"The free-range chicken farm will be in its own fenced-off area," Lucas explained, getting animated as he talked about the farm. "And the duck and goose farm is being built right by the pond. You know they can't live without water."
In Daxia, farms were different from the sprawling ranches in other parts of the world. With less land available, you couldn't raise large livestock. It was mostly for poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese.
"I'm just worried we won't be good at raising them," Jason's sister, said with a frown. "What if they get sick? We could lose all the chickens, ducks, and geese." She knew that disease was the biggest risk in poultry farming; an epidemic could wipe out an entire flock in days.
"Hey, don't say that!" their father, Mr. Liu, interjected, his face clouding over. He was genuinely excited about this farm, and it hadn't even started yet. "As long as we disinfect the coops regularly, free-range chickens are pretty resilient. Don't be so negative before we've even begun!"
Jason smiled and offered a reassuring word to his sister. "Don't worry, We can just hire an expert from the agricultural college to act as a consultant for the farm. If we have them do regular check-ups and stay on top of sanitation, it shouldn't be a huge problem."
Hearing this, a smile finally broke through on Mr. Liu's weathered face. "Exactly! We'll get an expert to help us out. With modern technology, there's no disease we can't handle."
Jason had to resist the urge to mention bird flu and other annual outbreaks that were notoriously difficult to cure. He didn't want to dampen his father's newfound enthusiasm, so he kept his mouth shut.
"But can we really make back the millions we invested just by selling free-range chickens, ducks, and geese?" his mother, Mrs. Liu, asked, her voice laced with concern. She couldn't see how they could possibly earn back ten million yuan from poultry alone.
"I'm a little worried, too," jason's sister admitted, her expression troubled. "Free-range poultry is so much more expensive than the kind raised on feed. What if we can't find enough buyers? We'll be in real trouble." She shared her mother's feeling that the market would be tough to break into.
"Have you talked to any of the big hotels in City?" Jason asked Lucas. "Can we sell our chickens, ducks, and geese to them?" He figured only high-end hotels would be willing to pay the premium for quality, free-range birds. Smaller, roadside restaurants wouldn't feature such expensive ingredients on their menus.
Lucas took a swig of beer to cool his mouth from the spicy crayfish. "I've reached out to a few of them. They didn't say no, but they want to see the product first after the farm is up and running. The thing is, even if they do buy from us, they won't buy that much."
"We're planning on raising tens of thousands of chickens, ducks, and geese," Mr. Liu said, the reality of the situation dawning on him. He scratched his head, his earlier confidence fading. "What are we going to do if we can't sell them all?" He lit a cigarette, his face etched with worry.
Jason felt a headache coming on. He had initially funded the farm just to give his father a hobby, something to keep him from getting bored in retirement. But now, seeing his parents, his sister, and his brother-in-law treating it as a serious business, he knew he had to think about the farm's long-term viability.
He mulled it over for a moment, and then an idea sparked in his mind, his eyes lighting up. "What if... what if we build a small family zoo on the ecological farm?"
"A zoo?"
The rest of the family stared at him, their eyes wide with disbelief. They were completely thrown by his suggestion. Building a zoo on their farm was the last thing any of them would have ever considered.
"A zoo! I want to go!" Lila's mouth was covered in sauce from the braised pork ribs she'd been devouring. At the mention of a zoo, she perked up immediately, completely forgetting her favorite food. "Mom, can we go see the monkeys tomorrow?"
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Just eat your dinner," jason's sister said, grabbing a napkin to wipe her daughter's messy face. "You get an idea in your head and you want to do it right away!"
Mr. and Mrs. Liu were still reeling from the shock, but Lucas was intrigued. "Jason, where did that idea come from? Tell me more. How would this family zoo work?"
"Well, remember when we went home last time and tried to go to that ecological park? It was so crowded we couldn't even get in," Jason explained. "So I thought, why don't we turn our own farm into an ecological animal park for visitors? We could raise docile animals like sika deer, monkeys, alpacas, horses, cows, and sheep. We could let tourists get up close and interact with them. It would be way more fun than that other park!"
He was getting more excited as he fleshed out the idea. "We'd attract tons of visitors. We could charge a small entrance fee and sell bags of food and fruit for people to feed the animals. That way, the tourists get a great experience, and we save money on feed. It's a win-win."
Jason leaned forward, convinced he was onto something brilliant. "And here's the best part. After they've had fun with the animals, we can guide them over to see our free-range chickens, ducks, and geese. Everyone is talking about healthy, green eating these days, right? When they see how well our birds are raised, they'll know they're better than the ones raised on cheap feed. I bet they'd be willing to pay a little extra to buy one directly from the farm."
"That would completely solve our sales problem!" Jason finished, unable to hide a proud smile. "We'd even save on shipping costs!"
Mr. and Mrs. Liu were dumbfounded. They had never imagined running a farm like this.
"Is what Jason is saying possible?" Mrs. Liu asked, turning to her husband.
Mr. Liu put his cigarette out in the ashtray, still unsure. He looked to his son-in-law for a more practical opinion. "Lucas, what do you think? Can we really do this?"
Lucas considered it carefully. "If we're just raising docile animals like sika deer, monkeys, and alpacas, the permits should be easy to get since none of them are protected species. And Jason's right—using tourism to drive sales is a fantastic idea."
He nodded slowly, his mind already working through the logistics. "City has a huge population, and people have more money to spend on leisure these days. They're always looking for new places to go. That new ecological park can't possibly meet the demand for the entire city's eight million residents."
"If we build a family-friendly farm where people can interact with animals like Jason suggested, I'm sure it would be a huge hit!" Lucas declared, his voice full of conviction. "We could make money from tickets and by selling feed and fruit for the animals. That would drastically lower our breeding costs, and we might even turn a profit from the zoo itself. But most importantly, it guarantees we sell all our chickens, ducks, and geese!"
Lucas was completely sold on the idea. "Let's do it," he said firmly. "Just like Jason said, we'll get into the tourism business!"
He paused, a new thought already forming. "But if we're going to do this, we need to think bigger. Five hundred acres is too small!"
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