"Little Fan, are you really planning to have your mother be the person in charge of the winery?" Cheng Fugui frowned as soon as Cheng Xiaofan finished speaking, asking his son.
"Is there a problem?" Cheng Xiaofan looked at his father and asked.
Cheng Fugui scratched his head and said, "There is a problem, a big problem!"
"Once your mother becomes the head of the winery, she'll pour all her energy into it. Who will cook for the family then?"
Miao Xiuhua declared with finality, "From now on, all our meals will be on you!"
"..."
Cheng Fugui's mouth dropped into an 'o' shape. He wanted to protest, but with Bai Yiling present, his lips twitched a few times before he pouted and reluctantly said, "I... I agree, I agree!"
"You sound too reluctant!" Miao Xiuhua pressed her advantage.
Cheng Fugui immediately said, "I... I agree with both hands up!"
Miao Xiuhua smiled triumphantly and said to Bai Yiling, "Yiling, don't let my rough husband from the countryside fool you. He can truly be the 'gentleman in the hall, the cook in the kitchen.' His cooking is so good, it's like a new duck laying eggs, quacking with delight!"
"Really?" Bai Yiling said excitedly, "Dad, I want to taste your cooking then!"
Hearing Bai Yiling say this, Cheng Fugui was even more excited than her. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, my good daughter, I will definitely cook seriously and well then, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "Dad, there's another thing for you to do tomorrow!"
"What is it, tell me!" Cheng Fugui said to his son with a hint of proud defiance.
Cheng Xiaofan said, "As the old saying goes, 'An army on the march depends on its provisions.' Our main ingredient for winemaking is glutinous rice. Before we officially start, we need to procure enough rice."
"Tomorrow, Dad, your task is to go to the market area to purchase rice."
As soon as he finished speaking, Miao Xiuhua said, "My maternal village has many families who store glutinous rice, and the quality is excellent. Fugui, you should go and buy it from there tomorrow!" Miao Xiuhua was born in Miao Village in the opposite Jinbao Market area. Although her parents were no longer alive, she still had two cousins and an uncle there. Every year during the Spring Festival, she would go to Miao Village in the market area to pay her respects to her uncle and cousins.
Cheng Fugui listened and nodded, saying, "That's easy. It's best to keep it in the family. Tomorrow I'll take a flatbed cart and buy it from Miao Village!"
At this moment, Bai Yiling said, "Dad, pulling a flatbed cart is too strenuous. Why don't I have my subordinate drive a pickup truck to take you to buy the rice?"
Cheng Fugui had seen the pickup truck Bai Yiling mentioned. It looked very powerful, and it was said to cost over a million. To be able to ride in such a vehicle to the market area to buy rice, how impressive that would be! Who wouldn't be envious?
"Is that okay?" Cheng Fugui asked with some hesitation.
Bai Yiling smiled and said, "Dad, what's not okay about that?"
"That pickup truck is mine, which means it's also yours!"
"When you learn to drive, this car will be yours!"
Cheng Fugui heard this and said excitedly, "Thank you, daughter. If I have the chance, I will learn to drive. Otherwise, if I can't even drive a car, how can I be worthy of being Yiling's father!" In an instant, Cheng Fugui felt as light as a feather, his bones feeling weightless.
Cheng Xiaofan also told his father that since Miao Village was his mother's maternal village and the rice quality was good, the purchase price should be slightly higher than the market price. This was also to indirectly encourage them to plant more glutinous rice, so that next year, they wouldn't have to go and buy it; the villagers would deliver it themselves.
"Okay, okay, okay," Cheng Fugui said with a smile, "It doesn't matter if they deliver it or not. At worst, Dad will work a bit harder and make a few more trips to Miao Village!" With Bai Yiling's pickup truck, wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't show it off a few times? Cheng Xiaofan knew exactly what his father was thinking!
Next, Cheng Xiaofan said to Cheng Fugui, "Dad, Uncle Yougen used to raise 'tree-climbing chickens.' Contact him and ask him to start raising them again. We'll buy as many as he has!"
Cheng Fugui asked, "Why do we need to buy tree-climbing chickens?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "The dregs left from making wine can be used to make drunken chicken!"
"Then we'll ask Uncle Yougen to slaughter the tree-climbing chickens, marinate them, and then we'll buy them back, ferment them in the wine dregs, steam them, vacuum pack them, and sell them."
Cheng Fugui nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll go talk to Hu Yougen later. The problem is that raising tree-climbing chickens is easily preyed upon by eagles, so he might be afraid to raise them again!"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and said, "Tell Uncle Yougen that I'll have Po Tianying select two fierce eagles from the primeval forest to help him guard those tree-climbing chickens. No other eagles will dare to prey on the chickens!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Fugui laughed, "Having eagles watch chickens, won't there be fewer and fewer chickens in the end?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "Dad, don't worry about that. The fierce eagles selected by Po Tianying wouldn't dare to eat chickens!"
Cheng Fugui nodded and said, "Alright, I'll relay your message to Uncle Yougen!"
Cheng Xiaofan said, "Also, Uncle Yougen's family isn't well-off. Raising tree-climbing chickens requires initial investment. You figure out with him how much money is needed, and the family can advance some funds to help him."
Cheng Fugui said, "I know that. The problem is that far-off water can't quench near thirst. Now that the dregs are ready, where will we buy so many marinated chickens?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "We can buy some from the market area. People in the market area have a habit of making marinated chickens at the end of the year, keeping them for the whole year after the New Year. As long as we offer a slightly higher price, we won't have trouble buying them."
Cheng Fugui said, "That method works, but in terms of flavor and meat quality, the tree-climbing chicken is superior!"
Hearing this, Bai Yiling curiously asked Cheng Xiaofan, "Xiaofan, what are tree-climbing chickens?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "Tree-climbing chickens are free-range chickens raised on the mountain. Normally, they perch in trees. They build nests in trees to lay eggs and hatch chicks."
"Raising tree-climbing chickens relies entirely on domestication, which is difficult. Uncle Yougen is an expert in this area!"
Bai Yiling said, "This is truly strange. I've never heard of chickens that build nests in trees to lay eggs and hatch chicks!"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "This is Uncle Yougen's specialty."
"Once he raises the first batch of tree-climbing chickens, he basically doesn't have to worry about the subsequent ones. He just needs to focus on making the marinated chicken."
"Because tree-climbing chickens mainly feed on insects, they grow quickly, their meat is tender, and it's delicious, making it the most suitable for making drunken chicken!"
"Uncle Yougen's tree-climbing chickens are quite famous. Unfortunately, due to frequent predation by eagles and other animals, he repeatedly lost money and no longer dares to raise them!"