Chen Lan returned from hunting, and this time her haul was quite substantial. Besides killing three adult wild boars totaling over four hundred catties, she also hunted dozens of pheasants. All were stored in the system warehouse along with the boars. She also raided three rabbit nests, catching dozens of rabbits which were carried in two large baskets strapped to her front and back.
Chen Lan bent down and placed the two large baskets on the ground. She stood up and took a deep breath, gazing towards the valley from the mountaintop. She saw everyone had gathered and were waiting by the large kitchen door for lunch. Seeing Ming Wei, Ming Xuan, and Xiang Xi among them, Chen Lan's heart leaped with joy. This was a perfect opportunity. She took the three wild boars and dozens of pheasants from the system warehouse and placed them on a relatively flat spot.
Then, she took a deep breath, raised her hands and waved, gathering her strength and shouting loudly, "Ming Wei, Ming Xuan, look here, I'm here, here..." The echo of "here, here" reverberated through the vast valley.
Everyone waiting for lunch was startled by the sudden voice and looked towards Chen Lan. Ming Xuan and Wen Kai, with the sharpest eyes, were the first to spot Chen Lan, shouting loudly, "Look, look, it's Big Sister, it's Sister-in-law."
Xiang Xi, Xiao Shan, and Lin Mao, along with Xiao Shuan, were the quickest to react. The four of them took the lead. Xiang Xi, running uphill, shouted, "Everyone hurry and follow us up the mountain to help carry things! Xiao Lan must have brought back something big today."
The crowd, who had just picked up their bowls, immediately put down their chopsticks and prepared to head up the mountain to help. Even Aunt Qian, Aunt Zhou, and Aunt Zhao were ready to join. Seeing this, Mother-in-law immediately advised, "Sister Qian, Aunt Zhou, and Aunt Zhao, let's not go, us old folks. Let the young people handle it."
When those who went up the mountain to help brought down the three wild boars weighing over four hundred catties, dozens of pheasants, and two large baskets of wild rabbits, everyone was excited to see so much good food.
Those who had only arrived in the valley in the spring and had never witnessed such a grand display and so many hunted animals were particularly thrilled. They gathered around the three large wild boars, discussing them. Sudane Novel Network.
This was Mother-in-law's moment to shine. Chen Lan immediately retreated to the background, focusing on hunting and leaving other matters to be managed.
Indeed, Mother-in-law was heard giving loud instructions, "Everyone, hurry and eat. After eating, go do what you need to do. Work diligently this afternoon, and we'll finish early. Tonight, we'll drink sorghum wine and eat pork stew."
Upon hearing they could drink sorghum wine and eat pork stew again tonight, everyone cheered and settled down to eat.
After a while, Mother-in-law quietly brought her bowl of rice and sat beside Chen Lan. She took a bite and whispered, "Xiao Lan! We can't keep the wild boar's offal. But they all want to taste authentic pork stew. Without pig's blood, intestines, heart, liver, and lungs, how can we make pork stew?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and said, "Mother-in-law, I'll figure out how to get these things. After they've finished preparing the wild boar, send someone to my place to get them. However, the weather is still a bit hot. How much pork will you need for tonight? For the rest, shouldn't we salt it and eat it slowly to prevent it from spoiling in this heat and wasting good food?
Oh, right, Mother-in-law, there's one more thing. I want to start a rabbit farm. We can kill the big rabbits, but we should keep the little ones. We can fence off a section of the sheep pen to raise them. That way, we'll have fresh rabbit meat in winter."
Mother-in-law nodded repeatedly, "Xiao Lan, raising rabbits is a good idea! If only we could raise pheasants too."
Chen Lan thought to herself that pheasants could indeed be raised. In her past life, there were professionals who raised pheasants.
Chen Lan suddenly remembered another matter and said, "Oh, right, Mother-in-law, one more thing. Ask Mama Cui to pick out a few hens for Xiao Yue to stew. The rest should be cleaned by those helping in the large kitchen today and sent to the kindergarten for the children to stew. The children are still too young to eat wild boar meat."
Mother-in-law nodded repeatedly again, "Yes, yes, Xiao Lan, you're right. Children should eat finer foods. Things like wild boar, with its thick skin and flesh, are hard for children to digest and not suitable for them."
After speaking, she picked up a chopstick of shredded potatoes, put it in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and continued to discuss in a low voice with Chen Lan, "Xiao Lan, let's not rush to kill the rabbits, shall we? Three wild boars are enough for everyone to eat for quite some time. Let's raise the rabbits first. When we've finished the wild boar meat, we can kill them then, okay?"
Chen Lan smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, I've entrusted the matter to you, so you can handle it however you see fit, as long as the rabbits are raised. Rabbits reproduce quickly; they give birth in about a month and a half, and have large litters, usually five to six kits per litter."
Mother-in-law's eyes lit up immediately, and she happily said, "Good that they can give birth! The more, the better!"
The mother and daughter-in-law finished their meal and their discussions. Mother-in-law smiled and said, "Xiao Lan, after you finish eating, hurry back and rest. You went out early this morning, walked such a long mountain path, and hunted so much. You must be very tired. Leave the rest to me. This afternoon, I'll have Uncle Fu and Xiang Xi arrange for someone to help build a rabbit hutch. You don't need to worry."
Chen Lan thought that if they were going to establish rabbit farming in the valley in the future, they couldn't cut corners from the start. Xiang Xi and Uncle Fu had no experience raising rabbits or building rabbit hutches. It would be better to buy a specialized rabbit cage. Once they gained experience, they could build their own.
So she said, "Mother-in-law, Uncle Fu and the others are also busy. Let's not trouble them. I'll put the rabbit cages in the sheep pen when I get back. You can talk to Uncle Zhou later and see who can be assigned to raise rabbits. It would be even better if they had experience raising rabbits. Oh, right, I remember there are books on rabbit raising in our valley's library. I don't know if the books are still there. You can come to my place to get them when you go home. I'll help you look for them when I get back."
Mother-in-law's smile became even brighter this time, and she said gleefully, "That would be wonderful! We'll... what's the word? Yes, scientific farming. This is great! From now on, our valley will never lack fresh rabbit meat!"
The mother and daughter-in-law parted ways after discussing matters. Chen Lan walked towards the sheep pen, mentally opening her system and searching for three-tiered rabbit breeding cages.
My goodness, the system actually had these rabbit breeding cages for sale. However, good things came with a good price. Each set could raise twelve rabbits. Chen Lan bought five sets at once.
Chen Lan's plan was to raise them this way for the year. Once they gained experience, she would find a place here to build a large, sturdy rabbit breeding base with red bricks.