Chapter 18: Rabbits All Over the Mountains
After Chen Bai changed his clothes and put on his mask, he carried a cage in his right hand and a basket in his left, then headed toward Qi Zheng’s residence.
When he arrived, he ran into a small problem. He was stopped by the gate guards.
The guards were not doing it on purpose. Recently, there had been many people on the streets dressed in the same way, so they could not let someone in just based on that outfit alone.
Moreover, there were actually quite a few people gathered in front of Qi Zheng’s residence. After listening for a moment, Chen Bai learned that they were there to submit visiting cards, hoping to view the painting and porcelain he had given Qi Zheng.
Qi Zheng was rather interesting. He had specially displayed that painting and those porcelain pieces for people to appreciate. Recently, the Second Prince’s residence was almost livelier than the Crown Prince’s residence. Of course, this also helped spread Chen Bai’s reputation.
The name Mountain Lord had become famous throughout Shangjing so quickly, and Qi Zheng’s efforts behind the scenes were not unrelated.
“No visiting card, no entry,” the gate guard said stiffly.
In the past few days, there really had been people pretending to be someone else and coming to the residence. They had been beaten out with sticks.
Chen Bai did not mind. He took out the retainer token. This thing allowed him to enter the residence without obstruction.
The guard’s eyes immediately lit up.
Another guard hurried inside to report.
Before Chen Bai had even entered the gate, the residence steward arrived with two servants. One helped carry the cage, and the other helped carry the basket.
“Mountain Lord, His Highness has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in quickly.”
The people outside were stunned. He was actually allowed to skip past them and go straight inside? They quickly reacted. “Could he really be the residence’s first retainer? Not an impostor?”
The steward even had time to turn back with a smile and reply, “Indeed.”
Chen Bai actually had the feeling of being an idol. He only wondered what these people would think when they found out who was truly beneath this mask.
The steward led Chen Bai directly to Qi Zheng’s study.
Qi Zheng was holding the register used for recording retainers and strategists.
There were definitely more retainers than Chen Bai in Qi Zheng’s residence, but for some reason, only Chen Bai’s name had been written in that register.
Qi Zheng was thinking about why that demon had inexplicably asked him to settle refugees on his fief.
There were so many refugees. He could not afford to feed them. Besides, once the disaster in their hometowns eased, those refugees would leave. Would that not be a waste of effort?
Just then, Chen Bai happened to walk in.
Sunlight shone in front of the doorway. He came out of the light, still gorgeous, that vivid red so bright it nearly made one unable to open one’s eyes.
Qi Zheng could not help straightening his body. This demon really was dazzling. He had to show off his own towering figure too.
Chen Bai did not care about any of that. He went straight to the main point. “I already have a solution for Duke Shang’s topic.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
That was a problem troubling the court. If it were so easy to handle, would it have dragged on until now?
Chen Bai continued, “We can even earn a sum from it. When the time comes, just give me ten percent of the profit.”
Qi Zheng froze. “Demons need money too?”
Chen Bai thought to himself, How could I not? This demon is very short on money. Money flows out like water. Now even ordering takeout makes my heart ache.
Qi Zheng said, “You want to use my fief to settle refugees? I’m afraid that won’t work. You’ve seen my fief before. It’s just barren mountains and wilderness. There isn’t even farmland. Once those refugees go there, how will they make a living? Even if I can provide relief for a while, I can’t support them forever.”
Chen Bai smiled. Qi Zheng really saw things clearly, but…
“Who said your barren mountains and wilderness are useless? In my eyes, they’re all precious land.”
Precious land?
Chen Bai nodded. “There are mountains, and the mountains are covered in wild grass.”
The corner of Qi Zheng’s mouth twitched. Was this a jab at him?
“I’ll show you a treasure.” Chen Bai walked to the cage the steward had just had someone bring in.
The cage was covered with cloth, so the contents could not be seen. Chen Bai lifted the cloth.
Qi Zheng looked at the pile of fluffy creatures inside. “Wild rabbits? Where did you catch so many wild rabbits?”
One had to know that for a hunter, catching even one rabbit in a day counted as very lucky. The rabbits in the cage did not appear to have any injuries either. Capturing them alive was even harder.
“How about using your barren mountains to raise rabbits? Rabbits only eat grass and don’t waste grain. Those mountain after mountain of wild grass you have are perfect.”
Land and free wild grass. In modern times, how valuable would that be?
“Raising rabbits requires manpower. People need to dig burrows for the rabbits and build fences at the foot of the mountain. Otherwise, with four legs, they’ll run off. If no one watches over them, there will probably be no shortage of poachers either.”
“Hiring people specifically would cost quite a bit, but right now, don’t we happen to have homeless refugees who need settling? We can provide them with jobs.”
“Great Qian lacks meat. Once the rabbits grow up, I’m sure you know how much they’ll be worth. At that point, we will have earned money and settled the refugees. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone? No, three birds. We’ll also beautifully beat Crown Prince Jiao.”
Qi Zheng listened as Chen Bai spoke confidently. Things like “provide jobs” were phrases he had never heard before, but he could more or less guess the meaning.
As for whether meat was valuable? Of course it was. Great Qian lacked grain, so there were few livestock to begin with. Things became expensive because they were rare, and the price of meat was high.
It sounded very beautiful.
But there was one problem. Qi Zheng looked at Chen Bai. “Where are we supposed to get so many rabbits to raise?”
Rabbits ate grass and not grain, so the cost of raising them was low. Yet no one in Great Qian raised them. Why? Was it not because there was no breeding stock?
Chen Bai looked strangely at Qi Zheng, then pointed at himself with his finger. “Me. Demon. All the animals on the mountains are under my control.”
After saying that, he added, “But if I bring rabbits from other demons’ territory to your fief, I’ll also have to pay those other demons silver.”
Otherwise, Qi Zheng would think buying little rabbits was free, and Chen Bai would have nowhere to argue.
Qi Zheng opened his mouth. “…”
If they truly could bring wild rabbits over to raise, would that not be a business with enormous profit and little cost?
What Chen Bai did not say was that what he would be raising were not wild rabbits, but meat rabbits. They were big and fat, with extremely high survival rates. Once wild rabbits were captured by humans, they would stop eating and drinking. Keeping them alive was not easy. Meat rabbits, however? Even if a person walked right beside them, they could ignore that person and keep burying their heads in grass.
“Also, only the first time bringing rabbits from another demon’s territory will cost a lot. After we have a foundation and breed them ourselves, the cost will be even lower.”
“Rabbits count as adults four months after birth. Their reproduction cycle is forty days. In other words, in less than two months, they can give birth to one litter. One litter can have five to ten baby rabbits.”
The reproductive ability of rabbits was frighteningly strong. It could be said that if they had no natural predators, they would absolutely spread into a disaster.
Of course, given Great Qian’s current situation, it was not very likely for them to spread into a disaster. Humans who had no food were their greatest natural enemy.
In Qi Zheng’s mind, the image of rabbits running all over the mountains and plains actually appeared. This would have been completely unimaginable before.
Qi Zheng thought for a moment, then said, “The manpower needed to raise rabbits is limited. This still doesn’t count as fully solving Duke Shang’s topic.”
Chen Bai smiled. “Isn’t that why I still have this basket?”
Qi Zheng looked toward the basket. After what had happened already, he naturally paid even more attention.
Chen Bai lifted the cloth covering the basket. Qi Zheng froze. “Are these grapes?”
But these bunches were far too large, each grape plump and full, like bird eggs.
Great Qian also had grapes, but the fruits were very small, which was why Qi Zheng was somewhat unsure.
These were actually a type of grape, though in many places they were simply called grapes.
Chen Bai did not correct him and replied, “Yes. These are seedless, high-quality black grapes. The fruits are large, the flesh is full, and they taste especially sweet.”
Chen Bai took the initiative to peel one grape for Qi Zheng.
As soon as it entered his mouth, Qi Zheng tasted an unexpected sweetness. “So sweet.”
These grapes tasted this good.
And they had no seeds, making them very pleasant to eat. Great Qian’s grapes all carried some sourness.
Chen Bai said, “The mountains used to raise rabbits can also be planted with grapes. Grapes don’t need farmland. They can be grown on the mountains. Also, grapevines don’t have leaves at the bottom, so rabbits won’t gnaw on them. They can coexist very well. The rabbits can provide animal fertilizer for the vines, and the grapevines can provide shade for the rabbits.”
Building grape trellises would require much more manpower. Using the animal fertilizer produced by rabbits to fertilize the grapevines would also require manpower.
“When the time comes, green grapevines will crawl over trellises all across the mountains, and beneath the trellises will be big, fat rabbits. How could that still compare to barren mountains and wilderness?”
Qi Zheng’s eyes could not help lighting up.
At this moment, Chen Bai seemed to be describing something as beautiful as a dream, yet it also did not seem so far out of reach.
Chen Bai said, “All of this requires a large amount of manpower. By the time the work is done, the disaster in these refugees’ hometowns should be over as well. They will naturally leave, and the court will no longer need to settle them.”
“And if you give them just a little bit of the profit, they may not even be willing to leave.”
If they could live a good life, who would be willing to live a wandering, displaced life?
Qi Zheng’s eyes moved. This demon’s method was not just killing three birds with one stone. He was also helping him develop his fief. Perhaps he could even keep quite a number of subjects.
Qi Zheng pointed at the grapes.
Chen Bai understood and peeled a few more for him.
Chen Bai added, “The grapevines also have to be taken from other demons’ territories. That will cost silver too.”
If grapevines were raised from seedlings, it would take far too much time. Chen Bai planned to buy mature vines. Some landscaping businesses, for various reasons, could not continue operating and would sell mature vines at low prices. If bought in bulk, there would also be discounts.
Qi Zheng asked about the price. Chen Bai had already checked the price.
He also answered with the actual price and did not earn a middleman’s profit. He and Qi Zheng were cooperating, and he still had that basic level of integrity. The way he made money would be through future shares.
Ten percent of the profit was not small. After all, the land, money, and manpower all relied on Qi Zheng. Qi Zheng would also bear the risk. To put it plainly, Chen Bai was only a purchasing agent and technical consultant.
Qi Zheng said, “How about we go to the fief now and take a look?”
It was definitely impossible to fill his entire fief with rabbits and grapes all at once. The investment would be too large, and he had to plan first.
Qi Zheng was relatively cautious and had an awareness of risk management. He was not the kind of person who would act as soon as his head heated up.
Chen Bai waved a hand grandly. “Bring banknotes.”
Watch him, this “demon,” perform a spell and bring Qi Zheng a mountain of rabbits.
Meanwhile, at court, Crown Prince Jiao was still changing tactics to boast about his achievements. He had indeed increased his efforts in dealing with the refugees. In his view, no matter how hard Qi Zheng worked, it was impossible for him to surpass him.
Shang Wangshu was also paying attention to Qi Zheng’s side. Seeing that Qi Zheng’s side seemed to have taken no action, he thought to himself, That is true. This is a difficult problem even for the court. How could someone else solve it overnight?
