Chapter 29

While Liu Yunxuan was considering whether to go to the provincial city again, he didn't expect Liu Lin's call to bring him a pleasant surprise.

It turned out that when Liu Lin came to collect the cabbages last time, he had eaten chicken stewed with mushrooms at Liu Yunxuan's house.

He had eaten it many times before, but this time it was the most delicious. Ever since then, he couldn't forget it. Yesterday, while eating at a friend's restaurant, he thought of the delicious chicken stewed with mushrooms and asked the chef to make some. However, no matter how he ate it, it just didn't taste the same.

He joked with his friend, "Your chef's skills are not up to par; his cooking is getting worse." Of course, his friend wouldn't stand for it. After all, his restaurant was one of the best in the provincial city, and the chef's skills were top-notch. He even tasted it himself and found it quite good.

The two of them argued over this. In the end, neither could convince the other, so Liu Lin called Liu Yunxuan, saying he would bring his friend over the next day to eat authentic chicken stewed with mushrooms.

Liu Yunxuan was almost jumping with joy. This was like finding a pillow when you were sleepy. If he could connect with such a big restaurant, there would be no problem selling these chickens. He had originally planned to take a few chickens to the provincial city to promote them. He hadn't considered selling to vendors because they wouldn't offer a good price. Someone had offered a price, but it was far from what Liu Yunxuan had in mind.

Liu Yunxuan's goal was to make everything from the farm a premium product. This way, he could quickly gain a reputation, and the company could develop better.

The next day, Liu Yunxuan got up early, caught a pig from the pig farm, and planned to take it to the village butcher to slaughter. He wanted to use this opportunity to promote his fat pigs as well.

Unexpectedly, before he even left the gate, Liu Lin and his friends arrived. It turned out that Liu Lin had his own plans. He was in charge of selling the vegetables next year and intended to sell them at a high price. Such big restaurants were the best places to sell these vegetables at the highest price. Why? As long as the quality was good, the restaurant wouldn't mind the price, and a chef's recommendation could easily raise the price. In fact, his argument with his friend yesterday was also a way to advertise the vegetables in advance.

"Brother Liu Lin, why are you here so early? Who are these two gentlemen? Please introduce them," Liu Yunxuan said, parking his car and greeting Liu Lin.

"Well, they're all craving your home-cooked meals. The dishes at noon must be plentiful; these two are real foodies. This is my friend, Bi Xiaohang, the owner of Yipin Pavilion in the provincial city. This is their head chef, Chef Zhou Yun, who has won awards," Liu Lin introduced.

"Welcome to our Kaoshan Village. It's a small rural place, and the food is simple, so please don't mind," Liu Yunxuan said politely.

"It's we who are disturbing you. We just want to taste the chicken that Old Liu has been praising. If it's really that good, we hope you can take care of us and supply us with some," Bi Xiaohang said, having heard Liu Lin's introduction on the way and considering the idea of purchasing.

"Brother Liu, why don't you and Mr. Bi and Chef Zhou rest at home first while I take care of the pig? We can add some pork dishes for lunch," Liu Yunxuan suggested, as the fat pig was grunting in the back of his pickup truck.

"Perfect timing. I didn't expect to eat pork dishes. No need to rest; I'll help you slaughter the pig. We'll have a good meal at noon," Chef Zhou said, his eyes lighting up. Few Northeasterners didn't love pork dishes, and as a chef, he was sure to enjoy it.

With Chef Zhou's words, everyone went to the butcher's house.

While watching the pig being slaughtered, Zhou Yun whispered to Bi Xiaohang.

"Mr. Bi, look at this pork. It's lean with little fat. I also checked the pig's droppings; they contain plant fibers, indicating it's a home-raised pig, which is a rural free-range pig. The meat tastes great. We can buy the rest."

Liu Yunxuan heard every word clearly, smiling to himself. "This is exactly the effect I wanted. Don't worry, I have many more fat pigs to sell."

The pig's head was left for the butcher, a village tradition. If the head wasn't left, more money would be paid for the slaughtering. The butcher knew the pig was from Liu Yunxuan's farm and asked for the head first. With so many pigs, Liu Yunxuan didn't mind one head.

The pig weighed 263 pounds before slaughter and 170 pounds of meat after. Although it wasn't fed with high-quality feed, the meat yield was good. The pig's blood wasn't wasted either; it would be used for blood sausage, which tasted great.

Back at home, Liu Yunxuan asked Liu Yunhai to catch three roosters from the chicken farm and called Zhao Yan and Wang Mingyuan to join them for lunch.

Chef Zhou didn't idle; he prepared all the dishes for lunch. As a head chef, he was very efficient. While cutting vegetables, Xiao Fangfang watched, worried that the fat chef might cut his hand.

When they finally tasted the food, Bi Xiaohang and Zhou Yun exchanged glances, both knowing they had made the right decision.

No one cared about their thoughts during the meal; everyone was focused on the food. A large pot of braised pork with Chinese cabbage and a large pot of chicken stewed with mushrooms were all finished.

"Authentic, authentic, this trip was worth it," Bi Xiaohang said, burping and praising.

"See, I told you your restaurant's food was far from this," Liu Lin said proudly.

"Chef Zhou, what do you think?" Bi Xiaohang turned to Zhou Yun.

"The quality of the roosters is excellent, and the pork tastes great," Zhou Yun said helplessly. It wasn't that his skills were lacking; it was the ingredients that made the difference.

"Brother Liu, can you supply us with some chickens and pork?" Bi Xiaohang asked, feeling more confident with the positive response.

He didn't want to control the supply, but Liu Yunxuan had too many pigs and chickens, and his restaurant alone couldn't handle it all.

"25 yuan per pound for the pigs, you can come and take them and slaughter them yourselves. 30 yuan per pound for the roosters. How does that sound?" Liu Yunxuan said after some consideration.

Liu Yunxuan's quote was a bit high compared to market prices, but his pigs and chickens tasted great. Bi Xiaohang thought for a moment and didn't haggle. As long as the quality was good, the price wouldn't be a problem. He was getting a head start, and the price might go up in the future.

Upon learning that Liu Yunxuan also had free-range eggs, he purchased a batch as well. The eggs, regardless of size, were 3 yuan each.

Zhao Yan, who was eating with them, didn't say much but was increasingly pleased. The price of pigs was reasonable, slightly higher, but still manageable, around a million yuan. However, when he heard the price of the roosters, he almost shouted out loud.

30 yuan per pound for roosters, and each rooster weighed over six pounds, some even up to ten pounds. At six pounds, that's over five million yuan. This was truly eye-opening. The eggs were sold by the piece, and the chicken farm produced over 20,000 to 30,000 eggs daily, generating over 100,000 yuan a day. It was like making money faster than robbing a bank. He didn't expect the pig farm to be the least profitable.

Wang Mingyuan, sitting next to him, was also pinching his thigh, finding it hard to accept. He could only console himself that anything from Liu Yunxuan's hands wasn't cheap.

The provincial city was bustling these days. Yipin Pavilion introduced a new chef's special: chicken stewed with mushrooms. The price ranged from 588 to 998 yuan, depending on the weight of the chicken. Some customers, not minding the cost, tried it and found it incredibly delicious. Initially, they sold about ten servings a day, but within a week, it was over a hundred servings daily.

Yipin Pavilion then introduced many new dishes, each with detailed descriptions. These weren't ordinary pigs; they were free-range pigs, and the meat was exceptionally flavorful, justifying the high prices.

Yipin Pavilion became popular, while other restaurants struggled. Many regular customers went to Yipin Pavilion. Upon learning the reason, they found out that Yipin Pavilion had a good supply of high-quality ingredients.

Despite Yipin Pavilion's efforts to keep it a secret, the other restaurants eventually found out that they were purchasing the roosters and pork from Liu Yunxuan.

Of course, these were top-tier restaurants in the provincial city. A small restaurant wouldn't be able to sell the ingredients at a high price.

Now, every day before dawn, procurement vehicles waited at the pig and chicken farms. Fortunately, Liu Yunxuan focused on the high-end market; otherwise, he wouldn't have enough to sell.