Plucking the feathers took nearly an hour, mainly because Jiang Ye had never done it before and was unsure where to start.
First, he boiled water to scald the chicken, then roughly pulled off the large feathers, and finally plucked out the small ones one by one.
Next came repeated washing.
He cut it open with a knife, removed the intestines, and tossed them into the plantation.
The entire process took two hours. Jiang Ye realized his initial method might have been problematic; there was too much blood. Perhaps he shouldn't have twisted its neck, but rather slit its throat.
Finally, a clean chicken was held in his hand.
Jiang Ye fell into thought.
How should he eat the first chicken?
His first instinct was fried chicken.
But he had no oil, needed to make flour from scratch, and crucially, lacked various spices. So, it couldn't be done.
After a slight hesitation, Jiang Ye decided to stew a hen for soup.
In the depths of winter, a bowl of steaming chicken soup would be very comforting.
He cut the chicken into pieces with his samurai sword, put them in a pot, and added water.
There were still some potatoes left in the warehouse. He peeled and washed them, cut them into pieces, and added them to the pot.
With no other ingredients, he placed the entire pot on the stove to simmer slowly.
Jiang Ye opened the chat channel and found messages waiting for him.
Cannot Twist Bottle Cap: I've finished building it, we can start raising chickens.
Jiang Ye grabbed a sack and headed to the chicken farm.
He directly caught ten hens and brought them back to the base, then sent them through the trading system. Da Feng Novel Network.
Jiang Ye: Put these ten here first, and I'll give you another ten.
Cannot Twist Bottle Cap: Okay, okay, these chickens are so plump!
While waiting, Jiang Ye walked over and sat by the pot, lifting the lid to peek.
The water had just started boiling, and the aroma of chicken soup hadn't yet emerged.
It would likely take a long time to cook, as it wasn't a proper stove.
Soon, Cannot Twist Bottle Cap replied, confirming the ten chickens had been placed in the coop.
Jiang Ye went to the chicken coop again and caught ten more hens, sending them to her.
Jiang Ye: Raise them well. Tell me the situation every night, and then transfer the payment to me.
Cannot Twist Bottle Cap: Understood, Boss Jiang!
The first employee was secured.
Jiang Ye was very pleased. If all went as expected, he could earn several thousand more yuan daily.
And most importantly, this income required no labor – passive income!
Having tasted the benefits, he decided to continue.
However, he rarely browsed the chat channel and didn't know many people.
Jiang Ye wanted to be a low-key, wealthy boss and was unwilling to actively promote his chicken-raising business.
Therefore, he had to contact Cao County Citizen.
He opened the private chat window and typed.
Jiang Ye: I have something for you. I want to hire someone to raise chickens; it's too troublesome for me to do it myself.
Cao County Citizen: Sure, shall I help you find someone? I have decent connections. I have a long string of private chat windows, chatting from morning till night.
Jiang Ye: I'll provide the equipment and hens, and supply the feed daily. After the chickens lay eggs, we'll split the profits 60/40, with me taking 60%.
Cao County Citizen: Big brother, isn't that a bit stingy? How about 50/50?
Jiang Ye: No, it has to be 60/40.
Cao County Citizen: I also have to give a portion to the employees? 30% to the employees, 20% to me, and 50% to you, doesn't that work out perfectly?
Jiang Ye: That makes sense, but actually, we can do this: 30% to the employees, 10% to you, and 60% to me.
Cao County Citizen: You're so cruel. I feel like a mule or horse you're raising.
Jiang Ye: Darling, I forbid you from saying that. We are good friends.
After much back-and-forth bargaining, they finally reached an agreement. Jiang Ye would get 50% of the total profit, but Cao County Citizen would bear 80% of the cost for the equipment and chickens.
Cao County Citizen immediately went to promote the business.
This venture was quite attractive, and within a short while, he brought back a large number of orders!
In Jiang Ye's base, the aroma of chicken soup had already wafted out, but he poked the chicken meat with chopsticks, and it seemed it wasn't tender yet.
He'd go hungry for now and get to work!
Jiang Ye began dismantling the coops in the chicken farm. He didn't plan to raise them himself anymore; it was too troublesome and dirty. He would sell them all.
The hens were terrified, so frightened they even squeezed out their eggs prematurely.
Coop after coop and chicken warming lamps were teleported away, and sacks of hens were also sent off.
The chicks were also sold.
In just one morning, the entire chicken farm was emptied!
By noon, Jiang Ye was dizzy with hunger.
The chicken and potato stew in the pot had also become tender.
He grabbed his chopsticks and ate heartily!
To be honest, the stew wasn't very successful; it only brought out half of the chicken's flavor.
But on this desolate planet where nothing thrived, after not eating for a long time, it tasted incredibly delicious!
Jiang Ye ate more than half the pot in one go, letting out satisfied burps.
He checked the chat channel and saw a large pile of orders.
Let's keep going!
He was invigorated, knowing that for every chicken transferred, his future daily passive income would increase by over a hundred yuan.
Besides selling chickens, the feed was even more crucial.
Chickens needed to eat a lot of feed to lay eggs. Jiang Ye handed the feed to Cao County Citizen, who then distributed it to the employees.
Amidst the chaos, the entire day quickly passed.
Jiang Ye tallied up that he had sold a total of 620 chickens and had 31 employees.
If everything went as expected, these chickens would generate a profit of five to six figures for Jiang Ye daily!
Even if he did nothing, just lounging in his base, eating and drinking, he could slowly level up.
In the evening, with some temporary leisure, the two bosses chatted online.
Cao County Citizen: I think this is about enough. These employees never meet in person; we can only communicate online. Managing thirty-odd people is about manageable. If we hire more, I won't be able to handle it. Plus, I only trust these thirty people; they are all old friends I've traded with for a long time.
Jiang Ye: Alright, then just these people for now. If there are more, it will be too troublesome for me to handle the feed distribution daily.
Cao County Citizen: Aren't you afraid they'll rise up quickly by raising chickens?
Jiang Ye: Rise up? Based on what? Keep an eye on the money these people submit daily. If you find anyone hoarding profits, just cut off their feed supply and let those chickens starve.
Cao County Citizen: When spring comes, they can grow grain for feed.
Jiang Ye: No matter how much feed they have, it's useless if they don't have chickens! I only give them hens, not a single rooster, so the eggs can't be hatched. Each employee only has 20 chickens. With just 20 chickens, how can they grow big? It's barely enough to eat.
Cao County Citizen: You're still so cunning. As expected of the Chicken King of Nebula M78!
Jiang Ye's face was covered in black lines.
He typed furiously:
I am not the Chicken King! Stop using that ridiculous nickname!
Cao County Citizen: Yes! Your Majesty, the Chicken King!
Jiang Ye propped his chin on his hand and fell into thought. How did this Cao County Citizen start teasing him?
After much contemplation, he drank some of the leftover chicken soup and went to sleep.
Tonight, there was no scent of women's shampoo on his blanket.
The chicken farm was empty, but it couldn't remain idle.
The next morning, Jiang Ye woke up and opened the Livestock Assistant, browsing for other things he could raise.
Finally, he set his sights on the Ophiuchus Bullfrog.
The advertisement claimed these bullfrogs didn't require much water, just enough to drink. The feed was also cheap. It only took a week to raise a bullfrog to maturity; young ones cost 50 yuan each, and adult bullfrogs 500 yuan, a tenfold increase in a week, making it quite profitable.
Jiang Ye pondered and felt this business could work. He decided to convert the chicken farm into a bullfrog farm to try it out.
He bought twenty young bullfrogs in one go and placed them in the chicken farm.
However, in just one day, he couldn't cope. These young bullfrogs had incredibly strong jumping abilities, able to leap three meters high, and their skin was super elastic, always bouncing around like ping pong balls.
It turned out the bullfrogs' home planet had a strong gravitational pull, several times greater than this planet's. On their home planet, these bullfrogs could only jump half a meter, which was normal. Coming here, they were going wild.
Jiang Ye had no choice but to sell them off.
In the evening, it was time to collect the money.
Jiang Ye washed his hands, which were covered in bullfrog slime, and sat by the base panel early, awaiting the incoming funds.
His mood was expectant, as there were several sources of income.