Chapter 1594 - 1567: Abundance Every Year

Marcus Quinn sat in the cafeteria counting the remaining supplies. There were still 150 pounds of pig trotters, enough for just one more day. The black fish was gone as well. If they bought daily, the cost would be high. There would be a large demand for beef and mutton in the future, so a stable supply was needed. Calculating this, there were at least eight to ten tasks to be done.

Since everyone had been busy all morning, they went to rest after lunch. Marcus went to the cafeteria’s earthen stove to cook the pig trotters for sale the next day.

Having calculated today’s profit, A’tan quickly went to find Marcus and found him by the stove.

Marcus was adding firewood to the stove, wearing a vest that showed his strong and muscular arms. Because the stool at the stove was low, his long legs were crossed. When he saw A’tan approaching, his eyes brightened slightly, but his face showed no expression.

A’tan handed him a chilled kumquat tea, squatting down carefully to avoid dirtying the clothes Marcus bought her, then said with a smile, "We earned over 40,000 today."

After speaking, she proudly waved four jade-like fingers in front of him.

Seeing her proud expression, Marcus wanted to say that they had invested a lot of manpower and resources, and even used connections, yet only earned 40,000, far from breaking even. However, he nodded and said, "Yes, starting is always difficult, but selling this much today is a good sign."

A’tan agreed with this logic, but knew Marcus was the most exhausted today, so she thought about some personnel arrangements and took the opportunity to discuss them with Marcus.

"Should we draft a set of rules for the Holiday Village, with everyone having distinct responsibilities?"

Marcus nodded, saying, "You go ahead and plan; you’re better at these things than I am."

Having received her task, A’tan happily went back to devise the Holiday Village’s personnel arrangements. Watching her leave, Marcus gazed after her with some fondness, his lips slightly curved, then called over Irving Spencer.

"Irving, while the weather is nice, I’m thinking of raising some cattle and sheep on the hill. Do you know anyone nearby with breeding livestock?"

"Raising cattle and sheep?" Irving was delighted, thinking that by New Year they could have fresh home-grown beef and mutton. Back when Old Quinn was alive, all the ingredients, whether vegetables or meat, were home-produced. Raising cattle and sheep would be so great.

"Yes, the neighboring village raises cattle, and I’ve seen sheep there. I’ll check there this afternoon, and if needed, go to the county to buy some." Irving agreed immediately. Anfield Village mostly raises chickens and ducks, not cattle or sheep.

"We can build the barns and pens behind the village, and later get a couple of dogs to guard them." Marcus thought for a moment and asked, "How many households in the village raise chickens, ducks, and pigs? If they can sell, we can buy directly from the village. Currently, the Holiday Village has no guests, so revenue depends on dining. Also, we’re short on manpower, with only four permanent staff. Irving will go back to the city for work eventually. The best option is to employ villagers."

Employing villagers only requires providing two meals a day, without needing to solve accommodation problems.

Irving nodded while listening and said, "Shall we have a meeting tonight?"

Marcus nodded, then mentioned going fishing at the lake in the evening. Irving, hearing the tight schedule, hurriedly gathered fishing gear with Irving Spencer, found fishing nets, gathered manpower, and then quickly went to the neighboring village to buy breeding cattle and sheep.

Everyone was busily engaged. A’tan sat in the study, using pen and paper to list needed personnel. Without computers, both she and Marcus found it inconvenient, so A’tan decided to order a laptop and an all-in-one printer-fax machine online.

Currently, she handled the thinking while Marcus handled the physical work. All the tasks at the Holiday Village were undertaken by Marcus and his team, leaving her to focus on planning and marketing. This made A’tan somewhat excited, as Marcus was essentially uninvolved in matters other than manual labor, leaving everything else to her. The Holiday Village felt like her own baby.

The limited number of accommodation rooms in the village meant adopting a high-end approach. With 15 houses, there were over 50 rooms in total. The traditional houses, where families lived, consisted of three rooms, one living room, one kitchen, and a small courtyard. The remaining spaces served as storage, making most Anfield Village houses consist of three-bedroom units, with a couple of larger houses having an extra one or two bedrooms.