138: Multi-faceted development

While eating, Ye Tian listened to the waiter explain the ingredients and origins of each dish.

For things like lobster and abalone, Ye Tian could understand why they were a bit expensive.

But as a few of the main dishes appeared, Ye Tian was a bit stunned.

"Everyone, the dish being served now is a newly introduced specialty of our restaurant. It is made from the feet of dongtao chicken over three years old, prepared with a secret recipe. It has a fragrant, glutinous, and smooth taste, and is reputed to rival bear paws."

"Brother, try it. This is one of the candidates I mentioned."

After the waiter finished the introduction, Li Ming's eyes lit up, and he spoke to Ye Tian.

"This is a chicken foot?"

Ye Tian looked at the so-called chicken foot, which was served on a large plate and covered in a rich sauce, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

He couldn't help it; the chicken foot in front of him was at least ten times larger than an ordinary chicken foot.

Exceptionally plump, it was almost impossible to tell it was a chicken foot. Instead, it looked more like the bear paw the waiter had mentioned.

"Yes, the most special thing about this kind of chicken is its feet. During the growth process, almost all the nutrition is concentrated in the feet, which causes it to grow slowly. That is why the price is surprisingly high. Like the one the waiter mentioned, over three years old, any single one, regardless of appearance, is at least over a thousand yuan, and it is highly sought after yet hard to find."

"With such a high price, why is it hard to find? Shouldn't many people be raising them? Raising chickens shouldn't be as difficult as seafood, right?"

Ye Tian asked curiously.

"Because this chicken grows slowly, the longer it is raised, the more prone it is to disease. It is also not a chicken breed from our side. In South Vietnam, it is known as the Divine Chicken. The larger the chicken feet, the more blessings from the gods it represents. It is something sought after by dignitaries in South Vietnam, so under normal circumstances, it is snatched up before it can even grow very large. It is the same when it reaches us."

"That is correct, just as this gentleman said. That is why our restaurant's dongtao chicken often requires a reservation to be available. So the price is naturally a bit more expensive."

"Then how much is this pair of chicken feet?"

"For this dish of 'Rival Bear Paws', the price is 3888."

"Uh..."

Ye Tian swallowed his saliva; while surprised, his eyes sparkled.

Zhao Rubing and the others were slightly stunned, and then a bright look flashed in their eyes too.

Before Ye Tian could speak, Zhao Rubing had already looked at Li Ming.

"Brother Li, are you planning to raise these chickens?"

Li Ming nodded excitedly: "Haven't I been collecting various chicks lately? I saw this kind of chicken at a few breeders' places. At first, I thought the chicken was sick because its feet were so big, but who knew they said the ones they were raising were considered small, and they needed to be raised for at least two more years before they could really be sold. Once I asked around, I found out this chicken is so precious, but I have to say, the prospects are great. I asked every restaurant in the city, and only this Xinrongji has it for sale, and you have to book it in advance. Strictly speaking, I booked this meal five days ago, and they only called me last night to tell me it was in stock. It just so happened that Bank Manager Chen helped with such a big favor, so I'm just offering flowers to Buddha."

"Haha, in that case, being able to eat this chicken today, I am completely relying on luck."

Bank Manager Chen's eyes also gleamed, and he said with a full smile.

Immediately, he couldn't help but nod: "If the chickens you, Brother Li, are going to raise are this kind, then I feel even more confident. I have actually eaten this dongtao chicken once before, and the taste is truly impeccable, but I'm just too lazy to wait. With the scale of your Breeding Farm, if you succeed, you can definitely make it a rare and valuable commodity. You won't have to worry about sales at all. However, the investment during this period will probably be several times that of normal farming. How about this, once your chicken farm has scaled up, come find me again, and we will re-evaluate. We can't just watch our future leading Breeding Farm in Copper City be strapped for cash, right?"

Li Ming's face beamed with joy. Then he blushed a little and said: "Bank Manager Chen, how could I be so embarrassed? It's not even off the ground yet, so it's better to wait until we have achieved some results before talking about funding."

"Hmm, just speak up whenever you have a need."

As Bank Manager Chen spoke, he couldn't help but secretly glance at Zhao Rubing, only to find that she had no intention of interrupting. He immediately felt that his taking the initiative this time was completely fine, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

Seeing that everyone was so optimistic, Li Ming immediately felt full of motivation. He hurriedly urged everyone to try the taste.

Soon, the waiter helped divide the pair of chicken feet, giving each person a portion on their plate.

Ye Tian took a bite and couldn't help but hum softly. A look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

He had eaten so many so-called high-end delicacies just now, and they didn't feel like much to him. But this chicken foot was truly stunning.

In other words, it lived up to the expectations before eating.

Ordinary people eating chicken feet usually feel there is too little meat and it is not satisfying. But this huge chicken foot perfectly made up for that flaw. One bite down, it was soft, glutinous, and chewy, full of collagen. It finally gave Ye Tian the feeling of eating meat in big mouthfuls.

Looking at Zhao Rubing and Wang Shufen, they were also beaming with joy.

It couldn't be helped; women, by their nature of loving beauty, have the least resistance to such low-fat, collagen-rich food.

Soon, the pair of chicken feet were finished. Everyone was still left wanting more. But for such a rare commodity, even if Li Ming wanted to order another portion, it was impossible.

Fortunately, the second dish he had reserved was also served at this time.

"Dear guests, this is the second special dish you reserved. Imperial Lions Head Goose."

"Lions Head?"

Ye Tian looked suspiciously at the cold dish that had already been sliced: "Is it that rather expensive Lions Head Goose?"

"Yes, we use the Fuping Lions Head Goose from Guangdong Province, which has undergone multiple cooking procedures. The meat is mellow and fragrant, while also carrying a hint of fruitwood smokiness. The aftertaste is long-lasting."

"How much?"

After the dongtao chicken just now, Ye Tian chose to ask the price directly this time.

"For this goose head, it is 1888."

"Good heavens, with these chickens and geese, the more deformed they are, the more expensive they are."

Ye Tian laughed.

Li Ming also chuckled: "Brother, this Lions Head Goose isn't as precious as the dongtao chicken, but compared to ordinary poultry, it is also rare. Didn't you tell your sister that we could find more high-value, hard-to-raise things to try?"

"Hmm. Based on the price alone, Brother Li didn't choose wrong. And what satisfies me most is that this thing probably eats a lot. The more it can eat, the more I like it."

Ye Tian nodded and smiled.

Zhao Rubing also smiled, couldn't help but pat Ye Tian on the shoulder, and scolded him with a laugh: "You only know how to show off, but your preparation is indeed not bad. Multi-faceted development can reduce many risks caused by a single variety. Plus, you have contracted the reservoir, so raising geese is also convenient."

"Sister Bing is still the most thoughtful. You mentioning this reminds me. We still have a reservoir, so we can raise some fish or something when the time comes. That would be called comprehensive development."

Ye Tian also said with some excitement.

Li Ming blinked his eyes, and suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

Narrow-minded. He had been too narrow-minded before.

For a while, everyone tasted the Lions Head Goose while starting to chat about what else they could raise.

For ordinary people, the three or four hours spent eating a high-end meal would pass very slowly, but they passed in the blink of an eye.

In the end, even the listening Bank Manager Chen couldn't help but offer a lot of useful suggestions. Finally, he even snuck out under the pretext of going to the bathroom.

When Li Ming offered to pay the bill, he discovered that the person they were hosting tonight had actually already paid the bill in advance.

"Bank Manager Chen. You..."

Li Ming, full of shame, wanted to transfer the meal money to Bank Manager Chen.

But the other party refused to accept it no matter what.

A little tipsy from drinking, he looked very happy. He grabbed Li Ming's shoulder.

"Brother, it's rare to meet friends like you who do practical things. Don't argue with me about this meal today. If you want to treat me, wait until the day your Breeding Farm opens, and I will definitely be there. You can treat me to a good meal then. Besides, I am just offering flowers to Buddha today."

Once these words were out, Li Ming instantly understood. He couldn't help but cast his gaze towards Zhao Rubing.

The latter smiled slightly: "Brother Li. We are all our own people, no need to be so polite."

As her voice fell, before Li Ming could speak, Bank Manager Chen was full of surprise.

"Director Zhao is right, brother, you must not be polite with me."

"Well, okay! Brother Chen, when our Breeding Farm opens, you must come."

"Come, I must come!"

...

The meal came to an end. Once again, everyone was happy.

After watching Zhao Rubing and Bank Manager Chen leave, Ye Tian made an appointment with Li Ming to start delivering feed to him tomorrow, and then returned to the Breeding Farm.

After all the facilities were set up for the night, the Breeding Farm was much quieter at night.

In the quiet front courtyard, Old Man Lu had not rested yet. He seemed to be waiting for Ye Tian to return.

"Old man. Not asleep yet?"

"Do you think I am you? With so many things waiting, and you are not in a hurry at all."

"What matter?"

Ye Tian asked suspiciously.

"You tell me what matter. With so many Cockroach, don't you have to prepare for processing in advance?"

"Uh. I was eating with Sister Bing and the others just now, and I forgot for a moment. Old man, should I go take a look now?"

"No rush, I just want to discuss with you. See how it is best to process it. Because from now on, the amount we have to process is not small. We must think of a proper method. We can't just use a brush to separate Cockroach like before, right?"

Ye Tian was stunned. He finally knew the reason why the old man was anxious.

He smiled slightly and took out a tube of bait he had prepared from his pocket.

This tube of bait was something he got from the old man. And it wasn't the kind used to cover things up; he had added a little bit of insect gathering incense into it.

"Old man, you are doing research every day, and I haven't been idle either. During this time, I combined my previous experience in cultivating Mutated Cockroaches. I caught quite a few Cockroach for experiments. Then I discovered that after using the ingredients I had left over before, plus a certain amount of special herbs, it has a special attraction for Male Cockroaches."

"Special attraction? Isn't this the kind of bait I gave you?"

The old man took the bait and examined it, frowning slightly.

He found a glass slide, squeezed a little bit out, and then his eyes changed slightly.

"Little Ye, what did you add to it?"

"Just some special herbs produced in the forests of my hometown, which are not available in the city."

Ye Tian brought out the excuse he had thought of long ago. It also cut off the old man's desire to study it, so as to avoid having to explain it again in the future.

"Are you sure this thing really works?"

"Won't you know if you try it?"

Ye Tian chuckled. He pulled the old man to the small hole outside the warehouse door.

This was the passage Ye Tian specially reserved to facilitate the selection of Cockroach.

Under the old man's suspicious gaze, he placed a box at the entrance of the passage.

Then he took out the bait and dripped a little bit into the box.

At the same time, he issued an order to Blade in his heart.

The latter understood tacitly.

With a slight call, adult Male Cockroaches began to crawl out of the hole.

Before long, the box was full.

Ye Tian took the old man back to the front courtyard.

"Old man. Inspect the goods."

As he said this, Ye Tian smiled and handed the box to the old man.

The latter didn't talk nonsense and poured the box of Cockroach directly into his experimental glass box.

Then he picked up the brush and started brushing.

After several times in a row, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"It actually really works. I've been scratching my head over this for a while, and you kid quietly came up with such bait. How did you do it?"

"Old man. Does this even need to be asked? Obviously, I am the chosen one!"

Ye Tian chuckled and said cockily.

"Whether you say it or not, it doesn't matter. Anyway, this thing is only of great use to your Breeding Farm and has no effect on my research. Since you have a method to gather Male Cockroaches, leave the rest to you. Here are the drawings. These are the mechanical equipment needed. I only had people make two automatic Cockroach separators for the time being. Later, when the volume goes up, you will probably have to increase the scale or order another batch."

Rolling his eyes at Ye Tian, the old man took a stack of materials from the table and handed them to Ye Tian.

Then he pointed to the two new machines inside the laboratory.

Ye Tian's face beamed with joy. He hurriedly walked over.

He discovered that this new machine looked like a giant egg.

It's just that above the giant egg, there was a smooth funnel. It should be the place where the Cockroach are put in.

In the middle, it seemed to be connected to the water pipes in the laboratory.

At the very bottom, there were three discharge ports: left, middle, and right.

And the old man had already made notes on it.

The leftmost discharge port was labeled cockroach meat.

The middle one was essence extract.

The rightmost one was stomach sac extract.

"Old man. Is this thing used directly like this?"

"Yes. To let you see the effect, I have already connected electricity and water. If you want to use it later, you will definitely have to set up a special venue to facilitate processing. For example, you must place containers under each discharge port, so after the experiment in a moment, you will have to plan the construction of the site according to the amount of output."

The old man explained.

Ye Tian nodded. He scanned the room with his eyes. Then he picked up the box and guided the Cockroach he had just caught into it.

Standing on a stool, he poured the Cockroach into the top feed inlet.

Before long, all the Cockroach had entered the machine.