Chapter 17: Drawing a Tiger but Ending Up with a Cat, The Bully Returns_2

As a result, trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a cat, not only did he fail to achieve the desired fertilizer effect, but he also caused a batch of corn seedlings to stop growing, their leaves turning yellow.

A miss is as good as a mile.

The mix of fertilizers should be as precise as that of traditional Chinese medicine.

If you use too much of what should be used sparingly, and too little of what should be amply employed, the result will naturally not be effective.

"Even Xu Zhenchang from our village knows this technique. I asked him about the price, and he only charges me eight Wen Money for a basket of fertilizer. Considering that we are neighbors, I'll charge you ten Wen Money per basket," Qin Niu said.

Wang Furen, in his attempt to haggle the price, did not hesitate to bring up Xu Zhenchang as Qin Niu's competitor.

There are definitely those who have reached the level of a middle-ranking farmer.

It's just that everyone excels in different areas. Some are good at sowing, some excel at weeding, others are adept at loosening the soil...

Someone like Qin Niu, who is proficient in all five basic planting skills, is not nonexistent but absolutely rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn.

While fertilizer is indeed the most critical aspect of planting techniques, there aren't many who understand how to mix it well.

Very few farmers are willing to spend time finely honing this skill, let alone buying books to study it.

Many can't even recognize a few characters.

Being able to write one's own name already puts one ahead of over 60% of people.

Old Man Liu not only adopted Qin Niu but also taught him to read and write.

This was the greatest treasure left to Qin Niu.

Xu Zhenchang indeed has some fame when it comes to crop cultivation and is one of the top planters in the village.

He used to be a tenant farmer for the great landlord Yan Rusong.

A tenant farmer is someone who rents another's land to farm; besides paying taxes, they must give half of their crops to the landlord.

This half is not based on actual yield but on the average yield from previous years. For example, if everyone harvested two thousand pounds of corn per acre last year, then this year's rent will be one thousand pounds of corn.

Since collecting rent is easier than farming oneself, many landlords prefer to rent out their land.

But not many farmers dare to rent land.

Because in case of a natural disaster, if the harvest is poor, a year of hard work might still result in a loss.

Better to work as a long-term or temporary worker for a landlord. Although it's less freedom, at least there is a stable income.

Many people think landlords are ruthless exploiters who oppress the poor, but it's not like what people imagine.

Everything is voluntary.

Whether renting land from the landlord or working for them, it's a choice one makes voluntarily.

It's not that landlords are fiendish, forcing the poor to rent their land or work for them with a knife to their necks.

This is somewhat akin to the modern concept of renting commercial space.

If you think you have a talent for business, you might rent a space and start a business. Otherwise, you might just have to work for someone else.

Xu Zhenchang serves as a role model for countless tenant farmers.

Because his agricultural skills improved over time, the land he rented from the Yan Family produced good harvests each year.

After more than a decade of hard work, not only did he marry a beautiful wife and move into an impressive house, but he also purchased some property. A true success story.

Currently, Xu Zhenchang not only farms over ten acres of his own land but also rents over a hundred acres from the Yan Family.

He is one of their largest tenant farmers.

Of course, he couldn't possibly manage so much work by himself, so he hired quite a few helpers at home.

He personally oversees the agricultural techniques.

Wang Furen's idea to use Xu Zhenchang to get Qin Niu's self-prepared fertilizer for ten Wen Money per basket was not a bad one.

It's just unfortunate that he still underestimated Qin Niu.

"The same words as before, Uncle Wang. If you think Xu Boss's fertilizer is cost-effective, you can buy his. As for mine, it stands at that price, but I can guarantee the effectiveness of my fertilizer," Qin Niu maintained firmly.

Qin Niu was firm about his pricing.

If he sold it cheap this time, it would always have to be sold cheap in the future.

Fifty Wen Money per basket was definitely a steep profit.

But he was earning for his expertise.

And expertise itself is priceless.

"Not one Wen Money less?" Wang Furen's tone had softened considerably.

"Not a single Wen can be spared," Qin Niu stood firm.

"Alright, I will consider it more!" Wang Furen, with hands clasped behind his back, walked away. His tone had loosened up quite a lot since last time, and his intent to purchase seemed much stronger.

Watching the corn that Qin Niu had grown change daily, thriving healthily.

They had started to bear ears of corn, each stalk with two to three ears; he truly envied them from the bottom of his heart.

Fifty Wen Money per basket was sincerely not cheap, and Wang Furen, a businessman by trade, wouldn't consider a transaction that resulted in a loss.

Each basket of fertilizer would have to bring him an income of at least one hundred Wen Money for him to even think about it.

Grain prices, affected by natural disasters and pests, are highly volatile.

In years of severe drought, grain prices typically remain high for at least two years. Both landlords and ordinary people, upon seeing a drought, would hoard grain and sell sparingly, with prices changing daily.

Due to drought causing a decrease in crop yields, poor harvests within the year mean that the new crop will take at least six months to come forth.

Thus, famine is bound to occur.

So, in every severe drought, grain prices would stay at a high level for at least two years.

Last year, a minor drought did not greatly affect grain prices, just a slight increase.

This year, the price of one stone (approximately 120 pounds) of corn is around 120 Wen Money.

Which is roughly one Wen Money per pound, and that's when prices are normal.

For an ordinary laborer in a landlord's family, the annual income is three taels of Silver Money, plus allowances for firewood and shoes, totaling at most 3.6 taels of Silver Money for the year.

That's equivalent to a wage of ten Wen Money a day.

This income is very low, only enough to buy ten pounds of corn. But its advantage lies in its stability, sufficient to support parents and children.

The daily income of a grown man is only enough to buy ten pounds of grain; grain is not cheap.