The daughter was ruthlessly driven out of the wealthy family and went to the countryside

Chapter 1252 Raising Geese

The best thing to eat this season is lotus root. Shen Xuening's family has always had a lotus root field, where they also raise eels, bullfrogs, loaches, and soft-shelled turtles. Now is the time to eat them, and Shen Dong is already busy in this lotus root field.

When Liu Juan arrived, Shen Dong had already dug up a lot of lotus roots, caught a lot of fish, and also had eels and loaches: "How is it going?"

Shen Dong replied, "That's enough, that should be enough."

"I'm going back now." Liu Juan brought over two buckets, packed the things into the two buckets, and carried them back home.

"Okay." Shen Dong replied, came up from the lotus field, and thought about getting some more local specialties. After thinking for a moment, he went to a friend's house.

This friend raises lobsters, and it's lobster season. He's a conscientious person; he raises lobsters in fields without using much high technology, and the lobsters are still quite good.

Shen Dong picked out fifty catties of large lobsters, because there were many people eating, and it wouldn't be enough to eat if he didn't buy more.

He brought the lobster home.

"Juanzi, look what I bought!" Shen Dong's boastful voice rang out as he casually placed the lobsters under the tap in the yard, preparing to wash them clean.

Upon hearing this, Liu Juan, who was busy in the kitchen, immediately came out. She took one look and her face lit up with joy: "Such a fat lobster!"

Shen Dong smiled broadly: "Yes, I specially went to my friend's place to buy it."

Liu Juan glanced around and asked in a low voice, "I heard that crayfish farming isn't very clean these days. Is your friend any good?"

Just as Shen Dong was about to answer, Shen Xuening's voice rang out from behind them: "Mom and Dad, why don't you soak the lobsters in well water? That should solve the problem."

Liu Juan immediately said, "Yes, the well water is good. Let them rest for a while before killing them."

“Okay.” Shen Dong immediately drew three buckets of well water, then poured the water into a large basin and soaked the lobsters.

Before long, the well water turned murky.

Liu Juan said thankfully, "Luckily, Ningning took a look, otherwise we wouldn't have known that this lobster was dirty."

Shen Dong chimed in, "It looks pretty clean, but I didn't expect there to be so much unclean stuff inside."

Shen Xuening said, "Mom and Dad, it's normal for lobsters to be a little dirty since they're kept in water. It's okay."

Liu Juan nodded and asked Shen Dong, "Do you need me to help you with this?"

Shen Dong waved his hand and immediately said, "No need, I'll take care of things here. You go and do your work. You just need to stir-fry it in a bit."

"Okay, I'm going to the kitchen. Call me if you need anything." Liu Juan went back to the kitchen.

Shen Xuening brought a small brush and helped clean the lobster: "Dad, this lobster is quite plump, how are we going to eat it?"

"Let's get one spicy crayfish and one garlic crayfish," Shen Dong said after thinking for a moment. "Considering that peeling them is inconvenient, we'll peel them first and then stir-fry them."

Shen Xuening knew that her parents had done this to protect Qin Zizhou's image, and they were really kind: "Isn't this too much trouble?"

Shen Dong said nonchalantly, "What's the trouble? We have to peel them anyway."

Shen Xuening smiled and said, "Then I'll help you peel them later."

Shen Dong nodded: "Mm."

Shen Dong scrubbed the lobster again with a brush, and then soaked it in well water again. This time it wasn't as dirty and looked much better.

After soaking and washing the lobster three times, Shen Dong took it to blanch it.

After blanching, the lobsters turned even redder. Then, the group put on gloves and began peeling the lobsters.

It has to be said that the lobsters were really plump and delicious. The lobster meat that was peeled out was about the size of a thumb. One beautiful piece of lobster meat after another was piled up in the basin, which looked very tempting.

Shen Dong said, "If it's delicious, I'll buy it again tomorrow. No, I'll add another dish to the homecoming banquet. Ningning, what do you think?"

Shen Xuening didn't answer, but asked instead, "Is the menu ready?"

"Ready?" Shen Dong took out his phone and sent their handwritten menu to Shen Xuening. "Take a look. If there's anything wrong, tell me and I'll fix it right away."

Shen Xuening wiped her hands and took out her phone to look at them.

At this moment, Qin Zizhou came to Shen Xuening's side, greeted Shen Dong first, and then asked Shen Xuening, "What are you looking at?"

Shen Xuening pulled over a stool and placed it next to her: "Let's take a look at the menu for the homecoming banquet."

Qin Zizhou looked at it carefully: "Twenty-four dishes in total, is that too few? How about we increase it to twenty-eight?"

Shen Dong understood Qin Zizhou's meaning. This banquet was about Shen Xuening's reputation. He said, "The dishes in the countryside are all large portions, not as exquisite as what you have at your banquet. If we add more, we won't be able to finish them."

Qin Zizhou went to see Shen Xuening: "What do you think?"

Shen Xuening thought for a moment and said, "Dad, we don't need to add any more dishes, but we can replace this stir-fried pork with chili peppers with steamed shrimp."

Shen Dong, naturally, wasn't as thoughtful as the younger generation: "Don't you want lobster?"

Shen Xuening thought about the banquet she had attended and realized she wouldn't eat the kind of troublesome dishes: "Dad, everyone at the banquet is eating good food. Not many people would like to eat shrimp that you have to peel yourself."

Shen Dong asked, "What if we peel off the shell?"

Shen Xuening said, "That would take too much time."

Shen Dong said, "It's okay, there will be many people to help us then, let them help us peel it."

Shen Xuening looked at the two of them and said in a consultative tone, "If that's the case, how about we add another dish, making it twenty-five?"

Qin Zizhou and Shen Dong said in unison, "I think it's a good idea."

And so the menu was decided.

The group peeled the lobster shells together, and then Shen Dong took the lobster meat to the kitchen before coming out to prepare the eels and loaches.

Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou didn't help anymore; they didn't know how to do it. So they went to the village. Now that they were married, it was time to take Qin Zizhou out for a stroll. Of course, they had taken him out before, but with their changed status, the feeling had naturally changed as well.

"Xue Ning, you're back?" Villager Gao Hui greeted her. "Oh my, is this your new son-in-law? He looks even more handsome and charming now."

Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou both laughed. Shen Xuening said, "Auntie looks younger and younger."

Gao Hui happily touched her face: "That's right, your mother gave me a bottle of skincare product, and I use it every day. Now my skin has improved a lot."

Shen Xuening said, "Then you should keep using it, and your condition will improve."

Gao Hui sighed, "Alas, even if it's good, it can't compare to when I was young, and it can't compare to you young people."

Shen Xuening said, "Don't compare yourself to us. Compare yourself to your friends and your peers."

Gao Hui's eyes lit up: "You're right, but if you put it that way, I'm much, much younger than them."

Shen Xuening said, "Auntie, we're going to take a walk over there. We'll talk later."

Gao Hui smiled and said, "Alright, go ahead."

Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou continued walking forward, hand in hand. People they encountered would glance at them, and those they knew would greet them, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Wandering around, the autumn wind blows, and the air is filled with the scent of autumn harvest.

As they were walking, the captain came towards them. When he saw Shen Xuening, his eyes lit up immediately: "Xuening, you're back?"

Shen Xuening looked over and asked, "Uncle, where are you going?"

"I was going to find your parents, but now that I've seen you, it's the same as telling you." The captain looked around. "Come on, let's go to my house and talk."

Shen Xuening was a little curious: "Okay, let's go."

So the captain took the two of them to his home.

The team leader gave each of them a bottle of mineral water: "You probably won't like the tea from my house, so I'll just offer you mineral water instead."

The two men didn't seem to mind and accepted the bottled water, saying, "Thank you, Uncle."

The team leader sat down opposite the two men: "Let me be frank, it's like this, there's a big reservoir behind our village, right? The people who used to lease it out said that fish farming wasn't profitable, and now they want to sell the reservoir. Do you want to take it over?"

"Xue Ning, when I heard this news during the meeting, you were the first person I thought of."

Shen Xuening was overjoyed: "I was just looking for a place with plenty of water, and Uncle has just provided me with a perfect solution."

The captain asked curiously, "What happened?"

Shen Xuening replied truthfully, "I want to raise geese. Don't geese need a water source?"

The team leader said, "Raising geese is good. With a water source, you can raise more, just like your duck farm, raising tens of thousands of them. It sounds like you'll make money."

Shen Xuening said, "I heard that the reservoir behind our village was contracted by several people at the same time, but all of them quit?"

"I heard they lost money and don't want to continue." The captain looked at Shen Xuening and said, "The reservoir contract costs 100,000 yuan a year, and you're the only one around here who has that kind of money."

Shen Xuening said casually, "Such a large reservoir, 100,000 a year isn't expensive."

The captain waved his hand: "That's what you say, but how many fish do we need to sell for 100,000? We're all just ordinary people, and 100,000 isn't something you can earn easily."

Shen Xuening said, "Uncle, let's not talk about anything else. I want to contract this reservoir. Do you think we can sign the contract as soon as possible to prevent someone else from getting there first?"

The captain said happily, "We can do it now."

Shen Xuening then said, "Then let's go sign the contract. I'm home right now, so let's get the goose farm built as soon as possible."

"Okay." The captain led Shen Xuening to the office.

Everyone knew that Shen Xuening was rich, so the contract was signed smoothly, with a contract fee of 100,000 yuan per year for a total of 30 years.

"Zizhou, look, this is what good luck is. This is good luck." Shen Xuening held the contract, beaming with joy.

"My wife is so capable." Qin Zizhou squeezed Shen Xuening's hand, feeling happy and proud for her.

Shen Xuening glanced at Qin Zizhou and said, "Let me take you to see that reservoir and see where would be a good place to build a goose farm."

Qin Zizhou nodded: "I'll do whatever you say. It's your territory, so you're in charge."

The reservoir is exceptionally long, about a kilometer long, passing through several villages, but they are all outside the villages. Generally, no one goes to the riverbank, so it can be said to be deserted. However, there are still a few households on both sides of the road, about a hundred meters apart.

Qin Zizhou parted the grass on both sides with his hands, protecting Shen Xuening as she walked forward: "The grass is so tall, it's going to bury me."

Shen Xuening said, "My mother told me that the villagers used to wash clothes, meat and vegetables in the river, and the riverbank was very lively. Now that every household has a well, no one comes here anymore. Moreover, many people have drowned in the river, so people are even less willing to come here."

Qin Zizhou was slightly surprised: "Someone drowned here?"

Shen Xuening said, "Which river hasn't had people drown?"

Qin Zizhou nodded: "That's true."

After passing through a bamboo grove and a wasteland, the two finally arrived at the riverbank.

There is a path along the river that people used to walk on, but now it is abandoned. The path is overgrown with weeds, which have spread over the path and into the river. The riverbank is covered with aquatic plants, which have merged with the surrounding weeds.

Small fish swam around in the weeds, and small shrimp and insects also joined in the fun, creating a bustling underwater world.

A man was fishing on the opposite bank of the river. When he saw the two of them, he couldn't help but look over.

Shen Xuening looked over and realized she didn't recognize him, so she ignored her and led Qin Zizhou along the river.

Qin Zizhou asked, "Xue Ning, how many geese do you plan to raise?"

Shen Xuening said confidently, "Once I start raising them, the demand will definitely exceed the supply, so I'll definitely raise at least tens of thousands."

Qin Zizhou looked around: "Then this location might be a little hard to find."

Shen Xuening said, "No rush, we'll take our time. Besides, the goose farm doesn't necessarily have to be built by the river. It can be built further away. We can just build a passage for the geese to pass through."

Qin Zizhou thought it was feasible: "That works too."

Before long, Shen Xuening discovered a perfect spot: a large plain covered with bamboo, forming a bamboo forest. She enclosed the bamboo forest and built goose sheds around it. The location was over a hundred meters from the river, providing just the right space for the geese to graze. There were no houses nearby, so she wouldn't have to worry about the geese making noise. It was simply perfect.

Qin Zizhou asked, "Whose bamboo grove is this?"

Shen Xuening shook her head: "I don't know either. I'll ask the captain when we get back."

Qin Zizhou looked around and said, "This place is indeed nice. There are bamboo groves to block out the sun, and the surrounding fields are covered with tender grass that the geese can eat."

Shen Xuening said, "Yes, this place is simply a natural pasture."

Qin Zizhou suggested, "Then you can plant some pasture around here, and then cut it directly for the geese to eat, saving you the trouble of transporting it from elsewhere."

Shen Xuening said, "Great minds think alike."

Qin Zizhou took Shen Xuening's hand and said, "That's right, we're on the same page now."

After determining the location for building the goose shed, Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou went back together.

They went to the captain's house and inquired about the location they had their eye on, wanting to lease it.

The captain looked troubled: "Xue Ning, it's not that I don't want to help you, but that place might be difficult to negotiate."

Shen Xuening asked, "What do you mean?"

The captain said, "Do you remember when someone tried to steal your matsutake mushrooms? You sent those people to jail, and one of them was the landowner. Do you think they'd let you lease the land to them?"

Shen Xuening said, "The money is in place, I think it shouldn't be difficult."

The captain thought it made sense: "Then let's give it a try?"

Shen Xuening nodded: "Mm."