My Ranch Chapter 43

Chapter 43: River fish

Translated by me, edited by Kai.

“*Wuuu wuuu*…” Hearing what Jiang Hai said, Po can’t help but let out depressing cries and stare at him with puppy eyes. On the other hand, Yun only stared at Jiang Hai for a bit before turning and leaving. When Yun left, Po didn’t stay any longer also leaving with complete reluctance.

“Boss, are you going to eat these chicks or raise them?” At this point Robins came out of the parked car and asked about the 3 chicken cages in Jiang Hai’s hands.

In China, chicken this big is definitely for eating. But in America, 1.5lb chickens can’t even be considered chickens, they’re more like chicks, as factory raised chickens need to be at least 3 to 4 lbs before they hit the market. Under normal conditions, factory breeds take roughly 6 months or 24 weeks before they reach at least 3 lbs. With superior technology and crossbreeding in America, this growth period is shortened and the chicken’s output is also increased. Else why do you think American burgers are so cheap. Therefore this is why they view 1.5lb chickens as inedible.

“Of course it’s to eat.” Jiang Hai replied without even thinking.

“But they’re this small… Alright boss, do you want to slaughter them now?” Although it kind of feels bad to kill them at the moment, but if this is what the boss wants, then to cowboys, stuff like slaughtering chickens, cows, lambs and such are of course part of their job.

“Now, ummm, not right now.” After some thought, Jiang Hai replied. Originally, he didn’t plan on buying these chickens. If it wasn’t for the old man’s advertising, he wouldn’t even bother to buy them. Now that he bought them, butchering is easy but he has no clue how to cook them.

“Then let’s raise them for now. This tiny, they probably won’t have much meat anyways.” Hearing the hesitation in Jiang Hai’s reply, Robins probably thought that Jiang Hai want the chickens to grow bigger before killing them. However, if he finds out that this type of chicken can only grow this big, the shock he would have is unimaginable.

Since they are going to raise them, they need a chicken coop. This task goes to the handymen on the estate. According to Robins, to create a simple chicken coop all you need is some wooden planks to create a small hut then wall it off with fishing net and your done. Like this, not is it nearly impossible for the chickens to escape, it is also extremely easy to feed them. Due to the nearby forest, there is no need to buy any lumber, so to create a chicken coop is actually really easy.

“Hey boss, the horses you bought are just too amazing. Although the care cost of these mature marquardts are through the roof, but you bought 6 of them. You are just simply awesome!” At this moment, Philemon came over smiling. He was with Burke at the stables taking care of the new horses. From now on, they not only need to take care of the cow shed, they also need to take care of the horses. These mature horses are much simpler to take care of than the ponies, a couple of days is more than enough them to adapt, just in time for when the cows can be let out.

“That’s for sure. Our boss is the most generous one I have ever met.” Robins followed. Although Jiang Hai knows that they are flattering him, but it is just too pleasing to hear. After all, before he had struck rich, there was only him flattering others and no one flattering him.

“Right boss, my wife told me to ask you what you want to eat. Is it seared steak, seared fish, stewed beef or stewed lamb. And are you fine with bread as the starch of the meal?” Seeing JIang Hai preparing to leave, Philemon suddenly remembered his purpose here and asked. However, upon hearing that it’s about what’s for dinner, Jiang Hai suddenly appeared fl.u.s.tered. Although he really isn’t against these, but he also can’t take eating these day in and day out.

“Tell her that I’m gonna try something new today, so she doesn’t need to cook for me tonight.” Jiang Hai replied after some thinking. Since when was chinese food ever simple to make? So Jiang Hai just gave a very basic answer.

“Um, then what do you want to eat boss?” Hearing Jiang Hai wanting to change the menu, Philemon is clearly stunned.

“No, no, no. No need to tell her, it’s fine. The stuff I want to eat, you guys don’t know how to make since they’re chinese regional dishes.” Jiang Hai said as he shook his head. He has no wishes for Mrs. Turner to try cooking those modified chinese dishes. It’s much better for him to experiment alone. Of course, this is also to broaden his repertoire of skills; as he definitely needs to know how to adapt living here in America.

“Oh, so it’s like this. Then do what ingredients do you need? I’ll help you find them.” Hearing that Jiang Hai is looking to make some home cooking, Philemon can’t help be excited and ask to help out.

“No need, I just need some river fish and it’s not like you guys will eat them. Anyway since you are already here, then help get the chicken coop set up.” Hearing Jiang Hai is looking for river fish, both Robins and Philemon are someone taken back then became embarra.s.sed.

They obviously heard that chinese people love to eat river fish, but to them, river fish isn’t that interesting to eat. One, they have too many bones, and most Americans can’t get used to it. Two, there is an earthy smell which emanates from those river fishes. Although some people liked to eat stuff with specific smells, but this earthy smell is not something others can get accustomed to. Finally, three, the river systems in America were once extremely polluted, although with some interference from the government, the situation became somewhat better, people were still educated by their elders to believe that the fishes in the river system are still contaminated. As such, not many people are willing to try them, even with reports from the government saying that they are healthy to eat.

On the other hand, there are rumors that at the east coast people are harvesting river fishes and sending them to China for sale. In China, wild fish are very popular. Sadly, no matter how wild a fish is, it’s not worth much when dead. In Jiang Hai’s point of view, all America has to do to take care of it’s disastrous river systems is to let in some chinese tourists, then set up some cottages and such for rent and the problem is pretty much solved. If these tourists are also allowed to catch and cook them, then within a year, the great lakes will probably be fishless, don’t even mention the asian carp problem, and they also can earn a bunch from this. Of course, problems between countries weren’t that easy to fix. If Jiang Hai’s idea is really adopted then he definitely wouldn’t be stuck here doing nothing.

Although they have no interest in river fish, the two definitely are good handyman. With Jiang Hai’s help, a simple chicken coop is built in under an hour. They then cast on those broken fishing nets and the coop is finished. When Jiang Hai let the 3 chickens out inside the coop, they ran out with lightning speed and started to size up their new surroundings. However a chicken’s brain is really limited, so under no time, they are out searching for food.

As for Jiang Hai, he rode an ATV with his fishing rod and left the estate. Although he is terrible at sea fishing, but he still has confidence in his fresh water fishing skills.

Boston is the biggest city in the New England region, it is also one of England’s first colonial cities in America. The reason why the english settled here is precisely because of the fresh water sources within the region. There is Ma.s.sachusetts bay to the west which is connected to the Atlantic ocean. The land is not only beside the ocean, but it is full of fresh water sources.

There are only two major rivers, the Charles river and the Chelsea creek. However, the Charles river isn’t really that long. A total length of 192 km, that is like a hour and a half long trip by car. There are also a lot of other streams and creeks around, but they are just too small to be named and displayed on google maps. If you are here in person, then you will find that these are complex river systems.

Sadly, river systems in America are experiencing their toughest challenge yet. This challenge is none other than the invasion of the asian carp. The so called asian carp is not just one specific carp breed, but the whole species. Such as the silver carp, bighead carp, crucian carp, black fish and so on.

Although Jiang Hai is terrible at sea fishing, but he can be considered half a professional fishermen when fishing in freshwater bodies. After all, you are allowed to fish in all rivers in China, and some people can get pretty good catches there, so you can imagine their skills.

A 30 minute walk or 10 minute ATV ride to the north of Jiang Hai’s estate is a local river. Jiang Hai has been here previously and can confirm that the river is full of fish. He also has a lot of thoughts for these, but sea fishing is just that much more interesting. However, upon remembering how badly he sucked at it and what he wants to make for dinner, he quickly went to business. As the boss here, he really can’t go back empty handed in something he is so confident in.