Chapter 2312 - 1921: Unable to Keep Up with the Tide of the Times

Chapter 2312: Chapter 1921: Unable to Keep Up with the Tide of the Times

That sumptuous crayfish feast really made Boss Chang enjoy himself.

In the evening, as he was feeling sleepy, he remembered Lao Song’s family saying this year they would only raise a few to satisfy a craving, and he angrily slapped his thigh!

Thinking back to the people he knew back in the day, when they were eager to make money, how hard each of them worked!

Nowadays, college students aren’t the same. They haven’t even become the richest in the country yet, and they’re already satisfied with whatever comes their way.

But despite his mutterings, he didn’t dare say it out loud.

Late at night, he called around asking a bunch of questions before he finally went to bed content.

He slept well in Yunqiao Village!

Waking up just as the light began to break, the rain outside started to fall lightly again.

Boss Chang felt invigorated and full of energy, but was still slightly affected by the mood.

This rain just doesn’t understand!

The fruits are hanging now, how can they withstand this kind of downfall?

He couldn’t even get decent vegetables now, let alone Lao Song’s family, the few farms he cooperated with had very poor quality melons.

Even those in greenhouses suffered from lack of natural light, the air was humid and muggy, so their growth wasn’t ideal either.

He muttered a few complaints, but with things on his mind, he grabbed an umbrella at the guesthouse, didn’t bother with his bike, and wandered his way to the back mountain.

He slowly followed the water channels downhill until he arrived at the large patches of rice fields.

Lao Song’s family had a lot of land this year, so they didn’t plant those labor-intensive double-crop rice that had mediocre yields and affected taste; they only planted early rice and middle rice.

The early rice was harvested in July, and now they’re enjoying fragrant rice.

The middle rice was just flowering and bearing fruit when the rain started, and now its growth was quite poor.

If it weren’t for Yan Ran and the others keeping a close watch and using various biological methods for prevention, forget about pest control, the rain would have flattened the seedlings, causing all kinds of pathogens to emerge.

Now they’re just managing to maintain it.

Fortunately, there were only two acres of middle rice.

For Lao Song’s family, although regrettable, it was like corn—still acceptable.

He circled around the rice field several times.

The field ridges couldn’t be paved with cement roads; wet wild grass soaked his slippers, occasionally causing him to slip in the mud.

The trench was opened, and the accumulated rainwater flowed out with a rush, occasionally carrying a few small fish and loach—probably they swam in when the pond overflowed.

When he descended the mountain, Boss Chang said to Song Tan:

"Actually, with the twenty acres or so of mid and late rice, indica and glutinous rice, next year you could raise crayfish in the rice fields!"

The yield could be much higher than that of the lotus ponds; after all, lotus ponds have to be fenced off to prevent them from affecting the lotus leaves.

He even did his homework early, found out that digging ring-shaped trenches outside the rice field and carefully raising them doesn’t greatly affect rice yield.

The crayfish can sneak and run around, if they coexist with rice fields and aren’t well managed, it’s easy to cause hollow grains and rotten roots; but proper management can certainly mitigate this impact.

Song Tan looked at him and suddenly started doing the math: "In one acre of rice field, let’s say I could produce three hundred pounds of crayfish."

This is top-level data for shrimp-rice coexistence; it must be carefully managed.

"But we went to the city for a barbecue recently, I asked around, and at those booming big food stalls, they sell five to six hundred pounds of crayfish in one night—if my family raised all of them, how many meals would it cover for your shop?"

Boss Chang still struggled: "Scarcity is valuable, and I don’t operate all night, and with two pounds per table, one or two hundred pounds a day..."

As he spoke, he closed his little mouth.

Because even with twenty acres of crayfish farming, it wouldn’t last for a few days.

At this point, he could only stop his rambling:

"What can’t you raise in a rice field? I’m offering a good price for crayfish, and the money you earn isn’t worth the hassle for you..."

For Song Tan, it truly was troublesome.

Raising crayfish requires precise management, and expertise in the field. Those who possess such skills generally do it themselves.

Hiring people with high monthly salaries and increasing costs for management, harvesting, and field maintenance.

Even though Boss Chang offered an excellent price, regardless of management, crayfish still impacts rice!

Their family was solidly carbohydrate-oriented; Boss Chang used to complain endlessly during rice harvest.

Hence, crayfish may be few, but the rice cannot suffer any damage.

Boss Chang sighed.

All right! Then these crayfish would be turned into member gifts, cook spicy ones, and based on member level, give each person a portion.