Wu Chunlan laughed as if she had heard something amusing.
“Xu the college student, raising chickens isn’t as easy as you think. All that stuff you learned from books won’t necessarily make you good at it. And it takes about half a year for a chicken to be ready for market. If you overcrowd them, disease spreads easily. Then if they all die, you’ll end up crying.”
Xu Nian’an smiled and looped her arm through her mother’s. “Mom, I read in books that there’s now a kind of broiler chicken called the White Feather Chicken. They’re raised in enclosed spaces and are ready for market in about 40–45 days. You only need 150 square meters to raise a thousand chickens—that’s smaller than this house.”
She told Wu Chunlan everything she knew about White Feather Chickens, leaving nothing out.
“And, Mom, if I raise chickens, I have enough money myself. Right now, I can sell my field snails while building the chicken coop. In a couple of months, when there aren’t many snails left, I can start raising the chickens. If you invest a little, I’ll share the profits with you.”
Wu Chunlan looked at her daughter, so full of energy and drive that she didn’t seem to need rest, and hesitated a moment.
Had she been given too little money in college? She had refused to work at her father’s factory back then because the pay was too low.
Wu Chunlan reached out and stroked her daughter’s head. This child must have learned real-world knowledge out there.
“Okay, if you want to raise chickens, I’ll support you.” She went to her room and returned with a thousand yuan.
“You just give me ten percent of the profits later.”
Xu Nian’an was silent for a moment. She had only intended to ask her mother for a hundred or two so she could start and then share the profits.
She hadn’t expected her mother to hand over a thousand! A thousand yuan in this era was no small sum—enough to build the chicken coop and buy chicks.
She counted out five hundred from the thousand. “Mom, five hundred is enough. We’ll count the home share as 20%, and I’ll tell everyone outside that it’s my parents’ factory, and I’m just running it with them.”
Wu Chunlan agreed without hesitation. “Fine. Then your father and I will go talk with your village about the land.”
At this time, the country was vigorously developing the economy. Old Xu, as deputy director of the machinery factory, had influence, making such arrangements easy.
If word got out that he was involved, many villages would probably seek his help.
It was also about time to put some pressure on Old Madam Lu, who had a reputation for favoring her younger son.
Wu Chunlan had originally thought her daughter wouldn’t need help from her in-laws, but then she was bullied.
She had opposed this marriage from the start, but Old Xu insisted, saying Lu Chengyu had served eight years in the army and was now a battalion commander—a reliable man with a future.
Lu Zhigang and Zhou Guixiang were both dependable and would treat Nian’an well. Nian’an had a difficult temper; if she married someone too high-status, she might suffer.
With a lower-status marriage, her family could back her up if anything went wrong. That’s why Zhou Guixiang had agreed to the marriage.
As parents, with only one daughter, you had to consider every angle.
Most importantly, she wanted her beloved daughter safe—she’d lose her head over any handsome man and insist on marrying him.
Wu Chunlan herself had made that mistake. She had fallen for Old Xu at first sight, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had accompanied him from a small worker to deputy factory director over the years.
She hoped Lu Chengyu would also be reliable.
That evening, when the Xu family returned home, Xu Nian’an brought up the chicken-raising plan at dinner.
Xu Guoliang tapped the table. “Are you sure White Feather Chickens exist? I’ve never heard of ones ready in 45 days.”
Xu Nian’an nodded vigorously. “Dad, I’m sure. Can you help me ask around? Maybe they go by another name. Just look for chickens that reach market in around 45 days. I can’t remember which book I saw it in.”
Xu Nian’an was certain this wasn’t the same country she had lived in before—many things were different—but the general direction was the same.
Even if White Feather Chickens didn’t exist, she could do something else. The 1980s, in any Huaguo world, were a time of opportunity.
She was confident she could earn her first bucket of gold.
Seeing her daughter so determined, Xu Guoliang had no choice but to agree. At least she wouldn’t be asking to go out of province.
If she did things under his watch, he could protect her if anything went wrong. He agreed to help Xu Nian’an make calls to other cities the next day.
With that settled, Xu Nian’an turned her attention to her two older brothers.
“Brother, these next two months I plan to sell stir-fried field snails. When you’re off work, come help me—we can make money together.”
Xu Weinan was about to agree, but Xu Weidong nudged his foot against him. Then he said,
“Nian’an, the snails come from Qushui Village, and your sister-in-law Xiulian knows how to cook them. You might as well ask your uncle Lu Chengzu and your grandparents to help.”
The rest of the family also looked at Xu Nian’an with approving expressions.
“I’ll share the profits with Xiulian, or just pay her a wage—that works too. I plan to renovate the house my parents gave me: turn the front into a shop and leave the back as living space. Big brother, can you help me find someone to make a roasting oven? Make it big—I want to use it for roasting chickens in the future. And I’ll need to go to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to get some food permits.”
With the permits, she could buy supplies directly from the factory instead of going to the supply cooperative each time, which was expensive and required vouchers.
Xu Weidong didn’t hesitate to agree, and he casually added:
“You should also take the time to visit your old friends. Haven’t you forgotten? Your best friend in high school is the daughter of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce director. She even came to your wedding.”
Xu Nian’an suddenly remembered her close friend, Li Yingying.
They had both been dramatic and spoiled, yet somehow got along perfectly and were inseparable every day.
Later, Li Yingying didn’t get into university and forced Xu Nian’an to swear she wouldn’t have better friends than her in the future before she would stop crying.
When they went to college, they wrote to each other constantly. Xu Nian’an’s roommates even thought she was dating someone.
A couple of years ago, when Li Yingying got married, Xu Nian’an had rushed back from another province to be her bridesmaid.
Xu Nian’an shook her head. “We’ll just follow the normal procedures. I don’t need Yingying to pull any strings for me.”
If the original Xu Nian’an were here, she definitely wouldn’t want her friend’s connections to be used.
“What are you thinking? I mean, having her with you means you won’t have to wait months. I’ve heard that with the new national policies, though not many people immediately decide to become self-employed, there are still plenty of people in the city applying for business licenses. The queues take months.”
Xu Weidong knew his sister well. With her prideful, high-minded personality, she might face setbacks in business if she didn’t have someone looking out for her. After all, she was their only sister.
Xu Nian’an smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll go see Yingying tomorrow. I’ll call her later to see if she’s free.”