Chapter 7076, Chapter 4801: A Frugal Reward!

Chapter 7076, Chapter 4801: A Frustrating Reward!
Zhou Yu probably realized that he couldn't compete with Chen Xi when it came to making food. After all, Chen Xi's chefs and food researchers were too professional, making Zhou Yu feel that his own chefs were somewhat useless.

So let's be realistic and just make things for animals to eat.

In any case, livestock are strategic resources these days. By raising some livestock, breeding some improved breeds, and providing some feed, the livestock can be well-fed and watered, and Jiangdong can start new industries in Southeast Asia. Raising cattle and sheep may seem shameful, but if the scale is large enough, it can become a pillar industry.

Let alone the third century, look at Argentina in the 21st century. They were able to save a country that was on the verge of collapse by relying on agricultural products and beef exports. This shows just how high the potential of these seemingly insignificant but edible and delicious things really is.

"It seems you're really planning to cultivate the local market and build a large-scale livestock industry," Chen Xi said with a touch of emotion. "That certainly has potential."

"We just did some research and found that Australia is suitable for raising sheep and cattle, so we're planning to give it a shot. We also talked to Lord Wen, and he didn't say anything. He said that the area is basically unclaimed land, so we're going to develop it a bit." Zhou Yu said calmly, "After all, it's such a large area, and if we can't farm it, raising some cattle and sheep is a way to make use of it."

Chen Xi remained silent for a while after hearing this, but in the end he didn't say anything. If Zhou Yu really thought that way and did it, the biggest enemy of the Han Dynasty in animal husbandry would probably appear, because Australia is indeed the most suitable place in the world for raising cattle and sheep from a certain perspective.

The country jokingly referred to as the country on the sheep's back is the later Australia. Similarly, there are countries in the mines. They are all said to be rich in resources and suitable for animal husbandry, but don't count on agriculture. They can't do agriculture because there are no high mountains to block moisture, which makes most of the Australian continent semi-arid and water-scarce.

Despite the water shortage, there was enough water for livestock farming. In later generations, Australia's population was only 27 million, but its sheep population was close to 200 million, accounting for about 20% of the world's total, while its cattle population exceeded 30 million, maintaining its position as the world's second-largest beef exporter.

More importantly, most cattle farms in Australia are extensively pasture-based, meaning they are let out to graze freely and brought back at a set time.

It can be said that, in terms of advantages in animal husbandry alone, Australia has a greater advantage than Northern Xinjiang.

However, these thoughts only lingered in Chen Xi's mind for a moment before being dismissed. It wasn't time to consider competition yet. Zhou Yu's plan to start large-scale ranches in Southeast Asia and Australia, and to do something new, was currently entirely beneficial to Chen Xi.

After all, the average Han dynasty citizen can't even afford ten catties of meat a year. The establishment of multiple meat granaries in Jiangdong will lower meat prices, but it will ensure that the people can eat meat as a whole. This is a benevolent policy, so it can be given as a reward to provide substantial assistance.

That's right, this was the perfectly clear thought in Chen Xi's mind—you, Zhou Yu, want these things to develop animal husbandry, but you're worried about not having enough face and status to get complete production materials, and you're also worried that you're asking for too much. I, Chen Xi, will beat you up. Hehe, you're wrong this time. Not only will I not beat you up, I'll also give you a hand.

However, considering Zhou Yu's suspicious nature, which comes and goes, Chen Xi couldn't be too direct, otherwise it would easily provoke a rebellious attitude. So, he would continue to use the previous excuse of bestowing generous rewards to stir things up again, but in doing so...

Chen Xi glanced at Xun Chen and Kou Feng out of the corner of his eye. In that case, the Yuan family and Kunwu Kingdom would also need to offer some rewards, at least to make it seem fair.

"Oh, you're going to do livestock farming in Australia? That's alright, it seems like it has potential. From my perspective, it's a pretty good idea." Chen Xi said calmly. "But if you're going to do this, wouldn't you need some high-quality breeds, some livestock professionals, some large animal care technicians, veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and so on?"

Zhou Yu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. It seemed that coming to pay respects to the mountain stronghold early on had been quite useful. At least things he had thought of before, Chen Xi had arranged for him without him having to say them. It seemed that kneeling correctly was indeed very meaningful. This generous reward was somewhat useful!

"Oh, and there's also feed production and nutrition management, like nutritionists specializing in cattle and sheep, feed R&D personnel, feed formulation designers, large-scale ranch managers, ranch technicians, animal disease prevention and pathology researchers, and so on. And considering that you're aiming to grow bigger and stronger, you'll definitely need breeding experts and superior breed selection and cultivation experts as well." Chen Xi counted on his fingers as he did so, and Zhou Yu's face began to look noticeably grim as Chen Xi continued his calculations.

Nonsense. Zhou Yu only thought about building a large-scale ranch, just like the Yuan family back then. He never imagined that there would be so much professional knowledge involved. To be honest, only Chen Xi could have imagined that so many professional technicians would be needed ten years ago.

Frankly speaking, the fact that large ranches can reach this level now, and that generations of superior breeds can be gradually selected, is truly thanks to the professional and technical personnel that Chen Xi mentioned.

Without these people, it would be a miracle if the Northern Xinjiang Ranch had been able to thrive. Although some highly professional talents were indeed recruited to join the Northern Xinjiang Ranch as managers, in truth, the design of those processes, regulations, and job responsibilities was no less significant to the ranch than that of top livestock industry leaders like Liu Ru and Jiang Qi, who have left their mark on history.

In addition, over the past decade or so, the capabilities represented by these positions have gradually been systematized, resulting in the relatively scientific and mature Han Dynasty animal husbandry industry we know today.

What Chen Xi needs to do now is to pass this thing on to Jiang Dong like a power transfer, so that Jiang Dong can completely replicate a set in Australia.

Chen Xi only mentioned this once, and Zhou Yu's face turned a little green. While Chen Xi was explaining these things, Zhou Yu was also listening to these names and trying to guess the division of labor among these technicians.

Clearly, each of these technicians has their own significance, and each one is extremely important in Zhou Yu's eyes. He feels that if any one of them is missing, the entire ranch might collapse at some point. Therefore, it is essential to gather all these professionals together.

The problem is that after just one explanation from Chen Xi, Zhou Yu felt that it would be incredibly difficult to assemble this whole thing. It wasn't just a matter of a few technicians; it was a complete livestock industry system.

However, this also shows that it was only natural for the Yuan family to grow their million-level ranch into a hundred-thousand-level ranch. Even with a cheat-level spiritual talent like Zhang Chunhua, it was still not possible to bring them back. It is still reasonable, after all, when Chen Xi agreed to the Yuan family's relocation of the ranch, he certainly did not explain in such detail the need for so many things.

In reality, the problem was that Chen Xi hadn't meticulously organized the information into a framework and developed a detailed educational system back then. As a result, the Yuan family only received a rough outline, and when a link in the chain collapsed, the Yuan family was taken away.

“There are also supporting upstream and downstream industries. Your area produces grains and can manufacture starch. You have also acquired the complete manufacturing technology for new fishmeal, so you only need to consider the downstream industries.” Chen Xi then began to explain the concept of upstream and downstream industries in animal husbandry to Zhou Yu. It was the entire process from feed to the table, involving all aspects in between, which made Zhou Yu feel somewhat hopeless.

However, this desperate knowledge made Zhou Yu realize the enormous potential benefits. Putting aside everything else, if Jiangdong could really complete this plan, it would bring in the wealth of countless top merchants.

Chen Xi had no idea what Zhou Yu, who was completely bewildered at this moment, was thinking. If he did, Chen Xi would definitely mock him. If this system could be completed from the very beginning of feed processing all the way to the table, and if even the upstream fishing and agricultural planting of feed processing could be completed independently, the Jiangdong vassal state could be considered a major agricultural power, not to mention in the third century, but even in the twenty-first century.

"As for deep-sea fishing and agricultural planting, and even subsequent food processing, cold chain logistics and transportation, as well as the related transportation and logistics layout, we can put those aside for now and concentrate all our core efforts on animal husbandry." Chen Xi noticed that Zhou Yu was confused and realized that he had indeed been too excited, so he composed himself and explained as calmly as possible.

There was no way he couldn't be excited. Chen Xi had only considered the local livestock industry and the transition from grass-fed to grain-fed livestock, which was already an amazing improvement. After all, grass-fed cattle take three years, while grain-fed cattle, as long as the nutritional ratio is right, can take two years at most and one and a half years at least. In this day and age, efficiency is always very important. He never expected that Zhou Yu could actually make an even greater improvement!

Chen Xi had indeed considered raising cattle and sheep in Australia before, but on the one hand, he had already exhausted the manpower in the Central Plains and it was difficult to improve it further; on the other hand, there was basically no hope for the people in the Central Plains to do this in Australia, so Chen Xi stopped thinking about it.

Who would have thought that while he was giving up, the Jiangdong Group, represented by Zhou Yu, would unexpectedly start doing something worthwhile? Would Chen Xi let that go? It's just throwing money at Jiangdong, right? Besides, this money was printed by Chen Xi himself, so what else is there to say? Of course, he would strongly support it!
"I think if I don't discuss this with Bo Fu again, it doesn't seem like it will be easy to expand and strengthen this business. It seems that our Jiangdong region might really be suited to the old Hu people's animal husbandry system. The potential is a bit low, but if it's just as a supplement, I don't think the pressure is that great," Zhou Yu said with a dry laugh, showing some resistance.

After all, everyone knew the lesson of the Yuan family's past mistakes. Although they all envied Chen Xi's large-scale state-run ranch and wanted a large ranch with millions of cattle and sheep, Zhou Yu felt that he should be more realistic considering the exaggerated prerequisites.

If you follow Chen Xi's current path and raise millions of cattle and sheep to tens of thousands, it's better to start with tens of thousands from the beginning. At least that way you won't feel bad about the losses!
"No need for that. As I said before, just for your letter of recommendation, your self-awareness, and your act of rushing over to show your loyalty at the first opportunity, I will reward you handsomely!" Chen Xi waved his hand, giving the impression that you didn't need to worry.

Zhou Yu gasped. Damn it, so the high-tech feed processing plant under the Ocean Fisheries Bureau was just part of the reward. Holy crap, I was really smart before. Luckily, I ran away with Bo Fu. Otherwise, if the Yuan family had snatched this benefit, I would have lost a fortune.

"Can all of these be arranged for Jiangdong?" Zhou Yu said with a hint of excitement. "If that's the case, I'll take back what I said before. Although the Wuhuan people's free-range breeding technology is not bad, I think the Han Dynasty's large-scale scientific breeding technology has more potential!"

"Hmph, considering your performance this time was indeed quite good, arriving with the letter of recommendation at the first opportunity, all the technologies mentioned therein, as well as the corresponding technical personnel, can be completely replicated. From top to bottom, a complete system, I'll package it all for you." Chen Xi said, patting Zhou Yu on the shoulder, then picked up a wine cup to moisten his throat, but Zhou Yu picked up a wine pot and filled Chen Xi's cup.

"I give up! Why don't you act like this at other times!" Chen Xi looked at Zhou Yu speechlessly. So you know everything? "Look at you now, how come you're so mercenary!"

"Are you sure you can get a complete copy of all the technologies mentioned above, the personnel who possess them, and the complete system that can be replicated?" Zhou Yu ignored Chen Xi's words and went straight to the most important question. Compared to something as trivial as offering a toast, let alone Chen Zichuan, even a dog would be willing to be toasted if the benefits were this great!
"What's the point of lying to you!" Chen Xi said irritably.

“I can write another letter of surrender,” Zhou Yu said tentatively. If he had known this approach would be so effective, and that Chen Xi, who always seemed indifferent to any situation, would actually fall for it, he could have done it twice more. After all, it wasn’t shameful to sell to Chen Xi. Moreover, if others knew that he, Zhou Yu, could get so much with just a letter of urging Chen Xi to surrender, they would only feel envious, let alone mock him!
After all, that's equivalent to the complete technology of the Northern Frontier Ranch and the Black Mountain Goose Factory. Without Chen Xi, this pure monster, the output of these two industries would be enough to maintain a very large feudal empire that continues to be at its peak!

To put it bluntly, the annual output of the Han Dynasty during most periods was far less than that of the large pastures in the northern frontier, yet the Han Dynasty was able to run rampant and dominate for most of its time.

Therefore, for Zhou Yu, after absorbing this technology, the strength of Jiangdong, if not reaching the level of the empire, could at least theoretically reach the peak level of the Han Dynasty.

What level of aid is this?

To be honest, Zhou Yu felt he would have to kowtow twice to get this set of gifts by offering a petition to persuade him to take the throne.

Alright, that's enough. I'm going to inform the Jiangdong aristocratic families when I get back today and give them a good humiliation! Let them see the power of Zhou Yu!
As I said before, the things you get by kowtowing to Chen Xi are all skills. What's more, I, Zhou Yu, didn't even kowtow this time. I just gave Chen Xi some emotional value and got this!
Here's the deal: you Jiangdong aristocratic families, give me some emotional value too. I'll take you all with me. Don't say I, Zhou Yu, always skin you alive; just tell me if you're in or not!
Indeed, with just a few words, Zhou Yu had already figured out how to organize the Jiangdong aristocratic families, how to get these oxen and horses to work for him, and most importantly, how to make these people provide him with a lot of emotional value, making up for his dissatisfaction today...

No, actually, I'm not really unhappy today. If I had to say anything, it would be that I was a little unhappy before. Now that I've received huge benefits, benefits that I never even dared to dream of before, Zhou Yu is ecstatic. Do you understand? With the complete set of technology and systems successfully established, we can catch up with the Later Han in three years and surpass the Former Han in five years. Even though their Jiangdong army is indeed a bit useless, with the support of these super-scale benefits, even Jiangdong, which is rife with separatism, can become an empire!

Whether Zhou Yu was pleased or not, Chen Xi didn't really care, but Zhou Yu's statement, "I can write another surrender document," did indeed silence Chen Xi.

Chen Xi began to wonder whether he truly understood Zhou Yu or not. Was Zhou Yu really that shameless?
“No, Gongjin, weren’t you unruly before? And weren’t you always so concerned about saving face?” Chen Xi was silent for a moment before speaking her mind directly.

"I'll just ask you one question: if I write another letter of surrender, could you also provide me with a complete set of technologies and operational systems from the East China Sea Distant Water Fisheries Bureau?" Zhou Yu completely ignored Chen Xi's question and directly made his request.

"Stop dreaming," Chen Xi said irritably. "Go back to your animal husbandry business, raise more cattle and sheep. Besides, I haven't finished speaking yet. What I did before was my contribution. Next, you need to clarify the things in the official document."

"Oh." Zhou Yu stopped chuckling, and the undisguised smugness in his eyes also disappeared. He had wondered why Chen Xi would hand over such an important imperial weapon to him directly. It turned out there was more to it than met the eye. "Alright, just name your conditions. I can agree to whatever you ask for."

Not to brag, but this set of equipment would fetch about the same price if they sold their entire fiefdom in Jiangdong.

"After the large ranch is completed, the cattle and sheep produced in Jiangdong will need to be incorporated into the national grain reserves for unified management," Chen Xi said with a disdainful look.

"Oh, you've mentioned the benefits, but what's the price?" Zhou Yu countered.

The author is likely out of action for the time being. *sigh*
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