Chapter 10

The next morning, Wang Buping took care of the matters in his space, had breakfast at home, and then prepared to go and discuss with his great-grandfather about raising some wild chickens and rabbits in the village.

On the way to his uncle's house, Wang Buping thought about how to develop the village. He realized that he couldn't do it alone by just growing vegetables. He planned to see if anyone could raise some animals, which he would then buy to help them become wealthy.

When he arrived at his uncle's house, he saw his great-grandfather cooking something in the yard, with a few uncles helping. Wang Buping walked closer and saw that they were making wine.

"Great-grandfather and uncles, are you making wine?"

"Yes, what's up, Buping?"

"There is something I need to talk about. You can continue working, we'll talk after you're done."

"Come, let's go inside and talk. Let them keep an eye on things here."

Saying this, his great-grandfather walked into the house, and Wang Buping quickly followed.

Inside, Wang Buping explained his intentions. His great-grandfather listened and then frowned, saying, "Buping, there are plenty of wild chickens and rabbits in the mountains. Who would want to raise them? Isn't it a waste of food?"

"Great-grandfather, listen to me. I want everyone to raise these animals so that when visitors come, we don't have to go up the mountain every day to catch them, which would eventually deplete them. I know everyone is worried that no one will buy them. How about this: if no one buys them, I'll buy them all."

His great-grandfather, somewhat worried, said, "Buping, I know you want the villagers to live better, but I can't let you take a loss!"

"Great-grandfather, don't worry. I can contact restaurants outside to buy these animals, so there won't be any loss. Just trust me."

"Alright, I can inform the villagers about this and see if anyone is willing to raise them."

"Great, Great-grandfather, you can get back to work. I need to go home; I have some things to handle."

Saying this, Wang Buping started to leave. "Buping, aren't you staying for a bit?"

"No, I have to go home and get busy. You can continue making wine."

As Wang Buping left, his great-grandfather thought about what he had said, muttering to himself that this boy was good, thinking about the village even after finishing school. If others wouldn't raise the animals, he would make his son do it to support Buping.

Seeing his father come out, his uncle asked, "Dad, what did Buping want?"

"He wants the villagers to raise some wild chickens and rabbits for visitors. But there are no visitors yet, so who would want to raise them? I don't know what to do."

At this, his third uncle, Wang Youliang, interjected, "Wild chickens and rabbits, there are plenty in the mountains. Who would want to raise them?"

"Yes, but Buping is thinking about the village's development. We can't discourage him. How about you all raise some to support Buping?"

His uncle asked, "Dad, is that okay?"

"Of course, I'll call a meeting tonight and see if anyone is willing to raise them. If not, you three must lead the way."

"Understood, Dad, we'll lead the way."

Wang Buping, walking home, didn't know about the conversation between his great-grandfather and his son. He was thinking about where to get the young wild chickens and rabbits. He decided to buy them from outside if necessary, as it wasn't urgent to know how many people would raise them.

Back home, Wang Buping told his mother that he would cook his own meals on the mountain from now on and wouldn't come down for breakfast.

"Why are you cooking your own meals now?"

"Mom, it's just more convenient. Besides, I know how to cook. I used to do it at home."

"Alright, you can cook on the mountain. Do you have everything you need up there?"

"Yes, everything is there. I'll cook my own meals on the mountain from now on, so don't make breakfast for me."

Seeing her son's determination, Li Yuping didn't say anything more.

At the mountain cabin, Wang Buping saw a small pond outside the yard. If he expanded the yard and included the pond, he could raise some fish and shrimp. He could also bring in stream water. He could build a few bamboo houses for visitors, but he didn't have enough money now. He hoped the ginseng would sell for a good price.

Today, his father didn't come to the mountain but went to the rice fields to weed. Wang Buping planned to water the vegetables in the back yard with space water. The bamboo pipes made it easier; he just needed to pour water into the pipes, and it would flow into the ground automatically.

After a busy day, he was about to wash up and sleep when he heard the sound of a gong. Wang Buping knew this was a village tradition, passed down from the past. If there was something important, the gong would be beaten to gather everyone in the village square. Different sounds represented different matters. The current sound wasn't serious, and only one person from each family needed to go to the square to listen.

Wang Buping thought there was nothing serious. It might be about the animal raising he discussed with his great-grandfather earlier. He quickly went to the square.

At the square, he saw that everyone from the village had gathered. His great-grandfather was standing on a platform and waved to him when he saw him. Wang Buping walked over and stood beside him.

His great-grandfather said, "I called everyone here today because of Buping, the only college student in our village. He wants to help our village develop. You all know why he came back. Today, he came to me and suggested that everyone raise some wild chickens and rabbits for visitors. Who is willing to raise them?"

There was no response from the crowd, but then his great-grandfather's three sons suddenly shouted, "I'm willing, I'm willing."

Seeing this, Wang Buping walked up to the platform and said, "Villagers, I know why you don't want to raise these animals. There are plenty in the mountains, and you're worried they won't sell. You also doubt if the village can develop. I want to assure you that if you raise wild chickens and rabbits and can't sell them, I will buy them all for 20 yuan each. This way, you won't incur any losses. What do you think?"

Someone in the crowd asked, "Really 20 yuan each?"

"Really. I know people in the restaurants who will buy them. I sell my vegetables to them."

Some villagers did the math and realized that raising these animals wouldn't require much food, and they could be raised on the mountain. They said, "Alright, we'll raise them, but where do we get the young animals? Without them, we can't raise them."

"I'll take care of the young animals. If you want to raise them, report to my great-grandfather. I need to know how many you will raise."

Wang Buping stepped down after saying this.

His great-grandfather then went back up and said, "Buping has explained the plan for raising wild chickens and rabbits. Tomorrow, come to my place and report how many you want to raise. Buping will buy the young animals, and he will pay for them. Buping is doing this to help our village develop, so I hope everyone will support him. If you have any questions, ask now. If not, you can go home. Those who want to raise animals should come to my place tomorrow."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Wang Buping felt very happy. However, he still needed to build a cable car quickly so that they could see the outside world and believe that the village could develop.

Wang Buping planned to sell the ginseng when he delivered vegetables to the restaurants in a few days and then start building the cable car.

Two days passed. One morning, Wang Buping found in his space that the rabbits he had put in there a few days ago had given birth to baby rabbits. This discovery gave him an idea for solving the problem of getting young animals. Later, he also found some wild eggs in his space, which further strengthened his confidence.

Thinking about going to the restaurants to deliver vegetables the next day, he prepared for it. He checked the price of century-old ginseng online and was surprised to find that one could sell for over 3 million yuan. If someone needed it urgently, the price could be even higher. This made him more confident about building the cable car.

Back at his home in the village, he found his father and asked him to take out the ginseng. He told him that he planned to sell the ginseng the next day to build the cable car and not to tell the villagers yet until he was sure.

That day, Wang Buping prepared the vegetables he planned to sell and thought about some issues, mainly about the future development of Wang Family Village. The village had beautiful mountains and water, better than many scenic spots he had seen outside. If they developed rural tourism, it would surely be popular.

Wang Family Village was surrounded by mountains, with a river running through it and flowing into a cliff between two mountains. There was a natural reservoir on the mountain, and the deep mountains were full of animals and wild fruits. There were still undiscovered places in the deep mountains. The riverbank had a plain where they could raise animals. Everything was pure and natural, with no pollution, no genetically modified foods, no toxic rice, and no pesticides. It was like a self-sufficient utopia.

If they had a road to the outside world, which wasn't far from the city, people would surely come. The most important things now were the road and the reputation. Without a road, no one would know about the village, and without a reputation, no one would come. These were the key issues Wang Buping needed to address. The road was already planned, but he didn't know how to build the reputation. He couldn't just put up advertisements, as people nowadays disliked them. He decided to take it one step at a time. If necessary, he would start with green agriculture, which shouldn't be a problem. With good scenery, he wasn't worried about not getting visitors.

Time passed quickly. That night, Wang Buping went to bed early, as everything was prepared.