.
It's not their fault, because the poorer people are, the less able they are to withstand risks. They dare not take any risks, and once misfortune comes true, it will be difficult for them to recover. Even if it's something as small as raising quails, it will take a long time to recover once it fails.
"Your aunt was illiterate, but she learned it after studying for a while. Since she can do it, you can definitely do it too." Dong Kuan got up and went to the inner room to get out a thin booklet and showed it to Dong Yougen.
"This is a breeding manual printed by the quail farm. Your eldest child is in sixth grade this year, right? He will definitely understand it. Ask him to read it to you and you just follow it!"
He then did the math for Dong Yougen, "Quails lay eggs much faster than hens. They lay at least one egg a day. If you add up the cost of feed, seedlings, etc., one egg costs about three cents, and if you sell it, it's seven cents. You can earn four cents a day from raising quails, which is one dollar and twenty a month. If you raise thirty quails, that's thirty-six dollars, which is higher than the wages of factory workers!"
Nowadays, the monthly salary of ordinary workers in the factory is about thirty to forty yuan. Dong Kuan’s calculation was indeed correct. These were all taught to them by Xu Lingjun. If they want to attract the surrounding people to raise quails together, they have to help them calculate this account.
As long as they can see the opportunity, there are still some people willing to take risks. As long as these people make money, their relatives and friends will follow suit.
"If you're worried, I can give you a few first so you can take them home and try to raise them. Once they're well-trained, I can buy you a few more." Dong Kuan also hoped that his nephew could live a good life, so he planned to pay for it himself.
In fact, Xu Lingjun also had the idea of distributing quail seedlings to everyone for free first, spreading this industry, and then charging them money after they got used to it. But thinking about his experience in poverty alleviation, he gave up.
People often don't know how to cherish free things. Who knows what they do with the quail chicks? Maybe they just put them in the pot and eat them.
If you charge money, you won't do that. Who would be willing to use the money they spent to fill their stomachs? Even if it's given by a relative, it's the same. Maybe they will be more serious because it's not just about money, but also about relationships. If you don't raise the chickens well, how are you going to explain to your relatives? Dong Yougen flipped through the booklet. He didn't recognize many words, but he could still understand the patterns. Just by looking at these pictures, he probably understood a little bit, "It doesn't look much different from raising chickens?"
"Well, the general principles are the same, but the specific methods are a little different. You will learn it after trying a few times! The quail farm also has training courses. You can ask your wife to come and learn from Haisheng's wife. She will learn it after a few times." Nowadays, men have to do heavy physical work, and raising quails is usually done by women.
"I'll come and have a look after the New Year." Dong Yougen was tempted. He still had the money to buy a few quail chicks. If he was going to do it, he definitely couldn't let Dong Kuan help him pay.
Similar conversations happened frequently during this Spring Festival. After the New Year, when everyone woke up from the joy of the Spring Festival and began their busy schedule for the new year, Team 5 where Xu Lingjun was located suddenly became lively.
Director Dong, Zhang Zengxiang, Li Xingfa and others came to buy feed, piglets and quail seedlings as soon as possible, and happily took them back to work, fantasizing that they could have as glorious a New Year's celebration as Xu Lingjun and others.
As soon as they left, Dong Yougen and others came over. Among the many projects that Xu Lingjun could provide, they were most interested in raising quails, because growing porcini mushrooms requires relatively high costs and technical requirements, and most people dare not try it.
Raising chickens and pigs is something they are used to, and they may not be willing to change their years of habits.
Raising quails requires little investment, has quick results and high profits, and can be said to be the most suitable project for them. Haisheng's wife took them on a tour and taught them for a few days. Many people were interested, but still had doubts.
Dong Yougen boldly asked the question that everyone was most concerned about, "If we raise quails and lay eggs, where should we sell them?"
Haisheng's wife immediately gave the answer, "The local product company in the county will take them. If you are willing to go to the county town, you can sell them for 7 cents each! If you don't want to go, you can send them to us. We have to go to the county several times a month anyway. You have to help with the travel expenses. When the time comes, each quail egg will be charged at 6.5 cents. We are not trying to make money, as long as we don't lose money."
In fact, they still make some money. They may not make much from quail eggs, but the profit from selling feed and seedlings is not low. A quail egg that costs seven cents can be sold for more than one yuan after hatching and raising it for a few days, which is much more than selling the eggs directly.
"Can we hatch the quail eggs ourselves?" someone else asked.
"As long as you have good skills, of course you can, but it's better to buy from us. Firstly, the quails you hatch may not be good. The ones we sell here are carefully selected. They are easy to raise and lay eggs quickly! Secondly, if you let the quails hatch eggs, won't that delay their egg-laying time?" Haisheng's wife took out the words she had prepared long ago and convinced many people at once.
Of course, not everyone will listen to her. There will definitely be people who will try to hatch the eggs themselves. Once they try it, they will know that the quail farm's seedlings are good.
At the end, Haisheng's wife brought out her ultimate weapon, "It doesn't matter if you are inconvenient now. We not only accept money, but you can also exchange it with corn, silkworm pupae, or chicken bones."
These are the main ingredients of feed, which the feed factory originally has to buy from outside. If these villagers are willing to deliver them, they can save the trouble of buying them from outside.
"Really?" Dong Yougen was immediately tempted. He might hesitate if he was asked to spend money, but Yumi was already at home, and silkworm pupae and chicken bones were also easy to find. Isn't this equivalent to giving them away for free? So why hesitate? He quickly asked about the exchange rate and made a decision immediately, "I'll take five first. No, ten. You keep them for me. I'll go home and get food!"
With a loud bang, everyone dispersed and ran back home to get their things in exchange, fearing that they would be gone if they were too late.
In the following days, a lot of people came to Haisheng's wife almost every day, exchanging corn, silkworm pupae, chicken bones and other things for little quails, and then took them home to take care of them.
The little quails grew very fast. After only one month, the first batch of quails started laying eggs. Dong Yougen hurriedly brought the quails to exchange for money and got the money smoothly without any setbacks.
Now, those who had been waiting and watching could no longer sit still and came to exchange quails and buy feed, quickly sparking a quail craze.
My grandpa passed away, so I'll have to work for the next few days. I'll probably have to take some time off after I finish saving the manuscript (end of this chapter)
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