Leaving Wang Family Village, Niu Fugui smacked his tobacco pipe noisily.
"What nonsense! So what if they've raised a few rabbits? Look how full of himself Wang Jianguo is! Brother Qian, let's build rabbit sheds too. I refuse to believe we can't beat Wang Family Village!"
Having been village chief for so many years, Niu Fugui wasn't just for show.
After this one visit, he already had a pretty good idea in his head.
His Niu Family Village was the number one production village in all of Ning'an Town.
He didn't even take little Wang Family Village seriously.
So what if it's raising rabbits?
He could do it too.
Qian Mancang's eyes lit up.
"Right! If they can raise them, so can we! Once we raise them well, I'll go find the textile factory. I refuse to believe they'll only buy from Wang Family Village!"
The two of them got more and more excited as they talked, deciding on the spot to go back and pool funds from the villagers to build rabbit sheds, determined to compete with Wang Family Village.
...
"System?"
"Dear System?"
"The universe's super, incredibly adorable, laughable System?"
Shen Nanchu would call out to the system whenever she had a chance.
Each time, she received no response from the system.
If it weren't for the fact that the disgust points in the exchange page were still increasing and items could still be exchanged, Shen Nanchu would have suspected the system had run away from home.
When Shen Nanchu tried contacting the system again,
"System, if you've been kidnapped, tell me. I'll avenge you."
"Ho-host, it's, it's nothing."
A weak, listless voice sounded in Shen Nanchu's mind.
"I, I'll be fine after resting for a while."
Knowing the system was okay, Shen Nanchu closed her mouth.
Everything could wait until the system was better.
...
In less than a week, Niu Family Village and Qian Family Village really did set up rabbit sheds.
Niu Fugui, who knows where he got them from, brought in a bunch of ordinary domestic rabbits, each skinny as a rail with short, patchy fur.
Qian Mancang was even more outrageous, locking up all the meat rabbits the villagers raised in cages, saying he wanted to learn from Wang Family Village and shear the fur to sell.
When the news reached Wang Family Village, Wang Jianguo anxiously wrung his hands.
"Girl Nanchu, what do we do about this?"
"If they raise rabbits too, will they steal our business?"
"If the textile factory buys their rabbit fur, what happens to our goods?"
Shen Nanchu was inspecting the rabbit sheds and didn't even look up at his words.
"What's there to panic about? The textile factory wouldn't even look at fur from ordinary domestic rabbits. Section Chief Luo wants high-quality rabbit fur."
"The rabbits they're raising can at most be sold for meat. The sheared fur would be considered clutter even if given away for free."
Zheng Tongwei agreed with this.
Hadn't they seen how Luo Hongyuan's eyes practically turned green the moment Shen Nanchu took out the rabbit fur produced by Wang Family Village?
Even so, Wang Jianguo was still uneasy.
"But what if they go complain to Mayor Lin, saying we're monopolizing the business?"
"I know that Niu Fugui. He's best at making a scene and being unreasonable. He's a real tough nut to crack."
This, Shen Nanchu truly wasn't afraid of.
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
...
Sure enough, Wang Jianguo was right.
A few days later, Lin Aimin called, asking Wang Jianguo and Shen Nanchu to come to the town government office to discuss an important matter.
As soon as the two entered the office, they saw Niu Fugui and Qian Mancang sitting on the sofa. In front of them was a basket of messy rabbit fur, and they were talking animatedly to Lin Aimin, spraying saliva.
"Mayor Lin, look! We're raising rabbits too! The fur might be a bit short, but it's genuine rabbit fur!"
Niu Fugui pointed at the fur in the basket.
"If Wang Family Village can cooperate with the textile factory, so can we! You must stand up for us, make the textile factory buy our goods too!"
Qian Mancang chimed in,
"That's right! We're all villages in the town, why play favorites? If they can sell for nine kuai, we'll sell for seven. Definitely a better deal than theirs!"
Lin Aimin rubbed his temples, feeling a headache. These two were treating rabbit fur like cabbage, completely unaware of how the market worked.
Seeing Wang Jianguo and Shen Nanchu who had just entered, his eyes lit up as if seeing a savior.
"Wang Jianguo, Comrade Shen, you came just in time. Village Chief Niu and Village Chief Qian also want to supply the textile factory. What do you think about this..."
Wang Jianguo was about to speak when Shen Nanchu stopped him.
She stood in front of the desk, her gaze sweeping over Niu Fugui and Qian Mancang, her tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Village Chief Niu, Village Chief Qian, are you raising rabbits or putting on a comedy show?"
"It took our Wang Family Village nearly half a year from introducing the breed to producing fur. How can you shear rabbit fur in less than half a month?"
"Did you pluck it from wild rabbits?"
Niu Fugui's face flushed red.
"How can you say that? What's wrong with wild rabbits? Wild rabbit fur is still fur! Why won't the textile factory buy it?"
"Based on quality!"
Shen Nanchu raised her voice.
"Section Chief Luo clearly stated he only wants high-quality rabbit fur over five centimeters long and free of impurities."
"Your fur is at most two centimeters long, mixed with grass bits and dirt. If the textile factory buys it, they can only throw it away as garbage. Who would waste their money?"
Qian Mancang refused to back down.
"We're cheap! Seven kuai per jin, two kuai cheaper than yours. The textile factory will definitely want it!"
"Don't you understand the saying 'you get what you pay for'?"
Shen Nanchu gave a cold laugh.
"The textile factory makes export sweaters. If the quality isn't up to standard, they have to pay penalty fees."
"They'd rather spend nine kuai on good fur than seven on defective products that ruin their reputation."
"If you don't believe me, go ask the textile factory yourselves. See if Section Chief Luo wants your precious rabbit fur."
Niu Fugui was left speechless by the retort, but a surge of anger welled up inside him.
"We're just starting out. Once we raise them properly, we definitely won't be worse than you! Then we'll see who the textile factory buys from!"
"Sure, go ahead."
Shen Nanchu spread her hands, her tone full of disdain.
"Go ahead and find breeding rabbits, go ahead and raise them."
"But let me be clear upfront: when the time comes and you can't sell the fur, don't blame us for stealing your business, and don't come crying to the mayor for subsidies."
"Our Wang Family Village has no obligation to clean up your mess."
She turned to Lin Aimin.
"Mayor Lin, a market economy emphasizes fair competition. We welcome every village to develop industries, but we can't ignore the rules."
"We won't stop other villages from raising rabbits. But whether the textile factory buys it, and how they buy it, depends on whether their goods are up to standard. It's not something solved by crying and making a scene."
"If they can raise rabbit fur better than ours, we'll accept it wholeheartedly. If they can't, they can't blame others for not giving them a chance."
Only then did Wang Jianguo relax and nod in agreement.
"Girl Nanchu is right."
"Anyone who wants to get into the rabbit business, go ahead. Whether you can sell it or not has nothing to do with our Wang Family Village."
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Lin Aimin's face.
As the town mayor, operating on the principle of prosperity for all, that's why he had called for Wang Jianguo and Shen Nanchu.
Who would have thought...
Ah!
Shen Nanchu's words left Niu Fugui and Qian Mancang with nothing to say.
They had originally planned to rely on making a scene to pressure the mayor, but they didn't expect Shen Nanchu to be so firm, spelling out the harsh truth plainly.
They couldn't let this rabbit fur end up stuck in their hands.
Niu Fugui shot a fierce glare at Shen Nanchu, then turned to play the victim for Lin Aimin.
"Mayor, if this rabbit fur can't be sold, our Niu Family Village villagers' money will go down the drain."
Qian Mancang quickly followed suit, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Mayor, it's the same for our Qian Family Village! We spent a lot of money buying those rabbits!"
The two of them were really good at it, immediately positioning themselves on either side of Lin Aimin and starting their pitiful act.
Shen Nanchu: "…"
Wang Jianguo: "…"
